Annual Meeting Comments – December 6, 2015

Well, Temple Sinai has survived a year of my Presidency . . . which really shows how important everyone BUT the President is!

But, seriously, we survive and thrive as a community because of the willingness of so many dedicated and talented people to lead and contribute to Temple Sinai.

So, I want to start by thanking folks – people who really inspire me with their passion, professionalism, and their generosity.

Did you enjoy your breakfast? Linda Retchin and her crew of helpers (Barbara Burroughs, Stefanie Marko, Len Rubin, Marjie Sheppard, and Jeff Solomon) prepared it all for you for this, our 10^th Annual Annual Meeting Breakfast. And all for a small contribution – where else can you feed your entire family breakfast for just ten dollars?!). Thank you, Linda and your band of helpers!

Did you notice that we have an AED in the building? Check it out! (Hint: head towards the library.) Thank you Rabbi for purchasing and donating this to Temple – we will have training for the Board in January and while I hope we never have to use it, just having it here is essential for ensuring that we are able to provide immediate assistance to those who may need it. Thank you Rabbi!

We have a remarkably talented staff that are dedicated to leading and helping serve our members and community. Even the Board-sponsored Oneg honoring our staff last Friday evening (December 4^th) could not have happened without the help of Michael and Ibrahim. While we rely on Rabbi for his spiritual leadership, Judy for directing our educational activities, Mark and Wendy and Meg for their music, Ibrahim for keeping the building clean and ready for our every activity, and Michael for holding everything together and doing things financial and physical, this small but mighty group ensure that the day-to-day operations of our synagogue run smoothly, working with the lay leadership to help us transform our ideas into reality. Thank you to our amazing staff!

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to lead or serve on one (or more) of our Congregation’s dozen or so committees? The people who lead these committees are responsible for the activities and governance of Temple Sinai. Take a look at the packet of Committee Reports and the list of names of the lay leadership on the first page. Each Committee Chair leads a group of Congregants focused on the responsibilities of their Committee. It takes a lot of people to keep Temple Sinai going, and I am in awe of the work that so many of our members volunteer to do.

If you are interested in being more involved – there is something for everyone – contact me or a Committee Chair. If there is something we are not doing here that you think we should be involved in, contact me or the appropriate Committee Chair. Read the reports, listen to the Committee presentations later on this morning, ask questions and see where you can make a contribution to Temple life. You will get to know some truly remarkable people and have a more fulfilling connection to the Congregation. Thank you to all of our members who lead and serve on our Committees!

What about the Board of Trustees? We have more than a dozen members of our Congregation who serve on the Board. The Board meets every month (except for December) for about two hours . . . and sometimes a little bit longer. We act on proposals and recommendations that come from the Committees; we schmooze, we eat, and we discuss the merits of the proposals and then vote and act on them. One of the joys of being President is working with such a delightful group of people who are thoughtful and come with such a diverse array of perspectives, talents and skills. Everyone on the Board also has roles outside of our monthly meetings, whether Chairing committees or overseeing our finances or education, etc. I cannot thank the members of our Board enough for their hard work and dedication to serving Temple Sinai, and I hope that you recognize how important their contributions are to Temple.

Lastly, I want to thank all of you – you make this community a family and, whether you are hearing this live at the Annual Meeting or reading it online in my Blog after the meeting, your contributions to and participation in Temple events, activities, governance, etc. help define who we are. Thank you for choosing to be a part of this Reform Jewish Community!

Sorry, but I am not quite done yet.

We have a big year coming up – we celebrate our 50^th Anniversary next June and there is (yet another) committee making plans to recognize this milestone in Temple Sinai’s history.

But our history is the result of planning and vision and applying core values as a foundation to what we do. We are facing a turning point in our Congregation and we must plan for the future if we, as an institution, are to be around to celebrate our 100^th Anniversary in 50 years.

I see two major initiatives that need to be addressed in 2016; two initiatives that are critical to our continued success.

First: we need to find out who we are. We need to determine what is important to us, what defines us as a Congregation. What are our core values? What is the vision our Congregation and how is that reflected in our mission? And how does this inform and guide what we do and how we do it?

We have been so fortunate to have a spiritual leader – Rabbi Glazier – who has been with us for more than 3 decades, who has seen us transform from a small band of Reform Jews without a permanent home to the institution we are today. But with his impending retirement in just two years, we must begin planning now for the inevitable transition to a new Rabbi.

