President's Remarks
Jonathan Howard

Our mission statement reads: “Temple Beth El is a welcoming and spiritual Reform congregation, providing opportunities for all those who wish to engage in Jewish life through prayer, study, and social action, while supporting
each other in times of joy and sorrow.” And yet, within the Greater Charlotte area, an estimated 6,000 Jews (out of an approximate Jewish population of 14,000) are not affiliated with any synagogue.

As an active and involved Jew, I find it terribly disturbing that some of our fellow Jews are roaming around outside our doors – alone and perhaps unfulfilled – while we still have seats available in our sanctuary and classrooms. Could it possibly be that we have nothing to offer them educationally, socially, or spiritually?

Is it a case of simply not communicating well? Or, perhaps worse, have we tacitly decided that it’s just not worth trying to reach out to our brothers and sisters?

In a powerful sermon at last year’s URJ Biennial in Houston, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, called for a massive Movement-wide initiative in the area of outreach to the unaffiliated. While he offered many suggestions culled from the “best practices” of other Reform congregations, Rabbi Yoffie emphasized that all successful outreach programs can be effectively boiled down to what I would call old-fashioned “retail Judaism.”

“Strands of belonging are not built by programs and committees, but one on one, when a Jew who loves Judaism is willing to share her time and caring with another seeking soul,” said Rabbi Yoffie. He added that “in Eastern Europe, when the community would gather for the early Erev Shabbat service, no one who needed a place for dinner would leave the shul without one.”

Here in Charlotte, we are blessed with a unique double heritage of hospitality – our world-famous Southern hospitality, as well as the fundamental Jewish value of welcoming guests, that dates back to our ancestor, Abraham, who famously opened his tent doors on all four sides to weary wayfarers.
This is not about increasing the Temple’s dues-paying membership rolls (although that would certainly be a wonderful byproduct).

Rather, what we’re really talking about here is a golden opportunity (that’s been right under our noses!) to perform acts of genuine human kindness, one of the basic Mitzvot of Judaism. And all it takes is your willingness to pro-actively invite unaffiliated Jewish friends to your home for Shabbat dinner, and then ask them to accompany you to services at the Temple.

Similarly, whenever we spot a new face in the building, let’s make it a point to introduce ourselves, to ask them how we can be of help, and then to make that added extra effort to see that they find what they are looking for. Sometimes, that may be something as straight-forward as information about one of our programs, such as Taste of Judaism. Oftn, however, what they are really seeking is simply a sympathetic ear.