CBI Blogs

Dear Ones,

Since it was confirmed 18 months ago that my tenure as the Senior Rabbi of CBI would conclude at the end of June 2024, I had a feeling the time would move quickly, but I had no idea just how subjectively speedily those 18 months would pass. Here we are: it is April 4 as I write these words, and the end of June is just under two and one half months away. I am deep into the process of sorting through the contents of my study so that it can be properly be prepared for passing the torch to my colleague, Rabbi David Young, who will serve as your Interim Rabbi beginning in July.

When the clergy offices were moved into the Shirley Barish Learning Center shortly after its completion over 20 years ago, the move had to take place very quickly, so stacks of papers were hurriedly but cheerfully boxed up by eager volunteers who stepped in to help with the move of our offices "upstairs." (Among those volunteers was our dear Lupe Garcia, of blessed memory.)

Thus, sorting through and clearing out the Senior Rabbi's Study has included my opening boxes that have sat untouched for decades. As I've joked with any number of you, "It's been a bit like working on an archaeological dig, combing through layers of ancient civilizations." These boxes, both the boxes themselves as well as their contents, have proven to be thick with meaning and memory at every turn. The significance of some of these contents is historical and institutional: old congregational directories, including one dating back to 1991, my first year here; correspondence from founding CBI members, now long gone; Confirmation class lesson plans and class rosters, mentioning the names of students who are now well into both adulthood and parenthood; minutes of board meetings and committee meetings that changed the course of CBI's history. I have deposited these documents of institutional and historical interest in a couple of boxes that I am calling "Jake Boxes," as I am going to bequeath them to our Executive Director. I also have created a "Carly Box," containing archival youth education materials.

Other boxes contain photos, correspondence and more personal memorabilia that evoke still vivid memories of the relationships and events that brought them into being. As you would imagine, going through this material has brought forth a wide range of powerful emotions! Perhaps more than anything, sorting through the contents of my study continues to bring forth humility and gratitude. By the end of June, I will have served the congregation for 33 years, and this past January I turned 66 years old, so I have literally spent half my life here. I find it impossible to adequately express how that realization makes me feel. It is certainly profound.

This is all a way of reminding you that the weekend of April 12-14 has been set aside to mark this anniversary and to both celebrate and say farewell. The weekend has been thoughtfully and lovingly planned by an enthusiastic committee chaired by Jan Soifer, in such a way as to be both logistically and financially accessible to as many members of CBI as possible. If you're going to be in town, I hope to see you!

With love, as always,
Rabbi Steve Folberg