“Resilience is often described as a personal quality that predisposes individuals to bounce back in the face of loss. Resilient leaders, however, do more than bounce back—they bounce forward.” (Elle Allison, “The Resilient Leader”)
Over the years I have learnt great many things from my mentor, Rabbi Mark Winer. He was (and remains) a great mentor – he would always say: ‘learn from everything I do, especially from things YOU think I am doing wrong!’ Perhaps the most important lesson I have learned from Mark is how institutions should act in times of trouble: leading not from fear but with vision. While it is entirely understandable to respond to a crisis of any kind by circling the wagons and holding off on doing things that may cost money (holding back, cutting programs), it is often the wrong thing to do – if we lead with the vision we need to use the times of crisis to re-commit to the key elements of our work, improve and expand upon it. When the crisis is over, the renewed strength and resilience of the community will be the beneficiary of the forward thinking.
As we begin to emerge (please God!), slowly and carefully, from the physical, mental, financial and spiritual devastation of a pandemic, I am grateful to the leadership of TE and to all our members for not only supporting each other and our community at this time of trial, but also for continuing to be true to our vision and our mission of community building, Jewish learning and Tikkun Olam.
A few years ago we began to address the urgently growing need for space in our school, as well as our continued desire to transform spaces within TE to better reflect our welcoming nature, and to respond to the needs of our community. As we were about to begin the construction, the pandemic hit… We could have said ‘let’s wait and see’, and delay the project, but if we did so, we would have found ourselves today getting ready to re-enter the building with severe shortage of classroom space. Instead, today we are ready to ‘bounce forward’ – with two spacious new classrooms, with a welcoming Kiddush lounge and a redesigned lobby, that creates multiple spaces for TE members young and old (and everyone in-between:) to enjoy each other’s company at the oneg after the service or during Religious school.
None of this would be possible without the resilient leadership of our synagogue community, and without the crucial support of all of our members. I am grateful and honored to serve alongside TE leaders who engage in building and sustaining our community every day. Chazak, chazak v’nitchazek!
Rabbi Michael Farbman