As you can imagine, this is a daunting, but worthy challenge, but we have all the ingredients:

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1 I have heard there are three secrets to a successful Rosh Hashanah speech. First, have a good beginning and ending and second, to have the two as close together as possible. And the third is to include a story or two, so let s start with this one. I am reminded of a story where a Rabbi was traveling with an interfaith group to a foreign country. When they arrived, this group, who had traveled together before would spend a week together, learning about each others rituals and sharing prayer together in a mosque, a Buddhist temple, a church and a synagogue. On Saturday morning, the Rabbi went off on his own to find a synagogue for Shabbat services. Interestingly, the city where he found himself was a destination location. Very few jews actually lived there. The synagogue was essentially for tourists. So, here he was, this Rabbi, in a synagogue, with other jews, none of whom lived in this city and none of whom knew each other. There was not an organized prayer service and people were mostly praying alone and with different tunes. The Rabbi felt badly that he could not focus on his prayer. At his synagogue at home, this was never an issue. He began to feel that the prayer he had shared with this interfaith group that week in a church, a mosque and a Buddhist temple had more meaning to him than being in this particular synagogue. And he thought about why he felt that way...and he realized...that it was about community. For him, for that week, his community was the interfaith group that he had come to know and that he had shared with...but what he mostly realized was how much he missed his synagogue at home and how much he truly missed his community. Over the last month, as I started to think about the remarks I would give today, I began to read many other president s speeches (both from our synagogue and many others) as well as a plethora of articles, so this speech is a combination of my thoughts and some words of others woven together to express what I wanted to share with you today. And while for some time, I have thought about what I was going to say and how I was going to say it, it wasn t until I awoke this morning at 6 am that I was able to finally put the finishing touches on this as I reflected on being here today. Towards the end of my remarks, I believe you will understand why. I would like to ask a question. It is rhetorical and you don t need to answer me. The question is...why? Such a small word. Only 3 letters. But the response to this question can be so can be of such magnitude that it causes the word to pale in comparison to the response that it can generate. Personally, I have been involved in synagogue leadership for many years as a board member, executive committee member, and now president. You can trust me, then, when I tell you that if you are a Jewish consumer looking for value in any traditional cost/benefit sense, don t join a synagogue. It is expensive and you can get almost all of the benefits that synagogues purport to offer to members either for free or at a much lower cost if you buy them a la carte. Think about it: You can attend Shabbat services for free and even grab something to eat at the oneg and High Holiday services are generally available for individual purchase; classes are often open to nonmembers for an insignificant price differential; and, in any given year, you re unlikely to require a rabbi for a wedding or a funeral; and you can rent a rabbi (not ours of course) for a private bar/bat mitzvah service for your child. So why fork over thousands of dollars every year to pay for something you can get otherwise for much less? 1