This transition is an opportune time for self-reflection and assessment – both so that we are clear as to who we are, but also so that we can better find a new Rabbi who shares our values and vision for the future.

This is a very exciting proposition which will involve outreach to everyone in the congregation as well as Reform Jews in our community and is the very first step in our Rabbinic transition planning process.

Second: we need to address the fiscal and physical (infrastructure) challenges that we struggle with every year. As we discuss the budget (I promise we will get to it soon!), you will see that even with a balanced annual operating budget, we need to address the accumulated debt that has resulted from the past few years of annual budget deficits. Mind you, we are in a strong financial position – we own our building outright and we have an endowment of more than $200,000. But last year we ran a $16,000 deficit and, if we are fortunate, we will have a deficit no greater than that this year. This deficit is real and means that we need to borrow money to cover the losses each year, if we cannot find another source of funds.

We also have a beautiful building and grounds, and while we budget each year for routine maintenance expenses, we have not addressed major periodic maintenance expenses, resulting in deferred maintenance that we do not have the funds to address (e.g., paving the parking lot). Again, this may mean we need to borrow money to address the most critical of these issues, if we cannot find another source of funds.

To address these two significant initiatives, we will charge two working groups to focus on these issues. While we will draw membership from the Board and relevant Committees, it is essential that we also engage members of the Congregation who are interested in these issues and are willing to serve on an active, but limited time-frame commitment, working group. These will be groups where your input and expertise can have a profound impact on the future of Temple Sinai and I encourage everyone to think about whether these might be areas in which you would like to be involved in the coming year!

And, finally, thank YOU for your attention – I look forward to working with you on these exciting initiatives this coming year.

5776/2015 - Temple President High Holiday Message

L’Shanah Tovah!

Of course, before I get started, I have an announcement – Temple Sinai is turning 50 next June and we have a committee working hard on programming an amazing celebratory weekend. To help you get in the mood for the celebration – and to help relieve those tummy rumblings after we finish up this morning’s service – stop by their table on your way out for some cider, bagels and cream cheese and a bit of Temple Sinai trivia.

Now, on to business!

There are three persistent themes underlying all Temple President remarks during the High Holidays: 1) Ask for money, 2) Insist that you will keep your remarks brief, and 3) Use them as an opportunity to practice material for your upcoming Comedy Central stand-up special. I hope to do at least one, but no more than two of these during my remarks over the next 2-3 hours . . .

Actually, I have just a few things that I would like to touch on this morning.

First, and most important, I want to acknowledge and thank people. If you remember only one thing when my droning ends, it should be this: Temple Sinai is a community that relies on the generosity of many many people. But I am not speaking about money here. I am referring to the generosity of their time, their spiritual commitment and tireless support of this institution. We rely on our community to volunteer their time to ensure that our very modest – but outstanding – paid staff can do amazing things.

While I may be here as the face of the organization, Temple Sinai is what it is because of folks who serve on the Board, serve on committees, chair committees, volunteer to build things or play music or teach students (whether young or older), lead or assist with services, serve the community . . . the list is endless. Whether you know it or not, whether you come here just once a year or every week, it is because of your friends, fellow congregants, and committed community members that Temple Sinai is here for you.

And here is my “ask”: if you see something interesting that you can and would like to contribute to or be a part of – we’d love to have YOU be involved in making these wonderful things happen. And just as important: if you DON’T see something that we, as a Congregation, as a community, SHOULD be doing – we’d love to have you work with us to make it happen. We know that time is our most precious resource, so I want to acknowledge and thank all of you who have been so generous and to thank – in advance - those of you willing and interested in being involved.

But why do we get involved? Why are we a part of this community? And why do we, as Jews, always seems to answer a question with another question‽ (Why not‽) Let me try to address this by taking one step back and asking a more fundamental question: what does it mean – to each of us - to be Jewish?

Well, part of being Temple President entails thinking and reading about being Jewish. Much of this results in realizing how little I really know and have left to learn. One thing that I have learned is that we all experience “Jewishness” in different ways. Many of us decided to become Jewish, while some were just born that way. Some of us may not be Jewish, but have Jewish children, a Jewish spouse or partner or friend or relative. Each of us has our own sense of what it means to be Jewish based on our unique circumstances and experiences – and there are as many stories as there are people here today.

