("fellowship"). A small group of individuals who seek fellowship and an enriched Jewish communal life. The concept originated in antiquity in the Essene and Pharisee communities. Modern ḥavurot were initiated in the United States because of disillusionment with large, impersonal synagogues which, some felt, were not serving congregants' spiritual and communal needs.
Most ḥavurot fall into one of three categories. The first type is that of a small, fervent, and Jewishly educated congregation, such as the one founded in Denver in 1967 and another, Fabrangen, founded in Washington DC in 1971. Another kind of ḥavurah is much like a commune. Ḥavurat Shalom, the first of this type, was founded by university students and graduates in Somerville, Massachusetts, in 1968. While living together, the members studied, observed holidays, and worked daily to improve the quality of their Jewish experience. Similar ḥavurot thrived on college campuses during the 1960s and 1970s.
The third type of ḥavurah, which exists within a larger synagogue, was suggested by Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis of Encino, California, as an answer to the alienation and lack of communal feeling of many congregants. In this framework, members study, celebrate holidays and the Sabbath together, and act as a support group for each other. Rabbi Schulweis believed that a synagogue's ḥavurah would provide its members with an extended family and invest the entire synagogue with a greater sense of purpose and unity.
Professor Jacob Neusner of Brown University has explained that ḥavurah members share concern for each other as well as for their common goals. Unlike Schulweis, however, he sees a ḥavurah as providing an enhanced experience for the individual, but not as a means for transforming the entire synagogue. Neusner indicates five areas of communal activity necessary for a fulfilling ḥavurah experience: prayer, celebrating the Sabbath, performing acts of kindness, study, and keeping a written record of the ḥavurah's communal life.
Ḥavurot affiliated with synagogues are usually autonomous in determining the structure and purpose of the group). Most ḥavurot study Torah, Jewish history, and Jewish culture through discussions and individual presentations. Conversations often turn to practical concerns, such as how to raise Jewish children in a non-Jewish environment. Ḥavurot are also often involved in community projects, such as visiting the sick or elderly.
According to two studies carried out at the UCLA School of Social Welfare in the 1970s, the eight observed ḥavurot served as peer support groups by creating a safe atmosphere in which to discuss general problems as well as Jewish issues. The studies also found that after approximately two years a crisis arose over the ḥavurah's direction and emphasis on study versus social activities. Ḥavurot which stressed study tended to become more emotionally cohesive as time passed, with members helping each other in illness and death, and celebrating each other's happy occasions. However, ḥavurot which initially emphasized social interaction sometimes found it difficult to introduce study at a later time.
As more and more people pursue religious activity invested with warmth and closeness, the number of ḥavurot continues to grow. Since modern ḥavurot are a recent phenomenon, it is difficult to assess their long-term impact on the larger Jewish community.
