The
Jewish new year has arrived and it’s amazing how fast the year has gone. The
holiday period begins with a service called Selichot and it is held on the
Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah. This year it will be on September 16th.
The service is not long and the choir will be singing. So come and join us as
we usher in the new year. Prior to the service (which will be at 7:30 pm) we
are having a dinner that will start at 6:15 pm. You just know that the dinner
will be good with plenty of food. Check out the flyer in this newsletter and
respond accordingly with your paid reservations to the office no later than
September 10th. Please don’t wait until the last minute. Now if the
words you have just read seem familiar that’s because it’s almost verbatim to
what I wrote in the last newsletter.
If you haven’t gotten your High
Holy day tickets please contact the office right away. I won’t waste your time
with all the hours of the services because they are on the tickets or posted on
the VBI website. I look forward to seeing you at some or all of the services. A
lot of work goes into preparing for the holidays and I hope you will enjoy your
experience.There is a change in the appeals this year. We will most likely still have three as in past years. However, we do not plan to have pledge cards on your seats when you come to services. Note that with your tickets there is a pledge card enclosed that you can fill out in the privacy of your home and either bring or send them to the office at your convenience. High Holy days are the one time each year that we ask you to think about Valley Beth Israel and what it has meant to you over the years. Please contribute to the synagogue as much as you are able. Every year it gets more difficult to balance our financial obligations. You know how difficult it is in your own situation but we deal with a lot of unknowns in what we budget; i.e., unexpected breakdowns and repairs, increases in utility rates, changes in numbers of members, etc. As I’ve said before I don’t want you to give until it hurts but at least give until it’s a little uncomfortable!
I am still looking for some of you to step up and join committees. There is much to be done and a little of your time each month will help us get projects done. It’s the beginning of the new year and I know there are many things that we can do at our synagogue to help bring in much needed funds. Valley Beth Israel needs you so please get involved.
I have one special thank you to make. My oldest daughter Amy volunteered to man the office while Judy was away for a nine day period at the end of August. She stepped in with little understanding of what needed to be done yet in addition to answering the phone she took reservations for High Holy day ticket, dinner reservations for the Selichot dinner, prepared the yahrzeit list for September and the Friday night flyer and many other things. The office did not skip a beat. From the bottom of my heart, I thank her for the tremendous effort she put forth.
I hope to see you at the synagogue soon. Please be careful in the heat and drink plenty of water.
Ron
Ron Trachtenberg
VBI President
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