My story is not special. I was born this way – my parents were Jewish and so am I. I grew up feeling like I was Jewish. My parents bought homes in towns where there were significant populations of Jews and we always belonged to a nearby synagogue, where my two brothers and I attended religious school and were Bar Mitzvah’d and confirmed. In fact, the Jewish population of the town I grew up in near Rochester, New York, was so large that our public schools closed for the High Holidays. I never thought that I was a minority and I never felt like a minority, nor did I experience any anti-Semitism.

In fact, I had a very strong, positive Jewish identity. I recall trying to figure out whether John Lennon or Ringo – with their “roman” noses – were the Jewish members of the Beatles (I just assumed that some of them were Jewish). When I heard Peter, Paul and Mary sing “Go Tell It On the Mountain”, I assumed it was a Passover song and then concluded that they must be Jewish. As it turned out, Peter (Yarrow) was Jewish but, of course, I was wrong about the Beatles – although, Brian Epstein, their manager, was Jewish. Still, when I discovered that someone famous or special was Jewish – like: Isaac Asimov, Mel Brooks, Bob Dylan, The Marx Brothers, Albert Einstein, Leonard Nimoy or, more recently, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Scarlett Johansson – I felt proud knowing that we shared a common heritage.

But I was not a particularly observant, religious Jew. I identified with the central tenets of our faith, but rebelled against some of the rigid structures of organized religion. So, my tefillen and tallit stayed in their velvet zippered bag following my Bar Mitzvah and I never took to wearing a yarmulke except when facing extreme pressure to do so (like when my grandfather – a cantor – offered me his yarmulke if I agreed to wear it at a life cycle event). Note, I have nothing against wearing a yarmulke – they just never seem to stay on my head . . . I am waiting for Velcro implants . . .

But when I first traveled to Israel, still in High School, I felt different than I did here in the United States. In Israel, I was no longer a minority and it felt that way. There was a freedom to just be Jewish and not to be concerned about whether or not anyone would understand what I was up to, like having to explain absences from work on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur. I was in a country that had institutionalized these practices, even those (like kosher rules) that, being a vegetarian, I did not need to pay attention to. It was fascinating to see an entire country that implemented Jewish practices that, here in a predominantly Christian country, we would have to work to achieve. In Israel, there was no need to assimilate into a non-Jewish society; everything shut down for Shabbat – kind of like Christmas here, except that even Chinese restaurants and movie theatres were closed. Instead of working to “fit” into the societal structures, I found that the structures built into Israel already “fit.”

It is hard to describe this feeling, unless you have experienced it. I his book “Covering,” Kenji Yoshino, a Yale Law Professor and writer, relates the story of “a nonobservant Jew, describing how it felt to go to Israel for the first time. He . . . had been asked by his peers why he ‘hadn’t been yet.’ He . . . had resisted into adulthood. Yet when the El Al plane touched down in Tel Aviv, and the passengers broke into . . .  ‘Hatikvah,’ he wanted to kiss the earth.”

We all struggle with our identities. Whether religious, ethnic, political, sexual, gender, or physical, we try to reconcile how our genetics and life experiences conspire to create the unique individuals that we are. And, rather than face these alone, we are relieved to find that there are others that share some of these qualities. Whether we choose to ascribe any meaning to these associations and whether they prompt us to feel an affinity with those with those who share these common bonds, is part of how we define who we are.

Take, for example, Einstein and Richard Feynman (both Nobel Laureates and probably the two foremost Physicists of the 20^th Century). While both were born to non-religious Jewish parents and were themselves not religious, Einstein identified as a Jew while Feynman refused to be identified as such. But regardless of how we decide to identify ourselves, the perception of our identity – how we are viewed by others – can play a significant role in our lives. So, for example, Feynman ended up attending MIT after being refused admission to Columbia University as a result of their quota on the number of Jewish students they would admit.

How we, as Jews, fit into a non-Jewish society is often a function of how well we can “pass” or disguise our “Jewishness” so that we are not perceived as being Jewish. With a name like Goldberg, and some decidedly Jewish physical features, it is hard for me to pass. Many Jews end up changing their names so that they can pass more readily – my uncle changed his name to Gold  . . .  not a very effective way to pass – writer/director/comedian David Steinberg used to joke that the only way to shorten his name to obscure his being Jewish was to go from Steinberg to Stein to Stt!

