 Larry Gutterman, Temple Beth Am Outgoing President Larry Gutterman of Temple Beth Am in Bayonne offered words of hope to the members of the synagogue who attended a dinner in his honor this Spring. The full text of his speech below reverberates with the optimism that exemplifies the goals of the Hudson Jewish Community Forum revitalization campaign.
Rabbi Gladstone, Fellow Congregants, Family and Friends, Shabbat Shalom!
I’d like to begin my remarks tonight with short poem: If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win but think you can't,
It's almost certain you won't.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.
These words in and of themselves might seem inspiring and need no further elaboration. These words were first spoken to Temple Beth Am amazingly….20 years ago today by none other than the later Isadore Chertoff OBM in the overleaf of the Master Plan of Temple Beth Am, on which he worked long and hard. I don’t think any of us would entertain the possibility that he did all that work because he envisioned a bleak future filled with pessimistic views about our continued existence.
As I look around the room this evening, It’s easy to see the “past”…I have so much history in this place that it can be almost overwhelming in regard to the future.
While it is good to celebrate and honor past achievements and I wish to thank all of you for this honor tonight….It is the future that I wish to speak to …
Very Simply…The future is not only coming...ITS HERE…and while we have seen recent decades of declining numbers and have had to learn to adapt I stand before you to tell you that I see the future and it looks bright.
Many of our parents and grandparents came via ferries from Ellis Island to Jersey City and then on to points both without and within Hudson County, including Bayonne…
For reasons good, bad and indifferent…most of the descendants of those “settlers” of 100 years ago chose to move on to larger more suburban homes and synagogues…..
But as most things historical are also cyclical…there is a new wave of Jewish “immigrants” coming to our County. They are not coming from Eastern Europe and they are not coming from and Island named Ellis. They’re coming by Path trains and Light Rail from an island called Manhattan. They are also arriving from those very same suburbs that their parents and grandparents moved to decades ago…They are arriving from all over this country and increasingly from a place called Israel.
They are coming because no matter what our provincial perception of our area might be…Those who are moving here perceive this place as hip, cool, and one of THE places to live.
They are repopulating old neighborhoods and building new ones from scratch on the sites where many of our forebears worked while building and sustaining the resources of the Jewish Community. What a dis honor to their memories and what a shame it would be if we did not do everything in our power to see to it that the future includes the fruits of their labors.
We as a synagogue and as member of a larger Jewish community must look to the future .because although you may not realize it…it’s here…I believe that it is of utmost importance to not only think about the future but to take a proactive approach and to prepare for it.
Like any other business..A synagogue must continue to look at itself and how it relates to the larger picture of the community which it serves.
Every business must continue to consider change and growth…This inherently means taking risks.. But bear in mind that risks come in different shapes and sizes..While some will not be taken due to the potential for minimal reward. Some risks, on the other hand have quite a minimal downside versus potential for vast reward. AND ALWAYS REMEMBER>>>Nothing ventured…Nothing gained.
My uncle Henry Gutterman who is here tonight has taught me to consider 3 words when (after careful consideration) I find myself still undecided about taking a calculated risk: The 3 words: “YOU NEVER KNOW”
I encourage all members of every Jewish organization to embrace the change that is upon us by preparing for it and making absolutely sure not to be left behind. Consider ALL new ideas that seek to ensure that we are open and available to the newcomers to our community. Let’s not continue to look upon ourselves as a Jewish community that is HANGING ON…Let’s start to look at ourselves as having a valuable resource that others can utilize and share. I was in a new Jewish owned business on Newark Ave yesterday; the owner who is an Israeli mentioned to me that she wanted to get some information about the synagogue on Grove St. I looked at her to make sure that I understood what she was talking about. When I was sure… I then had to become the messenger of sad news…..That Shul like so many others was now a house of worship for others..no longer our people…I don’t wish that same type of conversation to ever take place regarding this or any other existing Jewish edifice in this community. Now is the time to shake off years of feeling sorry for ourselves and take some leaps of faith towards the future…because the future is here!
Shabbat Shalom and Thank You
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