PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Change

By Jerry Levy, Temple President

“-plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose “– the more things change, the more they stay the same….

As I take the reins of leadership from Mark Dressner, I am incredibly privileged to become Temple Israel’s President when we are entering our 100th anniversary year. I am starting my term at a time when Temple Israel is a thriving Reform congregation, and for that, I am grateful to Mark, our staff and clergy, our Board members and to all those past and present lay leaders who helped us get to this point.

For my first column as President, I want you to get to know a bit more about me and my family. I grew up in Prairie Village, Kansas where my family belonged to Temple B’nai Yehuda, the largest Reform congregation in KC. I studied at the University of Kansas and KU Medical School. I came to Long Beach to complete my residency in Internal Medicine and subspeciality in Rheumatology. Joanne and I met here and were married at Temple Beth El in San Pedro in 1984. We joined Temple Israel in 1991. Both of our children attended Torah Center and went through the B’nai Mitzvah and Confirmation programs. Gabrielle currently lives in Washington DC and works for Climate Nexus, which provides strategic communications services on climate change, energy, and water issues. Benjamin lives in San Francisco and is a graphic and digital designer for the University of the Pacific, Dugoni School of Dentistry. Joanne is a retired Speech-Language Pathologist. She participated in the Adult B’nai Mitzvah program in 2012 and along with her classmates celebrated her Bat Mitzvah during the first service in our newly renovated sanctuary. Energized by this experience, Joanne joined the Board where she served as VP of Ritual Practices and VP of Membership. In 2019, Joanne finished her 7 years on the Board, and I began mine. I have just completed a two-year term as Treasurer. Currently, I am semi-retired from Kaiser Permanente and working as a Partner Emeritus at several Kaiser facilities. I enjoy woodworking, golf, working in the garden with Joanne, and since the pandemic, cooking and baking challah. Each new president is presented with challenges and sets goals. I am in the enviable position of beginning my presidency at a time of stability in terms of our clergy and staff, our financial picture, and our membership numbers. Therefore, my challenge is to ensure continuity. We also look to the future with a new strategic plan under the guidance of Rick Burney. I am especially focused on increasing in-person participation at Temple events, finding ways to remove barriers for those who may have challenges participating, improving all aspects of our communication, and upgrading the member accessibility of the Temple website. With time comes change, and change is inevitable. Over the past four years, Rabbi Fox joined our congregation and Kelly

Cooper became our Cantor. Though our building was closed, we stayed connected with Zoom and remained a strong, vibrant congregation. Yet, with the pandemic still fresh in our minds, some congregants have remained reluctant, perhaps even more comfortable remaining remote. Now, as we head into the late summer and towards the High Holy Days, we are reminded of Teshuva, literally ‘to return.’ I believe that as we leave the pandemic in the rear-view mirror, it is time for us to return to our Temple and to in-person engagement. When asked, many of congregants said that it is our “community” that makes Temple Israel such a special place, and being together is what makes us a strong community. This year we will have ample opportunities to celebrate together. There will be special “centennial celebration’ programs (page 11) that you will not want to miss, so be sure to add these dates to your calendar and join us in person.

It is truly an honor to serve as your President and to give back to an organization that has meant so much to me and my family. During the next two years, I hope to get to know many more of you, and I welcome your questions and comments and will try to answer your emails (president@tilb.org) in a timely manner.

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, is quoted as saying "change is the only constant in life." Let us fully embrace our centennial year for everything it has to offer, stability and tradition along with the ‘changes’ as we enter our second century.

IS TEMPLE ISRAEL IN YOUR WILL OR ESTATE PLAN?

If you have included Temple Israel or the Temple Israel Foundation in your will or estate plan, we want to know. We want to recognize and thank you for your generosity now, and include you as a supporter of our Next 100 Years Campaign!

If we are included, please call the Temple Office and speak with Eric Shatzkin, Executive Director, or email Eric at ejs@tilb.org Thank you so much for your support!

SELICHOT PROGRAM & SERVICE

Saturday, September 9

7:30 pm Refreshments

8:00 pm Art Program with Eve Lunt

9:00 pm Service

Please join us Saturday night for our Selichot program. Selichot gives us a chance to reflect on the past year. It is a time to consider and reconsider the choices we have made, and what we would like to change in the upcoming year.