president

In the early morning of June 8th there was a break in at TBH. A man broke into the kitchen with a crowbar, then entered the sanctuary. At this point the alarm went off. The man went to the alarm panel, broke it off the wall and smashed it in the parking lot. Then he left. Thankfully there was nothing stolen, and the damage has since been repaired. We have a new alarm panel, and Michelle has been issuing new alarm codes to those who need them. A police report has been filed, and although we have the man on video, his face is not visible. This appears to have been a crime of opportunity, and I don’t believe we were targeted. It’s good to know that all systems functioned as intended, and I hope they won’t be tested in future.

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when? -Rabbi Hillel
~ Anna B Stein, Co-President, Temple Beth Hillel

This past Sunday at our annual meeting we elected new officers and board members.  It has been an honor to serve as president and now I will support our new co-presidents Anna Stein and David Zimring as past president.  It has been a challenging two years, but we are still here and we are still mighty. 

Together we have met some serious challenges and the key word is together.  I want to thank you, our members. and our Executive Board, our Board of Directors, and our Committee chairs and members for all that you have done to keep us together as the mighty community that we are.  I especially want to thank Rabbi Dean for his wise and compassionate spiritual leadership and for guiding us in acting in accordance with our Jewish values.

Mercedes and I are not going anywhere.  We love our TBH community far too much to leave.  I hope to see you all soon.

Thank you for your support.  Shabbat Shalom.

 If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

If I am not for others, what am I?

And if not now, when?   -Rabbi Hillel

~ Michael R Cohen, President, Temple Beth Hillel

Much is happening at Temple Beth Hillel as we conclude our fiscal year.
Tonight, Rabbi Dean will be joined by Marney Margules, now Cantor Marney, to lead us in Erev Shabbat prayer. I look forward to her leadership and musicianship.
Our Annual Congregational Meeting is Sunday at noon and I hope you can attend. You can join us in person in our sanctuary or online.
We will be voting on our 2022-2023 budget, our slate of new officers and board members, hearing reports from our committees, and recognizing the special contributions of several of our members.
Of course this means that my term as president is coming to an end and with your votes to elect the slate we submitted, the transition to our new co-presidents can begin. It has been an honor to serve as president even in these challenging times. I know I have fallen short in some areas, but I am comfortable saying that I have done my best. Of course, I plan to remain on the board as past president, and Mercedes and I are not planning on going away anytime soon. This community means far too much to us.
Thank you for your support. Shabbat Shalom.

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when? -Rabbi Hillel
~ Michael R Cohen, President, Temple Beth Hillel

I can’t believe it happened again. Or, regretfully I can. Eighteen children and teachers have been murdered in an elementary school. How can this happen? Why does this happen? I don’t know and I don’t think anyone really does. Guns have become such a divisive issue that real study, rigorous data based study is replaced by sides shouting unsubstantiated accusations at each other. The CDC is prohibited from even exploring gun violence as a public health issue. Something must be done and it must be based on facts, real verifiable truths that may not support partisan suppositions. I know that we are a religious community and that prayer is a large part of what we do, but I am tired of “thoughts and prayers.” We need action. Something must be done!
Meanwhile, our HVAC project is progressing. The duct work is scheduled to be delivered today and we plan to paint it to match the wood trim in our sanctuary Sunday morning. I know it is a holiday weekend, but we would appreciate all the help we can get for our duct painting party. We will complete our painting before the ducts are installed, so no ladders or ladder climbing will be required.
Finally, Sunday, June 5, at 12:00 noon will be our multi-access General Membership Meeting where we will report on the state of our shul, approve our fiscal year 2022-2023 budget and elect our board and officers to lead us for the coming year. Join us in person in our sanctuary or online.

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

If I am not for others, what am I?

And if not now, when?   -Rabbi Hillel

~ Michael R Cohen, President, Temple Beth Hillel

Wednesday evening our board approved a contract with Marney Margules to be our cantorial soloist.  I want to personally welcome Marney to our community.

