Change and Transition (May KOL)
Tue, May 8, 2012
Change and Transition
In the Hebrew language, there are eleven different words for “change,” other than referring to small coins, and four words for “transition,” two of which are the same as the word for “change.” One might surmise that our American understanding of “change and transition” is quite different from the Jewish ideas of such concepts. For most of our history, change occurred by force and often made your circumstances different than they had been, and most of the words reflect that historical reality. The Torah shares stories of the lives of our biblical ancestors filled with changes and transitions. As readers and students of Torah, we can each see ourselves, or our circumstances, in the coping skills of at least one our forefathers and foremothers (and not always the same one) as their narrative unfolds for us each year.
Your lives are constantly changing in the course of living through birth and death, growth and development, illness and crisis, renovating and/or moving, employment or unemployment, retirement or the inability to retire, and the list goes on. At one moment you might be a working parent who worries about food and laundry, and the next you are an empty nester caring for an aging parent struggling as you navigate the world of geriatric living and health care. Each day presents new challenges for all of us, many of which are unexpected and unplanned. What the Torah and Judaism teach us is that our lives are journeys that can best be navigated with the values, strength, lessons, and wisdom of our tradition, and that we don’t have to go it alone. Belonging to this synagogue enables you to tap into a host of resources and support systems, as you go through the changes and transitions of your life.
TBS is undergoing change and transition, as we will soon bid farewell to Rabbi Nyer and Josh Fixler, say goodbye to our bookkeeper Lisa, and as we welcome in a new president and Board of Directors. Our Reform movement and Jewish world is going through a radical paradigm shift moving the tectonic plates beneath our grounded feet in ways you may not feel but will. What I want to assure you is that through all of the changes and transitions ahead, we will remain B’nai Shalom, our values and our core strong and secure.
We bid farewell to Josh Fixler this month. He is now the seventh person we are sending to HUC in a decade, and we are so proud that he will someday become a rabbi and leader of our movement’s future. We thank him for all of the talents and gifts he has brought to our youth, our school, our technology, and our congregation. As Josh transitions to his future, we offer him our gratitude for all he has given to our community and recognize that this transition is, in part, the result of our community’s commitment to growing the next generation of Reform leadership. Our loss is the Reform movement’s gain, and we will watch Josh’s future with pride and kvelling. Thank you, Josh for three wonderful years!!
In the spirit of change and transition, we are so grateful to Josh for helping to handpick his successor. We will be delighted to welcome Sam Stern to TBS in June, just after he completes his Masters degree in Jewish Communal Service at Towson University. Sam will come to TBS with a new title, Director of Youth and Family Engagement, as he will be responsible for all of our youth groups, family education, and will help us in the technology role, as Josh so ably did. I know you will welcome Sam to TBS, as you have with Jessica, Bess, and Josh in the past.
As Lisa moves to Southern Virginia for her family’s well-being, we are sad to see her leave and thank her for a job well done. We are so sorry to lose Lisa, who did such a great job as our bookkeeper. After too many transitions in that position, we have made the decision to outsource the bookkeeping function here at TBS. KESEF accounting will bring standards and controls, and continuity, to this vital function in temple life. To help navigate you through this transition, and all of your member needs, we are promoting Rabbi Nyer’s secretary, Lynn Richmond to Director of Member Services. We recognize that you need someone in our office just for YOU, to take care of all your administrative questions and needs. Lynn will be here to take care of everything from your billing questions to your computer updates, and she will bring her talents to the Membership Team, as well as continue to produce this wonderful KOL and our new directory, plus a host of other services to enhance your experience as a member here at TBS. We are in the process of interviewing for a new secretary for our religious school. Amid all the office changes, Ellen Wolynec, my Executive Assistant, will be here to help me serve your needs to the best of my ability.
No one will miss Rabbi Nyer more than I will. She has been my partner and friend for eight years. Her return to her home of Cleveland is the most dramatic change for most of you, and I will reflect more on that next month. We are still in the process of interviewing and exploring options for her replacement. I hope that next month’s KOL will be able to offer you more about what the transition will look like. For now, continue to shower your thanks on Rabbi Nyer for the next two months and watch for the many occasions and opportunities you will have to thank her.
Some changes and transitions are in our control, and I have learned through life that most of them are not. Life is an ever-changing walkway, that doesn’t always alert us when it will end. Knowing that in community, wonderful people come and wonderful go, is sometimes the hardest transition of all. But, I remain confident that together we can change and grow, transition, and continue to build this caring and healthy congregation we all love.
Faithfully yours,
Rabbi Amy R. Perlin, D.D.
Please join us for Post-Confirmation Graduation on May 25th and Confirmation on May 27th as our best and brightest transition once again in their journey as spiritual Jewish adults.