October 2006

It was just about one year ago that we announced our campaign to revitalize the Temple Beth Sholom building just as we had been hard at work revitalizing our program of Jewish living and learning. Never could I have imagined the outpouring of support we received from you, our members. Time and time again as we sat with you and shared our hopes and our dreams for the future, you responded with generosity and support beyond our expectations. As your rabbi, I am touched by the vote of confidence this represents in the direction upon which we have embarked and in the institution which we have created. Now all we have to do is complete the campaign. If you have made a commitment, thank you. If you are one of those who have not yet become part of the new Vision-TBS, I hope you will respond in the same generous manner as your fellow congregants. We will then be able to finalize our plans and make our dreams a reality.

We at Temple Beth Sholom see ourselves as a vibrant, dynamic, ever-growing community. As we bask in the light of those who went before us, those who worked tirelessly to bequeath to us the sacred tradition that is ours, so too, do we take seriously our responsibility to create the programs and institutions that will enlighten our children and grandchildren.

Project Re-Imagine, Vision Beth Sholom, Partners in Community Caring (PICC), the Hesed Committee, the Tikkun Olom - Social Action Committee, the Religious Affairs Committee, the list goes on and on - and it is not just a list, it represents hundreds of our fellow congregants who are working week in and week out to kindle the light for a new generation.

The dream we placed before you a little over a year ago envisioned a revitalized Temple Beth Sholom building. We are already a place that is the center of a vibrant Jewish life seven days a week. From early morning, when the first people arrive for minyan, to late at night when the last meeting and conversation breaks up in the parking lot, we are indeed a vital and vibrant community. Our Early Childhood program has been housed in temporary trailers that were purchased 35 years ago to last for 15 years. While we have certainly gotten our money’s worth from them - it was time to provide for the next generation as those who preceded us provided for us. Your response was so overwhelming that we engaged architects to begin the design for a new home for our Early Childhood Center – now all we need is to complete the campaign which we began so successfully.

On Sundays our Religious School and Machon Beth Sholom High School program, our Youth Activities and Adult Activities have us bursting at the seams. Children are meeting in classes on the stage and in the halls. It is wonderful that so much is going on, but we need to update our building to meet the needs of an ever-growing community. The architects are hard at work to make this dream a reality. Now all we need is for you to help us complete the campaign we began so successfully.

We are a family that loves to celebrate together - on Shabbat morning we expand our sanctuary to accommodate five to six hundred people as a matter of course. And now we don’t just grab a l’chayyim and run but stay for lunch and revel in the warmth of a caring community of friends. New realities deserve a building that can enable us to continue to grow. Our architects are hard at work designing for us a community space which will be used for luncheons, and meetings and additional youth services on Shabbat and holidays - a central area that will always be open for coffee and friendship - a place where one can stop by before a meeting or while driving by the shul and know that the rabbi or cantor is available and friendship and warmth are constantly being served. We envision a shul that is part of the very warp and woof of our lives - a place of community, a place of warmth that embraces and nurtures us all. Is such a thing possible? We believe it is and your generous support to this point has enabled us to move from dream to reality. The architects are hard at work; all we need is you to help us complete this campaign we have begun so successfully.

A new generation deserves a new light. That light is shining brightly at TBS. If you are one of those who have already stepped forward and said, “Count me in!” Thank you for embracing the vision of an even brighter future for our congregation. If you have not yet joined in, we will be contacting you in the near future. I hope you will do whatever you can to help and to be a part of the dream as we make it come true.

With great love,
Rabbi Alan B. Lucas

Download the October 2006 Capital Campaign Brochure