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.
No comments:
Post a Comment