Rabbi Michael Matuson wanted to give his 167 families at Beth El Synagogue a gift, one that would express his love and profound gratitude for what they have meant to his life.
So he recently personally pledged $100,000 over the next three years toward paying off the synagogue’s mortgage. The Rabbi’s Legacy Initiative so stunned and thrilled his congregants that every one of the 15-member Beth El Board of Trustees pledged to also participate in the fund.
The goal is to pay off the mortgage of the building—built in 2004 at the cost of $1.8 million—by 2021. Another goal is to have 100 % of the families participate, according to their individual capabilities. And pledges are coming in on a regular basis.
Matuson said his commitment gives him a “feeling of completeness.” He became the synagogue’s rabbi in 2008, and “I didn’t know what I was missing” before that, he said of the house of worship on Roscoe Boulevard in Ponte Vedra Beach. “I felt like I belonged here, and it was a wonderful feeling,” he said. “It’s like Jerusalem pines. Their roots become intertwined. If you water one tree, they all get watered. They all benefit.”
Expressing his feelings in a letter to his Beth El Community, Matuson wrote: “How can I convey my gratitude to a community for all the support, friendships, laughter and moments of holiness I have known at Beth El? How could I possibly express my gratitude to a community who make real the dreams of my prayers?”
Impressed by the rabbi’s generosity, Charlie Frohman, President of the Beth El Board of Directors, said he has also been awed by the generosity and commitment of every board member. “Beth El is not just a building. It’s not just a house of worship. It is a home, our home. It has become our home of worship. You can feel the difference between a house and a home. And that love is felt by everyone who comes here.”
Sherill Herzfeld, a member of the Board of Directors who has lived in multiple places around the country, said she is overwhelmed by the rabbi’s gift. “I’ve never belonged to a synagogue where a rabbi feels that way,” she said. “Rabbi is part of this family. I never belonged to a synagogue where a rabbi ever expressed that he felt that way about his congregants.”
Board member Neal Goldman said when Matuson first approached him about his legacy gift, he turned him down. “I told him, ’no,’” Goldman said. “I wanted to make sure he was caring for himself. But he sold me on it. He wanted to give Beth El breathing room to grow and become its best self.”
The mortgage balance as of June 1, 2019 was $756,000. The mortgage balance as of Oct. 15, with existing legacy pledges deducted, was $491,000.
Paying the mortgage off will not only allow the synagogue to do other things with its funds, it is also “a total life insurance,” Herzfeld said. “We are securing this building. We won’t ever have to worry about it again. It’s a feeling that it can never be taken away.”
“It will be a legacy for your lifetime,” Frohman told Matuson. “It is benefitting people while you are still around to see it.” It also differs from leaving things in a will, because it requires sacrifice, Frohman said. “It’s a big difference to give the money when you are still here, and still need it.”
Matuson assured his congregation that he will still be able to take care of himself. Even though giving $100,000 over three years does require sacrifice.
“It’s a way of saying thank you to the people I love,” he said. “People say ‘give until it hurts.’ This feels really good.”
