Farewell Remarks - June 2015 - Parshat Chukat
This is a speech 3 years in the
making......so everybody - get comfortable.....actually I will try to be as
brief as I can but I do want to complete my term as president with some
important comments. And please note that after today I go back to being Cheryl
Lasher's husband and as you can imagine that means that I don't get to speak too
much at home so I hope you will pay attention and bear with me.
Let me begin with a story. The
very first week when I became president 3 years ago I arranged one night of
multiple meetings one after another with the officer's, with George, with Noam
and some others. I wanted to hit the ground running and set the right tone. As I
was running from one meeting to another and doing too much I came back to the
office to talk to George. I was standing by the door of the office and I
remembered one more thing I wanted to tell George and quickly turned back to
him. I was too close to the door frame and hit my head and my glasses on the
frame cutting my eyebrow badly and leaving a gash and blood running down my eye.
I ran home, washed the cut, bandaged it and hurried back to the next meeting. At
about 11pm Dr. David Freilich came over to my house (yes a real house call) and
said I needed stitches. We went over to his office and I ended up with around 20
stitches. I tell you this story to illustrate that yes being president is a
tough job but for me I started with stitches but end with a full heart and
humble pride that I had accomplished much of what I set out to do. And I know we
did this together. I believe life is like a mirror - how we treat others will
reflect back on us and in fact we are all really a reflection of each other. Any
success I had is a reflection on all of you and your support, efforts and love.
So first I want to say thank you, deeply. And I'm certainly glad I did not end
my term with stitches although there are probably a few members who wish
otherwise.....
While on the subject of "thank
you's" I do need to thank some specific individuals. Yes, this is the "bar
mitzvah" part of my speech....
First my officers - Bruce, Drew,
Jeremy, Norris, Marcy and Jessie. Each of you bought into my vision and put in
the time, talent and effort to make much of it happen. We each complimented the
others' strengths and were a great team. I wish Bruce and the new officer's much
success. I have tremendous confidence in Bruce and his leadership. Thanks as
well to the office staff in particular Chavie, Eileen, Pam, Jill and Eda; Carlos
and his staff; George Feintuch; all the committee chairs; the board of trustees;
the gabbaiim; Ari Klein, Andy Epstein and our youth leaders. I know I can be
demanding and pushed us to reach greater heights which I know we are capable of.
All of you responded and I am forever grateful. The clergy including Rabbi
Hyman, Rabbi Rosensweig, Rabbi Gershon (and I just want to wish Rabbi Gershon
and Shoshanna much hatzlacha on their aliyah to Israel, a dream come true). Next
Rabbi Poupko, we have shared much together and grown so close. I marvel at your
wisdom, humility, resilience and character especially while facing extreme
personal crisis as well as your knowledge of contemporary life and the
challenges we face as Jews. I have watched you grow as a Rabbi and leader and am
excited for your bright future. Rabbi Goldin may not be here today but he has
been by my side each step of this journey. We have been true partners and one of
the greatest privileges of this role is spending so much time with Rabbi Goldin
and seeing his deep dedication, integrity, humility, knowledge, interpersonal
skills, wise counsel, warmth, quiet acts of chesed, passion and concern for each
of you, our community, the broader Jewish community, and humanity. I could go on
and on but won't. I just want all of you to know how special Rabbi Goldin and
Rabbi Poupko are and how blessed we are for their incredible leadership.
Of course I have to thank the
person who was with me the entire time, had my back, and supported me. No, not
Cheryl (I'll get to that) but my chief of staff, Mitch Weitzner. Thank you for
your loyalty and all the hard work in the trenches, day to day, always dedicated
to our community. I could not have done this without you, Mitch. I would be
remiss if I also did not mention Mitch's "people" skills. As an example here is
the actual aliyah list (hold paper up) from a Shabbat a few months ago with a
note from Mitch to Danny which says "bozo, don't forget to give Rabbi Goldin the
aliyah for the 10 commandments." nice touch.....
Before I get to Cheryl I think
this is a good time for a joke. Shimon and Reuven are playing golf one day at
their local golf course. Shimon is about to chip onto the green when he sees a
long funeral procession on the road next to the course. He stops mid-swing,
closes his eyes and bows his head in prayer. Reuven says: "wow, that is the most
thoughtful and touching thing I have ever seen. Shimon, you truly are a kind
man." to which Shimon replies: "Well, we were married for 45 years."
It's tough being the "first
lady". With so many meetings, emails, calls and much of my attention focused on
the community, some of the complaints you hear and stresses, but Cheryl did it
with class, patience, and tremendous support. Cheryl, you are my best friend,
partner and my source of strength. Thanks as well to my dear children -
Gabrielle, David and Jake.
And now I would like to conclude
the way I started 3 years ago - with a dvar torah. Two weeks ago we read the
story of the spies, the great failure by leaders of the Jewish people. As
someone who is driven by Jewish leadership, this parshah always depressed me.
But for some reason this year I was able to reframe it in my mind as critical
life lessons for leaders and our community.
I see three great sins/failures
from this episode. First, if you read the pasukim you see that the spies came
back with both positive and negative comments about the land of Israel. Yet they
focus on the negative. Leaders must stay positive and always see the glass as
half full. But this is true not only for leaders. When things go wrong or you
have an issue with the shul or community you have a choice - will you focus on
the negative or always see the positive, give the benefit of the doubt and then
fix the issue at hand? Secondly, the midrash says these leaders were selfish and
gave a bad report to protect their own self-interests and desire to stay in the
desert surrounded by divine protection. There can be only one kind of productive
leadership and that is selfless leadership or servant-leadership. Going above
and beyond and doing for others. I can think of many examples where we
accomplished this - our efforts during Superstorm Sandy, our chesed appeals and
funds distributed through our emergency Israel campaign and Israel mission,
quietly helping so many individuals and so much more. The next time you have an
issue with the shul or community, ask yourself if it's driven by selfish
interests and assumptions that only you know best or coming from a sense of
entitlement. Humility does not mean thinking less about yourself, but it does
mean thinking about yourself less. And the third cardinal sin - the spies
exhibited a lack of faith or hope. A Jewish leader must always be driven by
hope, we are a destiny driven people and we can be a destiny driven community if
we each hold on to hope and dream about how we can make a difference and what we
can accomplish together. Roberto Clemente once said: "If we are not making a
difference each and every day, we are wasting the time God gave us on earth." I
hope I will continue to make a difference and that my Jewish leadership journey
has many more adventures, challenges and accomplishments in store......Shabbat
Shalom and may God bless each of you.
(Lee Lasher)
