View from the President

A message from Susan L. Henkin
President, Temple Beth Am
thehenkins@aol.com

“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is to you.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Every month the Commentator comes in the mail and I am astounded by the scope of announcements and information about upcoming events contained between its covers. It may be that I am already waxing nostalgic, since this is the end of my first year as Temple president. It could be that I am still in awe of the amount of service our professional team, led by Rabbi Terry Bookman and Bob Hersh, provides to the congregation. It could also be that I am personally touched by the exciting initiatives that have been meaningfully implemented during the last several years by our strong lay leadership team. There is no doubt that my predecessors have set us up for success.

For the last several years we have actively worked to cultivate a strong teen engagement program that addressed both the social and educational needs of our post B'nai Mitzvah students. This year our teens spent Tuesday evenings enjoying dinner together and learning from each other, their teachers and our entire clergy team. I am grateful to Josh Laurence, who has been instrumental in implementing the experiential program that will bring 19 young people to their Confirmation milestone this month. Ed and I feel blessed that Leo and his Confirmation classmates were able to experience the L'Taken Seminars at the Religious Action Center in Washington, D.C. I am confident that the connection these teens have fostered with our congregation will continue to influence their decisions as future active members of the larger Jewish community. Come celebrate our children and this wonderful simcha at a special Confirmation Shabbat service on Friday, May 4th.

This year has seen the reorganization of the Caring Community Committee. Dr. Jeffrey Sussmane, in partnership with Rabbi Arturo Kalfus, has worked to reenergize and create a plan to bring individual congregants needed support at some of life's challenging and exciting moments. The specialist for the URJ Caring Community committee Rabbi Mencher, writes: “Caring Jewish communities enhance the quality of life for all of us."

The Caring Community Committee is made up of congregant volunteer members. Dr. Sussmane says his committee “will reach out to our membership and provide individual contact. Volunteers will receive training and guidance from our clergy, and direct supervision from Rabbi Kalfus. Temple Beth Am members will be contacted by our clergy and give permission to receive contact from one of our committee members; after the birth or adoption of a new child, a death in the family, a recent hospitalization, and during prolonged stays in a nursing home.” Anyone interested in becoming a Caring Community Committee member, is welcome to contact Aída Littauer at 305.667.6667, ext. 140.

I hope that you will attend our upcoming Annual Meeting of the Membership on Sunday, May 6th, at 11 o'clock in the morning to hear more about what we have accomplished this year. Come prepared with your questions — we will have an interactive discussion about future plans and projects for our amazing congregation.

Last year in my first article I said “I'd like to get to know you” and I have been blessed to get to know so many of you in our congregation. Looking ahead and in preparation for my continued leadership role I have done some reading that relates to Jewish Congregational life. One of my favorite handbooks is The Seven Questions You're Asked in Heaven, by Dr. Ron Wolfson. In it Wolfson challenges each of us to live our life in preparation for the penultimate question: “is the life that you lived here on earth worthy of a place in heaven?” In the next year I hope that we will work together to find ways to ensure that for each of us the answer is Y-E-S.

    B'Shalom.... Susan