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Sermon on the amount. It is not a typo.
Maybe it is because this is the time of year when every organization has its annual dinner. Or maybe it is because this is the time of year we start paying for summer camps and vacations, but April and May are painful on the pocket book months. Personally, I have found more requests from families facing financial need to the monies in my discretionary fund than I have in the previous four years. In addition, more and more Jewish organizations - all compelling mind you - seem to have their back against the wall and are in dire need for support to survive. All of this is on top of our pre-existing Jewish commitments; UJA, JCC, Solomon Schechter, AIPAC, JNF, JFS, JTS, UJC, Masorti, just to name some of the local Jewish ones. Then we have our community organizations that need our help too. They include: Englewood Hospital, The Bergen PAC, the local food pantry and soup kitchens. And, we did not even mention the Temple.
Being Jewish can be expensive.
Often we lose focus on the heat map of where we want returns on our investments - at least in our Jewish world. There is a familiar scene that plays out in my office where some parents argue with me as to why their kids can't attend Hebrew School or have conflicts with Shabbat service requirements because of a recreational sports commitment. But, when I inquire as to whether they have aspirations of that child playing the sport professionally they immediately laugh and answer, no. When I ask if they want their kids to marry Jews and be serious, committed members of the community, almost every parent answers emphatically, yes. So, how could we expect committed, endogamous [Jew marrying Jew] well balanced kids, if we do not make sound investments in that future? I have never been paid a dividend on a stock I did not own. Have you?
I share all of this with you on Shabbat Hagadol - the Shabbat before Passover for one reason in particular. Our Temple is about to make a major investment in our shared Jewish future. The Campaign for the Next Generation - Dor Hadash - has already begun demolition and pre-construction work on the Lower Concourse of our Temple. This significant square foot addition will be renovated into usable classroom space for children and adults alike, as well as being an alternate location for regular Shabbat and holiday services. Our goal is to make sure that we continue to offer fantastic programs for people age 3 months to 103 years. We want our youth especially, to feel as comfortable in our Temple as they would in their best friend's den. We also want to create the physical structure that will enable each of our kids to learn in the classrooms and outside the classrooms - history and ethics - in deed and by example.
We are doing all of these changes for good reason. We are bursting at the seams. Our high holiday services are filled to capacity. Our Religious School has a record number attendance and our programs have never been more robust and populated. These are really good problems that we should celebrate. Still, they are problems that need a solution.
Our goal is to raise $3.6 M to complete our construction and retire our existing mortgage. To date, we are almost half way there. Here is where you come in. This is the time to go long on our Temple and our community. We have consistently produced high returns against a tumultuous economy and growing numbers in the face of other synagogue decline. There is no more solid stock than Temple Emanu-El and no better time than today.
Yes, being Jewish can be expensive at times. But we cannot afford the price of apathy.
We hope you will join us this Monday, April 18, 2011 as we channel our collective excitement for a festive Groundbreaking ceremony. The festivities begin at 8:00 am sharp and will include bagels and hard hat viewing of the construction that will soon take place. Pre-festivities include minyan at 6:30 am and Siyyum Bechorim (first born study session) at 7:00 am.
Show your support and enthusiasm by celebrating with us and your family on this exciting and important milestone in our Temple's life.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach
Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner | 
