OHEB:  Lorraine, maybe we could start with you telling us a little about yourself. 

LORRAINE:  Well, I’m many things. I’m a daughter. I’m a sibling to my older sister Vanessa and my younger brother David.  I’m a wife to my beloved husband Gary.  I’m a proud Mama to Nicole and Matthew. I’m now a mother-in-law to Brian. And my favorite role: I’m a doting Lo Lo to my cherished 2 year-old Cooper.  I’m a friend to many, and I’m an attorney.  Since October 7th, though, I’ve been thinking a lot about who I am, and how I predominantly think of myself now is that I am a Jew. I’m a Babylonian Jew – one of the original Jews, as my mother always reminds me!  I’m a Jewish American, and I’m not really sure that I always thought about it in that order before.  I’m a child of the diaspora, and like Jews in virtually every country around the world, at some point we weren’t welcome and we had to journey to find our home.

OHEB:  What is your family’s background?  Where are they from, originally?

LORRAINE:  My family on both sides is from Iraq. My father was born in 1936 in Baghdad. He lost his dad young and at the age of eight they were fleeing. They sent him to boarding school in Lebanon where he was the only Jew. He hated that.  After running away, he was sent to Paris for his formative years to go to school, where once again he experienced some horrific anti-Semitism. On to London he went, to await a visa. and eventually he made it to the United States, where he married my mom and they started a family. My mother had a slightly different journey. Her family was from Iraq, but they had left before she was born to move to a country with a better climate for Jews, wait for it, Iran!  I can tell you it was a beautiful country. She was born in Tehran. I can tell you that from first-hand experience because I spent several summers there as a child visiting with my family. My grandparents remained there until 1979, when once again they were forced to flee.

OHEB:  How did you and Gary get together, and what role has Oheb played in your lives?

LORRAINE:  I’ve known my husband for a long time. Like, a really long time. I think we were teenagers when we met the first night of college at Penn, and in August, we will be married for 35 years.  We’ve built a family and a rich community here at Oheb Shalom. We’ve been here for 25 years now. I mentioned I’m an attorney, and so there was a little negotiation as we were figuring out where to land, but I can tell you that once we came here, we’ve never looked back. So while Gary and I have a lot in common, we are really very different people in many respects, including in our Jewish traditions.  He grew up Ashkenazic and I grew up with the Iraqi traditions that I told you about. We learned over the years to embrace our differences and to share that with our children and now our grandchild.  All these wonderful rich traditions have been passed down through both of our families, and we’ve learned that our differences are our strength. Today we blend the best of both of our traditions to create our own new tradition.

OHEB:  So what is it about Oheb?  Why is this place so important to you?

LORRAINE:  Well, we’re a warm and diverse community.  And our differences are most certainly our strengths. There’s one thing you can always count on, and that is, for every issue there will be as many strongly held points of view as there are members. And it’s this diversity of ideas that will make us better and propel our growth.

OHEB:  So looking forward… what do you envision your role will be as Board President?

LORRAINE:  There are a lot of aspects to that. I’ll always listen to differing points of view with respect, even if we don’t agree, and we won’t always agree. I’ll take time with the Rabbi, Cantor, Michelle, and our wonderful staff with my executive committee and board to make reasoned decisions, but we can’t let the search for perfection derail action. And when a decision is made, I’ll ensure that it gets shared properly so that if you disagree and you want to speak with me you will have the opportunity to do so.  And it’s my hope that over the next two years, we’ll all learn from one another and continue to grow as a community.

OHEB:  And what are your hopes for Oheb in the next couple years?

LORRAINE:  The Jewish people are facing the most profound existential challenge that we have faced since the Holocaust. While there has been a lot written about the decline of American Jewry, we remain the critical component of defending the diaspora against the horrific raging anti-Semitism since October 7th. Nothing has been clearer to me that without a strong local synagogue community, we will lose something that cannot be easily recovered.

So that said… I hope to see a bustling building filled with the chatter of young children, that wonderful sound of learning from our rabbi and singing with our cantor. I hope to see a thriving, universal pre-K that is well respected in our community, that will have five classes instead of the three that we’re starting with. I hope to see an aftercare/extended day program with a waiting list; a strategic plan that has been approved by our congregation and is in the beginning processes of implementation; a fiscal plan in place to help secure the a strong future for our congregation, including sound policies and procedures that are regularly reviewed; and certainly in these times, I think it’s critical that we have a revived Israel learning and engagement committee that provides education support, and yes, celebration for a homeland for our Jewish people.  I hope to see a continuing and deepening engagement with our greater Jewish MetroWest Community. I hope to see a growing base of families that support Oheb programs both financially and with their time. And I hope to see growth in the number of members that feel the same deep connection to our Oheb community as Gary and I do.

OHEB:  As you look back at your time here, what does it mean to step into a leadership role?

LORRAINE:  It’s with great honor and deep humility that I take on this role.  I’m filled with a profound sense of responsibility and commitment to continue building on the strong foundation that was laid by the people who came before me. I’ve been so appreciative of all the past presidents who have reached out to me to offer their support already and I want to particularly thank my dear friend Orlie [Prince] for her inspiration and guidance as I take on this role. She was an incredible President who accomplished so much. I want to thank the community for its trust, ongoing support, and commitment to Oheb Shalom. Together we’ll continue to build upon our vibrant, inclusive, and diverse community, sharing and celebrating our differences.

OHEB:  Thank you, Lorraine.  Best of luck.

LORRAINE:  Thank you.  

To read some more fun facts about Lorraine, visit our new Board Profiles page.