president

Rabbi Dean reminds us that “our name challenges us to make the right choice, the hard choice, the choice of character.”  Our TBH leadership strives to meet that challenge, but sometimes we find it a struggle.  It is not always easy to determine the right thing to do.  The choices we make are not always the best choices or even the right choices, but with the guidance of Rabbi Dean, we do our best to make our choices in accordance with our Jewish values.  

The Covid 19 pandemic has created and still creates unprecedented challenges.  Now that vaccines are available to anyone over 5 years old, and booster shots are available for our most vulnerable, can we meet together in person?  How long will we need to require masks?  When can we resume our onegs?  Will we be able to eat together for our community seder?  What about Purim?  We really don’t know.  We, our Executive Board and our Reopening Committee along with Rabbi Dean, plan to resume in-person Shabbat services combined with Zoom access on December 3, the 6th night of Hanukkah.  Will we meet this goal?  I like to think so.  We know that we will need to require proof of vaccination and masks, but we also know that Man plans and God laughs.  After the pandemic shutdown that was supposed to last 2 weeks or at most 2 months and has lasted almost 2 years, I look forward to coming together in person and on Zoom to celebrate the miracle of the oil that was supposed to last 1 day and lasted 8 days.  Federal, state, and county guidelines along with the judgment of our Reopening Committee and Board will determine how we move forward from here.  I pray that we make the right choices. 

We are Temple Beth Hillel.

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 have long thought that we see what we want or expect to see, or more accurately, we perceive what we want to perceive. We seek facts that support our conclusions rather than make our conclusions based on facts. It is easy to get overwhelmed with the mundane and the trivial or even petty and fail to see or perceive what is really there.
Rabbi Dean wrote about how Jacob was able to perceive God where others couldn’t. Even with a pandemic and the reality of climate change, perhaps we should make the effort to see what is good. At the beginning of our Shabbat services, Rabbi Dean asks us to reflect on what we are grateful for. I am grateful for the gorgeous sunset on Kol Nidre evening. I am grateful that theaters are reopening and soon I will be able to do the work that I love. I am grateful for our granddaughter. And I am grateful that I am part of our TBH community. We have our challenges and our disagreements, but we pray together and learn together and support each other. We need to remember the good things that surround us while we acknowledge the things that are not good and continue to work to repair them.
Maybe this optimism is unwarranted or even madness. It very well could be, but I remember my Holocaust-survivor step mother saying that those who couldn’t cling to their hope and even optimism threw themselves on the electrified fences in the camps. Besides, what is madness? In Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes wrote, “when life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be.”

We are Temple Beth Hillel.

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 have been affiliated with seven synagogues both Conservative and Reform and, with one exception, all were rife with conflict.  Rabbis fought with cantors, boards fought with clergy, and congregants left to form new congregations.  As a child I found nothing holy about the behavior of the adults of the congregations and that perception was amplified by my experiences as a teen and then as an adult.  As much as I loved Judaism, I gave up on synagogues. 

Then came the exception.  When we moved to Richmond I reluctantly agreed, at Mercedes’ insistence, to visit Temple Beth Hillel and now I am serving my second term as president.  We at TBH have our disagreements, but so far nothing on the scale of the conflicts I have witnessed in other congregations.  

The challenge is to keep it that way.  As we slowly and cautiously emerge from the pandemic and continue to face our challenges and stresses we must remember to heed Rabbi Dean’s often repeated plea to be kind to each other.  We will make mistakes and some conflict is inevitable, but we must remember that we are all doing our best and that we are all acting out of love for our TBH community. 

“May we all learn to be like Isaac. To grow our resources, be generous, find ways for all to share in the bounty of God’s earth, and reject the view that there can only be winners and losers. Perhaps then we find a way out of conflict.”  (Rabbi Dean)

We are Temple Beth Hillel.

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

We are a small congregation and it takes all of us to make us mighty.  Nothing happens magically and we have a lot of work to do, but we have done it and will do it. 

