Jewish Center of Northwest Jersey

I read a story this week about a father and a son walking along a road. On the side of the road was a boulder, blocking part of the road. The son asked his father, “Do you think I can move this boulder?” The father responded, “If you use all of your strength, I am sure you can move it.” The son pushed with every ounce of energy that he could muster, but he still could not move the boulder. He looked at his father and asked, “You
told me if I used all of my strength, I would be able to move the boulder, Why can’t I?” The father replied, “You didn’t use all of your strength – you didn’t ask me for help.”

Most of us like to think that we are self-sufficient and can accomplish much on our own. But we are always stronger when we think in terms larger than ourselves. Today, I am asking for all of your help.

By now, I am sure you are aware of the celebration planned for Rabbi Lewis’ 25th anniversary of her ordination as a Rabbi. Rabbi Lewis has graciously offered to direct all profits from this celebration to be donated to our temple to build the handicapped access to our temple. As president, I am urging each and every
one of you to do three things for your temple.

The first is to show your support for Rabbi Lewis by attending the Shabbaton on Friday evening and/or Saturday morning.

The second is to open your checkbook and make the largest donation that you can comfortably afford. Remember you are honoring our Rabbi, teacher and spiritual leader for the past decade. If you have already made a donation, look into your heart and see if you can dig a little deeper. There is also a wonderful lunch being catered on Saturday after services. If you are planning on coming to the lunch, please make sure that your
donation covers the cost of the lunch plus a little extra (I would suggest a minimum of $36), but do not let this stop you from coming to the lunch if you cannot afford this donation. It is equally as important to show our support for the Rabbi with our presence (as well as our presents).

The third thing I would like you to do is to try and sell a few ads to your family, friends and businesses that you frequent. As a community, we normally are self-sufficient. But to do this renovation properly, we are going to need some outside funds as well. All of us have been asked to donate to many charities by our friends. This would be a time that I am asking you to ask them to return the favor.

Remember that anything we are able to raise from the outside lessens the burden on the rest of the congregation.

With all of us working hard together, we can move boulders.

Shalom
Howie Hirsch

April 2005