Annual Report to the Congregation - 2019-20

Dear Friends,

For the past 24 years that I have been writing annual reports, I have utilized the ancient Kabbalistic art of Gematria – finding meaning in the connection between numbers and words – and applied it to the number of years our congregation has been in existence.  This year, Temple Emanuel is celebrating 145 years. As such, I searched for an appropriate word or phrase that might encapsulate our experiences over the past 12 months since last we came together, I found a word that, I believe is directly related to our experience as a kehillah kedoshah – a sacred community – over the past year.  This word is מַטְמוֹן֙, (Matmon) which means “treasure.”  Here is how the gematria works:

מַ = 40

טְ = 9

וֹ =6

מַ = 40

ן֙ =  50

_______

145

At a time when we are acutely aware of the fragility of a world that is being severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, a great deal of angst and anxiety is being projected on the global economy.

Given the exponential rise is unemployment and business losses, this anxiety is real and our fears appear to be well founded. We worry about the loss of our livelihood, our investments, our financial stability – our treasure.

At yet, not all treasures are material – their value cannot always be measured in terms of capital and trade.

An important concept that I’ve come to realize over the past 4 weeks of sheltering in place is that Temple Emanuel possesses treasures that have value far beyond our wildest dreams – not in a material sense, necessarily, but rather, in the fact that we have compiled a portfolio of programmatic, social and spiritual capital that is far more valuable than any bottom line on a financial ledger. The clergy, staff, lay leadership and members of our community have repeatedly demonstrated during this difficult time their commitment to sustaining and increasing the importance and centrality of our congregation in their own lives and in the life of the greater Denver community.

Due to the unique situation in which we find ourselves due to the global Pandemic, I am not going to go through a list of all our programmatic successes over the past year – although there were many. We have come to expect a high level of excellence from all aspects of our congregation – The Rabbi Steven Foster Early Learning Center, Shwayder Camp, Max Frankel Religious School, Friedman Club, Our Adult Engagement offerings, Religious Services, Pastoral Care, Life Cycle Events, Social Action, Interfaith Engagement and Community Leadership. Once again, we have met and many cases, exceeded our expectations. Yes – there have been some bumps along the road – particularly in the areas of Religious Education and Youth engagement – largely due to the unexpected and untimely departures of key members of our professional team who left us in the last minute for personal and professional reasons that were unrelated to job performance or personal satisfaction with Temple.  This meant that we had to scramble to find interim replacements for the positions of Directors of Religious Education and Youth Programming. Luckily, we were able to retain the services of Scott Esserman and Ben Cohen who helped us maintain our programs while we embarked on national searches for their replacements. I want to take this time to thank both Scott and Ben for their partnership and professionalism. We wish them well on their future endeavors.

We are very excited that we will have a new member of our professional team in place this July. Bradley Cohen is a nationally recognized educator who will be moving from his position of Director of Education at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation to become our new Director of Youth and Family Learning. We are very excited to be welcoming Brad and his family to Denver this summer. You will be hearing more soon about ways that we will be introducing him to our Temple Community. We are also actively interviewing candidates for the position of Director of Youth Engagement and hope to be able to make an offer soon.  Stay tuned.

I want to say a few words about how we are planning to continue serving our membership in the days and weeks to come. While we currently do not have an exact timeline regarding how long we will be separated from one another, we are not allowing the lack of dates and deadlines to impact our commitment to serve our community. From the moment we understood that things were going to have to be radically different in the shadow of the pandemic, our first action was to compile a matrix of Jewish Values that could guide our response. This fluid document – which you can find on our website, my blog, our Temple Emanuel Denver Facebook page and which was shared (with permission) by our National Reform Movement – has helped us to be thoughtful, deliberate and clear in our actions. Knowing that every decision we make reflects our core values brings us a sense of clarity of purpose. [For a link to this document - click here.]

Our first response was to scramble to create radically new forms of worship, study, and pastoral care that addressed the difficulties of sheltering in place. We made a conscious decision not to stream services from our building because we wanted to lead by example and demonstrate the importance of social distancing. We found that utilizing Zoom and Facebook Live was the best avenue to accomplish our goals – despite some clear technical limitations. We also know that it is somewhat confusing and that not all our members are able to access Facebook – but we made the decision to utilize this platform because it would reach the most people in the short term. We also wanted worship to “feel” as much like Temple Emanuel as possible and, thanks to the fact that we have archives of visual tefilah (or worship) slides already on file -and thanks to the perfectionism of our own Steve Brodsky (more on this later) we were able to create a worship experience that, while different, still reflects our history and skill set. I want to stress that this is a team effort. In order to be successful, we needed a team of clergy, greeters, technological support and creative minds to pull it off.  I am proud of what we have accomplished and I hope you are as well.

