In my d’var torah at the MoTAS Shabbat, I talked about leadership, and encouraged the men in our congregation to be leaders. You have that opportunity right now.

Be a leader for MoTAS by supporting our Annual Appeal. MoTAS has done away with formal dues and membership; instead, we depend on the men of the congregation to support MoTAS with a contribution that reflects the value of the relationship that MoTAS brings to them, the congregation, and the community at large. Together in Brotherhood, we can do remarkable things with your support. You can find both online and printable donation forms at http://support.tasnorthridge-motas.org/ .

While you’re there, please consider showing leadership again by donating to our Kitchen Challenge. At the June Shabbabaque, MoTAS uncovered problems with the refrigeration and cooling in the kitchen. Our social hall has become a gem and an asset; let’s keep it that way with a working kitchen. MoTAS challenges you to contribute to repairing our kitchen with a matching grant of $1,500 — we will match the first $1,500 raised in the kitchen challenge. [Additionally, an anonymous MoTAS member has set up a matching match, and the Temple itself has set up another matching match — meaning each of the first $1,500 raised brings in 3 additional dollars!] The cost is high: estimates of $4,500 for the cooling, $3,200 for the refrigerators, and $4,100 for the freezer. Anything you donate will help us help TAS improve the kitchen. As with the Annual Appeal, online and printable donation forms are at http://support.tasnorthridge-motas.org/ .

For either the Annual Appeal or the Kitchen Challenge, donations of $100 or more will be acknowledged on our Wall of Honor. We thank you in advance for your support.

Last night, I went to the final Shabbat service at Temple Beth Torah; they are in the process of closing up operations. During the dinner and subsequent service, I reconnected with congregation members I had built close relationships with during my years there in the early 2000s. I ruminated on my adage that I’m a part of every congregation I’ve ever been at. I built up friendships at TBT, and I’ve offered to be an ambassador of any TBT member to TAS (if they wish to explore our congregation). I look at the Temple Beth Hillel Brotherhood, and the friendships and bonds I built there.

As I walked into that last service, I picked up a Gates of Prayer. It was dedicated on the occasion of Jay Sculler’s Bar Mitzvah by his parents. It made me think about the friendships I’ve made at TAS, for it is because of TAS and MoTAS I got to know the Scullers. I thought of the bonds built between the men in MoTAS, between MoTAS and Sisterhood (it was a joint MoTAS/Sisterhood activity that bound me to the Scullers), and between everyone in the congregation.

Building that bond is necessary if an organization or a congregation is to survive. However, it can be difficult in a congregation as large as TAS. There are, however, answers. MoTAS and Sisterhood. We are organizations that allow you to build that bond in a group of a more manageable size. Through MoTAS and Sisterhood, you build friendships for life. Through service and fellowship, the connections between people become almost unbreakable. I invite you to join us in celebrating those bonds at the MoTAS Shabbat on Friday, January 29th.