One Jewish year is ending, and another is about to begin. This will be my 10th year celebrating the High Holidays with CTI. If we were a TV show, we would renew for a 10th season (Even Seinfeld was only nine seasons.)
Every year is different, each with its own blessings and challenges. In 5782, another year to deal with Covid. Another year where we understand the importance of a community. Yet, the resilience of our members through 5781 foretells that our synagogue will continue for
another 120 years. Similar to the long Jewish history, we showed that we can adapt to new realities, and that our worship and gatherings can morph and evolve. It was a year of stimulating programs, classes and reinvigorating spirit. We also continued to visit the sick, bury the dead, name the babies, and celebrate bar/bat mitzvahs and weddings.

The year 5781 also showed us that a congregation can break through its synagogue’s walls and reach out to the global community. We also learned to appreciate our own space. During the upcoming High Holidays, we will offer hybrid services, with limited space in person but infinite space on Zoom. At a recent Shabbat, we celebrated Dylan Ellant’s bar mitzvah. It was lovely after all this time to see a packed
sanctuary. Of course, that wouldn’t have been possible without the deep love our members feel for the shul, and the timeless hours they dedicate to it. We are commanded in the Shema prayer to love our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our might. Loving God is loving His people. By taking care of the needs of the synagogue, the board members and all other volunteers and contributors become a living Shema. They love our congregation with all their heart, their soul, and their time and effort.

Where do we go from here? What will the future bring? What do we ask for 5782 and the next decade? To continue to grow, to continue to reach in and to reach out. Bringing a congregation together is an art, much like sewing together a beautiful tapestry. The difference between a standard work of art and a rare piece is the workmanship and the commitment to details. I hope we continue to be that, an exquisite jewel,
where people can find solace and celebrate, dance the Hora and pray the “El Nora.” As for me, with every year that passes, I feel an ever-growing honor to serve this community. My wish for CTI and for all of us is that God will continue to protect us and bring us to new levels. As we say on Rosh Hashanah: That we be for a head and not a tail, that our sentence be torn before God, and that our merits be read out before Him.

Shana Tova u’Mtuka!

—Rabbi Gadi Capela