BEGINNINGS & BLESSINGS

It is truly a time of “Beginnings & Blessings” for all of us at Temple Israel. We are blessed with a rich heritage and the promise of an even brighter future as we welcome Rabbi David Gelfand and his wife Kathy to our family. Rabbi Gelfand becomes only our fifth Senior Rabbi in our venerable 135-year history. We also want to welcome our new Temple Educator, Rabbi Alan Londy. Rabbi Londy will oversee our Religious School as well as help coordinate family and adult education and programming. He will work closely with Rabbi Gelfand to help realize his vision of Temple Israel: a warm, caring educational and spiritual community for all of us. Together, as members of the Temple family, we will be exploring exciting new opportunities. I welcome you as we embark on this journey.

We would like to thank Rabbi Manny Gold for his loyal service to Temple Israel over the past year, his inspiring classes and his warm spirit. We wish him a speedy recovery from his heart surgery. Rabbi Gold will always have many friends here at Temple Israel, and we look forward to honoring him in the near future.

Rabbi Gelfand and your Board of Trustees have been working diligently to develop programs for the coming year. As we unveil new events, we hope to have something for everyone. We will have many chances to get together. Whether it be the High Holy Day Services, Adult Education, Religious School, Nursery School, or some other purpose, we look forward to greeting you and engaging with you at Temple Israel.

It has been a busy summer. Many congregants graciously hosted “Meet & Greet the Rabbi” events in their homes. Hundreds attended! I’d like to thank each of our hosts for warmly welcoming us and all of you who participated. These “Meet & Greets” have been a successful community building experience and provided a valuable opportunity for Rabbi Gelfand and the Congregation to get to know each other. It has truly been an enriching experience for all of us.

This summer we also held a number of receptions for prospective members, with considerable success. These get-togethers generated tremendous enthusiasm, and as a result, we are pleased to warmly welcome many new members to our Temple family. Please join me and take time to welcome these new members during our High Holy Day Services and in the weeks to come. Let us all make a point of saying hello to someone we don’t know — whether they are new or not. This is a nice way for us to bring our community a little closer together.

At the “Meet & Greet” events, I shared the story of our search for our new Senior Rabbi. I told of the process that included focus groups representing every corner of the congregation, which brought to light several recurring themes: Congregants love Temple Israel because it is a warm, welcoming, unpretentious and inclusive community.

Our search also crystallized for us that it is time for Temple Israel to take a leadership role in the Reform movement and in the wider Jewish Community. As we met with 23 distinguished candidates, it became clear that Rabbi Gelfand was the best person to lead us in this direction. He is a prominent and eloquent voice for Reform Judaism and has taken a leading role in the Jewish Community within his congregation, throughout the United States and Israel and around the world. We know that he will build on our strong culture and traditions by introducing dynamic programming, spiritual leadership and a voice of social conscience. With his visionary guidance, we look forward to building a thriving Jewish community at Temple Israel that will lead the way in the 21st century.

It is a time of “Beginnings & Blessings” for us all, so as we begin a New Year, I wish you all health and happiness. I look forward to greeting you at Temple Israel during the High Holy Days and throughout the year.

L’Shanah Tovah,

Beth Lee
President