president

I’m fine.  Mercedes and I had quite a week, but she is mending well and I am fine.  My medical issue has been resolved and I am healing very well and free of pain.  In fact, I’m more than fine.  I am overwhelmed by the support we received from this community when Mercedes put out the call for help. 

I remember that when I was a young child my parents had a very active social life.  They had dinners with friends and attended theater with friends.  In addition to running a chicken ranch and egg distribution business with no days off, they both volunteered for charities and my father even served on a synagogue board.  Then when I was nine years old my mother began her five year battle with cancer that she would lose.  All the friends suddenly disappeared with very few exceptions.  I witnessed that when my parents needed their friends the most they were nowhere to be seen.  I carried this lesson with me for nearly fifty-six years.  I believed that people cannot be depended on when times are challenging – until this week. 

One phone call and our TBH community rallied to help us in ways that I never imagined would happen for me.  I have always been driven to support others the best I could.  I never wanted to be like the friends that abandoned my parents, but I never expected that I could count on others to do the same.  I am a theater artist and a teacher.  Communication is at the core of what I do, but I cannot find words strong enough to express my gratitude.  Mercedes and I feel blessed and very lucky to be part of this community. 

In two weeks, on Iyar 15 (April 27), I will be observing the fifty-first anniversary of my mother’s death, but this yahrzeit will be different from the previous fifty.  This time when my mother’s name is read tonight, I’ll know that I am part of a community that really cares.

 Thank 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

According to the Mercury News, Governor Newsom expects California to “fully reopen” its economy on April 15.  I am still a little doubtful.  We are too close to the end to mess it up now.  We still have to be careful.  In fact our board, along with Rabbi Dean and Cantor Shayndel, all agree that when we can reopen we will proceed with an  abundance of caution.  We will follow all CDC, state, and county recommendations and slowly and carefully return to in person activities and we have reason to be optimistic that we can reopen fairly soon if not next week as the Governor indicated.  

We have a lot of work to do to ensure all of our safety, but I am confident that our community is up to it.  In fact, if you have knowledge and/or skills that may help please contact Jane Durango, Linda Rose, or me.  

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 got my second dose of Covid-19 vaccine this week.  Over a year after we went into lockdown, I finally have reason to be cautiously optimistic about seeing the end of this pandemic.  Out of an abundance of caution, however, I will follow the recommended protocols and continue to wear a mask and socially distance in public.  We are too close to the end to mess it up now.  We still have to be careful.  In fact our board, along with Rabbi Dean and Cantor Shayndel, all agree that when we can reopen we will proceed with the same abundance of caution.  We will follow all CDC, state, and county recommendations and slowly and carefully return to in person activities.  Even then, we plan to accommodate those who still feel it might be unsafe to gather by making our services available online in addition to being in person.  

We have learned a lot during this pandemic, and perhaps the most important lessons are those that remind us what is most important.  I hope that I will never again take my family and friends for granted and I hope I never take our TBH community for granted.  It takes a lot of hard work by many people to maintain TBH and this has been especially true in these difficult times.  If you are finding meaning and/or comfort in our community, please consider joining us in the sacred work of our community.  Please contact Jane Durango, Linda Rose, or me if you think you might be able to contribute your talents, knowledge and/or skills. 

 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 find being president very humbling.  I’ve learned and am still learning how much I don’t know about the job.  The functions of our synagogue require diverse talents, knowledge, and skills, many of which I do not have.  There is an African proverb that states, “If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.”  Since we want to go far, we have to go together.  If you have skills, talent, or knowledge that you think might contribute to our community, please contact Jane Durango, or me.  If you have skills, talent, or knowledge that you think might not contribute, please contact us anyway.  You might be surprised.  Accounting, building maintenance, landscaping, property management, electrical work, computer technology, audio technology, education, event planning, digital publishing, and sandwich making are just some of the tasks required by our community.  In addition when we can safely reopen and return to in person events, we will need help with online streaming of our hybrid events and even help with following county and state health department protocols.  The pandemic has taught me to value our community even more than I did before.  If you feel the same way, think about contributing your talents.    

