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“I don’t want to wake
up lost in the Dreams of our Fathers.Oh, it’s such
a shame child to live and die for the Dreams of our Fathers.
Though I must confess, yes, my view is a wonder about this.
This love I possess, love, it must be the Dreams of our
Fathers.
This love I possess,
love, it must be the Dreams of our Fathers. This love I
possess, love, it must be the Dreams of our Fathers. This love
I possess, love, it must be the love of our Fathers.”
-
Dave Matthews Band
My
Brother Alephs,
I have to say, that quote took me about an hour to find
(or it took me an hour to decide which quote to use). It’s
funny, there are so many quotes that I could use, and I chose
to use this one. I’m not even sure if it embodies what I
want to get across, but then maybe the search for it does.
There are many ways in which things in our chapter can be
done. More than one way to skin a pussy cat (or shave one).
More than one quote to get the message across. Just this past
month, we experienced a very new way of doing things at a
chapter business meeting. Never before have we run such a
smooth meeting (never mind two
meetings), had two motions passed, had an election, a ten
minute silly business (thank you Karl), included a very
necessary Good and Welfare, and been out of the JCC 30 minutes
prior to closing. I must say even Steven “Mr. Parli Pro”
Shafir was impressed.
In that Good and Welfare, I heard a lot of talk about
people realizing that they weren’t giving it their all. I
really feel bad that you guys are displeased with yourselves.
Not everyone takes on the feeling of fraternity in the same
way as others. Not everyone is as enthusiastic about programs,
and hey, that’s cool. During that Good and Welfare, I felt
that we, as brother Alephs, found that common bond that I felt
had been missing up until that meeting this year. I know that
we all love this Order and this chapter with all our hearts,
and I hope that as this new year begins, we all find it in our
hearts to come out a little more often, get involved, and get
everything out of this year that you can.
Now onto an interesting story… I was on the toilet
the other day and my mind began to wander, and during its
wanderings, it came across the notion that I am a third year
in this fraternity. I am in my third year of four years, and I
only have one more year to participate in this grand Order. I
know of more than a handful of past Alephs that would give
anything for one more day in this chapter. The friendships nurtured, the lessons learned,
and the great times had here are ones that cannot be found
anywhere else. I have one more year to give this chapter
everything I have. After that, I don’t know if I will find
anything as rewarding as planning a great program, or have as
much fun as I do at Business Meetings. One year left to
experience everything that I haven’t, to make one more Aleph
see the benefit of these years, and leave my mark on this
chapter, region, and Order.
You don’t need to be chapter Godol or even be on
board to have the best times of your life here. All you have
to do is let the good times take you away. Mandel Bloomfield
is known for having record breaking numbers of programs. We do
it so that you – the Alephs of this chapter – have a place
to come to, to relax, hangout with good friends, and enjoy
great times. You’ll notice that this month, there is a
decrease in the number of programs. This is due to two things.
One, exams. January is a busy time for many of us, as High
School students have finals and midterms, and even Provincial
Diplomas, and Junior High students also have important exams.
We didn’t want to cause pressure to attend the usual number
of programs, and add to the stress of studying (or cramming as
I prefer to call it), for these important tests. Secondly, I
figured that, maybe the low attendance at previous programs is
due to the large amount of programs. I though that maybe
people weren’t coming out, because they felt if they came to
one, then they were obligated to attend all of them. Or,
perhaps, exactly the opposite. If they didn’t come to one of
the programs, then they really had no need to come to any of
them. I noticed in previous months that when there wasn’t a
program for a week or so, the attendance at the first program
after that span of time had really high attendance. My
revelation couldn’t have come at a better time. This is the
month where we can use a decreased number of programs, and
maybe, just maybe, we’ll have higher attendance. Let me know
what you think of this theory. There are already some who have
voiced their opinions, and all are valid, but I figured we’d
give this theory a shot in a month where we can’t handle a
program overload. There is more than one way to increase
attendance.
It really did take an hour to decide which quote to
use. There are so many quotes, and so little time, but just
enough time to choose a quote. Someone famous should say that
so I can use it as a quote next time. Anyway, as I was saying,
there are many quotes to choose from in order to convey a
message, just as there are many ways of doing things in order
to get things done. I see this year for Mandel Bloomfield as a
year of learning. We encountered quite a few obstacles right
from the start of September, money issues, programming issues,
attendance, and we have tried, as a chapter board, to make
decisions, and work in a manner to overcome these obstacles.
Now, not everyone may agree upon the right way to go about
doing things. For instance, I have received different views
and ideas on ways to make the monthly releases more enjoyable
for the Alephs of our chapter to read. I have tried a few
different approaches, but I have found that I enjoy writing
them much more when I write about my perceptions of the
chapter and its activities. Most recently, we arrived at
another turning point in our year. Our S’gan, Gregory “My
family went to the Dominican Republic, and all I got was eaten
alive by some native tribe of cannibals” Broyde, brought to
our attention his acceptance to the Ross Sheppard Senior Boys
Basketball team. We heeded his cry for help, and decided the
best way to deal with this situation would be to elect a
person to take on his duties in the form of a board member
whose role, as well as the person to take on this position,
would be decided upon by the chapter body. Well I would like
to take this opportunity to welcome Aleph Jonathan Livergant
aboard (no punn intended). With his experience in first class
programming, and in-depth knowledge of our constitution (I
wonder why) and parliamentary procedure, he will be a nice
addition to our board. Baruch ha ba, Jonathan.
“I
don’t want to wake up lost in the Dreams of our Fathers. Oh,
it’s such a shame child to live and die for the Dreams of
our Fathers. Though I must confess, yes, my view is a wonder
about this. This love I possess, love, it must be the Dreams
of our Fathers.” Our fathers dreamt of a fraternity where
young Jewish males could gather and be in the midst of Jewish
values and traditions. Where they could come to spend time
with friends, and learn life lessons to safeguard the future
of the Jewish people. This love I possess for this chapter and
this Order are those passed down to me by older Alephs, some
long gone, and some still within our midst. “This love I
possess, love, it must be the love of our fathers.” Find your
love, and let the Aleph Zadik Aleph be all that it can be for
you.
Fraternally submitted with undying love for
skinned or hairy cats, more than one way
to get the job done, sexual
innuendoes,
and giving my brother Alephs one more year to
give it their all.
Jeremy H. Pertman
Chapter Aleph Godol 2001-2002
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