Messages from President & Executive Director

MESSAGE FROM DAN DEUTSCH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The rabbinic search process has reached its conclusion. On January 21, our congregation voted overwhelmingly to elect Rabbi Elaine Zecher to be the 12th Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel. Now the focus of our work shifts from selection to transition. Actually, the work of transition has already begun. The Transition Committee, co-chaired by Kathryn Madden and Michele Fischel, has been hard at work for over six months laying the groundwork for our future success. But success will not come from the work of committees alone. We will all have a role to play.

I have been given permission to share an excerpt from an email sent to the Rabbinic Search Committee during the search process. This was one of hundreds of emails received during the course of the search, but it had the distinction of being last – having been received the day before the Leadership Council approved the recommendation of the Rabbinic Search Committee and Board of Trustees. It reads as follows:

“Rabbi Zecher is a beacon of light…Elaine was my instructor while I was studying and preparing for my conversion/return to Judaism. For generations, my Portuguese crypto-Jewish family harbored and revered, in secret, a Torah crown. At my public ceremony held in our Sanctuary, Rabbi Zecher handed me a Torah crown and invited me to return it to the Torah in the Arc. This touched me beyond words because I and all my family returned with that gesture.”

What I ask of everyone in our community is to think of some way, no matter how small it may be, to ensure that Rabbi Zecher’s beacon of light shines as brightly as possible. Her success is our success, and her success will be determined, in part, by our collective action. Please join me and the rest of Temple Israel’s leadership in this important work. If you have specific thoughts or suggestions about transition, please contact the Transition Committee at transition@tisrael.org or me at president@tisrael.org.

In what is becoming a tradition of closing my columns in the quarterly bulletin, I thank you for allowing me the opportunity to give a little something back to a place that means so much to me and my family. It is a privilege to serve as our congregation’s president.

As we turn the corner on the next phase of Rabbinic Transition, I continue to hear from many of our congregants about their positive feelings on this historic moment. There is an overwhelming sense of excitement and pride as we reflect on the impact that Rabbi Friedman has made on our community and look forward to Rabbi Zecher taking the reins as senior rabbi. I want to thank the Rabbinic Search Committee for the countless hours that they volunteered to this process, and the congregation for playing an extremely active role in shaping our future. The Board and Leadership Council also played a significant role in this process; this has really been a congregational effort worthy of praise. episode focuses our conversation on the intersection of faith and public life, based here in the birthplace of American Freedom, Boston, MA. Please listen and review on iTunes or Stitcher.

On April 2, we will be holding Stepping Out, our annual gala. We thank Jodi and Rob Sokoloff for their leadership as our cochairs and invite you to join us for a fun-filled evening. We will have a live band, tasty food, and an opportunity to see 200 of your closest Temple Israel friends.

There are many ways in which we are celebrating the impact that Rabbi Friedman has made on our congregation. The museum committee has done a remarkable job putting together the “Be Torah” exhibit which will remain open through June. A special thank you to Fran Putnoi, Pam Goodman, Harriet Greenfield, Susan Porter, Ann Abrams, and Lindsay Sprechman for capturing the many ways in which Rabbi Friedman has left his mark on Temple Israel.

This winter we are proud to have launched our first podcast, Pulpit on the Common. Moderated by Rabbi Soffer, each

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Finally, I thank those of you who have already contributed to our 2016 Annual Friends Fund, which allows Temple Israel to keep up the work that we are doing. This year we are focused on getting as many congregants to donate to our fund as possible, at a level that is meaningful to you. If you have not already done so, we ask that you please consider making a contribution. Contributions to our Friends Annual Fund offset many of our signature programs such as Families with Young Children, Ohel Tzedek, and the Riverway Project. As always, my door is always open, and I hope to see you at some of our fantastic upcoming events.