Today is my last day as President of HPCT-CAE. In that spirit, below is the last article I wrote in the Kiruv, talking about what the last month or two of my term was like.
Thanks to everybody who worked so hard for the shul over the past 2 years, and thanks to my family for dealing with my being president.
We spend most of our lives marking time in one way or another. As kids in school, we counted the days until winter or summer vacation. In high school or college, we watched in alarm as the due date for a big project approached, or we avidly anticipated the release of a new movie or the chance to buy tickets to a concert. As adults, we eagerly track the weeks and months until our children are born, and then we note the milestones in their lives by the week, month, and year.
Thinking about all of the ways we count in our secular lives brings to mind the most significant counting season in the Jewish calendar: the Omer. There are, of course, similarities between our everyday counting and the Omer; after all, in both cases we are counting until we reach a particular date or event. But there is one difference. In most of our everyday counting, we count down, but for the Omer, we count up. To my mind, a countdown implies something negative about either the period being counted (like counting the days until school is out), or a dread of what happens at the end (like the test or work deadline). In contrast, when we count up, we anticipate the upcoming event (such as the birth of our child or Shavuot itself), but we also savor the journey to get there.
I’ve been thinking about counting because of the question I’ve been hearing with increasing frequency in the past few months: “So, are you counting down the days until the end of your term?”
The answer to this question is not as simple as it seems. Of course, I am aware that my term as Temple president is coming to a close (When you read this, there will be fewer than 30 days left!). But the implication of counting down the days is that I can’t wait for it to be over, and that is not the case. Being president has not been easy, but it has been incredibly rewarding and I am very thankful to have been given the chance to do it.
So instead of counting down the days until it’s over, I’ve been counting the things that have made it special to me: The good wishes I received from the “Seudah Shlishit society” on my first Shabbat as president. My testimony at the Zoning board hearing, and the excitement of presiding over the Livnot groundbreaking. The privilege of addressing the congregation on Yom Kippur, and of representing the shul in the wider community. The honor of addressing B’nai Mitzvah and sharing in their simchas. The joy of sharing my seat on the Bimah with Noah and Aviva, and the editing sessions with Sue as we’ve worked on my speeches and Kiruv articles. These things and many others have helped me to count every day instead counting the number of days left.
Besides counting down and counting up, there is one other type of counting I’d like to mention: counting on. I’ve had dozens and dozens of people to count on during the past two years. Committees and committee chairs implement our programming. Members of the Board of Trustees provide oversight and guidance. The officers and past presidents provide invaluable advice and perspective, in addition to all of the work they put in to oversee our activities. The staff keep everything running smoothly, even in the midst of construction. Cantor Weis brings us together with his davening, and Rabbi Malomet guides us as leader and teacher. Finally, I am blessed with a wonderful family. I’ve missed spending as much time with Aviva and Noah as I would have liked, but they have been proud to be the president’s kids. Sue’s support has made it all work – I couldn’t have done it without her.
I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as president of HPCT-CAE. It has been one of the most worthwhile experiences of my life, and I am counting up to my next opportunity to serve the Temple and the Jewish community.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
A Time to Ask and a Time to Respond
By now you will have received your copy of the beautiful brochure describing our plan to rebuild the Temple after last year’s fire, and you know that the theme of the rebuilding effort is Eit Livnot – A Time to Build. This phrase comes from the book of Kohelet (and from the famous song by The Byrds), and is part of a sequence of such phrases:
A time to be born and a time to die; a time to sow and a time to reap
A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break and a time to build
(Kohelet, 3: 2-3)
In the time leading up to and just after becoming president of the shul, I’ve come to realize that there is another phrase that I would like to add to this list: A time to ask and a time to respond.
Like many people, I am more comfortable doing things myself than asking for help. But I’ve learned that it is my responsibility as president to involve others. Important decisions can’t be made without considering a variety of viewpoints. New leadership for our Temple grows from those who are asked to volunteer. And when I do ask for help, I am constantly amazed and awed by the way people respond.
Last May I asked a group of people to come together to begin to plan a calendar of events for this year. Those people responded by attending and providing their ideas and suggestions. The result is a more coherent schedule, with fewer conflicts between synagogue organizations. We also found a number of opportunities for different groups to work together. For example, the Men’s Club and Sisterhood are working together to stage our Family Picnic on September 9, and the Men’s Club and AJA are sponsoring our Torah on Tap study series.
