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The Installation of Rabbi Elon Sunshine
by Aimee Ennik
After a brief welcome from CBS President Craig Judson, the ceremony was kicked off by Rabbi Jen, Director of Congregational Learning, who spoke of working hand-in-hand with Rabbi Sunshine to create and sustain quality Jewish education in our community. She then introduced one of the most entertaining highlights of the day – the children of the CBS religious school, who charmingly performed an original song written by CBS congregant and teacher Noah Zaves to honor the occasion. By the second verse, many people in the audience were singing along to the catchy chorus: Congratulations Rabbi Sunshine, you are really cool Craig Judson followed with some insights on the rabbi’s role as Klei Kodesh – a holy vessel responsible for carrying on Jewish life. He enumerated Rabbi Sunshine’s accomplishments in the first six months of his role, such as making personal connections with congregants and acting as an active partner with the board in programming and education. He praised the rabbi for his deep understanding of the pulse of our community, particularly our desire to use the framework of Conservative Jewish tradition in order to live a life that matters. Margie Pomerantz expanded upon this theme, commending CBS and Rabbi Sunshine for spearheading our innovative and cutting-edge “What’s In a Name” program, which explores what it means to be a Conservative congregation in the 21st century. She noted that our program mirrors the journey that USCJ is undertaking on a national level, striving to bring focus, meaning and purpose to the future of the Conservative movement. Next, we heard from “the other mentsch from the pulpit,” our beloved Hazzan Marc Dinkin, who reflected on the idea of the synagogue as HaMakom – a place of comfort where any congregant can feel at home, warm, and welcomed. In order to create this type of community, he explained, our spiritual leader needs to show us the “heart” behind the Torah and the Talmud. He expressed his confidence that the rabbi has exactly the right qualities to achieve this. It was then time for our keynote speaker and installation officer, Rabbi Artson. Rather than addressing his remarks to Rabbi Sunshine, he focused on our responsibility as congregants to join together with our rabbi in the act of creating Jewish community, rather than expecting him to fulfill our Jewish obligations “by proxy.” He stressed that we as a community can best honor our rabbi by respecting his time, his privacy, his day off, and his status as a human being capable of making mistakes. Only by doing this will we allow him to learn, grow, and recharge his energy for the sacred task of leading us into the future. Rabbi Artson then led us in the formal installation ritual. Before doing so he made the point that it is not the visiting rabbi (“no matter how good looking!”) who installs our new spiritual leader. Rather, he is installed by his kehillah – his community and congregation. Finally, our guest of honor, Rabbi Sunshine, took the opportunity to share his thoughts on the state of modern Jewish life and his hopes and visions for the future. He encouraged us not to wring our hands in despair over declining rates of synagogue membership, but rather to recognize and rejoice in the fact that Judaism is eternally relevant and important, and that young Jews are not turning away from their faith, but are constantly developing creative and exciting new ways to affiliate and engage with tradition and with one another. He challenged us to join him in his quest to “reinvent” the American synagogue as a place to celebrate the richness and beauty of Jewish tradition. The simcha continued in the gorgeously decorated social hall, with a mouth-watering brunch that included smoked whitefish, lox, frittata, kugel, bagels, fresh fruit, and pastries. Tributes to Rabbi Sunshine were given by friends and coworkers, such as preschool director Liz Kaufman, Midrasha director Devra Aarons (who noted that Rabbi Sunshine’s mom was her former religious school teacher!), Aimee Ennik, who shared stories from their time together as teenage participants in Camp Ramah’s Israel Summer Seminar, and Dr. Bernard Sunshine, who spoke proudly of his son’s evolution as Torah scholar, teacher, and Jewish leader. The event ended on a high note with a champagne toast by Dorothy Blint, who chaired the Pulpit Committee responsible for hiring Rabbi Sunshine. The installation was truly a community event, made possible by a large and dedicated team of volunteers, led by Myrna Kimmelman, who gave generously of their time to cook, bake, stuff envelopes, decorate, publicize, plan, and perform the dozens of other tasks necessary to have an event as smooth, elegant, and festive as this. Just as we worked together to insure a successful and joyous celebration, let us work as a community to help bring to life Rabbi Sunshine’s vision of a vibrant and inclusive Jewish community for all of us. In the words of his installation address: February 2010 |
The sense of joy, optimism and excitement was palpable throughout the CBS campus on the morning of Sunday, January 10, as over 300 congregants, visitors and friends gathered together to celebrate the installation of Rabbi Elon Sunshine. In attendance were a number of special guests, including USCJ Northern Pacific Region Director Morey Schapira, Regional President Margie Pomerantz, Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University, and of course, proud parents Dr. Bernard and Carol Sunshine.