First of all, we wanted to express our immense gratitude to all the volunteers who are currently making Food for Thought a reality. Over the last few days they have put together hundreds of boxes to send out to hundreds of families and will help feed thousands of people for the end of the year. Thanks to all of your hard work, we will have another incredible year for this important program.
As we near the end of Hanukkah, we wanted to share an illuminating lesson our students learned in Religious School this past week. While looking at various songs celebrating the season, the older students discussed the deeper meaning of “Light One Candle,” a classic by Peter, Paul and Mary. Over the course of the song, eight key themes about Hanukkah emerge: Children, Pain, Sacrifice, Wisdom, Strength, Suffering, Belief, and Togetherness. Taken together, these themes highlight both the struggle of the Israelites in ancient times and the unbreakable bonds forged in Jewish communities today. Along with lighting candles and enjoying dreidel games and opening presents, we encourage everyone at TBH to reflect on at least one of these themes each of the remaining nights of Hanukkah. Doing so gives us the opportunity for deeper contemplation on the message and meaning of this holiday of miracles as the secular year comes to an end.
Also, we wanted to express our deepest gratitude for all our members who volunteered to serve on the newly created search committee to look for TBH’s next rabbi. We will all miss Dean very much after his retirement next year but this also marks the next chapter in the story of TBH. We and the members of the committee will be working hard to find a worthy successor for our beloved Rabbi Dean. As part of this effort, the committee recently sent out a survey for members to fill out indicating what qualities you would like to see in our future Rabbi. We look forward to hearing from all of you and welcome your input.
And for those who wish to make a difference in our community, we highly encourage you to consider joining the Temple Beth Hillel Board of Directors next year. Our Board is always on the lookout for members who have ideas for the future of the temple and the ability to carry out that vision. Serving on the Board makes us appreciate how much Temple Beth Hillel means to us and our children.
Finally, our next regular Shabbat Service will take place this Friday, December 15, at 7:30 p.m. The next Family Shabbat will occur on that same Friday at 6:15 p.m. so please help spread the word. We will also be hosting the second annual TBH Dreidel Olympics, so be sure to come and show off your dreidel skills. And for our new members, we will be holding a special Shabbat service for all of you in January. Torah Study will take place every Saturday at 10:15 a.m. on Zoom, and the Adult Education class will be hosted by Rabbi Dean (see calendar for dates). And of course, we encourage everyone to come to our wonderful Tefillah services at Religious School every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Thank you everyone!
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when? -Rabbi Hillel
~ Anna B Stein and David Zimring, Co-Presidents, Temple Beth Hillel
From the Presidents – December 14, 2023
December 14, 2023 by tbhrich • president
Hello Everyone!
First of all, we wanted to express our immense gratitude to all the volunteers who are currently making Food for Thought a reality. Over the last few days they have put together hundreds of boxes to send out to hundreds of families and will help feed thousands of people for the end of the year. Thanks to all of your hard work, we will have another incredible year for this important program.
As we near the end of Hanukkah, we wanted to share an illuminating lesson our students learned in Religious School this past week. While looking at various songs celebrating the season, the older students discussed the deeper meaning of “Light One Candle,” a classic by Peter, Paul and Mary. Over the course of the song, eight key themes about Hanukkah emerge: Children, Pain, Sacrifice, Wisdom, Strength, Suffering, Belief, and Togetherness. Taken together, these themes highlight both the struggle of the Israelites in ancient times and the unbreakable bonds forged in Jewish communities today. Along with lighting candles and enjoying dreidel games and opening presents, we encourage everyone at TBH to reflect on at least one of these themes each of the remaining nights of Hanukkah. Doing so gives us the opportunity for deeper contemplation on the message and meaning of this holiday of miracles as the secular year comes to an end.
Also, we wanted to express our deepest gratitude for all our members who volunteered to serve on the newly created search committee to look for TBH’s next rabbi. We will all miss Dean very much after his retirement next year but this also marks the next chapter in the story of TBH. We and the members of the committee will be working hard to find a worthy successor for our beloved Rabbi Dean. As part of this effort, the committee recently sent out a survey for members to fill out indicating what qualities you would like to see in our future Rabbi. We look forward to hearing from all of you and welcome your input.
And for those who wish to make a difference in our community, we highly encourage you to consider joining the Temple Beth Hillel Board of Directors next year. Our Board is always on the lookout for members who have ideas for the future of the temple and the ability to carry out that vision. Serving on the Board makes us appreciate how much Temple Beth Hillel means to us and our children.
Finally, our next regular Shabbat Service will take place this Friday, December 15, at 7:30 p.m. The next Family Shabbat will occur on that same Friday at 6:15 p.m. so please help spread the word. We will also be hosting the second annual TBH Dreidel Olympics, so be sure to come and show off your dreidel skills. And for our new members, we will be holding a special Shabbat service for all of you in January. Torah Study will take place every Saturday at 10:15 a.m. on Zoom, and the Adult Education class will be hosted by Rabbi Dean (see calendar for dates). And of course, we encourage everyone to come to our wonderful Tefillah services at Religious School every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Thank you everyone!
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when? -Rabbi Hillel
~ Anna B Stein and David Zimring, Co-Presidents, Temple Beth Hillel