The resiliency of Naples Jewish Congregation

Steve McCloskey, Past President

It has been my privilege and honor to have been President of the Naples Jewish Congregation (NJC) since August 2017. My tenure, which started with a short-term crisis, concluded on April 1 with a long-term one. As the High Holy Days approached in September 2017, Hurricane Irma was bearing down on South Florida. Since we seemed destined to lose electricity, we scrambled to find another location for our services. Quite miraculously, the lights came back on within hours of the start of Erev Rosh Hashanah.

The long-term crisis began last year with the coronavirus. NJC’s last in-person Shabbat service was held on March 13, 2020. Our intrepid octogenarian, the unflappable Dick Lechtner, took it upon himself to learn the intricacies of Zoom and YouTube Live with the alacrity demanded of the moment. Within a couple of weeks, we were, for the first time, streaming our Shabbat services on these platforms.

In order to keep the NJC family together, we instituted our NJC Connects events, a series of “virtual” events, drawing upon the expertise of some of our members as well as outside speakers, to engage members on a diverse set of topics.

We recently started our “Talk Amongst Ourselves” series, where members share their thoughts on Zoom about a topic designed to elicit robust and frank discussion. We will continue these worthwhile events going forward to cement the bond we feel with fellow members, albeit remotely.

With opportunities to get our COVID-19 vaccine shots proliferating as supply and locations rapidly expand, we can envision a return to in-person services and events sometime early this fall. Of course, proof of vaccination, mask wearing and physical distancing may well be the new norm when we begin to gather again.

These precautions will be a small price to pay to, once again, be able to bask in the warmth of the embrace of our NJC family. Besides, we will be taking these necessary steps as an affirmation that we truly value not only our health and welfare, but just as importantly, the health and welfare of our fellow members and guests.

As we eagerly anticipate congregating again in person, my thoughts turn to what is undoubtedly NJC’s most valuable asset, its members. At NJC, members are known to extend a helping hand and to lead with lovingkindness. Our emergence from the pandemic will allow us to engage again with the Greater Naples community, seeking to find another meaningful Tikkun Olam project on which to focus to do our small part to repair our world. With the tumultuous past year we have endured as a country, it will take all of us to make even a small dent in the hard work to be done.

It is with a profound sense of gratitude that we can look back on the last year with deep appreciation for the collaboration among clergy, leadership and our wonderful congregation to provide the spiritual solace we so desperately needed. Kudos to Rabbi Howard Herman; Cantorial Soloist Jane Galler; Music Director Alla Gorelik; Peter Weissman of our choir; Barry Goldenberg, our Ritual Chair; Dick Lechtner and Charles Flum, our Zoom and YouTube Live hosts; and our hardworking Board of Directors, who all kept us well connected. We hope for a coming year of good health, peace and equitable treatment for all.

We all wish Roberta (“Rob”) Obler mazel tov as she takes on her new role as NJC’s President. NJC is in “good hands.”