President's Message
April / May 2024
Dear Chaverim,
Spring is upon us, with Purim, Passover, and other fun holidays.
As I write this, we just had our Purim dinner and Megilla reading last Saturday night,
and it was great fun. Haman was treated very rudely!
Passover is less than a month away. Many of us are busy planning for seders with
family and friends. Passover is the great story of our emancipation from ancient
Egypt. It has always been my favorite Jewish holiday, bringing back childhood
memories of big family seders with matzah ball soup, brisket, charoset, etc. This year,
the holiday goes against the backdrop of the troubles in Israel and the war in Gaza.
Many innocent Israelis remain in captivity as hostages of Hamas and may very well
still be there this Passover. We pray for their safe return to their families and friends.
As discussed at our January meeting, we have formed a Jewish Civil Ceremony
(“JCC”) committee, to explore the possibility of the Rabbi performing marriage
ceremonies between Jews and non-Jews. The JCC Committee is chaired by David
Scholl. Other members are Jeanne Epstein, Brittany Levy, Maureen Pelter, Neil
Perlman, Bill Troner, and Dan Weber. Rabbi Craig Mayers serves as an advisory
non-voting member. The Committee will seek broad input from the congregation and
the Board of Directors and present a recommendation at the June congregational
meeting.
As we approach the end of our fiscal year (June 30), we are coming up with a
proposed Board of Directors for the new fiscal year beginning July 1, which will also
be approved by the congregation at our June meeting. In accordance with our
Bylaws, we have formed a nominating committee to come up with a proposed slate of
officers and directors. The nominating committee includes Shelley Freeman (Chair),
Nancy Guido, Sarah Kodsi, Matt Sheldon, and Kayla Spellman. It is a significant
challenge to get congregants to step up into leadership positions, but we need your
input and energy. If you would like to get more involved, please reach out to myself or
any nominating committee member. We really want your help!
I hope everyone has a very joyous and happy Pesach!
L’Shalom
Paul Newman
Dear Chaverim,
Spring is upon us, with Purim, Passover, and other fun holidays.
As I write this, we just had our Purim dinner and Megilla reading last Saturday night,
and it was great fun. Haman was treated very rudely!
Passover is less than a month away. Many of us are busy planning for seders with
family and friends. Passover is the great story of our emancipation from ancient
Egypt. It has always been my favorite Jewish holiday, bringing back childhood
memories of big family seders with matzah ball soup, brisket, charoset, etc. This year,
the holiday goes against the backdrop of the troubles in Israel and the war in Gaza.
Many innocent Israelis remain in captivity as hostages of Hamas and may very well
still be there this Passover. We pray for their safe return to their families and friends.
As discussed at our January meeting, we have formed a Jewish Civil Ceremony
(“JCC”) committee, to explore the possibility of the Rabbi performing marriage
ceremonies between Jews and non-Jews. The JCC Committee is chaired by David
Scholl. Other members are Jeanne Epstein, Brittany Levy, Maureen Pelter, Neil
Perlman, Bill Troner, and Dan Weber. Rabbi Craig Mayers serves as an advisory
non-voting member. The Committee will seek broad input from the congregation and
the Board of Directors and present a recommendation at the June congregational
meeting.
As we approach the end of our fiscal year (June 30), we are coming up with a
proposed Board of Directors for the new fiscal year beginning July 1, which will also
be approved by the congregation at our June meeting. In accordance with our
Bylaws, we have formed a nominating committee to come up with a proposed slate of
officers and directors. The nominating committee includes Shelley Freeman (Chair),
Nancy Guido, Sarah Kodsi, Matt Sheldon, and Kayla Spellman. It is a significant
challenge to get congregants to step up into leadership positions, but we need your
input and energy. If you would like to get more involved, please reach out to myself or
any nominating committee member. We really want your help!
I hope everyone has a very joyous and happy Pesach!
L’Shalom
Paul Newman