A Message from Rabbi Marx
Dear Beth Or friends:
As we approach the season of Thanksgiving, I am reminded of its fundamental message. We are to gather those closest to us and to offer thanks for our blessings. This season, that’s frankly harder to do. We are confronting a profound financial crisis that is shaking the very foundations on which we have built our physical world. College funds, retirement funds, and savings are devalued; some of our members are being laid off. Times are tough. So we ask, for what are we thankful, when so much is being lost?
I am grateful for our community of caring individuals. Over the years, I have come to consider each and every one of you as an important member of my extended congregational family. We rejoice at the simchas and support one another through the sad moments. We study together, pray together, dance together, and walk together on our path of Jewish life and learning.Beth Or is our shared Jewish home – our spiritual home, our educational home, our social home. I want to assure you that Beth Or remains the place you can come all year long, every day of the week, and someone will be here to greet you and to help you meet your needs as best we can.
Gratitude must, I have been taught, be translated into constructive deeds. It’s in this spirit that I want to offer some innovative programs to help us address these trying times as a congregational community. First, we are going to establish a support group for those who are facing stress about the economy. If you are interested in participating in this caring community, please contact me directly. Second, being sensitive to the tightening financial conditions, we are going to rededicate ourselves to offering a number of low-cost programs for you and your children. Since travel is getting harder and vacations are getting scarcer, we want you to find some time to relax, inexpensively, through some of our activities. Keep your eyes open for some new programming designed to address this current reality. Third, please know that no one is ever turned away from Beth Or because of inability to pay dues. If you are having a hard time paying your dues, please see our Executive Director, Liz Hirsch, and special care will be given to you so that you remain active and involved. Finally, remember that services here are free, and that they can lift the spirits and renew in us a sense of hope. As Judaism is relevant in all times, Rabbi Axler and I will offer a number of pulpit comments on hope, faith, and coping strategies during this season of stress. I hope you come.
My friends, please keep in touch. Let us know how you are doing. And more important, please know that we care and are here for you and your family.
Sincerely,
Gregory S. Marx
Rabbi
