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How grateful and how appreciative am I that so many of you came out to celebrate both our strength as a synagogue and my installation as one of your Senior Rabbis. It has also been so heartening to hear from many of you who could not attend in person – some watching online and some just sending congratulatory notes via text and email. Your words have been very well received.

As I reflect upon this past Friday night, I have concluded that it was pretty remarkable to be a part of something so special. I recall my installation from 2006 when there was so much that was unknown. You didn’t know me and I didn’t know you and I REALLY didn’t know how to be a rabbi! Now just over 16 years later, the installation felt much more familial: having shared with so many of you the important lifecycle events that have impacted your lives and having spent time in various programs and worship services over the years, the sea of faces I witnessed did not feel to me like a collection of strangers but rather a compendium of stories.

To further parallel the two installation ceremonies, in 2006 we shared hopes and dreams untested by time, while now, in 2022, we continue to dream big – bigger, even – because we are informed by our rich shared history. Our relationship was once grounded primarily in the unknown, and how we would each respond to the oys and joys over time. Now, though, it is precisely because of the known that we feel more poised to address that which is unknown concerning the years to come.

So it is with a full heart that I once again thank you: for the events of this past weekend, for the continued appreciation of my present skills and the continued investment in my growth, and your many messages and hugs and thoughtful gifts. I am more grateful than I could ever express.

Shabbat Shalom,

Brad 

P.S. If you you took any photos with the Rabbi Brad cutout, please email them here.  We'd love to see them!