Update! See below for responses to this letter!

Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005
Subject: An open letter to the community

Dear members of the Pardes Levavot Community,

I hope that you will take a few moments to read this and reflect on it. You may want to add your own thoughts: this can be done by addressing an email to Kehila@pardeslevavot.org. Jim Wright will collect these and post the collection of responses in a week.

About a year ago I was charged by the original temporary coordinating council, and later by the elected community council, with coordinating and inspiring volunteer efforts in the community. This assignment was envisioned as one that would not only help us address various tasks that needed doing, but would also help bring us together and strengthen us as a community. These things are not really happening right now. This is not to say that no one is working; to the contrary, some are putting in near-heroic efforts. And, as I've said in previous emails, some of our members, due to ailments, other physical problems and other factors, should not even be asked to help out. But some who are capable of working with us are not, and others are doing little, and feeling more than a little put-out about it. I've been trying to understand why this is, and have come up with some ideas. Below, I've put in words what I think are the most common thoughts leading to non-volunteering here at Pardes Levavot, and then followed them with my own thoughts. Please respond to me at the email address below, or to the whole mailing list if you feel you want to.

Here goes:

1) "I am not as involved as some other people; I don't know what to do, they know better than I. I don't really feel enough like a member of this community to participate in work."

My answer to those who feel this way is, first, that it is exactly how I felt early on, before I began volunteering on a regular basis. A question: What should come first, a comfort level you are seeking, as a condition that must be met before volunteering, or the act of volunteering itself, which leads to such a comfort level? I submit that volunteering, working alongside others, leads not just to comfort with participating, but to many other wonderful feelings, such as warmth, love, sisterly/brotherly support, etc. I say, jump in, get going, you won't regret it. And, we need you. There is not always someone else available to take up the slack.

2) "I am a spiritual person, not a grunt. This drudgery interferes with the spiritual state in which I experience and direct my life."

Perhaps the Rabbis should address this one, as they possess greater learning and wisdom with regard to the interdependence between spiritual and earthly pursuits. I'll just say that one of the attractions of Jewish Renewal for me is its recognition that seeming opposites can be essential elements of one reality. Work and spirit are not incompatible. In fact, one thing I've learned from my daily exertions is that physical work can itself be a spiritual experience. And such spiritual experience is sometimes intensified when the work is done with others.

This also goes to a question of Jewish identity: are we not fundamentally a working as well as a spiritual people?

3) "I am overworked, stressed out, and I don't need to make more commitments in my life."

I'm guessing that this is the most prevalent feeling. In my opinion, however, there are assumptions in this attitude that are not always correct. First, putting in a little time on mundane tasks is not so bad. Why, I've gone down to the Shul, grabbed a vacuum, somewhat mindlessly dragged it over a rug and found it to be a completely non-stressful activity! Additionally, in embracing the cause of movement in community, we energize ourselves, and this energy can extend out to the other parts of our hectic lives. I see this in the people who work hard for our community and I see it in myself. And, built right into participation in the community, and Jewish communities in general, is a nifty little cyclical observance which celebrates and facilitates the acts of unwinding, letting go and renewing. Work hard, in joy, together, then come together and celebrate/do Shabbos. This is a balance that can be achieved, and that works, I believe. It can bring meaning to our lives.

3a) "I don't have time, period."

This may well be true. On the other hand, time is relative. We all say, "I don't have time"; the truth is frequently that we have some time, if not a lot. It often comes down to priorities. We may feel committed to spending that time with our loved ones: Great; bring them down too! As Reb Schlomo of Poughkeepsie always said: "The family that mows together grows together!' (sorry).

3b) --this one is potentially fatal to our congregation, in my opinion-- "I've done too much for Pardes already, and no new people seem to be stepping up to help me."

This is one I've wallowed around in lately. Here's my personal conclusion: I am committing myself to the work I can give to this community. What anybody else contributes is irrelevant to what I can and will contribute.

