Following is an excerpt from welcome remarks delivered by Margie Pomerantz, Vice President, USCJ, on the occasion of Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal taking the helm as joint CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly.
What a momentous day! On behalf of Ned Gladstein who unfortunately could not be here today, and all of USCJ, I extend a warm welcome to you, Jacob!
It is so wonderful to have you officially as our CEO. We have come a long way since we first started our conversations.
As we have partnered over the past months, we have found you to be thoughtful, insightful, respectful, curious, pragmatic, strategic, visionary… and a mensch. What a great combination of skills you bring to USCJ and the partnership between USCJ and the RA.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote, “Leaders lead because there is work to do, there are people in need, there is injustice to be fought, there is wrong to be righted, there are problems to be solved and challenges ahead. Leaders hear this as a call to light a candle instead of cursing the darkness. They lead because they know that to stand idly by and expect others to do the work is the too-easy option. The responsible life is the best life there is, and is worth all the pain and frustration. To lead is to serve; The highest accolade Moses ever received was to be called “eved Hashem“ – “God’s servant” – and there is no higher honor.”
We have so much to do and we will all benefit from working together under your leadership. Moving forward, we can feel assured that the two organizations will become far more than the sum of their parts.
Mazal Tov to you and to all of us.
