Dear Friends,
It was wonderful to see so many of you as we welcomed the New Year of 5768. I am deeply grateful to my clergy and Senior Staff colleagues, to our entire incredible staff and our amazing musicians who bring so much beauty to our worship services. Thank you as well to all of our volunteer leaders who give tirelessly of themselves for the sake of our congregation. Finally, I want to offer a special thanks to my assistant, Jodi Rotondo, for her support, wisdom, guidance and for making me look good—often in spite of myself. 🙂
I wanted to share a few clips from services with you as we prepare to welcome Shabbat Shuvah—the Shabbat of Return—and make our way toward Yom Kippur.
The first clip is President Bryan Bloom’s High Holy Days Appeal. I am profoundly grateful to Bryan for his partnership, his friendship, his leadership and for agreeing to take a third term and guide us through this transition. As Bryan points out, the annual appeal is a centerpiece of our congregation’s ethos. We are a community that welcomes all who want to join us regardless of financial means.
Raina and I are proud to support this annual campaign and I thank all of you who have or plan to do so as well. Your commitment and generosity allows us to keep that longstanding commitment and helps ensure a strong TSTI tomorrow.
Watch the Appeal here:
The second video is a clip of the Iyunim, short sermons, each of the clergy offered on Erev Rosh Hashanah. Our theme this year was beginnings and endings and each of us shared our thoughts as we move into this year of transition.
Watch the Erev Rosh Hashanah videos here:
The third video is my Rosh Hashanah sermon. Thank you to all of you who reached out with such love and kindness and to those who have asked for copies.
Watch the sermon here:
I wanted to share the beautiful song that Rabbi Klein, Cantor Moses and Student Cantor Chessy Weiner shared on Erev Rosh Hashanah. I’ve had the song on repeat for the last few days and, for me, it has become a personal anthem for this year’s holy days.
Watch/Listen here:
Finally, I want to take a moment to offer one more thank you. Thank you to my incredible wife and partner Raina. No one can appreciate what it means to be married to a congregational rabbi. I don’t think Raina even fully appreciated it when we married almost ten years ago. As I said in the late Rosh Hashanah service, serving this community has always been an honor, but since meeting Raina, my life and my rabbinate have been transformed. While we are excited for our new adventure, this time of transition is bittersweet for both of us and, from both of us, please know how grateful we are to you all.
I love this community and am so proud of it. I look forward to seeing you next week for Yom Kippur.
Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova.
Rabbi Daniel Cohen