March-April 2011.Pub
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
News Vol. 80 NO 4 www.bethelsnj.org March/April 2011 BETH EL AND JCRC ARE PROUD TO SPONSOR THIS MAJOR FUNDRAISER FOR THE GOODWIN SPONSORED BY BETH EL HOLOCAUST MUSEUM & EDUCATION CENTER SISTERHOOD Katz Educational Center at the Appel Campus (Beth El Mailing Address): 8000 Main Street, Voorhees, NJ 08043 FAX: (856) 489-3280 Administrative Offices: (856) 675-1166 Religious School: (856) 675-1166 X408 Early Childhood Center: (856) 675-1166 X406 Page 2 Beth El News President’s Message Edward S. Hochberg Well, I hope that you have been able to keep warm in our second bizarre this winter in a row. As I enter the last quarter of my Presidency, I want to take a moment to speak to you about our future. I’ve mentioned several times that a major reason we successfully moved our shul to our beautiful home in Voorhees was the foresight and planning of our past leadership. Their hard work and perseverance has given us a gift that we will enjoy for many, many years to come. With that in mind, our current leadership believes that we can give a similar gift to Beth El’s next generation. Specifically, I mean the establishment of the Endowment for the Future (please see the ad further on page 9 in the Beth El News). There is a lot of confusion about what an endowment is and what it is not, so let me take a moment to provide you with a high- level view. In its strictest sense, the establishment of an endowment is a form of fundraising. However, it differs from what I will call “operational” fundraising (i.e. fundraising covering current operations) in a very important way. The money raised for an endowment is never meant to be touched (we refer to this as the “principal”). Rather, the money is held in trust and invested; the income earned on the principal is then used to fund various purposes. Clearly, the larger the endowment, the more income that can be earned on the principal and the more purposes that income can fund. Unlike operational fundraising which is used currently, the money raised for an endowment benefits an organization into perpetuity. For Beth El, the idea behind our Endowment for the Future is to provide a growing nest egg for the synagogue. The income earned on our endowment will alleviate a great deal of the strain that pressures our operating budget year in and year out. The intent is to utilize the income from our endowment to fund such things as financial assistance to members who cannot afford to pay, the Jewish education of our children (and adults) and the rich programming that is so important to our membership. As such, the future Beth El will be far less reliant on dues and operational fundraising to fulfill our mission of integrating, educating, and elevating. Another nuance to the Endowment for the Future is that there are several ways to contribute and many of those ways do not involve an up-front cash outlay. Certainly, immediate contributions would be accepted, but we expect that many people will utilize one or more of the following methods: (1) bequests in wills; (2) naming the Endowment as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy; (3) redirection of a Donor Advised Fund (e.g. one that already exists at the Jewish Community Foundation or elsewhere); and/or (4) contributions in installments. The oversight of Endowment for the Future will be undertaken by the Endowment Board. While established by the Beth El Board of Trustees, the Endowment Board is independent of the Trustees and its sole charge is to look after and protect the Endowment. The funds themselves will be segregated and they will be administered and managed by professional advisors under the supervision of the Endowment Board. I cannot overstate the importance of the Endowment for the Future. Our Endowment will put us on firm financial footing for generations to come. It is a great legacy that we will be leaving to our children and their children! I am pleased to report that our Board of Trustees is 100% behind the Endowment. I want to thank our Strategic Planning Committee and specifically Allen Wilen and Harvey Jacob for doing the heavy lifting to make our Endowment a reality. We certainly hope that you will participate. If you have any questions, please get in touch with Harvey ([email protected]) who is the Chair of the Endowment Board. One last thing I would like to mention here. By now, you probably know that Allen Wilen has been nominated to succeed me as President. Allen has worked diligently and largely behind