Rabbi Joshua Lesser

Dear Haverim,

According to my favorite Porgy and Bess song, we have arrived at the time where the livin' should be easy! Summertime is when things should start slowing down, but at CBH we are moving are more like the fish that are jumpin'.  

There is a strange dichotomy happening right now where, rabbincally, I feel like what is happening in the larger world feels urgent and dire (e.g. the oil spill, the economy, the divisiveness around the next elections, and events in and around Israel) but what is happening in our local community of CBH is celebratory, joyous and loving.  I would like to share some CBH news for those of you who may not be so attuned to what is going on here at Bet Haverim.

Last week we had our first educational event in our new offices! Over bagels and shmear, Dr. Simcha Raphael shared teachings from his newly updated book, Jewish Views of the Afterlife.  Close to 60 of us packed into our conference as we eagerly listened and engaged with Simcha who relayed the challenging material with charm, humor and insight.  Simcha guided us through 4,000 years of Jewish thought on the afterlife as we read pertinent sacred texts produced in each era using Torah, Midrash, Talmud, medieval philosophy and Kabbalah, teaching us how Judaism addresses the fate of the people and their souls. Thank you to Lauren Rich who made this event possible.  Through a generous gift from Lauren and a match from my discretionary fund we were able to bring this educational gem of a morning, an idea of Lauren's, which she  organized and executed from bagels to bodies to chairs.  I hope others of you will consider partnering in similar ways to make important and appreciated educational experiences possible!

During the same weekend I quickly flew to Philadelphia to accompany Charlie Chasen and Sandra Lawson where we formed Julie Pfau's CBH family at her rabbinic ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.  Together we had a "We are so proud of you, Julie" dinner the night before ordination at Buddakan, a restaurant I went to the night before my ordination.  The next morning we met Julie and the four of us sat together for breathing meditation and chanting and a brief blessing ritual to prepare her for the awesomeness of the day.  The ceremony was beautiful.  We also had the privilege of witnessing Nehama Ben Moshe, a former member of CBH during her time at Emory also become a rabbi.  Charlie, Sandra and I made quite the ruckus when Julie's name was called, representing CBH well.  The new rabbi's response and ritual which was a series of blessings to those that had come into their lives to support their rabbinate was written entirely by Julie.  Julie was also awarded The Lillian Fern Memorial Student Award for Outstanding Contributions to the RRC Community and the Fred Louis Stamm Memorial Prize: an award for the student whose essay contributes most to the field of modern European history and culture.  It was an honor to be there and represent an important part of the support, love and acceptance that Julie received from CBH.  Way to go, Rabbi Julie Pfau.

On the plane home and upon my return, I continued working with a number of other volunteers and staff to pull together our Silver Jewbilee in honor of our 25 years.  Bringing to life this service which will educate us and help us honor our history and our early pioneering members (which we are also celebrating during LGBT Pride month, by the way) has been an awesome task of weaving together memories, ideas, rituals and people.  I am daunted by the enormity of all that converged in order to turn Gary Piccola's courageous and chuztpahdikt idea to start a synagogue for LGBT people into a reality.  A Silver Jewbilee committee is using this opportunity to invite all of us to become acquainted with our audacious (and our gentle) beginnings!  Largely shepherded by Gayanne Weiss' vision, we will celebrate with music, stories, texts and each other. This is a service that will enrich your experience of Bet Haverim by deepening the understanding of who we are and why we are grateful in recogniziton of how special we are.
Two last things that are personal and a bit more mundane:

I will be away for vacation the first 2 weeks in July when I will get my taste of Summertime.  I have put coverage into place in case of emergency since I will be far away both doing a wedding for two close friends of mine: Kiana and Amy, and belatedly celebrating my parents' 65th birthdays!  Donna Fay Marcusis trained pastorally and as an ordained cantor and has been a friend of CBH for awhile now.  She currently serves as the chaplain for Jewish Family and Career Services and she will be available to us in case of emergency. We may have additional coverage which I will update you about next week as well.

I am also looking forward to the discussion of renewing my contract with CBH which start soon.  While there are aspects of this that are "business," I see the contract as the foundation of a covenant together.  I hold my relationship to the CBH community as one that is sacred; thus, I enter these talks honored by the experience of so many blessings and an appreciation for who we are as a synagogue.


Be good to each other,



Joshua Lesser