Growing up, most, if not all of us, played “Follow the Leader”. It is my hope that more of us will take turns being leaders and followers. Active synagogue involvement can be achieved through both leading and following, Becoming involved, however, does not necessarily mean involvement on the Board of Directors. In June, I was thrilled to see that many Board positions, including officers, were filled by people who have either not served on the Board previously, or decided to return after a hiatus.

I am encouraged by and impressed with the energy and enthusiasm our new Board members have brought with them, and encourage everyone to follow their lead. Let’s feed off of their excitement and enthusiasm to make TBS a place to come to for fun events, and not just for Shabbat or Holiday services. I would like to build off of their creative new and different ideas for  programming, including the Great Sukkah Race, and the Shabbat Around the World series, which will be starting soon with a first stop in Israel, but will also include destinations like Yemen, Egypt/Syria, Italy, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

As I mentioned before, though, serving on the Board is but one way to be involved. There are many non-leadership ways become involved as well. Speaking personally I started here by helping to put the branches on the sukkah roof. Whether it is just helping out for an hour on a Sunday with the sukkah, or helping out on a Committee, or even suggesting an idea for an event or program that interests you, every person can be involved in whatever capacity works for them. Leadership is as simple as being a member of the team. Involvement as a follower is even easier – attending services on a regular/semi-regular basis, coming to an Adult Ed, Hebrew School, Men’s Club or Sisterhood event, or participating in one of our many Social Action programs.

Everything mentioned above involves donations of one of the scarcest and valuable resources – time. However, the synagogue also relies upon financial support from its members as well. The generosity of the TBS community has allowed us to maintain a roof over our heads and a floor beneath our feet. In addition, monetary contributions to our Designated Funds enable fun and culturally
enriching programs to be put on by various arms of the synagogue like Hebrew School, Adult Education and Social Action, just to name a few.

People from Benjamin Franklin to Lucille Ball have been credited with saying “if you want something done, give it to a busy person”. That is to say that more is achieved and accomplished by people who are more active. Let’s all be busy people.

Josh Weissman
TBS President