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Looking Back, Looking Forward

As I near the end of my first year as President, it's time for taking stock. Before going any further, we all owe an enormous vote of thanks to Justin King who, as the "immediate past president," has probably been nearly as busy as he was during his "active" term. Justin has filled many roles…from making sure that the wisdom involved in keeping the ship afloat has been passed on, to literally making sure that the building does not float away. I will sorely miss having him at my side. We also will be losing board members whose terms are up, and at this point it is a bit like having a close family member decide to move to the West Coast. The excitement of having some new faces around the board table is tempered by already missing people whose counsel and friendship we've been able to count on.

If I've learned one thing in my first months as President it's been the marvelous diversity of the Bolton Street community. It is what makes us special, and it goes well beyond the contentiousness that stereotypically characterizes synagogues. The membership (and the active members) span a huge range of age and political, religious, and philosophic views. Somehow, far from seeing each other as a threat, we most of the time treasure each other as a resource. We are an island of tolerance in a culture that is, it seems, more and more characterized by segmentation and partisanship. We are brought together by our shared love of and respect for Jewish tradition, and our commitment both to preserve that tradition and to make it accessible to others.

What are the challenges for the year ahead? Money is always at the top of the list. We are in solid financial shape thanks to our small but meaningful endowment and our generally frugal ways. But the budget is still tight and we risk running a small operating deficit in the year to come. That can always be made up from reserves, but of course that can't go on forever. So we need to keep up our spirit of volunteerism and our "co-op" qualities - when a need comes up, the first thought always must be who in the congregation could take care of it at less or no cost. We need to gently grow our membership. Especially in these difficult financial times, the safety of numbers allows us to keep membership open to those who would be challenged with even the minimum dues. And we are hoping that an endowment campaign will be the centerpiece of our 25th anniversary celebrations that will take place in the coming year.

I am tremendously excited by our new education committee. Uncommon Voices, the events put on by the social action committee, and Rabbi Jonathan's Saturday morning discussions have demonstrated the interest we have in ongoing learning after the B'nai Mitzvah years. It will be hard to top the excitement generated by our programs this year, but I think that we will see more events, and possibly more short courses or reading groups. Stay tuned for a list of possible books for a new book club.

The board also voted in favor of a committee to study the pros and cons of affiliation with one of the major movements in organized Judaism. There is certainly no foregone conclusion as regards what the committee might decide and I am looking forward to a process that is stimulating, and helps us with our ongoing quest to make our observances and liturgy the most accessible, engaging and meaningful possible. Please get in touch if you are interested in serving on the committee - again, diversity is the key (and we will have a food budget, too).

Finally, as the summer rolls along, we have to remember that the High Holidays are early this year, and that Debbie and the religion/culture committee, along with the rabbi and cantor, have already begun preparations. There are many tasks involved, and many opportunities for participation in the services themselves. Please get in touch with me or Debbie if you have interests, opinions, or ideas for new variants on these ancient but constantly evolving observances. As an example, last year our Rosh Hashanah kiddush was a tremendous success, and we hope to repeat it again this year.

So thank you again for your support and all the energy you've brought to Bolton Street. My best wishes for a restful summer.

- Larry Wissow

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