Earlier in the week, we announced the creation of new fund for Jewish Music and Spiritual Inspiration. Over the High Holy Day season, we were all moved and inspired by Cantor Lieberman's ruach, spirit, energy, enthusiasm, and passion. This fund will enable us to continue to provide opportunities in the future, including bringing Cantor Leberman back to Tifereth Israel, to engage us and inspire us with Jewish music.

We had a anonymous donor offer to match up to $10,000 to ensure that we can continue to bring talented and inspirational leaders like Cantor Lieberman, to Tifereth Israel, over the High Holy Day season and beyond. Each and every gift, no matter how small is not only appreciated, but will will be doubled. We are thankful for the gifts that have come in so far, but we still have a long way to go until we hit our goal. This is an incredible opportunity that I hope we as a community can take advantage of. Please consider clicking here to make a contribution.

And now for some Torah ...

In this week's portion, Lech-Lecha, God tells Abraham, "To leave his birthplace, and his father's home, go to a land that I will show you." I can only imagine what must have been going through Abraham's head at that moment. God asked Abraham to wander into the unknown, leaving everything that was familiar to him behind, leading him to the promised land. Abraham must have been terrified; feeling somewhat alone and lost. But while he was tested many times, Abraham's faith in himself, his values, and his God, enabled him to do the hard work that needed to be done. Thus ensuring that his faith and the nation that he would create, which were so important to him, would continue to grow and thrive for generations to come.

Like Abraham, at some point in our lives, I think we have all found ourselves on the threshold of the unknown. Whether it was in our personal or professional lives, we were unsure of the path that we were on, or what was to come next. It can be scary. But like Abraham, we too need to have faith - faith in ourselves, faith in our family, our values, and faith in God. We need to be willing to do the hard work, wandering through what might feel like a desert, so that we may come together, and continue to grow and thrive as a nation and as a people, for generations to come.