President’s Corner

 April 2009

 by Gayle Bromberg

gaylebromberg@yahoo.com

 

I have received a number of messages this month indicating the urgency many Congregants feel about proceeding with the rabbi search.  Although it should already be apparent by the time you receive this Bulletin, I want to assure you that the Board is working on this. 

 

The next step is a Congregational Survey, which is in its final stage of development.  We have selected Marketing & Research Resources, Inc. (M&RR), a national market research company based here in Frederick, Maryland, to conduct a CONFIDENTIAL member survey to help in plotting a future direction for Beth Sholom.  M&RR has agreed to conduct an Internet survey of our members at NO COST to Beth Sholom.  In early to mid-April, each FAMILY will receive an e-mail invitation to participate in this survey (one survey per family).  Your opinion does count - please make sure you participate in this survey when contacted.  For those without Internet access, you will be able to take the survey at the Beth Sholom office.

 

We have been assured by M&RR that all individual answers and responses will be kept strictly confidential.  No one will ever see any answers you provide; answers will only be provided in the aggregate.  Again, the results of this confidential survey will help us plan for the future of Beth Sholom.  As soon as we have the results of the survey, the Board will proceed based on the results, and we will be able to present the direction, the plan, and the time line for our rabbi search at the Annual Congregational Meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. on  May 6. 

 

We have also completed the arduous and sometimes wrenching task of approving the budget for the coming fiscal year for presentation to the Congregation at the Annual Meeting. I want to thank Adam Treiber, Garry Cohen, all the members of the Budget Committee, and all the members of the Board, who have struggled with this with so much caring and dedication.  I am pleased to say that we have approved a realistically balanced budget without salary reductions or lay-offs of our outstanding and highly dedicated staff in this economically difficult time. We have reduced expenses wherever possible, but still found it necessary to modestly increase dues.  Our dues remain low compared to most synagogues in the region.

 

It has been interesting to work on the tasks mentioned above at the time of year when the Torah portions we are reading are all about the building of the Tabernacle in the desert and the donations of materials and handiwork services for the Tabernacle.  A few important concepts from the parshas have strengthened the Board's clarity on the issues, and I hope will be important for Congregants as well.  First, the completion of the Tabernacle required the placement of the oil-burning candelabra, with the eternal light as its central light (symbolic of spirituality, holiness, mysticism), the show breads (symbolic of the physical), and in between the two the spices (symbolic of the blend or mix of the other two).  In our deliberations, we have worked to achieve a balanced blend of practical and spiritual considerations. Second, the donations of gold, silver, copper, linen, etc. were requested and received from all the men and women, all those who were "wise of heart," who donated all they could afford or more than they could afford, to the point that Moses had to advise the people to cease donating when there were already enough materials to complete the construction.  We on the BOT, as well as those who volunteer at Beth Sholom (including many of our employees), recognize a responsibility to donate monetarily and by giving our time, our various skills and expertise to the continual building of our Congregation.  Wisdom and knowledge, which are scientifically attributed to the brain, are here referred to as attributes of the heart, which is thought of as the repository of love, caring, hopes, dreams, loving kindness, and the receptacle of spiritual understanding.  I hope that everyone in our Congregation will be inspired to participate and give of themselves with wisdom of heart as we go forward in preparing for the next phase of building our Congregation.

 

Shalom, and best wishes for a Happy Passover,

Gayle Bromberg