We Didn't Make It


 

"In the end it all works out, and if it doesn't, it's not the end..."


I'm sure you can relate.  Life has ups and downs, successes, and failures.  Good times and bad times.  Happy times and sad times. 

And most of it is just a reflection of what's happening from within.

We did not reach our goal.  Yet...

But don't worry.  We're not gonna sell the property and move to NY or try to get a refund on the plans (yeah, right).

We're in it for the long haul.  Natanya and I dedicated our lives to the Jewish community of Temecula and a failed campaign will not change that.  Our vision and plan is ambitious, but I think it's also responsible.  

The world won't end.

The project might take a little longer.  But it will happen.

From the beginning of the fund-raising campaign I knew something was off.  I felt too much pressure.  On the one hand, I was consumed with it, but at the same time, I struggled to actually get on the phone, and make it happen with joy.

It reminds me of a story from Rabbi Groner, the Shiach to the Carolinas.

He went by the Rebbe for a dollar in 1991 and asked for a blessing to build a shul.

The Rebbe gave him a dollar and said. "First, you'll build the temple within yourself, then you'll build the temple in Carolina, and then you'll build the temple in Jerusalem with Moshiach."

Thirty years later, Rabbi Groner dedicated a beautiful, $7M state of the art building.

Apparently, I've still got some more work to build the temple within me.  

Hopefully it won't take 30 years.

Such is life.  You take risks.  Push yourself to the limit, and re-calibrate every once in a while. 

I'm gonna take some time to reflect on myself, my mission, and my responsibility to the community (and try not to dwell on what I think the community's responsibility to us is).

The campaign will stay open without pressure until, G-d willing, we raise the necessary funds, and then we'll pour the foundation and continue with the project with strength, not weakness.

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