2 Why? I ll tell you why. What keeps all of us renewing our memberships despite any complaints we may have is that we have found a place where we can confront the central questions of our existence. When that happens, the synagogue becomes a place where we connect to something larger than ourselves to our community, to ideas that can transform our world. If you join that kind of synagogue, which this is, membership dues are a bargain and not a burden. They become, in consumer language, a value proposition. These intangible benefits of membership are the only ones that make the high dollar cost of being a synagogue member worth it. Anything less is a bad deal. If I ve learned anything, it s that we are an incredibly diverse group of individuals. We are in every possible age bracket. We are in every possible family situation. We are also everything in between. Some can read, write and speak Hebrew fluently and others not a word. Some of us are Jews whose lives revolve around our affinity for Judaism while others feel challenged to relate to Jewish teachings, and in fact, may be asking why I am here today? Maybe some don t see how what we do here is relevant to us or to our lives. We seek many different things from our community. Some are at Or Hadash events three times a week seeking to understand our Jewish heritage, identity, increase our education, observance and spirituality, others of us come three times a year. That pretty much sums it up. We have put out an all-inclusive welcoming mat, our arms wide open to greet you to provide a hospitable tent to accommodate all who wish to join us, whenever that is. I assert that our greatest challenge is to solicit our ever increasing unaffiliated neighbors. It s about people, not programs. Its about relationships and not fee-forservice transactions. At Or Hadash, we want to have a big enough tent for everyone. That s our goal. That s what we re trying to accomplish. We want all of you to feel and to be comfortable here at Or Hadash. And, for the most part, I think you do. We want all of you to know that you re important and that you re a welcome and valuable member of our Or Hadash community. The trick is, how do we accomplish this? How do we develop programs that appeal to such a broad range of people and experiences, given how very different all of us are. I hope that some of you can appreciate what a difficult challenge this is. Most disturbing of all, is the ever increasing percentage of people who identify themselves as Jews, but don t affiliate with or join any synagogue at all. Although I am a naturally born and professionally trained pessimist, I don t think it s helpful to dwell on these negative projections. Instead, I remain optimistic about the Jewish people and the future of the Jewish people. Why? As I ve said before, if I were a marketer, I d tell you about this great product we have to offer. It can t be beat. Please know, however, that membership at a synagogue is not like membership at a country club. It is not goods for services. We join a synagogue because we believe in supporting Jewish institutions. We join a synagogue because we care about the future of Judaism in our community. We understand that you may decide not come to the synagogue much during the course of the year. However, despite your lack of attendance, it is your membership truly supports the institution. There will come a time when you need the synagogue. Perhaps not this year, but the next. And you know what, because you were there for Or Hadash, Or Hadash will be able to be 2

3 there for you. We ve all chosen to be part of the Or Hadash community. So, why make the choice to belong to a Jewish community? Again, why? I think it is because we are looking for a place that is welcoming, a place where we can build intimate relationships, a place where we are supportive of each other, a place that addresses profound spiritual yearnings, and a place where we can connect with Jewish tradition. We are looking for a place to call home, a community. I believe that Or Hadash is that place. A community is different than a congregation. A congregation is a place where people come together, where they congregate, but a community is much more than that. It is a network of support and relationships. The more you take part, the more you build those relationships, the more connected you feel. When we become part of the community, we become part of something much larger than ourselves. It certainly has been that way for me and for my family. Back to why... Why do people flock to shul on the holy days? Why do otherwise non-observant Jews find it so important to be in a synagogue during this holy season? I believe the answer is both very simple and incredibly subtle. We come because we care about being Jewish. We come because that s what Jews do. We come because we are seeking God s presence. We come because it is about a new year...an opportunity for new beginnings... and the synagogue is the place where, for countless generations, Jews have gathered together to share these experiences as part of a vibrant community. So in many respects, it s all about connections, connections to the Jewish people, connections to our beloved community, and to Eretz Yisrael the Land of Israel. Our job as a synagogue is to help you and others make these connections. Our job is to make the wonderful community we have here at Or Hadash your community, one where you feel comfortable, welcome and important. As you can imagine, this is a daunting, but worthy challenge, but we have all the ingredients: There is no clergy team anywhere as accepting and as accessible as ours. They are always here for us and here for our families. How many of you have their cell phone numbers programmed on your cell phone? I could not imagine a life cycle event without them. Could you? We are so blessed to have our amazing Rabbis Analia and Mario. Our very own building that isn t adorned with gold and stained glass but is as green and as energy efficient as we could make it because that is who we are and we want people to know that this is a core value of our community and that Tikkun Olam is not just something we talk about. We live it. Passing through the doors, as we enter our sanctuary, I find myself at peace. There is no sanctuary like ours. 3

