November 2011
Janet Mauro
First Vice President
Worship Committee Co-Chairman

Honors - a Reflection

Another High Holy Day season has come to an end. We have been offered the opportunity to look at our lives - to reflect on our thoughts and behaviors of the past year, so as to work to improve ourselves, and in some small way improve the world in which we live.

Preparing for the High Holy Days at Temple Beth Elohim is no small task and we on the Worship committee hope that to the congregation it appeared to be seamless. Nan, Roberta and Betsy spend many hours on all the various tasks that are generated by the holidays and do it so well, that it looks effortless. But you can believe me it is not, and their hard work is very much appreciated. Rabbi Acrish, Robin and Richard Sills, Illana Johnston, Judy Coco, and Traci Sandler all work together to be sure that the services are inspiring. We are fortunate as well to have talented people willing to read Torah and Haftorah portions, and others who summon up the power to sound the Shofar. These individuals spend many summer hours practicing and chanting. The choir too, spends many a weeknight practicing the music sung only once a year.

The Worship committee is also busy at this time of year and one of our more time-consuming and sometimes tedious tasks is the delegation of Honors. As Rabbi told us on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, in some congregations honors come with a price tag or are only given to those who make a large financial commitment to the synagogue. At other congregations, honors are reserved for Board members or are not given at all. Not so at TBE - we are rather unique in that we honor so many members of the congregation. We honor those who are able to support the Temple strongly financially as well as those who dedicate many hours of service to the various TBE committees and activities.

The process begins in late spring when we ask the chairs of various Temple committees to send us the names of their dedicated volunteers. It is heartening to see the long lists given to us, and that so many people volunteer for multiple efforts. Once we have all the names, we then have to fill in our spreadsheet while trying to recall who prefers a non-speaking honor, who has had back surgery so cannot lift a Torah scroll, who is with their parents on Rosh Hashanah, and so on. We always hope that the honorees realize how much we appreciate all that they do for the Temple and that this is just one small way we, representing the Board of Directors, can say thank you. Although we often receive brief notes of thanks when people need to decline, we usually don’t hear how the honorees feel. This year, however, two people stand out in my mind.

One is a young mother, relatively new to our Temple family. She came to tell me before services began how honored she was to be seated on the Bimah. A simple thing, and yet she said, with her eyes glittering with memory, that her father would have been so proud. She brought tears to my eyes when she told me that the tallit she was wearing belonged to her beloved father and that through it she could feel his loving arms around her. All this, because she was asked to simply sit on the Bimah.

Another person who stands out in my mind is a veteran member and long-time volunteer. She is often seated on the Bimah and is always gracious about it. This year she was given a new honor – one Rabbi added so that we had enough tasks for the number of people we honor. She was asked to hold the Torah before it was returned to the Ark. Again a very simple job - stand, hold the Torah and then place it in the Ark when Rabbi has finished the prayers. But this was not simple for her. The service ended shortly after and she came to speak with Ava and me to say thank you. She was teary and trembling from the experience - to be that close to the Torah that she loves - to embrace it - left her filled with awe.

These two women truly made the High Holy Days more meaningful to me. Through their experiences I felt closer to God, and to them I say thank you. On behalf of the entire Worship Committee I wish the congregation a sweet and peace-filled new year.