The traditional afternoon worship begins: Ashrei yoshvei veitecha; od yehalelucha selah; “Happy are those who dwell in Your house; they shall sing Your praises forever.” Today, I am the one who is filled with both joy and thanksgiving, for I serve as Rabbi in Your house, Beth-El, O God, by Your grace and Your mercy. I am the happy man who is grateful, for I have been called by this congregation, to dwell in this Temple which belongs to you, its members, in the service of God. I am overcome with emotion, for the embrace of my family, of so many friends within this congregation and beyond it, of our honored and distinguished guests, of my mentors. Through your expressions of love and support today, I experience the presence of God. I will forever be grateful.

To my wife, Toni, words can not express how much I appreciate your sitting on the bimah with me today, so very out of character, and even more, your permitting me to take on this role, so challenging to the life of our family, which will always come first in my life. Robert and Daniel are not here today. Robert would have looked adorable in his new sport coat and tie, but it’s nap time, and we decided, at the last minute, not to bring him, for his well being. Even though today is not Shabbat, he would like to wish you all a “Shabbat Shalom,” shouted loudly, as only Robert can, directly into the microphone.

I am grateful to my parents, for all of their support, so critical in bringing me to this day, to my sister Alison, to Toni’s parents, and to all of our family, surrounding us in love today.

To Barbara Dreeben and Karen Palans, together with their partners, Michele Krapf and Harriet Oppenheimer, and all the hard-working committee members who created this beautiful celebration, I am boundlessly grateful. I pray that I may be blessed to return even a measure of the love that you have showered upon your beloved Temple and on me, in your labors toward this day.

To my friends who share this bimah with me today – Rabbi Jeffrey Bearman; Rabbi Jake, also known as Rabbi Lawrence Jackofsky; Father David Garcia; Congressman Charlie Gonzalez; Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan; Rev. Mary Earle; and Imam Omar Shakir – thank you for bringing added holiness to this day.

To my colleague, Rabbi Allison Bergman Vann; to my incomparable executive assistant, Cherelle Liddle; to our tireless Temple Administrator, Iris Berman-Smith; to our talented Geri Gregory; to David vanAbbema and Jean White and all those who are making the music so magnificent today; to all of the Temple staff, let me say that your self-sacrificial efforts, not only for today, but throughout the year, every year, truly bless this Temple and its Rabbi.

My thanks to every member of this congregation extends particularly to our devoted lay leadership; to our President, Marcia Goren Weser, who so movingly handed me the Torah on your behalf today; to Harry Levy, Richard Planto, David Oppenheimer, and all the members of our Executive Committee and Board, whose expressions of confidence motivate me daily; to our Past Presidents, whose never-ending service to our Temple is an inspiration to us all.

Toward the end of the Book of Numbers, as the Children of Israel prepare to enter the Promised Land, Joshua is to be installed as their new leader. God instructs Moses: v’natata mehodcha alav; “Endow him with a measure of your glory.” The commentator Rashi explains that, significantly, Moses is asked to grant Joshua some of his glory, not all of it. Consequently, we learn that the Talmud exclaims that “Moses’ face beamed like the sun, while Joshua’s face beamed only like the moon.”

Today, if I am beaming, I am shining like the moon, for this congregation, its and my Rabbi, Samuel Stahl, and his fellow mentors of mine seated here today, you shine like the sun.

If Loui Dobin has endowed me with a but a small measure of his skill at examining a situation and sensitively determining the best way to make everyone come out a winner, for the good of the future of Judaism, then I am truly blessed.

If Rabbi David Goldstein has bestowed upon me but a portion of his love of a congregation, his ability to be gracious under pressure, his fidelity to the Jewish people under all circumstances and to his family above all, then I am truly blessed.

If Rabbi Samuel Karff has taught me but a percentage of his ability to care for congregants in spiritual, physical and emotional need; his commitment to scholarship as part and parcel of the congregational rabbinate; his gentle leadership, then I am truly blessed.

If Rabbi Samuel Stahl has instilled in me even a small dose of his integrity, his loyalty to principle, his faithful belief in interfaith understanding and his passion for Reform Judaism, then I am truly blessed.

Eleven years ago, when I submitted my application to become Assistant Rabbi of Temple Beth-El, the Rabbinical Placement Commission asked for a one-page Personal Statement. Four years ago, as I prepared to meet with the Ad Hoc Committee examining my future at Temple Beth-El, I reviewed that document, and found that it continued to express who I want to be as a Rabbi. Today, I would like to share an excerpt of it with you, as you formalize my place on this bimah.

“My goals as a rabbi are to meet the spiritual and educational needs of the people in the Jewish community of which I am a member. . . . A rabbi does this, most apparently, by leading worship services and delivering sermons which speak to the heart and mind, elevating the spirit. Perhaps more significant, though, is the rabbi’s ability to invoke the presence of God at a hospital bedside, under a marriage canopy, or when counseling a troubled youth. . . . Most important is the rabbi’s never being too busy or too obtuse to notice a congregant’s need. Jewish education and programmatic innovation are essential to our communities, but I can not meet those needs as a rabbi with integrity if I do not first respond to congregants as human beings.

“Ever-improving Jewish education for adults as well as children is necessary for our community to enter the twenty-first century in strength. . . . Moreover, I have the responsibility to further my own Jewish education continually, that I might remain intellectually vital as a rabbi.

“Creating and implementing new synagogue programming, and maintaining the excellence of existing efforts, are tasks that I relish. Our congregations must meet the needs of an ever-widening spectrum of individuals today, from interfaith couples to senior adults, from single young adults to single parent families. A rabbi and congregation must help all members of the Jewish community to see that there is a place for them at their Temple.

“Finally, as a rabbi, I have the opportunity to represent the congregation in the wider community. . . . I see all such efforts as part of being a rabbi of my community.

“That is, after all, what I set out to be when I applied to rabbinic school: a rabbi of a community, a Jewish teacher and leader who is there to meet the needs of his congregation, and to create and meet new needs of which they might only have dreamed.”

Today, I would add only one thing. My mission as a rabbi is, at its heart, about a sacred bond between the rabbi and the congregation. In the last ten and a half years, I have come to feel that Temple Beth-El is my Temple. I mean that not in the sense that the congregation belongs to me as the Rabbi. Rather, I view myself as a member of Temple Beth-El. Toni and I were married on this bimah. Robert was named right here, and Daniel was named and blessed in the Barshop Auditorium just yesterday. Rabbi Stahl and Rabbi Bergman Vann are our rabbis, and our children’s rabbis, too. Temple Beth-El is the congregation where Toni and I are eager to raise our sons, and to be an integral part of the community.

I view today as a ceremony to seal a sacred covenant, between a congregation and its Rabbi. Let us struggle together. Let us sacrifice together. Let us grow together. Let us dream together. May the covenant ever grow stronger, not for me, and not even for the Temple itself, but for the good of the Jewish people, the glory of Torah, and the honor of God.

Amen.

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