Community and Connection
Keeping Connected July 2025
Dear Friends,
Over the years I have occasionally mentioned that I am an NPR junky. Fresh Air, Boston Public Radio, Weekend Edition, Milk Street Radio, All Things Considered and of course Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me! are some of my favorites. I confess, that over the years, I feel as though I am on a first name basis with Peter, Marjorie, Jim, Terri, Christopher, Robert and more. If you are like me, and listen as much as I do, you will know that as we come into the summer months, these shows periodically have what are called encore editions so that the hosts can go away on vacation. They are usually a compilation of their favorite interviews and guests. As a writer of over 400 Keeping Connected or newsletter articles over the 36 years I have been a rabbi, I have never had an encore edition! At a recent meeting, however, I realized that this would be a good time to reprise an article I wrote for the November 2023 Keeping Connected. After you read what I wrote, I will explain why I chose to reshare the article.
Here is the letter:
I was recently teaching a 6th Grade Family Connection program introducing our students and their parents to the B’nai Mitzvah program at Congregation Shalom. I invited the families to work together to write a definition for community and then to give seven examples of groups that they thought fulfilled the definition. Their definitions clearly captured the idea that a community is a group of people who come together over shared interests, goals, and values, and that the members have responsibilities for the group and each other, while also offering support and encouragement to one another.
I was gratified to hear that the families included Congregation Shalom as one of their examples. From there our conversation switched to learning one of the Hebrew Words of the Week, which is kehillah, the Hebrew word for community. When I asked them why they thought that Congregation Shalom was an example of a kehillah, it was heartwarming to hear the answers, both from the adults and the students. Each of the families felt impacted in a positive way by the sense of extended family that we try to cultivate in our congregation. When I asked them to offer specific examples, some of the things they mentioned was the fact that all of our members are part of the Caring Committee, that each member has a responsibility for one or two onegs a year, that we have a group of members who make Mi Sheberach afghans for members who are dealing with illness, that the students have a sense of friendship and shared experience with their classmates, that we celebrate each other’s simchas, and finally that we are there for each other during sad and challenging times.
As of late, another way to support one another and the larger Jewish community came up as a possibility. The head chaplain at Lowell General Hospital periodically reaches out to me to say that there is someone in the hospital who is Jewish and that they would be interested in a visit by a member of the clergy or a lay person. Sadly, I am often not able to do these visits for folks who are unaffiliated with the congregation. It can, however, be very meaningful for the person in the hospital as well as the person visiting them. Many congregations have what is known as a Bikkur Cholim group which is a group of lay people who go through an educational training program with the clergy to learn how to visit those who are sick, either in the hospital, in nursing homes, or at home. If there were enough people in Congregation Shalom who would like to take on this mitzvah and participate in some learning which introduces them to appropriate readings and prayers that might be comforting to those who are ill, I would be excited to set up a few teaching sessions. Please reach out to me at rabbi@congregationshalom.org to let me know you might want to participate.
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So why re-publish the above letter. First and foremost, I feel even more strongly than I did then, that a sense of community and a place of connection is important in our lives. I hope that the synagogue can provide that for you; whether it is a social connection, and intellectual opportunity or a place of spirituality and sanctuary, know that you matter and that your spirit can find comfort and respite at Congregation Shalom. Now more, than ever, in a world that feels unstable, having a place to come where you are supported and cared for, is an amazing gift. It is not the walls of our synagogue itself that provides this space. It is the people themselves who are the foundation of this connection. When we show up for ourselves, we show up for others. In a time when it is hard to be Jewish, it is even more important to support our fellow congregants, congregations and other Jewish institutions.
The second reason I wanted to reshare this letter has to do with the final paragraph. Although it has been slow in manifesting, we are still committed to establishing the Bikkur Cholim group. With the help of Ron Michaud and Rachel Fox-Weinberg, we are finally ready to start. In September and October we will have two sessions for members who would like to get involved with this mitzvah. Even if you did not respond at the time, if this is something you would like to be get involved with, please feel free to get involved now. The mitzvah of bikkur cholim, can be a very meaningful gift, not only for the person you are visiting, but for yourself as well. Please be on the lookout for when the sessions are happening. You do not need to make a significant commitment to time. We will be able to help every interested person be involved in whatever way that they can participate. I hope you will get involved.
Wishing you a renewing summer,
Rabbi Shoshana Perry