Dear Friends:
There is a Chasidic story about a person who was always spreading gossip and rumors. One day the rabbi of the town called this person in and told them to go get a feather pillow, cut it open, and spread the feathers to the four winds, and then come back.
The person did as the rabbi requested. The rabbi then told the person to gather up all the feathers, put them back in the pillow, and bring them back to the rabbi. The person replied that this was impossible. The rabbi said “Precisely. The same is true of the rumors and gossip you spread. Once they are out and in circulation, it’s impossible to undo the harm they have caused.”
I mention this because of some harmful rumors that have come to me fairly recently.
A little over a week ago I was contacted by a congregant who was very concerned because they had heard that I was ill and had missed Shabbat morning services on Labor Day weekend. I assured them that I was fine and had not missed Shabbat services that weekend. I did miss Sunday morning minyan because I had left early the Sunday of Labor Day weekend to visit my brother in New Jersey, but that was a long-planned trip and I was fine.
Somewhat more concerningly, I was contacted by two area rabbis who had both heard various permutations of rumors that the board of Kehilat Shalom had voted to dissolve the congregation. As you know, this is absolutely false. While a congregational meeting did indeed vote to put the building up for sale (and this was a decision of the congregation, not just the board), there has certainly been no decision to dissolve the congregation. As I have said over and over again, the congregation is the people, not the building, and there is a reason we are called Kehilat Shalom (Community of Peace). We are a community, not a building. There are a number of alternatives under consideration that will keep us intact as a congregation, perhaps in the same location as tenants of a new owner, perhaps in a different location, either purchased, rented, or purpose-built. Just as the process of deciding to put the building up for sale was transparent and democratic, the decision of deciding our next moves will also be transparent and democratic.
But these kinds of rumors are very harmful. They hurt our standing in the community. They can cause members who are less active, who perhaps don’t attend meetings or read every Kehilat Shalom email, to make false assumptions about our future plans and perhaps drop their membership. I really need to ask everyone to be accurate in what you tell your friends who are not part of our community, and if you hear something that doesn’t sound right, check it out with me or with one of the executive officers of the shul.
As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 at the shul. For my drop-in hours, you do not need to make an appointment -- that would negate the whole point of drop-in hours -- but I’d urge you to check and make sure I am there regardless as sometimes there are unavoidable pastoral or other emergencies which might take me away from the building.
As always, if I can do anything for you or you need to talk, please contact me at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org or 301-977-0768 rather than through the synagogue office. I am happy to meet you at the synagogue by appointment; if you want to speak with me it’s best to make an appointment rather than assuming I will be there when you stop by.
Additionally, if you know of a Kehilat Shalom congregant or another member of our Jewish community who could use a phone call, please let me know.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Charles L. Arian
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