September 14, 2007 - Imstalling Klay Kodesh - (Shabbat Shuva - 2nd of Tishrei, 5768)

Tonight, the words Klay Kodesh come to mind. They mean holy vessels, and they apply to those whom we are installing as our Board for this New Year, 5768. Now, you might have wondered, why have an installation on the Sabbath of Return? And I would say to you: seeing that we have just begun a new Jewish year, what better time to formally recognize our new board? And what better time to invoke Gods blessings upon their deliberations and decisions? The men and women we install tonight are, indeed, klay kodesh, holy vessels because to them it is that we are entrusting all that is Congregation Bnai Chaim and all that will aid it to continue to flourish. It is they who will be doing the business of this congregation. Virtually anything that involves the spending of money on Bnai Chaim is their purview. Butand this is an enormously important point: although they are deeply involved in the business of this synagogue, it is absolutely essential that they do not see themselves as running a business.

Successful businesses are run always with an eye for the bottom line. Successful synagogues, on the other hand, while always being aware of the profit and loss columns, must first take into account the people, created in Gods image, for whom the synagogue exists. They must weigh both the rightness and the righteousness of any decision against the costs to the bottom line, and the emphasis needs always to be on what is true to Jewish values and the spirit of Torah. In other words, Temple Board members have more to consider when they seek to determine the directions of the organization than the common business person. Theirs is a tight balancing act that holds the fiscal in theone hand, and the sacred in the other.

No Temple board should operate this way. There are probably few that do. True it is that any Temple ought to operate in the black. But whether this congregation should pursue growth or not; what should be done or not done about the space we have; what the level of the dues should be; what should be the budget of the congregation and how we should either stay within that amount or venture out beyond it? And given that budget, what are the committees of the congregation doing and is that activity kosher? I say this because we at B'nai Chaim don't do gambling projects, per se; we don’t pin our future on bingo..and we made that decision based on the notion that gambling isn'tseemly and sacred. It doesn't wear well in our trying to serve God.

Making these decisions and making them correctly is critical to the life and health of Congregation B'nai Chaim. They ought not be made in a bubble, in haste or without consulting with other congregations or the Union for Reform Judaism to determine best practices. This board understands that although we are unique to the southwest suburbs of Denver, we are not the first Reform congregation ever to step foot in Colorado, let alone the Western United States.

But to study the issues, to spend hours doing the proper research, devoting time away from other activities and interests, from family and from vocations entails commitment to the other members of the Board, to the members of one's family for whom synagogue is seen as an essential part of life, to a definite level of selflessness and a love of both Judaism and God. Believe me, the folks we are installing this evening will get little enough recognition for what they do; while, at the same time, when we see occasions like Rosh Hashanah come together as beautifully as they have, Board members can derive a sense of pride and accomplishment no rabbinic sermon could ever describe.

As opposed to the bottom lines of companies and corporation, by what monetary measure do you assess the comfort a member receives when they come to find out that their fellow congregants are bringing them meals and sending them flowers when they are sick? How do you count the value of the heartfelt _prayers_ that we offer when one of us is sick or in trouble or is in mourning? How do you begin to thank those who devote the hours and the energies to train our children by imparting Jewish values and the joys of living Jewishly throughout a year of holidays, ceremonies and activities?

The people who oversee all this are, indeed, /klay kodesh/, holy vessels and they need to see themselves this way because what they are so preciously handling is beyond the bottom line. It is the holy. They provide the platforms for each and all of us to reach out to God..whether that is by bringing bags of food for the poor at Yom Kippur time, or building a house for a needy family through Habitat, or giving life saving blood through our Bonfils drive, or by performing mitzvot by raising funds for Israel, for JNF, the tree planters and reservoir builders in Eretz Yisrael, or for the Books for Israel program, or by collecting shoes for the Holocaust Shoe Project. All of this would not be were there were no Congregation B'nai Chaim here. And what entails the holy is much wider and broader than just Tikkun Olam, important as that is; because it also involves providing a lovely and conducive space for worship and prayer. It involves making sure that there is sufficient space for the BCTY to flourish, for our preschoolers to grow in and learn, and for the Tummelers to tummel.

All kidding aside, being a member of the Board of this or any Temple is no small responsibility or undertaking. For at the bottom line is not just the fiduciary health and wellbeing of the congregation; what supersedes even this critical duty is service to God, family and one's fellow congregants.

Yes, being a Board member involves time, work and commitment; but in the end, it is what bolsters another generation of Jews to create a legacy around itself, train up their children and assure that Jewish life has a proper place to grow and flourish. And if this is enough of a reward for what it takes to make all this happen, then these men and women are as much a blessing to us as they are to themselves, their families and to God.