Welcome and thank you for joining us and Temple Shalom for our high holiday observance. As we have prepared for these services and the new year, we’ve been thinking a lot about what Sammi Stinson wrote in her beautiful high holiday drash. During this time of year, we often focus on“t’shuvah, t’fillah, and tzedakah, which can literally mean “returning, contemplation, and righteousness.”
In a practical way, we have spent the last year focused on t’shuvah. Typically, t’shuvah is translated from Hebrew as repentance, but it literally means return – in the sense of turning back to something you have looked away from. This year, we have spent a lot of our efforts focused on a sense of return to what is now our new normal. Returning to focus on community. Returning to our beautiful building. Returning to each other.
T’shuvah is about returning to and remembering who we are. Whether you are here weekly or yearly, Temple Shalom exists as a place of return for the Jewish people of Northwest Arkansas. We continue to be the warm, open and welcoming community that is steadfast in our commitment to Jewish life in Northwest Arkansas.
Temple Shalom has never required tickets or reservations for our high holiday services. This practice embodies our open, engaging, community-centered congregation. Your volunteer efforts and financial contributions enable us to continue this practice – to offer services, events and other programming, and to maintain our beautiful facility. Our annual high holiday appeal is one of the major ways our congregation raises the money we need to operate. We share this tradition with many congregations around the country and the world.
We understand that a financial contribution isn’t always possible. If you are unable to give financially, please consider volunteering. We have committees and volunteer roles that need to be filled, and you do not have to be a formal member of Temple Shalom to participate.
In whatever way you can, we ask that you help us sustain our shared Jewish community so that we can continue to return to this beautiful building and enjoy the rich companionship made possible when we join together as Jews at events such as these.
To our long-time members, our larger Jewish community, our friends, guests and visitors, we welcome you all to Temple Shalom for the high holidays. We look forward to spending this time with you. Shanah tova!