Since I’ve been President, I often hear Board Members, and especially past-Board Members complain that they never found their “voice” while they were on the Board. This also holds for congregants who are looking to find community here at Temple. Well… after almost 20 years as a member, 6 years on the Board and 2 ½ years as President, I have the answer. VOLUNTEER. JOIN. BE HERE.
I too spent some time as a “drop-off” parent. You know who you are. You drive by, open the door, let your child into the building and then drive off. You can’t get involved that way, and you can’t complain about not getting connected if you never enter the building. Each week we send out an email that lists activities in the building. It also has information about committee meetings and events that need workers. If you want to get something out of your membership, you have to put something in. In you want to find a support system within the congregation, you have to be where others are. If you work on a committee you meet the other members, same thing with helping out cooking a dinner or organizing an event. We currently need committee chairs and volunteers to organize events for Tu B’shvat, Purim, Pesach, and the up-coming 150th Anniversary of our congregation. There’s a Used Book Sale in January that needs lots of help, too. The more you do, the more you get. Yes, you can just drop off your kid, but there is so much more we have to offer. We can’t go to your house and drag you in. And once you are in the building, we need to know who you are. Are you a great organizer, a great cook, can you decorate like Martha Stewart, or do you just take directions well. We need to know what you can do and what you want to do before we can get you to the right place. And sometimes things don’t work out exactly as you thought they would but so what, you tried. Try again with another group if you don’t like the first one, or even the second or third.
So when you get that email that says “WE NEED HELP”, help!
When someone calls you and says “WE NEED HELP”, help!
When someone comes to you and says “WE NEED HELP”, help!
Or stop kvetching that you can’t find your place… We really are talking to YOU!
Written with hope,
Lauren Levrant
President
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Find your talking donkey
And now a story…
During a Friday night service this summer, Rabbi Weiss did a sermon on Balak and Balaam. For those of you who missed it, and that means most of you, I 'd like to give a brief recap.
The Israelites are traveling thru the desert, despite popular belief, they are actually battling there way thru populated lands and they’re winning! Balak, king of the Moabites, is afraid of them and tries to hire a powerful prophet, Balaam to curse this powerful group who has come out of Egypt, so that his army can conquer them. Balaam talks to god and god tells him “Don’t do it”, so he refuses. Once again, Balak sends officials to Balaam, this time with the promise of great rewards. Balaam once again asks god what he should do. This time god says its ok for him to go with Balak’s officials, but he can only do what god tells him to do.
Without giving him a chance to do more than saddle up his donkey, god gets angry seeing Balaam on his way, and sends a sword bearing angel to block the donkey’s way. The donkey veers off the road and gets hit for his troubles. On they go, and this time the angel forces the donkey against a wall and Balaam’s leg gets scraped. And the donkey gets hit again. The third time the angel is right in front of them, and the donkey lays down. Once again, smack.
Only this time, the donkey asks Balaam “Hey, why are you hitting me?” I repeat, the donkey says “why are you hitting me?” Imagine that, a talking donkey.
Now our rabbi is a great story teller and while he is telling us this story, it truly sounds like a Disney story, complete with a talking donkey. I'm there, thinking Shrek. Then I remember, this was the very first story I read when I joined my Torah study group back in 1993.
Can you imagine? Before that day, I'd never read the bible, and I walk in and they're reading a story featuring a talking donkey! I was hooked!
Of course, its not always that much fun. Sometimes we read long lists of names, we never skip a word. Sometimes its a travelog naming all the wells and stone alters the Hebrews passed on the way, but then you get something amazing...something that reads like a movie script... mothers bewailing that their sons are marrying shiksas. More variations on incest than you can imagine, battles, angels, god gambling with satan, and don't forget that talking donkey!
Now, in my torah study group we each read from whatever version grabs our attention on that day. Some of us use the Plaut version that you should all be familiar with, or the King James. There are versions written by Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox jews, poets, scholars and many more. But they all tell the same story. The thing to remember is that they are all translations of the same scroll that is housed in the Ark right behind me.
This morning you've heard several of our congregants chanting from that scroll. I've had the honor of doing that on several occasions, and I can attest to the power of that experience. The scroll is a work of art. It is hand written with an incredible amount of reverence.
And this brings me to the reason I’ve just told you about my love story with the torah. This year we have a unique opportunity to participate in the repair of our Torah scroll. The very one that our children read from when they become b’nai mitzvah.
You will be getting information about the project and how you can get involved. Our hope is that there will be 100% participation.
There will be educational sessions with the sofer who will be doing the work. There will be social events celebrating the scrolls, and you will each be given the chance to support the work in a very personal way.
