Today is April 26, 2024 /
- (508) 877-2540
This month, I’m posting my High Holiday message in case you were away for the Rosh Hashanah holiday and missed my message.
It’s truly from the heart when I say that it’s great to see everyone here today. When I sit on the Bima with the Rabbi this is the number one thing that we talk about: how to engage congregants to come to services more. Sure, we do get a decent number of people when we run programs like SholomPlex and student-led services. However, it would be really nice to have more people attend services on a regular basis. So, I’d like to throw out a challenge to you; if you consider yourself a 3-day-a-year Jew….
As Summer 2017 winds to a close, I take a look back at what we accomplished during these past few months: The building certainly looks different on both the inside and outside; new carpeting was laid in the lobby, hallway, coat room, the Rabbi’s office, and best of all, the sanctuary. Our Kehilla has that new car smell. We also got lots of painting done on the main level and the light bulbs were upgraded throughout the building to be more energy efficient. Thanks so much to Richard Diamond and his clean-up crew who beautified the outside grounds. Also, the two outside benches were replaced with more modern looking ones.
Wow, is it June already? June marks the end of our fiscal year as well as the end of my first year as president. What a year it has been. From the High Holidays to the great Bazer-Mania weekend, TBS did a great job celebrating this year. I look forward to more great events in the next fiscal year.
I hope to see everyone at the annual meeting on Thursday evening, June 22nd. Besides hearing a state of the affairs of our Kehilla, we will be electing new/returning officers to the Board of Trustees and saying “Thank you” to those stepping down.
I consider everyone at TBS a hero; from those who serve on, or maybe even chair, a committee to those who pay their dues in a timely fashion. These people keep our kehillah alive and well. A few months ago at a monthly Board of Trustees meeting, I came up with a tongue-in-cheek “Hero Award”; given to the trustee who went above-and-beyond in the prior month. It’s a way for me to kick off the meeting with some fun and hopefully, excitement.
I thought I’d share with the congregation our heroes so far. January’s hero was Ed Kane, who helped so much with the boiler when it decided to stop working on Martin Luther King Jr.
One of my fondest childhood memories of Pesach seders was siting next to my grandfather and stealing the afikomen. Shortly after he would break the middle matzah for yahatz in the beginning of the seder and putting the larger piece in a special afikomen bag, he would place it behind his chair. Once there, I would begin planning my snatch-attack!
When it can time for my grandfather to find the afikomen, he would laugh and proclaim, “where’s the afikomen; who took it?” I would then hold it up and demand reward for my cousins and me. It was always a fun time.
By now I assume everyone has seen the congregational letter or heard about our plans with Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly (JCHE) and MWJDS. As I mentioned in the letter, the plan has been in the works since the summer, however, even I as President, hadn’t met with a representative from the JCHE until November so I obviously didn’t want to send out any type of message like the one I sent out until the realization of the project seemed more “real” to me. Before November, it was more of an exploratory investigation until the plans became more concrete.
Finally, when we did meet as a group of 30 people the realization seemed more real that I wasn’t just hearing names but seeing the people that had been working behind the scenes.
One of the biggest trepidations I had when I was asked to be president was that I was going to be responsible for overseeing the Strength to Strength campaigns. After all, the “buck” should stop with me.
Our membership has been slowly declining so we’re asking fewer people to help out more and more financially with our Strength to Strength campaign.
I’m so proud at what our Temple is capable of. With a group of Board members taking on the role of callers and with Jody Comins chairing the campaign, we’ve been able to surpass our budgeted goal of $104,000. Yasher koach!
For the first time since the beginning of my term, I feel that I can finally sit back and try to relax a little (very little). Religious school is in full swing, the High Holidays have passed, the first set of B’nai Mitzvot have completed, and we’re headed into the secular calendar year-end.
That’s not to say there’s nothing going on! Our Strength-to-Strength campaign is in full force. If you haven’t received a call yet or donated yet, please try to give your support by either calling the office or going to http://donate.beth-sholom.org. 100% of the money goes to support our budget.
Shalom,
The High Holidays have to be my favorite time of the year: more people come together as a Jewish community than at any other time of the year. The clergy recognizes this as an opportunity to speak on important topics and provide inspiration and meaning.
Here, at Temple Beth Sholom it’s also the time of year when we kick-off our annual Strength to Strength Campaign. Last year’s campaign exceeded our budgeted amount even at a time when we had to do extra fundraising for our broken air conditioner. Our members really know how to answer the call when called upon!
Shalom! I’m writing this article as I just completed my first month as your President. I was humbled by the support and friendly faces I saw at the annual meeting in June. Even though I had the full support of the Nominating Committee to be your next President it’s still a reassuring feeling when the votes are cast and the decision is final. Thank you.
I’m excited to work with my new set of officers; David Krendel, Eric Weinstein, and Dianne Wolpert as Vice Presidents; Dan Mainzer and Marc Shapiro continuing on in their roles as Treasurer and Financial Secretary, respectively and Brett Berkman as our Recording Secretary.