Rabbi's Message

             I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this incredible evening, and even more so for this incredible kehillah kedoshah, this amazing sacred community, of Temple Beth Sholom.   Thank you for this honor.  Thank you for all the thoughtful and meaningful gifts.  Thank you to all of you for being here, and to everyone who worked so hard to make tonight so wonderful… 

I am so grateful to our past Presidents and their spouses for everything that they have done as chairs for this evening, as well as to everyone on our Event Committee for all their hard work.  Additionally, I’d like to thank Debbie Zimmerman, Esilda Jacobs, Shirley Feigenbaum, Tina Berman, Drew Burach, and Steve Borenstein, who always goes above and beyond to make sure we sound and look good up her, as well as our President Alison Shapiro, and President-elect Jill Hammel for pulling all of this together.  I know what a big job it is to make a night like this happen, and I am so appreciative of everything that you have done. 

Thank you also to my friend, Rabbi Joel Seltzer, for MCing tonight.  We started this journey together in rabbinical school at JTS 24 years ago, and look at us now, Vice Chancellor.  Not too bad.  And to my Hartman Rabbinic Leadership Initiative Program Mentor Rabbi Barry Dov Katz, I so appreciate your Torah and being here tonight.  Everyone here tonight has been such wonderful friends and partners over these 18 years, and I am so proud and grateful for all that we have accomplished together.  And I’m even more excited for what’s to come.  

One of the secrets to our success at TBS is that we have an extraordinary legacy of partnership between our lay leaders and staff.  And we have an amazing staff who not only makes nights like this happen, but who works so hard every single day.  Thank you to our maintenance staff: Steve Magowan, Joe Stewart, and Sonia Lopez, and our front office and school staff: Laura Padersky, Michelle Shmuts, Susan Aaronson, who I work so closely with, Patty Trichon, Lori Clark, Michael Bush, Allison Borenstein, who is also doing double duty as a chairperson, Amanda Kaufman, Karen Malmud, and of course Morah Tama Rose-Bazzle and Morah Lee Senderowitsch, I also want to thank Morah Harriet Baker, Michele Hasit-Waxman, John Imhof, Alex Weinberg and Ron Safier, for their hard work and partnership.  And finally, to our incredible clergy team – Rabbi Wexler, Cantor Cohen and Rabbi Lindemann.  More on them in a bit.  It truly takes a village to hold a community together and to put together the very best experiences, just like this one.  I am so grateful for all of you.

18 years…  Hai.  Life.  That is what we have created here over these 18 years. It hard to believe that it was eighteen years ago that Rachel and I looked at the list of opportunities around the country.  As I have shared before, Rachel told me then that she was open to moving anywhere that was a good fit – except New Jersey.  And here we are, 18 years later, living happily here in Philadelphia.  Though when the Vikings play the Eagles, New Jersey’s fine.  Our happiness has everything to do with this holy community of TBS.  We feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to come here and make TBS our home, with all of you as part of our family.

Eighteen years ago, I brought that list of job openings to someone at JTS who knew the dynamics of Conservative synagogues around the country better than anyone.  He took one look at the list and pointed to Temple Beth Sholom.  “That’s the plum job this year,” he said.  “It’s a great shul, with a great tradition of leadership – it’s one of the best synagogues in our movement.”  When Rachel and I came down here to interview, we knew that what he said was true.  We were so impressed by what we experienced at TBS, and by the atmosphere and the quality of education at Kellman Brown Academy.  Cherry Hill was the third and final community we visited.  It was clear to us that TBS and Kellman were superior institutions to all the others we had previously seen.  Since then, they have only gotten better.

I knew the weekend had gone well when on Sunday morning Rabbi Lindemann took us to meet Rabbi Lewis.  I remember walking into his home and hearing his song of greeting.  One of the first things I noticed when we met were the books sitting on the table next to his chair.  There were three of them:  a humash, a siddur, and a book entitled “The God Delusion.”  My kind of rabbi, I thought.  We chatted about the community, the synagogue and JTS.  We didn’t spend too much time together at that point, but I was struck by his deep love and care for his congregation.  I feel fortunate to have had more opportunities to learn from him during my first year here before he passed away.  And though he is gone, it’s clear that his spirit still infuses so much of what we do. 

