Wanna hear something crazy? Next month, when I
write my June L’Chaim submission, that will be my ONE-HUNDREDTH article for an
Ohev newsletter!! Hard to believe, isn’t it? I wrote 29 articles for what-we-used-to-call
The Honey Jar, and next month will be #71 in L’Chaim. Add that to my recent
milestone of writing my 500th blog post, and clearly something is
going on. Well, you all know my math skills are quite paltry, but even I
figured this one out.
The answer is, in just a few, short weeks, I will
have been your rabbi for an entire decade! Wow. And you thought the 100th
article thing (above) was difficult to fathom!! I’m very excited to celebrate
this wonderful milestone with all of you, and I’m both thankful and awed that
we, somehow, found one another at just the right moment – when Ohev needed a
new rabbi and a change in direction, and I was looking for a congregation just
like this one. It truly was “bashert” (meant to be)…
I will also point out that the timing is
particularly fortuitous, because Ohev is about to celebrate an incredible
achievement as well; its Centennial Year! Our *actual* Ohev Shalom history book
(which I love!) includes the following note: “By now, B’nai Israel was no
longer the only Jewish congregation in Chester. Congregation B’nai Aaron
received a charter from the Court of Common Please of Delaware County on April
15, 1915. In 1920, however, the two congregations merged and on March 29 of
that year the court again granted a charter, this time to Congregation Ohev
Sholom [sic], which name means “Lover of Peace.”
I think it’s fantastic that my second decade and
Ohev’s second century begin together. That too feels like bashert. We
have a fabulous team of volunteers – spearheaded by past-presidents Bruce
Godick and Frances Sheehan – who are planning an incredible year of Centennial
Celebrations. We’re all gonna party like it’s 1919! 😊 And
while I genuinely look forward to all the events that await us, I also want to
share with you my own personal agenda and hope for our next era together.
What do we actually KNOW about our history? How
can we celebrate, if we don’t fully understand where we came from, how we got
here, or the challenges we had to overcome? I firmly believe that we will enter
the next century primed for success and prosperity… only if we first delve
deeply and earnestly into our past. We need to explore the stories of Chester,
of the Conservative Movement in America, and our own community’s legacy. THEN
we can really build to new heights and greater strength!
One quick programmatic note related to this: On
Wednesday, May 8th, our Wednesday morning Bible class is taking its
annual field trip! This year, we are visiting the Delaware County Historical
Society, located in downtown Chester. We will learn about the community that allowed
our ancestors to arrive and thrive a century ago… as well as uncover some of
the obstacles and hardships that befell them. The Joseph and Edith Godick
Jewish History Fund is making this trip possible, and anyone in the
congregation is welcome to attend – even if you’re not a Bible class attendee!
We have much to celebrate. Our community today is
strong, and our future feels exciting and hopeful. Let’s spend the year ahead
really honoring our history; understanding and grappling with all that came
before, and embracing everything that made us who we are today. Then we’ll be
ready for anything that lies ahead. I can’t wait to experience it all with you!
L’Chaim – To Life! – indeed.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Gerber
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