West Bay Community Jewish Center marks 6 months with meeting

Michael Goldberg displays the Torah he has been repairing, while Rabbi Richard Perlman and Alice Goldstein look on. /PHOTO | NAOMI LIPSKYThe West Bay Community Jewish Center (WBCJC) held its first congregational meeting on Dec. 17, marking six months since the center came into being. The members in attendance, the board and Rabbi Richard Perlman, regarded the meeting as an occasion for celebration. The meeting was held at the Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk assisted living facility, where the new congregation currently rents space and holds morning minyanim and Shabbat evening and daytime services.

Perlman’s opening d’var was based on the week’s parashah of Vayigash. This Torah portion tells of Joseph’s reunion with his brothers, and his heartfelt forgiveness of their past behavior. Perlman urged those present, and all of Jewish Rhode Island, to “bring the family back together” and rise above the negativities of the past. He expressed certainty that if God is kept foremost, we will achieve shalom (peace).

President Paul Finstein reported that after six months all the bills were paid, including all start-up costs, which met with the crowd’s vocal approval. He said that the six-month “probationary” period allotted by the Jewish Seniors Agency (JSA) to the new arrangement has been working so well that the agency has asked the WBCJC to continue with it. The congregation’s increasing popularity is causing it to outgrow the space at Tamarisk, but it is possible that a long-term plan in partnership with the JSA will be developed. Finstein said the WBCJC would like to be able to hold all its activities under one roof. Currently, the Hebrew school is located in a donated space in Cranston, and High Holy Day services, which drew a crowd of 200, were held at Pilgrim Lutheran Church.  He urged everyone to continue to make the WBCJC “the focus of expression of your Jewish identity”.

Subsequent reports came from Mark Sweberg, leader of the havura, who stated that the response to the group’s activities has been overwhelming and most have been sold out; Alice Goldstein, who reported on education, and Jerry Kasten who spoke about the newsletter.

Financial Secretary Kit Perlman, and Treasurer Arnie Moses, displayed a detailed budget report and discussed objectives.  Their goal was to gain 100 members in the first year, and there are already 80 members in the first six months. Information on dues per family ($60 per month or $660 annual prepaid) and dues per individual ($40 per month or $440 annual prepaid) is readily available on the website or by phone; there are additional set rates for services such as weddings, funerals, etc., with WBCJC members getting a discount. They emphasized that nothing is hidden or arbitrary.

Perlman discussed some of the religious and educational highlights of the first six months, including what has evolved into an interfaith “Lunch and  Learn,” with non-Jewish clergy studying Torah along with WBCJC congregants. The religious school, headed by Sue Sugarman, includes the Michael and Marilyn Smith Pre-School. One congregant commented on how the school’s homework has brought her family together at the dinner table in an “amazing” way.

Michael Goldberg, a WBCJC member and professional calligrapher, is helping Perlman restore a Torah scroll. Goldberg showed the hand-cut quills he uses, along with special ink.  Anyone can donate $18 or more have a letter written in his or her honor. 

A nominating committee was selected. Alice Goldstein asked the congregants to write down the specific Jewish activities and customs they perform. Responses were wide-ranging, both serious and humorous, from “keeping kosher” to “kvetching,” which Goldstein said made her point that the new congregation can go in any direction; it is up to the members to plan “for new directions in this community.”

NAOMI LIPSKY is a Judaic artist and board member of the West Bay Community Jewish Center.