President’s Speech

Those of you who were here on Yom Kippur will remember Rabbi Loeb reciting, with the assistance of our Chazan Joyce, the moving words of Un ne Tahne Tokef-probably the key prayer in the High Holiday ritual. For those of you who don’ t recall the words-I will take a few minutes to quote them ‘ On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed who will pass from the earth and how many will be created,who will live and who will die, who at the predestined time and who before his time’

This mystical prayer, perhaps particularly strange to we Progressive Jews who believe that what it is that we do on earth that matters, does remind us how fleeting life is-and how we must grab the opportunity to make the most of the time that is given to us. Whoever could have imagined that Rabbi Loeb, having conducted a beautiful Yom Kippur service ,would not be with us at Beth Shalom to conduct his first Shabbat service.

There is little that I can add to what has already been said about Rabbi Loeb. I don’t think that any of us here realized how exceptional and brilliant a Rabbi he was, how loved he was by his congregants, how he had friends-on high places and normal people-all over the world. What an outstanding mensh we was-always acting with kindness and wisdom-totally devoted to the concept of Tikkun Olom-making the world a better place. He didn’t just talk-he was a doer and an activist. We all mourn him and the opportunity we missed in not having him for a longer period.

Perhaps some of you will recall Rabbi Loeb’s Kol Nidre eve description of the Jewish people’s reasons for survival-based on study/education, family and community. Let us use this Torah -remembering that it was read and studied by Rabbi Loeb- and dedicate ourselves and our Congregation to what was described so aptly three years ago by Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz when she
spoke about ‘second chances’-to learn more about our religion, its ethics, its literature and its history. That would be a true tribute to Rabbi Loeb and his love of Judaism.

Beth Shalom has changed greatly in the 8 years since we dedicated our first Torah. We are and have become even more so a warm, inclusive and welcoming Congregation. We believe that every Jew is part of the Jewish people and part of our family and that they must have a place at our table. We reach out to non-traditional families seeking places in Jewish life, to the children of Jewish fathers ,to inter-faith families interested in raising their children as Jews and try to provide them with the help and support to realize their dreams.

In today’s world, all Jews are Jews by choice. All of us can walk away from Judaism if we want to==but we don’t. We turn to Judaism for its timeless relevance and its eternal message of hope. But it is our sacred duty to help others make the same choice.

The Progressive Movement and Beth Shalom must be a home to these and other seekers. We must believe that if the Torah isn’t for everyone, it isn’t for anyone. We must continue to stand for openness. Judaism is a rich faith and we must share it with all. It’s message is deep in meaning and it sustains us to this day, just as it did in the days of Abraham and Sarah, the first Jew by choice.

We must continue to make Beth Shalom an open Community-if our Community remains open, people will enter, as the last 8 years have shown us.

Working , studying an d praying together-as a community and family, we will do honor to Rabbi Loeb and the ideals he so brilliantly stood for. In this way his memory will truly be a blessing to all of us.

David Ross - President Congregation Beth Shalom, Milan Italy

Pictures:

Torah Dedication

Torah Dedication 2