Dear Family and Friends:
Our newly elected Board of Directors held its first meeting on January 20. I am greatly appreciative and especially proud that twenty former presidents, officers, and
board members signed individual “board member contracts” committing themselves to a code of conduct and to exercise their responsibilities toward our congregation in
tangible ways. Our officers and board members have been formed into working committees so that we can accomplish important work for the congregation while
maintaining an orderly process for decision-making.
In one of the board’s first major decisions, we welcomed Rabbi Frank Varon to serve as our Interim Rabbi pending the hiring of a permanent Rabbi later this year. We
are very appreciative and excited to have Rabbi Varon assist our members in major lifecycle events, provide classes and to answer Halachic questions during this period.
His duties at Ezra Bessaroth will not interfere with his Hazzan responsibilities at our sister congregation Sephardic Bikur Holim.
On Tu B’Shevat, we had a wonderful dinner and Fruticas program with more than 130 participants involving many of our congregation’s children. In this month’s
Clarion, you will read about our efforts to search for a new Rabbi (including important opportunities for your input), about preparations for our synagogue’s 100th
anniversary celebration, events including a co-sponsored music concert on February 20 featuring the performer Eitan Katz, the Purim Bazaar sponsored by the Ladies’
Auxiliary on February 21, and festivities planned for youth and adults in celebration of Purim. In addition, this upcoming Shabbat on February 13 the synagogue will host
a prospective member Kiddush. Please invite your friends and family to join us for synagogue this Shabbat.
How do all of these activities and programs at our synagogue take place? The answer can be found in the Perasha that we read this past Shabbat. Parashat Yitro not
only recounts the Divine revelation of the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, but it also describes Yitro advising his son-in-law Moshe on the
proper method for decision-making. Yitro had seen Moshe leading the people alone. He realized that the results would be bad for both Moshe and the Jewish people.
The narrative recounts that Yitro advised Moshe to select capable individuals from all the people, those who fear G-d, are trustworthy and hate dishonest gain. Moshe
needed to learn how to delegate authority and share the burden of leadership.
According to Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks of Great Britain, where Yitro exclaimed to Moshe “What you are doing is not good (lo tov)” is one of only two places in the
entire Torah where the phrase “not good” occurs. The other, at Genesis 2:18, states “It is not good for man to be alone.” Rabbi Sacks draws from this that as we cannot
live alone, we cannot lead alone. Judaism is a social faith. It is about networks of relationships, families, communities, and ultimately a nation, in which each of us, great
or small, has a vital role to play. As stated by Ben Azzai in Pirke Avot (4:3), “Despise no one and disdain nothing, for there is no one who does not have his hour, and
nothing that does not have its place.” This teaches us that even though we are all ordinary individuals, each of us has something to contribute and we can achieve great
things together when we work toward a common purpose.
Back to the question I posed, the maintenance of our synagogue, as well as holding projects, events and programs, don’t miraculously occur on their own. It takes the
devoted work and participation of people like the following: Albie Amon and Albert Behar, who both attend religious services regularly and make it their personal goal to
make sure our synagogue runs smoothly; Sal Cohen, who volunteers with a smile on any building project and provides sound advice on security issues and other matters;
Charlene Souriano, who frequently helps out with necessary work at the synagogue office; Dalia Amon and Jamileh Behar, whose volunteer work resulted in our fabulous
Tu B’Shevat dinner as well as so many other programs; Raye Behar and the women of the Ladies’ Auxiliary, who work year round to make sure we all enjoy our
traditional Sephardic delicacies and who raise money for vital needs of the synagogue; and Ruben Owen, who quietly applied for and obtained on behalf of Ezra
Bessaroth a $75,000 security grant from the Department of Homeland Security. These are a few, but certainly not all, of our volunteers who do good work out of their
love for our congregation and its members. We should all be inspired by each of them.
You have given me the honor and opportunity to lead our Kehila this year. Within the many challenges before us we also have numerous opportunities. I intend to
follow Yitro’s sound advice and follow a “pyramid” style of leadership which shares and delegates the burden of leadership – relying upon each of us to take on important
roles to help enrich, grow and support our congregation. I thank each of you who have committed yourself to work on behalf of our Kahal Kadosh, and to those who
haven’t yet I invite you to do so. Working together, our congregation will reach great new heights. I wish each of you “Purim Sameach; Purim Alegre.”
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