TBT Blog

“April showers bring May flowers…”

I am sure that all of us are ready for the showers to eventually end, giving way to a glorious spring and awesome summer.

When we consider the environment’s “life-cycle” and its rhythmic pattern – blossoming, growth, shrinking, and dormancy – we know that these seasons are inevitable. Yet, we are often anxious for one season to end and another to begin. Having just spent a portion of the winter and early spring in Bellevue, I know that I am “anticipating” the change of climate. I am looking forward to doffing my raincoat (yes, I learned and got rid of my umbrella!), and getting outside to enjoy all the glory that is found in our area during late-spring and summer!

Unsurprisingly, that same pattern of growth and decay that we all recognize in nature, occurs in our lives, as well. For one who is contemplating turning 70 in just a few months, this reality resonates in a visceral way. We have our youth, and we experience our years of strength and growth. Eventually, though, we find ourselves in a new stage, where we contemplate retirement and no longer being tied to a time clock. But, we also know we can’t do what we used to do, that there are a few more aches. And then, the time comes when we are content to sit and have others come to us. No longer in an acquisition mode, we choose to give away, to enjoy smaller and simpler pleasures.

Truth be told, this same cycle exists for synagogues. The difference is that the cycle is not inevitable. A synagogue can far-too-easily move from inception to growth to stability to stagnation to decline to closing. After all, it is a “natural” process.

But, it doesn’t have to be that way. What permits a community to break out of that cycle is the same thing that keeps some in the 60’s-70’s-80’s and even 90’s vibrant and relevant. The secret is really no secret: a) keep active and remain nimble; b) find new interests to replace old activities; c) discover how to welcome new people into your life; d) focus on your strengths.

And that is what great congregations do, as well.

TBT had a meteoric beginning. What started as a small community on Mercer Island became a synagogue that outgrew its home and needed to relocate. It built a wonderful facility, filled with dynamic volunteer and professional leadership, and was the recognized Jewish voice on the east side for many years. But, as with nature – as with you and me – TBT has had its share of tough times, of decline. Based on dozens of conversations I’ve had over the last year, it seems like it’s been a decade of difficult days. We’ve seen ourselves change in size, in constituency, in financial wherewithal. Our clergy and staff transitions have been difficult.

It is at this point that great congregations differ from failing ones. As opposed to remaining stagnant and stuck and inevitably failing, great congregations recognize their challenges, adapt to new realities, recommit to core values, and respond with innovation and new vitality.

And that is what TBT is doing!

Consider four data points:

• Our congregation and Religious School are growing. Over the last year, we have seen a hundred – two hundred – people gather for Shabbat and holiday observances, guest speakers, and special events. It seems that each month, we welcome new members eager to find their Jewish home. Additionally, our Religious School has doubled in size in the last two years.
• We have chosen a new senior rabbi, Rabbi Molly, who will begin her formal tenure on July 1, but whose influence these last couple of years has been both subtle and outsized, as she has worked with our leadership to rethink how we “do” Judaism, while remaining true to the TBT spirit.
• We are embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime endeavor: we are creating and opening an early childhood center! The Solomike Early Childhood Center (SECC) will be the jewel in TBT’s constellation of services offered. With a commitment that 50% of the places will be available first to lower-income families (for whom early childhood care and education is so essential and so hard to find), and the intention of providing a high-quality Jewish education to all who join our program, there is no doubt that the SECC will alter our congregation for the good. It will raise all we do to a new level.
• Rabbi Molly, along with volunteer leadership, have been working tirelessly to fill the staffing needs of our community for the future. As we shared in our recent update, we are thrilled to welcome three new members to our staff team: Rabbi Dusty Klass, who grew up at TBT and will serve as our Associate Rabbi; Eran Sabo, a talented musician and educator who joins us as our Music Director; and Hannah Kassan, an experienced educator and one of our cherished religious school teachers who will move into a new role as our Religious School Administrator.  

April showers bring May flowers…

TBT has had its season of showers and gloom. We are on the cusp of seeing the result of careful tending to our garden blossom into a wonderful season of growth and vitality. I look forward to being a part of the beginnings of this new journey in the next few months. Come and see for yourself…on Shabbat or at one of our other programs this Spring. Come and see the budding growth of our efforts.