Rabbi Carl M. Perkins 
Donald R. Lassman, President
 



The State of the Shul



(The following is a revised version of remarks Rabbi Perkins delivered at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the congregation on May 15, 2017.)

Introduction

I haven't yet seen the musical, "Hamilton," but I can't get the melody of that song, "You'll Be Back" out of my ear.  It has a familiar, catchy refrain: "Da-da-da-da-daaaah; dai-da-dai-da-dai-da-dai-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da; Da-da-da-da-daaaah ..." You can hear it at 1:15 on the following youtube clip:  


Now, my interest in the melody did not arise because I ever heard the song sung on Broadway or elsewhere, but because I was part of a group that sang it here on the bima of Temple Aliyah this past Purim.  You may have been here to hear it.  

Instead of singing it with the syllables, "Da da da da daaaah,"  we sang it on Purim like this: "Ali-yah-la-laaaaah, la la la la la la la la la la la la la la, Aliyah-la-laaaah, etc."  You can see (and hear) our staff rehearsing the refrain here:
 
 
That experience captures in a nutshell an important piece of my message this evening.  Let me explain.
 
Each year at this time, at the Annual Meeting, at the end of the programming year, prior to voting on the budget and the slate of officers, and any constitutional amendments that are on the agenda, I pause to reflect on the state of the shul
 
Each year, there is a lot of information about our shul to convey.  There are accomplishments worth celebrating, and there are goals not yet achieved. There are people to thank, some of whom are in the public eye, and some of whom aren't.    All this should be a part of the Rabbi's Report.
 
Fortunately, some of the details that would ordinarily be in my report will be shared in the President's Report, which will shortly be delivered by Don Lassman.  So that shortens my text.  But still, there's an awful lot to say, in not a large amount of time. 
 
So, I am going to condense my report.  A written version of my report will be available on line in the next week or so. In the meantime, I want to touch on three things.
 
First, the people of our shul -- both our members and our staff. 
 
Second, I want to zoom out and look at the environment in which we function. The state of our shul cannot be understood without reflecting on, and responding to, trends in American Jewry and American society.
 
Third, I want to close by sharing what I think might be the most important thing to know about our shul.
 
 
Part One
 
So, number one, the people of our shul.
 
Every year, it's my privilege to thank the professionals and the lay leaders with whom I've worked over the past year, and with whom I hope to work in the coming year.
 
We are a mid-sized shul.  In small shuls, most of the work is done by lay leaders, who not only set policy but in most cases effectuate and implement it. In large shuls, much of the work of managing the shul is done by professionals. Mid-sized shuls are different from both of these models. They require strong, hard-working lay and professional leaders working together as a team to accomplish the shul's objectives. 
 
Our professional team this past year has been quite strong, and I want to review it with you. 
 
Rabbi Leslie Gordon has been our Rabbi in Residence for a long time, but this past year, she served as Rabbinic Associate, assisting me with pastoral work, teaching classes, providing counseling and providing programming assistance.  



Those of us who know her know how capable, sensitive and caring a religious leader she is. We've been lucky to have her as part of our clergy team this year. 
 
Having taught bar and bat mitzvah students here for a number of years, Cantor Linda Sue Sohn has ably served as our Cantor in Residence for the second year in a row, quietly and effectively providing outstanding bar/bat mitzvah training to our kids (and adults as well), shepherding families to and through their celebrations, and also providing informed cantorial leadership in other ways as well.  



Generous, and frequently willing to extend herself for the good of our community, we have been very well served by Cantor Sohn and I want to acknowledge that, and thank her at this time. 
 
I hope we all know Alisa Levine!  This has been Alisa's first year on our staff as Director of Education -- although, since we've known each other for so long, it seems like she's been working here much longer than that.  



Alisa began preparing to take over our school last spring, and she put oodles and oodles of time into providing a smooth transition.  She's been a thoughtful and caring head of school and an inspired educator.  I'm very grateful for the work she has done in strengthening Mercaz Aliyah. 
 
This also doesn't seem like the first year of Debbi Fendell's tenure as Director of Early Childhood Education.  After all, she helped us establish Gan Aliyah several years ago. 



Debbi is a consummate professional: organized, methodical, capable and empathic.  She always follows through. She has established warm and supportive relationships with all of our families. Again, I'm grateful for the role she has played and will continue to play here.
 
