Thanksgiving is my favorite American holiday. Relatively uncommercialized, the day calls on us to reflect on our blessings and on the things we can do to be a blessing to those we touch. At its best, that's what the Temple Micah community should be doing for all of us all year long.

Recent weeks have included many opportunities to witness our better angels in action. The High Holiday services this year were--in my opinion and in the opinions of many of you with whom I've spoken--incredibly moving. My personal favorite moment is when Rabbi Zemel expresses on behalf of all of us heartfelt gratitude to the non-Jewish partners of Micah members who do so much to strengthen and enliven our community. It's the kind of gesture that would ring hollow if it weren't entirely authentic. To my mind, it's us at our best.

Another standout moment of thanksgiving was Machon Micah's program where teams of young and old alike built sukkahs at six homes for people with special needs operated by the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes. I'm sure the recipients were thankful, but no more so than the many of you who expressed your appreciation for having the opportunity to be part of a meaningful mitzvah. The poignant remarks by a Micah House graduate marking Micah House's 20th anniversary and the annual walk for the Homeless were two more recent examples of blessing freely given and received in a very Jewish and very Micah way.

If I had to pick two more examples, I'd choose the simchat Torah service and Rabbi Lederman's installation. On simchat Torah, the sanctuary was filled with congregants of all ages boisterously welcoming a new crop of youngsters into the religious school, unrolling the Torah around the perimeter of the sanctuary, and marching around the building carrying the Torahs as we ended one annual cycle and began a new one. The gratitude was unmistakable; but this time it seemed to be directed well beyond the sanctuary.

At Rabbi Lederman's installation, Rabbi Larry Hoffman delivered what I thought was an extraordinary tribute not only to Rabbi Lederman and Rabbi Zemel, but to the community we all have created together. I am often proud--and thankful--to be a member of Temple Micah, but never more so than on that evening. Rabbi Hoffman--a professor at the Hebrew Union College--Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and mentor to both of our rabbis--gave voice and substance to many of the inchoate things Micah's pioneers and current members have built, and wrapped it around a challenge to us about how to pass that blessing forward. For any of you who were not there, I invite and encourage you to read his remarks which are posted on the web site, templemicah.org.

In some way, the flip side of thanksgiving is helping. But I've come to understand that helping can be a lot harder than it looks. A well-known organizational theorist and psychologist, Edgar Schein, recently authored a book called Helping, in which he explains how difficult, delicate and complex "helping" can be, given the many inequities and ambiguities it usually involves. Being part of a community like Micah takes the edge off many of those inequities and ambiguities and I, for one, am especially thankful for that.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish you and your families a very happy Thanksgiving, a blessed Hanukkah and a fulfilling new year.

[By Larry Cooley; from December 2009/January 2010 Vine]