Thank you Rabbi.  Good evening, and L’shana Tova.  As we begin a new year,  my family and I want to extend to every member of the Temple Ami Shalom  community and of course our guests, our best wishes for health, happiness, and prosperity during the coming year.  It is also traditional to apologize to one another at this time of the year for actual and perceived slights.  In that spirit, I apologize to each of you, on behalf of myself and my fellow officers for anything we have said or done, or omitted to say or do, which has offended you in any way.   Last year I was told that my Kol Nidre speech was well received.   I would like  to find out by a show of hands how many of you were here last Kol Nidre evening………  (toss the papers) well so much for repeating last years speech. I found the following story in my email inbox recently… 

In the days leading up to Kol Nidre a congregant was had a problem he needed to deal with.  It seems that the Angels were playing in the World Series and a crucial game was to be played on Kol Nidre night.  The ardent Angels fan went to the rabbi and said, "Rabbi, I am having a problem.  You see the Angels have a World Series game the same night as Kol Nidre."The rabbi calmly replied, "Well, that's why video recorders were invented."

I am proud to be the president of the Temple Ami Shalom, because our synagogue is a caring, passionate community.  I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and say thank you to the officers and members of all the arms of the synagogue, all of our wonderful volunteers for your compassion, dedication, enthusiasm, expertise and commitment to Temple Ami Shalom.   

Our gratitude also goes to our office and custodial staffs for the extraordinary job they have done this past year and I am sure they will continue to do in the coming year. 

So far the High Holiday services have been phenomenal.  It truly has taken a small army of staff and volunteers to make this happen.  We all owe a debt of gratitude to all of these wonderful people. 

Special accolades, of course, go to our Rabbi Rick Brody and our guest Haazzan Cantor Rhonda Singer who have been preparing all summer for these services.  These two exceptional and talented individuals deserve our respect, admiration and appreciation.   

Many of you volunteered to assist with services this year.  To read torah, haftorah, blow the shofar or other duties.  Many have spent many hours studying and practicing and everyone appreciates your efforts, accomplishments, and contributions to our services.  Your participation helps our services to be beautiful, meaningful, relevant and inspirational.   

A heartfelt thank you also goes to everyone who has worked to create this wonderful experience, with special Kudos to the members of our Ritual Committee, Amnon Mahller and his ushers, our Finance and Membership committees and office staff.  There were so many details to take care of and so many people did a stupendous job.   

Last year I did something that in retrospect I think it is so very important, that for me it has after only one year become a new tradition, so please join me here in our recognizing our own efforts on behalf of this community. 

As I identify each group, please stand and remain standing.  (we should be getting pretty good of standing by this point in the High Holy Days) 

My theme last year was “who is the heart and sole of the community”.  As I said last year, You/WE all are the heart and the sole of this community. 

I applaud all of you---- and would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your past, current and future service to Temple Ami Shalom.  Next year, it is my hope that an even larger number of you are standing.  Please be seated, and thank you once again. 

Together, the board and rabbi are working hard to build for the future.  It continues to be your board’s vision that this campus is destined to be the center for the Jewish community in the San Gabriel valley.   

I urge all of you to inquire what you can do in terms of volunteerism to help this community.  We need your help, want your help, and look forward to working with you and for you.  Please contact me directly to help.  Of course the temple office can get a message to me as I am too often off Globe Trotting. 

This year has seen some change in our community.  Yes we have lost some members due to people leaving the area or passing on, or for other reasons, but we have also added some new members to our community.  I am happy to say several of them are young families with children and we are hopeful that our religious school and community will benefit from the addition of these new families, and that they will benefit from joining with us.   We also had a few families that had left us a year or more ago return to us.  We treasure all our family members, existing, new, and those of you listening tonight that are on the fence.  Jump in the water is fine! 

Last year we tried some innovative advertising that did not work out as well as we hoped.  Your board continues to look for new ways to attract new members and the board and I are always interested in your observations and ideas.  Please help us help ourselves. 

I am sure everyone knows by now, the ATID Hebrew Academy closed after many years of providing a wonderful Jewish education to so many of our children.  This was a very sad event for the Jewish community in this area.  … As you would expect, after many years if classroom use, and after all the wall decorations were taken down and removed, the interior walls of the school building are in need a some intensive patching and painting, which will cost us some money. 

As a result of ATID’s closure, your board is trying to find a new tenant for part of the school building within certain guidelines which could potentially help our bottom line.  This is not something we hoped for, but it is something we will try to do our advantage. 

Last year on this evening I talked about how the board is  working to rebuild structure to many facets of synagogue functions, such as membership, financial and admissions policies and procedures.  These efforts are difficult, and made more difficult by some of the changes this year in the board.  We have a number of critical openings which must be filled on the board, and these positions must be filled by you….  I/We -- need to help ourselves, and I need you to help me lead.  Your temple needs people to step forward an make themselves available to directly help the community.  We have vacancies in the following positions, effective essentially now:

Executive VP

Housing VP

Ways & Means VP

Each of these positions is vital.  Please step forward and help us lead the congregation.  We also need people to step forward and be active committee members.  Please talk with me or contact me through the temple office or by email if you want to step up and help.  We need you!!! 

