President's Message
President's Message
November, 2004
Because the High Holy Days were later this year (Are they ever "on time"?), this is my first opportunity to say thank you to all who contributed to our beautiful services. Of course, my first and biggest thank you goes to Rabbi Lipman. At the last minute, the Board voted to hold two services for both Erev Rosh Hashanah and Kol Nidrei. Without hesitation, Rabbi assured us he could handle this. And he did just that. It amazed me that he showed such strength as the sun set on Yom Kippur. Many of our guest worshippers marveled that our small town had a first class rabbi. Several told me they had never experienced such meaningful High Holy Days services.
Gwenda Krochock and the choir spent many months preparing for their part in our worship. We heard new melodies performed magnificently. Thank you, Gwen, for all you do to beautify our religious experience. Your music adds so much to the spirituality of our services.
Rhoda Bieber and Shirley Baskin did an outstanding job preparing the two High Holy Days books. This is not an easy job. They contacted so many people who did not turn in their "book" information as requested in the Ram's Horn. Many times as I stopped by our temple, these two women were buried in paper work. Their "bosses", Vice Presidents Shara Beck and Allan Samuels, took care of all the details that make our High Holy Days run smoothly. This behind the scenes work is very time consuming and they did what was necessary without one complaint. Can we clone volunteers like them?
Three women, Fran Garner, Marilynne Yeakley, and Sue Allender, arranged for so many of us to take part in the religious services. Again, many calls had to be made. We all hope that one of these years, people will just send in the forms on time! As people ascended to the Bimah, I felt as if I were watching a finely choreographed dance. With our last minute addition of evening services, the three women tackled the difficult task of arranging for all the readers. Their results were wonderful. Thank you, Fran, Marilynne, and Sue. I was so impressed with the quality of the readers - both in English and Hebrew.
Those of us who stayed for the Break the Fast enjoyed a very tasty repast. This was organized by Sue Allender. Everything was beautifully prepared and served. We were packed to the rafters but there were no glitches. Sue deserves a big thank you for all her hard work.
No thank you column would be complete without thanking Paul Beck. The building is always in top form because of Paul. He anticipates all problems and keeps the physical plant running smoothly. Most of us never think about chairs, tables, books, etc. These things "magically" appear because Paul and his crew are on the job. Thank you, Paul, for everything you do throughout the year.
The High Holy Days give us a chance for a new beginning. As we try to treat everyone with respect and good will, I hope we will all remember to thank all the volunteers who work so hard to make Temple B'rith Shalom a better place. And don't forget to save a big thanks for Rabbi Lipman.
L'Shalom,
Judy Sharp
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