Cantor's Notes
I am excited to say that we have now gone into a post COVID period and that means returning to shul. Yet, the excitement is tempered by the fact that it will be a measured opening, determined by the virus status and health guidelines. I cannot wait to see all my little friends running gleefully once more down our infamously long hallways and hear their sweet voices in song in the choir room. We have returned to services inside the sanctuary and that is the first step to bringing our community back home and together. Hopefully, I will soon be studying and learning in person with my B’mitzvah students. We have been very blessed that we live in a time when technology (Zoom), was available to keep us all connected during the pandemic. We created a CMI cyberworld, were brought into everyone’s home and it was so much fun. Yet, there is no substitute to being in person, shaking a hand, patting a back, feeling a hug, giving a smile, having a laugh, hearing a story and shedding a tear. That is why we all come together and must continue to do so. We are a community and personal human contact is what our community craves and needs.
The High Holy Days are here very early this year. The wonderful Community Selichot service of reflection and preparation for the High Holy Days is on Saturday August 28th and the first night of Rosh Hashanah in on Monday September 6th, which just also happens to be Labor Day. This will be the holiday of holidays! Especially because there will be an extra Rosh Hashanah Evening service with David Chevan and the Afro-Semitic experience. Whenever they participate in a service, it is a musical and spiritual awakening. Having them for the Jewish New Year can only mean we are in for a year of joy and wonder! We will also be having our traditional service and I am overjoyed to announce the return of the High Holy Day Quartet. Their return will bring back the glorious choral High Holy Day music you so loved in the past. It is amazing how we just assume this wonderful Jewish Music will always be there, until it is taken away from us. The Rabbi and myself are endeavoring to meld the old with the new and create new feelings of awe and wonder for the High Holy Days. Join us and be amazed!
Be sure to check the weekly e-news and our website calendar for the correct times and dates. September will be arriving with a roar this year and it can only mean wonderful things to come, but in many ways it is also a re-opening and there may be updates and re-adjustments so it is very important that you check the e-news and website weekly for any changes!