Leadership

At the annual Congregational meeting, I present the State of the Temple with a look ahead to the coming year. I look forward to our Congregational meeting this year which is scheduled for May 19 starting at 7pm and which will be conducted via video conference. Typically, I evaluate the past year through the lens of whether we were on mission: was TNT what our mission statement, our North Star, says we are: a synagogue whose mission is to inspire our members to make our community more curious, connected and just. With the extraordinary situation in which we find ourselves, my thoughts turn to whether we were able to deliver on our mission during an unforeseen crisis.

I am proud to say that Temple Ner Tamid was able to meet the challenge of physical distancing making it impossible to be together, shoulder to shoulder, in our sacred space. We transitioned quickly and fairly seamlessly to an on-line synagogue and thanks to our clergy and professional staff, TNT maintained a sacred community keeping our members connected and nurturing our curiosity. From Shabbat and holiday services by Zoom, Facebook and YouTube to continued Religious School and Shoresh Pre-School education; from virtual Shiva Minyanim where literally hundreds of people from around the country join to support the mourners in our community to a Seder attended by over 150 people. We even added opportunities for learning and connecting: parenting through a pandemic and the effect of the crisis on politics and our upcoming elections; the Jewish perspective on landlord tenant relations and a telling of the writing of a book about a member’s grandfather who was a partisan fighter during WW II; nightly Sh’ma Unwind sessions and bedtime stories with TNT teens; improv lessons and open mic night. While maintaining safety and distance, we’ve remained in touch and close and we’ve been able to keep our entire staff employed and part of the effort.

Much thanks go to Rabbi Katz and Cantor Greenberg for their creative and ever present leadership in maintaining community and serving the needs of all our members. And thank you to our Executive Director, Michelle Malkin, for the logistical, tech and organizational support in getting and keeping us up and running.

I wish everyone health and strength as we continue to manage through this crisis. There is still a good deal of uncertainty, but my hope is that we all come out on the other side as present, supportive, and committed as we’ve been over these past five weeks.

Kenny Cohen

TNT President - 2017 - 2020