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Date & Time: June 11, 6:30 p.m.
Location: Brattleboro Area Jewish Community, 151 Greenleaf St. Brattleboro, VT
Ceremony Program [pdf]
Rabbi Tom Heyn's Remarks
Rabbi David Meyer's Remarks
The Rabbi's Consecration ceremony was held on Saturday evening, June 11th and was one of the most moving evenings many of us have ever attended at BAJC. Two enormous tents, long white linen covered tables filled with magnificent desserts and appetizers, chairs for around 80 although nearly 100 ended up attending, soft lighting and a small stage set the tone from the very beginning. Marty Cohn was the evening MC and regaled us with some pretty funny anecdotes and jokes, much to the surprise of those that knew him and expected, well, something else!
Other speakers included Rabbi Tom's mentor, Rabbi David Meyer from Marblehead, MA and Pastor Susanna Griefen representing the Congregational Church as well as the Brattleboro Area Interfaith Clergy Association. There was a wonderful concert, primarily accompanied by Phyllis Isaacson (and sound assistance from Lou!) that included songs by our Rabbi and some Heberew School students, songs by Rabbi Meyer and his wife Marla as well as original compositions from Dan Kasnitz, who brought down the house with his rendition of Rockin' Rabbi.
The actual Consecration service was put together by Phyllis Isaacson, Marty Cohn, and Rabbi Tom. The focus was not just about a congregation accepting and welcoming a Rabbi, but more on the whole range of shared responsibilities that this relationship engenders. As a congregation, we have to step up to the proverbial plate if we want Rabbi Tom to be able to lead, to teach and to provide spiritual guidance. He can not do this in a vacuum and he can not do it alone. There was a great deal of participation in the service by individuals in the congregation as well as by the entire body and it was powerful to say the least. I think there was a real sense of a shared purpose, as well as the recognition that this is the beginning of a very exciting time in the life of our congregation.
The service finished with Havdalah and we moved on to the desserts, all provided by members of the congregation. People clearly made a huge effort - they were abundant, beautiful and incredibly good. There are too many people who helped to thank all of them individually - almost everyone was pitching in with running things back and forth from the synagogue to the tents, picking up at the end or lending a hand with chairs and tables. However, special thank you's have to go to Sharon Myers who coordinated the food and logistics, Phyllis Isaacson who coordinated the service and provided music, Rabbi Tom, Julie Strothman and Marty Cohn who did all the general organizing and especially to Dan Kasnitz who saved the day by figuring out the lights at the very last minute when everyone was despairing!
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