Rabbi's Reflections

As I write this article, I am struck by the fact that the Nominating Committee is about to send out the proposed slate of Board members and the position of president and executive vice president are blank.  It made me realize that we need to think together about what it means to build community, and about how one's personal identity is tied up with being part of that community. The two poles between which human identity swings are that of solitude, of being by one's self, and that of refreshing that sense of self by coming together with other people.

In a study by the Medical School of the University of California in San Francisco, one of the factors leading to longevity is congregational affiliation. We live longer and we live better when we do not have to celebrate our family and person milestones by ourselves and when we do not have to mourn our losses alone. There are people on whose shoulders we can cry, people with whom we can dance and celebrate, sing and exult. In being with each other, we are able to gain information and wisdom, acquire comfort and consolation.
 

Indeed, our tradition teaches that the primary way God speaks to us is when we are in community. God instructed Moses to bring the Ten Commandments down to the foot of Mount Sinai and present it to all the Israelites who were gathered there.   It was not to be kept secret and shared by whispered voices.

The issue of leadership which is raised by the absence of candidates for these positions begs the question of what does it take to build a kehillah (community)? We need to fashion increasingly innovative ways of responding to each other that allows community to develop.  It means setting aside the differences that divide us and keep us from sitting down with one another.  It means using the temple as a tool to increase our mission for social justice and tikun olam.  It means putting our heads and hearts together to agree on a common vision for the future.  We need involvement. The great sage Hillel says, “Don't separate yourself from the community.” We recognize that involvement is a two way street.  We cannot ask you to give of your time unless your efforts are rewarded and your expectations are fulfilled.

I hope that by the Annual Meeting on Sunday, May 15, the above positions will have candidates filled in.  Regardless, may we learn from this experience.  Let the transformation of our community begin with each of us. Let us recommit to the reasons we joined Temple Kehillat Chaim in the first place.  Beginning with each of us, we can set off ripples that will transform our synagogue.  If we can do this, then community will not only become stronger, but TKC will once again be a place where we can encounter each other and ultimately that for which the Kehillah was established in the first place: a community committed to Jewish values where the everyday encounter with the spiritual is made possible through each other and God.