Ah, remember the refreshments and socializing of yore — before COVID and before security threats kept the shul closed and locked, and before Shabbat services were offered online-only? So nice, so pleasant, so agreeable. With an A for effort, the shul has tried to re-create that amiability with a plate of cookies in the sanctuary. Alas, not the same thing…

Well, that all changed on Friday, May 26, when shul member Nancy Torchio sponsored an Oneg Shabbat to honor her father, Charles Bogen, on his first yahrzeit. We had cake and fruit and candy and nuts, and it wasn’t hard to do, Nancy told the Board of Directors at the June 11 meeting, calling for others in the shul family to sponsor onegs for “whatever reason,” she said — to honor occasions or people special to the hosts, or just because… In a heartbeat, right there at the meeting, board member Suri Lan Brown stepped up and volunteered to sponsor and prepare an oneg on Friday, June 30.

What we decided…

So, stepping ahead lightly, we’ve decided to celebrate the first Friday of every month with an Oneg Shabbat following the evening service. So please plan on participating in-person on Friday, June 30, with Suri as our host (yes, we know, a day ahead), and again on Friday, August 4, with an oneg sponsored by Elaine Goldman, who volunteered a few days after the board meeting. Reminders will appear on the first Friday Shabbat Shalom messages.

Shofar readers: Maybe it’s your turn to help us return to the days of noshing and socializing after Shabbat services. To volunteer, please call the shul at 631-477-0232 or email ctigreenport@gmail.com with a message for Adrianne Greenberg, indicating which First Friday you will host. Many thanks.