Around this time of year the classic song from Israeli rock icon Arik Einstein ‘Uf Gozal’ begins to pop up everywhere I look. It acknowledges the difficult feelings for parents watching their kids grow up, mature and leave the nest. We have been the so-called ‘empty nesters’ for two years now, and I think the reality is yet to fully set in, even as we watch our kids spread their wings with pride, joy and yes, a little sadness.
This year’s crop of high school graduates has grown up at TE right in front of our eyes – I have so many cute pictures from their childhood to prove it! Many have remained active in our school as teenagers: Katie and Sarah Harper, Ava Shanbrom, Maya Katsovich, Sophia Rivkin and Beyla Ridky have had an outsized influence on the life of TE over the years, and most of them are pretty used to the extended TE family treating them as if they were our own children. They have sung in the children’s choir, and then years later they taught the children’s choir for the next generation of kids. They were our students and then became our colleagues, helping teach, tutor and inspire our current religious school students. They have written and performed Purim spiels and sat on TE boards and ran Chanukkah basket fundraisers… If I attempt to list all their achievements, this column would never fit into the allotted space! Over the next few weeks, we will get to celebrate them and their achievements, to hug them and to wish them well as they take that important leap and go off to college – I hope you all mark May 17th in your calendars and come to Shabbat service to do just that. But first, I wanted to invite you to a special ceremony on May 5th – and to share with you a description of two Eagle Scout projects completed this year for the benefit of Temple Emanuel.
For her Eagle Scout project, Katie Harper chose to help her community here at Temple Emanuel by building an additional four benches for the outdoor sanctuary. “I decided to expand the outdoor sanctuary because it has become a special space for me and many other members. It was a lot of fun assembling the benches, and I am pleased that the outdoor sanctuary will now be widely more accessible during services. As the weather starts becoming warmer, I cannot wait to use the benches in the upcoming weeks.”
Sarah Harper, as part of her BSA Eagle Scout Project, led a group of volunteers in restoring over 80 damaged spiral-bound prayer books at Temple Emanuel. The entire restoration process involved many steps and was completed over the course of four months.
“In Jewish tradition, any document or ritual object with God’s name on it must be buried in a special grave called a ‘genizah.’ It is the proper way to dispose of these holy objects with the utmost respect and consideration. As part of my Eagle Scout project, I have arranged for a geniza to be created on TE property, and we have collected over 15 boxes of beyond-repair prayer books and additional items from the community. I have been an active member of Temple Emanuel for over 18 years and these prayer books were the first to incite my love for attending services, studying Hebrew, and learning the different tefilot. I am extremely delighted for the newly bound prayer books to get used again and for the beyond-repair items to get appropriately laid to rest. I hope everyone in the community will be able to witness and take part in this sacred occasion along with me.”
The genizah ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 5th at 9:30 a.m. All TE families and members are invited to attend to learn about the ritual of disposing of sacred texts and objects, as well as to assist with burying the items.
