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100 Years YoungMarch 2010From the Desk of Rabbi CohonI have always loved history. While I realize this is a preference that is not universally shared—no doubt many of you slept through history class in high school and avoided it ever after—there is something compelling about knowing what really happened in earlier eras, both positive and otherwise, that I find fascinating. Judaism has a similarly deep fascination with history. Our most observed festival, Pesach, coming up at the end of this month, centers on a kind of history-feast, the Seder. In fact, each holiday, and we have many, is based in a historic event or period. Even our prayerbook is a kind of historical survey of the best liturgy of the ages. We update our sidurim with new interpretations and variations, but essentially we are mostly using prayers that have served our people for over 1500 years. We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors in so many ways… You might think that this near-obsession with history could cause us to lose sight of the present, and most importantly, the future. In our own congregation of Temple Emanu-El, celebrating our century this month with appropriate ritual and simcha, our present is active with excellence in so many spheres of endeavor, and our future promises to be extraordinary. So why not focus on the energy of today and the prospect of tomorrow, rather than bury ourselves in memories of the days of yore? Perhaps because, as philosopher Georges Santayana said, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. And that means repeating the mistakes of the past as well as, perhaps, repeating its successes. It was startling to hear from one of our leaders recently that he did not know that Temple Emanu-El was the first Jewish congregation in Arizona. To tell you the truth, when I told him he didn’t believe it. I found this odd, at first; after all, we have been featuring terrific historical articles on the front page of this very bulletin, and on our website, for 13 months now, each one marking the historical significance of this anniversary. And we have been conducting Century Shabbatot, and teaching classes on our own congregation’s history, and planning for a gala on March 20th and an anniversary Shabbat on March 26th. But perhaps it’s not so surprising that some didn’t know. The present for our temple is so active and diverse that it’s easy to lost sight of the extraordinary depth of our history, of the fact that Temple Emanu-El and its rabbis and leaders helped found nearly every Jewish community synagogue and organization. But no matter the excitement of the present, there is still much to learn from history. First, of course, we can learn that no matter what the vicissitudes of communal life may throw at us we will continue to thrive. And second, we have learned that what has made Temple Emanu-El unique has been its ability to connect Jews, and families, to Judaism in new and creative ways every day, for a full century. It’s wonderful that Temple is 100 years old. It’s certainly of great historic importance that we are the very first Jewish religious organization founded in Arizona, two years before statehood. But perhaps those who sometimes forget history are also right: the past is really just prologue. We have so much to offer right now, and can do so much more in our next century. Please join us March 20th when we celebrate with style, and come to shul on March 26th to hear the president of our movement, Rabbi Eric Yoffie of the Union for Reform Judaism, confirm our great past, our dynamic present, and our unlimited future. L’shalom v’rei’ut, in peace and friendship, Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon
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