4 And we are so blessed to have you, our congregants, more so our family and friends, who have steadfastly been the backbone and the source of our community. It is intangible. You can t touch it. But you can feel it. If you can t, maybe try coming more often. I promise you that you will feel it. What we have here is truly special- Or Hadash provides a safe haven from the pressures of the world, a place where you can develop close friendships, a spiritual life, and a way to infuse your life with a richness not found any other way. Underlying everything we do is a set of values and beliefs, a sense of connection, a belief that Jewish continuity matters and that transmitting Judaism to the next generation is important. We believe that taking care of each other is essential and that we can help change the world and make it a better place. Like family, we re here to help each other celebrate happy times and life cycle events, be it a new baby, a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, a graduation, or a wedding. And we re also here to help and support each other in times of sorrow or tragedy. Rosh Hashanah is the time in which we reflect on the past year and renew our spiritual attachment. We also renew our commitments to ourselves, our families, friends, our synagogue and our community. Now is the time to renew our commitment to Or Hadash. Over the course of the high holidays, take a few moments to look at your ticket, poke out a chad or two (or more if you would like), and put your card in the baskets on Kol Nidre. If there s something you feel that you can contribute that s not on the card, please feel free to contact me after the holidays so that we can discuss it. And, since we rely on volunteers, if for some reason you re not contacted, please just assume that we made a mistake and contact me or someone in the office so that we can correct it. It would be impossible to thank everyone involved in the preparations for our High Holy Day services. Sending out the letters and tickets, preparing for our multiple locations, planning for security, organizing ushers and greeters, preparing for youth programming and babysitting, setting up seating for close to a 1000 people - this all happens because of our incredible volunteers and our professional staff. To all of them we owe a debt of gratitude for making all of this happen. Better yet, in addition to thanking them, become a volunteer yourself. This is your synagogue. This is your community. There is no better way to integrate yourself into your community than by getting involved. We have literally hundreds of volunteer opportunities, throughout the year. We have many diverse committees for you to get involved with as well. These committees help shape the direction of our programs. Or Hadash is a dynamic place with energized people who want to make things happen. I encourage all of you, to step forward to become more involved, even if it s only doing one more thing this year than you did last year. With your help we will be able to not only carry on the fine traditions that have been established by those who have come before us, but we will be able to reach new and greater heights. 4

5 These Days of Awe from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur are a gift to us a chance to step back and look at our lives, a chance to examine the ways that we have gone on auto pilot and forgotten that we have choices we make every day. We have a choice about how we want to act and how we want to think and how we want to live our lives. May we all choose well. I thought about coming here today and telling you all of the things that I wanted to do during my term as president, but I d prefer my actions to speak louder than my words. What I do want to tell you is what I want you to do while I am president. Everyone in this room is on the Or Hadash membership committee. Congratulations. We don t need everyone to go get a new member today, and I don t know if it will be you or the person on either side of you that will be the next person to do that. Go tell you friends about us...better yet, bring them here. We don t want to grow to the point where we lose any of the characteristics that make us a community. But, more members to strengthen our community would surely serve us well. Twenty four years ago, a man moved to Atlanta after finishing his studies. Each year, as Rosh Hashanah approached, he would pack his tallit and kippah and travel back to his hometown to share the holiday with his family. Eventually, the man married and took his bride with him. After joining a synagogue, and having children who felt as comfortable at their synagogue in Atlanta as they did at their very own home, the man continued to take his wife and children to travel to his hometown for Rosh Hashanah. Much like the Rabbi in the story at the beginning of my remarks, the shul in his hometown became less and less inspiring, especially because it was less so for his children, and the man yearned to be with his community on Rosh Hashanah. Today, he is, and he stands before you as your president. I hope that you do not think that you just heard another synagogue president droning on about why you should come to shul more often. If that s what you heard, then I did not do my job well or you weren t listening. But, even though it is a little early, I guess everyone needs some time to nap. To recap, I am telling you that if for any reason you don t feel the community, and I would be surprised to find that you feel that way, maybe its our fault, maybe its yours. We ll try harder and I want you to as well. I want you to bring your friends...many of us have...and that is what helps us grow and strengthen this community to make it even better and I can assure you that it will be worth the effort. Why? Because this is our community, my community, my family that I have chosen. I don t know if you were counting, but I have said the word community 30 times in this speech...and hopefully now you know why. On behalf of the Board of Directors, and my fellow officers, and on behalf of my wife, Leslie, my children Ike, Isadora and Abe, may the year 5774 be a year of greater peace and security in Israel, throughout the Middle East, and the world over; And for all of us, our families, the State of Israel and for the Jewish people everywhere, a very happy, healthy and sweet new year. L Shana Tovah 5