(On Friday evening October 27th, on the occasion of our 150th Anniversary, we honored the past presidents of Temple Emanuel. Eleven presidents were able to join us. These were the words I shared with our congregation that evening.)

Ish Tzadik. Noah is called an ish tzadik in our Torah portion this week. Noah is called a righteous man. He did what was right in a world that did not. Noah was not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but compared to others of the day, he was quite noteworthy. This story tells us that Noah, this ish tzadik, lived at a time when the world was full of people who did not care much for others. It was an age of lawlessness and corruption. It seemed to be a time when everyone looked out only for themselves, that is except for the ish tzadik, the man who would be commanded by God to build an ark.

God was devastated at how humanity had developed. Our sages teach us that God had envisioned a different kind of world, a place where people did in fact look out for others, a place where people did care for the well being of their neighbors. After all, God had created man and woman in His image, and that meant God was hoping for a world community, that was loving and generous, that reached out to one another, that did what they could not only for themselves, but for others. I guess we could say that God was hoping men and women would give of themselves, share what they had, do their best to build community. But this dream did not come to be.

The story tells us that God got so frustrated with what had happened, He decided to something radical. God decided to put an end to the world as it was. He would destroy life so that a new future could be born. Except for this one righteous man, this ish tzadik and his family, all those who were living would lose their lives. We know the tale. Noah follows the word of God and builds an ark, and he and his family survive. There are lots of stories about Noah and the ark he built. One tells us that while Noah was building it people would come by and taunt him. They would ridicule him for wasting so much time building this larger than life vessel. But Noah, this ish tzadik, this man who knew what he had to do, took it in stride. Perhaps Noah felt that part of the job was to take criticism and not let it get him down.

Noah was an ish tzadik, a man who did what was right, and for that, when the floods came and ravaged the earth, he and his family were rewarded. They were given life. When the storms were over, and the waters receded, a rainbow appeared and God promised that never again would He do this. Never again, no matter how frustrated and angered and disappointed He might be, He would never again bring this kind of devastation upon the earth.

Noah was an ish tzadik, a good guy, a stand-up person, a man who tried to live his life in the right way. Tonight we honor our own anashim tzadikim. (that is the plural of ish tzadik) We honor the men and the woman, who have been President of our congregation over the years, those who are here tonight, those who could not be with us, and those whose memories we hold deep in our hearts. These women and men are anashim tzadikim, they are righteous people. They are stand-up individuals. In many ways, as they served our congregation and community, they were just like Noah. They were faced with a huge task. They might not have had to build an ark, although many of our presidents were at the helm of the ship when a building project was being planned or taking place. And if they were not at the helm during a building project, the tasks presented to them were just as large as building an ark. Our presidents have had to be personnel managers, astute business people, writers, public speakers, peace makers, and listeners. Our presidents have had to be as familiar with Robert's Rules of Order as they were with the names of hundreds of fellow congregants, that is if they were going to live up to the expectations of their board and their fellow congregants.

Noah did what was right in his eyes, and so too have our past presidents. They did what they thought was right, what was correct for our institution. They tried not to offend, not to anger, not to upset anyone. With the interests of Temple Emanuel first and foremost in their hearts, they gave their time, and their leadership, and their vision, their warmth and their humor, all for the sake of us, for the membership of our synagogue.

Was it easy? Ask Noah that question as he was criticized for building the ark. But our Presidents, just like Noah, took the criticism in stride, criticism about the decisions they made, criticism about the rabbi they were working with, criticism about how they handled a certain situation. They took this criticism in stride because like Noah, they knew that it was part of the job. The greater good, serving the congregation, mattered more, to each and every one of them, than did the frustration they felt over a late night telephone call at home, or an alarm going off in the middle of the night that would force them to get to the building in a hurry.

Our presidents have been anashim tzadikim for they have given so that we might benefit. They have given up, time with families so that our house of worship might function better. They have attended countless meetings and discussions, and more meetings and had more discussions, all for our benefit, for they had tasks they needed to accomplish. They gave of themselves, anashim tzadikim, because their hearts told them they had to do all that they could do for us.

Each of our presidents, in his or her own way, dreamed dreams for our Temple, that we might be a stronger community, a community without financial concerns, a community in which there was no strife, a community in which the highest values of Judaism were always at the tip of everyone's tongue. Our presidents dreamed that the meetings would be shorter and that there might just be a few less of them. Our Presidents dreamed that each member of our Temple would find this place to be one of their homes. Our Presidents worked diligently and with complaint, well maybe a little complaint, about all they had to do, but each one rose to the occasion and served Temple Emanuel with distinction.

God saw something very special in Noah, and we have been blessed to see very special things in all our Presidents. Do they deserve all these accolades? Absolutely. I have worked very closely with four Temple Emanuel Presidents and each of them has indeed been a righteous person.

It is my great honor, on the occasion of our 150th year, to invite to the bimah at this time, one by one, our past presidents who could be with us tonight. We have a gift for each of then, a golden chai to sit on a desk or table. The chai represents life. The life of our Temple has been greatly enhanced by the gifts each of these presidents gave to our community. I would ask that once you come to the bimah, and receive this gift, you remain standing on the bimah. Once everyone has come up, we will ask God's blessing upon you.

I call you up chronologically, from the earliest administration to the most recent…

• Abe Krissoff 1958-1959
• Art Silverstein 1962-1964
• Sam Kravitz 1965-1966
• Marilyn Leven 1975-1976
• Mort Finkelstein 1979-1980
• Jeffrey Frank 1985-1987
• Glenn Barkan 1987-1989
• Rick Stevens 1991-1993
• Wayne Titche 1999-2002
• Bill Boorstein 2002-2004
• Tom Heitmann 2004-2006

May God bless you and keep you. May God's presence always be with you, ever gracious unto you. May God's presence be with you, and may God bring to you the blessing of shalom, the blessing of inner peace. Amen and thank you.