This means, however, that tonight will most likely be the last time we are led in Shabbat prayer by Cantor Shayndel.  I want to thank Cantor Shayndel for her leadership, knowledge, musical talent, creativity, and her warmth. In the relatively short time that she has been our cantor, she has become an integral part of our community.

I don’t believe that Cantor Shayndel will be replaced.  She has earned an irreplaceable place in our hearts, but I am confident that she will be ably followed by Marney and I look forward to Marney sharing her talents with us. Welcome to Temple Beth Hillel, Cantor Marney.

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

If I am not for others, what am I?

And if not now, when?   -Rabbi Hillel

~ Michael R Cohen, President, Temple Beth Hillel

I am writing this message from Oregon where we are visiting our granddaughter and her parents, so this will be short.  I love our community, but time with Zoe comes first.  

It is an honor to serve as president of TBH, but soon it will be someone else’s turn.  I have been president for 4 of the last 6 years and our bylaws, my mental health, and my wife, forbid me to continue.  I will remain on the Executive Board as past president, but someone else has to take over this highly rewarding position.  

Temple Beth Hillel needs you.  Our community is too small to let the other person do it.  If we, that includes you, don’t do it, it doesn’t get done.  Please join our leadership team.  We really need you!

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

If I am not for others, what am I?

And if not now, when?   -Rabbi Hillel

~ Michael R Cohen, President, Temple Beth Hillel

When I was teaching theater I always paid for performance licenses (royalties) for every play we produced and I was often criticized. “Why do you do that? You’re only a high school. Who is going to know? Other schools just photocopy a script they borrow from the library.”
I answered that paying royalties and respecting intellectual property rights is the right thing to do and shouldn’t we model doing the right thing for our students?
I do not claim to be extraordinarily virtuous or in any way superior to others, but I felt then as I feel now regarding Temple Beth Hillel, that when we act on behalf of a school or our synagogue that we should hold ourselves to a higher ethical standard. I know that we should strive to uphold Jewish values all the time and in all aspects of our lives, but I can’t help feeling added responsibility when I represented Rosemead High School and now when I represent Temple Beth Hillel.
I feel that the way we, leadership, treat our employees, our vendors, our contractors, our surrounding community members and each other represents who we are and I take that responsibility very seriously.
In the last years, we have had to make some very difficult decisions weighing the concerns of individuals against the well being of our synagogue and safety against our need to be together. I know that we often struggled and perhaps we didn’t always make the right choice, but I honestly think that we are trying our very best.

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when? -Rabbi Hillel
~ Michael R Cohen, President, Temple Beth Hillel

Frank Sinatra sang, “Regrets, I’ve had a few but then again, too few to mention” and Edith Piaf sang, “Non, Je ne Regrette Rien” or “No, I do not regret anything.”  I wonder how that could be or should be.  Were they so callous  that they never regretted their mistakes?  If we do not regret our mistakes, how can we learn from them? 

Last week Rabbi Dean challenged us to “…make meaning of memory.”  How can we do that if we deny the past?  Should we forget painful acts done to us and by us?  Can we?  I know I can’t.  I know guilt can be toxic, but isn’t the lack of guilt narcissistic or even psychopathic?

In our Siddur I found the following on the page opposite the K’dusha for Shabbat morning, “We are a people in whom the past endures, in whom the present is inconceivable without moments gone by.” (p251).

We must learn from our past, not deny it, even if it is unpleasant or painful.  For example, the history of slavery, Jim Crow, xenophobia, antisemitism, and racism in the US needs to be remembered.  Censoring it in the name of patriotism or labeling it “critical race theory” does not erase it.  We must take responsibility.

This morning I read the following online in the The Times of Israel. 

The head of Germany’s parliament arrived in Israel on Wednesday to participate in a series of events to mark the national Holocaust Remembrance day.  Bundestag President Barbel Bas was welcomed at an official ceremony in the Knesset, during which she said, “The lessons of the Holocaust oblige us to give no place to antisemitism. Germany’s responsibility hasn’t ended…I bow my head humbly at the inconceivable suffering of the victims of the crimes against humanity committed by the Germans.” 

