Dear TBZ community:
Today’s
Shabbat N’kabla
is different. Usually it is an opportunity to dig into the week’s parsha and seek meaning, explore questions, unpack history, connect to the present and reflect. This week, I want to reflect and connect in a different way.
Today is exactly 16 weeks since you received the email that announced we were locking down, that we had to close our doors. And even though our physical doors were locked, during these one hundred and twelve days, TBZ has continued to thrive in beautiful, deep and meaningful ways.
I am so proud of our community. Proud of our commitment to each other, proud of our commitment to the work for a just world, proud that we have been able to stay connected even when physically apart.
When we all were in shut-down, in Massachusetts, in Brookline, at 1566 Beacon Street, my worklife changed, it expanded, it required more than ever before and in new and unexpected ways. With day care and schools closed, like many other parents, I found myself juggling the leadership of our wonderful community while caring for my wonderful, homebound, children. You may have seen Ariel, who turned 5 during just last month, in many Zoom meetings and services - sometimes playing in the background and sometimes needing to be in the foreground. She filled my office, the sanctuary and the entrance stairs of TBZ with her joy, toys and colors (and a few naps too). Alma often joined me in our Zoom Kabbalat Shabbat, sharing her young, wistful, and passionate singing.
These 16 weeks have been challenging, particularly because of the unpredictability of the situation and the ever changing realities. And although all of this has been hard and exhausting, I have felt, every day, the blessing to be of service, to be able to give and be part of an intentional community of seekers and activists. It is a blessing to be able to serve our community, the local Jewish Community, the Interfaith community and in all these ways to serve God. This is for me humbling and I do not take any of it for granted.
But I am a human. I think of myself as someone with a tremendous amount of energy, of being nearly inexhaustible, but I am exhausted. I am grateful for the opportunity to take a long break: I will be taking a vacation from July 5th until August 3rd. I am excited to spend a month at
Isabella Freedman Retreat Center
. Our family will be there, relaxing, hiking, swimming, reading (and I hope sleeping too). One of the weeks there, I will also participate in the second retreat (this time by Zoom) of the Clergy Cohort of the
Institute of Jewish Spirituality.
That week especially will give me the opportunity to replenish my soul and my contemplative practice with dear colleagues.
Now I want to share a bit about what we have been working at TBZ:
I have been working closely with
Larry Kraus
, chair of the re-entry committee to create guidelines for re-entry to our building for groups. For now we continue not to have services open to the community at TBZ, but we continue to assess and prepare for when we can invite you back into our shared physical space. We will continue to keep you informed as things unfold.
We have been hard at work dreaming and planning different scenarios for the High Holidays. We’re envisioning and planning many scenarios from services in the building for small groups, to services outside, to virtual services in different ways and more. When I return from vacation in August, we will make a final plan for services and celebrations of Elul and the High Holidays. As soon as we have chosen a direction and created a plan, you, the TBZ community, will receive all the information pertinent to the Holidays.
I know it is hard for many of us not to know more solid plans in advance, but we are allowing ourselves this time to assess the options, keep abreast of safety requirements and changes and make the best decisions for our community, so we can have a meaningful, and safe, holiday season.
As we consider reentry and the Holidays, we will also be planning for the fall and the possibility of shabbat services in the sanctuary. We are excited to celebrate nine B’nei Mitzvot between the end of August and Thanksgiving. We will be following the best directions and advice of our TBZ Re-entry Group and the health professionals in Massachusetts.
You might be wondering, “But it is summer, couldn’t we pray together outside?” We are looking into the possibility of holding a shabbat service in a park in mid- to late August. Stay tuned for more information.
During these last few months, we have taken the opportunity to do some work in our building, with many thanks to our wonderful custodian
Leo Monterroso
who has worked to make some great improvements. Improvements have also included a new streaming camera system and a full upgrade of our sound system in the sanctuary. We continue to look at other possible additions of technology that will allow us to bring us together, if virtually, in the months to come.
As we look forward we are also considering our fall programming. Usually during the summer we are actually finalizing our calendar for the year with every detail laid out about each and every program. For now, we are taking a more studied and slower approach to scheduling. We will be planning Zoom programs and we will see how things unfold for other opportunities to be in community. Please continue to be flexible and patient as we plan, with flexibility and patience, for the fall.
Rav Tiferet
is imagining and re-imaging the Beit Rabban program. She is working closely with other Heberw School Directors to see what the options and possibilities may be for the fall. She will continue to be in touch with the Beit Rabban families.
New members are joining our community! Even when they can’t be physically in our building, they are joining. It shows that our community continues to be relevant and can bring meaning to people especially during this time. Please do not hesitate to invite friends to our Zoom events and do encourage them to join.