We can feel that tonight in the texts that we have reflected on this evening, beginning with the 119^th Psalm – Mekol Melamdei Hiskalti – “From all my teachers, I have learned.” This verse hangs in my office.  It’s been there since my very first Confirmation class trip to Israel.  I found it at the art fair on Nahalat Binyamin in Tel Aviv.  Cantor Cohen encouraged me to buy it.  The first of many things she encouraged me to buy these last 18 years.  It was important to me that this verse be the theme tonight because it speaks to who we are at TBS, a community of lifelong learners.  It also reminds me of all the people who have shaped me throughout my life.  The first people I think about are my parents – Paul and Henrietta Peltz – who I am happy are here tonight.  It was the home my parents built – with our weekly Shabbat dinners and emphasis on Jewish education – that set me on my journey which brought me here.  Making sure that my sister and I could have quality Jewish experiences at camp and in college set me on the path that has led me to being here today.  Thanks Mom and Dad, for everything you have done, and continue to do, to teach me.  Mekol Melamdei Hiskalti.

Of all of my teachers, I do want to pay special tribute tonight my colleagues and dear friends Rabbi Wexler, Cantor Cohen, and Rabbi Lindemann.  Each of you brings so much wisdom, passion, vision and dedication to TBS, and I am so grateful for each of you.

Rabbi Wexler:  For the past eight years you have brought so much empathy and heart to our community.  I am always so impressed by how deeply you connect with people of all ages, and the many wonderful innovations you have brought to our synagogue.  I appreciate you as a thought-partner, even when your ideas are a little too touchy-feely for me, but they work for many.  I am so grateful that you chose to come to TBS eight years ago, and that you continue to help lead our congregation in such an inspiring way.  Thank you for your friendship, your creativity, and for all that you have taught me.

Cantor Cohen:  My partner here for these last 18 years.  Many of you know that Cantor Cohen and I first met in Israel during her first year of cantorial school and my third of year of rabbinical school.  When it worked out for you to come to TBS as a cantorial student. I was thrilled.  And when two years later you decided to make TBS your home, I was even more thrilled.  I am so grateful for every moment we have shared:  On the bimah, on 11 Confirmation Class trips to Israel, in teaching and celebrating with our bnei mitzvah students, under countless huppahs, on long car rides, in fun on-bimah dialogues, musical and pop-culture references, and at my family’s Shabbat table.  It’s clear how much you care about our TBS Family, and that inspires me every day.

Rabbi Lindemann: You know, my most important factor in finding an assistant rabbi position was having a senior rabbi who could be a mentor and a friend.  From the very beginning you asked my thoughts about questions large and small, and listened seriously to my opinion (even when I didn’t know what I was talking about).  In many congregations, when a senior rabbi becomes emeritus, and the assistant rabbi becomes the senior, it gets complicated.  Many of our rabbinic colleagues have lowered their voices when they ask me “he’s still around?  How is that?”  And I am proud answer: “it’s great.”  Because it truly is.    Your humility and support have made our transition seamless, and I am so glad that you are still across the hall whenever I need you.  One of the best things about these past 18 years is the opportunity to learn with you and from you.  Thank you for being my teacher, my mentor, my rabbi. 

And finally, I have learned so much, and continue to learn so much, from my family.  Yael, Ari and Ilan: It can be hard growing up with your parents always around, at shul, at school, at camp, for a while there you couldn’t get away from us!  I appreciate you waiting patiently (or sometimes impatiently) while I kept talking at kiddush, and for not holding it against me when I wasn’t able to make a game or event because of a synagogue responsibility.  You grew up here at TBS.  Yael toddling right up that aisle to applause for her first bim bam.  Ari becoming known as the “minyan’s grandson.”  And Ilan as part of our very first full infant room in our Eric B. Jacobs ECEC, and since then walking around like he owns the place.  We celebrated your baby naming and brises on this very bimah, as well as Yael and Ari’s B’nai Mitzvah, and soon Ilan’s Bar Mitzvah on February 13, 2027 (save the date!). I am grateful for everything you did for tonight, and so proud of each of you every single day.  Thank you, and I love you. 

Rachel: Well, we’re still in New Jersey!  But I know you would agree that it is here we have found and made our home.  And what I beautiful home it is, and that is because we have built it together.  I could not do any of this without you.  Your love and support make me a better father, a better man, and a better rabbi.  She has saved all of you from many bad sermons!  You also have done incredible work at Kellman Brown Academy that has enriched this community immeasurably.  I am so proud of all that you do for our community, and so grateful for all that you do for our family.  Thank you for your patience, your understanding, your honest feedback, your advice, and your love. Let’s keep having fun together.

