We are loved by an unending love….

 Thank you all. Thank you to each and every one of you who made Saturday night such a spectacular event for me and for our entire community. Whether you were present in person or on zoom, your love radiated throughout the night, and I continue to feel enveloped by it.

 Over the course of the evening as each of you came forward, waves of memories washed over me. Whether in the formal program or in a quick encounter, in listening to you I reenvisioned the journeys of your lives. In hearing your words, I heard my teachings reflected back, and simultaneously I realized how much you have each taught me. Thank you.

 I have not yet succeeded in looking at the entire Tribute Book. Reading it is like eating a box of fine chocolates, pausing to savor each bite and appreciate its unique qualities. That will take a little time to finish. Thank you.

 I have never witnessed so much energy at the temple at one time as we experienced on Saturday night. So many of you contributed behind the scenes as well as in the program, that I yearn to speak to you personally and thank you. For now, this is my best effort to thank the staff, the volunteers, the leaders and the followers--

The visionaries, the planners, the doers, who fretted and stressed and solved whatever problems arose (I don’t know of a single flaw or struggle but I know they always happen.)

All the musicians who sang and played instruments and led others in song, who rehearsed the music (or didn’t rehearse), who knew just what prayers and songs and melodies would authentically illustrate my rabbinate and our congregational culture.

The wizards who put together the photos and messages for the tribute book, the angels who wrote and delivered speeches and the blessings, and all the kind and generous souls who have written me cards, notes, emails, and texts. 

Those who planted flowers and pulled weeds, who painted and repaired and cleaned.

Those who selected the menu, solicited the donations, set up food and drink, and those who cleaned up.

Those who set up the sanctuary for 200+ guests, put up signs everywhere, and arranged the entire building with light and food and music and joy.

Those who copied and folded programs, assembled spice bags, ordered Sindyanna olive oil, and packed the bottles into beautiful gift bags for the musicians.

All the organizers who reached out to encourage my friends from near and far to come and to donate, and all who made astounding contributions to ensure that our legacy of 28 years remains vital.

All of the friendly faces who were meeting and greeting and ushering, taking coats, stage managing, and offering hugs freely to me and to each other.

All those who attended, who held a candle or a cup, who stood in solidarity and danced with abandon, and everyone who stood together, reaching up like trees, welcoming the future, rooted firmly in our years together and open to the blessings of possibility.

 What I continue to marvel at as I relive that night is the glow of knowing that my legacy lives in seeds that have taken root in fertile soil, and the joy and confidence that Temple Hillel B’nai Torah will be blessed well into the future with the harvest of what we have planted together. Thank you.

 Ours are the arms, the fingers, the voices,

Ours are the hands, the eyes the smiles.

We are loved by an unending love

 With all my heart, and all my soul, and all my might. Thank you.

Rabbi Barbara Penzner.