I find this commendable.  Words can never compensate for the horrors of the Holocaust, but maybe by the act of remembering and admitting responsibility and regret, just maybe, some future atrocity may be avoided.

I have regrets, but I hope that my regrets of the past  will inform my future actions.

 If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

If I am not for others, what am I?

And if not now, when?   -Rabbi Hillel

~ Michael R Cohen, President, Temple Beth Hillel

My stepmother, Hertha, was born in Germany in October of 1909, and grew up with huge dreams and aspirations.  She was a talented pianist and a stellar student.  Her family was quite successful and encouraged her ambitions.  Her father was a decorated veteran of WWI and a patriotic German who identified as German first and Jewish second.  She loved riding horses, gymnastics, biology, theater, and music. She often attended concerts and the theater.  

In the late 1930’s she married and gave birth to her first child.  Hertha and her husband had a name selected, but when they tried to register the birth, they were informed that they could only use approved Jewish names.

A lover of jewelry, in 1939, she used her collection to escape Germany with her infant daughter leaving behind her husband and a large extended family.  She and my step sister Bella were detained by the British in Cyprus, but eventually were fortunate to be one of the mother and child pairs that thanks to Golda Meir’s negotiations were allowed into Haifa where she joined with her sister.

In 1945, she reunited with her husband, a survivor of multiple concentration camps, in Haifa.  Her father the German patriot and decorated war hero was murdered along with almost all of her extended family.  All who survived were her husband, her sister, and one of several brothers. 

In 1956, after the second time their trucks were commandeered, my stepmother, her husband, and their two children, Bella and John, came to the US and settled in Pasadena.  In the late 1960’s, Hertha’s husband died and in 1972, she married my father.  Hertha died in 2009, months before her 100th birthday.

On Yom HaShoah I remember Hertha and her story.  I just directed a play that featured the concept of inherited trauma and whether it is healthier to leave the past in the past and focus on moving forward.  The conclusion of the playwright was that you can’t – at least not in one generation. I question the wisdom of even trying.

Hertha survived the Holocaust, celebrated the reestablishment of the state of Israel, and survived two wars there.  When Hertha died I felt that the responsibility of remembering and telling her story was passed to me.  All of Hertha’s circle of Holocaust survivor friends are gone and it is up to my generation to maintain their memories and to tell their stories.  It is our responsibility to, as Rabbi Dean wrote, “…make meaning of memory.” 

 If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

If I am not for others, what am I?

And if not now, when?   -Rabbi Hillel

~ Michael R Cohen, President, Temple Beth Hillel

Man plans and God laughs.  We were supposed to be in Oregon this week to celebrate our granddaughter’s first Pesach, but weather advisories between Shasta City and Ashland forced us to postpone our trip.  We will be joining you from our home once again this year.  

Just as it was difficult to decide to postpone our trip, it was extremely difficult to decide not to hold our community seder in person. Dangerous road conditions and Covid-19 are both out of our control.  We really miss seeing our granddaughter.  Each day brings new milestones for her that we are missing, but safety must come first.  We really miss being together for our community seder, but the ritual committee including Rabbi Dean and the reopening committee observed that Covid is not gone and that a large group singing and eating together would not be safe.

Honestly, I am tired of writing about the pandemic and I am sure you are tired of reading about it.  I never thought we would celebrate our master story online for the third time, but as I wrote and has been written and said by many others, “Man plans and God laughs.”  

I am, however, thankful for the technology that allows us to hold an online seder and I am hopeful that we will be able to gather together next year.  This year as we say and sing, “Next year in Jerusalem”, I will be thinking, “Next year in our sanctuary.”

 If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

If I am not for others, what am I?

And if not now, when?   -Rabbi Hillel

~ Michael R Cohen, President, Temple Beth Hillel