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

Among the lessons we are learning from this pandemic, perhaps one of the most important is not to take anything for granted.  For the past year we have missed praying together, learning together, and sharing food together in person – all things that we have taken for granted.  Even though the dedication and creativity of many members of our community have allowed us to stay connected electronically, it is not the same.  However, in this difficult time I sincerely believe that our bonds as a community have strengthened through necessity.  We have learned how much we need each other and to appreciate our small and mighty TBH community.  We eagerly look forward to in- person events when we can do all the things that we have lost during the pandemic.  

But, these things do not happen by magic.  There are no “magic elves” who suddenly appear to do the work.  It takes all of us.  If you, like me, feel that the pandemic has reinforced your appreciation of TBH, think about volunteering to help ensure that our synagogue thrives now and in the future.  We are looking for members to join us as members of our Board of Directors and our Executive Board.  You will be committing some of your time, but the rewards are far greater than the effort. Contact Jane Durango, Linda Rose, or me for more information.  

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 just got my first dose of Covid -19 vaccine.  I got Pfizer at Kaiser.  Reminds me of the vessel with a pestle or the chalice from the palace.  How many know what movie this is from?  Mercedes is fully vaccinated as are our sons and daughter in law.  As are many of you.  With three available vaccines and the pace of vaccinations accelerating we finally can be optimistic.  There seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel and I don’t think it is a train.  At least I pray that it isn’t.  We are starting to think about transitioning to in person activities and what that will look like.  Above all, we are committed to the safety of all our community and will proceed with an abundance of caution, but we sense that we just may be able to physically gather for the High Holy Days and a new school year in the fall.   

Meanwhile, we continue our physically distanced activities.  Lauren Schiffman and Mark Latiner have invited all of us for a Shabbat morning Zoom service for their daughter Dalia’s becoming Bat Mitzvah tomorrow at 10:00am.  Our Community Pesach Seder will be online Sunday, April 28 (Save the date), and our community candle lighting, Friday evening Shabbat services and our religious school continue.  We are a small and mighty community who are managing to stay connected by doing the best we can with our current circumstances. 

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

With our first TBH Movie Night featuring the Marx Brothers’ A Night At the Opera (Sunday at 5:00) we have an opportunity to get together, virtually at least, and have a good laugh. I think we need it.  There is a long history of Jews and laughter from Shalom Aleichem to the Marx brothers to Mel Brooks and many others but, what makes us laugh and why?  As a theater artist I have wrestled with this and even wrote a portion of my master’s thesis on why the play I directed (Vanities) is funny.  My conclusion was – nobody really knows.  Around 335 BCE Aristotle was able to define tragedy and all drama since has either followed or deliberately strayed from his formula, but comedy…?  As a fictional great dramatic actor said on his deathbed, “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.”  So what makes us laugh and why is there such a long and rich history of Jewish humor?  

Henri Bergson saw comedy primarily as a corrective instrument in society and Arthur Koestler saw laughter as a reflex action which functions as an outlet for nervous energy.  According to an article in Psychology Today, “Humor addresses the same issues as fear, not to dismiss them, but to strengthen our ability to confront them and then laugh them away from the door.”  Mel Brooks once said, “Humor is just another defense against the universe.  Look at Jewish history: Unrelieved lamenting would be intolerable. So, for every ten Jews beating their breast, God designated one to be crazy and amuse the breast-beaters. By the time I was five I knew I was that one.”  Brooks also views humor as a weapon.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n44jiPGYwJ0)

Explaining his numerous portrayals of Hitler he said, “After all the people that he was responsible for killing and after utterly destroying half the world, I just thought the only weapon I’ve really got is comedy. And if I can make this guy ludicrous, if I can make you laugh at him, then it’s a victory of sorts.”  According to My Jewish Learning “…there are some characteristics that stand out as common to much of Jewish humor. Jewish humor, for instance, laughs at authority and blurs boundaries, such as those between sacred and secular or Jew and non-Jew. It also displays a fascination with language and (often twisted) reasoning. And, not surprisingly, Jewish humor often played the role of coping mechanism. With anti-Semitism, poverty, and uncertainties Jews faced throughout so much of their history, there often seemed little to do but laugh. So they did. And we are still reaping the benefits of the humor they produced.”  

