Welcome Back to the Temple Beth Israel community!
As folks return from a busy summer filled with traveling, cookouts, and family gatherings, we here at Temple Beth Israel have been hard at work ramping up for the next year of Jewish life in the greater Plattsburgh area. We are extremely proud of our High Holiday programming. Student Rav-Hazzan, Emily Howard Meyer will once again lead us in melody over Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We’re very excited to usher in the new year together with old friends, new friends, and loved-ones. Another proud moment will be the first day of school at the Rabin Religious School this fall, as we begin a new era of Jewish education at Temple Beth Israel. We also have several outstanding cultural and social events planned throughout the fall, as well as the long-awaited return to our Tuesday evening online course in Jewish Philosophy.
One of the many important themes of the High Holiday season is teshuvah, or repentance. The word teshuvah, often spelled t’shuvah, literally means a returning. The Yamim Nora’im, the 10 Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, is an essential time to re-evaluate one’s relationship with the outside world: between friends, family, nature, and God. Ideally, by examining our relationships, especially the ones where we struggle, we will return to a more peaceful, healed existence with the relationships that matter the most in our lives. Let us also use this time to re-evaluate our relationship with the Jewish community; are we proudly at peace with our involvement or commitment? Are we receiving what we need, spiritually, socially, educationally? Please, spend a few moments to investigate these values, and then communicate them to Temple leadership, including myself, so that we can all work to repair and strengthen our relationships in the new year.
Wishing your loved-ones a peaceful, healthy, and sweet holiday season!
Shanah Tovah, Happy New Year 5784
Rabbi David Joslin
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