Dear Friends,
It was such a joy to be with so many of you over the Holy Days. While I am grateful technology allows so many community members to connect from a distance, nothing compares to being together in person and the energy of so many voices in song and prayer.
Our High Holy Day services and programs were meaningful, and it was wonderful to see so many of you here in our building and to know that more of you were able to join us through the wonders of technology. We are always grateful to the Josh Littman Audio-Visual Fund to allow us to stream services, and to Ryan Jacobsen and Chris Joy for their invaluable assistance in making services accessible.
Our services take a huge amount of effort from a huge number of people. It would be impossible to thank everyone individually, but as we enter Shabbat, a few thank yous seem appropriate.
Thank you to Marjie Terry and Elise Joy, our co-Presidents, for all of their leadership and assistance. (It is one thing to lead double services and quite another to sit through them as participants.) Marjie and Elise’s heartfelt words during the High Holy Day Appeal on Rosh Hashanah were a powerful invitation for us to each play a role in ensuring TSTI lives up to its promise of inclusion and welcome. (If you missed the Appeal you can view it here.) Thank you to all of you who have already heard and responded to their call. Thank you in advance to all of you who will in the coming days. This annual appeal isn’t about fundraising. It is about community-building. And its success each year is only because of the generosity of so many in our community.
A huge thank you to all of our ushers, led by Carol Schiffman and Sarah Bodack. To everyone who volunteered to work with Tracy Horwitz at the Children’s Service and Program, including all of our teen volunteers, and those who worked in our babysitting area with Bela Barbosa, thank you for helping to make the holidays special for our youngest members.
Thank you to each of our Yom Kippur breakout session leaders. I am grateful to Emily Zacharias, David Leit, Max Weisenfeld and Mike Sachs for helping us bring important and relevant content to our Day of Atonement.
Thank you to all who helped make our services so beautiful, including all our musicians, led so brilliantly by Peter Candela. And many thanks to Shawn Fogel for continuing to be our resident rock star, leading such fun and engaging family services!
A huge thank you to our temple staff. They work hard all year long, but this time of year they really shine. From our administrative staff (many of whom are new this year), to our custodial staff, our security team, and our exceptional senior staff, I am thankful for their hard work and dedication, but more importantly, for the care they show for every single person in our community.
Last but not least, I am grateful to work with my incredible clergy partners: Rabbi Klein, Cantor Moses and Student Cantor Zell. Their creativity and mindfulness inspire me everyday.
As I mentioned on Yom Kippur, I am proud that we were one of the first synagogues to become part of the Anti-Defamation League’s Signature Synagogue Initiative. And I am even prouder that we had the largest single congregational delegation the last time ADL held their Never Is Now Conference in person. Never Is Now will be in person this fall on Thursday, November 10th in Washington D.C. Due to the generosity of Harriet Felper, we will once again have a bus (or more than one if necessary) that will leave from the temple and return at the end of the day. If you have not yet signed up please do so via this link. As a member of a Signature Synagogue you will get an 18% discount by using the code SIGSYN. (Please contact me directly if you are in need of financial assistance with your registration fee.)
The rapid rise in antisemitic incidents over the past few years is beyond troubling. Never Is Now will be a powerful opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of what is happening, and learn what we can do to address this ugliness to keep our communities as safe as possible.
Finally, a number of you have asked for links to rewatch this year’s High Holy Days sermons:
• Rosh Hashanah Morning – https://vimeo.com/758000987
• Kol Nidre – https://vimeo.com/757989051
• Yom Kippur Morning – https://vimeo.com/757991530
I have been honored to serve this sacred community for 30 years and as the New Year begins, my hope is for a sweet and healthy year ahead for all.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Daniel M. Cohen