We observed our High Holy Days safely masked, vaccinated, and outdoors with half of us on Zoom and Cantor Shayndel in Colorado.  To liberally borrow from Rabbi Dean, we imagined it and then it took a lot of people a lot of hours of work to make it real. 

Our Religious School has emerged from pandemic exile and is holding in person classes protected by vaccinations for adults, masks, and air purifiers.  Again, this took and takes a lot of work to make it real.

Our Lay Led Torah Study is holding hybrid sessions twice a month and Zoom sessions on the other Saturday mornings and this too did not and does not happen magically.

We have accomplished a lot, but as we continue to emerge from the pandemic we have a lot more to get done.  Can you help?  Are you good at organizing and motivating volunteers?  Do you have technical skills that can help us complete our LAN and make our new high speed internet available throughout our buildings?  Are you a healthcare professional who can help us adapt to the ever changing Covid-19 landscape?  Can you help provide meals, rides, and comfort to our community members in need?

Ideas and dreams are essential, but “…we must work to make [them] real.”  Please contact me.

We are Temple Beth Hillel.

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

As I am writing this Mercedes and I are returning from Oregon where we participated  in the naming ceremony for our first and only grandchild. Our son, who we burped and cleaned and diapered, is burping and cleaning and diapering his own daughter.  As we took our turns holding and cuddling and admiring our granddaughter I marveled at creation and the beginning of a new life.  

In the midst of our joyous week, I was informed about a fire on our TBH property on the side of the hill away from our buildings.  I am concerned, but holding my granddaughter and seeing the joy and love of our son and daughter-in-law gave me perspective. Nobody was hurt.  None of our buildings were damaged.  It could have been much worse.

We will consult the fire department for the cause and what we can do to try to prevent anything similar in the future.  Our leadership will proceed to protect ourselves and our property in a manner that is consistent with our Jewish values.  

We are Temple Beth Hillel.

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

As I am writing this Mercedes and I are returning from Oregon where we participated  in the naming ceremony for our first and only grandchild. Our son, who we burped and cleaned and diapered, is burping and cleaning and diapering his own daughter.  As we took our turns holding and cuddling and admiring our granddaughter I marveled at creation and the beginning of a new life.  

In the midst of our joyous week, I was informed about a fire on our TBH property on the side of the hill away from our buildings.  I am concerned, but holding my granddaughter and seeing the joy and love of our son and daughter-in-law gave me perspective. Nobody was hurt.  None of our buildings were damaged.  It could have been much worse.

We will consult the fire department for the cause and what we can do to try to prevent anything similar in the future.  Our leadership will proceed to protect ourselves and our property in a manner that is consistent with our Jewish values.  

We are Temple Beth Hillel.

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

Although I identify as he/him, my favorite pronouns are not he/him or they/them, or she/her, and definitely not I/me, but rather we/us.  We are a community and the Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced how we are dependent on each other.  Rabbi Dean wrote, “A simple, life saving technology is being refused by millions of our fellow citizens who are putting their own lives at risk, and ours, when they don’t have to.”  The bad choices of others are prolonging the pandemic and allowing variants of the virus to fill hospital ICU’s and to kill additional thousands.  When we prioritize I/me over we/us bad things happen. 

We are all tired of this pandemic.  We don’t know when it will be safe to pray and sing together indoors and we don’t anticipate that the day we can throw out our masks and engage socially as we did before the pandemic will be anytime soon.  It is easy to be frustrated and anxious.  It is easy to become pessimistic, but as a community we must refuse to.

We will continue to pray together and learn together whether it is online, in person, or a combination of the two.  We will, through our dedication and creativity, find ways to strengthen our community. 

We are a community that cares for each other during difficult moments through our Caring Community which has been led by Marilyn Hertzberg for decades.  Although words matter, so do actions — perhaps even more than words.  Marilyn is due many words of gratitude, but perhaps the best thanks would be for one of us to chair the Caring Community and continue to support each other.  Please contact Marilyn for more information or email president@tbhrichmond.org if you are interested.

