PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
MAY, 2012
"Five Hundred, Twenty-Two Thousand, Six Hundred Minutes,
How do you measure, measure a year?"
- Rent ("Seasons of Love")
In less than two months, my tenure as your president will end, and the congregation will launch into its bright future with a new rabbi and a new president. I will, of course, continue to serve the congregation as Advisor, but the initiative will pass to a new group of leaders.
As we look back on the past 3 years, how can we measure our time together? Let me suggest a few themes that I think define this period: change, reflection, challenge, commitment and stewardship of our resources.
Change. Change has certainly been a constant in these years. We have seen beloved staff members leave, and have welcomed (perhaps hesitantly at first) new professionals to serve this congregation. But these changes have been difficult. Many of those who formerly served this community were (and are) well loved. Largely for this reason, the decisions made -- by the leadership in some cases, by staff in others -- were taken with a heavy heart and only after much deliberation and discussion. Today, we are served by a dedicated group of experienced professionals, who function and think as a team. The incredible quality of that team was noted favorably by each of the rabbis we brought back for interviews, and it is visible in the day-to-day operation of the synagogue. Now, with the hiring of Rabbi Ben David to serve as our next long-term rabbi, the rebuilding of our staff is complete.
Reflection. "Reimagining Adath" gave us an opportunity to discuss our future goals as a synagogue, but it also provided a reality check for the present. I am eternally grateful to the nearly 300 members of this congregation, who each devoted nearly 2 hours each to small group discussions of these issues. Your feedback has been invaluable and has been put to good use. It drove us to begin both rabbi searches with surveys of the congregation. The information from those surveys drove the decisions the Search Committee made, culminating in the selection first of Rabbi Offner and then of Rabbi David. Equally important, this dialogue is an integral reason why we have remained together as one congregation. And the maturity evident in the discussion made us a major attraction for potential hires. We received 50 applicants to serve as our rabbi; more than 25 applicants sought to serve as our administrator. Our internal dialogue and the changes that resulted made that all possible.
Challenge. While all of this was being addressed, the economic situation caused some of our congregants to lose their jobs, some had benefits and salaries cut by significant percentages; still others have had to take lower paying jobs to make ends meet. The result is that more congregants have been forced to seek reductions in their dues and other financial obligations than ever before. Because we are a congregation that will never say "no" to a member because of his/her financial circumstances, this has meant that we had to find another $100,000 per year to make up the difference. It is a price we are proud to pay, but it has created some difficult challenges making the budget balance year after year. To address this, we cut spending by more than $70,000 and raised dues in an amount sufficient to meet our needs.
Commitment. Through all that has befallen us, 90% of the congregation has elected to stay together and help design the future for us all. At the same time, we were able to attract dozens of new families. This underscores the truism that this is a "congregational family" that is built upon shared values and a shared vision of the importance of Judaism in our lives. Our commitment has found expression in our incredible youth program and in an explosion of social action. There is a level of excitement in the hallways, as a united congregation increasingly turns its focus to the tomorrow's challenges.
Stewardship. We also moved to preserve our greatest physical assets, reduce long-term building maintenance costs and better manage our financial reserves. We made significant repairs to the roof, and obtained a multi-year warranty that has already saved us thousands of dollars in additional charges. Led by the Green Team, we reduced our carbon footprint and our energy expenditures by replacing light bulbs, instituting a full recycling program and installing programmable thermostats. We have renegotiated long term contracts to reduce our operating cost. And we have invested our money with a professional manager who has increased our return on investment more than five-fold each year!
In short, I think our years together have been productive and good years for the congregation. They have set the groundwork for a future in which Adath Emanu-El -- led by a new rabbi and a new president -- can move confidently into the future. I am confident that it will be a bright future, with opportunities to attract other members who share our vision of congregational life.
So I thank you for the honor and privilege of serving as your president, for the countless ways in which you have embraced me (faults and all) and for the love we share for this congregation and for the Jewish People.
Chazak, chazak, v'nitchazek
Be strong, be strong, let us be strengthened together!
Ari D. Levine
