My name is Gary Hirschfeld and I am honored that you elected me as president of Beth Israel’s Board of Directors for the coming two years. I got hooked into volunteering and serving Beth Israel and have never wavered in my commitment to our community. I love this place!

I have served as Treasurer to the Board for four years and have been a Board member for over eight years. I have volunteered at Beth Israel since 2002 when I became a volunteer webmaster. I was honored as a volunteer of the year in 2006 and the rest is history.

My family has belonged to Beth Israel since 1999 when we moved to San Diego from London. My wife Tracy has been involved in many activities at Beth Israel including our music program under the leadership of Rabbi Cantor Arlene Bernstein.

We have two wonderful daughters. Abbi celebrated her bat mitzvah and confirmation at Beth Israel and was also actively involved in our music program including her many years playing flute in the Chai Band and singing at services. Abbi lives in San Diego and teaches at a Jewish preschool. She will be song-leading at Beth Israel this summer!

Ilana grew up at Beth Israel. Now 17, Ilana has participated in the life of our Temple her entire life. She was named here, went through our preschool, had her consecration, bat mitzvah, and confirmation, attended the religious school and most recently participated in the Platt Youth to Israel Program. For all of us, Beth Israel is our second home.

When I’m not at Beth Israel, I am Director of Firm Administration and Chief Compliance Officer for a financial services firm where they call me an “executive jack of all trades”. I handle a broad range of duties such as staff management, customer interaction, and manage vendor relationships. I have an MBA from Tulane University and a Bachelor’s degree from UC San Diego. I grew up in Panama and Mexico City.

As I take on this sacred commitment, I am looking forward to continuing the work of making Beth Israel the special place it is for all of us. And I want you to know that we have some important work ahead. In a year or so, we will launch a search for a new senior rabbi and we will soon be discussing a new dues model. We need to continue making Beth Israel relevant to the next generation of families and leaders who will carry us into the future and to find and welcome those families who have yet to discover our congregation.

I want to thank my predecessor Mitch Siegler for all the great work he did these past two years. Among his many accomplishments, Mitch, along with our Board and Rabbi Michael Berk, was responsible for the recent engagement of two rabbis who will greatly strengthen and grow our clergy team.

I look forward to greeting you this summer at our fabulous outdoor services and at High Holy Days next fall. Please contact me anytime you have questions or suggestions or just want to say hello. I can be reached at ghirschfeld@cbisd.org