Dear Friends,
Thank you to those who attended the Joint Town Hall last night with Shomrei Torah Synagogue to discuss the Chadash exploratory process. If you missed the webinar, it was recorded and is available upon request. Please email Maureen@templealiyah.org to request the link. Please click here to read frequently asked questions with responses to some questions that have surfaced to date. Please read on and join us for a listening circle on Thursday, October 8th at 7:30pm. You can register here.
As we hope was apparent last night, we are entering this initial exploratory process with excitement and optimism. As Rabbi Vogel and Rabbi Camras mentioned, we are following a well-worn path of previous generations of reimagining Jewish community; it is in this spirit of possibility that we have named this process Chadash (“new”). We are eager to think together about how we can leverage our unique strengths and gifts to renew Jewish life in the West Valley.
We are grateful to The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and CEO Jay Sanderson for their support of this endeavor. (On a related note, you may be interested in Jay’s August conversation with CEO of the Jewish Funders Network, Andres Spokoiny, about the post-pandemic Jewish future.)
Over the next few weeks, board members and other lay leaders will begin working in committees to delve into various aspects of communal life – from education and programming to ritual and outreach. Emerging from the committee work will be a set of recommendations for consideration by the Boards of Directors in early 2021.
We recognize that a process of this scope naturally comes with many questions and a range of feelings. So, in addition to the subcommittees’ work, there will be opportunities for you to share your thoughts and idea, ask about the process and provide input with members of STS’s subcommittees. This will insure that everyone’s voice is heard.
The first listening circle for our community will be on Thursday, October 8th at 7:30pm. You can register here.
We hope to see you there.
G’mar Chatimah Tovah,
