| Dear {{first_name}},
With the close of the holidays we are now ready to head full speed ahead into the new year here at OVS. I want to take a moment and thank everyone who worked so hard over the holidays to help us make these meaningful experiences for our community. Allow me to begin by thanking Adam Kofinas. Adam is one of the hardest working Executive Directors that I know, and his deep love of our community shines through all of his work. He does not know how to say no and always is helping with things that are far out of his job description. I want to thank Nicole, Matty and Dee for all of their work over the holidays. The idea that I do not need to ask for something to happen is so wonderful. Their proactive nature makes working here so much better. Thank you, Victor, for keeping our building sparkling and in running condition. Victor handled our setup all on his own and that is incredible. Thank you to Alex Borukhov for being the greatest caterer. Your food and creativity are so awesome and we are all blessed to be nourished by you.
Thank you to Carol Epstein, Carrie Hearshen and Alexandra Newman-Kofinas for running all of our children offerings during the holidays. The kids were all in good hands the entire time as the three of you provided them with substance and sustenance.
Thank you to Semon Akbashev and the Board of Directors for all of their hard work and support. Thank you to Angie Weiland and the sisterhood for all that they do for our community. Thank you, Jeffrey Cohen, for amazing all of us with your immense vocal skills over the holidays. Thank you, David Franco, for your incredible dedication to our community and for managing our high holiday services. Together with Ellis Hedaya and Morris Maslia we have an all-star team for community.
Thank you to everyone who had a hand in putting together our high holiday bags from conception to delivering them to houses. Thank you to everyone who helped us in setting up our sukkah here at the synagogue and at some of our houses. Thank you to Sam and Jason Benator for providing their grilling expertise’s at our annual Sukkot BBQ.
Last but not least, thank you to Carrie, Ayelet and Galit for allowing me to do this work once again this year. Your love and support are all of the fuel I need to be able to get the job done.
With Simchat Torah in the rearview mirror we are now back to the book of Bereshit, Genesis. This week we begin with the “beginning.” I say “beginning” in quotes because in our tradition we do not talk about what existed prior to the creation of this world. The beginning in Genesis is not the beginning of the world as God has always existed and will always exist. Regardless, I would like to offer you some insight based on the words of the midrashic work, the Mekhilta, and how it envisions beginnings: כל התחלות קשות/All beginnings are difficult. This might sound like a pessimistic outlook for us to have but it should provide us with an important perspective. The reality is that when we brought our first child home from the hospital… it was hard. When we started a new school… it was hard. When we began a new job… it was hard. The reality is beginnings are indeed tough. To recognize that very basic fact should give each of us the confidence and belief to persevere in times of hardship when we are starting something in our lives. I imagine the creation of our world being so beautiful but at the same time it must have been so jarring and rough for all of the creations. Think about this, in just the second generation ¼ of the human population had been murdered. All beginnings are tough. This idea of beginnings being tough goes much deeper. The מהר''ל מפראג shined some light on this by explaining that “All beginnings are tough and that is because it is a change.” Beginnings are difficult on us because they mean that our world is changing. We all know that change is tough for all of us but change is also an exciting thing for all of us to be able to witness. Each year we as a people have the opportunity for a new beginning. Each year we have the opportunity to change a little and to grow and that can be scary and rough but it is an invitation for us to each to improve. We find this ability not only on a person by person basis but also on an institutional level. Healthy organizations are always evolving and always finding ways to avoid staying stagnant. As we begin anew this year we are excited at all that is in front of us to begin anew, to grow and to at times evolve.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Hearshen
|
