IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO THE TBE FAMILY
Dear Temple Beth El family,
 
We find ourselves living in challenging times, and as the old Yiddish saying goes, "Man plans and God laughs." There were so many plans we had for the month of March, unaware that a virus would provide both a medical and moral roadblock.
 
After careful consideration and much discussion, the decision has been reached to suspend all activities at the temple until Sunday, March 29th. We made this choice, not from a sense of panic nor fear, but an abundance of caution. We know how easily this virus can be transmitted from person to person. Though the percentages are small, we would not want to take the chance that even one person would be sickened (or worse) because of exposure at a temple gathering.
 
Effective immediately, all meetings, activities, classes, programs, as well as Religious School instruction are suspended. Additionally, larger programs including this weekend's Artist-in-Residence Events with Elana Arian and the production of "Bye, Bye Birdie" will be rescheduled to a later time. B'nei Mitzvah students will continue lessons with Cantor Alison, but will do so via Facetime. And at least for the next two Friday evenings, Shabbat services will be conducted via live stream only. The hope is by minimizing face-to-face interactions we can decrease any instances of transmission.
 
The temple offices will remain open during this time. Rabbi Jeff and Cantor Alison will be available to anyone who needs them. We invite you to reach out if you have questions, concerns or are feeling overwhelmed and overly isolated.
 
We will maintain contact with health officials and other support organizations to help us evaluate as we get closer to March 29th. We are aware of the fact that so called "social distancing" seems to be the best way to slow or end this virus. 
 
It seems unreal that we were faced with this kind of choice. Please know it weighs heavily on all of our hearts. But these moments are when Temple Beth El often rises to amazing heights. We will make our way through this difficult time and come out stronger on the other side.
 
Please don't hesitate to contact any of us if any questions or concerns arise.

Sending warm thoughts to you,  
Linda Braun
President  (tbepres@tbeli.org}

Jeff Clopper
Rabbi  (rabbiclopper@tbeli.org)

Alison Levine
Cantor  (cantoralison@tbeli.org)