March 2008
Allan Mendelsohn
Recording Secretary

A Tale of Two Buildings

Recently, as I was driving up Route 22 to a Board of Directors meeting, my eyes caught sight of the "old building" and the changes to it, including the words "Town of Southeast" over the entrance. My heart felt a twinge of regret and remembrance. It has been almost 23 years since our family joined Temple Beth Elohim. We had come from another congregation, and I was somewhat hesitant about joining a new Temple whose members I did not know. However, any apprehension I may have felt quickly disappeared as we were quickly made to feel welcome by Rabbi Acrish and the congregation. We soon realized that we had joined more than a building; we had joined a family. There were fewer members in 1985, and both the size of the congregation and the building itself gave a feeling of intimacy.

As the years rolled by and we celebrated the B'nei Mitzvah of our children, Jana and Ian, as I joined Men's Club and put up and took down the Sukkah each year, as I helped maintain the building with "do it yourself" repairs, as we attended services and other congregational events, the feelings of warmth and family only grew stronger. To illustrate: When my son, Ian, received a letter from the Rabbi inviting him to a Shabbat service for college students, he came home to attend. When I told him that I was somewhat surprised at his making the train trip from Skidmore, he simply replied: "My rabbi asked me to come: how could I not?" In 2005, when my daughter, Jana, was planning her wedding in Waltham, MA, she called to ask me if I thought the Rabbi would perform the ceremony. She had been away for 7 years and yet her thoughts still included the Temple.

Now, our congregation has grown. We have many more members in 2008, and we have a new, larger and beautiful Temple on the hill to house the congregation. I wondered if the increase in size would lessen the sense of intimacy. That evening when I walked into the building, the twinge of nostalgia disappeared as I realized that the "good vibrations" were still there. I hope and pray that all of you share these feelings, and may we all work to keep the Temple Beth Elohim family strong and growing.

B’Shalom

Allan