From the President

Where does the time go?  Hanukah has come and gone and Tu B'Shvat is upon us and we will be once again planting trees in a Modesto park.  Where do the days go?  My monthly column is due again, knowing I have missed the past few deadlines.  It has been my privilege to write a column and to serve as your President for the past 19 months.  During that time so much has happened -- everything from personnel changes to prayer book changes and a refocusing of our services to programming, but probably of all that has happened, the most significant is the continuing question of who we as a congregation are.  Let me share with you what it is I mean.

As we grow into the twenty-first century we must acknowledge the changing face of our society, our faith and our CBS family.  As your President I have forged ahead with our committees to make our CBS family more inclusive, which means we have had to make some changes.  We have recognized that our individual members are much less observant than they once were.  However, we continue to have members, Baruch HaShem, who strive to be as observant as possible.  In an attempt to satisfy the various observance levels of our membership, we purposefully changed the Friday night service to be more inclusive, more English, more participation by members, new melodies, more explanations, a friendlier prayer book for the "Hebraically challenged," a new music policy, as well as changes in the way we have said Kaddish.  Change is not always easy, particularly for those long-time members who are accustomed to doing things the same way all of the time.  This service has been made more "Reform-like" on purpose.  I ask our long-time members who look back to the days of our beloved Rabbi Graudenz, of blessed memory, and recognize that this is a new time; we are a different community that must make every effort to include Jews of all persuasions.

While I too, was extremely fond of our beloved Rabbi, he is never going to return and probably the German teachings we have all been comforted by may be overdue for some enlightenment.  I am not suggesting forgetting from where our congregation has come or the basis upon which many of us have come to understand Judaism itself.  I am suggesting that we need to open our hearts and minds to new ways to celebrate our ancient traditions.  We must hold close to our shul's history and traditions, but we must be willing to give our service leaders, our ritual committee, our rabbinic intern and what ever rabbi we hire enough freedom and liberty to expand the base of our Jewish understanding and celebration.  Judaism is not a stagnant organism.  G-d gave each of us the Torah to read, understand and interpret for our own generation.  In this way each generation keeps the organic Torah alive and well.  New ways of celebrating old traditions is a unique quality of our shared faith.

As your President, shepherding through a more inclusive CBS family, I must confess I have experienced some reticence on the part of some members.  In fact, you would not believe how often Laura, Marlene, Liz and I are told by members that if they don't get their way on a particular issue they will quit CBS.  I ask each of you to remain committed to our community and family.  I promise you that I will not walk away, and I haven't, even when members have upset me.  Today we are a growing shul -- with more members, more activities, more member involvement, more facility improvements than just two years ago.  In fact, I am so committed to our CBS family, I ask you to please consider allowing me to serve one more year as your President.  I know Joyce will make a good president when I step down.  However, I feel strongly that our CBS family should have continuity of leadership to see us through the hiring of our next rabbi.  I ask each of you to follow my lead and remain committed to our CBS family.  Our CBS family needs each of you.

My push to examine who we are as Conservative Jews has recently created quite a stir on the Presidents listserv, an email account where all USCJ presidents exchange ideas.  I suggested to all of the Presidents, that if the Rabbinical Assembly Law Committee has now created Halacha to allow for same-sex unions, what will we now do to help our growing membership lists of what I call Patrilineal Jews.  What are Patrilineal Jews?  Children of Jewish men and non-Jewish women.  This is a real issue in our shul as well as in all Conservative shuls across America.  Many on the list were put off by my suggestion that these innocent children, who Hitler would have included as Jews, are not considered Jews in our movement.  I believe we must find a positive way to help our members in this situation plan a beautiful simcha involving a Jewish naming, ritual drawing of a drop of blood, mikva submersion, bet din and a formal welcoming of these Jews into our family.  To our members in this situation, I want to work with you within the context of conservative Halacha to insure that no one will ever question your child's Jewishness.  Please know, I will never question your child's Jewishness; neither will our religious school.  However, in order for your child to find that same level of acceptance and inclusion in the greater Jewish world throughout the rest of their lives, we'll need to work together as an extended family to make this happen.

So, who are we?  I believe we are an inclusive community committed to developing stronger and more meaningful Jewish morals, values, rituals, learning and socializing among all peoples of Jewish identity to Stanislaus County.  With your approval I will continue to work on these issues over the next 17 months.

Religious School News

I hope this cold spell brings us all to truly appreciate the coming of spring and the beauty of the world around us.

As we get ready to celebrate Tu B'Shevat, don't forget to bring your shovels and gloves to Beardbrook Park on Sunday, February 4th at 10:00 a.m.  Also, bring your camera to take a picture with your family and a tree as you both grow through the years.  After a short tree ceremony with the Greater Modesto Tree Foundation, we will sing a song, plant our trees, enjoy a nosh together, and play!  This is a great mitzvah project for our city that we can all participate in.

Don't forget to keep the first Friday of every month for our special Shabbat dinner and family services.  In November we had 50 people attend the dinner.  December was cancelled for lack of reservations, and in January we had 45.  Thank you to everyone who has participated in cooking, cleaning, and adding to the spirit of Shabbat.  Reservations are very important for set up, cooking, and avoiding waste.  So please ... email me or call the office for your Shabbat dinner reservations.  From experience, I know Jewish women make good reservations! :-)  February's Shabbat dinner is February 2nd at 6:00 p.m., followed by a special musical and family service led by Lauren Gold at 7:30 p.m.  It is not too early to make your reservations for March 2nd, too!  We all must eat, so let's do it together by practicing the traditions of our faith.

There is a magazine we subscribe to, Babaganewz.  This magazine is geared for the 4th-7th grades.  It is filled with great information about current events and activities for your children.  Check out their website, too!  The website has wonderful activities and fun education for all ages!  Parents, you'll love it, too!

Remember, half of every subscription to J- will go to Congregation Beth Shalom.  See your Bulletin for details.