From The President

It is probably a good practice to know something about the person who will be the next president of CBS, and since I am not a native of Modesto, I thought it was appropriate and necessary to tell you a little about myself, where I came from, why I'm in Modesto and my vision for Congregation Beth Shalom.

I was born and raised in Sacramento at Mosaic Law Congregation where I attended religious school, became a Bat Mitzvah and was confirmed and was an active member of USY. Sheldon Mitchell, the founder of New Frontier USY (Northern California and Reno) was my USY advisor and my mentor. He encouraged me to work at Camp Arazim, which he also founded, and later, helped me start a kosher catering business in Sacramento.

I am the 2nd of 4 children. My father was born in Rio de Janeiro and was raised in Trinidad, West Indies. He came to this country to go to college and was told by Uncle Sam to join the army or go back to Trinidad so he joined the army. When he was being discharged, he told Uncle Sam that he served this country so give me my citizenship. Uncle Sam acquiesced.

In 1981 Mosaic Law decided to start a Kadima group and I was hired as the advisor. This began my lifelong passion for working with youth, encouraging them to attend local and regional events and to spend the summer in Israel or a Jewish Camp. To coin a phrase from one of our politicians, I believe that "no child should be left behind" because of financial or other reasons from attending Jewish youth functions. I have always been a proponent of summer camp experience where our youth are able to live Judaism. For children in Modesto, where there are so few Jews, this gives them an opportunity to meet and make lifetime connections with other Jewish youth from all over the country. More importantly, it allows them to have a "reality" experience of living the type of Jewish life they learn about in their religious school classroom.

In fact it was Camp Arazim that brought me to Modesto. After leaving California in 1983 for a short-lived marriage in Hawaii, I moved back to California and became a member of the Board of Directors of Camp Arazim which had purchased a campsite in Oakdale. I eventually moved to the Oakdale site and became the camp administrator. When Camp Arazim went on "hiatus," selling the site, it made sense to move to Modesto where I became a member of CBS and once again began working with USY and Kadima.

Seven years ago, when Loren Gonella asked me to be on the CBS Board of Directors, I could not say no. In fact, I felt it was an honor to be asked to help lead the congregation which I had just joined a few years earlier. Actually, I was quite intimidated sitting amongst the other board members, and I never dreamed that I would one day become the president of the shul.

I have shared my vision for CBS with the Board and I would like to share it with you. My vision is for CBS to become a thriving Jewish Community in the central valley. Let's face it, we may be under the umbrella of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, but we are a diverse community with many different levels of Jewish observance. I will strive to make CBS a welcoming and accessible center for all Jews in the Modesto area, whether you attend once a year or every Shabbat. We would like to see CBS become your second home, as it has become to many members already. To that end, I and the Board want to hear from you about what's working, what's not, and what we can do to make that vision a reality. Without your input, we don't know how we're doing and where we can improve to meet your needs.

While a synagogue relies on financial support to keep its doors open, as in any non-profit organization, it relies even more on the volunteer work provided by its members. I encourage you all to become a part of CBS in any way that you can. My original connection to CBS was through the youth groups while you may connect through your child's enrollment in Sunday school, or your skills at sewing tablecloths. Whatever your "connecting point" is, there is a place for you at CBS.

For the next 2 years, I hope to be a source of strength and support for our CBS family, our staff, and our Rabbi. Life is about a series of relationships and I hope to form positive relationships with each of you and hope that you will make new friendships and relationships with other members of CBS. Based on the input from you, I will encourage the board to make decisions that are in the best interest of CBS as a community.

Anthony Gonsalves has led this congregation for the past 3 years in a positive and productive fashion. He has taught me a lot since we have sat on the board together and I thank him and extend him a "Yasher Koach" for a hard job well done. He is a hard act to follow and I hope that I will be able to carry on the great job that he has started.

I look forward to speaking with each and every one of you during my "reign" as president and encourage you to call me anytime about anything that concerns you about CBS.

Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous new year,

"A Jew is asked to take a leap of action rather than a leap of thought."

-- Abraham Joshua Heschel

Religious School News

"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn."

-- John Cotton Dana

Last week in preparation for this article I stumbled across that quote and found myself nodding in agreement. Over the past five years of teaching I can absolutely guarantee you that I've learned more than I've taught.

It was about four years ago this month, as I was prepping for a class about Rosh Hashanah in a religious school on the East Coast, I learned there are actually four New Years on the traditional Hebrew Calendar: Rosh Hashanah (the head of the year), Tu Bishvat (the New Year for Trees), 1st of Nisan (redemption from Egypt and the birth of the Israelite nation), and 1st of Elul (for paying taxes). As a result, the lesson for that week changed to learning more about why there were four new years on the traditional calendar.

That's the approach to the CBS Religious School you will start to see evolving over the next year. Based on the school surveys conducted last month, the overwhelming message from all of you is a core curriculum based on Jewish History/Culture, Hebrew (prayer, Torah, spirituality) and socialization with other children who are also Jewish. Of course there are other needs, yet, these three seem to be the most important to the majority of respondents.

As for my feelings about taking on this important role in our community, I can only say I'm humbled to have the support of the congregation at CBS. Fortunately, I have the strong foundation laid out by Marlene over the past few years to build on (as well as her shoulder to lean on in the coming months). I will use that foundation and the support of the Rabbi, religious committee and teachers to develop a program for the students that will continue to enrich their lives as well as provide them with the tools they need to become upstanding Jewish citizens of the future.

Instead of outlining the goals and plans in a long article I invite you to call me or e-mail me anytime. Even better, stop by on a Thursday afternoon or Sunday morning (bagel and schmooze on a regular basis!) and ask me questions, grab a copy of the curriculum or make suggestions. After all it is "our" religious school.

In closing, again let me say "Thank You" for your support and confidence. I look forward to seeing you Sunday morning over a bagel and coffee!

Remember, half of every subscription to J- will go to Congregation Beth Shalom.  See your Bulletin for details.