Rabbi Stan goes to Washington

In another strange turn of this strangest season of my Rabbinate, I was asked by the Interfaith Alliance to go to Washington and participate in a panel discussion on the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Last month the Interfaith Alliance sent a large delegation to Baton Rouge to visit relief sites around the city. Jeff Day and I helped them plan their visit and so were privileged to tag a long (for more on this see my November Bulletin article, available on the Beth Shalom website, www.bethshalomsynagogue.org). The delegation included a camera crew that shot a video of the event. The panel discussion was in connection with the release of the video and of the Interfaith Alliance’s report on the situation.

I accepted the invitation and flew up Monday for the meeting on Tuesday morning. This was my first visit to Washington since my 8th grade school trip back in the Pleistocene.

As a panelist I got to tell Beth Shalom’s piece of the Katrina and Rita story to an audience largely made up of congressional staffers. The event was held at the Hart Senate office building. This, for a political groupie like me, was a thrill in itself.

I had my mini moleskine notebook handy for autographs. I have no shame. Unfortunately, the closest I got to seeing a famous pol was a sighting of Alan Alda in a bookshop near Capitol Hill. He was on the phone so I did not bother him. I guess I have some shame. Ayelet, who watches the West Wing with me, was very upset that I missed a chance to get Arnie Vinick’s autograph.

I was proud to represent both Beth Shalom and the Federation of Churches and Synagogues at this meeting. With the plight of the Gulf Coast slipping steadily off the news and drifting away from the country’s attention, I am hoping that the Interfaith Alliance can help refocus Congress on the immense needs in our region. It was a privilege to have been given this very small part in this endeavor.