Dear Friends,
It is hard to believe that this week marks a year since we were last able to gather together as a community in our Synagogue. But here we are, a year later. With the vaccine becoming more accessible and declining numbers, there is hope and optimism in the air that we will be able to gather together again in limited capacity sometime soon. However, we are still navigating COVID-19 and the effects it has had on our own lives and on Jewish communal life as well.
The first of the two Torah portions that we read this Shabbat is VaYakhel. The word literally means to gather together. Moses gathered together the entire community to share the plans for building the Mishkan. But when we dive deeper into the gathering of the Israelites in the desert, it helps put the very notion of what it means to gather together as a community into perspective.
The gathering of the Israelites in the desert wasn’t due to the fact that the Israelites were in the same place at the same time. Rather, when the text says that Moses gathered them together, it was around a common goal and a common purpose. The gathering inspired the entire community to contribute and participate in the communal project in a meaningful way, regardless of where they were doing it from.
In that way, claiming that it has been a year since we have had the ability to gather together is somewhat misleading. While we have not gathered together in our synagogue, we have gathered together as a community to support one another and care for each other. We have cried together, laughed together, sung together, and prayed together online, in our heads, and in our hearts.
As we begin to hopefully emerge from COVID-19 and move forward into the future together, I believe the way in which we have come together as a community -- around a vision of care, love, and support guided by Jewish values and our faith -- will continue to inspire all of us, and be a source of growth and strength for our community for generations to come.
Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Josh Dorsch
