Rosh Hashanah Speech
October 2020 Keeping Connected
Shanah Tovah.
Well, I guess I can start with saying what a difference a year makes. Last year, at this time I stood on the bimah and spoke about our two top priorities for the year, our new voluntary pledge system and the security of our building. We made great strides with both. We were successful with the new voluntary pledge system, and were able to bring in close to 100% of what we budgeted last fiscal year but more importantly, we increased our membership by about 25 new families. The addition of new families, new blood into our community is what will sustain us into the future. So far this year we have 5 new families that have joined our community. This is outstanding considering where life has taken us over the last several months.
As far as security, well, we did what we said we would do. And as most of you know, we were recipients of a grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Over the past couple of months, a top of the line security system has been getting installed in our building. The installation process has not been easy and there were several glitches along the way but we did it and are currently about 90% complete. It would not feel right if I did not give a shout out to Mitch Hyatt, Larry Cohen, and Tim Miranda for their patience and the pain and suffering they have gone through during this installation. But, we can now feel confident that we have taken the necessary steps to protect our building and our members. Soon, you will all be receiving your new key fobs and please note that the old ones no longer work.
So, the pledge system, the security system, the budget, new carpeting, meetings, the school, kitchen updates, these were all things I was prepared to deal with as president of the congregation. And then, we find ourselves in a pandemic. Since March, our lives have been turned upside down. Every single one of us has been affected by this pandemic. Every single one of us has endured some level of stress or anxiety because of this pandemic. Every single one of us has endured some degree of sadness because of this pandemic. Every single one of us has endured some degree of anger because of this pandemic. And each of us has dealt with the stress, anxiety, sadness, and anger in different ways. It has not been easy for anyone. I think it is important for all of us to remember this. I will typically look at my town’s Facebook pages every now and then and the level of animosity that has been going on in these pages is sometimes horrifying and I cannot imagine it is just limited to Westford. I just ask that everyone remember that your neighbors and family and friends may be going through a terrible hardship, a high level of stress, and just try, although it is sometimes hard, before you react to what someone says or writes, just try to first assume positive intent. It’s crazy but my prior boss used to constantly tell me to assume positive intent, and at first I would just roll my eyes. But, he said it so much, it started to sink in and it honestly works and I think it improves our ability to sustain healthy relationships with each other. It’s important to just give people the benefit of the doubt. Assume that they had positive intentions, look at the details of the situation at hand, and also look at the bigger picture. When you receive texts, e-mails, phone calls, probably more so with e-mails and texts, do not read into it. Take a breath, and read it and assume positive intent. And then read it again and remember although the message may not have come across exactly how YOU wanted to hear it, remember that there is a really good chance the sender probably had good intentions. Always start from the idea that a person meant well or was doing their best, no matter what they said or did. I honestly think that as we go into the new year, if we can all just start assuming positive intent with each other a little bit more and if we can always remember to just be kind and patient, I think it will make a big difference.
As I said, since March, our lives have been turned upside down. One thing I am so proud of is how our community has found different ways to stay together as a community during this pandemic. My favorite part of Congregation Shalom is the community and over the last 6 to 7 months, what I have missed most is being in the building and seeing my community. As I have said, I will be the president that spent the least amount of the time in the building. However, despite all the challenges, we found a way to maintain our sense of community and I thank all of our volunteers, especially over the last few months, for going above and beyond to keep our extended family together.
Over the past few months, we were able to stay together spiritually with regular and meaningful services. I attended a couple of Zoom Bar Mitzvahs and I was honestly amazed at how meaningful they were. I did not know what to expect on Zoom but these services were still just as special. We were able to maintain a connection for our children and the school is thriving well with great plans for this year to allow our kids to stay connected to our synagogue. We have been able to maintain our life-long learning adult education experiences. We have a group of people who have reached out to each and every member more than once just to check in. It’s important that everyone understand that absolutely none of this would have been possible without our spiritual leader and friend, Rabbi Perry. The amount of hours that Rabbi Perry has devoted to keeping us connected via meaningful services, creating special Bar and Bat Mitzvah experiences, organizing and creating meaningful virtual shivahs for those of us who have lost loved ones, being there for each of us when we experienced loss, sickness, or hardship, officiating at weddings, figuring out how to create a Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur experience for our community that would be special, and even learning new technology as an added bonus, She is so committed and dedicated to our congregation and to our members. We all need to give thanks to her because we are darn lucky to have her. So thank you Rabbi Perry.
Two weeks ago, I was at the temple for the first time in a very long while. It was the first day of school, in the parking lot. Honestly, I was a bit choked up, just seeing the kids, the teachers, my friends, talking face-to-face with people, it was like the olden days. Thanks so much to Deborah Morrissey who has also been putting in many hours getting our school ready to have a hybrid opening this fall and working to ensure each child has the opportunity to be at our synagogue at least once a week. But, I look forward to returning more and more to days like this, seeing everyone together. If anything, this pandemic has stressed the importance of our synagogue community even more. We are here for each other and we continue to demonstrate that we are indeed an extended family.
I want to wish you all a very sweet, happy, and healthy New Year. I hope we are able to be together soon. I really do miss each and every one of you. And please everybody just stay well..