Etz Chaim Honors Rabbi Dorsch’s 10th Anniversary

Sunday, May 17 was a sunny day that led into the evening celebration for Rabbi Daniel Dorsch, in honor of his 10th year as senior rabbi of Congregation Etz Chaim, and concurrently, his 17-year wedding anniversary. After a cocktail hour and the multifaceted presentation program in the sanctuary, guests were led to a buffet dinner adjacent to the dance floor.

Scott Rittenberg, past congregation president, recounted how 11 years ago the search committee landed a winner with Rabbi Dorsch. He spoke of the rabbi’s wife, Amy, and how valuable she has been with helping the kids on Shabbat, teaching at The Epstein School, and her lifelong love of learning. Rabbi Emeritus Shalom Lewis recalled his first meeting with Dorsch and the positive energy/hug they exchanged.

Etz Chaim Assistant Rabbi Jonathan Adler praised the mentorship, wisdom, and guidance he received along the way from Rabbi Dorsch, whom he described as both “kind and wise … he’s a compelling teacher and he leads with his own style of kindness and grace.”

Congregation President Lisa Olens related the meaning of the Dorsch’s 17th wedding anniversary on that very day, the 17th of May. She produced a proclamation from the Cobb County Board of Commissioners declaring “Rabbi Dan Dorsch Day in Cobb County,” along with a proclamation by Gov. Brian Kemp. She presented the rabbi with an Omer counter, “May this serve a daily remainder of our people’s journey.” She noted that a commemoration plaque was placed on the donor wall in the sanctuary.

Rabbi Dorsch’s father, Jay, recalled that his young son’s choice of Purim costumes was “not Batman, but Mordecai.” He lamented though that the 8-year-old Dan was not good at math. “It could have been one reason that he pursued the rabbinate.”

Amy’s father, Marty Greenfeld, laughed about compensating his children and now grandchildren five Canadian (his native country) dollars for speaking in Yiddish as his family’s tradition.

Always on point with humor and meaning, Rabbi Dorsch closed out the program, “As you all can imagine, when I told Amy that the gala was going to be on our 17th anniversary, she told me this was exactly how we always imagined we would spend it. I told her to think of it this way: the synagogue is throwing us an anniversary party. Only there are twice as many people here as there were at our wedding, many more friends, and unlike the weekend of May 17, 2009, it didn’t snow. So, all in all, this feels like a major upgrade.”

He spoke of dating Amy at the Jewish Theological Seminary and of his mother-in-law asking, “’What sort of profession is being a rabbi for a nice Jewish boy?’ I suspect she may still be wondering … we are here because of the examples our parents set. We were raised in families, in Philadelphia and Winnipeg, committed to building Jewish community.”

The truth is that Amy and I receive this honor tonight only because of the work, sacrifice, and commitment of so many people who came before us and who continue to lead beside us … somewhere along the way, Etz Chaim stopped feeling like a workplace and became home. All of you helped raise our children, celebrated with us, cried with us, worried … and dreamed with us. Ten years later, Atlanta no longer feels far away. It feels like family. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you … Dayenu, so many words, and it still will never be enough.”

Rabbi Dorsch closed by addressing their children, Zev and Haley: “It is hard to believe that 10 years ago we boarded a plane and moved to Georgia. Although Haley, I should tell you that last week Zev reminded me that you’ve only technically lived here for eight years, so you should only receive four-fifths of the honor. Remind me later to thank the Epstein math department.”

Longtime congregant and past president Norman Radow told the AJT, “Rabbi Dorsch has been an inspiration to us all. He had to fill Rabbi Lewis’ giant footsteps and has done it well. I look forward to the next 10 years.”

Marty Gilbert, Etz Chaim executive director, added, “Special kudos go to the Gala Committee, Debbie and Irwin Berman, Sarah and Mathais Solomon and Janis Greenfield.”