Presidents' Message

Just think, it’s been almost seven years since Beth El arrived at the Walzer Family Jewish Community Campus. We didn’t know what to expect when we left the storefront on East Main Street in Waterbury. What we did know was that there was a lot of stuff to shlep, and boy did we shlep. We had a vision of what our new digs would look like but until everything was in place, our vision was just that. Rather than becoming a part owner, we decided to rent since we weren’t sure of our situation. This turned out to be a good move since instead of paying 1/3 of the operating costs, we negotiated 15%. Our goal was to tap all the unaffiliated Conservative Jews in Heritage Village and the rest of Southbury. Along with our new Rabbi/Cantor with his powerful voice, we thought it would be easy. We were wrong.

In spite of all that, we moved in to a beautiful room, decorated it to our liking, and settled in to our own sanctuary. Everyone who enters it remarks about its coziness. Except for a misunderstanding regarding the use of the social hall for our onegs, I feel that we have been treated very well by B’nai Israel and the Federation. Realizing that we were using the double classroom, they bought us a refrigerator and cabinet so that we would have our food close by. Even though we rent only a small portion of the campus, we have access to all of it. Many of our meetings are held in the library and our Break the Fast is in the Teen Lounge. We have had many functions in the Social Hall including our concerts, parties and dinners. We have used the B’nai Israel sanctuary for Beth El funerals, enjoyed the unlimited use of the kosher kitchen and allowed us to store our memorabilia in the basement free of charge.

It has come to my attention that many of you feel that we have been treated less than fairly at the campus. I want to take this opportunity to correct that impression. My regard for our neighbors has been and continues to be at the highest level. We have always worked well together and I am sure we will continue along that path.