I’m writing these words having just returned from a wonderful retreat for the Board of Trustees led by gifted Temple member, Jeffrey Korn. Our focus was on telling stories as an aspect of leadership—how we can use the stories we tell and the stories we’re privileged to hear in order to more effectively strengthen the life of this community.
With Jeff’s incredibly skillful, loving and gentle guidance, members of our Board worked on their storytelling skills and also on their listening skills. As you might imagine, the results were alternately entertaining, thought-provoking, amusing, occasionally a bit self-conscious and uncertain but, more than anything else, deeply moving. It was so impressive to witness our leaders’ courage and openness in taking this risk, their willingness to enter what was unfamiliar and slightly uncomfortable territory (at least for some). And it was such a gift to listen as folks shared stories that were funny or poignant or painful or full of joy while revealing just a little bit of their souls. We came away knowing each other better, feeling more connected and, I believe, better equipped to lead.
As usual, the retreat produced many “take-aways.” But for me, chief among them was a renewed sense of gratitude for the devoted, talented and deeply feeling human beings who step forward to guide the life of this congregation. For most, their leadership stories are first about specific tasks they agreed to perform or important roles they volunteered to fill in the life of the congregation. But beneath the surface of those leadership stories live even holier stories of a desire to ensure the Jewish future and to be good and worthy custodians of what we’ve received from our ancestors and what we hope to bequeath to our children. Beneath those various tasks and roles is a shared story of profound relationships and cherished ideals, the story of a community always striving to embody the highest and deepest values of an ancient tradition.
So, the next time you see a Board member, ask them about the Board retreat. If you have time, ask them to share a personal story and, if you can, offer them one of your own. Remember to thank our volunteer leaders for their service to the congregation and for choosing to interweave the story of their own lives with the life of Beth El Temple Center in such rich, powerful and crucial ways. And keep in mind what I told the members of our Board at the close of the retreat. Elie Wiesel teaches us that God first created human beings because God loves stories. So, our shared task is simply, with our lives, to write a story that God will love. Led by these wonderful souls, I have no doubt that we can do so. Have a wonderful summer!
-Rabbi Jonathan Kraus
