I am quite humbled to have been elected as the President of Congregation B’nai Tikvah (CBT). Perhaps many of you do not know me. My wife, Marci and I have been members for about 30 years. Our daughters, Elyse and Caren, are 37 and 34, respectively; they became b’nai mitzvah here. Marci and I have had several roles at CBT, over the years. Among these have been: Chair of the School Committee (her), Vice President for Administration (me), Co-Chair of the Rabbinical Feedback Committee (me), Chairs of the Annual Gala (us), Fundraising Vice President for Sisterhood (her) and Chair of the Budget & Finance Committee (me).
Outside of CBT, we have been active in several community activities. Between us, Marci and I served as members of the South Brunswick Board of Education for almost 23 years, combined, including five years as President. During my Board of Education tenure, I was one of three founding members and Vice President of the Education Foundation of South Brunswick Township, Inc. Currently, I serve as President. Marci served on the South Brunswick Municipal Alliance. In addition, I was a Member of and, subsequently, Chair of the South Brunswick Human Relations Commission. Professionally, I am a certified public accountant, recovering hundreds of thousands of dollars for hospitals in the New York metropolitan area.
As Summer begins to wane, we begin to think about the coming High Holy Days (even though they are “late” this year). Please introduce yourself to me. I will be the one sitting on the Bimah (most of the time) during the holidays. Looking past the High Holy Days, our Executive Committee has been planning and working on several programs; you may be interested in one or all of them. Participating in one is a great opportunity to meet other members and make new friends. You never know about someone else until you strike up a conversation. While that may seem obvious, it bears repeating, since we have much more in common than we are different.
I would like to specifically highlight the CBT Day Out event on Sunday, September 22nd, beginning at 1:30 PM at Reichler Park (South Brunswick). More details on this free event are included in this issue of Hakol and on our website. This program is an extension of the successful “Night Out” series begun last fiscal year. The premise is to get together offsite for a fun time. The Ways and Means, Activities and Membership (WAM) Vice Presidents, Amanda Uniman, Mindy Austein and Bobbi Binder, respectively, have pooled their talents and energy to work together planning programs that will benefit us all. CBT Day Out is one of their themes for 2019/20.
Getting back to me for a minute. I am a very avid bicyclist. I have regularly cycled more than 3,000 miles a year for the past several years. I realize that’s pretty extreme to most people. I sort of stumbled upon cycling. About 15 years ago, I was looking for a way to get a little bit of exercise as I was in my early 50s. My home treadmill kept needing repairs, so I had the bright idea to buy a bicycle for exercise. My first bike was a large (read that as heavy) hybrid bicycle with fat tires. My first rides were about four miles in a loop near my home, off the five corners intersection in Dayton. I picked that route because I only had to make right turns to complete it!
My reason for mentioning this is that wellness is important to me. I will speak more about this in the coming months. The smallest initial step (four-mile bike ride?) can lead you to places you cannot imagine. As one of the Chinese philosophers said, “The longest journey begins with a single step.” Chag Sameach to all for the coming year, 5780.