Summer 2022 | Aviv 5782
End of an Era by Rabbi Jonathan Aaron Senior Rabbi, Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills In 2020, when the pandemic began, we were seven months into the Presidential tenure of our four co-presidents: Kristin Jameson, Myra Lurie, Scott Stone, and Geoff rey Wharton. Of course, we all know what happened next. Everything shut down, and the synagogue, along with every other profit and non-profit organization in the world, had to figure out how we could continue to provide our programs and services to the congregation while we all had to stay home. What was a 3 to 5-hour-a-week volunteer position turned into two hours a day – as we met every morning on Zoom to work together to figure out Temple Emanuel’s future. At first, we were told we were crazy to have four presidents – but during this crisis – which, of course, we know has lasted two and a half years – we needed all of them. Through their leadership, we were able to weather the storm and provide a robust program through “Jewitathome,” our online partnership, where over 50 congregations joined us in offering online programming nearly every hour of the day. We were able to do an almost year-long study to determine our viability in the future, how we can best position ourselves in the Los Angeles market, and what we need to do to build towards the future. This year, we have been further challenged with searches for two senior positions in the synagogue. It has been a significant time for Temple Emanuel, and we continue to find ways to innovate and improve for the future. Last year, Myra continued her work on the board as Kristin, Scott, and Geoffrey remained our Presidents. And although we have been returning slowly to our in-person offerings, their leadership has kept us pointed in the right direction, despite the pandemic, along with the difficult racial and social issues, gun violence, the war in Ukraine, and continued anti-Semitism in our society. In July, Geoffrey Wharton will become our sole President, and Scott Stone and Kristin Jameson will continue their work as board members. I wanted to take a moment here in our Temple Topics to formally offer my thanks to Scott and Kristin on behalf of our entire synagogue. Not only were they incredibly devoted to Temple Emanuel through the hours and hours on Zoom and phone calls, but they also served as debaters, confidants, anchors, bosses, selfie-recorders on video, visionaries, and decision-makers. Most of all, they were f riends and supporters, encouraging us to be our best while always keeping our congregants’ needs in mind. There aren’t enough accolades I could bestow upon them for their work on Temple Emanuel's behalf. But we would all be remiss if we didn’t offer these two magic words: THANK YOU!