Remarks at the centennial celebration of Congregation Bethel (end of Hanukkah, Decmeber 18, 2009, 2 Tevet 5770)
Monday, December 21, 2009 at 10:42AM I am grateful to be your guest as you celebrate the last night of Hanukkah and as you mark the centennial of your religious community’s presence within the greater Bennington area. I suppose this is quid pro quo, as Joshua was the guest of First Baptist when we celebrated a mighty big Pentecost service earlier in 2009. When Joshua asked me to come and speak, I said yes immediately. You make wonderful challah, which I will be stuffing under my jacket before night’s end. Joshua is a great colleague to have. In fact, in my book, he ranks almost as highly as Jon Stewart…..
On behalf of the Greater Bennington Area Interfaith Council, blessings on this sacred occasion!
In the midst of a holy season, celebrated down the centuries, and this year, celebrating the passage of a century of your witness, it is a time to give thanks and remember your holy story of the Divine’s faithfulness and the tenacity and determination of your congregants, past and present, to bring Beth El through the past century.
Joshua notes the Torah portion for the evening tells of the stories of Joseph, whose dreams were not understood at first by others. These stories are befitting an occasion such as this night, as you celebrate a past and commit to a future. To dream is to open oneself to imagination and to make malleable our otherwise callused worldviews.
This night, as you celebrate the wonder of yet another night of plenty when the odds said it should be otherwise, it is a good night to tell stories of the many Jews who made their livelihoods and spiritual home here in Bennington. It is a good night to recall the witness of rabbis past and present, especially emeritus and incumbent here in this room, two faith leaders who have led the many faiths of Bennington to be more engaged in social justice initiatives. It is a good night to dance with the Torah, recalling these same floorboards that have creaked under the feet of now nearly four generations. It is a good night to pray, to listen, and then to eat together, sharing this sacred moment before journeying onwards into a second century.
It is a good night to dream.