Retiring Utah rabbi to shepherd new flock

Fred and Rochelle Wenger are leaving town next month, and for the first time in 16 years they won't be worried about the flock back home.

Instead, the retiring rabbi of Utah's largest synagogue will fly to Israel with his wife to shepherd a new group of God's children. Their volunteer stint at the Israel Youth Village will focus their time and energy on "at risk" high school students living on a kibbutz — an agricultural cooperative — teaching English and the history of American jazz.

It seems only fitting that the man who loves to teach will not only spend the next few months doing so with young people "who need to see an American couple spending time working with them." Rabbi Wenger hopes their stay will also infuse "a bit of Zionist enthusiasm" in youngsters who may wonder whether there is a future worth fighting for. The rabbi says this knowing the political situation in the Middle East continues to defy any easy characterizations.

The deep religious divisions that split the region are dramatically different from the fracture that is often felt over religious issues in Utah. But as a participant in Utah's interfaith life during the past decade and a half, Rabbi Wenger said he doesn't anticipate a quick healing of the divide here anytime soon.

He doesn't necessarily see the division as a no-win situation.

"This is a community that takes religious faith very seriously. Religion is the highest priority here. . . . They sometimes strike me as the kinds of arguments people have within a family."

And once an immediate issue is resolved, Rabbi Wenger says, he has seen lessons learned on both sides.

He speaks from some experience, having been near the center of the community debate over religious music. Most Wasatch Front residents will remember Rachel Bauchman, the West High School student whose legal battle six years ago over the mandated singing of Christmas hymns had Utahns debating how much influence Christianity should have in a public school setting.

"From that experience, I believe the school system in Utah learned something, even though they prevailed." He believes the same learning curve will result from the continuing legal wrangling over the Main Street Plaza, and that even when the dust from the current issue settles, others will follow.