Rabbi's Greeting
Dear Friends,
This is a special time of year for our synagogue community, when we honor those leaders who remind us who we are and what we can be.
Seth and Patty Goldman, Marge Goldwater, and Avery and Wendy Katz exemplify what it means to be Ansche Chesed, people of love, or a community of kindness. In so many ways, they display their love of Torah, of being Jewish, of caring for their fellow community members in ways that should inspire us all.
What’s our reward for living as Jews? We all know that piety cannot guarantee health or wealth in this world. Many of us hope for felicity on the astral plane, in the “world to come.” A more human scale answer comes in Pirkei Avot [4.2], when Ben Azzai reminds us that virtue is its own reward (and sin is its own punishment):
This is a special time of year for our synagogue community, when we honor those leaders who remind us who we are and what we can be.
Seth and Patty Goldman, Marge Goldwater, and Avery and Wendy Katz exemplify what it means to be Ansche Chesed, people of love, or a community of kindness. In so many ways, they display their love of Torah, of being Jewish, of caring for their fellow community members in ways that should inspire us all.
What’s our reward for living as Jews? We all know that piety cannot guarantee health or wealth in this world. Many of us hope for felicity on the astral plane, in the “world to come.” A more human scale answer comes in Pirkei Avot [4.2], when Ben Azzai reminds us that virtue is its own reward (and sin is its own punishment):
שֶׁמִּצְוָה גּוֹרֶרֶת מִצְוָה, וַעֲבֵרָה גוֹרֶרֶת עֲבֵרָה. שֶׁשְּׂכַר מִצְוָה, מִצְוָה. וּשְׂכַר עֲבֵרָה, עֲבֵרָה
“One commandment leads to another, and one sin leads to another. The reward for a commandment is yet another commandment, and the punishment for a sin is yet another sin.”
Our dear honorees: the mitzvot you do bring in their wake so many more good deeds to Ansche Chesed. The rewards we all enjoy, thanks to your leadership, are more opportunities to gather, to celebrate together, to mourn together, to visit the sick and comfort the bereaved, to learn, to sing, to davven. Your mitzvot helps us welcome the stranger and feed the hungry. You serve as officers and trustees. You keep the building beautiful and safe.
Personally, I treasure our friendships. Communally, I am strengthened by sharing our shul with you.
Please accept this benefit celebration as a tribute to who you are and an expression of this community’s gratitude for all you have done.
With greatest esteem and warmest regards,
Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky
Our dear honorees: the mitzvot you do bring in their wake so many more good deeds to Ansche Chesed. The rewards we all enjoy, thanks to your leadership, are more opportunities to gather, to celebrate together, to mourn together, to visit the sick and comfort the bereaved, to learn, to sing, to davven. Your mitzvot helps us welcome the stranger and feed the hungry. You serve as officers and trustees. You keep the building beautiful and safe.
Personally, I treasure our friendships. Communally, I am strengthened by sharing our shul with you.
Please accept this benefit celebration as a tribute to who you are and an expression of this community’s gratitude for all you have done.
With greatest esteem and warmest regards,
Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky