It is hard to believe two years have gone by since my installation as President of the Southern California Board of Rabbis! But tonight my good friend and colleague Rabbi Judith HaLevy of Mailbu Jewish Center will become the second woman to hold the office of President! WOW! And tonight at her installation celebration another first–the gavel goes from woman to woman. Now that is real progress.
It has been such a great honor to serve my colleagues and the Jewish community of Southern California and the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles. Working with Rabbi Mark Diamond every day has been a joy. In my installation speech I spoke of my commitment to Klal Yisrael which is the notion of that all of the Jewish people are connected and matter. I have tried to bring diversity and welcome to all branches of Judaism during my tenure and we have increased the membership and participation in the Board of Rabbis extensively during my Presidency. We have more rabbis of all stripes willing to sit down together, including Orthodox rabbis. I take this very seriously. We might not all agree but we have much more in common than not!
We did great professional development seminars on social media, the environment, disability awareness, conversion, funerals practices among others. We established a support group for newly ordained colleagues. We expanded our interfaith dialogue and worked closely with Israel’s Consulate here in Los Angeles.
I am proud of my time of service and I look forward to continued involvement. Thank you for the honor.
Ben and I are so proud of you, you have done a great job, as always making history. There are more opportunities for you to make herstory in the years to come.
Ben and K
Mazel tov on another job well done. You make your congregation proud as you perform acts of tikkun olam every day.
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