Ellyn Shriber , who has been with us for a number of years, has worked very effectively this past year as our Director of Synagogue Programming.  



She has worked hard not only to plan and implement programs but to help us all to be on the same page. She has also helped supervise and mentor our Youth Director and has worked with Mercaz Aliyah and Gan Aliyah. 
 
Kayla Reisman has just concluded a busy first year with us as Youth Director.  



With her energy and enthusiasm and her out-of-the-box ideas, Kayla has brought a lot of pizzazz to our youth community.  She created "TACOS" -- which just received an award from the New England Region of USY.  And incidentally, it was she who deserves much of the credit for our fabulous Purim celebration this year, which included that song, "Aliyah-la-la," that I described earlier.
 
Alan Teperow has just concluded his second year with us as Director of Planning and Engagement.  



This is a part-time position with a full-time impact -- for Alan has enthusiastically and generously employed his considerable experience, insight and wisdom to build up our community.  He conceived, planned, executed and evaluated a bunch of key programs here, such as: our "Turn Over a New Leaf" program, which brought over a hundred new volunteers onto our committees; our (so far) two annual Kripalu retreats; our Spiritual Conversations program; and five new havurot.  Alan was responsible for bringing a synagogue management expert from United Synagogue to our shul (which led to our participation in the Sulam program), and he mentored Kayla Reisman, helping her to receive a $7,500 grant for youth programming next year.  He has also consulted with our staff and lay leaders to help us more effectively promote our shul's mission. Thank you, Alan.  
 
I also want to thank our office staff for their menschlichkeit and professionalism, and for working together with me, our other professionals, and our lay leadership, to accomplish our collective goals:

Sharon Solomon, our synagogue administrator, who has a very large portfolio, from our calendar to our kiddushes -- and everything in between; Caroline Nudelman, our Mercaz Aliyah administrative assistant; Rufina Kotlyar, our bookkeeper; and Bonnie Levy, who, in addition to doing youth work and helping out in Gan Aliyah, has been doing administrative work in the office this year.  All are dedicated and caring professionals who are willing to extend themselves and give their all to our congregation. 

Last but not least, I want to thank Marie Savrides, my administrative assistant. As every rabbi knows, a rabbi can only accomplish as much as his or her administrative assistant can handle.  I'm truly grateful for Marie's industriousness and carefulness -- and caring, which gets communicated to every person who interacts with her.     
 
As I hope we all know by now, major staff changes are in the works.
 
In a few weeks, we'll be bidding farewell to Ellyn Shriber. We'll continue to see Cantor Sohn around, but she'll be putting in fewer hours and her responsibilities will focus more on Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparation.  Rabbi Gordon will remain our Rabbi in Residence, and we hope that she'll be able to continue with some of the programs she instituted here this year, but she too will be putting in fewer hours.  
 
The big news, of course, is that we'll shortly be welcoming Cantor Jamie Gloth on board as our new full-time clergy person.  



Many of us have met Cantor Gloth and his wife Bina Carr, and possibly even one or another of their children, but we'll have several opportunities during the first six months of his tenure to meet him and get the chance to schmooze with him.  These will include:  July 1st, the first Shabbat service which he'll be leading as our new cantor; September 10th, the probable date of our opening barbecue; September 16th, the night of Selichot, when Cantor Gloth will present a study session on the Kol Nidre; the Cantor's installation, which will probably take place on a Saturday evening in November; and then on Friday night, January 6th, 2018, when he'll be joining TAK26 and Temple Tots for a Friday evening program. 
 
I mention all of these opportunities now because they say that you have to tell people something five times in order for it to sink in. Consider this the first of five notices you'll get of these five opportunities!  Hopefully, everyone will be able to take advantage of at least one of them.
 
I think you can see from this brief review that our staff is strong.
 
It's also true that our lay leadership is strong.
 
I would like to thank everyone who has been serving our congregation and thank everyone who has agreed to serve in the coming year.  Think of the many roles that people play in our shul: from serving on committees -- both standing ones and ad hoc ones, like our clergy search committee, whose work took not one year but two; to assuming responsibility for projects like, say, putting on an Israeli art show, or evaluating and enhancing our security, or installing solar panels on our roof, ... or any of the other projects that arose this year.
 
