Beth Miriam Ruminations

The summer is here! As we wind down from the school year and academic year in general I can now focus on what is coming up.

At the end of June, I will have completed 10 full years of serving as the rabbi of this amazing congregation. The celebrations will last for the weekend of June 26-28 and Stella tells me to get some SPF 35 suntan lotion because I can count on being roasted! I am happy to be the target of all the jokes. After all, I know how important it is to laugh at the guys who are supposed to be steering the ship.

But, seriously, I am thrilled that the congregation feels comfortable enough to laugh at me. I think it really shows a trust that we have all created in the past decade. Trust is a hard thing to come by these days. There is distrust of almost everyone because so many people have their hidden agendas. Usually it is to extract money out of someone else. Everyone from Bernie Madoff to the government to the guy running the shop down the street always seems to have an angle.

I like to think that that is not the case here and I believe that one of the undercurrents of the celebration is that Beth Miriam is open and forthright, flexible, educational, inspirational and responsive. These are all the ingredients for a sucessful temple and in the past ten years, we have built on the firm and solid foundation of those rabbis and congregants who have come before us.

I am looking forward to this celebration on so many levels but, surely one of them must be that I need a good tan. I am thrilled to be able to laugh with you and look forward to it so much.