April 14, 2022

Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),

After beginning the recruitment process in January, being offered the position of CEO of the Adolph & Rose Levis JCC, accepting the position, resigning from my position in Phoenix, selling my house there and buying a house here, then driving with my wife Lori and our dachshund Marley in two separate cars over four days, we finally arrived in South Palm Beach County in time for our closing on April 7th. I finally began my new job here this past Monday. The welcome I received from staff and volunteers alike was simply sublime. I’ll never forget the warmth that has been sent our way. It’s simply unprecedented to me.

One of the things I will be introducing to our community is a weekly Shabbat message. I look forward to your feedback and will take it very seriously. I am eager to hear from each of you any given week if the mood strikes you. One quick early observation I have made here in our community is the explosion of people who are moving to this area and working from home. My wife happens to fit that description. I plan on focusing much thought and attention on how to engage our “remote” population. I hope that those of you who are working remotely, or know people that are, will become a more deeply engaged part of our growing Levis JCC and Jewish community.

This week we begin celebrating Pesach on Friday night. On Shabbat Chol Hamoed Pesach, we read of the prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones. He finds himself in a valley covered in dry bones. G-d tells him to instruct the bones that G-d will cause them to reassemble, grow flesh and come to life, and that’s what happens. G-d tells Ezekiel that these restored people represent the current state of the Jewish people, who had been reduced from their former glory. G-d will breathe new life into them and they will once again flourish.

After all we’ve been through these past couple of years, I’m optimistic that it is our time to breathe new life into ourselves and into the entire Jewish community. I feel very blessed and humbled to join this venerable Jewish community just in time for a renaissance and a growth spurt. With the help and injection of all our new community members, including our remote workers, we are positioned to move forward in the most vibrant way.

I wish you and your families a happy and a healthy Pesach! I look forward to getting to know you and working with you for the betterment of our community.

Light holiday candles then Shabbat candles Friday evening at 7:26 p.m.
Shabbat concludes Saturday night at 8:20 p.m.
Light from a previously existing flame at 8:20 p.m.
Yontif ends Sunday night at 8:21 p.m.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!

Marty