We celebrate all major (and most minor) Jewish holidays as a community, including:
Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Tu B’shevat, Purim, Passover, Shavuot, and Tisha B’Av
We hold Family Days in our Sinai School for each holiday throughout the year and together, we bring the rhythm and meaning of the Jewish calendar into our personal and communal lives.
High Holy Day 5781 Thank Yous
Our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who helped to make our recent High Holy Day celebrations such an amazing success. Most of these names have been mentioned before, but these contributions of time and talent from Sinai members definitely bear repeating.
Thanks to Marilyn Roberts and the Jewish Practice Committee for organizing the High Holy Day honors and thanks to all who participated in the Torah Service. Thanks to Deborah Achtenberg for her Elul Adult Study class and thanks to Laura Smith, Aaron Hill, and Ignacio Montoya for the Yom Kippur afternoon meditations. Thanks also to Carol Pevney for making High Holy Day phone calls.
Thanks to Dave Levine and the Levine Family for donating to expand our Yahrzeit memorial wall in memory of Dave’s wife, Peggy Levine, and thanks to the Slamowitz Family and Michael Gorden for getting the memorial wall and our sanctuary in shape for the holidays.
Thanks to the Caring Committee for providing High Holy Day gift bags to all of our members, with special thanks to Saundra Goodman and Judy and Gary Schumer for organizing the project and donating supplies.
Thanks to Quentin Foley for his help preparing the prerecorded video segments of our broadcast as his Bar Mitzvah project and thanks to Rabbi Benjamin Zober and Rabbi Sara Zober, for their hard work filming and doing preliminary editing of the prerecorded segments.
Thanks also to Temple Sinai administrator, Mike Stombaugh for technical support running our live-streaming streaming broadcasts.
Thank you from the Caring Committee
During our Zoom Caring Committee meeting in July, we decided to do a small gift of an apple and honey stick for each of our member/family units as a sweet outreach to our beloved congregation. Judy and Gary Schumer researched and purchased gift bags, “Shanah Tovah from Temple Sinai” stickers, and honey sticks. We then moved onto the task of assembling and delivering and we decided to add the new Jewish calendars for 5781 to the New Year goody bag.
First, thanks and appreciation to Mike Stombaugh who graciously put up with my requests for sorted lists and email blasts. On Sunday, September 13, five volunteers met to assemble 170 gift bags. I had numerous members offer to help, some even traveling quite a distance from their homes to deliver to zip codes without volunteers. Thank you, thank you, to all these wonderful people who assembled gift bags and delivered to congregants: Marilyn Bowie, Robert Colt, Lynne Daus, Neva Donovan, Amy and Jay Goldberg, Jane Grossman, Talia Guzman, Mindy Hertz, Harvey Katz, Joe Merkin, Marjie Newman and Joel Flamenbaum, Marilyn Rappaport, Julia Rubin, Sheila Sirkin, Heidi Slater, Pam and Rod Sloan, Gail Small, Rabbi Emerita Myra Soifer, Judith Strasser, Ronnie Varney, and Leah Wilds. They are all a remarkable team of volunteers! Lastly, a huge thank you to my Doug who helped me with spreadsheets, schlepping, and deliveries.
We have received several emails and phone calls thanking us for the thoughtfulness. May this year, despite many recent difficulties and tragic events, hold some bright spots and joy with prayers for good health for all of us and our families.
With my affection and gratitude to each of you,
Saundra Goodman
Adding Thanks
Dear Friends:
On certain holidays, we add special prayers of thanks into our liturgy. These “hoda’ah inserts” are part of Sukkot and Simchat Torah, Purim, and Chanukah, among other times. Somehow, considering how many thanks we have, perhaps we need a post-virtual-HHD hoda’ah insert. Maybe: “Thank you, everyone, who participated, contributed, logged in, offered words of encouragement or gratitude, showed patience, understanding, and everyone who managed to find some meaning and holiness.” It does not exactly roll off the tongue, but assuredly, it sounds better in Hebrew.
We cannot offer enough thanks, for all that this community has done. It is an absolute pleasure and blessing to be a part of a congregation as loving and kind as Temple Sinai. We hope that at some point over High Holy Days, everyone found some time to connect, reflect, and look hopefully towards the future. Hopefully, we will never have a High Holy Day season quite like this, and also hopefully, the elements that did resonate will become part of our practice in future years.
While we would have preferred gathering together in the social hall, hearing the songs, aliyot, and readings bounce off of the walls, knowing that our words and prayers reached ears even beyond the walls, meant a great deal to us. Were it not for the wonders of technology, the generosity of donors, and the incredible efforts of everyone who helped, our words would not have gone anywhere near as far. And for that, we are also incredibly thankful.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Benjamin Zober and Rabbi Sara Zober