Skip to main content

March Covid Message

Dear Temple B’nai Abraham Family,

All of us a taking in a lot of information that is shifting and changing at a crazy rate about COVID-19. In this time of anxiety and uncertainty, I want you and your families to be safe, and insure that we all do our part to keep others safe.

Our tradition teaches that pikuach nefesh - saving lives – outweighs everything else.

In line with recommendations from public health officials and in consultation with neighboring congregations and Combined Jewish Philanthropies, members of the TBA Board, Deb Schutzman and I have decided to cancel ALL programs for two weeks.

This includes Shabbat services, weekday minyan, Religious School, and the Sisterhood Author Brunch scheduled for this Sunday.

The office will be open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays 9:00-12:00. Deb and I are also available through email or phone.

We are also canceling our Community Passover Seder. Conversations are underway with the larger Jewish community about making sure all have a way to celebrate this holiday, including access to Passover food and a virtual Seder. More information is forthcoming.

These are not easy decisions for anyone who knows that community is about connections. All human beings are dependent upon and responsible for each other. There is no more potent example of how this is the case than this moment.

 We will send information about how to connect virtually. It is likely that we will offer services on line (including opportunities to say Kaddish) as well as study and conversation, and maybe some scheduled Jewish mindfulness practice. Deb and I are also discussing possibilities for kids and families.  We can also provide support to help you utilize ZOOM and other technology.

If you have ideas along these lines please share them.

A few other notes:

Please be vigilant about where you get your information. There is a lot of false information out there, and there are plenty of scams trying to take advantage of people at this vulnerable time. Stick to the CDC and the MA Dept. of Public Health.

If you or anyone you know is in need in some way, please let me, Deb or Board members know.

We hold in our prayers all medical workers, anyone who has been touched by this pandemic.

I am ending with this poem for some inspiration.

Pandemic - Lynn Ungar 3/11/20
What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.
And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love—
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.


May all beings be healthy, may all beings be safe.

Rabbi Alison Adler


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Like You Just the Way You Are Kol Nidre Sermon 2018

Good evening, gut yontif.  I want to tell you something… just between us, you and me.  Ready? I like you just the way you are! Really.  I do. I like you just the way you are! It may surprise you a bit to hear me talking like Mr. Rogers on Yom Kippur. And it may surprise you to hear me say how much I like you as you are.   After all, Yom Kippur is NOT a time to be satisfied with who we are. It’s a time to take a hard look at who we are and ask ourselves how we might become better. It’s a time to take stock of our souls and our relationships and do what we must to fix what needs fixing. Many of us practice the tradition of knocking on our hearts as we recite the litany of things that we, as a community, have done wrong, like we will be doing a little later this evening.  “Ashamnu bagadnu – We abuse , we betray , we destroy , we gossip , we . . . spend too much time on Facebook.” And yet, in the midst of all of this soul-searching an...
1 comment
Read more

The World Exists Because of the Breath of School Children - Rosh Hashanah First Day Sermon 5779/2018

Shannah tovah. Our liturgy Declares: HaYom Harat Olam: Today we celebrate the creation of life itself… and we read Torah and Haftarah passages about the birth of two precious children, Isaac and Samuel. And so, I thought it would be appropriate to speak about children. I so love the children in this community and I like to think some of them, at least, love me, too. It does my heart good when a child shows a little affection. One little girl, for instance, often comes to Tot Shabbat and when the service ends, she always runs up to me and gives me a big hug. And she always says, "Don't worry rabbi! When I grow up, I'll give you LOTS of money." I've always chuckled, but one recent Shabbat, had to find out what exactly was in her head. So, as usual, she jumped into my arms and said, "Don't worry rabbi! When I grow up I'll give you LOTS of money!" But this time, when I hugged her back, I said, "That's very sweet of you, honey. But w...
1 comment
Read more

The Song of Existence: Yom Kippur Day 5776/2016

Let’s begin with a story. Or two.             Once upon a time, a young man went to his rabbi and said: “Rabbi, you know I’ve been a pious Jew all my life. But something has changed. When I was a child, I felt very close to God.   But now that I’m older, it seems as if God has left me. I go about my daily business, I say my prayers, but I no longer feel God near me.”               The rabbi smiled, as though he’d heard the problem stated many times before. “You may be certain God has not left you, my friend,” he answered kindly. “When you teach a child to walk, at first you stand very close.   The child can take just one step, so you must catch him.   But as he grows, you move farther and farther away, so that he can walk to you. God has not abandoned you. Like a good parent, God has moved farther away, but is still close by, waiting for you.   Now...
Post a Comment
Read more