But whether you can pass or not, the question of how much to reveal about your Jewishness remains a matter of debate. How “Jewish” should you look? Should you change your physical appearance either surgically (the classic “nose job”) or by eschewing Jewish-looking clothing and symbols (like a yarmulke) that reveal your Jewish identity? Do we “cover” our Jewish identity when we are out in non-Jewish society? Yoshino cites Alan Dershowitz’s admonition that we should change our attitude from “fearing embarrassment” to fully flaunting our Jewishness.

This is what keeps me coming back to and being a part of the Temple Sinai community. Regardless of how accepting the broader community in Vermont may be, we are a minority population – our children are likely one of maybe a couple of Jewish kids in their classes, and we probably had to explain to our bosses and coworkers why we are not at work today. Temple Sinai is a place where we can be Jewish without having to cover, where we fit without having to adjust who we are. We are a congregation comprised of people with diverse identities – and regardless of how we identify and express our religious, sexual, gender, ethnic and political orientations, we are committed to being an open and welcoming community where one need not feel the need to pass as something we are not, or to cover who we really are. This is that place where you know you will be welcomed and accepted for who you are, without having to distort yourself to fit into a something you are not.

In addition to each one of us needing to consider our own Jewish identity, in this New Year (5776), Temple Sinai as an institution will be undergoing a similar process. One of the outcomes of this year’s Board Retreat – held on a very cold and snowy weekend last February – was a commitment to exploring and re-establishing who we are as a congregation: to clarify our Vision, re-establish our Mission, and ensure that all we do is guided by our Values. For this we will need your input and participation, so that we can capture and encapsulate in these public statements Temple Sinai’s identity as we move towards our 50^th Anniversary next June and begin the first year of our next half century. I look forward to working with you and the Board as we plot our course towards the Temple Sinai of 5826!

I wish you all good health, happiness and prosperity and a good, sweet, New Year – L’Shanah Tovah!

Installation Service Comments – January 16, 2015

Rabbi invited me to say a few words about my “vision” as the new President of the Board and I am happy to do so as we install our new Board at this service.

Let me first provide you with some context for my comments – I’ve been a member of Temple Sinai since I moved to Vermont in the early 1980s, my children went through the Temple’s religious school program and had their B’nai Mitzvahs here (Rabbi, I think I have gotten the pluralization correct there!), and I have been a regular participant in the Folk Services at Temple for more than the past ten years or so. I had opportunities to participate in Temple governance over the years, but did not feel I had the time to commit . . . . busy job, busy family . . . . you know the drill. But a few years back, I agreed to serve as Treasurer and then, under Tim Cope’s Presidency, First VP, and now, as President of the Board.

Why is this background important?

First: I’ve learned more about Temple, met more of the Congregation, and gotten to know more wonderful and talented people in my FOUR years on the Board than I did in the previous 25 years.

Second: I was no less busy with my job and family when I agreed to serve as Treasurer than I was in the previous decades . . . in fact, I was probably busier. But I made a commitment – I made a choice - I decided to participate, to make this one of the many priorities in my life.

At this Board’s first meeting earlier this week, we engaged in an orientation exercise in which we shared our interests, skills, and fears (as they relate to Temple and serving on the Board). Let me tell you some things about this Board:

·        We have folks who have been with Temple Sinai for longer than I have, have served on the Board, led the Board and, still, are back to continue serving the Congregation.

·        We also have folks who have only recently joined our Congregation, who have served in leadership roles at their previous synagogues, and who have found activities at Temple Sinai that, I will confess, in which I have not participated over my decades here as a member.

·        Some are drawn to Temple Sinai for feeding their spiritual needs, to pray, study Torah, to sing and eat and engage with a community with whom they can share their Reform Jewish traditions.

·        Some are drawn to Temple Sinai because of the people and the opportunity to be part of a social scene with other Jewish families.

·        For some, Temple Sinai is a place where they can continue (or start) their Jewish education – where they can be part of a learning community that engages their minds in multi-faceted ways.

·        While many indicated that they agreed to serve on the Board out of a sense of duty and obligation, as many (or more) confessed that they joined the Board because of the social aspects of working with fellow members in service to the Temple.

Why am I telling you this? How does this in any way relate to my “vision”?