Looking ahead to Temple Emanuel Online 2.0 – we want to expand our offerings and move away from a modality of frontal presentation to one that is more engaging and participatory. We hope to create multiple portals of entry for our wide and growing congregational community. For example, we know that healthcare workers have unique challenges in the face of the pandemic. We want to be there for you. So do parents with young children, those living alone, those caring for those who are ill, households with children graduating from high school and college, Jews by Choice, interfaith households – the list is long and we hope to be there for all of you.  I ask for your patience as we roll out these initiatives as we are currently in the process of creating them.

Steve Stark, in his remarks, spoke about members of our professional team who are involved with operations of the temple.  I appreciate all of their efforts greatly. I want to also take this time to speak about some of the other “Matmonim” – treasures – that we share here at Temple – the people who work and volunteer on our behalf.

Mark Idelberg, our outgoing president, has served our congregation with distinction these past three years. He is a visionary who cares deeply about out Temple Emanuel. Mark is an excellent leader who does not shy away from addressing issues in our community with a direct and clear understanding about multiple sides of every concern. He has had to make some difficult calls during his tenure. He and I have not always agreed on everything – but these times were rare, and we had enough trust in one another that we could work through our disagreements with respect. Most importantly, we have been able to continue our deep friendship through his term – and Sue and I are so greatly appreciative of the love that we share for both he and Jamie. I feel blessed to be able to call him both a friend and a colleague and we, as a congregation are in a better place because of his leadership.

Mark’s dogged determinism to reinvigorate our Board of Trustees has resulted in a group of lay leaders who care deeply about our community and want to make a difference. One need only to see how, in the immediate aftermath of the decision to close the Temple last month- prior to the Governor’s mandate – our Trustees rallied together and called every member of our congregation over the age of 70 to let them know that we care about them and that we wanted to reach out.

I am looking forward to partnering with our incoming President, Danny Foster, whose life-long connection to Temple Emanuel, brilliant insights, deep caring and sterling reputation will keep us strong as we move into our 150^th year.

Now a few words about the partners with whom I am blessed to work on a daily basis.

My Co-CEO, Steve Stark – our Executive Director -  is a gift. Steve loves being Jewish. He approaches his work as a sacred calling and he understand and embraces the concept that the pastoral nature of running the facilities, budget and properties of Temple Emanuel is more than simply crunching numbers. He cares deeply about every member of our community and wants to help them feel as excited about their Jewish identity as he, and his family feel as well. Steve is a warm, loving and fun person to be around. We have created a synergy together is a reflection of the mutual admiration we share for one another.

I also am incredibly blessed to work with an outstanding clergy team. If Cantor Elizabeth Sacks were just a brilliant musician whose voice has the power and grace to move us to tears - dayenu. And yet, she is so much more than a beautiful voice. Her deep spiritual sense is coupled with a passion for organization, education and leadership that is both invaluable and inspiring. She is a teacher’s teacher and an amazing resource – not only to our congregation and the Denver community – but to the Jewish people as a whole. Her stewardship of our B’nai Mitzvah program has brought us to new heights of excellence. I rely on her wise counsel and partnership.  We are so fortunate to have her and her family in our midst.

Rabbi Emily Hyatt brings another “superstar” dimension to our team. Her brilliance, compassion, vision, sense of humor and professionalism have been invaluable. She is a team player who will take on any task with a desire to lead, teach, learn and grow from each encounter. She is a national leader who strives for excellence and inspires all of us to live by her example. She is a role model for so many in our congregation – young and old alike. Adding to all of this, the fact that she is fluent in the use of Zoom, Facebook and other social media platforms has been invaluable during this time of transition to our “Virtual” synagogue.

Our Cantoral Soloist and Music Director, Steve Brodsky is yet another jewel in the crown of Temple Emanuel. We all are inspired by his soulful voice and brilliant guitar playing, but he also has a sense of perfectionism that we see in the way that he labors over each project in his portfolio – from working with Cantor Sacks to create a superb B’nai Mitzvah program that approaches each child as a unique and sacred gift, to every note, slide and reading in our Unplugged and now “virtual” online shabbat services. I have known Steve for over 30 years and our musical and professional partnership continues to expand. We are blessed to have him, Jill, Ben and Ari in our community.

Rabbi Eliot Baskin has been an important part of our Clergy team. He has helped to coordinate our pastoral care by creating healing, mourning and solidarity groups and programs in our congregation. His classes and lectures are inspiring – he even throws in the occasional magic trick or “Dad Joke” to see if we are listening. His compassionate caring and soothing presence add an important aspect to our work together.

