President's Message
October 2020
L'shanah tovah,
As I begin my last year as Temple president, I would like to thank the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for their hard work on behalf of the Temple. In addition, I could not succeed in my job as president without the many volunteers, committee chairs, teachers, clergy, and staff (and, most importantly, an understanding spouse) who make our temple the warm and welcoming congregation it is.
While these past few months have kept us from the physical aspect of Temple life, the many offerings on Zoom have kept us together as a community. The congregation is more than a membership organization. It is a fellowship of Jewish families united by sharing high spiritual objectives. By affiliating with a synagogue, one carries on the long and hallowed tradition of our forebears who built and supported a house of worship wherever they lived. Only through such devotion to the synagogue and its teachings have we been able to survive as a people.
Although we have not had the opportunity to share services within the building, our expenses and outlay remain the same. We rely on all members to pay annual dues. Dues and payment arrangements are designed to meet all pocketbooks. Many of our members pay their dues on a monthly basis. Where the individual is truly in financial difficulty and cannot afford to pay full membership dues, the dues committee stands ready to discuss this in complete confidence.
The question, however, that you must answer within your own conscience is whether you accept the need for a synagogue with as much understanding as you accept many other costly affiliations. Synagogue membership is not charity! Synagogue dues should be included in your budget, just as you include rent, food, and clothing. Your spirituality and that of your family is as deserving of careful attention as your physical well-being. Why can’t we hold off paying our life insurance premiums until the year that we know we will die? Why can’t we wait until the year we retire before we pay our social security taxes? Why can’t we delay joining a medical plan until we become sick?
Very few things in life are free. We obtain the things we need by payment and sacrifice. We usually make some sort of investment to ensure our future. The only way to guarantee that the synagogue will be open to serve you when your time of need comes is for you to begin supporting us in membership now! It's up to you to make the decision to contribute what you can to Temple Emanu-El to allow us to provide the services you come to expect.
Thank you,
Loren H. Goldstein
As I begin my last year as Temple president, I would like to thank the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for their hard work on behalf of the Temple. In addition, I could not succeed in my job as president without the many volunteers, committee chairs, teachers, clergy, and staff (and, most importantly, an understanding spouse) who make our temple the warm and welcoming congregation it is.
While these past few months have kept us from the physical aspect of Temple life, the many offerings on Zoom have kept us together as a community. The congregation is more than a membership organization. It is a fellowship of Jewish families united by sharing high spiritual objectives. By affiliating with a synagogue, one carries on the long and hallowed tradition of our forebears who built and supported a house of worship wherever they lived. Only through such devotion to the synagogue and its teachings have we been able to survive as a people.
Although we have not had the opportunity to share services within the building, our expenses and outlay remain the same. We rely on all members to pay annual dues. Dues and payment arrangements are designed to meet all pocketbooks. Many of our members pay their dues on a monthly basis. Where the individual is truly in financial difficulty and cannot afford to pay full membership dues, the dues committee stands ready to discuss this in complete confidence.
The question, however, that you must answer within your own conscience is whether you accept the need for a synagogue with as much understanding as you accept many other costly affiliations. Synagogue membership is not charity! Synagogue dues should be included in your budget, just as you include rent, food, and clothing. Your spirituality and that of your family is as deserving of careful attention as your physical well-being. Why can’t we hold off paying our life insurance premiums until the year that we know we will die? Why can’t we wait until the year we retire before we pay our social security taxes? Why can’t we delay joining a medical plan until we become sick?
Very few things in life are free. We obtain the things we need by payment and sacrifice. We usually make some sort of investment to ensure our future. The only way to guarantee that the synagogue will be open to serve you when your time of need comes is for you to begin supporting us in membership now! It's up to you to make the decision to contribute what you can to Temple Emanu-El to allow us to provide the services you come to expect.
Thank you,
Loren H. Goldstein