President Scott Camassar's Rosh Hashanah Address 5768
This past July, I, along with several
others of us, attended a meeting hosted by the Jewish Federation, the title of
which was “Maintaining and Enhancing a Thriving Jewish Community in
As I left that meeting, it occurred to me that regardless of what
discussion takes place on a regional level, we ought to engage in a similar
exercise as a congregation. Not
just the Board, or those who come here on a weekly basis, but all of us, the
entire synagogue family, to decide what is our collective vision for the future
of BJS, and how do we transform BJ to make that vision a reality as we approach
our 80th year. In the
coming year, I would like for us to answer the questions of: What do we want BJ
to look like, to feel like, to be like, and how do we make that happen.
In the new year, I would like for us to identify how we can enhance our
connectedness to one another, and how we can transform the way we do things
around here, internally and externally, to better meet our spiritual needs and
fulfill our social justice goals.
How do we best utilize our talents and energies, and limited funds, to
maximize those experiences for our current members and ultimately attract new
members that may be out there? In
the coming year, I would like for us to take stock of our member’s interests,
talents and passions so that BJ might better become a place where all manner of
relevant, meaningful experiences can occur for each member regardless of their
age or level of Jewish learning.
In the new year, I would also like to see if we might bolster our
connectedness by channeling our collective efforts with respect to social
action. People are highly selective
about the causes they support, and maybe some of us feel most strongly about a
cause that we do not think of as particularly Jewish. Identifying those passions, and
organizing our social justice efforts around the causes that already resonate
with us and motivate us in our lives, seems to me to be a way to invigorate
one’s experience with the synagogue.
Whether your passion is history, or art, or music, or social problems
like poverty, hunger, disease, or protecting the environment, we have a vast
culture to draw from, and there are any number of needs and any number of ways
that groups of us can get involved that can enhance our connectedness, provide a
meaningful experience, and hopefully improve the world. In the coming year I would like for us
to evaluate what is our mission here at BJS. On a basic level, our purpose is
providing a space for gathering, study and prayer. But what is the larger or deeper
purpose? Why should we
gather, study and pray? Not
everyone wants to study or pray, frankly, but there are different ways to be
Jewish in this world. How can we apply what’s in these sacred books to the real
world we live in and make it better?
In the new year, I would like to see us create an atmosphere in which
more people become involved because they are genuinely interested; where long
time members who don’t come around too often no longer feel like they’ve “been
there and done that”, and instead see something fresh and worthwhile, and
understand that their talents and energies are needed and appreciated; and
members join and participate because they feel like they are part of something
larger than themselves, and choose to make the synagogue a part of their
identity, even if a small part.
Involvement does not have to be all or nothing. Some of us spend more time here than
others, but the reality is the synagogue is not the center of our lives, and it
doesn’t have to be. But it can and
will be an important and worthwhile part of our lives if it provides meaningful
Jewish experiences that hold their own with other experiences we choose to have
in our lives and that make up our identities as Americans and as Jews. Can we enhance our connectedness so that
synagogue volunteerism is viewed as our gift to each other, for the benefit of
the community; and so that every volunteer engaged in any part of synagogue
business views their work as part of a sacred privilege, and not a series of
mundane time-consuming tasks that combine to make a handful of busy people even
busier.
In the new year, I hope we can measure success not in terms of how many
members we claim, or how many programs we run, or how much money we have in the
bank, but in terms of how much good will we generate--among ourselves, among the
general community, and in the larger world. What if we defined success simply in
terms of connectedness, mitzvot, good deeds, and mutual aide and respect for one
another; or an increased sense of belonging among our members, or an increased
sense of purpose?
In this day and age of demanding competence and excellence in every facet
of our lives, synagogue life is, and should be, no different. Our challenge is to determine how we can
best provide Jewish experiences with depth and substance to the broad spectrum
of Jews that fill our ranks, and do so in a way that is both worthwhile and
affordable, as we adapt to changing realities and tackle new challenges. In the coming year, I hope that we can
begin to analyze these issues, as part of a larger planning process, and
ultimately reinvigorate BJ for ourselves and the Jews that will one day take our
places here. I sincerely hope each
of you will be a vital part of that process and help to position BJ to meet the
future head-on. In the new year,
sooner than later, you are going to get a call from me or another member of the
synagogue leadership, which will take only a few minutes of your time, to get
your input on these important matters.
In the meantime, from my family to yours, I want to wish you good health,
happiness and prosperity in the coming year. Lshana tova.