Temple News

On one calendar, the month of August is coming to an end. On the Jewish calendar, the month of Elul has just begun. Elul is the last month of the year and is meant to be a period of preparation before the upcoming High Holy Days and start of the New Year. During Elul we are encouraged to reflect on the past year: what were the high points and low points, what did we learn, what did we experience, what are we proud of, what do we wish we could change or take back? I want to encourage everyone to take some time over the next four weeks for some self-examination and reflection. The more we put into our preparation for the High Holy Days, the more we will get out of our Days of Awe.

To help us with our preparations, I am beginning a new Wednesday Night Live discussion on “Getting Ready for the New Year.” I invite you to join me online for the next three Wednesday evenings at 7:00PM on Zoom. I will try to answer your questions about the themes and traditions of this holiest time of year.

We are busy getting the Temple ready for Rosh HaShanah, as well. Please know that all of our High Holy Day information will be available in the September 2022 Bulletin and on the website starting this week.

We are also busy getting ready for another year of Religious School. We had a wonderful kick-off event this past Sunday. Today marks the first day of Hebrew School. Chavurah@Sinai will begin on Sunday, Sept. 11.

It was wonderful welcoming our Greater New Orleans Reform Community to Temple Sinai for our Summer Union Shabbat Services the past four weeks. This Friday it will once again just be us for services. Join us at 6:00PM for our Pre-Service Nosh in the Auditorium, followed by services at 6:30PM in the Sanctuary. This week we will be celebrating our September anniversaries and birthdays.

Don’t forget: we are still collecting hurricane supplies for the New Orleans Women and Children’s Shelter. Please feel free to drop items off at Temple this week. Thank you!