This will be a year long process, so watch for information about how you can be a part of this exciting experience. And don't forget, the torah is a scroll, but it is also our story. Get involved. Think about joining a torah study group, its the best way to be introduced to our book, and we have 3 of these groups meeting every Sunday right here in this building who would welcome you with open arms.
I encourage each of you to find your own talking donkey and follow him into the magical world of our Torah.
During a Friday night service this summer, Rabbi Weiss did a sermon on Balak and Balaam. For those of you who missed it, and that means most of you, I 'd like to give a brief recap.
The Israelites are traveling thru the desert, despite popular belief, they are actually battling there way thru populated lands and they’re winning! Balak, king of the Moabites, is afraid of them and tries to hire a powerful prophet, Balaam to curse this powerful group who has come out of Egypt, so that his army can conquer them. Balaam talks to god and god tells him “Don’t do it”, so he refuses. Once again, Balak sends officials to Balaam, this time with the promise of great rewards. Balaam once again asks god what he should do. This time god says its ok for him to go with Balak’s officials, but he can only do what god tells him to do.
Without giving him a chance to do more than saddle up his donkey, god gets angry seeing Balaam on his way, and sends a sword bearing angel to block the donkey’s way. The donkey veers off the road and gets hit for his troubles. On they go, and this time the angel forces the donkey against a wall and Balaam’s leg gets scraped. And the donkey gets hit again. The third time the angel is right in front of them, and the donkey lays down. Once again, smack.
Only this time, the donkey asks Balaam “Hey, why are you hitting me?” I repeat, the donkey says “why are you hitting me?” Imagine that, a talking donkey.
Now our rabbi is a great story teller and while he is telling us this story, it truly sounds like a Disney story, complete with a talking donkey. I'm there, thinking Shrek. Then I remember, this was the very first story I read when I joined my Torah study group back in 1993.
Can you imagine? Before that day, I'd never read the bible, and I walk in and they're reading a story featuring a talking donkey! I was hooked!
Of course, its not always that much fun. Sometimes we read long lists of names, we never skip a word. Sometimes its a travelog naming all the wells and stone alters the Hebrews passed on the way, but then you get something amazing...something that reads like a movie script... mothers bewailing that their sons are marrying shiksas. More variations on incest than you can imagine, battles, angels, god gambling with satan, and don't forget that talking donkey!
Now, in my torah study group we each read from whatever version grabs our attention on that day. Some of us use the Plaut version that you should all be familiar with, or the King James. There are versions written by Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox jews, poets, scholars and many more. But they all tell the same story. The thing to remember is that they are all translations of the same scroll that is housed in the Ark right behind me.
This morning you've heard several of our congregants chanting from that scroll. I've had the honor of doing that on several occasions, and I can attest to the power of that experience. The scroll is a work of art. It is hand written with an incredible amount of reverence.
And this brings me to the reason I’ve just told you about my love story with the torah. This year we have a unique opportunity to participate in the repair of our Torah scroll. The very one that our children read from when they become b’nai mitzvah.
You will be getting information about the project and how you can get involved. Our hope is that there will be 100% participation.
There will be educational sessions with the sofer who will be doing the work. There will be social events celebrating the scrolls, and you will each be given the chance to support the work in a very personal way.
This will be a year long process, so watch for information about how you can be a part of this exciting experience. And don't forget, the torah is a scroll, but it is also our story. Get involved. Think about joining a torah study group, its the best way to be introduced to our book, and we have 3 of these groups meeting every Sunday right here in this building who would welcome you with open arms.
I encourage each of you to find your own talking donkey and follow him into the magical world of our Torah.
Because we are Jews
Because we are Jews, we are here tonight. Something impels us to worship with our fellow Jews on this occasion. We may embrace it with enthusiasm, or we may not even be sure why we are here. Because we are Jews, we come, knowing that we belong. And being here honors our mothers and fathers and grandparents and all who came before us back into the dim corners of our collective past.Tonight, I am asking you to live a bit more Jewishly. Light Shabbat candles. Collect tsedakah in your home, and distribute it where it is needed. In my laundry room I keep a box by my washer and put in any money that gets left in pockets.
If we can’t be bothered, to remember, to live Jewishly, what message will our children and grandchildren receive? And make no mistake: living Jewishly is not a matter of juggling the schedule. It is a series of actions born of deliberate choice.Once we choose to live more Jewishly we can then work on re-vitalizing our congregation. I have a vision of Oak Park Temple. I see this temple as a vital expression of who we are as Jews. As a place that ripples with the passion for life that is central to what it means to be a Jew. A place that transcends generational boundaries. The more families we have with children and grandchildren, the more brimming with life the Temple will be.
