Beloved Friends,
This week we read Parashat B'haalot'cha, where Aaron is instructed to kindle the lights of the menorah. The Torah uses a striking phrase: B'ha'alotecha et haneirot, "when you cause the flames to rise." The rabbis teach that Aaron was to hold the flame to each wick long enough until the light could rise on its own. Real leadership, they understood, is not about controlling the light. It is about nurturing it, encouraging it, sustaining it until others are able to shine with their own strength and spirit.
As I reflect during these weeks leading toward the conclusion of my time as Senior Rabbi of Temple Jeremiah, I find myself thinking deeply about that image of light. For 26 years, it has been the great privilege of my life to serve this congregation, a community rooted in learning, compassion, justice, spirituality, healing, music, and belonging. Together we have celebrated moments of profound joy and walked beside one another through heartbreak and loss. Together we have prayed, studied, questioned, mourned, laughed, dreamed, and grown.
And through it all, what has always inspired me most is the way this congregation continues to lift light into the world. I think of our volunteer leaders, presidents, board members, committee chairs, teachers, mentors, and the many quiet sacred servants whose names are often unseen, but whose devotion sustains this holy community every day. I think of the extraordinary clergy and staff with whom I have shared this sacred work over so many years. I think of the generations of families who entrusted us with their lives and stories. And I think especially of my wife, Cathy, whose love and partnership have carried me throughout this journey.
In a world so often filled with anxiety, division, loneliness, and rising antisemitism, Jewish community matters more than ever. Places like Temple Jeremiah matter more than ever. Every act of connection, every moment of Torah, every song sung together, every child taught, every hand extended in compassion becomes another flame helping to push back against darkness.
Pirkei Avot 2:16, our High Holy Day theme for this year, reminds us: Lo alecha hamlacha ligmor, v'lo atah ben chorin l'hibatel mimena. "It is not upon you to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it." That sacred work continues. And I have every confidence that this beloved congregation will continue to go from strength to strength, from abundance to abundance, from blessing to blessing. May we continue to kindle light for one another. And may the flames we nurture together continue to rise.
Shabbat Shalom,
