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PRESIDENT'S
INSTALLATION REMARKS
BARBARA HAWORTH, JUNE 3, 2005
Shabbat shalom! It is indeed an honor and a privilege to take my place among the Presidents of Congregation Beth Israel who have served over the last 144 years. And, as I am sure was true of most of them, it is a moment that is long anticipated, and approached with a myriad of feelings.
I feel so privileged to be part of this particular group of leaders at this time, in this place. This is a very special group of people. You are my inspiration and my family. You are each among the blessings I count.
This week we begin Numbers, the fourth book of the Torah. In Hebrew, this book is titled, Bemidbar, which means "in the wilderness" or "in the desert", because the book describes the Israelites' forty year journey through the desert.
This week's parasha, also called Bemidbar, begins with G-d commanding Moses to take a census of the Israelites, counting all males over the age of twenty, grouped by their tribes. G-d tells Moses "do not, on any account enroll the tribe of Levi or take a census of them with the Israelites. You shall put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle…and everything that pertains to it. The Israelites shall encamp troop by troop, each man with his division and each under his standard.
The Levites, however, shall camp around the Tabernacle and shall stand guard…"
Bemidbar is a powerful metaphor for this installation. We see in this Torah portion a people, just freed from slavery, wrestling with the burdens of establishing a functioning community. The first and most important assignment is the organization of the people and the establishment of the leadership who shall take care of the Tabernacle or Mishkan.
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The Tabernacle was always intended to be at the center of the camp, encircled by the people acting as shomrim or guardians. Nachmanides explained that "the need for guarding the Mishkan was not for protection from some enemy. It was for the purpose of giving kavod, glory and honor to this special place".
The Levites were chosen by G-d. Here, we are self-selected in that all of us are volunteers and have made decisions and yes, personal sacrifice to reach this point.
And we do indeed take the job of guarding the Mishkan with great sincerity.
The lay leaders of this synagogue each come to this "camp" from a different place. We all grew up in different places, geographically and spiritually. We all bring different resources to the table, professionally and financially. But we all bring the same earnestness about our role in guarding and marching with the Tabernacle.
We are the shomrim of Congregation Beth Israel.
As Reform Jews we have found our "standard" or flag under which we are encamped but we have also found our own flag within the larger Jewish community. Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger says "Each person finds his or her own place in a particular camp, and the camps find proper relationship to each other—and only then can the entire people move forward, with the Presence of G-d dwelling in the middle."
We are embarking on an exciting phase as we begin long range strategic planning for our synagogue. Our hope is to march together to ensure that our mission is indeed attainable through the resources and institution which we, together, create.
Our agenda will be focused on building for the future with an emphasis on endowment. We are completely committed, as an institution, to the goals of the Jewish Community Foundation's Endowment Leadership Institute in which we are fortunate enough to participate. In the words of the Foundation leadership, "imagine a day when our children and grandchildren will spend their time not in raising funds, but instead creating vibrant programs to engage the Jewish community." All because we will have had the foresight to leave them a Jewish legacy.
It is critical for us as shomrim of Congregation Beth Israel to recognize that we must work on the next generation of leaders. We must find and groom successors for every position in this congregation by making leadership a desirable goal for everyone. The Talmud tells us that "those who are occupied with the needs of the community…it is as if they are studying Torah."go to top
Consistent with our mission statement, we do provide a place here for all who seek it, but we must also find ways to bring more people to seek it. The recent United Jewish Federation demographic survey, our own census as in Bemidbar, tells us that even though 64% of the Jews in San Diego County say that being Jewish is very important to them, only 29% of them are affiliated with a synagogue. As would be expected, a much higher percentage of those who are congregational members feel connected to the Jewish community.
In our San Diego demographic survey, we find very challenging "census
numbers" regarding our children.
There are 23,700 children under the age of 17 living in San Diego Jewish
households. Of those children, a startling 24%, more than five thousand
six hundred kids, have not received any Jewish education. How will they
ensure our Jewish future?
Within our own synagogue we must also tackle the education of the family and make Jewish education of children a family priority so that it is never a question of what age should a person "stop" coming to religious school. We hope our families will someday soon understand that our religious school is a "supplement to" and not a "substitute for" home observance and teaching.
As a synagogue we must help people come in from their spiritual wilderness and engage them in meaningful Jewish study and worship. It is only through active engagement and enlightenment that the mission of guarding and marching with the Mishkan can actually pass from us to a new generation of leaders. And more importantly, to our children.
A special word of thanks and honor must go to the dedicated clergy and staff of our synagogue. We are truly blessed to have the permanent "shomrim" that we have. It is truly on your shoulders that the "standard" of this "camp" rests.
I must also say a word of thanks to all of the families of those in leadership of our synagogue, for you are each also carrying the burden of "the camp". Without your encouragement and support, none of us could put in the time and energy to be the "volunteer Levites" at Beth Israel.
I would also like to thank my family for the sacrifices they do indeed make so that I can do this holy work. I would especially like to thank my Mother for making the journey to be here tonight and for setting the example for me that Jewish leadership must be on everyone's personal agenda. Mother, I hope that like you, I am able to pass this understanding to my children by what I do, as well as what I say. go to top
I would also like to thank my family and friends who traveled from near and far to be with us tonight. You all cannot imagine how much it means to me to have you here.
So my fellow shomrim, as we take our leadership places, heed the words of Rabbi Irwin Kula, "Bemidbar reminds us that wherever we live, there is a better place, a world more attractive, a promised land, but the way to that land is through the wilderness. There is no way to get there except by joining together and marching day after day."
May we march together from strength to strength.
Shabbat Shalom! go to top
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