A Final Farewell

By Margo Gold

This past Sunday morning, Larry and I joined others in the main sanctuary for a last minyan there before construction begins. It is a majestic space that evokes many memories for me. I became a member of AA almost nineteen years ago when Larry and I were married. Larry was president-elect of the congregation then and I moved from the shul where I had been a president and took up residence in the pews smiling at Larry on the bimah. Little did I imagine I would one day sit there too as president. As I wrote at the time, facing west from my bimah seat while all were facing east was an incredible privilege, witnessing everyone interact within that sacred space. But this week, I was remembering the Shabbat in 2005 when I became an adult bat mitzvah. I grew up in a Conservative synagogue in Detroit much like Ahavath Achim. I participated in USY and all the youth programs, attended 12 years of religious school, and went to Jewish summer camps. But I had never experienced a Conservative congregation with an egalitarian service where women were called to the Torah and counted toward a minyan. I was thrilled when AA announced an adult bat mitzvah class and I joined three other women for a year's preparation. We learned trope, studied our shared parsha, and each prepared a D'var Torah. While in Israel that year, Larry and I purchased what I described as a 'girl tallit' (one of a size that wouldn't overwhelm me). On that special Shabbat at AA, for the first ever I put on a tallit. My son, David, and daughter, Carolyn, jointly chanted the aliyah as I (nervously) read from the Torah. Family and friends sat in the congregation beaming at me. Larry, now the AA President, presented the congregation's bat mitzvah gift. And in a moment, I'll never forget, Rabbi Sandler bestowed the priestly blessing on each of us individually, in the center of the bimah, with a personal message. Though I had watched this hundreds of times, I never knew how powerful an experience it was until I was the one receiving the blessing. Sitting there last Sunday, I relived that seminal passage in my life as a Jewish woman.

Sunday morning concluded with a processional of the Torah scrolls from the sanctuary ark to the chapel, accompanied by the children of our Kesher religious school. It aptly conveyed the life of our congregation marching on. I'm excited by the renovation of our sanctuary, the opportunity to reimagine that meaningful space in a way that will bring us together spiritually, with greater intimacy, inclusiveness, and best of all, face to face.