Dear Shofar readers, The Jewish calendar I consult in preparation for the Events Page that heads each month’s issue of The Shofar lists the February dates for Rosh Chodesh (Feb. 9), Purim Katan (Feb. 23), the required readings for each Shabbat and, as a nod to the Gregorian calendar, Presidents’ Day (Feb. 19). Nowhere on the February page is there a mention of Valentine’s Day which, unless here in America you have chosen to [...]
Readers of The Shofar, particularly those who pause for a moment to skim the president’s message, may have noticed that this president tends to use personal experience as the catalyst that informs her bully pulpit. This should come as no surprise; remember, it is this president who leads a memoir-writing class as a side hustle. And what is memoir? Past experience. For this month’s Shofar message, I’ve chosen a past experience that occurred only a [...]
Overheard in the checkout line at Costco: Woman #1: Can you believe this crowd? Look, packed with Christmas shoppers. Woman #2: Christmas shopping seems to start earlier and earlier these days. Woman #1: Well, it’s not even Thanksgiving, but let me be the first to wish you a merry Christmas. Woman #2: I don’t celebrate Christmas. I’m Jewish. Woman #1: Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to offend you. With December [...]
Hard to believe that for the past three-plus years, I have only rarely missed a Shabbat service. Like a modern take on mailmen of yore ...neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night stays this shul officer from the swift completion of the Zoom setup in the sanctuary. By this time, the Shabbat service rituals and prayers in our sanctuary are etched in my consciousness. So it caught me by surprise on Rosh Hashanah [...]
Except for some technical issues that piqued some of those attending High Holiday services online this year — and we did take steps to correct those problems in the interim between Rosh Hashanah Day 2 and Kol Nidre a week later, thanks to some wizardry by our own Andrea Blaga — services were as well run and enjoyable as ever I’ve witnessed. As president, standing in the place where the buck stops, I must admit [...]
The other day, my daughter Jenny was looking at a photograph framed and mounted on a wall in my house. “Of all the art you have here, Mom, this is my favorite,” she said. That surprised me. Although I, too, am drawn to the photo, it seems such a trifle when compared to some of the larger pieces placed elsewhere. I purchased the photograph about 15 years ago, having seen the image published in The [...]
Dear readers, Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about love, no doubt inspired by planning for the shul’s upcoming luncheon for members and friends to celebrate Tu B’Av on Wednesday, August 2. I hope you’re planning to be there. Sisterhood president Adrianne Greenberg is in charge of provisions, and the program is shaping up as a love-ly event for what has been called a “Jewish Valentine’s Day.” Tu B’Av may be a new celebration [...]
Considering the many members of various shul constituencies graduating from somewhere and/or into something else, this current publication of The Shofar truly could be titled the moving-on issue. Some of the young adults in the shul family, having successfully completed the required studies from various levels of schooling, are graduating and taking well-deserved pride in that milestone of achievement. And some of our elementary school-aged folks may now be moving into the summer program [...]
This is my farewell column as President of Congregation Tifereth Israel. It is the closing of a powerful three-year journey that officially concludes on June 11. What a privilege and honor it has been to work with an extraordinary Board of Directors, and an amazing and dedicated Vice President and Treasurer. Who can string words together better than Sara, turning out prose at a moment’s notice? She will correct every misplaced bit of punctuation, devote [...]
What a time of year this is. It is a time of fear and a time of joy. It is a time for introspection and a time to revel in the power of our shul community. We recently experienced the National Day of Hate on Feb. 25. Yes, it was a national event. We hired a security guard, and police cars guarded our shul during services on that Saturday. And we were just one of [...]
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