Dear Temple B’nai Israel family,
I am most grateful to have been a part of your community for the past year and a half. On our brief journey together, we have enriched each other in learning, spirit, music, mitzvah and joy.
Some of us are tempted to bid each other a Jewish Goodbye - the kind that, when you say to your friend over the phone, “OK, take care, I’ll talk to you soon,” she responds by, well, talking sooner than you meant!
We often can’t help but find some reason to prolong the parting. A Jewish Goodbye can require the stamina of Samson - we suddenly remember that we have forgotten our doggie bag of leftover kugel, and our re-entry into the kitchen prompts another round of exchanges that further delays the inevitable. Our Jewish Goodbyes contain feeble attempts at eloquence, as we search for a way to express our genuine regret over the next rehearsal for the ultimate Jewish Goodbye that we all expect, sooner or later.
So, as my wise mother used to counsel, “Let’s not and say we did!” We can use that perfect and complete Hebrew word Shalom, which promises us peace, wellness and wholeness whether in meeting or parting, be we together or alone. How ironic yet fitting it is that our Hello to the new Jewish day begins at sundown, just as we are bidding Goodbye to our loved ones and slipping into our habitual solitary sleep. It suggests that, in some way, there is no distinction between Hello and Goodbye.
We can be guided by Rashi’s wisdom regarding another kind of Goodbye - a seifer k’ritut, or scroll of divorce. Commenting on Deuteronomy 24:1, Rashi states that divorce is a mitzvah. God commands particular behavior from us, and we are obligated to respond accordingly. Relationships are borne in connection - we never mean to separate. But, should a separation become a reality, then we are commanded to restructure, and that act becomes a ritual that transforms us.
You have transformed me, and I’d like to offer my heartfelt thanks for your warm welcome and generous hospitality, especially to all the wonderful families who invited me into their homes for a weekend. I enjoyed getting to know you, meeting your children, your parents and your pets! Thank you for welcoming me into your family circles and giving me a sense of belonging.
Thank you also to the Saturday Night Adult Education host families. You provided an intimate venue for Jewish learning and schmoozing that greatly enriched temple life.
It has been a joy to have worked with the choirs and with Chai Notes. You have made our worship services beautiful and inspiring, and I will cherish every memory.
A very special thank you to Ann Dee Lee, Marsha Greiner, Robyn Moore, Larry Hardwick and Kenny Bradshaw - who have all been so helpful as I have done my work at the temple, to my liaisons Carl Rubenstein and Joel Guskin who have gone out of their way to integrate me into TBI life, and to Rabbi Cohen, whose openness and guidance informed me at every turn.
Well, I guess I couldn’t resist the temptation to offer a Jewish Goodbye after all! I wish you all kol tuv, everything good, as we travel our separate paths.
l’Hitra’ot, see you later, Cantor Adelle
Cantor Adelle Nicholson 