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The Ad Hoc Rabbi Search Committee, chaired by immediate past president Paul Berch and consisting of Julie Strothman, Louisa Strothman, Enid Wainwright, Michael Knapp, and myself, took almost nine months to identify what promises to be a wonderful spiritual leader, Rabbi Tom Heyn, who, along with his wife, Alexandra, will be with us starting on July 1st.
Thanks to Rabbi Jan Salzman and Kate Judd, as well as Paul Berch and Faith Schuster, the High Holy Days were as spiritually uplifting and well attended as ever. Thanks to lay leaders, which included Paul Berch, Julie Strothman, Kate Judd, Moss Linder, Elkanah Linder, and Bob Rottenberg, we were able to hold regular Shabbat services, as well as holiday celebrations, during these months without a spiritual leader. This included a Purim celebration with a shpiel and megillah reading, co-led Rabbi Sarah Niebuhr Rubin of Congregation Ahavas Achim in Keene and me. Along the way at several services we had dinner or dessert potlucks that provided delicious food and pleasant time to socialize. We were also able to hold monthly Torah study at BAJC as well as at Pine Heights Nursing Home.
Another search committee, this one chaired by Deb Hall and including Janet Hulnick, Emily Wolfman and David Finck, brought us David Arfa as a much-needed Hebrew school director. His energy, enthusiasm, patience and organization led the school to a very good year. Education committee chair, Wendy Bayliss, along with Robin Patch, Janet Hulnick and Faith Schuster worked tirelessly to see that our children had an excellent Jewish learning and social experience. Our teachers, Jackie Gould, David Finck, Rachel Schiffer, Kate Judd, and Judith Reichsman, along with aides Chelsa Roy and Diane Shamas, offered a sound education program in Hebrew language as well as Jewish history, culture, and traditions. Although we are sad to see Kate, David Arfa, and Rachel leaving to pursue other interests next year, the education committee is working over the summer to ensure that our school will be staffed and ready for next year’s classes.
The 3rd Annual Israeli Film and Food Festival was another success. Not only were we able to sell out the theaters but also the program book raised significant funds for BAJC. The fundraising committee, chaired by Susan Auslander and including Sandy Brodsky, Vikki Dunn, Marge Pivar, Deb Schiller, Faith Schuster and Norma Shakun, is hard at work now on the 4th Annual Israeli Film and Food Festival, which will take place on August 21 and 22. This fundraising event is the only one that BAJC is doing this year and it needs everyone’s support.
Thanks to a very generous donation from Elliot Greenblott and his family, we have been able to install a “Tree of Life” in our shul. It has a hundred leaves that can be purchased and engraved. Each leaf sold at $250 will be a donation to our building fund. The leaves are a beautiful way to honor a loved one and/or to mark a lifecycle event in your life and, at the same time, to help BAJC move toward its goal of expanding our building.
You read in the newsletter last month of the work of the Social Action committee, including Judy Greenberg, Janet Hulnick, Jacob Ungerleider, and Bobbe Ragouzeos, who organized meals and services for Morningside Shelter and the overflow homeless shelter. Other committees that deserve acknowledgement are the Sunshine Committee, which provides help and support to congregants facing illness and crises, chaired by Jennifer Mazur and comprised of Bobbe Ragouzeos, Faith Schuster, and Felicia Tober; the Cemetery Committee, which oversees the administration and care of the cemetery, chaired by Norma Shakun with Yael Cohn, Vikki Dunn and Deb Schiller as members; the Chevra Kaddisha, which carries out its mission of preparing the deceased for burial in the Jewish tradition; the Nominating Committee, chaired by Julie Strothman working with Emily Wolfman and Sandy Brodsky to recommend people to serve as BAJC Trustees; the Membership Committee, chaired by Sandy Brodsky, working with Faith Schuster and Deb Schiller, brought us a grant from the URJ this year to offer “A Taste of Judaism, a three-session class which Vikki Dunn and I enjoyed implementing.
Unfortunately, we were not able to staff Buildings and Grounds or Adult Education committees this year, but, Vikki Dunn and Stuart Copans have stepped forward to co-chair Adult Education for next yea, and I am confident that someone will volunteer for the much-needed Buildings and Grounds.
The Board of Trustees. Wendy Bayliss, Paul Berch, Sandra Brodsky, Stuart Copans, Vikki Dunn, Sharon Myers, Faith and Abe Schuster, Julie Strothman, Randy Terk, Jeff Teitel, and I met for at least two hours every month (and lately three times a month) to provide the leadership for BAJC. This is a very dedicated group of individuals and one that BAJC is truly blessed to have. I would be remiss if I didn’t single out Faith Schuster for all she does to keep BAJC humming.
So, what can we look forward to next year?
As it is written, “Where there is no Torah there is no bread. Where there is no bread there is no Torah.”
We need to develop new ways to ensure BAJC’s financial stability. Membership dues and school fees, fundraising events and individual donations are not enough if we want to continue to be center of Jewish life in southeastern Vermont. My commitment next year is to reach out, with the help of the Board, to our current membership, as well as the “Jews in the Woods” for ways to build a sound fiscal foundation. I also will be presenting to the Board an opportunity to create a memorial to the six million Jews lost in the Holocaust.
Lastly, I am excited about the possibilities offered by Rabbi Heyn’s presence. With his guidance, BAJC will continue to flourish spiritually and to grow as a Beit K'nesset - house of meeting, a Beit Midrash - house of study, and a Beit T'fillah - house of prayer.
Cain yehi ratzon — may it be G’d’s will.
Marty
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