Synagogue's director plays by own rules

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By Julia Duin

Much has been said of Washington's historic and innovative Sixth and I Synagogue but little of the marketing genius behind its success.

When Esther Safran Foer left a successful career in public relations in early 2007 to become the synagogue's executive director, she knew she was betting her livelihood on working for a start-up at the age of 60.

But, "This came along and I fell in love with the idea of it. It's the best thing I've ever done," except, she added with a laugh, marrying her husband, Albert, and having three sons.

Sixth and I - named after the street intersection where it sits - started out as a synagogue in 1905, became a church in 1951 and was on the verge of becoming a nightclub until two Jewish real estate developers bought it in 2002 and remodeled it for $5 million.

She came on staff after one of the developers, Sheldon Zuckerman, gave her a call.

"He was a distant cousin," she said, "and he said, 'Could you think about it?' They told me to experiment and not make too many mistakes."

Mrs. Foer's savvy management skills have made the temple into what it is today: the District's go-to spot for young Jews. The temple does not charge dues, so she has to raise its annual $1.5 million budget.

"Esther is one of the most remarkable women I know," says Roger Bennett, senior vice president for the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies. "She has more vision per square inch than people three times her size."

Step into the synagogue's spacious precincts on a Friday evening, and there is bound to be a family Shabbat (Sabbath) dinner for couples with small kids upstairs and a wine-and-hors d'oeuvres meet-and-greet for singles in the basement.

The brochures given out at the door call it "the place for 20s and 30s to experience Shabbat." Copies of the edgy and often-raunchy Jewish monthly "Heeb" are passed out at the side entrance. Fashionable dark-blue T-shirts with the synagogue's name on it in a flashy red-and-white script are also available.