About Rabbi Streiffer
Honoring Jonathan Howard for a Job Well Done
 We
all could deduce that leading a Temple is hard simply from the stories
of Moses struggling to lead our people through the desert. Hardly a
chapter goes by in the book of Numbers without our complaining: about
the food, about the water, about the struggles of the wilderness. Unable
to imagine the better place where we were going, we challenged Moses
every step of the way. “Why did you take out us of Egypt?” we called out
in frustration.
While leading the Jewish community is easier today, it still comes with
its challenges. Temple Beth El continues to grow and as it does, our
congregants, like the Israelites of old, want our Temple to excel in
every way. For the past two years, our exceptional President, Jonathan
Howard, has led us with the same patience, passion, compassion and
devotion of the Biblical Moses. As a result of his leadership, Beth El
is stronger spiritually, professionally and financially. Jonathan Howard
has been an anchor and a steadfast source of strength
carrying us through the Capital and Endowment Campaign. He has been a
visionary, involved in the countless hours, days and months of designing
our renovated and renewed Temple Beth El. He has been a guide, being a
part of the search committee that selected the majority of our current
clergy and professional staff. He has been a community player, a
participant in Beth El’s spiritual life, a constant support to the staff
and a friend to so many of us—including myself.
During this month of May the mantel of leadership will move from
Jonathan to Adam Bernstein. While on one hand, we look forward to the
many talents and inevitable successes that Adam will bring to Beth El,
we also take this time to honor Jonathan Howard for his incredible
devotion and tireless labor as we offer him words of gratitude for all
he has done. Please join us for a special service in his honor on
Friday,May 30 at our 6:00 pm Summer Shabbat service.
Watching Jonathan step down as President is hard for all of us who are
involved in the everyday life of Temple Beth El - for he has been
stellar in every way. Yet we have faith that he will move on to other
leadership roles in the Reform Jewish community and continue to enrich
our Jewish future. Our prayer is that he will go from strength to
strength—from the strength of his successes at Beth El to future
successes in
leading the Jewish people.
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A Rabbi's Reflections