Our Rabbi Emeritus, Steve Foster and his family have been an inspiration to all of us. Steve – to be able to bless you on your 50^th Anniversary at Temple and in the Rabbinate is a rare and profound moment for me. To be able to share it on this historic occasion of welcoming your son. Danny, to be the next president of Temple Emanuel adds yet another layer of joy and holiness. You and I often brag about our relationship as Senior Rabbi and Rabbi Emeritus. I am truly blessed to call you a colleague, partner, mentor and friend. I love our relationship and I love you –even when we disagree (which is infrequent) and I look forward to many more years of health and partnership.

Jodie Abrams Schafer, our Shwayder Camp Director continues to impress everyone with her many talents. She is a visionary leader and all of her staff, our parents, counselors, alumni and donors appreciate her dogged determinism to maintain the Shwayder magic while moving ahead to the future. At this time of uncertainty, Jodie’s optimism and professionalism bring so many of us a sense of comfort knowing that not matter what happens, Shwayder will continue to thrive under her leadership. Jodie is very involved nationally in Jewish Camping. She makes us proud as she represents Temple Emanuel and Shwayder camp year-round. We also want to wish her a Mazal Tov for her marriage this past year to Chris Schafer.  We wish you both much happiness and success.

Zahava Davis, Shwayder Assistant Director continues to grow and impress all of us. She, like Jodie, loves camp. She cares deeply about every person connected to Shwayder – campers, counselors, staff and alumni. Her organizational skills, easygoing and caring nature, deep commitment to Judaism and Jewish values and incredible work ethic all combine to create a dynamic duo with Jodie.  She also is very involved on a national basis with other assistant directors and makes us proud.

Susan Wartchow and her Foster ELC leadership team are committed to ensuring that every child that passes through our doorway will be loved, cared for and understood on multiple modalities. Susan is a pied piper of early childhood. She advocates for her students, teachers and staff with a passion that is unequalled. Susan has taught us all about the intricacies of a child’s inner self. She is a lifelong student and a compelling teacher. Through her vision – and that of her excellent team – we have an Early Childhood Center that ranks among the top – not only in Denver, but in the nation.

Sarah Brown – our Director of Membership and Adult Engagement has more energy than anyone I know. She is the perfect ambassador of Temple Emanuel to the community at large. Her contagious laughter and irrepressible desire to build bridges of connection to every member of our congregation is breathtaking. She is constantly generating new programmatic ideas for us to consider. One example of Sarah’s vision can be seen in the way she coordinated the delivery of over 200 passover meals to members of our congregation in concert with our Caterer’s, “A Perfect Pair.” We are blessed to have her as a part of our team.

Rita Dahlke, our Librarian and Assistant Religious School Principal has been an important link to the continuity of the past as we have undergone a year of transition in our Religious School. She cares for each teacher and student she encounters and runs the library like a well-oiled machine. She loves creating new programs – whether in the Library, the Religious school or for her dedicated adult students.

The newest member of our professional team is our Audiovisual Coordinator, Shaun Wall. Shaun has been an invaluable resource as we have increased our commitment to excellence in sound and presentation. He works closely with the clergy to ensure that we sound our absolute best at services, concerts and now, online as we move into this new world of streaming services and programming. Shaun has quickly become an integral part of all that we do at Temple.

I also want to take this opportunity to recognize Fred and Lundy Reynolds whose generosity has made it possible for us to hire Shaun. The Reynolds Family Foundation have also sponsored many other important additions to our facilities and programs – including, but certainly not limited to our beautiful adult education classrooms and their most recent gift – sponsoring our B’nai Mitzvah program – making it possible for every household at Temple Emanuel to receive B’nai Mitzvah preparation with minimal cost. There are many other ways that they have made a huge difference at Temple Emanuel and I want to let them know just how much we appreciate their generosity, vision and support.

For me – this has been a year of contrasts. I was humbled to be honored at the Fundraiser in January on the occasion of my 10^th Anniversary at Temple.  In February, I took the first month of my 3 months of Sabbatical. I travelled in Israel, studied and taught music, composed new pieces, travelled with my beloved wife, Sue and took advantage of the opportunity to regroup, relax and realize how fortunate I am to serve as your Rabbi. Of course, these past 4 weeks of Sheltering in place have created new challenges for all of us. Your clergy and professional staff have had to learn new skillsets overnight as we transformed our multi-faceted congregation into a virtual center of prayer, study, pastoral care and community. I believe that we have been successful thus far – largely because of the Matmon – the Treasure of our partners – both lay and professional. I thank you for the gift of your confidence, and I know that when we emerge from our current situation things will be different. We will have a new skills and perspectives as well as a greater appreciation for the strengths and holiness that make Temple Emanuel such a unique and remarkable place. I look forward to seeing everyone in person – very soon!

L’Shalom,

Rabbi Joe Black