President's Blog

Todah Rabah to ALL the Jewper Heroes of Beth Tikvah!

As Moana explained to Te Fiti, “Sometimes our strengths lie beneath the surface. Far beneath in some cases.” There is no doubt in my mind that at Beth Tikvah we all have many wonderful strengths!

My heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who had the strength and the vision to make our congregational retreat happen so beautifully! Starting with Ruth Schlossberg and Pam Altman who expertly led the Retreat Planning Committee consisting of Joel and Fran Berger, Lori Dreyfuss, Roberta Fahey, Brad and Jody Egel, Sheryl Kier, Gayle Kopin, Laury Kossoff, Denise Loiterstein, Amy Novick, Jeff and Sharon Prosansky, Steve Rosenblum, Steve and Amy Schlesinger, Max Thalhammer, Lori Trachtenberg; program leaders Mark Axel, Julie Brandon, Ron Coppel, Ilene Kettering; as well as our esteemed clergyRabbi Tachman, Ilana Axel; and our amazing staff Stacey Lysoivanov, Scott Meyer, Kyle O’Day, Rokki Parrinello, Mandy Thalhammer, and Ellyn Weisz!

The retreat weekend went so well, and that of course had everything to do with all of the people who attended the retreat! Whether you helped with something during the retreat, participated and enjoyed services and programming, had fun during adult time in the evenings, played with your family, spent time with friends or made new friends, this retreat brought everyone together in many wonderful ways! Let’s spread that feeling and keep it going!

It truly does take a village! We are all so fortunate that Beth Tikvah has the best!
If you were not able to attend the retreat this year, please consider attending next time. I have received many comments from people saying this was our best retreat yet! It is a great opportunity to meet new friends, strengthen connections, and just have a great time!
Speaking of great Volunteers and Leadership…We Need You! We have lots of committees and activities here at Beth Tikvah that we would love you to get involved with. If something speaks to your heart, please stand up, volunteer and join in the fun—whatever level of commitment or time that you can give. We are a volunteer run congregation and rely on our members to get involved and make the programs they want happen! We rely on your leadership skills and energy. So join a committee, help with a program, and turn your thoughts and wishes into action!

Lastly, thank you to all who took the time to complete the recent URJ Congregational Survey that was sent out in January. I am happy to report that we had 74% participation! The URJ said that this is the HIGHEST number of ANY participating Congregation EVER! Woo Hoo! Beth Tikvah is AMAZING! We are working with the URJ over the next few weeks to tabulate the information provided and identify key areas to focus on going forward. We will share a summary of the results in late spring or early summer.

In the words of Chief Tui “There comes a day when you’re gonna look back and realize that happiness is where you are.” Right here at Beth Tikvah! Your home away from home!