Temple Beth – El Members Plan Their Legacies

June 1, 2021

In his award-winning musical “Hamilton” Lin Manuel Miranda writes that “Legacy is planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.” The metaphor of legacy giving as planting for tomorrow isn’t new, in fact, even the Harold Grinspoon Foundation uses the image of a seedling on their LIFE & LEGACY® website.  

As Jews around the world observed Tu BiShvat in January, members of our community who had named Temple Beth-El as beneficiaries in their LIFE & LEGACY letters of intent came together to share the story of Honi and the Carob Tree. In the story Honi sees an old man planting a tree and when he asks the man why he is planting something he won’t see grow the man says “I am planting for my grandchildren.” Honi then falls asleep for 70 years and when he wakes he sees a young man planting a tree and the younger man tells Honi that he is planting because that is what his grandfather did for him.  

The members of our community who came together to read the story also shared why it was important for them to make a commitment to LIFE & LEGACY. Marsha Krassner shared that as Temple approaches our 150th anniversary she wanted to make sure that the Temple was here for the next 150 years.  

Lynn Stahl felt that a legacy commitment to Temple Beth-El was her way of giving back for the “spiritual wellness” she has found at Temple and to make sure that others can find it as well.  

For many of us, we’ll never get to see the full bloom of the seeds that we plant, but LIFE & LEGACY  helps us know that our garden will continue to be tended to for many years to come.  

To see the Honi and The Carob Tree video please visit https://vimeo.com/510488579