Well, my “vision” is for a Temple Sinai that has a Congregation that is drawn together as a community. A Temple Sinai that provides a place for people to gather and to share their lives. A Temple Sinai that feels like home, for you and your family.

I can tell you that I left our first Board Meeting wearing a big smile and with the conviction that this inspiring group is ready to do great things. They sensed that we are at a turning point as a Congregation (although, aren’t we always at a turning point?) and, if we choose to, we can accomplish great things.

Which is why we are having our first Board Retreat, at the start of next month. If we can continue to focus our attention on what engages us, excites us, energizes us – and if we can bring that focus forward to the entire Congregation – we will have moved towards my “vision”.

This will take more than just the people who serve on the Board – we will need your participation in deciding what we focus our energies on, we will need your participation in Temple governance and activities, we will need your willingness to try new things, to celebrate those that work and to let those that do not, drop away.

So, I hope you will not wait as long as I did to decide to participate in Temple governance. We have many committees, and I suspect that at least one of them matches well with your skills and interests – choose one to be involved in, meet and work with fellow Congregants who share your interests and passions, participate in making Temple Sinai an even more special part of your life.

 And finally: I have a vision where finance committee report does not elicit thoughts of fear and dread. This is one of our challenges, but I am confident that we have the ability to make good progress in moving towards the realization of that vision. (And I would be remiss in not putting in a pitch for our Scrip and Hannaford Card programs that raise funds for Temple Sinai whenever you shop. Participation is easy and I encourage everyone to signup!)\

So, please welcome and support our new Board – I hope I can keep up with them, and I look forward to serving you all as President for the next two years.

Shabbat Shalom.

Annual Meeting Comments – December 7, 2014

I joined Temple Sinai soon after moving to Vermont in 1982. I had never lived in a place with such a small Jewish population, and was happy to find a reform congregation to affiliate with. At that time, we were wandering Jews, using space down the street at the Faith Methodist Church, setting up and tearing down the sanctuary every Friday night. I remember a group of us would go out to Howard Johnson’s for a bite to eat after services on Friday nights – we made community wherever we could. And we were growing - we needed our own space and we bought a plot of land and built a building, which we then outgrew and renovated and expanded into this wonderful facility we enjoy now.

Temple Sinai is a place where our lives change: where we learn and pray, where we sing and dance, where we eat, where we laugh and where we weep. We measure time with those life events. I remember the first function I attended in this building – when there was no ceiling in the sanctuary and the windows were covered with plastic – was the funeral of a colleague of mine in the Chemistry Department at UVM (Claus Wulff). After Barb and I married, we started a family – Eli and Rubin were named in that sanctuary, they grew up here, attended the religious school, had their B’Nai Mitzvahs (and Eli’s confirmation) in that sanctuary.

Like many busy young families, I never stopped to think of who was making sure that the bills were paid, or who organized the Purim carnival that our kids loved, or designed the curriculum that taught them about their Jewish heritage and the Hebrew language. I never stopped to think of who was making sure that the eternal light was lit and that there was a Temple Sinai for our community. Don’t get me wrong, we paid our dues and participated in Temple activities, but I took for granted all that it takes to keep a place like this running.

So, thank you – to the members who took it upon themselves to found this Congregation, to do the hard work of managing, organizing, cajoling, knowing when to and when not to take risks so that we can have this rich, vibrant Reform Jewish Congregation. We are all indebted to the years of service on previous Temple Boards and Committees provided by so many and I am humbled and honored that you have entrusted me to follow in their footsteps. I am fortunate to have followed – and had the opportunity to learn from and work with – some amazing people, like Bruce Hicken (as Treasurer) and our past two presidents (Howard Kalfus and Tim Cope). And while I also know that they have set the bar pretty high – higher than I imagine I can come close to reaching – I also know that I will be working with an accomplished and dedicated Board, supported by tireless Committees, and a Staff that is second to none.

Lastly, I am thankful for your trust and encouragement and devotion to Temple Sinai. Over the next couple of years, I look forward to working with you to continue to build our community and provide an open, welcoming and supportive environment for Jewish education, spiritual growth and fulfillment.

A final note: I want to hear from you whenever you have questions, concerns or if you just need to talk. I will not pretend to have all of the answers or to even be able to immediately address your concerns in the ways that you may wish – but your voice will be heard and I will make sure that any appropriate action is taken. You can reach me at home on the phone at 985-9329 or via email at templesinaipresident@gmail.com