Shana Tova. I d like to begin by recognizing some of our past presidents with whom I am honored to share the bimah tonight: Doug Benach, Bill Greene, Suzanne Fromm, Jeff Kohn, Hugh Lewis, Joel Adelberg, Jeff Tanenbaum, Lisa Roberts and Sheldon Goldfarb. To them I express our collective gratitude for their years of service and commitment, and their ongoing dedication to the temple. Now I must do what temple presidents around the world are doing at their Kol Nidre services, and that is to frankly ask for your buy-in. To quote a Jewish Proverb, I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders. In this situation, everyone s shoulders is everyone s buy-in. On Rosh Hashanah I spoke of how it is my honor to serve this congregation and help lead it into the future. I told you about the exciting new initiatives and programs we are offering. In the days that passed between Rosh Hashanah and tonight, many of you reached out to me to express your excitement over the future of Temple Shaaray Tefila. To hear that excitement and see the enthusiastic smiles warmed my heart. You know what I m going to say next: that all these new initiatives and our current programs require funds to run. The maintenance of our grounds and buildings require funds. This includes the pot holes in the driveway, new lighting in the school building, and leaks in the roofs of all three buildings. The salaries we pay our staff require funds. The supplies for the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners we lovingly prepare require funds. Our fabulous temple-wide events like the Purim Carnival require funds. Our dues and fees just are not enough. We have to raise a significant portion of our budget through
fundraising. This is not unique to our synagogue, but an issue we still have to face together. While we want to create ways for diverse groups of people to find their paths into the Shaaray Tefila community, we want to help find fundraising opportunities that feel comfortable and impactful for everyone. It feels different to have skin in the game, to take ownership of a piece of this wonderful place. By contributing now to Temple Shaaray Tefila, we are giving to the programs we currently enjoy, the Chanukah celebrations, the Empty Nester programs, the schools, the LGBTQ initiative. We are also investing in the future, assuring that generations of congregants to come, some of whom are currently enrolled in our preschool, will have a beautiful, meaningful synagogue to call their second home, as my children see this as their second home. To that end, we invite you to find yourself giving to this special place, and to give from the heart. We have created different ways to contribute so that we all can feel good about our gifts. There is our High Holy Day Appeal, which I am making tonight and to which many of you traditionally give. Those gifts continue to be vital as we count on them to fund so many of our programs and infrastructure, both our operating and capital needs. Your gift at this important time of year is truly appreciated and I sincerely hope you will continue to contribute to this appeal. In addition, later this Fall we will be sending out a brochure that outlines a wide range of new giving opportunities. These opportunities to give will be both general and targeted so you can give to the needs of the congregation that speak 2
most directly to you and your family. The specific ways to give will include donating to: supplies for the weekly ECC Shabbat Celebrations; sponsorship of our b nai mitzvah retreat; supplies for the holiday meal preparation; a ner tamid for our High Holy Day services at Caramoor; landscaping of our grounds; and special Holocaust or LGBTQ programming, just to name a few. We want to create a vibrant culture of giving in our congregation. It is our hope that every member of our community will find a comfortable level at which to contribute. Your participation in this new fundraising effort is greatly valued and every gift is meaningful. We need the support of our entire community to keep Shaaray Tefila thriving, and to sustain Jewish life now and in the future. When we give from the heart, we all benefit. So please think about what this means to you and your family, and give generously so that Shaaray Tefila will continue to provide that sense of meaning and belonging for your children, your children s children, and all generations to come. * * * Let s think about why we are gathered here tonight. On Yom Kippur when the essence of the soul is fully revealed, we express our real attitude towards the imperfections which might slip into our behavior in the coming year. As we engage in teshuva, repentance, which comes from the Hebrew word return, we are returning to our soul, realigning our actions with our inner self, and getting back on track. In the process we also restore our relationship with G-d. The miracle of teshuva is that not only 3
do we start a new page, we go back in the past and edit the old ones. Kol Nidre, the prayer which ushers in the holy day of Yom Kippur, is perhaps the most famous one in our liturgy. Ironically, it is not really a prayer at all, but rather a statement. A statement that deals with promises, vows and other sorts of verbal commitments commonly made in the course of the year. The Torah places strict demands on keeping one s word, and not fulfilling a vow is considered a serious misdeed. How do we tap in to this incredible power of Yom Kippur? We can examine our behavior over the past year and plan a new path. When we all entered Shaaray Tefila, in English the Gates of Prayer, we made a commitment to uphold Jewish values and to ensure that this wonderful place of learning and spirituality will be here for generations to come. We want to be at the forefront of Reform synagogues with our programming. We want our school to be on the cutting edge of religious education. We want our magnificent grounds to remain beautiful. We can t do the work of trying to make this happen without your buy-in. Just months after the people of Israel left Egypt in the year 2448 from creation, they sinned by worshiping a golden calf. Moses ascended Mount Sinai and prayed to G-d to forgive them. After two 40-day stints on the mountain, full divine favor was obtained. The day Moses came down the mountain (the 10 th day of Tishrei) was to be known forevermore as the Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur. On this Yom Kippur I put it to you to let 5779 be the year you make a difference in this community. For yourselves, in your 4
every day lives and for your children, and your children s children. Temple Shaaray Tefila isn t just here for us two days a year, but when we are recovering from surgery; when we lose a parent; when a child becomes bat mitzvah, or goes off to university. Temple Shaaray Tefila needs your financial support to ensure it is here now and for generations to come. Thank you very much for your continued support. 5