President's Remarks
Jonathan Howard
Rosh HaShanah address to Temple Beth El / 9-24-06

Shana Tova,

Rosh HaShanah is an occasion that invites us to look back with gratitude at a host of joyous and worthy memories – and it is the appropriate time to express our noblest hopes for a productive and fulfilling year ahead.

Rosh HaShanah is a chance to re-acquaint ourselves with the rich lessons of our ancient heritage – and it is the moment to become aware of the new challenges on the horizon.
Rosh HaShanah is a day when we come together to celebrate the promise of a new year – as well as to ponder its responsibilities.

The High Holidays are all about “accountability” – on both the personal and the communal level. And in that spirit, as your new temple president, I am very pleased to report to you, my fellow congregants, that the “state of our synagogue” is strong.

Much of the credit belongs to my distinguished predecessor, Fred Dumas, and his administration. Their legacy also includes a long-range strategic vision – as well as plans for a major capital campaign that will finance it.

Temple Beth El has become one of the largest and fastest-growing congregations, not only in the Southeastern United States, but in the entire Reform Movement.

Our outstanding clergy and award-winning programs have earned regional and national recognition.
We have been able to effectively mobilize vast resources – whether to aid storm-tossed hurricane refugees here at home… or to support Israel when it was menaced this summer by missiles from Hamas and Hezbollah.

When this temple was founded in 1943, the Jews of Charlotte had to sneak in and worship in secret. Today, we are a crown jewel in the spiritual fabric of the Queen City.

There are more than 700 houses of worship in this area, but we – alone among the major religious institutions in Charlotte – are the only one that can boast of having a woman as our senior spiritual leader.

And here is a snapshot of our vital statistics: Temple Beth El’s membership roster now stands at 11-hundred-and-fifty families, with over 25-hundred congregants, and 500 students in our religious school.

We can be justly proud. And I hope that you will take the opportunity over the holidays to express your own appreciation to our amazing temple professionals: Rabbis Schindler and Barras, Cantor Bernard, Executive Director Sara Schreibman, Education Director Susan Jacobs, and their staff.
On this Rosh HaShanah, as we count our many blessings, we must also take stock of how some of these blessings also contain the seeds of tomorrow’s challenges.

For instance, think about how many life-cycle events a 25-hundred-member congregation experience on an annual basis -- from b’nei mitzvah to weddings to funerals.

Now consider how long a team of only two full-time rabbis and a cantor can continue to meet the daily spiritual needs of this ever-expanding “flock.”

Can they continue to do it effectively in a 14-year-old building that was designed for a congregation of only 700 families – a facility that has only one social hall and no space for gathering before a service or event?

Projecting into the future… at our current growth rate, five years from now, Temple Beth El will have 15-hundred families, and 35-hundred total congregants. 750 kids in the religious school – and 90 of them will be of bar or bat mitzvah age.

Now, assuming you have 45-47 non-vacation, non-holiday weekends to work with, and 90 or more b’nei mitzvah, that comes out to at least two celebrations per Shabbat… Again, that’s with only two rabbis, one cantor, one sanctuary, one social hall, one kitchen – and no public gathering space.
So, down the road, we may have a few “problems” on our hands: Too many congregants and too many simcha’s. And if these are the kinds of problems Temple Beth El will face, all I can say is: “Dear God, please give us more of these problems!”

My optimism is a function of my confidence that we can count on our membership to step up to the plate when called upon.

A perfect example is being set by our esteemed congregant, Larry Polsky, who has graciously volunteered to lead an ambitious capital drive that was prescribed as part of our comprehensive long-range plan. Over the coming months, you’ll be hearing much more about this critical campaign that is targeted at around ten-million dollars.

A percentage of the proceeds will be used to further renovate and expand our building – in essence, to double our current capacity; the remainder of the funds will go toward increasing our endowment, so that our temple will enjoy a financially secure future for generations to come.
As a congregation, we have an obligation to deal with such critical business issues as growth, planning, and even money. However, we must never lose sight for even a moment why Temple Beth El exists. Our mission is to serve the needs of our community.

Having said that, it is clear that some important needs, especially within certain sectors of the community, need to be better addressed.

As I speak to you today, there are an estimated 6-thousand Jews in the greater Charlotte area who are not affiliated with any synagogue or Jewish institution. Nearly 43 percent of the estimated 14-thousand Jews in this city is marking this Rosh HaShanah alone and unconnected.