In the past few months I asked a number of new people to become committee chairs, and I asked other chairs to continue in their roles. All of those that I asked responded positively, and they are already applying their ideas and talents to their committees’ activities.
At our Livnot parlor meetings over the past couple of months we have asked for your perspective on our building plans, and your response has been overwhelmingly positive. In the months to come we will be asking all of you for your financial support, and we hope your responses will be equally supportive.
I would like to thank all of you who respond and volunteer for our Temple when you are asked, and I encourage those of you who have not been asked to come forward and get involved. I know you will find great satisfaction in contributing to our efforts.
Just as I am responsible for asking for help and receiving responses from others, I am available to respond to you. If you have any requests, comments, or suggestions, I urge you to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you, and when you ask, I will do my best to respond.
As we enter the Yamim Nora’im, I hope you will receive the responses you hope for from friends, from family, and from God. Sue, Aviva, and Noah join me in wishing all of you a healthy, fulfilling, and sweet New Year.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Garmin - A Great Customer Service Experience
Many of us complain about bad customer service experiences. Seems to me that such posts makes up a significant portion of all blog posts worldwide (See Cranky Customer for a "good" repository of such rants).
In counterpoint, I thought I'd write briefly about a very good experience I had with customer service. So here goes...
I bought myself a remanufactured Garmin Nuvi 260W GPS last week from eCost.com. Tried it out, works great (I highly recommend Garmin's GPS products, BTW). But I realized that the map data was out of date.
So I went to the Garmin web site and logged in to my account there looking for a newer version. Found one, but the site wanted to charge me $69.99 for it.
That led to the customer service interaction.
On Monday, I submitted a support message as follows:
I responded with a copy of the receipt, as requested, and today (Wednesday) I got this:
When I got to the office at 9 am and logged in to my account, the map update was waiting for me. Downloaded it, and away we go!
The folks at Garmin could have said "Sorry, but we can't upgrade your maps. The ones you have were current when the device was manufactured". And I would have lived with that, since it's not that hard to get around even with old ones. But instead, they responded quickly and positively.
Hence this post.
Thanks, Garmin!
In counterpoint, I thought I'd write briefly about a very good experience I had with customer service. So here goes...
I bought myself a remanufactured Garmin Nuvi 260W GPS last week from eCost.com. Tried it out, works great (I highly recommend Garmin's GPS products, BTW). But I realized that the map data was out of date.
So I went to the Garmin web site and logged in to my account there looking for a newer version. Found one, but the site wanted to charge me $69.99 for it.
That led to the customer service interaction.
On Monday, I submitted a support message as follows:
Next day (Tuesday) I received the following response:Form Message
Knowledge Job Ticket: {02be9f40-5f6b-11de-ea2e-000000000000} Subject: Getting map updates Message Body: Hello, I just purchased a Garmin 260W (remanufactured unit). The current maps are not completely up to date, and I was hoping to be able to receive a current set of maps as part of my initial setup. However, it is telling me that I need to pay $69.99 to receive a map update. Considering that I just bought the unit last week, it seems unfair to have to pay to have maps that are current as of the time I bought it. Can you provide me with a way to get a current set of updates?
Dear Samuel Kamens,
Thank you for contacting Garmin International.
Thank you.
I would be happy to help you with this matter. Please forward me a copy of your receipt for validation of your purchase date. You can either email it to me as an attachment to a reply email, or you can fax it to me at 913-440-8280 (fax) Att: ********* (OCC). If you chose to fax it, please make sure to put your name, address, phone number, username, brief description of the problem, and serial number on the GPS device that you want to update. Once I have received that information, I will work on getting your account corrected if need be.
I responded with a copy of the receipt, as requested, and today (Wednesday) I got this:
Dear Samuel Kamens,
Thank you for contacting Garmin International.
Thank you.
Thank you for forwarding that information to me. I have put in a request for a map update to be placed onto your account. Please allow 2-4 hours for this request to be processed. You will find the map update on the main page of your My Garmin account, and be prompted to activate the download.
When I got to the office at 9 am and logged in to my account, the map update was waiting for me. Downloaded it, and away we go!
The folks at Garmin could have said "Sorry, but we can't upgrade your maps. The ones you have were current when the device was manufactured". And I would have lived with that, since it's not that hard to get around even with old ones. But instead, they responded quickly and positively.
