When the Story is Told...
“And We’re Back” is the name of an internal BDJ WhatsApp group that we started this past July. It served as our platform for discussing how Delta and all that came with it was going to change (or upend) all of our plans for Elul and Tishrei. The chatgroup still exists, but when I see it pop on my phone these days, I think of something else entirely.
Without downplaying the many ways in which it’s still not 2019-at-BDJ, the fact is that in dozens of different ways, we are in fact back! I have never felt more optimistic about our getting all the way back than I do right now. And there is one person who gets all the thanks.
How are we back? Let me (non-exhaustively) count the ways: Teen Minyan, Tikkun Olam Lunch, Kabbalat Shabbat in the Backyard, Gemara Shiur, Teen Girls Tefilla, Afghan Refugee Fundraiser, Gesher, 8:25 Minyan, Midrash Group, Cocoa Club, YP Minyan, Nothing But The Pshat, Cookie Club, Zionism Series, Torah On Tap, Minyan for Minions, Shirat Chana, Friday Night Boomers Dinner (coming soon), Torat Chayyim, Daily Minyanim even in Pacific Standard Time, and Shabbat Morning in the Sanctuary that certainly ain’t there yet but where the fire is warm and just waiting to fully ignite. Together we’ve been clawing our way back, with deliberateness and with a clear sense of purpose. We have never stopped thinking about tomorrow, a day which only grows closer even if we do not yet know precisely when the dawn will fully break.
There is one person driving the process. There is one person who, one day when the story will be told, will be the hero. One person whom I want to thank right now.
That person is you.
You who have tolerated the heat or the chill outdoors, or the vagaries of the Zoomiverse to attend minyanim and classes. You who have understood that during this time Shul activities have never just been about the activities themselves, but also about strengthening, rebuilding and restoring the life and joy of the institution. You who have accepted the inconvenience and extra burden of Covid protocols as a small price to pay for the privilege of one day being able to say,
“I was there when we collectively took our stand and prevented our shul community from falling victim to a pandemic. I showed up.”
When the story is told, it will be a story about you, about us.
Our work is not done, our journey not yet complete, and we don’t know exactly what lies ahead. But it is already time to say “thank you.”
Upward and onward!
Rav Yosef
