Temple Beth Am, Yorktown Heights, NY

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Nov. 28, 2008
Brotherhood holds 'Moishe-Do-List' Day, making improvements to synagogue building.
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Rabbi Weiner's Message to the Brotherhood:

Adam and all the Men of the Brotherhood,
The feelings that I have in my heart go way beyond expression, and yet I will try my best to use finite words to explain them.
Let me begin with a little Torah. Chanukah is on the horizon. While the holiday is about the miraculous defeat of the Greeks by the hands of the small "Band of Brother" known as the Maccabees, the Chanukah story also tells of their work when they finished their battles. According to the biblical text, after they were victorious, this Band of Brothers picked up their brooms and paint brushes and went to the Temple - the one that was desecrated by the Greeks. They saw their work as holy and sacred. They believed that the removal of every spec of dirt and fallen leaf was part of making God's presence felt within the Temple. They believed their work was just as holy as the actions that would take place inside that Temple, once they had completed their tasks.
Thank you for being our modern day Maccabees!!!!!
On Friday evening, when I walked in the door, I was extremely humbled by the overwhelmingly gracious work you and the men of the Brotherhood partook in earlier that day. My jaw dropped when I saw the fresh coat of paint in the foyer area. My eyes popped when I saw how clean the kitchen floors were. I was overjoyed when I saw the huge the improvements you made to the K-1 room, as well as, all of the wall and ceiling cleaning that was done throughout the building. And yes, I did almost drop to the floor when I turned on the lights in the Sanctuary and "WOW" all of the bulbs were working. Lastly, it was wonderful to notice all of the landscaping and the general cleaning of the foyer area. Those touches as well as all of the projects throughout the building really enable God's presence to be felt. Thank you so much for all of your hard work.
Finally, I would like to express a hope of mine to you and your Maccabees. I am so thankful for all of your work. I also hope that your brothers got something out of the experience than just dirty hands. I hope that while doing this gracious work, the brothers felt a connection to each other - a sacred bond. My hope is that they not only felt they were doing "work around the temple" like they would be doing "work around the home." My hope is that they felt a specialness in the work they did. Just like the Maccabees felt thousands of years ago. It is my dream that the members of our entire congregation know and feel that every minute they spend helping to make Beth Am a better place is a blessed, sacred, and meaningful minute.The more experiences we all have like that, the more we will feel a special bond to our Jewish home - Temple Beth Am.
Todah Rabah,

Rabbi Robert Weiner

Cantor Jamie's Message to the Brotherhood:

Dear Adam,

I can not thank you and the brotherhood enough for the incredible work that you did on Friday. Imagine my delight when I arrived at the temple on Friday night to find the walls, doors and grates painted, the building scrubbed clean, the trash removed, the kitchen sparkling, the sanctuary polished and vacuumed, and the beautiful bright lights shining on all of your work. My heart was particularly filled with joy by the transformation of the back classroom. I am so excited to see the reactions of our teachers and children when they see how clean and bright their space is!

In this month of Kislev, when we will celebrate the ancient rededication of the Temple by the Maccabees, and also the present-day rededication of our beloved Holocaust Torah scroll, the brotherhood has performed a rededication of their own.

Thank you so much.

Cantor Jamie