Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a Shabbat service at Wilshire Blvd. Temple. During the service, Rabbi Leder talked about the Torah portion, which included a detailed description of the building of the Tabernacle. He pointed out that although one might think the Tabernacle was being built as the home for G-d, the portion was clear that it wasn’t. Rather, the notion was that G-d would reside in the Jewish people G-d would be a part of each and everyone one of us.

That’s a notion that resonated with me, and that resonance became strong when I thought of MoTAS. What makes us strong as MoTAS is not the buildings we meet in or even the specific things we do — it is the spirit within us that binds us as brother to brother. It is the relationships between men that turn into friendships, and those friendships that turn into unbreakable bonds that are essentially at the level of family. It is this connection and spirit that makes MoTAS special, and it is one of the reasons why those of use active in MoTAS love our MoTAS brothers.

We invite you to join in the bond: be part of our brotherhood of friends. Come to a membership meeting, come to one of our activities, or just come up to one of us at a Shabbat and say “Shalom”. You’re always welcome with us.

I go to a lot of live theatre. Actors love to have a full house — even if some seats are discounted — because the energy of everyone participating makes the entire production better. I saw this effect recently from the TAS Board in relation to the end of year Tzedakah campaign: it was stressed how important it was for everyone on the Board to particpate, at whatever level they could afford, because of the message it sent. This notion stuck with me, and builds upon the theme of our recent MoTAS Shabbat: The men of TAS being role models.

When you participate in an event as a man of TAS, you send a message through your participation. You demonstrate how the Men of TAS are there for the congregation in all its activities and endeavors. Time and financial constraints may limit our abilities to participate as fully as we might like, but doing whatever we can, whenever we can, says a lot to our leadership. This is true for congregational activities, and it is equally true for MoTAS activities.

When you receive a mailing, email, or call asking you to participate, think about what your participation — or non-participation — says. More importantly, think about what your participation does: it allows you create relationships with other participants, and strengthen your bond to the congregation. Ultimately, it is that bond that keeps MoTAS and TAS strong: people caring about other people, and being there — participating — for them.