Buerger Bites
From the desk of the Jewish Times publisherThe Real Work Begins
As a board member of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, I had a front-row seat to the board’s dealings on the Owings Mills JCC Shabbat opening issue.
Many things stand out in my head. People on both sides of this difficult issue had a great deal of passion and clear thoughts about it. While the debate was lively, it was always respectful and never heated. And in the meeting where the final vote took place last Wednesday afternoon, there was an obvious mixing of people on both sides, eliminating an “us-versus-them” attitude.
A few comments also stuck out. Dr. Michael Elman called in from Jerusalem, pleading with the Associated board not to open the JCC. But what really stuck out was his admission that the community missed the boat 12 years ago when those who voted to keep the JCC closed did relatively nothing to teach the rest of Baltimore’s Jews about the wonders of Shabbat.
After the vote was taken, Associated President Marc B. Terrill stepped up to the microphone and quoted Rabbi Moshe Hauer—“The real work begins after the vote.”
Let’s hope that both sides work hard so that all of the 100,000 Jews living in the Baltimore metropolitan area and the JCC know how truly special Shabbat can be.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/28/09 at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)