A seed has been planted west of the Ashley River. A fresh new spirit is taking hold. An idea is being transformed, little by little, into a new reality. Jewish Charleston has a new addition in the neighborhood of its key facilities, and a significant addition to the heart of the community.
Let’s begin with some milestones . . .
New WAM milestones 2006
We began holding Shabbat services in Feb 2006. In August we passed the 6 month mark. In that time, we missed having a minyan present for Saturday morning services only once.
We began quite modestly, holding services in family homes.
Pesah and Shavuoth services were well-attended.
In May 2006, the JCC Board agreed to rent us space to hold our services.
In July 2006, we began to hold services at the JCC.
On the Labor Day weekend, we dedicated two Torahs donated for our use by Stuart Katz of Long Island, New York. The Torahs are housed in an Aron Kodesh donated by the Chase family.
We have seen new faces quite often, and look forward to seeing them again and again.
An Eruv has been set up, and just awaits a formal rabbinic approval.
This week, we look forward to holding our first Rosh Hashanah services.
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There are many inspiring things about all of this, one could write pages. To say but one thing now - it is a joy to be part of people’s efforts to transform their lives, for themselves, their children, for the community, for the future. And in the process, true to the concept of "a minyan", everyone counts.
In a small community, such as we are in Charleston, everyone does indeed count. The strength of the community is firmly based on the goodwill and cooperation between the people, goodwill that crosses the boundaries of affiliation to the three major branches of Judaism. In that regard, Charleston is a shining light.
Unfortunately, not everyone shares the view that the New WAM is a good thing. It is no secret that there are people in the leadership and membership of BSBI who are adamantly, even aggressively, opposed to it. I will not belabor you with the details. Quite simply, it is to the detriment of BSBI and the community at large that such opposition exists.
But we are adults, and we must be honest. It has long been apparent that change in the orthodox section of Charleston would not come about from within BSBI’s official proceedings. That process has been manipulated and "controlled" for years to squash meaningful developments, and nothing internally has changed.
What has changed has been external - and those who could manipulate things behind the scenes at BSBI have had to come out into the open, if they so chose. I guess sometimes it is important that people stand up and be counted - and some have - they have threatened, or have actually withdrawn, their support from the JCC, the Federation and AHA. As some like to say, the heat is on.
But we are adults, and we must be honest. BSBI’s leadership and membership have a choice. Later today, BSBI congregation meets to vote on a new board for 2007. The chairman of the nominating committee knows that he has overseen the proceedings of the most important committee of BSBI’s operations. As this committee sets the tone of the board and all other committees, it should have done its work meticulously, fairly, and above all openly. If you are a member of BSBI, you need to attend this congregational meeting to see if the chair and his committee measure up.
Does it matter if they don’t? "Yes" and "No".
"Yes", because it would be to the benefit of all if BSBI gets "on board", recommits to its mission, and pulls with the rest of Jewish Charleston. They do have that choice.
"No", because experience has shown that change comes not from within BSBI, but beyond it’s reach.
And what should our perspective be? It’s like driving a car. 90% of your visual field is to the road ahead. The rear-view mirror is important, and you should know what’s in it. But "keep your eye on the road that’s ahead of you . . . ."
Shanah Tovah
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