PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Over the many years that Beth El has been part of my life (nearly fifty!), I have seen clergy come and go, a major renovation to our sanctuary, changes in the way we daven (pray), and many other phenomena that are the normal and healthy part of a synagogue’s evolution. However, throughout all of those years two things have remained constant. The first is the centrality of our Shabbat kiddush lunch to the knitting of Beth El’s social fabric. After the hustle and bustle of another week in our all-too-hectic lives, there is nothing more grounding than sitting at a table catching up with people, whether it is those we see regularly outside Beth El’s walls, or people who we see only in shul. To me, frankly, this is what Shabbat is all about: forgetting the stresses of life, slowing down, and focusing on the things that really matter. As President, kiddush lunch is a great venue for fielding praise and adulation (not complaints, because those are not allowed to be voiced on Shabbat; Rabbi Schuck told me this rule can be found in the Talmud!). Further, kiddush is an ideal place to welcome new members into our community and to offer a source of connection and belonging to people who might be lonely or are experiencing suffering in their lives.

The second quality that Beth El has always had regardless of the era is the way that members of our community are truly happy to celebrate major (and sometimes less significant) events and milestones in each other’s lives. Whether it is a dear friend or someone we really don’t know, everyone is always thrilled to offer a “Mazal Tov” or “Yashar Koach” to someone celebrating a simcha or happy occasion.

One meaningful way to share these joyful events with the larger community is to sponsor the kiddush, thus extending the celebration outside of the sanctuary and making it a truly synagogue-wide event. Families celebrating b’nei mitzvah have sponsored the kiddush lunch on the Shabbat of their simcha for as long as I can remember. However, sponsorship of a kiddush is not limited to bar and bat mitzvahs. In fact, a congregant can sponsor a kiddush for any reason, or for no reason at all! For example, I decided to celebrate my 50th birthday at Beth El by chanting the Haftarah and then having a kiddush for the community. When my parents marked their 50th wedding anniversary, my brother and I sponsored the kiddush and invited many of their friends from outside the community to celebrate. Baby namings, aufrufs, b’nei mitzvah anniversaries, graduations, birthdays, retirements - these are all occasions which you may want to mark with a sponsored kiddush. Friends can come together to sponsor a kiddush for a shared occasion, such as celebrating a joint trip to Israel or the high school graduating class. Just recently a group of parents whose children participated in Youth Shabbat co-sponsored the kiddush.

Finally, there are many possibilities for the type of kiddush you could present. You could of course offer the “basics” (who doesn’t love tuna and a challah roll?) or an enhanced menu prepared by our in-house team. Or you could arrange for any Kosher caterer to prepare an extravagant spread of your choosing, as long as the caterer is pre-approved by our rabbis. Reach out to Alise Liquorie in the front office, and she will explain all the options.

Kiddush lunch at Beth El is in our DNA and from a community-building perspective is probably one of the most important things we do. By sponsoring a kiddush you can perpetuate this wonderful tradition. I look forward to celebrating with you and the rest of the community at your next special occasion!