DVAR TORAH FOR ANNUAL MEETING – GAINESVILLE
AS YOU KNOW, ONCE PASSOVER BEGINS, WE BEGIN COUNTING THE OMER, THE SHEAVES OF BARLEY THAT RIPENED BETWEEN PASSOVER AND SHAVUOT. WHEN WE GET TO THE 50TH SHEAF, WE HAVE LANDED ON SHAVUOT.
NOW, IT IS NOT THE SHEAVES THAT ARE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT, NOR THE COUNTING. RATHER, WHAT I GLEAN FROM THIS IS THAT BOTH OF THOSE TRADITIONS ARE ABOUT A JOURNEY. AT PESACH, WE JOURNEYED FROM EGYPT TO SINAI WHERE WE BEGAN LIFE ANEW.
I AM THINKING ABOUT THAT JOURNEY TODAY AS WE COME TOGETHER FOR THIS IMPORTANT MEETING. TRUE, OUR JOURNEY HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN 50 DAYS. COINCINDENTALLY, FROM TOMORROW UNTIL OUR LAST SHABBAT TOGETHER, IS ALMOST EXACTLY 50 DAYS! AGAIN, ONE JOURNEY WILL END AND ANOTHER WILL BEGIN ANEW.
WHEN RABBI JOSEPH WAS PREPARING TO LEAVE, THE SEARCH COMMITTEE WAS REVVING UP. AFTER SO MANY INTERVIEWS VISITS AND A FULL YEAR BETWEEN TO THIS DAY, WE CAN SEE HOW FAR THIS TEMPLE JOURNEYED. YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE BEEN HONORED TO HAVE BEEN A PART OF THIS AND SHIR SHALOM’S AND THIS HAS BEEN, HANDS DOWN, THE BEST YEAR OF MY RABBINATE WHICH WAS FILLED WITH EXTRAORDINARY YEARS!
BUT MY JOURNEY HERE IS COMING TO A CLOSE. SHIR SHALOM IS NOW ABOUT TO EMBARK ON YET ANOTHER JOURNEY. THIS WILL BE A JOURNEY OF GROWTH WITH A NEW RABBI WITH NEW IDEAS, NEW SKILLS, AND A VISION FOR THE FUTURE LEADING A CONGREGATION FILLED WITH HOPE.
I ACKNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTAND MANY OF THE MIXED FEELINGS TODAY. I KNOW THERE IS TREPIDATION AND MAYBE A BIT OF STRESS. BUT I WANT TO REMIND YOU, YOU FELT THE SAME THING BEFORE YOU MET ME. THE UNKNOWN CAN BE SCARY; THIS IS HUMAN NATURE. BUT IT NEED NOT BE. SHIR SHALOM HAS A SECRET WEAPON.
REMEMBER THE CHASSIDIC STORY OF THE HASIDIM THAT BECAME LOST IN A DENSE FOREST. THEY WERE DELIGHTED WHEN UNEXPECTEDLY THEY CAME UPON THEIR RABBI WHO WAS ALSO WANDERING THROUGH THE WOODS LOST AND CONFUSED. THEY IMPLORED, “MASTER, WE ARE LOST! PLEASE SHOW US THE WAY OUT OF THE FOREST.”
THE RABBI REPLIED, “I DO NOT KNOW THE WAY OUT EITHER, BUT I DO KNOW THAT IF WE HOLD HANDS AND JOURNEY TOGETHER, WE CAN FIND OUR WAY TOGETHER.’
THAT IS OUR SECRET WEAPON. TODAY BEGINS THE MOMENT WHERE SHIR SHALOM HOLDS HANDS AND JOURNEYS TOWARD ITS FUTURE TOGETHER. YOU WILL LEARN TOGETHER WITH A GIFTED TEACHER, PRAY TOGETHER WITH A GIFTED AND GENTLE SOUL, AND BUILD TOGETHER A CONGREGATION THAT IS, IN MY MIND, READY TO BE A CONTINUED BEACON OF REFORM JUDAISM IN NORTHERN FLORIDA.
ONCE AGAIN, SHIR SHALOM IS BEGINNING A JOURNEY. AND LIKE ALL JOURNEYS, WE OFFER THIS SLIGHTLY MODIFIED BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER FROM THE TALMUD:
MAY YOU BENEFIT FROM ALL OF THE GOOD YOU HAVE BUILT IN THIS PLACE.
AND MAY OUR HOPE AND ENERGIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS BE SUSTAINED FOR MANY GENERATIONS.
MAY OUR HEART MEDITATE UNDERSTANDING,
OUR MOUTHS SPEAK WISDOM, AND OUR TONGUES WHISPER WITH PRAISE OF EACH OTHER, THIS TEMPLE AND THE HOLY ONE.
MAY OUR EYES SHINE WITH THE LIGHT OF TORAH,
AND OUR FACES RADIATE LIKE THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE FIRMAMENT WHEN WE WALK INTO THESE HOLY SPACES
MAY YOUR LIPS EXPRESS KNOWLEDGE,
AND YOUR FEET RUN TO HEAR THE WORDS OF THE ANCIENT OF DAYS AND THOSE WHO TEACH US.
AND MAY ALL OF US SEE THE WORLD OF DREAMS COME TO BE.
AMEN
