From the Desk of the President

Rosh HaShanah Speech (Given on Erev Rosh HaShanah)

Below is the full text of the presentation given on Rosh HaShanah. The details of the appeal and announcements have been removed.

A hearty Shanah Tovah and Sweet New Year to all of you. Welcome to everyone who has joined us for this service. This is the first Rosh HaShanah that I can say welcome to those who have joined us in person and at the same time welcome to those who are joining us remotely. I am very excited that we can offer this and future services in multiple ways which we refer to as multi-access. The services are now also archived on both Facebook and YouTube so that you can view them later. So my final welcome will be to those who are watching on-demand after the live broadcast.
 

Multi-access services require an even larger commitment of volunteers as we now have the usual group of helpers working on-site but also the technical crew, now responsible for sound and broadcast. This work becomes even greater when we hold services outdoors as we are doing tonight. Thank you to all who have helped tonight and throughout the High Holidays as well as all of those who have helped all summer long. This is a small, dedicated group of volunteers who need more assistance so I appeal to each of you to help with service support or tech crew in the future as we simply will not be able to continue without our volunteers. I just am so thankful to all of our volunteers who continue to step up when called upon. Also thank you to those who have participated, and thank you to Rabbi Tiwy and Cantor Fine for a wonderful service. Finally, whether it is a divine thanks or another, thank you for the wonderful weather.
 

For those who do not know me, I would like to take the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Aaron Petersen. My wife and I have been members of Temple Beth El since 2006. We joined shortly after relocating to Tacoma and just before the birth of our son Ephraim who will very shortly be 15. We also have an eleven-year-old daughter, Shiphrah.
 

I have been active at Temple Beth El for a number of years as a board member, youth and adult Hebrew teacher, community Shabbat planner and on and on. Now over the last year in addition to being President of the Board of Trustees, I can add self-taught technology guru.
 

As the board members know I like to talk about the specifics of why we exist and how we articulate that why. I even touched on this in my address last Erev Rosh HaShanah when I spoke of the lamah (why) of Temple Beth El. Congregations are strengthened with an effective foundational statement known as a mission, vision, and value statement that is adhered to. They define a congregation’s purpose and why it exists (mission), what the organization would look like if we were to achieve our purpose (vision), and our community’s held beliefs (values). In today's evolving Jewish landscape, foundation statements are critical, by grounding congregations and helping them lead adaptable organizations facing ever-increasing challenges. Foundation statements ensure that congregations focus on the purpose (why) and not revert to extremes. Foundation statements distinguish a congregation from another organization. Foundation statements shape a congregation into what they want to be. It is also important to note that all foundational statements are dynamic and can change and adapt to meet the current needs and purpose of a congregation.
 

Temple Beth El does have a number of established foundational statements that ground and focus us, distinguishes us from other organizations (Jewish or not), and helps to shape our future so that we are pointed in the right direction. The existing Mission Statement is:

• Temple Beth El is a caring community devoted to promoting the values of Judaism.
• Our mission is to help individuals and families in the South Puget Sound region grow in their knowledge and observance of Judaism. 
• We strive to create a welcoming community characterized by Torah study, Avodah worship, and Tikkun Olam, helping to alleviate suffering and repair the world.

We also have one other foundational document. We have a congregation 5-year strategic plan that was adopted in 2013 and was recently extended. The plan adopted by the Board of Trustees was to update and adopt a new strategic plan when it is deemed that we are complete with the existing transition process.
 

The strategic plan adopted an overarching theme and decision statements. The overarching theme is “Building Community and Creating Connections”. The overarching design statements are:

• Temple Beth El is a welcoming, positive, inclusive, open community. TBE welcomes diversity (traditions, backgrounds, and abilities)
• Participation in small group activities and large congregational events creates intergenerational connections and energy.
• We have a community that transcends our differences, and comes together and stays together. Our congregation feels like family. 

It is important that we all know and understand these foundational statements and appreciate why Temple Beth El exists, what separates us, and what we need to do to achieve the goals in these foundational statements. We must all strive to come together and transcend our differences to ensure that we heed these foundational statements and come together as a family. Our leaders must ensure that decisions are grounded in these foundational statements and that the congregation understands the mission of TBE. Again the mission of TBE is:

• Temple Beth El is a caring community devoted to promoting the values of Judaism.
• Our mission is to help individuals and families in the South Puget Sound region grow in their knowledge and observance of Judaism.
• We strive to create a welcoming community characterized by Torah study, Avodah worship, and Tikkun Olam, helping to alleviate suffering and repair the world.

Now, we can only fulfill this mission with the generosity of each and every one of you. I ask that you continue to help make this a reality and help Temple Beth El stay relevant and vibrant for many more years. And if you can not give a financial donation I hope that you will be able to provide some of your time as a volunteer during the upcoming year.
 

The High Holidays are also the perfect time to inform everyone that we are again asking for pledges toward the Shir Chadash fund. This fund was originally created to bring Cantor Fine to our community after we first met him as a Cantor for our High Holiday services. We will be asking and reaching out to those who pledged the first time as well as asking others to step up with pledges so that we will have enough funds to keep Cantor Fine with us as our Cantor. You will be hearing a lot more about this from the Fundraising Committee and others over the coming weeks.

