God In This Place, by Rabbi Katie Bauman

The blending together of every fleck of color in this community is what produces its brilliance. I have always felt it, always known it, but now, I’m able to see it even more clearly than ever before. Like Jacob, I am so grateful for that perspective, even as I proceed on my own personal journey toward what lies ahead. This season, filled with graduations and retirements and preparations for our final yearly festival of Shavuot, is one of reflection and celebration, both culturally and Jewishly. It is time for basking in the glow of all that is good and hopeful in our lives, a time for culmination, and a time for enjoying the view. From my vantage point, I see for Temple Israel, a place I have loved, a place where I’ve sought and found God and holy purpose throughout my life, a future full of sacred striving, rich revelation, and profound connectivity that will only deepen and grow with time. If I may take the liberty of paraphrasing Jacob: Surely God is in this place, and I now know how blessed I was to have dwelled here. I will carry you with me, and I will rejoice as I see Temple Israel go from strength to strength.