Many congregants who have chatted with Sam Boxerman one-on-one said the lay leader’s encouragement for them to get involved in the community “transformed their lives.”
An active member of Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County since 1993, Boxerman recently stepped into a new role: president of the board.
“It was certainly an honor to be asked,” Boxerman said, referencing the years-long process of serving as executive vice president, then president.
“It seemed like a challenge to be head of any organization, so I gave it some thought, but my family and I really had a longstanding connection [to Beth El] and I saw it as a mitzvah.”
Rabbi Greg Harris of Beth El expressed his excitement at welcoming Boxerman as the newest board president, following immediate past president Sara Gordon.
“[Boxerman is] in line with a lot of wonderful leaders at the synagogue,” Harris said. “He’s a mensch, he’s a strategic thinker and he has a great love of Jewish living.”
Boxerman said he looks forward to growing and sustaining Beth El’s membership alongside the clergy, staff members, board members and executive committee during his two-year term. Only weeks into the new role, he said he enjoys working with his fellow leaders.
“We’re approaching the 75th year of Beth El and the Jewish landscape of Montgomery County is very different than 75 years ago,” Harris said. “Sam is very, very tied into thinking broadly — ‘What is the role of a synagogue in people’s lives at this moment?’ — and not taking relationships with people for granted.”
“I am definitely looking forward to celebrating where we’ve been and looking ahead to what’s next,” Boxerman said. “I want to make sure that we grow the leadership of the shul, the younger families who are the future of the shul and the community. I want to make sure that they have an opportunity to develop as leaders and participate and really grow.”
Boxerman noted that Beth El, like most other synagogues, is multigenerational, so he wants to ensure that all age groups feel represented and heard within the community.
One way he’s already built community in the past is through individual chats with members.
“He is approachable; he will have coffee with anyone and everyone,” Harris said of Boxerman. “He understands that people bring their whole self to the synagogue and he wants himself and the synagogue to be available to everyone.
“He’s very genuine, [so when he asks someone to volunteer on a Saturday morning or bring their experience onto a committee or join outdoor services], he’s not asking for himself or even the organization. He’s really asking for this greater purpose and greater sense of meaningful Jewish living.”
Boxerman isn’t new to Jewish lay leadership. He chaired the board of directors of Capital Camps from 2013 to 2015, after which a friend asked him, “‘Sam, now that you have some extra time, would you consider getting more active [with] Beth El leadership?’”
Boxerman’s first event as president brought the entire board of Beth El and their spouses together for everyone to get to know each other better as not only colleagues but also fellow community members. On the evening of June 24, Harris had about 50 people “squished into [his] house.”
“It’s consistent with [Boxerman’s] approach of wanting people to be authentic and to connect with each other as they’re also guiding the synagogue in this direction,” Harris said.
The shul has fostered community through musical Shabbats geared towards young families and a lecture series featuring speakers from Beth El or the wider community, Boxerman said: “It’s a real mix of praying and learning and connecting by being together.”
He hopes to continue that trajectory as board president, a role he took on to give back to what he views as a fundamental part of Jewish life and identity: the synagogue.
Harris quoted psychologist and author Adam Grant, who said to “take what you know and then rethink it,” in describing Boxerman’s approach to leading the future of Beth El.
“I think Sam is very much in that vein,” Harris said. “The synagogue has been here for almost 75 years; Judaism has been around for centuries. I’m looking forward to partnering with him to think again about ‘What are the onramps to a meaningful Jewish life?’ ‘How can Judaism speak to us at a very fragile and important time?’”
“Having a strong community is so important in today’s world, particularly now,” Boxerman said. “Beth El has always really been an anchor for our family. … It’s a wonderful connection point — l’dor v’dor — to maintain the connection from generation to generation, so I hope I can continue to do that as a president of the shul.”