We are working on creating a fully redesigned website. We do not have yet a date for its launch, but hopefully it will go live this fall. We know that at this time when virtual life is so central to all that we do and how we communicate, this website must clearly reflect our values, vision, colors and our great ruach.
We had a phenomenally successful Spring Fundraiser. We are so grateful for the generosity of our community who have shown through their support how critical, and foundational, TBZ is to all of us. The Development Committee, under the leadership of
Sarah Fendrick,
is working on a vision and strategy for fundraising this coming year. We know things will be different, High Holidays tickets won't be the same nor will the High Holiday appeal. Although there is much uncertainty, we need to ensure that the fiscal resources of TBZ remain strong, now and in the future.
In this time of moral emergency, our prophetic tradition continues to offer a path to fight for justice, care for our fellow humans, and measure our lives by our humanity. During this unprecedented time our community continues to rise to meet this moment, and I am so proud to be part of it. We are especially deepening our commitment to racial justice working with our Racial Equity Committee under the leadership of
Barrie Keller.
At the last community meeting we asked this poll question:
How important is it to you that TBZ prioritizes work for racial justice at this time?
The vast majority of those who attended answered
Extremely Important
or
Pretty Important.
We will continue to make this a priority in our Tikkun Olam and Social Justice work, through legislation, education and other layers of work. Be on the look for a banner at TBZ that will show our commitment to Black Lives and Racial Equity.
Finally, our commitment to be there for each member of our community has guided us during this difficult time. Under the leadership of
Amy Bullock
and the Hesed Steering committee and the neighborhood leaders, we have been in touch with TBZ members, responding and supporting members of our community -- from phone calls to grocery shopping to bereavement support and much more.
Please remember, our community is here for you. Here are some things TBZ’s Hesed Community can do for you: Help get food or immediate necessities, help with technological needs, help with economic emergencies, call you on a regular basis to check in with you and more.
The TBZ’s Hesed community is here for you!
The only way we can reach out, however, is if we know what is going on for you. Do not be hesitant or shy about being in touch, with me or Amy at
hesed@tbzbrookline.org
. Be in the lookout for a Hesed email sharing more of what we are doing in the next week.
While I am away if you need any assistance, please call TBZ, 617-566-8171, speak to Beth and she will guide you to the right person that can support you. If you are in need of pastoral care or you have a loss in your family, call Beth. She will connect you with Reb Moshe, Tyler Dratch, our rabbinic intern, Rav Tiferet and our Hesed Committee who will be able to support you during this time. I will be also notified and I will reach out.
It has been 16 weeks of Covid-19, but it has been 52 weeks since I assumed the role of Senior Rabbi at TBZ and 52 weeks since Rav Tiferet joined our team. It has been quite a year. Not the year that we imagined it would be, but a year that required the best of all of us.
I have no words to express my gratitude to our lay leadership for their work and support. So many in our community are doing meaningful work so our community can continue to be a vibrant and relevant community. I am grateful to those who record Divrei Torah and Torah reading and meditations and books. There is one young leader I want to thank, and that is
Micah Klein
. Micah is a twelve-year-old who has, every week, taken up the responsibility to edit our Torah reading video. Thank you Micah!
I am immensely, and with no appropriate words, grateful to
Sara Smolver
, our amazing, dedicated president. Sara and I work closely every day (many times a day) and to have a partner like Sara at the helm of our community is a blessing, a privilege, a gift.
I also want to thank our team, an amazing professional team.
Reb Moshe, Tyler Dratch, Noah Weinberg, Rav Tiferet and Beth Ehrenreich
. We couldn't do anything without them. I am extremely grateful to
Susan Diller
, our Executive Director who started working at TBZ last August and has taken us to new heights of what TBZ is. You don't get to see much of her work because she is the one working behind the scenes. But behind the scenes is really hard and it has been amazing to have such a partner.
This week we read the known story of Balak, the king who recruits the prophet Balaam to curse the people of Israel who are encamped in the desert. We know the story -- when he finally goes, instead of words of curse, words of blessings come from his mouth, including these words:
מַה־טֹּ֥בוּ אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ יַעֲקֹ֑ב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶ֖יךָ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל
How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!
I wonder sometimes about this very moment in time, the moment we are in, is it a moment when we are being cursed? But when I look upon our community, our work, and our commitment, what I see, hear and experience is a blessing. I see our good and beautiful tents, our fair dwellings.
May we continue to see blessings where there is potential for curse.
During the next few weeks, please be on the lookout for
Shabbat N’kabla
messages by Reb Moshe, Rav Tiferet and Tyler Dracth. I look forward to connecting with you upon my return in August.
May this Shabbat bring blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we find strength, courage, patience and open our heart with generosity.
May all those who are ill find healing.
May we have a joyful Shabbat!