Not only is outreach on our agenda, but so is in-reach – especially as it relates to the large population of members who are “affiliated” with Temple Beth El, but in name only.

It is not a secret – nor is our temple unique in having many members who come to worship only on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, the so-called “World Series of Judaism.” So to those of you here today. Let me say that while we do not want to make you feel uncomfortable, we do want to tell you simply that “You don’t know what you’re missing!”

Believe me, I was not a lifelong “Temple-goer.” But over the past few years, I have come to regard this building as my second home.

I truly enjoy coming here to socialize and to study, to pray and to volunteer. Each of these endeavors has turned out to be personally rewarding and fulfilling in many unexpected ways.
Of course, the danger inherent in becoming too eager a volunteer is that you might wake up one morning to find you’ve been elected President.

When I mentioned a moment ago that “You don’t know what you’re missing” here at Temple Beth El, what I mean is that you could be missing everything from introductory classes, such as “Taste of Judaism,” to a rich assortment of individual and group activities, programs, courses, and services designed to enable everyone – and every age group – to experience the true beauty and joy of living Judaism.

Now it could be that “we” – the synagogue’s leadership –may be “missing” something. If that’s the case, then I would ask you to let us know what we else we can do to better meet the needs of every member of your family.

Rosh HaShanah reminds us that there is always room for improvement. And this is true not only on a personal level, but also communally and institutionally.

It’s up to our rabbis to talk about how we can improve as individuals and Jews. But I have given considerable thought as to how we might move forward as a better congregation in the year 5767.
At one point in the Book of Exodus, Pharoah summons Moses and Aaron, and says to them: “Go, worship the Lord your God!” And a moment later, Pharoah asks: “Who are the ones to go?” Moses’ reply is instructive: "Bi-Ni-Ah-Ray-Nu Oo-Vi-Ze-Kay-Nay-Nu Nay-Lech,” he says. “We will all go, young and old.”

The Commentators on this passage wonder why Moses emphasizes the words “young and old.” After all, when he says, “We will all go,” doesn’t he already include everyone? One rabbi suggests that the reason for this added emphasis is to drive home the point that “no celebration can ever be complete without children taking part.” Another proposes that the prospect of “living a meaningful life” will help rejuvenate the elders.

My message, as Temple Beth El moves into an exciting and challenging new era of its remarkable history, is that, indeed, “We will all go, young and old.”

Our “young” will benefit from a religious school that is a hidden gem with nationally certified teachers, some of whom studied and taught in special exchange programs in Israel this summer.
Our “young” will have the advantage of year-round educational experiences that include incentives to attend URJ camps and ARZA “travel to Israel” programs that are invaluable experiences for creating a positive and lasting Jewish identity.

We currently have over 350 teenagers in our midst. In fact, chances are, you’ve bumped into some of them today! I submit that with such a critical mass we need to add a full-time youth director to our temple staff.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Judaism also places a special emphasis on respecting, honoring, caring for, and learning from the members of our community who have invaluable decades of wisdom to share. These are our parents, our grandparents, our aunts and uncles – and even the bubbe and zayde “types,” whom we may have unofficially adopted.

Many of the seniors in our community have borne witness to the unspeakable horrors afflicted upon European Jewry a little more than half a century ago. Others have had a hand in laying the foundation for some of the Jewish institutions in Charlotte or elsewhere that we take for granted today.

Yet, as we speak, any number of these individuals are not worshiping with us today due to fragile health or lack of transportation. In this coming new year, many will end up praying by themselves and eating their Shabbat dinners alone. Why? Because no one is there to reach out to them, to sit with them, to listen to them, or simply to drive them to and from our temple.

I am very proud that this summer, Temple Beth El established a Task Force whose mission is to make this synagogue more user-friendly to our senior population. We encourage each of you to become involved in this vital inter-generational program.

While we wish that we could add years to their lives, we can certainly add life to their days.
Beth El – literally – means “House of the Lord.” We are all “God’s children,” so, by definition then, Beth El is our home, as well.

Whether you are young in years or young-at-heart, whether you are affiliated or not yet reached-out to, and whether you are already active or just toying with the idea of becoming active, we sincerely hope that everyone will feel welcome within our ever-expanding temple family.

May the new year bring each of us the Divine blessings of health, wisdom, courage, and prosperity. And let us go forward together – young and old – seizing these precious opportunities to serve our families and our community-at-large.

Shanah Tovah!