I visualize weekly Shabbat services vibrant with sacred meaning that comes not from sitting back and mouthing the words but from jumping in, heart and soul first. Worship only works to the degree we invest ourselves in it. You can’t sidestep the leap of commitment and expect any meaningful benefit. I invite everyone here to attend Shabbat services at least twice within the coming year. And when you do, take a chance. Participate with kavanah, with spirit. It may take some practice, but you’ll get the hang of it.
I see our education programs stimulating and rewarding for children and adults. Continuing learning is central to what it means to be a Jew. If you crave more Jewish learning and are not getting it, whatever your age, ask. I bet there is someone here who can teach it to you.
Mostly what I see in this vision is our engagement. Yours as well as mine. We each benefit from the gifts of our fellow congregants. If you’ve got something you’d like to share, please come talk to me. Serve this community and help shape it. Be counted.
Finally, when you come on a Friday night, there is a prayer you may hear, that I would like to share:
May the door of this synagogue be wide enough
to receive all who hunger for love,
all who are lonely for fellowship.
May it welcome all who have cares to unburden,
thanks to express, hopes to nurture.
May the door of this synagogue be narrow enough
to shut out pettiness and pride, envy and enmity.
May its threshold be no stumbling block
to young or straying feet.
May it be too high to admit complacency,
selfishness, and harshness.
May this synagogue be, for all who enter,
the doorway to a richer and more meaningful life.
kanye yehi ratzon
May it be so
If we can’t be bothered, to remember, to live Jewishly, what message will our children and grandchildren receive? And make no mistake: living Jewishly is not a matter of juggling the schedule. It is a series of actions born of deliberate choice.Once we choose to live more Jewishly we can then work on re-vitalizing our congregation. I have a vision of Oak Park Temple. I see this temple as a vital expression of who we are as Jews. As a place that ripples with the passion for life that is central to what it means to be a Jew. A place that transcends generational boundaries. The more families we have with children and grandchildren, the more brimming with life the Temple will be.
I visualize weekly Shabbat services vibrant with sacred meaning that comes not from sitting back and mouthing the words but from jumping in, heart and soul first. Worship only works to the degree we invest ourselves in it. You can’t sidestep the leap of commitment and expect any meaningful benefit. I invite everyone here to attend Shabbat services at least twice within the coming year. And when you do, take a chance. Participate with kavanah, with spirit. It may take some practice, but you’ll get the hang of it.
I see our education programs stimulating and rewarding for children and adults. Continuing learning is central to what it means to be a Jew. If you crave more Jewish learning and are not getting it, whatever your age, ask. I bet there is someone here who can teach it to you.
Mostly what I see in this vision is our engagement. Yours as well as mine. We each benefit from the gifts of our fellow congregants. If you’ve got something you’d like to share, please come talk to me. Serve this community and help shape it. Be counted.
Finally, when you come on a Friday night, there is a prayer you may hear, that I would like to share:
May the door of this synagogue be wide enough
to receive all who hunger for love,
all who are lonely for fellowship.
May it welcome all who have cares to unburden,
thanks to express, hopes to nurture.
May the door of this synagogue be narrow enough
to shut out pettiness and pride, envy and enmity.
May its threshold be no stumbling block
to young or straying feet.
May it be too high to admit complacency,
selfishness, and harshness.
May this synagogue be, for all who enter,
the doorway to a richer and more meaningful life.
kanye yehi ratzon
May it be so
Monday, December 7, 2009
transition to the new year
2009 was an amazing year for all of us at Oak Park Temple. We filled the house more times this past year than I can remember! From the Annual Meeting where we voted to accept the Rabbi Search Committee’s recommendation to hire Rabbi Weiss to the dinner honoring Rabbi Gerson, and then Rabbi Weiss’ installation, we all gathered in record numbers. In between those events there were so many other dinners and occasions to pray and celebrate together that I can’t even try to list them all. But, I do want to thank everyone who participated in them, both the volunteers and participants who made them so successful.
Now, we need to sustain the enthusiasm that was generated by the events of last year. New in 2010 will be the Derech Eretz Leadership Development Program. We always need new leaders and this is a great way for everyone to learn more about how OPT works. There will be presentations by many of our members and others from the Jewish community. Please check out our ever-improving website to get more information about this program.
Another chance for us to “pack the house” again is this month at the Silent Auction. On January 23 the Community Hall will be transformed for “How Sweet It Is” featuring a multitude of desserts, auction items and music. What a great way to start the new year surrounded by your Temple family.
Don’t forget that our 2010 Annual Meeting will be on Sunday, January 31. Although we don’t have anything monumental to vote on this year, our new Board members still need to be voted in and your attendance is always appreciated.
