RODEF SHALOM CONGREGATION
ANNUAL MEETING 2009
RABBI BISNO’S MESSAGE
This past September, I began my Kol Nidre sermon by remarking on the fact that these are uncertain and frightening times.
After all, I went on, the new year arrived amidst global, economic, and political backdrops that had many of us feeling a deep sense of anxiety and unease.”
However, I explained, the central message of our Bible (the phrase that is repeated more times than any other) is “Be not afraid!”
More than 80 times, God says, “Al Tira ... Be not afraid!”
And for the better part of this past year, this has been my guiding ethic: “Be not afraid!”
Who could argue the past year has not been one of great challenge?
So many of the assumptions we took for granted just 12 months ago have been mocked; so much we had heretofore taken on faith has been shown to be a façade.
There is, of course, to every cloud a silver lining or two; and in the face of our fears, from my perspective our collective experience has shown that for our Temple the light within this darkness has been two‐fold...and it has been illuminating.
The first silver lining of this past year, has been the fact that we have all shared in the soul‐searching demanded by present circumstances.
As nary a’one of us has been spared financial anxiety in the last year, every single person we know has had to “re‐cognize” that which is most significant and meaningful to him or her.
That we have done so collectively has provided us room to take stock of our diminished financial resources free of the guilt and shame we might otherwise experience were we to be struggling alone. This, in and of itself, has been enlightening.
And a second silver lining can be seen as a result of our engaging in these acts of self‐reflection – of “re‐cognizing” our reality – at the same time and in concert with others.
For our having shared this experience within and among our members, we have likely discovered within ourselves an enhanced sense of empathy and respect for those who, like ourselves, are challenged.
This has certainly been the experience I have had as I have had the opportunity and the privilege of being part of the response to the acute needs within our congregational family.
As go our individual experiences, so goes our Temple in general.
Since the first days of the New Jewish Year, our entire congregation has been forced to reflect in a serious and sustained way upon how, given new realities, we will adapt and retrench, reprioritize, and refocus our energies on that which will allow us to best meet the future. This effort has not been easy.
In recent months, we have faced numerous issues we could not have foreseen just months ago. And many of the challenges we have identified this year will be with us for a good while yet to come. But the silver linings amidst all of this are very bright.
The hallmark of our congregation, especially when times are challenging, is the sacred partnership shared between our members and clergy, our lay‐leaders and staff.
And this year, in particular, I have been so heartened by the ways in which this trust has been exemplified time and again, as together we deal with a landscape that has changed ‐‐ and continues to change ‐‐ before our eyes.
Yet, even in the face of limited financial resources, newly‐tightened budgets... You should know that every member of our professional staff has accepted a salary‐freeze for the coming year, and the ever greater needs within our community, the responsibilities you and I have to one another and the trust we all hold with our children and grandchildren remains our members’ and our Temple’s paramount concerns.
Permit me a moment to thank my colleagues, Rabbis Sharyn Henry and Amy Hertz. Both of these rabbis are such an important part of what we do every day. It would simply not be possible for me to adequately or comprehensively list and thank them for the countless tasks of tachlis and gifts or generous spirit these bright and engaged and accomplished rabbis bring to their jobs.
Just this past week, Sharyn Henry was recognized by our entire community for the impact she has within our congregation.
And in just a single year, already, Amy Hertz has made her presence known in a most gentle yet compelling way.
What a difference a year makes. I feel so grateful to be able to engage in the holy work rabbis are privileged to perform with these two able and eager collaborators to guide me, to strengthen me, to help all of us to strive for and to achieve our ideals and goals.
And, too, I want to thank the members of our entire professional staff, as well as our part‐time faculty, soloists, and tutors for the incredible jobs they perform daily; and even more so in these challenging times.
Each member of our professional team is doing more with less; and I am grateful for the ways our staff members go about their tasks.
Ours is a privileged congregation, indeed.
And I want to thank, as well, every member of our community, our board and committee members, the volunteers and participants in our programs and services, each one of whom dedicates his or her time, and shares hand and heart so generously with one another.
In particular, my faith in our mission is sustained by the sincerity, thoughtfulness and care with which the men and women who guide Rodef Shalom have gone about the challenging task of treating the delicate issues before us with an unwavering commitment to the ideals that have for so long girded our Temple with strength.
Special words of gratitude to our President Don Simon – and to Lea for all of the times she allowed us to take such generous advantage of Don’s time ... He is selfless in this regard.
Don does such a wonderful job of calmly steering our Congregation through the oft‐times treacherous waters of change. And I am so grateful for his integrity, authenticity and gentle yet assured manner as we make our way towards creating and shaping the future of Rodef Shalom Congregation.
Thanks, of course, also to the rest of our elected leadership... in particular those with whom I work so closely on a daily basis.
In particular, and at the risk of leaving out the many dedicated friends who help me and our staff accomplish our many objectives, I want to thank Ann Roth and Ken Segel and Lois Michaels with whom respectively I have had the privilege of working on significant goals.
Recent months have served as an opportunity to refocus our attention on those silver linings amidst the clouds which swirl about – those experiences and bedrock values which serve as a foundation for how we understand ourselves as a sacred community.
For, as 20th Century theologian Martin Buber wrote, “for a Jew our people’s past is a personal memory, and our people’s future is a personal task.”
For the efforts of everyone who, over the course of this past year, has shared in this work, I offer my most sincere gratitude.
Thank you.
For all those who love our Congregation do, of this we can be sure, for our collective efforts which serve as our lives’ silver linings, our future is bright and we certainly need not be afraid!
Shabbat shalom... and Go Penguins!
