From the President – Dec. 25, 2020
Even with the worst of the pandemic expected in the coming months, with two approved vaccines there is hope for a better summer and hopefully in person observances of our High Holy Days next fall. Meanwhile, we remain committed to everyone’s safety and will continue with online “virtual” services and classes.
On February 21, we are planning to present a Zoom reading of Beware the Ides of Adar: A Shakespearean Purim Spiel by Deborah Bodin Cohen in cooperation with Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. It’s a fun telling of the Purim story using the Bard’s words. More information will be coming soon including how TBH members can participate.
Stay safe. We will get through this.
We are Temple Beth Hillel.
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
From the President – December 31, 2020
December 31, 2020 by tbhrich • president
So, what’s next? What will our post pandemic future look like? I suspect that things will not return to our pre pandemic normal. I hope that we have learned from our experiences and we can use this hard- earned knowledge to move forward and create a new normal. I suspect that Zoom and other forms of distance meeting will remain part of our lives, not as a tool of necessity, but rather as a tool of choice. I imagine some TBH events employing a hybrid of in person and virtual means, but I have no idea how that will work. There are issues that we will have to work on together and unknown challenges ahead, but I am confident that we will solve these issues, overcome our challenges and emerge even stronger than ever. As a start, if all goes as planned, by spring our internet service will be connected by fiber optics which will give us the bandwidth to stream from our synagogue, increase our security with more cameras, and more. I choose to be excited about our future.
For now, as 2021 begins with our Shabbat service tonight, we will stay together while safely distanced until we are sure it is safe to gather in person. Religious School classes will resume, Rabbi Dean’s Adult Ed classes will continue, Cantor Shayndel’s Torah Trope classes will begin, and preparations for our first Purim Spiel in many years are progressing toward a Zoom presentation. We have been and will be facing the challenges of Covid-19 with determination, creativity, persistence, and faith.
We are Temple Beth Hillel.
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