L’shanah Tovah! It’s so good to be here with all of you as we welcome in the new year of 5777. A special welcome to Rabbi Kohn as he leads us in this very exciting year. Round up the usual suspects, I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse, and you can get anything you want at Alice’s restaurant. Two lines from two iconic movies: Casablanca and The Godfather and one line from one of the great profits of the 20th century, Arlo Guthrie. So what do these have to do with TST? More about that later—first my story… I grew up in New York and attended a conservative synagogue. I went to Hebrew School 3 days a week and hated every minute of it. At Hebrew School I sat next to my best friend who recently passed away—he 2 was the smartest kid in Hebrew School and I was— let’s say not the most academically advanced. My friend shot spit balls at the teachers and I got blamed for it. After all, the smart kid was never to blame. At this point I should have known that I was destined to become a temple president. What better training for the job than to be blamed for something that you didn’t do. I had my Bar Mitzvah on February 06, 1964 and I exited the synagogue at about 1:30 PM on that day hoping never to come back again. Fast Forward: In September of 1990 I moved here from New Jersey. My wife literally almost carried me kicking and screaming into this weird synagogue and former restaurant on Rt. 20 in Wayland. What I saw when I entered was a completely macerated building with roof leaks, peeling plaster, and torn carpet. Nevertheless, under protest we joined. After the High Holidays my wife told me that some guy by 3 the name of Lou Shuman (of blessed memory) was coming over to ask for money to build a new building to replace the one that I was just in. I told Karen that I didn’t want to meet with him and not to expect any money from me. As always, having put my foot down and being true to my words, Lou showed up and ended up walking out with a check from me. The first month I was cajoled into attending HH services. These first 30 days as a member of TST were transformative for me due to two seemingly unrelated events---- First when I was in the Synagogue for the High Holidays—I saw Rabbi Blumberg sitting on the floor telling stories to the kids. This rocked my world— where I grew up Rabbis were scary people that you ran away from. Second, having just moved here from New Jersey, I found that all of sudden I had a network of friends and a community—and when I 4 thought about it, it dawned on me that I had TST to blame for this. This was not the way it was supposed to be---the temple was a place to avoid, the Rabbi was out make me wear teffilen, sit for endless hours in services, and say weird stuff in Hebrew. Temple leaders were out to get my money. No---I now saw the Temple in a different light—Rabbis actually liked kids and yes, although Lou got some of my money, it turned out to be money well spent. The rest is history; I became the temple Treasurer in 1997, head of the Ritual Committee in 2014, and president in 2016. If Mr. Lehrman, my Hebrew school principal could only see me now. So now let’s go to Casablanca and round up the usual suspects---I contend that if we truly believed that involvement in the Temple was the purview of the usual suspects we would fail. I am living proof. It was my perception that Temples and Temple life 5 belonged to the usual suspects who participated in worship, went to programs, and attended meetings. Never has anything been farther from the truth. TST is not just for the “usual suspects—it is for the community. We are a community where it is my commitment to make sure that this is a place that meets everyone where they are in their personal Jewish journey---and provides a reason for them to be here and actively participate in our collective well being. As I mentioned in my installation speech— Theodore Herzl said, “If you will it, it is not a dream”—and thus I will that each congregant find his or her place within Temple Shir Tikva. So now I want to make you an offer that you can’t refuse. Here is the offer: If I cannot find a place for you to participate in our synagogue life—we will refund your dues. I invite anyone to personally call me to discuss how you can be engaged. Don’t take 6 my word for it—here is just some of what I can offer with some related reasons: • So--speaking of dues—if you think they are too high join the finance committee. • If you don’t like the latest rendition of how we sing Mi Chamocha—join the Ritual Committee. • If you want to change the paint color somewhere in the building—join the facilities committee Other opportunities include: Family Promise, Neighbor to Neighbor, Kesher, The Interfaith Group, Social Action, Strategic Planning, Family Connections, the TST Golf Tournament---you get the idea. Here is a four-page list of over 100 engagement opportunities for involvement that I would be happy to share with you. 7 And oh by the way—If you don’t like the president or if you would like to be president—join the nominating committee. So now let’s talk about restaurants. In 1979 the site we are on was the Wayland House Restaurant, which was formerly Seilers, and Robin Hood Ten Acres-a roadside dance hall. Does anyone remember this? — Please raise your hand. Our founders acquired this building in 1980 and initially ran the synagogue in the existing restaurant building. Just as I evolved, Shir Tikva has undergone a parallel evolution—so let’s look at our evolving restaurant— In 1992 we completed the sanctuary and social hall that we are now sitting in—who remembers that— raise hands. In 1998 we completed the education wing—who remembers that raise hands? Who remembers our third building project? (There is no 8 third building project—but someone will raise his or her hand) We are now going to be looking at an exciting third building project—one that meets the aspirational needs that we learned about in our Chazon project. Our job as we vision this project is to say yes we can do this—just as we did when we metamorphisized a macerated restaurant into this wonderful structure that we are in today. Last year we raised a record amount for our annual fund and had record participation—despite a transitional environment. This speaks volumes as to what we should be able to raise this year. When asked—you said Hinani-Here I am. As a result of this, the budget was virtually balanced and we are financially stable. Please say Hinaini on steroids this year. 9 We are on the forefront of a Spirituality Initiative that CJP has recognized as innovative and is choosing to support. Just watch, as Temple Shir Tikva’s Center for Spirituality becomes the standard and role model for this initiative in Jewish life throughout the nation. We are thoughtfully looking at our governance structure and collaboratively making changes that will position us for the great future that we have. We are leading by example by acquiring a 100-yearold Ark from a congregation in Revere that is now closed, but once represented the standard of Jewish life in Boston. I am so proud that we are able to do this mitzvah that is preserving the generational heritage of the Boston Jewish community—you should have seen the tears in eyes of the remaining members of this synagogue when we told them that their synagogue would live on at Temple Shir Tikva. 10 We are bringing more young kids—our next generation into this building than we have ever done in the past—yes we are bribing them with ice cream and ga ga pits—but that is the innovative thinking that will lay the foundation to populate this place for years to come. We are hanging out the shingle for our interfaith families saying we are open for business---we want you as customers. When we say, "Come in, we need you," we receive talent and energy beyond our wildest dreams So what does this all mean for our restaurant? Just as I transformed and realized that it’s not about the scary Rabbi or the guy asking for money—so has Shir Tikva transformed---it’s about the community, 11 and how we change going forward, and relationships. As Ron Wolfson said in his book Relational Judaism: “Let me put my cards on the table. It’s not about programs, it’s not about marketing, and it’s not about branding, labels, logos, clever titles, websites, or smart phone aps. It’s not even about institutions. It’s about relationships. So who remembers the words to Alice’s Restaurant? Good-----Remember the Chorus----“You can get anything you want at Alice’s restaurant. Just walk right in it’s around the back just a half mile from the railroad track.” So what do we do at TST? We eat, we pray or daven and we study. So let’s change the words to: You can get anything you want at the Shir Tikva Restaurant. Just walk right in it’s on route 20, you can eat, daven, and study. OK—so we are Shir Tikva—and the word 12 Shir means song—so I want everyone to put their arms around each other and sing……….. Congregation sings…You can get anything you want at the Shir Tikva restaurant……… L’shanah Tovah!