Hence this post.
Thanks, Garmin!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Is There a Place for a Family Doctor Anymore?
This morning I woke up with some pain in my right eye - it felt like I might have an eye infection, pink eye, something like that.
Since it was uncomfortable, I decided not to do what I usually do in similar situations (i.e. wait until it gets better on its own), but rather to go see a doctor.
I had a couple of choices for how to go about seeing someone:
This is not the first time we've chosen to go the Urgent Care route instead of going to our family doctor. MedEmerge is a little farther away than we would like (about 30 minutes), but it's open much longer hours than a regular doctor's office, it's in-network for our insurance, and the care is good.
Fortunately, I'm pretty healthy. I don't see the doctor too often. And when I do, it's generally for something specific. I haven't developed the stereotypical relationship with my doctor in which he gives me advice, knows my family, etc. My insurance doesn't require me to have a primary care physician to see the doctor of my choice (although I believe MedEmerge would be in-network anyway).
Which brings me to my question: is there a place for the family doctor any more?
For me personally, the answer seems to be "no". Since I don't have a close relationship with my local doctor, and since MedEmerge is convenient and provides good care, I'm likely to just go there for my medical needs in the future.
Since it was uncomfortable, I decided not to do what I usually do in similar situations (i.e. wait until it gets better on its own), but rather to go see a doctor.
I had a couple of choices for how to go about seeing someone:
- Wait until my doctor's office opened at 9 am, and call them for an appointment. Assuming I could get through, I would then have to stay home until that time, which might be late in the day. Once the time of my appointment arrived, I would go to the doctor's office and wait for my turn (because I would most likely have been "squeezed in").
- Drop my kids at the bus and head straight for MedEmerge, an urgent care office near my house.
This is not the first time we've chosen to go the Urgent Care route instead of going to our family doctor. MedEmerge is a little farther away than we would like (about 30 minutes), but it's open much longer hours than a regular doctor's office, it's in-network for our insurance, and the care is good.
Fortunately, I'm pretty healthy. I don't see the doctor too often. And when I do, it's generally for something specific. I haven't developed the stereotypical relationship with my doctor in which he gives me advice, knows my family, etc. My insurance doesn't require me to have a primary care physician to see the doctor of my choice (although I believe MedEmerge would be in-network anyway).
Which brings me to my question: is there a place for the family doctor any more?
For me personally, the answer seems to be "no". Since I don't have a close relationship with my local doctor, and since MedEmerge is convenient and provides good care, I'm likely to just go there for my medical needs in the future.
Yom Kippur Address - September, 2007
Below is my first Kol Nidre Address, delivered in September of 2007.
The story is told of a wise Rabbi who was called upon to settle disputes between the residents of his village. One day, a student from another village was visiting and observing the Rabbi as he was hearing a case. After the first villager presented his argument, the Rabbi said, “You’re right.” The second villager protested, “You haven’t heard my side of the story yet!”, and proceeded to argue his case. The Rabbi turned to the second villager and said “You’re right”. The student observer exclaimed, “Rabbi, you just told both of them that they are right, when they are in opposition to each other!” to which the Rabbi responded, “You’re right, too!”
This is an old joke, but (as with most Jewish jokes), it contains a kernel of truth. Our tradition is filled with instances like this one, where there are two sides to a question, and both are considered valid. I suppose you could call it the “two Jews, three opinions” principle.
We at HPCT-CAE are intimately familiar with this principle, because we live it every Shabbat through our system of dual minyanim. This works for us halachically because our movement embraces the idea of more than one right answer. The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards usually endorses multiple rulings as consistent with halacha, leaving it to individual Rabbis to do what is right in their congregations.
The Conservative movement didn’t think this up all on its own, of course. The idea of more than one right answer dates back thousands of years, to our earliest sources.
The most famous Talmudic example of this principle is the relationship between Hillel and Shammai. Hillel and Shammai were on opposite sides of almost every issue – as a matter of fact, the Talmud records over 300 differences of opinion between them or between their disciples. And while the Rabbis usually side with the more liberal Hillel, they say that in the time of the Mashiach, we will be ready to follow the more stringent rulings of Shammai. In all cases, both opinions are held to be valid, and the adversaries remain friendly; we are taught that the daughters of Beit Hillel married the sons of Beit Shammai, and vice versa;.
