On February 13, 2012, Congregation B'nai Israel held the annual meeting to elect the Officers and Board of Directors. Thanks to all who attended. It is important to have the participation of our membership.
Thank you very much for the honor of electing me President. This is a great privilege and I will do the job to the best of my ability.
Past President Alan Schwartz gave me advice that I keep in mind. Every decision should be based on "What is best for the B'nai Israel community".
The new Officers and Board of Directors are an unsurpassed group. My job is easy because I am surrounded by such brilliant, talented and committed people. Our Spiritual Leader, Rabbi White, is a blessing to us all.
At the Congregational meeting I outlined three projects for the upcoming year;
1. Honor the Elders
2. History of Congregation B'nai Israel
3. Tree of Life
Honor the Elders
At Mount Sinai, Moses brought the laws to the Tribe of Israel. One of these laws tells us to honor our Elders. This is our responsibility.
This project is inspired by Dr. Seymour Marcuse, our eldest member, whom we honored at the February Shabbat Seder, celebrating his 105th birthday.
The Elders have seen the world and know how it works. We need to take advantage and learn from their wisdom. Rabbi White teaches us the Torah is for the children. We need the Elders to teach the children. Throughout this year we will have events to Honor the Elders. Helene Falk, helseyfalk@aol.com, will coordinate this project, please contact her with your ideas and assistance.
History of Congregation B'nai Israel
In conjunction with Honoring the Elders, we will begin the project of compiling the history of this Congregation. The founding and building of Congregation B'nai Israel is a great story. It is an epic tale of building a Jewish Community in Solano County. Within that story there are the individual stories of the many members, past and present, who built the Community and Synagogue we have today.
Just as we study the Torah to learn wisdom from our predecessors, we need to leave a record for our descendants. Mary Schwartz, maryschwartz64@yahoo.com, will coordinate this project, please contact her to help gather the stories and events that make up the history of our Congregation.
Tree of Life
Following the theme of honoring our Elders and recording our history, the Tree of Life is a record of the happy events in our lives. Look at the old Tree of Life and you will see plaques commemorating B'nai Mitzvah, significant birthdays and anniversaries, baby naming, parents honoring their children and grandchildren, children honoring their parents and grandparents.
Now we have a new Tree of Life. Let us fill it with our happy moments and events. Let us embrace our happy moments and enjoy them by engraving a "leaf" of the Tree. Our descendants will be able to see the good times we are enjoying.
In this spirit, we are eliminating the "fee" for a leaf on the Tree of Life. Cost should not be a barrier to embracing our happy moments. John Campbell, jr.campbell@sbcglobal.net, will coordinate the engraving of the "leaves" on the Tree. Let John know the happy moment or event you want to commemorate.
Now the "fee" will be whatever you want to donate. You choose the amount and send your donation to the Financial Secretary.
This is the plan for the upcoming year;
Honoring our Elders
Remembering our history
Embracing our happy times
Thank you again for the honor of being President of Congregation B'nai Israel.
Fred
fred zola
fredzola@earthlink.net
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