Letter from Our Board President

By Aaron Alhadeff

Friends,

AARON ALHADEFF

TDHS BOARD PRESIDENT

It is truly an honor to have taken on the role of Temple’s Board president. Having grown up at Temple, married my wife Emily here, and now raising our sons Max and Charlie here, I deeply value Temple’s role in each of our lives. As an active member of Seattle’s Jewish community, I also have a profound appreciation for our role in the broader community.

I also have a great appreciation, literally and figuratively, for my predecessor in this position, Don Loeb, who has left such a strong foundation for us to build on. Don, thank you for your tremendous service!

My focus is always on relationships and not on transactions. The relationships we have with each other, with our wonderful clergy, and with our dedicated staff are the key to Temple’s success, both today and into the future. Also critical to Temple’s mission are the many partnerships we have with Jewish and non-Jewish organizations. These relationships maximize Temple’s impact in our community.

I am always open to hearing from you. Our Board represents the approximately 5,000 individuals who call Temple De Hirsch Sinai “my Temple.” I take that obligation very seriously, as I know my Board colleagues do.

We will be reaching out throughout the year, both formally and informally, to learn what your hopes and dreams are for Temple’s future and how we can work together to achieve those dreams. We hope that you will be receptive to our invitations to dialogue; only through these conversations can I, and our board, ensure that we are being responsive to our community.

Other focal points for our work as a Board serving our congregation in the coming year will be navigating coming out of COVID and rebuilding our in-person community, while also recognizing and adopting the “COVID keepers,” those practices that we adopted during the pandemic that will be appropriate to continue.

I am thrilled that we have resumed in-person services, to know that our children will be back at Bridge Family Religion School in person in the fall, and that we will be in-person for High Holy Days, when I will be able to address our congregation at services. So please don’t forget that Erev Rosh Hashanah is the Monday of Labor Day weekend!

I want to express my deep gratitude to everyone who kept our community together over the past year: • Our Board and committee members, who attended countless Zoom meetings • Our clergy, who created a sense of community and intimacy through Zoom services, who comforted the many among our congregation who were bereaved or despondent over the past year, and who helped bring joy to those celebrating happy occasions such as b’nai mitzvah and weddings • Our educators at both Bridge Family Religion School and Jennifer Rosen Meade Preschool, whose resiliency and creativity were great role models for our children • Last, but far from least, our administrative staff, who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make the magic happen

This has been a tough year and a whole village has been working hard on the bimah, in the classroom, and behind the scenes: thank you all. I thank all of you for the honor and trust of serving as the President of the Board of Trustees for the next two years.