Dear Friends,

After the terrorist attack in Poway, CA, we have all been asking questions about our safety and our future. We have been forced to examine how we do business at the Temple, how we secure our entrances and exits, and what we need to do to keep everyone safe when they are here. With each tragic attack on our fellow Jews and other faith minorities, we are reevaluating and refining our security protocols. It was only six months ago that we were gathering in memory of the victims in Pittsburgh, and already we have been given a reminder of how urgent the need for a good security plan is.

We are continuing to work with various agencies, including the Nevada Department of Public Safety. At their suggestion, we are planning to replace all of the glass doors in the building. All future doors will have push-bars, which will eliminate some of the locking and unlocking issues we’ve been having while allowing for quick exits in case of an emergency. Currently, we are taking bids in this effort. We hope to find something aesthetically pleasing, but safety is our top concern. We also hope to replace the buzzers on the doors with new units at each entrance that would give us the ability to buzz people in from our offices or our phones.

Of course, all of these improvements come at great expense. To aid us in this, we are also working on securing grants and other sources of funding for these upgrades. We have had some private donations, and welcome further contributions to the building funds for our security. We wish that our resources could be devoted more fully to programming and community activities (which are still ongoing and we urge you to join us). Until we can again see our house of worship as a true place of sanctuary, we will work to ensure that this is a safe, secure, and comfortable place for all of us.

Rabbis Sara and Benjamin Zober