We are Temple Beth Hillel.

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

During the open sukkah last Sunday afternoon, I overheard Rabbi Dean mention that it bothers him when mitzvah is interpreted to mean “good deed”.  He said mitzvah means” commandment”.  This comment, that I heard out of context, sparked some thought on my part.  I looked up “mitzvah/ מצווה” on the internet and found that Google translates it as “ordered” and the Oxford Dictionary defines it as “commandment”.  So, of course Rabbi Dean is correct, but what does it mean to us?

It seems to me that a good deed is something we choose to do to win points or earn good karma.  Something like if I do these good things my spiritual credit score will improve.  However, actual credit scores are largely based on things you are supposed to do.  You are supposed to pay your bills.  There is nothing heroic or special about it.  Perhaps it is the same for mitzvot.  They are commandments and there is nothing heroic or special about performing them.  They are what we are supposed to do.

Marilyn Hertzberg has been leading our Caring Community for decades and recently needed to step down.  There are not enough ways to adequately thank Marilyn for all she has done over the years.  Yes, our community owes Marilyn  a lot, but even without her leadership the work must continue.  That means that someone else must step up.  Caring for each other, especially when someone is in need, is not optional.  It is a commandment that we must obey and we need someone to organize how we do it. 

Please contact me (president@tbhrichmond.org) if you are ready to chair our Caring Community.  It may not be convenient.  In fact it may be hard and at times frustrating, but the work must get done.  We have to do it.  We are commanded to do it. 

We are Temple Beth Hillel.

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

Rabbi Dean wrote that Sukkot is the “…season of our joy.”  I want to take this opportunity to express my joy and my gratitude for what we accomplished for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  We did it.  We held safe in person observances.  Yes, it got cold and it got hot, but we were able to be together in person and online.  There were a few complaints about the weather, but I am not aware of any complaints about our precautions.  Nobody complained about providing proof of vaccination and nobody complained about having to wear a mask.  Todah Rabah!

We are an amazing community and yes we do deserve to do something nice for ourselves, so one last time I am asking you to use the links provided below to make your contribution to help ensure our safety and comfort by replacing our sanctuary heaters and adding air conditioning featuring advanced filtration.   

We are Temple Beth Hillel.

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

Our TBH community is amazing.  When one of us is in need, we are there.  When something needs to get done.  Together, we get it done.  For the first time in two years we observed Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur together and in person.  We had to be masked and everyone had to present proof of COVID-19 vaccination, but we did it.  We even made it a hybrid event with an online option. It took a lot of hard work from many dedicated and creative people, but we did it.   Thank you Rabbi Dean, Cantor Shayndel, the Ritual Committee (Jane Durango, Maggie Jacobs, Alan Marks, Carl Nelson, Michelle Husby) and our Reopening Committee (Linda Rose, Lucinda Casson, Louise Snitz). And a special thank you to Michelle Husby who has been navigating confusing and often contradictory information. 

Unfortunately, our challenges persist. COVID-19 is not magically going away.  We must continue to adapt to ever changing conditions.  Climate change is real.  We have witnessed wildfires, hurricanes, and floods.  Here in Richmond we have to prepare for hotter temperatures and longer more intense wildfire seasons. We need to protect ourselves from smoke and viruses and that requires improved air circulation and filtration in our sanctuary.  To accomplish that we need to replace the circa 1964 heating system.

Our recent High Holy Days appeals have consistently been for others.  I think this year we can do something for ourselves.  Since, for health and safety reasons, we need to replace our sanctuary heaters, let’s do something nice for ourselves and add air conditioning.  We deserve it.  

Please use the links provided below to make your donations to help insure both our safety and our comfort.

Shannah tovah, may we all have a good year.

We are Temple Beth Hillel.

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