Synagogue Updates

Friday night's Kabbalat Shabbat service felt a little like an oasis in a desert (I have never really been wandering in a desert in need of an oasis, so that is probably an exaggeration, but you get the idea). First, the weather was beautiful. The humidity finally had broken. More importantly, there was a sense of community and spirit that I know I personally have needed. As the Hazzan put it, he sang prayers that we have not done since March. Everyone there was happy to be there, so we are doing it again this coming Friday, weather permitting.

Our service will be in front of the building, taking over a portion of our circle. Shade is available and we are really able to distance. For this service, we will be raising our limit to up to 50 people, but RSVPs to me are still required. We set up the chairs for everyone in advance to make sure that it is spaced correctly. If you are available and comfortable, I highly encourage you to come out. Children are welcome, as long as they are able to socially distance and they are welcome to spread out on our property.  Masks are required for all.  Come join us to feel that sense of community. 

We are looking for other ideas and times to have limited numbers of people join together in safe and meaningful ways. We are looking at youth and adult opportunities. If you have ideas, please let us know. 

Two weeks left of our summer Challah Initiative! Over 50 different families have participated through baking, delivering or receiving. Sign up to enhance the celebration of Shabbat and meet new congregants!
https://www.tbhbe.org/form/challah.html

We are going to spend the next few weeks putting together a promotional video for the synagogue, highlighting our congregants, their connections and experiences. If you are willing, please share your answers with me to the following questions: 

• What has the synagogue meant to you and your family over the past few months? 
• If there is a program or initiative that you are involved with - what has been special about it to you? 

We are going to reach out to some of the people that answer to put them in our video. 

I like solving puzzles, trying to figure out how to create something new or manage a  situation. This time of year always feels exciting to me, as we try to put the pieces of a new year together. Even more so now when there are added elements of the unknown. As I have been writing over the past few weeks, the unknown allows us to look at things with fresh eyes and to come up with new ideas. This week, we will be sending out our High Holiday email to the community, outlining our full plans, but I wanted to write about one concept in advance - Prayer Pods. For those that are interested, we want to support our congregants to host others to stream services or to create their own service experiences. One of the comments that we have most heard is that people are going to miss the sense of community. Prayer Pods are one way that we are envisioning providing that community. Please email me to let us know of your interest in this or to explore how this might look for you. 

One of my challenges each week is to determine what to include in this email and what to leave out - there is usually so much that I am excited to share. I really wanted to write more about our shofar programs - I am currently mapping out sending shofar blowers all over our area - but I will leave that for a future email.

Wishing you a great week!  If there is any support we can be giving you during this time, please do not hesitate to let me know. 

Ken
513 503 9559