Report Card

Report Card
Rabbi Michael Ragozin, Congregation Sha'are Shalom, Leesburg, VA
Originally appeared: July 2009 synagogue bulletin
Current month's bulletin available at Current Bulletin

June is a month for assessment. Students receive their final grades. Many businesses and organizations calculate their annual financial statements. Moreover, exactly a year has passed since I moved to Loudoun County and became our community’s first full-time rabbi. So, it is time to ask: How is Congregation Sha’are Shalom doing at meeting the needs of our members? Or, according to Modecai Kaplan’s definition of religion, we can ask ourselves: How has participation in Sha’are Shalom helped clarify the purposes and values of human existence, provided opportunities for wrestling with God, and maintained the vitality of home, synagogue, and community rituals?

In my eyes Congregation Sha’are Shalom is an amazing, thriving Jewish community in the heart of Loudoun County. Yes, some accuse me of being terminally positive. Nevertheless, I believe that our success stems from our striving for excellence in four traditional areas of Jewish life.

1. If there is no sustenance, there is no Torah. (Avot 3:21) Although membership numbers do not tell anything directly about the quality of our shul, without everone’s support, we simply could not operate. Over the past year, 26 new households have blessed Sha’are Shalom with their participation in our synagogue community. We are now 145 households strong. Yasher koach (well done) to Sha’are Shalom for welcoming so many newcomers!

2. When ten people pray together, the Shechinah (Divine Presence) is with them. (Berachot 6a) Since I became Sha’are Shalom’s rabbi on July 1, 2008, we have had a minyan (10 Jewish adults) at every Shabbat and holiday morning service. We even initiated a Sunday morning prayer service, which among other things offers another chance for mourners to recite kaddish. Our committment to regular communal prayer affirms the central role that services play in Jewish life and building community.

3. Make a fixed time for Torah study. (Avot 1:15) Hundreds of people (our children are people, too) have chosen to study throughout the year. Classes have included weekly Torah study, parenting, Hebrew, history, theology, ethics, holidays and more. People are beginning to make requests for next year and constructive criticism has been appreciated. Each year we will strengthen our opportunities for learning.

4. Everyone is in need of loving-kindness. (Ger. R. 60:2) Our community shows deep concern for each other and the world. Our religious school students through their annual tzedakah project have purchased farm animals for needy villagers. Meals are delivered to households when someone is hospitalized. We visit the sick. We provide a monthly “night out” for mentally challenged adults. Through these and other acts of kindness (hesed) we bring healing (tikkun) to the world.

Many individuals have made unique contribituions to our success in each of these areas. Yasher koach! We are grateful for your contribution.

A few months shy of my 30th birthday I decided to become a rabbi, because the Judaism that I experienced while studying at Pardes in Jerusalem was vibrant and joyful, engaging and meaningful. I discovered that our tradition could infuse my being with a sacred core of meaning that would carry me through life. I felt a responsibility to bring this beautiful expression of Judaism to America. At Sha’are Shalom I do not have to bring it. Rather, I am joining the hundreds of individuals and households who for years have striven to make us a synagogue of excellence. I am honored to be the rabbi of Congregation Sha’are Shalom and make my unique contribution, so that together we can thrive Jewishly.

Please share your comments.

Peace and blessings,

Rabbi Michael