We have just come through a very intense period in the Hebrew calendar. In the period of three weeks, we celebrated Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah. This is both a solemn period and then a joyous period. We have finished a cycle of the Torah with Deuteronomy and we have begun anew with Genesis. So too has our congregation begun a new cycle. Traditionally there is a long break between the end of the spring when the school year ends and when our annual cycle of visits from the Cantor pauses for the summer. After the slowdown from June, July, and August now is a renaissance, a rebirth of our congregation.
At the Sukkot dinner on October 18, Jim Berkovitz mentioned to me how alive and vital the
synagogue seemed not only because of the High Holy Days but because there seemed to be a change in the aura of the congregation. We are having interest from previous members in rejoining and interest from others in joining us for the first time. We had vibrant activities on the afternoon of Yom Kippur with Torah study and a workshop on forgiveness which attracted 20+ people. He knew about changes in the Hebrew School program and commented on how much music we had in the temple. Jim suggested putting together additional programs including movies, arts, hands on activities, seminars and more actively publicizing them. I agreed with him and then congratulated him on his appointment as Chair of the newly created, newly in the sense of that exact minute, Adult Education/Cultural Activities committee. Thankfully for me he accepted and as of this date is actively
working on programming.
We can revitalize the synagogue, bring it back to its glory days when we had more than 100
members, when there were all sorts of activities, when we had more than 1 or 2 b’nai mitzvahs per year, but it is going to have to be an “all hands on deck” project. Everyone needs to do something to promote the life of our community. We won’t be able to develop new programs and activities, or even maintain all we have now, if it is the same handful of people doing all the work.
With this in mind, and acknowledging that I do not have all the info on all the members, I am asking you to send me an email with the following information; name, address, phone number, and email address. I know I should have this on a spreadsheet but I'm working on putting that together. I'm also working on listservs of who gets the shofar by email, one list for members and one for other interested parties. We also need for you to dig deep and decide what types of activities you are willing to work on. We will find a way to connect you with whomever is leading that effort or responsible committee. My email is rjs@alum.mit.edu and my phone number is 607-222-7019.
Finally, to all those who receive The Shofar who are not members of the congregation, please help in whatever way you can. If you live locally, volunteer. All of you please consider joining. We need the support and I suspect most of you do too.
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