As always, think about attending just one more service, participating in one more class, or joining in one more committee than you did last year. You won’t regret it.
Now, we need to sustain the enthusiasm that was generated by the events of last year. New in 2010 will be the Derech Eretz Leadership Development Program. We always need new leaders and this is a great way for everyone to learn more about how OPT works. There will be presentations by many of our members and others from the Jewish community. Please check out our ever-improving website to get more information about this program.
Another chance for us to “pack the house” again is this month at the Silent Auction. On January 23 the Community Hall will be transformed for “How Sweet It Is” featuring a multitude of desserts, auction items and music. What a great way to start the new year surrounded by your Temple family.
Don’t forget that our 2010 Annual Meeting will be on Sunday, January 31. Although we don’t have anything monumental to vote on this year, our new Board members still need to be voted in and your attendance is always appreciated.
As always, think about attending just one more service, participating in one more class, or joining in one more committee than you did last year. You won’t regret it.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
For those of yo who missed my Kol Nidre message
To quote a famous 20th century sage, Dorothy of Kansas, “there’s no place like home”. But what is home? Is it where we sleep at night? Is it where our parents and siblings congregate, the place where we revert to old roles and behaviors? Is it the place our ancestors left, to find their way to someplace else? Is it “an assembling place for the wise”, to quote the Pirket Avot”? Is it the place where we feel safest and most comfortable? The correct answer is yours to choose.
We take care of this place, our “home”. We try to keep it clean, safe and comfortable. We make it a haven from the outside world. We fill it with things that we need, things that make us happy, things that remind us of other people and of places we have been. We collect, we TRY to discard. We take care of the people in our homes. We try to keep them out of trouble, and we try to help them when trouble comes along. Home is where we try to listen to and hear our important people, where we hope that we can be heard. Home is noisy and quiet, busy and calm, soothing and disturbing. Sometimes home is all of these things at once.
And, as members of THIS PARTICULAR community, we hopefully have 2 homes. One we will be leaving for shortly and one here at Oak Park Temple. Hopefully, this is NOT a place where we do too much sleeping. But it IS a place where we spend time, where we can learn and do, where we can be with our parents and children and friends, where seniors and infants can sit side by side. Hopefully, EVERYBODY can be comfortable here.
We need YOUR help to keep this place as a home for all of us now, and for generations to come. Like any home, this one has its issues. The acoustics are awful, the boiler may give out at any moment, and the front doors need replacing. Please keep these things in mind when you pick up your Yom Kippur Appeal Envelope out in the Rotunda. If you are a guest or very new member and there is no envelope with your name on it, please take a blank one. I encourage you to give as generously as you can. If you want to keep this home heated and cooled, staffed and clean, offering amazing programming for both children and adults, and you want us to be able to continue with our flexible dues model, which allows those unable to afford the target dues, to be able to maintain their membership, then please share what you can. Our home here is not as new as it used to be and it is in need of constant repair. Please remember that your dues only cover so much, we count on the funds we collect during this Yom Kippur appeal to keep the roof over our heads from flying off and not onto one of Dorothy’s munchkin land friends.
So, I’d like to conclude by saying “Welcome home” to those of you who are joining us for the first time. And welcome home to those of you who are joining us for the hundredth time. And welcome home to those of you who we haven’t seen since last spring, and to those of you who we haven’t seen for even longer. Welcome home to the regulars and to the sometimes-ers among you. Welcome home to our founders and to our newest members. Welcome home to you who work and teach here.
I’m really glad that you’re all here.
We take care of this place, our “home”. We try to keep it clean, safe and comfortable. We make it a haven from the outside world. We fill it with things that we need, things that make us happy, things that remind us of other people and of places we have been. We collect, we TRY to discard. We take care of the people in our homes. We try to keep them out of trouble, and we try to help them when trouble comes along. Home is where we try to listen to and hear our important people, where we hope that we can be heard. Home is noisy and quiet, busy and calm, soothing and disturbing. Sometimes home is all of these things at once.
And, as members of THIS PARTICULAR community, we hopefully have 2 homes. One we will be leaving for shortly and one here at Oak Park Temple. Hopefully, this is NOT a place where we do too much sleeping. But it IS a place where we spend time, where we can learn and do, where we can be with our parents and children and friends, where seniors and infants can sit side by side. Hopefully, EVERYBODY can be comfortable here.
