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FROM THE DESK OF RABBI ARYE BERK
Shalom,
What did you learn in school today? I am sure many of you remember your parents asking you that question and some of you may ask your children today that very same question. I know that I do not always get a satisfactory answer to this question or worse is when I do not understand the new math my children are learning today. The question is not just for children but for each of us and that includes rabbis. What did I learn today and what did I learn from my first year at Temple Beth Mynah? I am blessed to be in a position to learn something new each day and I want to share with you some of the lessons I have learned about our congregation.
The first and most important thing I have learned is that there are many wonderful people here at Temple Beth Emunah! The stories I have heard are just a drop in the bucket of the wonderful history of our temple. History is not everyone’s favorite subject but stories are a great way to learn about our history and about individuals. I hear many stories but I hope we can develop a way for others to share their personal stories over the next year. People are Temple Beth Emunah’s number one resource.
I have learned about commitment in this last year in many different ways. I have watched as people have shown their commitment to our daily Minyan which allows us to pray to God and enables mourners to say the Mourner’s Kaddish. Some people have certain days of the week they have pledged to join us and they rarely miss their appointed times. We are always looking for more people to make this meaningful commitment to our Temple. The daily Minyan is also blessed to have many different committed prayer leaders and they lead our services with passion and joy. This past year our congregation has learned Pirkei Avot, Ethics of our Fathers, and the Kaddish De Rabbanan at our Minayn during the winter months and that has been a small but meaningful change in our services.
Not only have I witnessed commitment during our services but our weekly Bingo games is a classroom in commitment and volunteerism all rolled up into one wonderful class for us all to observe and pay homage to at our Temple. The community of volunteers that gathers each week is something that I tell people about in my discussions with my colleagues and friends.
As your rabbi I have the wonderful opportunity to teach our Bnei Mitzvah students over the past year and each one of them has taught me something too. They have looked at their Torah portions with different eyes and have brought modern commentary to our services. They all start out rather nervous but they have all done a wonderful job as our teachers on Shabbat. I hope they will continue to teach us both by their words and their deeds in the coming year.
The year has been full of lessons, some wonderful some less so but learning is not always fun and there is wonderful learning in lessons gone wrong too. May our next year together be filled with our chance to learn from each other.
Please contact Rabbi Arye by phone or e-mail if you have any questions;
B'Shalom,
Rabbi Arye Berk
Rabbi David Paskin of Temple Beth Abraham in Canton posts a monthly rebcast. February's is a panel discussion with Rabbi Hausman of Ahavath Torah Congregation in Stoughton, and our own Rabbi Arye Berk
To view his blog and rebcast Click here
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