Think of how much gets done behind the scenes! Every Shabbat morning, our Torah scrolls are rolled to the proper place, Torah readers are signed up to read torah, and someone comes prepared to read the haftarah. We don't have to worry about these kinds of things, as many shuls do, because people have assumed responsibility for them.
 
(I'm reminded of something that happened the first year I was here at Temple Aliyah. I was at work in my study one night after midnight, when I heard footsteps outside of my office.  I quickly opened the door.  Instead of a burglar, I saw a long-standing member of the congregation, sheepishly carrying a toolbox.  "I'm here to check the wiring," he said. "so that everything will work OK on the High Holidays.")

Wow.
 
I wish I could thank everyone by name, but time does not allow for that. So let me just acknowledge and thank one person, our congregational president, Don Lassman


 
Don has energy, commitment and good judgment.  He is an excellent delegator.  He has but one concern, namely, "What is best for the congregation?"  And he has fulfilled his responsibilities as president with diligence and a high level of responsibility. 
 
We should never take any of that for granted.  Our shul has benefited greatly from Don's expertise and focus; from his vision; from his persistence (it was he, after all, that promoted the Sulam Program in our congregation); and even from his friendliness.  After all, it was he who decided to greet people in shul every Shabbat morning from 9:15 to 10:00 am. That was a warm, friendly gesture, which many have appreciated.  
 
As Don prepares to step down, I wish him and Amy and their two kids, Rebecca and Adam, well, as he suddenly finds himself with a lot more time to devote to them.  But I hope that he won't forget that even ex-presidents can do work on behalf of the shul. Our shul has historically benefitted much more than most from the efforts of past presidents.
 
And so, Don, let me wish you well, and let me wish you well contemplating how you'd like to remain involved.
 
Part Two
 
Let me then go to my second topic, which is the environment in which our community exists.  In thinking about our shul and its challenges going forward, I want to present to you four questions that I would hope that, over the next year or so, all of us will reflect on.
 
Here they are:
 
I.         As our society continues to evolve, will congregations in general, and shuls in particular, remain worthwhile, appealing institutions with which people will want to affiliate?
 
As I've said many times, fifty years ago, affiliation wasn't really a choice.  It was a demand.  Everyone who wanted to be a part of the broader community affiliated.
 
That is hardly true today.  Moreover, many people take a boutique approach to Jewish life.  They're willing to take one from column A and one from column B.  They are willing to get a bit of their Jewish fix from this place and a bit from that place.  Many view Jewish activities not as opportunities to work with others in transforming the world and becoming transformed, but instead as opportunities to obtain various services.  The notion of "belonging" is foreign to many today.
 
I think that's unfortunate.  For it's a very limited way to understand the role of the synagogue.  A synagogue is not primarily a service provider. It's a community.  I believe in community.  I believe that each of us benefits from the presence and the support of the community. This is true during happy times and during sad times - and during all the times in between.
 
We know that we are not the only Jewish address for our members.  Many of our members are active - and we encourage this - in Jewish summer camping, Jewish day schools, the JCC, CJP, the JCRC, AJC, ... or in one or another of the other Jewish communal agencies in town. 
 
But as a synagogue, I believe that we are the only Jewish address that offers broad trans-generational programming, that offers worship services and educational programming and social action involvement and other opportunities to experience virtuous -- not virtual -- community. 
 
So I certainly feel that our shul is worthwhile. The question is whether young people moving to our area, settling in Needham or the surrounding communities, will feel the same way. 
 
After all, these days, they can always choose not be get involved, not to affiliate.  We must always remember that.
 
And even if people decide to affiliate and to get involved, we are not the only show in town.  They could always choose to affiliate with a shul with a different denominational identity, either here in town, or nearby.
 
So that raises my second question:
 
II.        What is in store for the Conservative movement? Will the Conservative movement continue to be a stimulating, worthwhile movement with which Jews will want to affiliate?  If so, what will it look like?  What will unite Conservative Jews, and what will divide us from one another?
 
