Temple News

             There’s a lot going on this week.  We hope that everyone is doing well and staying healthy.  I am glad to see our overall COVID numbers going down, but I urge everyone to remain careful.  I want to remind you that at Temple everyone is required to wear a mask inside the building.

            Thursday, January 27 is the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.  Every year I get asked, “what is this day?”  In 2005 the United Nations established this Holocaust Remembrance Day on the 60^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau on January 27.  The purpose of the day is to serve as date for official commemoration of the victims of the Nazi regime and to promote Holocaust education throughout the world.  Every year there are a number of events and themes to mark this day. For more information, I encourage you to go the website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (ushmm.org).  This date is not to be confused with Yom HaShoah – our Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Day that takes place on the 27^th day of Nisan (about a week after the conclusion of Passover) every year.

            This week we will also be participating in “Repro Shabbat” on Friday evening, January 28.  For our second year, we are partnering with WRJ and NCJW to be an advocate for reproductive health, rights, and justice in our community.  As Women of Reform Judaism reminds us: “The stakes are so high this year around abortion access.  We seek to create a Jewish movement by carving out a moment to honor reproductive freedom over Shabbat.  We start to reclaim the narrative from the Religious Right when we build from the ground up, right at home in our communities.”  For more information, please visit the WRJ website (wrj.org).  This is a very important issue for Judaism and in our community – I hope you will choose to add your voice in support of reproductive health and rights and get involved.

            Please remember that Friday evening services are available both in-person and online.  Shabbat morning services and Torah study will continue online only for now.

            I hope to see you soon.  Please take care and stay well!