The notion that there’s more than one way to do things manifests itself in many other aspects of our religious life.
The Tanach has numerous instances where there is a difference between how a word is written and how it is read. This is known as “K’tiv” versus “Kri”. The straightforward explanation of this difference is that there were errors in transcription when the text was codified. This is easy to believe, given how difficult it is to write a Torah without making a mistake.
What is curious, though, is that instead of fixing these transcription errors, sofrim are required to copy them into each Sefer that they write. I guess you could say that the Sofer is allowed to make mistakes as long as they’re the same mistakes that their predecessors made, but is not allowed to make new ones.
So why not fix the errors? The simplest reason is another favorite principle of ours: “tradition”. Since the people who finalized the contents of the Torah left these differences there, we don’t want to change them. Plus, the ktiv versus kri differences are a rich source of interpretation for us as we attempt to understand the meaning of the Torah. So they remain in place, much to the chagrin of those of us who leyn.
The Amidah is filled with differences in wording, usually related to the calendar.
In deference to the religious calendar, a number of changes are made in the Amida during the Aseret Y’mei Tshuvah. We say “HaMelech HaKadosh” instead of “HaEl HaKadosh” at the end of the Kedusha, and we say “HaMelech HaMishpat” during the weekday Amida instead of “HaMelech Ohev Tzedakah UMishpat”. These changes pick up on the themes of Rosh Hashana, in which God is referred to as our King and as a judge.
Changes to the Amidah also come from the agricultural calendar – specifically the seasons in Israel. We say “Mashiva HaRuach UMorid HaGashem” and “V’Ten Tal UMatar Livracha” during the rainy season, and “Morid Hatal” and “V’Ten Bracha” during the dry months.
And of course, there’s the “two Jews, three opinions” aspect. At Shacharit the last Bracha in the Amida is Sim Shalom, while at Minha and Ma’ariv it’s Shalom Rav. This difference is due to a debate between the collators of the Siddur over which one to include. Fittingly, they chose both.
My focus on this duality started with a look at the Kol Nidre paragraph that the Hazzan chanted for us (just a few minutes ago) (last night). Kol Nidre is not a spiritual prayer, but rather a legal formula. Briefly, its intent is to absolve us of responsibility from any vows that we have not been able to fulfill, so that we can enter into the confessionals of Yom Kippur with a clean slate. But our liturgy actually offers two versions of the formula which have distinctly different implications.
The traditional Kol Nidre includes the phrase “Miyom Kippurim Zeh, Ad Yom Kipurim HaBa Aleynu” – nullifying our vows from this Yom Kippur until next. This essentially gives us a “Get out of Jail Free” card – any vows we have not yet made are already null and void before we even make them.
The authors of the Mahzor Hadash modify the phrase to read “Miyom Kipurrim SheAvar Ad Yom Kippurim HaZeh” – from last Yom Kippur to this one. This fits better with many of our modern sensibilities; if we’re going to nullify our vows, at least let us make them first!
These two phrases in Kol Nidre took on a new significance for me as I began to think about what I would speak to you about tonight. Just as our Rabbis included both Sim Shalom and Shalom Rav in our Amida, and both the Ktiv and Kri in the Torah, it seems to me that we should think about both forms of Kol Nidre. On the Yamim Nora’im, we look back on the previous year, and at the same time we look forward to the next. In that spirit, I’d like to take a few minutes to reflect on this in the context of our shul.
Last year we had the fire and its aftermath. This year we will begin to rebuild.
Last year we completed the merger of our synagogue with Congregation Anshe Emeth. This year we will continue to integrate the former Anshe Emeth members into our congregational family.
Last year, due to the hard work of our volunteers, we cemented our synagogue’s commitment to a dual minyan system on Shabbat and Yom Tov. This year, we will offer classes and one-on-one assistance to give new people the tools and the opportunity to participate.
Last year, the American Jerusalem Academy offered us educational and cultural enrichment in spite of the challenge of operating in multiple venues. This year, with the Temple as our home base, we will expand our offerings.
Last year, our Junior Congregation committee expanded its focus from Shabbat and Yom Tov services for children to include family-oriented events. This year, the committee has renamed itself the Family Programming committee, with a goal of meeting the religious and social needs of our children and their families.
Last year, our USY and Kadima members were active in chapter, regional, and international activities. This year they will involve more children in the wonderful opportunities that are available to them.
