Safran Foer is director of the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, which will host Mayor Vincent Gray’s State of the District address on Tuesday. The temple’s spectrum of upcoming events also includes gatherings with Rachel Maddow and Jonathan Haidt. What does hosting the State of the District mean to the synagogue?
We’re really honored that the mayor wanted to do the address from here, and one of the things that I think really resonated for me was what we heard from the mayor: that he’s talking about the city’s past and its future. We as an institution really do link the past to the future. Historically, this building was a synagogue and a church. Today, it’s a major cultural center downtown. We’re a unique new approach to community and Jewish life, and it means a great deal to us to be recognized as something that’s a part of the city’s future.
You’ve hosted a lot of great events. What do you look for when you’re scheduling events?
We want to appeal to a broad segment of the city’s population.
What was your favorite event?
I have so many favorites. You know, it depends on if it’s music or books. I just came off of two amazing, favorite events: There was a jazz musician on Saturday night [playing] to a full house, and on Sunday, Zbigniew Brzezinski was here. It was really fun, and I felt like people who came had a unique experience that they wouldn’t have had somewhere else.
What’s next for the synagogue?
We don’t know what it’s going to look like in the future. We hope that it will continue to evolve. If it looks the way that it looks today, we aren’t doing our jobs. There are new ideas and new approaches, and we hope that we will continue to be at the forefront of new thinking.
– Alan Blinder
