From the President
Jim Singer

President’s Kol Nidre Address to the Congregation with a special postscrpit

Over the last six years, I have addressed the Congregation during the High Holiday either as your Vice President or President. This year will be the end of my third year as Temple President. This is my farewell address. I would like to thank a few people and share with the Congregation a few lessons that I have learned as President.

More than anything else, I want to thank the membership for letting me serve as your President. This has been a tremendous growth experience for me. I have received far more than I have given. I want to thank the professional team at B’nai El. First and foremost, Rabbi Plotkin. Our Rabbi is not much older than my son. It is amazing to me the difficult situations that Rabbi Plotkin has handled which has required maturity far beyond his years. How does a young man connect to older congregants who have lost a spouse or a child? Rabbi Plotkin has done this. He has also become a leader in the St. Louis Jewish Community and is now the Chair of the St. Louis Reform Rabbis. Next, I would like to thank Sue Baseley. Sue serves as the general and the private in our office. Along with Rabbi Plotkin, Sue is the face of B’nai El that is seen by prospective members and our members. Sue also does all of the administrative work related to our large tenant, the RJA. I want to thank Music Director Dan Brodsky. In addition to his beautiful voice, Dan has been our rock during all of the ups and downs of the Congregation. I also want to thank Bob Meinz, our organist who is part of our B’nai El family; Joyce Rudolph; and Tommie Green and Ron Davis.

I also want to thank the officers and Board members. I want to give a special thanks to Vice Presidents Dave Siegel, Shirley Schwartz and Brian Loving, Treasurer Mike Jacobson and Assistant Treasurer Emma Avgust, and past president Marci Rosenberg who is always there when B’nai El needs her.

What are the lessons that I have learned as your President?

First, a couple of years ago, we did our mission statement project. The mission statement now appears on the order of worship and our letterhead. The mission statement can be reduced to one word, the verb “engage.” It is the goal of our Congregation to engage our membership in Jewish life. When an existing or new member becomes engaged, we have succeeded. At the same time, we are a refuge from the pressures of the outside world. Temple activities should be a relief not added pressure for our members.

Don’t be afraid of Temple leadership. I consider myself an unlikely Temple president. I am not schooled in Judaica. I was not bar mitzvahed. As the Rabbi knows, I do not read Hebrew. I am not a natural salesperson. If I can do it, so can you.

There are great joys in being Temple President. It is the simple things that mean the most. The rewards are the look in a member’s eyes when she has been touched by the Rabbi at a funeral or some other time of need, a member’s “thank you” for what B’nai El has meant to them, and our children’s laughter.

When I went to the URJ Scheidt Seminar three years ago, I learned that we Reform Jews are a diverse group. To start off, only about half of us come from a “classic reform” background. We have members who grew up as Conservative or Orthodox Jews. We have immigrants whose experiences do not fit neatly in one of the American pigeon holes. We have converts to Judaism who deserve special credit as the only ones among us who chose to be Jewish. What this means is that we have to be tolerant of different worship styles if we are going to remain relevant to our current members and prospective members.

The most important relationship at the Temple is between the Congregation and our Rabbi. In the last 25 years or so, B’nai El has experienced regular turn over with its Rabbis. Our parent organization, the Union of Reform Jews, instructs us that the relationship between the Congregation and the Rabbi is a “sacred partnership.” For the partnership to work, there must be a give and take relationship similar to a successful marriage, friendship or business partnership. We must listen to each other. We must not question each other’s motives. We must make decisions in a way that brings us together instead of pushing us apart. Our traditions teach us that Yom Kippur is our time to renew our Temple relationships. At Yom Kippur we let go of the hurt feelings of the past year and forgive others as we seek forgiveness for ourselves. I am sure that I have hurt members in the last year as Temple President. Please accept my sincere apologies.

Finally, we need money. I would not be doing my job as Temple President if I did not remind the members that we need money. We are a small congregation with 200 families. We distinguish ourselves from the larger congregations as a place where people know you, and you can easily become active. I believe that we have a distinct market in St. Louis as an alternative to the larger congregations. However, it is tough being a small congregation. At the moment, we are living in frightening economic times. Many of our older members are seeing their retirement accounts dwindle and our younger members are seeing their wages and salaries fall or get eaten up by increases in the cost of living. For those of us who can afford to financially support the Temple, now is a moment of truth between B’nai El and its members. When you get your dues statement, please pay your dues and consider paying more to compensate for those members who are having a tough time and can’t afford it. Please remember the B’nai El Endowment which is paying for much of our building maintenance. The Endowment is an important part of B’nai El’s finances. We need for the Endowment to continue to grow.

This Yom Kippur is similar to Yom Kippur 2001 when our country was attacked. Tough times remind us what is important and what is superficial. Our religion and our traditions have carried past generations of Jews through far tougher times than this. If we put our energy and financial resources into B’nai El, it will be there for us and it has been for past generations. I wish you the best of New Years.

Postscript:

During Yom Kippur morning services, Rabbi Ploktin announced to the Congregation that Greta Forsman had passed away after a heroic battle with cancer. Greta was one of the reasons why B’nai El is a special place to our members. Greta and her husband Al helped the Congregation in countless ways. Our hearts and prayers go out to Al and their family.

Our High Holidays were a special event this year as in past years. Many thanks to Rabbi Plotkin, Music Director Dan Brodsky, Organist Bob Meinz, Temple Administrator Sue Baseley, Temple Vice President Dave Siegel who served in the choir, member Sylvian Iticovici for his violin presentations on Kol Nidre evening and his solo of the theme from Schlinder’s List at Yom Kippur memorial service, the Goldberg family for music and meditations on Yom Kippur afternoon, the Lowenstein family for blowing the shovar, Bill and Linda Levin for the floral center pieces, Vice President Bryan Loving for organizing the ushers, the past Presidents for sponsoring the break-the-fast oneg, Tom Green and Ron Davis for all of their help, and everyone else who made the High Holidays so meaningful for our members.

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