the scenes over the past several years; he has overseen such impor- tant issues as the completion of the Voorhees construction and he has re-established and chaired the Strategic Planning Com- mittee. Prior to these roles, Allen served as our Treasurer. Allen and his family have been close friends of our family for many years. We are very fortunate to have someone as capable, hard-working and diligent as Allen as our future President. I wish Allen the best of everything. Kol tuv, Ed BETH EL WELCOMES BACK CONGREGANTS WHO RECENTLY RETURNED FROM ISRAEL 2011 Confirmation Class our newest members: Rabbi Arnow * Rabbi Arnowitz Chaim Respes * Tonia Respes Shimmy Cohen Lori Asbell - Donahue If you have recently returned from a trip to Israel, please let our office know! Aaron and Robyn Greenberg Email [email protected] or call 856-675-1166 x407 Martin and Lin-Ann Shane Beth El News Page 3 Rabbi Aaron Krupnick Rabbi Jeffrey ARNOWITZ The Ladder at Beth El “We are Family, Get Up Ev'rybody and Sing” As you read in the companion message from Rabbi Arnowitz in this issue of the We often refer to the Beth El family. As I Beth El News, he has accepted a new posi- reviewed the Passover story, I realized, a tion as a Senior Rabbi in Norfolk, Virginia. family is not only our metaphor for a syna- As a reminder of his rabbinic roots, Rabbi gogue community; it is the Torah’s as well. Arnowitz even chose to go to a Beth El! I draw this conclusion from the Torah’s (We have franchises all over the country!) command to make a Passover offering. th And yet, while it may only be a coincidence that Rabbi Right before the 10 plague, God commands Moses, “Speak Arnowitz is going from one Beth El to another, I think that it is a to the Israelite community and say that on the tenth of this fitting metaphor for both his career here and his chosen path month each of them shall take a lamb to a family, a lamb to a for the future. As everyone who visits our synagogue knows, household.” Moses then tells the elders of Israel, “Go, pick out the original Beth El was the site on which the famous ladder to lambs for your family and slaughter the Passover offering.” It heaven rested. Jacob, having left his parents’ home to strike is clear from these Exodus verses that the original Passover out on his own, sees this magical ladder with angels beckoning offering was to be made by individuals in their houses. The him to climb up from where he rests to the place that Gd knows Passover offering is a family offering, which makes sense, since it was being made to provide blood for the doorposts of he can be. In much the same way, Gd has opened up Rabbi th Arnowitz’s eyes and his heart and has put before him a ladder, the house to protect the family from the 10 plague, the slay- beckoning him to rise up higher and to lead a congregation of ing of the first born. The Torah goes on to say that this is how you should observe Passover for all time. his own. And yet, Rabbi Arnowitz is starting much higher on the ladder than our ancient ancestor did. From his current However, after forty years of wandering in the desert, the Jews vantage point, Rabbi Arnowitz can look around at what he has are camped on the banks of the Jordan River, preparing to accomplished at our Beth El; the many programs he has cross into the Promised Land. Moses explains how they initiated, the fabulous Hebrew High School he took to the top should make the Passover sacrifice once they have entered and the many lives he has touched through his teaching and the land. In Deuteronomy 16:2 he states, “You shall slaughter wise counsel, all with tremendous satisfaction. No wonder the Passover sacrifice for the Lord your God, from the flock & each and every one of us will be sad to see him go. But, the the herd, in the place where the Lord will choose to establish ladder beckons and he must respond to the call. His new Beth his name.” The end of the verse is referring to the Temple in El awaits. Beth El in Norfolk had the wisdom to ask Rabbi Jerusalem. So how can this be? Moses has clearly taken a Arnowitz to be their spiritual leader, but only we here know how sacrifice whose very essence was in the family home & trans- truly blessed they will be for having made that decision. We planted it to the Temple. wish Rabbi Arnowitz, Tami and the boys all the best! Perhaps the two verses are not mutually exclusive. Moses is In Rabbi Jeffrey Arnowitz I have found one of the closest predicting a time when Jerusalem will be the spiritual home rabbinic colleagues I have ever had.