Dear Friends,

I had the distinct pleasure last Thursday evening of telling Rabbi Gary Pokras that, at our Special Congregational Meeting held that day, the congregation overwhelmingly elected him as our next Senior Rabbi for a five-year term effective July 1, 2011. 

Rabbi Pokras has penned a letter to the congregation, which he asked that I share with each of you, expressing his enthusiasm for returning to his TBZ home.  You will find Rabbi Pokras's letter below.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

Thanks once again to all of our congregants for the overwhelming support you have shown for Rabbi Pokras and TBZ. 

Very truly yours,

Dear TBZ Family,

Thank you for bringing us back home! Shauna and I are overjoyed to be returning to TBZ and to the greater Buffalo community. I have a clear memory from my rabbinical school days of visiting TBZ (then under the leadership of Rabbi Ronne Friedman). We were taking a course on cutting edge synagogue practices and change management. TBZ was the national example selected for us to visit and I was deeply impressed by what I saw here. When I returned to our New York apartment I remarked to Shauna that I only hoped to have an opportunity to serve in a congregation like TBZ one day. I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to serve not only once but twice at the synagogue of my dreams. 

I am humbled and honored to accept your invitation to become the tenth senior rabbi of Temple Beth Zion. TBZ has a proud history of spiritual leadership in the Buffalo community. For the past ten years, Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld has walked with you in the ways of Torah, celebrating and crying with you, and if I know him, laughing as often as possible along the way. He has been a blessing for so many of you, and as I prepare to assume the mantle he will now pass on to me, I am mindful of all that he has done in the service of our community, our people and God.  

The quality and commitment of the professional team I will be privileged to lead is inspiring: Rabbi Laurie Green, Cantorial Intern Penny Myers, Lifelong Education Director Susan Goldberg Schwartz and Executive Director Mark Criden are all gifted leaders, passionate about Judaism and dedicated to the Jewish people. Our lay leadership team, under the sage direction of Howard Rosenhoch our president, is just extraordinary, and fully prepared to begin this newest chapter in the history of our synagogue. We have so much to look forward to, so much to accomplish, and the possibilities beckon! 

More than anything, however, I am looking forward to being with you: to renewing old friendships and building new ones, to studying and praying together, to mourning and celebrating together and to building Jewish community in Buffalo … together.

Shauna, Stephanie and Marshall join me in wishing you a zissen Pesach (a sweet Passover), and may God's blessings always rest upon you.

Warmly,

Dear Friend,

I am thrilled to announce that Rabbi Gary Pokras is poised to become the tenth Senior Rabbi of Temple Beth Zion effective July 1, 2011. At a soon-to-be-announced special congregational meeting this spring, you will be asked to approve his election.

As you might imagine, it was no easy task to find someone to fill the role currently so ably held by Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld and before him a wonderful succession of Senior Rabbis here at Temple Beth Zion. But Rabbi Pokras, who served as Temple Beth Zion's Associate Rabbi from 1999 to 2002 before assuming his own pulpit at Temple Judea in suburban Philadelphia, was the overwhelming choice of the 28-member Senior Rabbi Search Committee and the Board of Trustees. Convened this past December after Rabbi Rosenfeld announced he was accepting a pulpit in New Mexico, the Committee engaged in an intensive search process, reviewed more than twenty resumes, conducted phone and video interviews with a dozen candidates, and invited Rabbi Pokras to meet with the Search Committee, Board of Trustees, our Past Presidents and members of the Congregational Planning Committee. After Rabbi Pokras' visit, the Search Committee knew it had found the ideal candidate to serve as our next Senior Rabbi.

"Rabbi Pokras brings a wealth of programming, community and pastoral experience to us," reported Search Committee Co-Chair and Past President Wendee G. Lorbeer. "He understands and supports our desire to be both a caring community and a vibrant, social action community."  Besides founding Mitzvah Day and our young-family Kesher program here at Temple Beth Zion, "Rabbi Pokras significantly expanded the size of his current congregation, led a hugely successful capital campaign and new synagogue building program, built an innovative and unique B'nai Mitzvah program, created new and exciting offerings for seniors and teenagers, expanded adult education and significantly improved religious education, all the while diligently shepherding the spiritual needs of his congregants," reported Search Committee Co-Chair and Past President David H. Desmon. 

Rabbi Pokras, his wife, Shauna, and their children Stephanie and Marshall, are thrilled to be returning to Buffalo. When they departed nine years ago, they left behind many friends and fond memories of their three years here. 

"Temple Judea loves Rabbi Pokras and his family and they will be very sorry to see him go," reported Congregational Planning Co-Chair Cindy Gradl who traveled to Eastern Pennsylvania with her husband, Wayne, as part of the Committee's due diligence process. A master guitarist and musician, "Rabbi Pokras has reinvigorated worship by emphasizing the joy of prayer and by inviting congregational participation in song."

