CBE President’s Column May – June 2026

One of the trickiest parts of writing an article for the Bulletin is that I need to not only reflect on
the past, but project into the future. So, I am hoping that what I predict will come true, and with
that. . .

Fellow Congregants,

In recent weeks-and in the weeks just ahead of this writing-Congregation Beth El finds itself in a
moment that is both deeply affirming and, in a different way, thoughtfully challenging.

Our recent Scholar-in-Residence weekend with Rabbi Noam Marans offered not only insight,
but perspective grounded in real-world leadership. As the American Jewish Committee’s
Director of Interreligious Affairs, Rabbi Marans shared his work at the highest levels of global
interfaith engagement—serving as a key Jewish interlocutor with the Vatican and other major
religious bodies, including senior Muslim clerics, and engaging in direct dialogue with leaders
such as Pope Francis. His work has helped advance relationships across religious communities,
even in spaces historically marked by tension.

What made his time with us especially meaningful was not only his ability to highlight the
genuine progress that has been made in interreligious dialogue, but also his candor about its
complexity. These relationships are built not in moments of ease, but through sustained effort,
mutual respect, and a willingness to engage even when and where significant differences
remain.

Looking ahead (I am drafting this in mid-April) we look forward to welcoming our
Artist-in-Residence, Ari’el Stachel. In his solo autobiographical work, “Other”, Stachel does not
present identity as a neat or resolved story. Rather, through a series of vivid character portrayals
and deeply personal reflections, he invites audiences into the lived experience of anxiety,
belonging, and dislocation. His exploration of growing up as the child of a Yemenite Israeli father
and an Ashkenazi American mother—and the ways in which he struggled, at times painfully, to
navigate how others perceived him—offers moments that are by turns humorous, searching,
and deeply unsettling. It is not simply a performance; it is an act of vulnerability, raising
questions not only about identity, but about what it means to be seen and understood.

And, then, there is our Annual Meeting, which I hope (and pray) will be successful, but is always
a source of (some) tension, humor, and dialogue.

Our tradition reminds us that we don’t always see the full picture, that we can’t always see the
full picture, and that we have to live with both brokenness and hope.

The Rabbis teach in the Talmud (Berakhot 8b): “The tablets and the broken tablets were both
placed in the Ark.” The whole and the shattered were carried together-neither discarded, neither
diminished in their sanctity. Both remained part of the covenant.

In any healthy and engaged congregation, there are moments that call for reflection, for
listening, and sometimes for navigating differing perspectives with care and respect. This is not
a sign of weakness. It is a sign that we are alive to the responsibilities of community.

The Psalmist offers us a way to understand this balance: “Those who sow in tears will reap in
joy” (Psalms 126:5). To keep us on point, we sing that verse at the beginning of every Shabbat
and holiday Birkat HaMazon. The work of building community-of showing up not only for the
celebrations, but also for the more difficult conversations-is itself an act of planting. It requires
patience, trust, and a shared commitment to something larger than any one moment.

This time period, between Pesach and Shavuot, is deeply connected to planting seeds and
watching the crops grow. On East Avenue in Norwalk, since farming opportunities are limited,
my hope is that we embrace this entire season for what it is in our hearts and minds: a time of
learning, a time of creativity, and a time of thoughtful engagement with the questions that will
shape our future.

B’Shalom,

David