Last year the Men’s Club and Sisterhood provided valuable support to our Temple family through their ongoing activities and fundraising efforts. This year, in addition to their individual calendars, they are branching out by planning programs with each other and with other Temple organizations.
Last year, we shared in the Simchas of our Temple family. This year, in addition to celebrating our own milestones, we will join with the entire Jewish world to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern state of Israel.
Last year, we shared in the grief of our families who suffered losses. This year we pledge to continue to support our friends in their time of need.
Miyom Kipurim She’Avar ad Yom Kipurim HaZeh – from last Yom Kippur to this one we have prayed together, learned together, celebrated together, and mourned together. In short – we have shared our Jewish lives.
Miyom Kippurim Zeh ad Yom Kipurim HaBa – from this Yom Kippur to next, we will continue to invest our time, energy, efforts, and support in our shul and in our wider community.
I hope you find meaning in your personal reflections on this Yom Kippur, and I wish you good health, happiness, and success in the coming year.
Gmar Hatima Tova – May you and your families be sealed in the book of life.
Miyom Kipurim Zeh
Kol Nidre 2007/5768
Kol Nidre 2007/5768
The story is told of a wise Rabbi who was called upon to settle disputes between the residents of his village. One day, a student from another village was visiting and observing the Rabbi as he was hearing a case. After the first villager presented his argument, the Rabbi said, “You’re right.” The second villager protested, “You haven’t heard my side of the story yet!”, and proceeded to argue his case. The Rabbi turned to the second villager and said “You’re right”. The student observer exclaimed, “Rabbi, you just told both of them that they are right, when they are in opposition to each other!” to which the Rabbi responded, “You’re right, too!”
This is an old joke, but (as with most Jewish jokes), it contains a kernel of truth. Our tradition is filled with instances like this one, where there are two sides to a question, and both are considered valid. I suppose you could call it the “two Jews, three opinions” principle.
We at HPCT-CAE are intimately familiar with this principle, because we live it every Shabbat through our system of dual minyanim. This works for us halachically because our movement embraces the idea of more than one right answer. The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards usually endorses multiple rulings as consistent with halacha, leaving it to individual Rabbis to do what is right in their congregations.
The Conservative movement didn’t think this up all on its own, of course. The idea of more than one right answer dates back thousands of years, to our earliest sources.
The most famous Talmudic example of this principle is the relationship between Hillel and Shammai. Hillel and Shammai were on opposite sides of almost every issue – as a matter of fact, the Talmud records over 300 differences of opinion between them or between their disciples. And while the Rabbis usually side with the more liberal Hillel, they say that in the time of the Mashiach, we will be ready to follow the more stringent rulings of Shammai. In all cases, both opinions are held to be valid, and the adversaries remain friendly; we are taught that the daughters of Beit Hillel married the sons of Beit Shammai, and vice versa;.
The notion that there’s more than one way to do things manifests itself in many other aspects of our religious life.
The Tanach has numerous instances where there is a difference between how a word is written and how it is read. This is known as “K’tiv” versus “Kri”. The straightforward explanation of this difference is that there were errors in transcription when the text was codified. This is easy to believe, given how difficult it is to write a Torah without making a mistake.
What is curious, though, is that instead of fixing these transcription errors, sofrim are required to copy them into each Sefer that they write. I guess you could say that the Sofer is allowed to make mistakes as long as they’re the same mistakes that their predecessors made, but is not allowed to make new ones.
So why not fix the errors? The simplest reason is another favorite principle of ours: “tradition”. Since the people who finalized the contents of the Torah left these differences there, we don’t want to change them. Plus, the ktiv versus kri differences are a rich source of interpretation for us as we attempt to understand the meaning of the Torah. So they remain in place, much to the chagrin of those of us who leyn.
The Amidah is filled with differences in wording, usually related to the calendar.
In deference to the religious calendar, a number of changes are made in the Amida during the Aseret Y’mei Tshuvah. We say “HaMelech HaKadosh” instead of “HaEl HaKadosh” at the end of the Kedusha, and we say “HaMelech HaMishpat” during the weekday Amida instead of “HaMelech Ohev Tzedakah UMishpat”. These changes pick up on the themes of Rosh Hashana, in which God is referred to as our King and as a judge.
