This issue of the bulletin marks an important milestone–the close of my first year as rabbi of Temple Anshe Amunim. This year has been one of many blessings for us; we have much to celebrate together!
At our Annual Meeting, I both reflected on some of the objectives that I have pursued over this past year and offered a vision for the year to come. Whether or not you attended the meeting, I hope that the following restatement of the Rabbi’s Address perpetuates the sense of communal commitment that was so strongly felt that evening.
In my role as education director, I have made the school a priority and I count it among our top successes of the past year. We have an exciting new model, an increased student body and happy participants. I’m looking forward to a strong year to come!
In a similar vein, I have worked to expand our adult education programs. After introducing one-shot and standalone classes, I implemented our weekly Torah study sessions. As numbers at Torah study grew, I launched our adult b’nai mitzvah program in conjunction with the Jewish Journeys education series. Feedback for all these programs has been very positive - thank you to those who have shared your thoughts! If you have not yet been able to come, you are more than welcome!
I took the Rabbinic Search Committee’s charge to invigorate our prayer experience very much to heart. At this time, we have adopted Mishkan Tefillah as our primary siddur for both Shabbat and festival services. Throughout the past year, I have worked closely with the worship committee (and laity) to offer energetic, educational and spiritually enriching services. In the year to come, I will be working with a team of lay leaders to expand our worship leadership base. If you are interested in refining your skills as a prayer leader, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
I’ve been delighted to participate in enhancing our temple’s visibility in the greater community. Whether through interfaith youth group events or visits from CCD classes, Anshe is becoming a true area resource. Don’t forget to check out our website - TAA is fast becoming a “virtual” destination as well!
As a final objective, I sought to inspire excitement and pride about being members of this community. Throughout my time at the temple, there has been an increasing sense of enthusiasm about attending our programming and delight in being present in our spiritual home. Many people have shared their pleasure with me at the direction in which we are moving; thank you to all those who have given so generously of their time and energy.
As we look ahead, there are some specific goals that I wish to help us achieve. First, we must expand our outreach to attract new members. We have done a remarkable job in this area over the past year and will make every effort to continue in this process. I encourage you to speak about our remarkable offerings to your friends and members of the Berkshires unaffiliated Jewish community - we have so much to offer!
Second, I am looking forward to refining and expanding our adult education offerings. Several people have approached me over the past weeks, for example, with a desire to improve (or gain) skills in Hebrew reading. While continuing our already strong programs, I look forward to drawing new learners into study through new classes and learning opportunities.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I hope to maintain the sense of pride and excitement about being part of this temple family. I would like to invite you, as members of our community, to be full partners with the temple leadership in achieving this goal. The Management Team and I have been working together to construct a plan to assess and enhance our needs and resources. I encourage you to read the Team’s column for ideas on sustaining our community.
This New Year will mark many new beginnings - it is an auspicious time to take stock and imagine where we would like to be. Following the High Holidays, I will reach out to you for your thoughts and input around our course and future path. There will be opportunities for you to share your thoughts through formal surveys and informal conversations.
For now, I invite you start reflecting on this simple question: what does it mean to me to be in partnership with this community? Whether sharing treasured memories, learning new prayer-leading skills or taking a leadership position, your answer will be a blessing to our temple.
I look forward to working closely with you as we look forward to a bright