After all, we've seen the statistics:  the number of Orthodox Jews continues to increase, the result of greater commitment, earlier average age of marriage, higher average number of children, etc., etc.  We have also seen an increase in the number of Reform Jews, as Reform congregations are more successful than Conservative ones in reaching out to and welcoming in Jews at the margins of the Jewish community, such as, for example, interfaith couples.  So the number of Orthodox Jews is increasing and the number of Reform Jews is increasing.  Our numbers -- nationally -- have been decreasing.
 
I believe in Conservative Judaism. I believe that it offers us the opportunity to embrace traditional Jewish observance without giving up the moral or intellectual insights of modernity.  I find Orthodox dogma incompatible with Enlightenment thinking and Reform Judaism insufficiently loyal to traditional practice.  I've spoken and written about this a lot, so I won't present my views in detail at this time.  But I don't think that I am alone.  There are many, many others who are similarly simultaneously drawn to the spirituality of Jewish observance and the clarity of modern critical inquiry.  Nevertheless, our movement needs a much better presentation, nationally, of who we are, what we represent, what unites us, and also, frankly, what divides us. 
 
III.      My third question is: Is the economic model of the mid-sized shul -- which is what we are -- sustainable?  Can we continue to thrive as a mid-sized congregation, or must we either grow or merge or dissolve? 
 
Everyone knows that what used to be the site of Mishkan Tefila is now owned by Boston College.  Don't get me wrong: Mishkan Tefila still exists; it's on the grounds of KI in Brookline. But it's hardly what it had once been and its continued existence remains up in the air. 
 
So, shuls like ours will have to (continue to) pay attention to the bottom line.  That's very much on the radar screens of our lay leadership; let me just say that I don't believe that we have to reinvent the wheel.  There are many people who've been thinking about this for a long time. We can learn from them.
 
This leads to a fourth question: 
 
IV.      Are we, the leaders of Temple Aliyah -- this particular community that celebrated its jubilee a few years ago -- maximizing our strengths and working on addressing our weaknesses?  Because if we're not, we should be.  In order to succeed in the environment in which we find ourselves, we need to take an on-going honest look at ourselves and try to maximize our effectiveness at pursuing our mission.
 
Part Three
 
I said I would close by suggesting what I think is our greatest strength.
 
A shul can have the loftiest goals in the world and still fail miserably.  It can have pretty mediocre articulated goals and yet succeed.  What's the secret to a shul's success?
 
Let me answer that by telling you a story:
 
I hope everyone is aware of the two vessels that now adorn our sanctuary. Everyone probably isn't aware of how, after the artist generously offered to gift us with those vessels, several members of the congregation came together to choose a place to put them, carry out the work of readying the space, provide illumination, etc., etc., and then finally install them. 
 
A group of people - in essence, a small commando unit - came together.  It included an electrician, an engineer, a lawyer, someone with impeccable taste, and a few others. They hired a carpenter. They did some painting. And they got the job done.
 
What did they have in common? They love the shul and they love working together and they have only one very significant, selfless, interest in mind: What is best for the shul?  
 
Now, that of course is just one example.  Many unseen examples of that type of commitment and generosity are taking place all the time.  Our shul is filled with modest people working on behalf of the community, performing acts of hesed under the radar screen.
 
And that, of course, is our greatest strength. You see that strength when you encounter people in our shul getting involved in social action initiatives with one another, or serving on the School Committee with others, or davening on Shabbat morning with others, or attending a "Wise Aging" seminar with others, etc., etc.  Only if we care for one another and love one another can we build community.  If all of us within our congregation continue to like spending time with one another pursuing our mission, then we'll continue to prosper and thrive.
 
And that brings me back, of course, to that song.  "Aliyah-la-la, la-la-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la-la-la..."  Just like our members like coming together to work on behalf of the shul, so too does our staff.  Our staff enjoyed coming together on Purim to sing that song. On the one hand, it was just a song. On the other hand, it was symbolic. It represented our joy at working together and even playing together on behalf of our community.

Aliyah-la-la!
Aliyah-la-la!

So, let's close by singing that refrain, and in essence reminding ourselves of what our loyalty toward and love of the shul is all about:  "Aliyah-la-la, la-la-la-la-la-la-la, ...."
 
Thank you!
 
Sincerely,

Rabbi Carl M. Perkins



Temple Aliyah | 1664 Central Avenue | Needham, MA 02492
Phone: 781-444-8522 |  www.templealiyah.com