Changes to the Amidah also come from the agricultural calendar – specifically the seasons in Israel. We say “Mashiva HaRuach UMorid HaGashem” and “V’Ten Tal UMatar Livracha” during the rainy season, and “Morid Hatal” and “V’Ten Bracha” during the dry months.
And of course, there’s the “two Jews, three opinions” aspect. At Shacharit the last Bracha in the Amida is Sim Shalom, while at Minha and Ma’ariv it’s Shalom Rav. This difference is due to a debate between the collators of the Siddur over which one to include. Fittingly, they chose both.
My focus on this duality started with a look at the Kol Nidre paragraph that the Hazzan chanted for us (just a few minutes ago) (last night). Kol Nidre is not a spiritual prayer, but rather a legal formula. Briefly, its intent is to absolve us of responsibility from any vows that we have not been able to fulfill, so that we can enter into the confessionals of Yom Kippur with a clean slate. But our liturgy actually offers two versions of the formula which have distinctly different implications.
The traditional Kol Nidre includes the phrase “Miyom Kippurim Zeh, Ad Yom Kipurim HaBa Aleynu” – nullifying our vows from this Yom Kippur until next. This essentially gives us a “Get out of Jail Free” card – any vows we have not yet made are already null and void before we even make them.
The authors of the Mahzor Hadash modify the phrase to read “Miyom Kipurrim SheAvar Ad Yom Kippurim HaZeh” – from last Yom Kippur to this one. This fits better with many of our modern sensibilities; if we’re going to nullify our vows, at least let us make them first!
These two phrases in Kol Nidre took on a new significance for me as I began to think about what I would speak to you about tonight. Just as our Rabbis included both Sim Shalom and Shalom Rav in our Amida, and both the Ktiv and Kri in the Torah, it seems to me that we should think about both forms of Kol Nidre. On the Yamim Nora’im, we look back on the previous year, and at the same time we look forward to the next. In that spirit, I’d like to take a few minutes to reflect on this in the context of our shul.
Last year we had the fire and its aftermath. This year we will begin to rebuild.
Last year we completed the merger of our synagogue with Congregation Anshe Emeth. This year we will continue to integrate the former Anshe Emeth members into our congregational family.
Last year, due to the hard work of our volunteers, we cemented our synagogue’s commitment to a dual minyan system on Shabbat and Yom Tov. This year, we will offer classes and one-on-one assistance to give new people the tools and the opportunity to participate.
Last year, the American Jerusalem Academy offered us educational and cultural enrichment in spite of the challenge of operating in multiple venues. This year, with the Temple as our home base, we will expand our offerings.
Last year, our Junior Congregation committee expanded its focus from Shabbat and Yom Tov services for children to include family-oriented events. This year, the committee has renamed itself the Family Programming committee, with a goal of meeting the religious and social needs of our children and their families.
Last year, our USY and Kadima members were active in chapter, regional, and international activities. This year they will involve more children in the wonderful opportunities that are available to them.
Last year the Men’s Club and Sisterhood provided valuable support to our Temple family through their ongoing activities and fundraising efforts. This year, in addition to their individual calendars, they are branching out by planning programs with each other and with other Temple organizations.
Last year, we shared in the Simchas of our Temple family. This year, in addition to celebrating our own milestones, we will join with the entire Jewish world to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern state of Israel.
Last year, we shared in the grief of our families who suffered losses. This year we pledge to continue to support our friends in their time of need.
Miyom Kipurim She’Avar ad Yom Kipurim HaZeh – from last Yom Kippur to this one we have prayed together, learned together, celebrated together, and mourned together. In short – we have shared our Jewish lives.
Miyom Kippurim Zeh ad Yom Kipurim HaBa – from this Yom Kippur to next, we will continue to invest our time, energy, efforts, and support in our shul and in our wider community.
I hope you find meaning in your personal reflections on this Yom Kippur, and I wish you good health, happiness, and success in the coming year.
Gmar Hatima Tova – May you and your families be sealed in the book of life.
Why a Blog?
I’ve never had a blog, because I didn’t think anybody out there would care what I have to say. That may still be the case, of course.
But as I near the end of my term as a synagogue president, I realize that some of the articles and speeches that I wrote might be of interest to others, so I figured I’d post them where people can see them.
And of course, now that I do have a Blog, I keep having all sorts of ideas of other things to include. So this won't all be synagogue-related.
Enjoy (or not)!
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