However... it would be nice, and it may in fact be necessary, to have more people helping out, and it would be especially nice to see some new faces in the (frequently) joyful workforce. Not out of guilt or some sense of being coerced, but for all of the positive reasons outlined above. At bottom, though, a strong community can be its own reward, can serve as a cornerstone in our lives, and is strengthened by each of us working for it to the extent we can.

Can you help?

The High Holy days are approaching, and many have agreed to help in the planning and work that will lead to their being a great moment in the life of our congregation. But in the mean time there are many things to be done, some routine, and others new. Among the routine opportunities are Oneg/Kiddush sponsorship, Tuesday evening or Thursday morning shul cleaning, grounds maintenance/small projects, and setting up before/cleaning up after services, Friday potlucks, and other events. Please contact me by phone or email (see below). Jim Wright has organized a road cleanup on 79th Street for Sept 18 at 12:15. We have invited the members of Shepherd of the Hills to join us in this act of Tikkun Olam. Also, the Rabbis need more help in communicating with our membership and in achieving their visions. Please contact them if you'd like to help in these ways; I think it is safe to say they will be overjoyed. And, the various other committees can also use help. They are: finance, membership, education, and volunteering; I can help you contact the council members who lead them.

We have no professional staff; we don't require work as a condition of membership. But that doesn't mean we don't desperately need workers. This community may survive or not based, at least in part, on how we respond to its needs for volunteer work. Please step forward. Please commit yourself to taking a larger role. I think you'll be happy you did.

Sincerely,
Fred Berkelhammer
303-443-1233
Berkeltree@earthlink.net

What a great letter. I can't think of any other reasons why we don't choose to help. I am happy that there are already some folks other than the usual suspects taking major roles in the HH preparations. My hope and belief is that by taking part is the mitzvah of avodah, those who become more actively involved open a broader spiritual path. Perhaps if members try participating (even on a small level), they'll get hooked on helping, and our entire community will be elevated.

Yours, Joel

Wow Fred,

That was an amazing email. I looked at it and the first thought was, "I sure hope everyone gets a chance to read this."

I'm afraid though that the people we need to reach the most are the kind who would just skip over the email and not read it. I don't want this to go to waste so we need to somehow get it out to the community over and over again until they get it into their heads.

There is one comment I want to make and that is under the statement "I am a spiritual person, not a grunt. This drudgery interferes with the spiritual state in which I experience and direct my life," I saw that you included some great answers but there is one that you left out: In order to have your spiritual lifestyle that is fueled by this community, you need to do work to keep us alive or else we wont be around to help you in that manner. Without the help of the members, we wont be able to offer them the spirituality they want. You can't get your spiritual high for free and honestly, membership dues just aren't enough. You need to show a true devotion to this community. I think this needs to be drilled into the heads of some of these members.

Other than that, I loved the letter and I hope to see it somehow sent to everyone in another form that is not so easily ignored. By the way, I have constantly asked to see more musicians step up to help out the community during services of any kind. I have gotten tired of hearing just a guitar or drum. I stepped up to get the drum in there as much as possible. I know for a fact that we have many talented musicians in this community who could add to us in that way. That is another way that people can help so I just thought I'd throw that out there. It'd be awesome to see you get on those drums when Shaya pulls out his rock endings every once in a while. Talent should never go wasted. Same with Sam (both to tell you the truth but I'm already trying to convince one). There is no such thing as an instrument that doesn't belong in services. I would love to see Sam get that bassoon in there somewhere if he can get the music.

So there's my spiel I guess. Thanks so much for caring about how this community survives,

-Amitai

Fred,

Thank you for the wonderful email. It is clear when someone is speaking from the heart. I hope this reaches the hearts of all our members and members-to-be. The act of giving is a reward in itself. The more people who step forward and volunteer, the less we depend on a few individuals to go beyond the call. Here's to the continued growth and vibrancy of Pardes Levavot, our Orchard of Hearts!

Jim