Yom Kippur Speech (Given on Kol Nidre)

Below is the full text of the presentation given on Yom Kippur. Due to lateness of the evening the full text presented below was not given during the Kol Nidre service. In addition, the details of the appeal and announcements have been removed.
 

G’mar Chatimah Tovah (May you all have a good final sealing). Thank you for joining us this evening. Welcome to those gathering with us in person and those connecting with us remotely via Facebook, YouTube, or the Temple Beth El website. A huge amount of gratitude for the many volunteers who have spent countless hours so we can offer an outdoor Yom Kippur service. It takes a large crew to find volunteers, set up, plan, broadcast, and welcome each and every one of you. Please check out a future Bulletin for just how many people helped to make this happen. It is far too many to go through now.
 

Since Yom Kippur allows us a chance to reflect and to apologize, I feel that I have a few apologies to offer. I would like to begin by saying sorry for not being able to include everyone. We have tried to reach everyone and maintain our community during this pandemic, but of course we have lost touch with some and for that I am sorry. I apologize to those who may have joined us this year or in years past and did not feel as though they were welcomed or belonged at Temple Beth El. We must reflect on each of these and think of how as a collective we may become more open and welcoming. It may be uncomfortable for some of us to truly reach out of our comfort zone or friend group to ensure that more individuals and families feel they belong, but doing so not only fulfills the mitzvah of maintaining our Jewish community, but also fulfills our mission.
 

I would like to share a personal story to illustrate what I am talking about. As new parents interested in passing down Jewish tradition to our children, my wife and I had decided that the best way to model community participation and Jewish practice was to bring our children to services. When our children were young we were also newer members of Temple Beth El. My daughter really enjoyed attending services and would often sing aloud and dance. For those who know my daughter, you would question that she would actually do this as she is now more quiet, shy, and self-reflective. While she was dancing and singing we were approached by a congregant and asked to please enjoy services outside the Sanctuary. We were a bit blown away by this and regretfully asked her to please sing more quietly. In retrospect, we as a family were not made to feel welcome in a normal congregational event such as a Shabbat Service. The other side of the story was the three congregants that came up to us after the service saying how much they enjoyed having an engaged child in the service and enjoyed the energy that her pleasure brought them. It was this connection that made me, my wife, and my children feel not only welcomed but that we may actually belong.
 

As I shared last week during Rosh HaShanah, Temple Beth El has a number of foundational statements. The existing strategic plan points directly to how to have and maintain as well as how important it is to have an open community that finds a way to stay together while also welcoming new members to all aspects of our community. The overarching theme is “Building Community and Creating Connections”. The overarching design statements are:

• Temple Beth El is a welcoming, positive, inclusive, open community. TBE welcomes diversity (traditions, backgrounds, and abilities)
• Participation in small group activities and large congregational events creates intergenerational connections and energy.
• We have a community that transcends our differences, and comes together and stays together. Our congregation feels like family.

Now in those statements, we talk directly about being an open and welcoming community. We welcome diversity. We state that we must get beyond our differences and create events that provide for intergenerational connections and provide all attendees energy and I would assume pride at being Jewish and pride at being a member of Temple Beth El. We must look beyond what we think of as the norms if we are to achieve this. We must either change what is a normal event whether this is our expectations or change the actual event or service. Conversely, we could provide sufficient alternative opportunities so that all who would like to come through our doors feel as though they belong.
 

I hope that in the next year and when we again evaluate our mission and strategic plan we look at not just how we become and stay a welcoming community, but look beyond this and how we can become a community where a diversity of individuals and families feel welcome and a sense of belonging—this is their community.
 

It is a slight change but I think we need to adapt our thinking to cultivate belonging rather than simply welcoming. This is also a general engagement model that is being suggested by the URJ. We know through the Pew Research survey of American Jews that American Jews are becoming more diverse in a number of measures.
 

We state in the strategic plan that we are “a welcoming, positive, inclusive, open community.”
 

There is an unintended impact of “welcoming” someone into a community: In doing so, the “welcomer” conveys (even if incidental) that it is their community to welcome someone else into. In thinking about welcoming I often think about welcoming into my home or community, an invitation into my space where I belong because I have ownership over my house or community. We can move toward belonging by not just welcoming, by making sure that all of us respect the different ways that individuals and families can be Jewish. This is what it means to be part of an inclusive open community.
 

Now, if we hope to grow and ensure that we are welcoming and bringing in more diverse and engaged people we will need the generosity of each and every one of you. I ask that you continue to help make this a reality and help Temple Beth El stay relevant and vibrant for many more years. And if you can not give a financial donation or want to do even more for our TBE community I hope that you will be able to provide some of your time as a volunteer during the upcoming year.
 

The High Holidays are also the perfect time to inform everyone that we are again asking for pledges toward the Shir Chadash fund. This fund was originally created to bring Cantor Fine to our community after we first met him as a Cantor for our High Holiday services. We will be asking and reaching out to those who pledged the first time as well as asking others to step up with pledges so that we will have enough funds to keep Cantor Fine with us as our Cantor. You will be hearing a lot more about this from the Fundraising Committee and others over the coming weeks.