President’s Letter – March 2023
Near the time I became President of Congregation Kehillath Israel, I had just finished listening to Atul Gawande’s book “Being Mortal.”
A physician at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Gawande writes on the paradox of modern medicine: how advances alleviate suffering, but can also conflict with the human spirit. Chapter five describes a physician named Bill Thomas who accepted the position of medical director of Chase Memorial Nursing Home. While the facility was clean and well kept, and the quality of medical care high, he found the patients and the campus lifeless. Having grown up on a farm teeming with activity, he wondered whether introducing plants and animals would vivify the staff, patients, and overall ambiance.
After some bureaucratic delay, its pre-existing residents and personnel welcomed one hundred parakeets, two dogs, four cats, a colony of rabbits, a flock of laying hens, hundreds of indoor plants, and a thriving vegetable and flower garden. You can guess what happened next and perhaps can guess where I’m going with this story.
Soon after finishing the book, a KI member-couple approached me regarding a donation and asked how I thought it best invested. “Plants,” I said, inspired by Dr. Thomas’s experience. We had only just moved into our newly-renovated building and, as beautiful and uplifting as it was, it would be enhanced with the warmth and life of verdant flora. Since then, more members have pitched in for sanctuary plants and vegetation in other spaces.
And on the theme of bringing life, energy, and activity into the KI, another member volunteered his passion, knowledge, and funds for an aquatic tank abounding with colorful tropical fish and lush plants. I am so grateful for all their support.
Riding the momentum, interest has been expressed in forming a KI House and Garden Club to carry on and grow efforts in this area. More plants? Terracing the slope outside the pre-school? Vegetable, herb, and flower gardens? Parakeets? The only limit is one’s imagination …. and Rabbi Hamilton’s allergy to cats! If interested, please reach out to Eric Brass, KI’s VP of Facilities, Barnet Kessel, Executive Director, or me.
As we are commanded: וּבָֽחַרְתָּ֙ בַּחַיִּ֔ים Choose life! 2
L’Shalom,
Gordon Bennett
President, Congregation Kehillath Israel
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