Rabbi Michael Pincus
Thank you for visiting us. Congregation Beth Israel’s vision statement is to serve the lifelong spiritual and educational needs of our congregants, within a welcoming and caring, contemporary Reform Jewish Community.
My vision is for Congregation Beth Israel to be that vehicle/home for our personal exploration, spiritual life, and engagement in the world.
A community where members are empowered to be each other’s angels.
There are angels within our midst, make no mistake about it. There are angels who bring food regularly to homebound congregants, who teach our children, who, without any recognition, regularly help members who just can’t make it on their own like they used to. There are angels in our midst who fight for justice and show what compassion really is.
For me that’s what this place is all about. We are here today, we are all here today, because of the angels, the messengers from God, who make life bearable, who make us who we are.
Since the summer, we have started an exciting program called “CBI Connect.” Small groups of individuals are gathering to share their stories and hopes. They are building connections with each other. They are meeting under the guidance of a group leader who has committed to stay in contact with members of their group over the course of the year and to find some way to bring them back together again. The real health of our congregation can only be measured by the strength and intensity of the relationships and the connections we have with each other.
My hope is that CBI Connect will foster a deeper connection. It will encourage more of us to say “Here we are – if you need us.” For those of you new in the congregation this year or have been here since the very beginning, my hope is that you will feel as warmly welcomed as the rest of us have been.
A story is told about a man lost in the woods who sees another man carrying a lantern. Excited at the prospect that this man might help him find his way out, he runs to him. But before he can ask for help, the man with the lantern asks him if he knows his way out of these woods. The man grins and responds, I don’t know. But I know the way I came, and I know that with your light, together we’ll find our way out.
I became a rabbi because I believe that the stories and wisdom of our tradition can guide our lives. I believe we need a community and a vehicle for our personal exploration, spiritual life, and engagement in the world. We need a community where members are empowered to be each other’s angels. I don’t have all the answers, I don’t think anyone does. But I do believe that together we can find them…I invite you to join us finding our way through this wilderness.
May we be each other’s angels. I look forward to spending time with you soon.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Michael Pincus