Dear CaringBridge community --

Because each of you have a special connection with our beloved friend Bernie, we want to share with you news of the long-awaited celebration of Bernie's retirement as Executive Director of Adath Jeshurun Congregation.  The announcement below was shared with the Adath community and we want to share it with you as well ... if you feel moved to join in the celebration, make a contribution, or submit a message for Bernie's tribute book, we would be honored to have you join us!  

Long-Awaited Celebration of Bernie Goldblatt's Retirement as Adath's Executive Director

Please join us on Saturday, March 12th as we honor Bernie Goldblatt during our Shabbat morning service, which begins at 9:30 am.

Bernie retired at the end of January 2020 after 20 years of dedicated service as Adath’s Executive Director. The pandemic put our originally-planned celebration on hold as the world closed down, and then Bernie himself contracted COVID and traveled a long journey to recovery. With gratitude for the blessing of Bernie’s recovery and a process for safely celebrating together in person, we are thrilled to be able to finally celebrate the enormous contributions Bernie has made to our Adath community.

On March 12th, Bernie will share his reflections as he gives the d’var Torah that morning, Rabbi Kravitz will make a presentation during services honoring the tremendous impact Bernie has had on our community and its families, and people will have an informal opportunity to thank Bernie during the Kiddush reception that follows services (in accordance with our COVID capacity limitations). The service will be livestreamed for anyone who wishes to be part of the celebration but cannot attend in person. Please RSVP to attend the service in person and to attend the Kiddush luncheon on March 12th.

If you would like to pay tribute to Bernie for his years of service, you can make a donation in his honor to The Bernie Goldblatt Fund at Adath Jeshurun Congregation. An anticipated use of the fund is to make Kiddush luncheons a regular presence on Shabbat in order to deepen communal connections. 

We also invite you to write a message of gratitude to Bernie, which we will compile into a tribute book for him so he can feel the depth of his impact on all of our lives. You can either mail your message to Ellen Sue Parker at the Adath office (mark it “Bernie Goldblatt Tribute”) or email it to esp513@gmail.com (with “Bernie Goldblatt Tribute” in the subject line) or submit it here with an optional donation. We would appreciate receiving your messages no later than Friday, March 4th so we have enough time to create a keepsake book before our celebration on March 12th.

We are filled with gratitude for the opportunity to honor all the ways that Bernie has blessed our congregation and the lives of our families, and we hope that you will be able to join us in person or by livestream on Shabbat morning, March 12th for this very special celebration!

Ellen Sue and Jon Parker
Co-chairs, Bernie Goldblatt Retirement Celebration