I had a Retro Moment the other day. While heading back to the parking lot after a wedding, looking for my car, I at first initiated the 21st Century Search and Locate Mechanism as I usually do, by sweeping my car keys in front of me like a divining rod, clicking the button, to elicit the “Hineini – Hear I am!” response from said car.   Yet when I approached the driver’s door, I did something I haven’t done in years. I actually inserted the car key into the lock, turned it with my wrist, thus unlocking the car with a physical hand motion, not with a radio transmission. I paused suddenly. Now, where did that come from? Did some nostalgic part of my soul assert itself and proclaim that life had become just a tad too mechanized? I have
no idea, but it gave me food for thought on the drive back from Kennebunkport.

I can’t believe I’m already writing this “Back to Shul” edition of the Temple Times and we’re not officially out of July yet. As I type, our lawmakers in Washington are engaged in a staring contest, each waiting for the other to blink. Now, without publicly taking sides here, (as I do wish for us at T.E. to keep our nonprofit
status!), all I can say is that with all the turmoil occurring around the world – recession, unemployment, revolutions, poverty, disease, and other ills – I only wish our leaders would at least deal with the actual crises both domestically and abroad, instead of creating an artificial one out of thin air. I mean, good heavens, I would rather be writing High Holiday sermons about the U.N. vote on potentially
recognizing Palestinian independence, rather than having our national Full Faith and Credit status downgraded from AAA to that of Croatia’s.

But enough for the moment of the bad news.  Instead, I should like to focus on the good vibes. First, I want to thank all who worked so hard to make the night at the Dockside such a huge success, as well as all who attended. It was indeed a pleasant occasion to see so many of you – I think the vast majority of our members were there. Why, we almost had to ask the managers to open up the folding doorsas if for High Holiday seating! (Just kidding – I don’t know as if the Dockside has such doors or even if they get a huge crowd for Yomtov.)
But it was quite a lovely evening and I’m glad to see everyone.

On a similar note, I’d like to make a bit of a plug for an as yet unscheduled, date and time To Be Announced, but an event definitely in the works, and that would be our first New Member Welcome get-together sometime after the High Holidays. We have six young couples who have joined Temple Emmanuel as Gateway Members, and I look forward to all of us welcoming them to our community at a festive dinner. Stay tuned for further details as they
are announced!

Also, thanks to all who came out last month for a trip to Mayyim Hayyim, the Boston area egalitarian Mikveh. We enjoyed a wonderful tour of the marvelous facility, and later went out to Brookline for a nosh at a kosher deli. A fun time was had by all – we look forward to your joining us on future outings and events!  By the time this edition of the Times goes out in the mail, summer will have wound down to its eventual end, but I wish you a lovely rest of summer in retrospect.

B’shalom,
Rabbi Mark Newton