From the desk of Rabbi Alex Greenbaum

Us and Them

It's nice to know that after six years together (can you believe it? We are going onto our seventh High Holidays together), we can still come up with fresh ideas. When I started here at Beth El in 2002, I came in with many one year, two year, five year, and ten year plans. Some I have accomplished. Some I have not. Some I have realized worked elsewhere but may not work here. But, what is nice, is that one month ago I came up with another new ten year plan, other than signing another contract through the year 2015.

It's the Us and Them Plan. You see, we live in a society where it is all about us and them, religions, races, politics, age, movements, synagogues, leadership, us and them. We spend most of our lives categorizing people. Who we are and who we are not. But, that cannot and should not happen within a synagogue, although it happens everywhere. Recently, I have been accused of being naïve, accused of trying to create a utopia that does not exist outside of these walls. I stand guilty as charged.

This will take time. But I have a dream. That one day every person, every committee, within Beth El will be "Us." It won't be our nursery school's problem, it will be our problem. It won't be our USY's success, it will be our success. It will not be them, it will be us. When there is a synagogue-wide event, pancake festival, Race for the Cure, Purim, Simchat Torah, Shabbat, each and every arm of the synagogue will take ownership of it and its success. Our nursery school parents will know about our Men's Club brunches. Our Men's Club will know about our social action committee's Bikur Cholim program. Our social action committee will know about our Sisterhood's book club.

This will take a lot of hard work and a lot of time. Turf issues are hard to overcome. One day, all the heads of all of our arms (sounds silly, I know) will need to sit down together and work together. So, the day after our community's Yom Haatzmaut celebration in Squirrel Hill, I can ask our Kadima advisor what kind of showing we had. This means that each and everyone of us has a say in how we run our shul as a whole.

I'm starting slowly. In the past month, any person I interview for any position, paid or volunteer, in our synagogue, I present them with my plan. I believe that we need the buy-in very early on. To some, this will make sense. To others, this will be looked upon as a threat. But, I will not give up. A synagogue is a family. hat effects one of us, effects us all. We shall take pride in our accomplishments, all of them. And, we shall fix what needs to be fixed. And, we are all responsible for one another.

After six years and two contracts, it's nice to know that we still have loftier heights to achieve. Believe in yourselves; believe in your Beth El. We are one.

Have a great summer,

Rabbi Alex Greenbaum

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