New Heights Capital Campaign: Stories From the Heart
Why Supporting the New Heights Campaign is Important to Us
Why did you join BHS?
I grew up in California, and my husband Paul wasn’t affiliated with any synagogue. The inspiration to join was that we were starting a family. When our daughter Sophie was born, I participated in a new mother’s group at the synagogue. After that, we decided to join BHS and held her baby naming there in 2003.
How are you involved with BHS?
Both the Preschool and the Purim Carnival were my gateways to involvement at the synagogue. All of our kids attended the preschool and I was on the religious school committee before Sophie, Eli and Charlie were even old enough to be in the religious school. Paul had served as treasurer of BHS and when I was asked to be on the board I decided that it was time to give back in that way. We’ve gotten so much out of out of the our involvement with the synagogue.
What is it that you’ve gotten out of BHS?
It’s a place for my family to not only practice our religion but be a part of a community. BHS has been involved in the most special moments of our lives – baby naming, bris, first days of school, bar and bat mitzvahs, and, fingers crossed, a wedding someday.
Paul grew up in Great Neck, and when his grandparents died very close together, Rabbi Lippe sat with the family. He read Paul’s grandmother’s poems. He learned everything he could about them in advance of officiating at their funerals. Until then, I always knew Serge as a dad of preschool kids. But that’s when I really saw him with the gravitas of a rabbi.
What compelled you to invest to the New Heights capital campaign?
We have participated in the campaign for multiple reasons. BHS has really shaped our family’s Jewish identity. We worry about the rise in anti-Semitism here and abroad. We want to ensure that there is a place for Jewish life in our own neighborhood. Luckily, our congregation is growing. We need a place to put all of these folks.
What would you say to someone who is thinking about giving to the New Heights capital campaign?
I just read an article about a man who grew up in Poland and survived the Holocaust. He lost his entire family, and he was the oldest surviving Jew from his town. He has given away his money to care for the town’s Jewish cemetery. He wants to have his money used for something meaningful – he said having extra money in the bank would not make him happy.
It made me think about why we give to BHS. We all are the caretakers of this institution. Its very existence is in our hands. Our actions – and our support – will ensure that BHS continues to be available for everyone who needs it.
If you had to describe BHS in a word, what would it be?
Connection.