Eastern Pennsylvania's loss is Buffalo's gain. At his current congregation, Rabbi Pokras

• Institutionalized Temple Judea as a leader in the larger community through active outreach to community organizations and churches; 
• Provided strong leadership in interfaith programs and services, and appeared as a frequent guest speaker in churches and schools;
• Cultivated relationships with political leaders to advocate Jewish views on issues of social justice, serving as Chaplain of the Pennsylvania Senate.

When asked about his vision, Rabbi Pokras said:

"Jewish community is the place where we strive to realize our highest potential; it is where we create the social, educational and spiritual structures we need. When we succeed, our community becomes holy in that it is set apart in purpose and in character.  It should be like no other community we know.

"This is why, for me, the rabbinate is more than a profession; it is a sacred opportunity and way of life. I understand the purpose of my rabbinate very simply: to inspire and empower our people through the transmission and practice of Torah. 

"In a congregational setting, this is expressed programmatically through education, worship and the pursuit of tikkun olam. However, it is our sense of personal connection and community that propels us to become active participants in synagogue life.  That is why I place a special emphasis on community building through developing relationships.  I want to build on the strong foundation established by Temple Beth Zion's past and present clergy and forge an enduring partnership with Rabbi Laurie Green, Cantorial Intern Penny Myers, Director of Lifelong Learning Susan Schwartz, Executive Director Mark Criden and lay leaders to develop our Kehilat Kedoshah- a holy community which provides a loving, caring home for all our members, for all Jews, and for all people.

"Ultimately, the purpose of building holy community, of Jewish study and of worship is to guide and motivate us to take concrete action towards tikkun -- healing for ourselves, our neighbors and our world. I am excited by the possibilities in becoming your rabbi because I am confident that together we will make the world more whole as we strive for the Jewish harmony of intellect, spirit and action."

I hope this gives you a sense of the excitement and anticipation we feel as Rabbi Pokras prepares to join us as our new spiritual leader. I want to congratulate the Search Committee and its chairs for a wonderful and thorough job, and invite you to be a part of our welcoming the Pokras family back to Western New York. Please let me, David Desmon or Wendee Lorbeer (rabbinicsearch@tbz.org) know of your interest.   

We are on the verge of great transformation at Temple Beth Zion. With your support, our renaissance will flourish, and our best is yet to come.

Sincerely yours,

As part of the Congregational Planning Process, we wish to support the efforts of the Rabbinic Search Committee by soliciting your input on our next Senior Rabbi. We have scheduled the following TBZ Town Meetings for that purpose. Join us for either or both of the following:

Monday    January 24    7 PM    805 Delaware Avenue

Email to: rabbinicsearch@tbz.org

By mail to: Rabbinic Search Committee, 700 Sweet Home Rd, Buffalo, NY 14226

On Facebook: Temple Beth Zion Rabbinic Search

We encourage you to share your thoughts, either publicly or confidentially, about the search process, your vision for the future of Temple Beth Zion, and other relevant topics with members of the Rabbi Search Committee.

The Committee is comprised of members from different stages of life, with and without children, with and without partners, living in a variety of settings and in households where Judaism may or may not be the only religion practiced.

Depending on the candidates, we expect to have either a permanent or interim Senior Rabbi in place by July 1, 2011.

We look forward to hearing from you and sharing information and updates with you along the way.

David H. Desmon and Wendee G. Lorbeer, Rabbinic Search Committee Co-Chairs

Dear Friends,

As Chanukah drew to a close this week, we celebrated how our ancestors came together to rebuild the Temple.  Now it is our opportunity to do the same in modern times.  Like all families, our members do not always agree on everything, but we all recognize the need to pull together when faced with challenges.  It has been a difficult year for our synagogue.  Historically, we have experienced challenges and, despite internal disagreements, we pulled together and persevered.  With your help and commitment we can do the same again.

Dear Friends,

With much regret, I must advise you that Harry Rosenfeld, our Senior Rabbi since 2000, has decided to leave Temple Beth Zion on June 30, 2011.  Rabbi Rosenfeld has informed the Board of Trustees that he has been offered the position of Senior Rabbi at Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, New Mexico beginning in July 2011.  Congregation Albert has scheduled a special congregational meeting December 14, 2010 for the purpose of voting to hire Rabbi Rosenfeld. 

26 Kislev 5771

Friends,

As you have heard from Howard Rosenhoch I have been offered and accepted the position of Rabbi at Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For me it has been a very difficult decision between accepting a wonderful opportunity and the thought of leaving so many of you to whom I feel so close. However, now it is time for me to move on to a new stage in life and so I will end my tenure as your Senior Rabbi this coming June. I have never been one to leave friends behind and hope that we will remain a part of each other's lives and that we will be able to stay in touch.