We continue to have a very good relationship with our church tenant.  We renewed the lease with them and they are good tenants.  The new lease puts certain requirements on the temple that both the temple and church will benefit from, namely that we replace the carpeting in this building and do some interior painting.   Obviously there is significant expense associated with this work, and we have put some money away for this, but the cost is high. 

My executive committee continues to meet and work on longer term plans for our community and to work on ways of dealing with the yearly important financial issues.  

As I have said in the past, being a smaller congregation has both benefits and detriments.  Being small, everyone has the opportunity to make a difference.  Because we are small, I would think it safe to say that we have a higher percentage of member involvement when compared to larger shuls.  On the other hand, because we are small, we have a smaller pool of people on who to rely.  This increases the value of each and every one of you. 

Please support your temple in all ways possible. 

Please know that I have an open door policy and welcome your thoughts and ideas, as well as your criticism and support. 

This past year, thanks to one large donation from one donor family, we were able to paint the exterior of the our synagogue.  We need those who can afford to do this type of thing, to do so. 

Your board enthusiastically supports the rabbi in his efforts to educate and inspire.  This past year he has provided many interesting and effective programs and services.  Recently Mimi Kaplan came onto the board as our new Adult Ed chair and is doing a great job working with the board and Rabbi Rick.  Thanks Mimi. 

In addition to our long-standing, well-attended Saturday morning service, we have many different styles of Friday night services to select from.  Your board continues to work to insure that these and other activities will continue. 

Rabbi Rick continues to try new innovative approaches to getting people into our community and into the shul.  Some of them work and some of them haven’t worked so well.  Rabbi Rick and your board continue to try things.  Please let us know were we hit the mark and where we fall short of the mark. 

Last year, one of my messages at this time was the it is up to us to set the example that our children will remember in supporting this community, so that they will emulate our deeds and actions in this or another synagogue community.  

This year, it is my hope that each and everyone of you without exception will contribute to this appeal for our community. 

A visitor to Israel attended a recital and concert at the Moscovitz Auditorium. He was quite impressed with the architecture and the acoustics. He inquired of the tour guide, Is this magnificent auditorium named after Chaim Moscovitz, the famous Talmudic scholar? No, replied the guide. It's named after Sam Moscovitz, the writer. The visitor says, Never heard of him. What did he write? The guide replied,---- A check. 

Your board works hard to come up with ways of funding the programs and needs of the congregation.  This process unfortunately in previous and the current financial years has involved a substantial amount of deficit spending.  This community needs and counts on the generosity of the community at this time each year to try to reduce the amount of this deficit.  We ask all in attendance to generously help with this righteous cause, our cause, our community. 

Sitting in shul a few Shabbat mornings ago, I found the following in the siddur titled:  Tzedakah in our lives 

Let us recall the torah's command:

"You shall not harden your heart

Nor shut your hand from your needy brother (deut 15:7) 

Our Sages taught:

The giving of tzedakah is as great

As all the other mitzvot together  

Let us give tzedakah gratefully:

For we cannot give what we have not first received. 

"Give Him of His own.

For you, and what you are, are His" 

In Tzdedakha, there are two hands:

One that gives and one that receives.

Be grateful that yours is a hand which can give. 

Let us give tzedakah generously.

For we are as big as our capacity to share. 

We make a living by what we get,

We make a life by what we give. 

Let us not aim to "give until it hurts".

Let us give until it helps and heals. 

Let us give tzedakah regularly:

So that our giving may become an ennobling habit. 

Each day we receive blessings without number.

May each day, therefore, find us sharing our blessings. 

May we give without growing weary.

May we guard against complacency and fatigue. 

Let us give tzedakah joyously,

For we ourselves are enriched when we enrich others. 

"Tzedakah blesses the one who gives

even more than the one who receives. 

The act of giving is also an act of receiving.

The benefactor is also the beneficiary. 

As we feed, we are fed.

As we give, we receive.

As we lift, we are raised. 

So let us share our God-given blessings

Gratefully and generously, regularly and joyously! 

That same morning, from Haftorah Ki Tavo I was struck by the following lines: 

Instead of the copper I will bring gold,

and instead of the iron I will bring silver,

and instead of the wood, copper,

and instead of the stones, iron,

and I will make your officers peace and your rulers righteousness.  

The message I find in this to urge you to increase whatever pledge you have considered making.  Please fold the appropriate tab or tabs down at this time on your pledge card and pass your pledge card to the isle for the Ushers to collect. 

GA MAR  CHA TEE MAH  TOVAH.             May we all be blessed             with Good Health and Prosperity for the New Year.             May your fast be an easy one.  Thank You.

Mark Roberg

President, Temple Ami Shalom