TBT Blog

It’s time to say goodbye…

This is my last blog message for our weekly e-newsletter. It has been a joy and privilege to serve as TBT’s (interim) senior rabbi this year. I hope you will join me on Friday, June 14, so I might have the opportunity to thank each of you in person.

However, for this final message, I would like to share what I presented at our annual meeting, regarding the life of a congregation. My hope is that you will contemplate on what is offered here, seeing where we are as a community…but more importantly, where we might yet go.

There are three messages I’d like to leave you with.

Message #1

As we all know, the visible part of an iceberg is about 10% of its total mass. The same is true for places like TBT. When I walked into your community, the top part is all I saw…how people dressed, what foods folks ate, the music we used in services. The stuff below the surface…that was much harder to fathom. It took time and energy on my part. The lesson for us is that as we welcome new people into our community, we – not they – have the obligation to lift this iceberg up and help people navigate the ins and outs of TBT life. When we do this, it is described as true “audacious hospitality.” I experienced that during my brief tenure. Continue to open your hearts and experiences to others.

Message #2

Like human beings, congregations are born, grow, reach their prime, begin to age, and then  die. Unlike human beings, though, is that congregations have the capacity to refocus and realign themselves. When that happens, they are able to return to Phase Three (the area above the horizontal line) – experiencing the prime of their lives for a second, a third, or even a fourth time. This is why some congregations continue to thrive over long periods…and why some – who aren’t able to refocus themselves – eventually fail. TBT has all the gifts and talent to always re-invent, re-discover, and re-new itself. Don’t be afraid to do so.

Message #3

Finally, see this curve? It represents TBT over the last five and a half decades. See the bottom of the curve? That is where the congregation was about 15 months ago. What’s been so exciting has been to see the upward movement of this community as it strove for and has attained a sense of excitement and possibility, especially in these last couple months. Relish being on the (literal) right-side of the curve. Be willing to find new solutions to old problems. With Rabbi Molly as your guide and partner, explore what’s possible, and walk away from each encounter you have at/of TBT with a sense of excitement. If you do, your change…well, it will be holy!

As I said at our annual meeting, the trajectory of a congregation is not written in stone. Rather, it is completely dependent on those who call it their home…and on those who choose to lead the community. I have great confidence in TBT’s leadership – Rabbi Molly and Andy Held already make a great team. I hope you will continue to thrive and inspire others to join you. I cannot wait to see what you all look like – what you all are doing – in 12, 24, 36 months from now. When I do come back to visit, I am ready to be surprised.

Shalom and thank you!