The Marx brothers display several of these characteristics.  According to Daniel Lieberfield and Judith Danders, “In each comedy the Marx brothers play ethnic outsiders trespassing in the preserves of Gentile elites.  Their apparent reason for being is to mock, cheat, and insult the cultured well-to-do…the Marx Brothers enact comic parables about Jewish immigrant experience in America.  Their comedy incorporates the physical and psychological trajectory of immigration: the voyage over, fears of exclusion, pressures for assimilation, and the hopes placed on the next generation.”   

 So, let’s get together Sunday evening and, at least for a short time, laugh away our fears, anxiety, and uncertainty during these difficult times. 

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 our URJ facilitated board retreat we were asked what we have stopped doing because of the pandemic.  Initially we all thought it would be a long list, but the more we thought about it the less we could list.  We are still praying together for Shabbat twice a month, we still have Adult Education with Rabbi Dean and Cantor Shayndel, and our religious school is still engaged in meaningful Jewish education.  Even Food for Thought successfully provided food for 400 families in the midst of this pandemic.  We had to change some of our activities.  We lit Hanukkah candles together, but could not eat latkes together and of course we cannot do our potlucks.  However, we are doing everything except eating together.  With a lot of creativity we are adapting to our circumstances amazingly well.  

Soon, on Sunday, February 21, we will be celebrating Purim with songs, storytelling, a reading from the Megillah, and a Purim shpiel.  And we are planning our Community Passover Seder as well.  We can’t gather together in-person, but we are still together online.  

During this pandemic we are overcoming obstacles and learning a lot about ourselves and our community.  We are more creative and more flexible than we imagined.  If we remember these lessons when we return to more normal lives, we will be stronger, more inclusive, and more accessible than ever. 

 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

So, what’s next?  Although the deployment of the vaccines seems agonizingly slow at times, it gives us reason to hope that we may return to more normal lives in 2021.  However, although life will be more normal, I don’t believe our post-pandemic lives will be the same as our pre-pandemic lives – and that may just be a good thing in some ways.  I believe the lessons we have learned through necessity will strengthen us.  

The time has come for us to start imagining how we can use our hard earned new knowledge.  For example, I know I have become more tech savvy and I think many of you have as well.  We know how to do virtual Shabbat services, High Holy Day observances, Religious School classes, board meetings, and more.  Even though we long to be together in person, we have discovered that through computer platforms we can reach beyond the walls of our synagogue to engage people who find it difficult to join us physically.  I imagine a hybrid of simultaneous in person and distance/virtual events that extend our reach.  I don’t know what they might look like, but if we combine the inventiveness and dedication that we applied to our virtual events with our new knowledge, I am confident that we can create meaningful events that are accessible to our entire community. 

 Our board, in collaboration with Rabbi Dean and Cantor Shayndel, is dedicated to emerging from this pandemic stronger, closer, and more appreciative of each other than we were a year ago.  We are also dedicated to doing all this safely.  We will continue to hold the health and safety of all of us above everything else. 

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’m feeling better this week.  My anxiety level has decreased and my hope has been fortified and renewed.  Perhaps the evil forces of hate that have been released and incited will crawl back under their rocks.  Perhaps Covid-19 vaccines will be properly administered.  I am not so naïve as to think this will happen quickly and without struggle.  Whether hidden or in plain sight, the evils of racism and anti-Semitism will still exist, as will the distrust of science and facts.  Progress will be met with fierce resistance, but I have reason to hope that progress will be made.  An African-American/Asian woman married to a Jew is our Vice President, an African-American and a Jew represent the state of Georgia in the Senate, and, as I am writing this, Mercedes is confirming her appointment to receive her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.  Today I have hope that this fall we can dine out again, attend and make theater again, attend schools including our Religious School, and observe our High Holy Days together and in person. 

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