Building Hours:
On Rosh Hashanah, we often wish others l’shana tovah u’metukah - a good and sweet new year. Good and sweet, what wonderful adjectives. Even the youngest among us can understand these concepts, and in fact, they must be among the first adjectives that enter a child’s vocabulary. And despite their simplicity, they continue to be something that we strive for every year.
Many of us will remember this past year as one of upheaval and sadness in our Jewish community. We’ll remember the inhumane attacks on Israel by Hamas at the end of last year’s holiday season, and the ensuing war that continues to this day. We’ll remember the lives lost and the hostages still held. We’ll remember the disturbing rise in antisemitism both around the world and locally.
We must also, however, acknowledge that it is normal to be saddened by things going on in the world and, at the same time, happy about the many joys we still have in life. We celebrate family gatherings and lifecycle events, personal and communal achievements, and the strengthening of relationships and commitments. By not losing sight of these positive things, we become more resilient and more complete.
Among grief and sadness, there is always still a place for goodness and sweetness. With each New Year, we must take stock of the good in our lives and in our community. With each taste of honey, actual or metaphorical, we can make our world just a little better, and a little sweeter. From a child coming to their first day of school, to seniors staying physically fit, to families celebrating a Jewish holiday, the JCC will continue to showcase all that is good and sweet in our community and our world.
We wish you and your family a healthy, good, and sweet New Year.
Eric Lightman
Executive Director
The High Holidays are upon us, and with them come a New Year, the solemnity of atonement and the celebration of the Torah and the bounty of our labors. Over the period of a few weeks, we get to experience the full range of our faith and challenge ourselves for the year to come. For many of us the High Holidays are marked with frequent visits to Temple, reunions with family and friends at worship and traditions rooted in our faith. For me, the High Holidays are about memories less associated with ritual, and more connected to how my faith guides my connection with the world.
I think about attending Rosh Hashanah services with my friend Ali, who I met playing squash at the JCC. We prayed together that year as we both endeavored to learn more about each other’s faith and grow our bond as members of this community. It is a curiosity and a friendship that continues today as he and I work together on the Board of Directors to make our JCC a welcoming place for everyone in our community. I look forward to a 30-year tradition of breaking fast with pizza and beer and a phone call with my friend Keith, who I have been breaking fast with since our sophomore year of college. We live hundreds of miles apart, don’t talk as much as we should, but we share a tradition rooted in our collective faith that will always be a part of who I am, as a Jew and as a man. I remember lunches with my daughters in the JCC sukkah when they were young, celebrating nothing more than a chance to be together, outside, laughing and eating. As they get older and move away, it is the memory of our younger selves that makes me smile, laugh, and proud of the people they have become.
The High Holidays present us with chances for redemption, hope for the future, and pride in our past. This year, as always, I will remember my connection to my faith, my family and my friends and aspire for better days ahead. Happy New Year to you all.
Jeff Fleischaker
JCC President
