Why I Give: David Adelman
November 1, 2021
As a native of San Antonio and a lifelong member of Temple Beth-El, David Adelman and his wife, Sharon, made a decision to become more active in Temple life as they began to build their family together. “It was really great raising our kids, going through their Bat Mitzvah’s and both having confirmations there,” David says.
As time goes on and there are more opportunities to donate to different causes, deciding to contribute to Temple Beth-El and become part of LIFE & LEGACY® was important to David and his family.
“I always think that when my grandparents were supporting the Temple, they didn’t have as many other people raising money,” David says. “There’s a ton of needs in the community that are out there, and I think people tend to split their support up in different ways. At the end of the day, it’s going to be harder and harder to generate the necessary budget to provide the basic services Temple provides like religious school, worship, reaching out to seniors, and all of the good mitzvah projects Temple does.” David understands the value of being active in and taking on a leadership role, as well as its struggles. David served in a variety of leadership capacities in the congregation, including serving as President from 2016 to 2018. Sharon has also been an active Temple volunteer for decades.
“Wherever Jews have been over the last several thousand years, it’s always challenging…” David says of the impact that LIFE & LEGACY can have on San Antonio’s Jewish community and Temple Beth-El; adding “Challenges can change from time to time to time. It’s more about having a rainy-day fund to deal with uncertainties. So when you have those kinds of financial resources, it gives you the ability to cross whatever challenge might be.”
Remembering the time when he was in high school, Adelman recalls how the Jewish Community of San Antonio was able to welcome many Russian Jewish immigrants with open arms due to the resources that were available to them because of the thriving community at the time. “Who knows what the next crisis is, with the pandemic, it could have been anything. It’s just providing the basic three pillars of Judaism like Torah, repairing the world, and worship, who knows what’s needed. But if you have a sound and solid financial foundation, you’ll be more prepared to deal with whatever’s next.”
When asked to share what he loves most about being a part of Temple Beth-El, David took a moment to think, recalling a special piece of wisdom that a friend shared with him.
“A friend of mine once said that in the Jewish community one thing you can rely upon is Jews helping Jews. Whatever the needs are, Jews will always rise up to help other Jews, I feel like being a part of that community is really important. Even though I don’t have any particular needs right now, I feel confident that should I have those needs, that I could turn to my community, and I am 100% certain that community is there for me, I know it. And till then, I want to be there for others.” By donating to LIFE & LEGACY, David hopes that he’s ensuring the stability of Temple Beth-El for the future, “I realize this was a huge value to our family, and I want to make sure it’s there for generations and generations to come. Making sure we leave behind a legacy gift is really important.”
Be remembered forever by Temple Beth-El with a gift in your will, trust, retirement account, or life insurance policy.
For more information, visit here or contact Rabbi Alan Berlin, Executive Director, at [email protected] or 210-733-9135 ext. 118.