Betsy Frank is UHC para-rabbinic fellow and president.
This is the season of gift-giving. Hanukkah will be upon us before we know it. And, if you have Christian relatives, Christmas gifts might be exchanged as well. Material gifts, however, are primarily temporary. Toys get outgrown or broken and clothing wears out. Even larger gifts, such as electronics, break and must be recycled.
But our human gifts are enduring. In Genesis 2:3, we read “Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, and ceased from all the creative work that God (had chosen) to do.” That single verse implies that creation is not done. We must create anew with our gifts.
Material gifts are temporary, but our human gifts are enduring.
All of us do have gifts. Patty Lewis keeps our Sisterhood going. Ken Turetzky is our webmaster par excellence; Herschel Chait and Susan Kray are our Torah scholars, Bruce Black is our financial wizard. Scott Skillman is our Pardubice scroll expert, Karen Harris is our Sunday School master, Terry Fear is our grant writer and Norma is our congregational memory and keeps us going!
So, what are your gifts? How can you share them with our community?
I have seen our community grow and become more active in the last few months and reach out to others. For example, we had more than 100 people attend the Veterans Day Shabbat service at Westminster Village. This and other initiatives could not have happened without our gift-sharing.
We look forward to hearing about what gifts you wish to share with all of us.
Shalom and an early Happy Hanukkah,
Betsy Frank