Good Bye and Thank You

I remember witnessing five years ago during one of my first Shabbat services at Beth El an older member of our congregation embrace our LIBERTY President and ask her how her family was doing. I also remember feeling sad because I did not have strong roots like that in this community and no one here knew my family or would ever ask how they are doing. It was a lousy feeling knowing I was in a foreign place and had no roots of my own here.

Now five years later, I feel my roots here are as strong as anywhere. This is the place where my daughter was born, and you are the people who have been with Jodi and me as she has grown this past year. There are now congregants here who spent time with my mother in Israel, and they ask me how she is doing. There are members here who have taken my dad and me to play golf, and they ask how he is doing. My greatest hope for my time in Charlotte has come to fruition—I have established real roots in this place. Unfortunately, it is now time for me to say good-bye and begin again establishing roots in a new community.

But before I go, I must thank all those who have taught me so much since I have been here and those who have helped me grow and mature as a rabbi and a person:

Thank you Rabbi Bennett for bringing me to Charlotte and nurturing me in the opening months of my rabbinate. I will never forget the care and warmth you showed me as I began my career.

Thank you Cantor Bernard for never needing me to sing in public. And also for teaching me what a true professional is! You are absolutely irreplaceable.

Thank you Rabbi Schindler for teaching me how to run a synagogue and what a rabbi is supposed to be! I will never forget the wisdom that you have imparted to me over the years.

Thank you Sara Schreibman for teaching me the meaning of the word “efficient.” You have made a world of difference to our congregation. Would you like a job in Florida?

Thank you Holly Gainsboro for all you have done for me and for our youth. You are the best and I could not have done it without you.

Thank you Susan Jacobs for your love and care, for your words of encouragement and friendship, and for our three glorious trips to Israel. I will never forget what you have done for me.

Thank you Stephanie DiPaolo for being so talented and so easy to work with. You are a light of Temple Beth El and I will really miss you.

Thank you Mary Thomas for the opportunity to work with one of the world’s best future cantors. You are a real class act!

Thanks to Karen Morano, Becky Cohen, Deborah Gluick, Betty Crawford, Pam Linker, Steve Rosenauer, Bill Loya, George DiPaolo, Lori Pearson, Amy Brown and Stephanie Brodsky who have worked so hard behind the scenes for so long to make us look good. That is not an easy thing to do and you do it with such skill and grace.

Thank you Larry Farber, Fred Dumas, and Jonathan Howard for the incredible leadership and vision you have each brought to Temple Beth El in my time here. It was a privilege to work closely with each one of you.

Thank you to all the board members, committee chairs and members, and volunteers who have helped make Temple Beth El what it is, and continue to work so hard to make our congregation such a special and important place.

Thank you to all of my students over the years for your commitment to Jewish education and service to the Jewish people. It was an honor to be able to teach each one of you! Thank you to all the youth who have kept me young at heart and continue everyday to reinvigorate my love for Judaism and the future of our faith.

Thank you to everyone who went to Israel with me on my five different congregational trips. I loved every minute of those trips and hope more congregants will take advantage of these trips in the future.

Thanks to everyone I have interacted with over the last five years. I am forever grateful for the patience you showed me as I matured into the rabbi I am today. You have been with me each step of the way, helping me, encouraging me, and joining me on this spiritual journey.

And of course thank you to my incredible wife Jodi, for being the best wife in the world and for helping me to become the best rabbi I can be! I love you with all my heart! And I am sure you will be missed on the park more than I—just wait until the computers start crashing at the J!

As I leave for Florida, I wish everyone all the best. If you are ever in Southwest Florida, I hope you will come and see me.

But before I go, I have a couple of requests:

1) Continue your Jewish education. Recommit yourself to your faith by learning more about our Torah and mitzvot, our traditions and customs, and finding ways to utilize them in your lives.

2) Get to know Rabbi Streiffer and nurture him the same way you nurtured me. Give him room to grow and encourage him with positive feedback and support. As he begins his career, he will need helpers and co-workers, not critics and second guessers. Certainly he will bring positive energy to Beth El and help this congregation reach new levels of success and fortune. He is fortunate to be coming here and Temple Beth El is fortunate to have him. Welcome him with open arms!

As for me, it is time to sail off into the sunset. Charlotte, NC is the place where I learned how to be a rabbi, and where my first daughter was born. I will never forget how lucky I was to serve the Jewish people in this place.

L’Shalom,
Jeremy Barras