3 minute read
President’s Message
Shalom Chaverim,
It was wonderful sharing the holidays with all of you. In case you are going through withdrawal from all the spiritual and social opportunities we had to be together last month (the Jewish version of Oktoberfest), do not fret. The next two months are filled with many more events to continue the fun. I am so pleased to have seen our sanctuary, social halls, and youth lounge filled with members during the high holidays, and I want to thank you for your generous response to our High Holiday appeal. I had many congregants ask me about my ‘arrest’ I alluded to in my retelling of my mission to Tiraspol, Moldova, so here goes. If you have not yet heard my High Holiday message, I encourage you to stop reading now and listen to it (it can be found on our High Holiday information page on our CBS website) to appreciate the context of the rest of the
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My hosts, Ana and her daughter Karolina were so gracious showing me their synagogue, taking me to visit many community members, allowing me to pay my respects at the Jewish cemetery where I saw many Spektor (Russian spelling) burial plots, and of course walking through the Tiraspol town center. I recorded hours of video documenting my travels. During one of our walks through the town, I was abruptly accosted by a military police officer while video taping the town square. With no explanation I was forcibly taken to the government building to meet with the town commandant (head of security). I was feeling righteous indignation (in retrospect I was being quite foolish) while Ana and Karolina were understandably frantically panic stricken. The commandant accused me of trying to document important government facilities (their village hall) for the U.S. government and demanded that I hand over my camera and all my video tapes. Ana and Karolina were pleading with me to just give it them, but I was being quite defiant because the tapes, for me, were a sacred telling of their story that CBS needed to experience. In retrospect, I was not being sensitive to how scared they were, and I have always regretted that. This standoff went on for about an hour and then I realized that my camera had a viewing monitor that allowed me to replay the tape I was using at the time. I replayed the tape to the commandant who was satisfied that I had in fact not videoed any of their government buildings. He eventually released me with a stern warning that I would not be permitted to use my video camera within their city limits. I stopped using my video camera in town, but my little Nokia camera worked just fine. Unbeknownst to them, I took several pictures of their village hall. So that is my story. The rest of my time was much less eventful. I returned home with a much greater appreciation for the freedoms I took for granted. More importantly, I returned feeling so inspired by a small Jewish community that thrived and was undaunted in the face of so many obstacles. Tiraspol, Moldova, is a Jewish community so far far away in a village most of us never heard of, my father’s Jewish community, that survived so many attempts to be extinguished by its government and refused to die. That, my friends, is what drives me to help Congregation Beth Shalom be the best it can be. My time in Tiraspol has been a constant reminder that we can never take for granted how fortunate we are to be part of a thriving Jewish community that is warm, welcoming, and inclusive. A community that I am proud to be part of - Congregation Beth Shalom, Northbrook, Illinois. L'Shalom, Bob
Bob Spector