Mekol Melamdei Hiskalti – “From all my teachers, I have learned.”  There are many people who have helped shaped me, many who are in this room, and I am grateful to all of you.  But this verse, and this evening, is not really about me.  It is about us, our community, our TBS Family.  It speaks to what it means to be a community of lifelong learners.  This idea is found in how the Metzudat David, an 18^th century commentator, interprets the word Hiskalti – “I have learned.”  He writes: “From everyone I have learned, for each person has something to teach, and because of this I have a better understanding of the world.”  That world is pretty hard to understand right now.  We are living in difficult times for Jews, for Israel, for our country, and the challenges we face are real and significant.  Today is the 590^th day of captivity for the 58 hostages in Gaza.  As we expressed in the second part of our program -- Barkhanu Avinu Kulaynu K’Ehad -- We are grateful for the many blessings we have, and for our community that holds us together.  Still, there is a deep sense of uncertainty, of fragility, that hovers over us.  In this challenging time, we need each other, and Judaism’s perspective and wisdom, more than ever.  Our community is an anchor for us.  It provides an oasis in this stressful world, while also challenging us to live by our values.  Being together, learning, davening, singing, shmoozing, eating, discussing, and celebrating roots us, and guides us towards living good and meaningful lives.  Lives that radiate out into making it a better, safer, and kinder world.   

TBS plays such an essential role in all our lives because of the deeply personal moments we experience here.  How many of you have celebrated a simha in this sanctuary?  A baby naming, bar/bat mitzvah, consecration, confirmation, a wedding?  Or who has heard a child or grandchild read Torah for the first time in one of our family services?  Or celebrated a birthday Shabbat in our Eric B Jacobs ECEC?  Who here has come to say kaddish for a loved one?  Or come for Yizkor to remember those who taught us?  Many names of those whom we remember are inscribed in our Memorial Alcove, or in our Yizkor books, and therefore have become an eternal part of our community.  How many of you grew up learning about Judaism in our schools?  Got inspired by one of the incredible teachers we’ve been blessed with over the years, or learned Torah from Alvin?  Who has children or grandchildren that are now growing up here?  Learning how to be proud and knowledgeable Jews, rooted in our traditions that guide them forward.  We have each experienced these things, which have tied us to our tradition and to each other in deep and meaningful ways. 

Sharing these moments with all of you, and in many cases with generations of your family, has been one of the most meaningful and rewarding parts of being your rabbi these last 18 years.  I am now performing bnei mitzvah for boys and girls whose brit milah and baby naming ceremonies I officiated at, and weddings for students with whom I traveled to Israel with and celebrated their Confirmation.  Sadly, but meaningfully, I also now find myself grieving with families after the loss of someone I too knew well.  As I look around tonight at each of you, I think about those simhas and sorrows, those profound moments together in joy and in pain.  It is upon these relationships that a community is built.  It is though the experiences that we share together that we begin to understand who we are, and who we ought to be.  That is something that can only take place at shul.  It is what makes our work here so special, and so important, today, and tomorrow.     

This is exactly what our Endowment Campaign for Rabbinic Excellence is all about, and why it is so important.  It is not simply a financial goal. It is a spiritual commitment. It is our way of saying: This sacred home, this sanctuary, this community, these relationships, are vibrant, living Judaism.  Being part of this kehillah kedoshah, of this sacred community, is a strong statement that Judaism, the Jewish people, Israel and the Jewish future all matter.  But it is only through our ongoing investment of time, love, effort, and resources that it will continue to matter for generations to come.  Now is the time to invest in our relationships, our community, and our future.  This is what roots us in an uncertain world, and what helps us to move forward.  Everyone in this room has had an impact on our community.  And everyone in this room has a role to play in securing its future. 

The hope for a better future is something that our people, and our community, have always worked towards.  In the final part of our program, we considered the verse from Exodus: “B’na’areinu u’vzikneinu neilekh”— “With our young and with our old, we shall go forward.”  This verse is precious to our community.  Rabbi Lewis chose it for the move from Haddon Heights to Cherry Hill in 1989.  How many of you marched with the Torahs to this spot on that rainy day in January 36 years ago?

What an amazing day that must have been.  And when you got here, Rabbi Lewis stood on this bimah, in this very spot, and reflected on that moment, and that verse from Exodus, by saying:

“We began this with tens of people

Then we went to dozens of people

And then we ended up with hundreds of people involved

Now that’s tradition

That’s a congregation”

Since then, we have grown to thousands of people.  Still, we strive to make our large synagogue feel small for everyone.  That’s because it is that same spirit of tradition, of community, of vision and of commitment to our future that we celebrate and rededicate ourselves to today.  Here, at our beloved TBS, we are family, we are home.

18 years…  Hai.  Life.  Perhaps what I have learned most these past 18 years is the power and importance of community.  A community that lifts each other up, comforts, challenges, makes us feel at home, celebrates, and inspires.  This is what all of you have done for me these last 18 years, and I am so humbled and grateful to call TBS my home.  Thank you for this honor, and let’s keep doing great things together.