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President's Monthly Message
June 2010
Gary Lerman
Fifty years of continuing service in a profession is a monumental accomplishment. Fifty years of continuing excellence in a profession is very rare. Fifty years of being held in high esteem by generations of congregants and peers is truly unique. Fifty years of successfully teaching and shaping children is an unimaginable achievement. Fifty years of sharing joy and grief and working with those individuals and families involved on both ends of this spectrum to deal with their respective emotional needs is a trait found in very few. Fifty years as a focal point and an example through words and deeds by promoting Tikkun Olam whenever an opportunity was presented is a gift to our entire world. Fifty years of courageously facing any and all challenges on behalf of an individual congregation or community while encouraging fairness and morality to any response is a measure of ingenuity. Fifty years of acting as an advocate, confident and advisor for countless individuals is a blessing to those in need. Fifty years of respected leadership resulting in overwhelming acclamation and respect from the various privileged communities touched by Rabbi Sol Acrish is the ultimate result.
Here at Temple Beth Elohim I have had the privilege of working with Rabbi Acrish for many years and I have a unique view of his influence and leadership. As your President I can tell you that while we have our problems, all things considered, I believe Temple Beth Elohim to be a model organization and our Rabbi has been the constant source of that success for more than forty years. During my time in various leadership positions I know how unique our Board’s relationship and by extension, your relationship, is with Rabbi Acrish. There is no ego that would lead to confrontations as happens in most congregations. Rather, I have witnessed him acting in the best interest of the congregation, not himself, and I believe his natural modesty allows him to make certain the ship is being steered in the proper direction without fanfare or confrontations. The entire Board of Directors and the congregation we represent past, present and future certainly is indebted to Rabbi Acrish for playing a lead role in making Temple Beth Elohim the model organization it is today and we look forward to when we next celebrate another 50 year milestone…..50 years as Rabbi at Temple Beth Elohim.
With regard to this matter, I have no secrets. I love Rabbi Acrish as does my wife Benay and my daughter Allison. My family is but a very small percentage of families touched by Rabbi Acrish and the Board of Directors and our Administrative staff has received much feedback from individuals and families with their precious recollections about our beloved Rabbi and the response to the Gala event that will be held on May 22 has been spectacular. Our community leaders, other clergy and many others in our community have a mutual respect for Rabbi Acrish and we should all be so honored to be a part of our Rabbi’s Temple Beth Elohim family.
Sitting here in our home, our sanctuary, we reach out to God in prayer. In our prayer we thank God for the "numberless gifts" we receive and while there is no way to define specifically to what gifts were are referring, my family, this congregation and no doubt generations of individuals who have been touched by his teaching and council consider Rabbi Acrish one of those gifts that God has presented to the world and we are blessed to have him continue to inspire, teach and lead from this very pulpit, the school rooms across the hall and his private office here at Temple Beth Elohim.
