Posted April 16, 2026
Having been approved by the Board of Trustees, the following amendment to the Bylaws of Temple Beth El will be brought for a vote before members of the congregation at the TBE Annual Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
To suspend for purposes of electing a new president to serve a term commencing July 1, 2026, the eligibility requirement (Article 7.4) that a member of the Board of Trustees must have served a minimum of one year as a voting member of the Board of Trustee before serving as TBE president.
To review the Articles cited in the amendment, please see the current TBE Bylaws.
Background
Each July, at the first meeting of the newly constituted Board of Trustees, the Nominating Committee presents a slate of officers for election to replace those whose two-year terms are being completed. The TBE Bylaws are quite specific regarding the governance of this process, qualifications for office, term limits, etc.
If one of the officers whose term has ended is the President, it has been the Nominating Committee’s practice to recommend that the First Vice President, who has served a concurrent term with the President and “shadowed” him or her for two years, become the synagogue’s new President. This allows TBE to benefit from a President that is fully knowledgeable about synagogue affairs and has honed his or her leadership skills as First Vice President.
Such is the case this July. Jeff Cohen’s term is ending as President, and Devra Jaffe-Berkowitz, TBE’s current First Vice President would normally be recommended to succeed him. Unfortunately, due to unanticipated family circumstances, Devra feels she cannot fully execute the duties of TBE president at this time.
To best serve the interests of the synagogue, both the Nominating Committee and Board of Trustees would like the expanded latitude to consider members of the Board to be TBE’s next president who may not meet the eligibility requirements stipulated in Section 7.4 of the Bylaws, specifically the requirement to have served as a voting member of the Board for a minimum of one year. The Board plans to create a strong, supportive network of current and past lay leaders to initially assist the new president in his or her duties as needed. Please note that the amendment has been crafted to ensure this approval applies to this specific situation ONLY.
Therefore, the Board of Trustees is recommending approval of the amendment at this year’s annual meeting.
