Harvey Weinberg
Rosh Hashanah speech
Good morning (afternoon).
I am lousy at remembering names. It’s pretty embarrassing as no doubt I have had to re-introduce myself to many of you, not recalling your name. But while I am terrible at matching names with faces, my mind is deadly at matching names with dollars, and I could reel off in a matter of minutes the names of the 145 families who contributed to the campaign to build this sanctuary with the exact dollars they pledged. But this is not a fund-raising speech, so you are all safe.
Perhaps the reason I have trouble remembering names is that so many people have the same name. If your first name is David, please raise your hand. How about Michael or Andrew? If your name is Jennifer, put your hand up please? And how many Lisas and Lindas are out there…please raise your hand. OK, last but not least, how many Harveys? I am waiting!! So any mathematician in the crowd could draw the clear statistical inference. If you want to be President, you need an uncommon name that people will remember…like
Some of my favorite names are Boon, Otter, Bluto, Pinto and Flounder. Shout it out if you know where these names all come from. Yes, the movie “Animal House”. And while we enter the year 5769 on the Hebrew calendar, this summer a special documentary on the Biography Channel celebrated the 30th year since Animal House first hit the screens in 1978. While I dare not predict whether people will still be worshipping reruns of Animal House 5000 years from now, for many of us who were passing through our college years in 1978 this movie sticks in our minds like our feet stuck to our beer-stained fraternity basement floors. And look at those guys’ names. Could you describe the jellow-slurping, guitar-smashing, window-peeping John Belushi with a name better than Bluto? And what better name for the endearing schlep than Flounder? And I simply don’t forget these names, which got my sick mind thinking, that maybe there is something to setting nicknames for each of us here as a way to remember one another. It would certainly help me out. Of course, in my case, most of the names people call me cannot be repeated from the bima on Rosh Hashanah. But if you have a favorite nickname, let me know when I greet you after services. And just think of the fun we could have if we all had cool nicknames like Boon or Pinto and we change BHSS to a co-ed greek house called Beta Aytay Sigma Sigma. Beer pong at onegs, Otis Day and the Knights rocking with Cantor, and toga parties at Purim…People would be lining up at the doors to join our synagogue, at least until the URJ, the governing body of the Reform movement, puts our house of friends on double-secret probation.
Coming back from the fantasy of Animal House to the reality of our congregation, one way to get to know people, and for me to remember their names, is to spend time with them. And that’s where our programs at BHSS come in. We have so many ways to get together in small groups to study, to pray, to celebrate, to have fun or to aid those in need. As the New Year begins, I again ask you to find ways to interact with others within our congregation. Spend a day traveling to NY with the adult ed group. Take your kids on a spiritual walk through Celery Farms with Rabbi.. Come to the golf outing and spend 4 or 5 hours as a team out on the course. Take a trip to Blythedale or Wanaque with the Michelle Group and bring joy to others much less fortunate than we are. Or come up with your own idea of what we can do together and we will support your initiative.
Speaking of a brand new initiative, a small group of volunteers who are concerned about the environment and renewable energy sources have gotten together to explore the costs and benefits of solar panels for our synagogue. If these panels emerge as a viable alternative, we will push ahead aggressively. And I applaud the efforts of this group. But if the panels don’t work out, I have another energy source that I read about recently but did not hear either of the Presidential candidates have the courage to propose at the debate last Friday night: cow manure. According to the authoritative
So where am I heading with this convoluted speech today? As written in Pirke Avot, the ethics of our ancestors, each of us has three names. The name you are given at birth; the name you create for yourself; and the name you leave behind. Some may view this as a trite expression, but to me it is elegant in its wisdom. My grandfather was Harry, my uncle was Herman, and my parents dumped
Let me finish by reading to you the mission of our congregation:
Beth Haverim Shir Shalom is a welcoming Reform Jewish congregation committed to meeting the religious, educational, cultural and social needs of our diverse membership. We encourage our members to seek and continue to pursue their spiritual journeys individually and together in prayer, song and celebration. We are called by our sacred heritage to respond to the needs of our immediate community and the world and its future. And we are dedicated to the never-ending process of Jewish learning.
Let this New Year be one where we all strive to further the mission of this congregation so that we can be confident and proud of the name we leave behind.
On behalf of the Board of Beta Aytay Sigma Sigma, or Bet Behaymot, or just good old BHSS, Marci and I wish you all a happy, healthy New Year. Shana Tovah.