We need YOUR help to keep this place as a home for all of us now, and for generations to come. Like any home, this one has its issues. The acoustics are awful, the boiler may give out at any moment, and the front doors need replacing. Please keep these things in mind when you pick up your Yom Kippur Appeal Envelope out in the Rotunda. If you are a guest or very new member and there is no envelope with your name on it, please take a blank one. I encourage you to give as generously as you can. If you want to keep this home heated and cooled, staffed and clean, offering amazing programming for both children and adults, and you want us to be able to continue with our flexible dues model, which allows those unable to afford the target dues, to be able to maintain their membership, then please share what you can. Our home here is not as new as it used to be and it is in need of constant repair. Please remember that your dues only cover so much, we count on the funds we collect during this Yom Kippur appeal to keep the roof over our heads from flying off and not onto one of Dorothy’s munchkin land friends.
So, I’d like to conclude by saying “Welcome home” to those of you who are joining us for the first time. And welcome home to those of you who are joining us for the hundredth time. And welcome home to those of you who we haven’t seen since last spring, and to those of you who we haven’t seen for even longer. Welcome home to the regulars and to the sometimes-ers among you. Welcome home to our founders and to our newest members. Welcome home to you who work and teach here.
I’m really glad that you’re all here.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
This space is usually reserved for my thoughts on either what has recently happened at Temple or an invitation to an upcoming event. This month, I have a plea. Please help us fill the gap left by the death of our friend Jean Wood. If you have ever attended a Friday night Shabbat Service, or come during the High Holidays, you would have met Jean. She was almost always there. She handed out prayer books and service announcements. She greeted you and asked how you were doing. She watched out for visitors and pointed them out for attention. She watched the door for latecomers and she sat in the rotunda but knew where we were in the service so that she could open the doors just before we were ready to exit.
Jean was our friend. For those of us who attended services somewhat regularly, she knew everything about our families, including the names of our pets. She kept up to date on our children’s educations and social lives, she was truly interested in knowing us and she cared deeply about each of us. And the only reason she was here was because she wanted to be with us.
If you didn’t know her well, you probably didn’t even know that she was not Jewish. She was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of River Forest, and acted as a greeter there too. She became part of our congregation when she began ushering with her dear friend Marsha Pollay, and when Marsha passed away, Jean just continued on, because it was what she did on Friday nights. She didn’t drive and when she couldn’t get a ride, she walked here, no matter what the weather, she just knew we needed her, and she was right.
As president of this congregation, I know will never be able to replace her, but I now need your help. I have previously asked the members of the Board to volunteer as Friday night greeters and Saturday morning ushers, and many have stepped up, but there are lots of openings still available. The jobs are easy. On Friday nights all you have to do is hand out books and say “hello,” letting everyone know they are welcome. On Saturdays, it much the same, but we also ask that the ushers watch for things that might be disruptive to the service, such as cameras being used, texting being done and “inappropriate” behavior by young and old alike. The Cantor and Rabbi would be happy to explain the job more fully, but it really is something any of us can do.
This is a great way to be involved in our congregation and do a mitzvah at the same time. Please contact me (slevr@aol.com) if you are interested.
The hole left in our congregation and in our hearts by Jean’s passing will never be filled, but the example of her charity and love can always be followed.
May her memory be a blessing.
B’shalom,
Lauren
Jean was our friend. For those of us who attended services somewhat regularly, she knew everything about our families, including the names of our pets. She kept up to date on our children’s educations and social lives, she was truly interested in knowing us and she cared deeply about each of us. And the only reason she was here was because she wanted to be with us.
If you didn’t know her well, you probably didn’t even know that she was not Jewish. She was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of River Forest, and acted as a greeter there too. She became part of our congregation when she began ushering with her dear friend Marsha Pollay, and when Marsha passed away, Jean just continued on, because it was what she did on Friday nights. She didn’t drive and when she couldn’t get a ride, she walked here, no matter what the weather, she just knew we needed her, and she was right.
As president of this congregation, I know will never be able to replace her, but I now need your help. I have previously asked the members of the Board to volunteer as Friday night greeters and Saturday morning ushers, and many have stepped up, but there are lots of openings still available. The jobs are easy. On Friday nights all you have to do is hand out books and say “hello,” letting everyone know they are welcome. On Saturdays, it much the same, but we also ask that the ushers watch for things that might be disruptive to the service, such as cameras being used, texting being done and “inappropriate” behavior by young and old alike. The Cantor and Rabbi would be happy to explain the job more fully, but it really is something any of us can do.
This is a great way to be involved in our congregation and do a mitzvah at the same time. Please contact me (slevr@aol.com) if you are interested.
The hole left in our congregation and in our hearts by Jean’s passing will never be filled, but the example of her charity and love can always be followed.
May her memory be a blessing.
B’shalom,
Lauren
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