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Welcome all the birth of the year 5786. A special welcome to Rabbi Ziva as she joins us for another year as our student rabbi. I am so happy to have you back with us. This is my fifth year as your president, and I appreciate your continued support. I’m honored to be a part of such a vibrant community of dedicated Jews here in Utah which is evident since we are celebrating 105 years as a continually operating synagogue. Without your dedicated board of trustees, this would not be possible, so thank you to all. We welcome the input and ideas of all to keep our community thriving. You will see donation cards on your seats, and whatever you can give is very appreciated. Donations and fundraising are key to keeping our synagogue operating.
We are fortunate to be able to give back to our community in multiple ways. We have an active presence in the Interfaith Community in Ogden which promotes understanding and hopefully helps battle the scourge of antisemitism and other prejudices that are rampant in the world today. We educate the community through programs at schools when asked and welcome visitors to services. We volunteer at the Lantern House to feed the homeless and collect food for them. Notice the box in the foyer. We are also giving back in the way of a monetary donation to them this year which will be an annual donation to a different non-profit in the community. A special Interfaith coalition, Community Partners Against Hate, has been formed with help from the SLC group at the UJF, to combat hate against all members of our community. We are meeting with law enforcement, the FBI, the Utah Department of Public Safety, SCN, religious leaders, schools, and other community partners to increase reporting of hate incidents and crimes for all.
Rabbi Ziva offers adult education classes each month when she is visiting and our conversion program is active. Services are every week unless we have a special program which you can see on the website.
It has been over 715 days (about 2 years) since the war in Israel started and 48 hostages remain in captivity. Our hearts are with everyone affected by this horrible ordeal.
In closing, differences are being demonized in our society today instead of being celebrated. Our diversity, among Jews as a whole and within our community here at Brith Sholem, is what makes us strong, compassionate, and beautiful. Let us be proud Jews and be full of goodness and joy going into the new year.
L’Shana Tova.
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