President's Articles - Congregation Shalom

Keeping Connected with our President

Wonderful things within Congregation Shalom

Keeping Connected June 2024

May has absolutely flown by and I can’t believe that it is now June. This year at Congregation Shalom has gone so fast as well – we have had so many wonderful things within the walls of our synagogue. All of those wonderful things, however, take lots of planning, preparation, communication and execution. I can’t thank our members enough who have ideas and traditions that they want to see happen throughout the year and volunteer to take on the commitment to provide it for our community. Like in my newsletter article last month, we need volunteers to make Congregation Shalom run. We have several committees that are looking for help so that we can maintain our commitment to providing programs and events, keeping the building maintained and safe, providing a wonderful religious school program and so many more things. I am asking all of our members – as I have in the past – please share your time, treasure and ties with us. Maybe there is something that you are wonderful at that you’d like to share with us. Maybe you’re a whiz at an excel spreadsheet and could help our Finance Committee. Do you love to manage projects – maybe the House Committee would be perfect for you. Everyone has a hidden talent, but please don’t hide it from us! Here are just *some* of the areas we could use help in:

House Committee: We are looking for a House Chair – and it doesn’t require you to be a general contractor! You just need to be someone who likes to manage projects and work with a group who is dedicated and committed to the upkeep of the temple. Maybe you’re not ready to take on a chair position – that’s okay, we would love to have someone else on the committee as well.

Communication Committee: We have several areas of the Communication Committee that are looking for assistance. If this is in your wheelhouse, we could absolutely use your assistance. Email marketing, social media, website, etc. all falls under Communication.

Fundraising Committee: Our Fundraising Committee is looking for some help with FUNdraising. There are a few members who are looking to host an exciting fundraiser next year – and we could use help not only planning and executing that, but also thinking of new and innovative ways to fundraise.

Finance Committee: If you love an Excel spreadsheet or budgets, then the Finance Committee would be the perfect place for you to lend a hand. We are looking for members of this committee to help as our Board of Trustees shuffles around roles and it would be great to have some new faces join.

Is there an area that you’ve always been interested in helping? We would really, really love to have you be a part of any committee – so please reach out at president@congregationshalom.org to tell me about what you’d love to do and see here at Congregation Shalom. I’m looking forward to going into the next year with lots of new faces helping us!

Becky

End of Year and Planning Next Year

Keeping Connected May 2024

This time of year is so busy behind the scenes at Congregation Shalom. There is so much work and focus on the upcoming fiscal year and preparations being made for the upcoming school year. While it feels like the current one isn’t over, we are already planning for the next one!

To that end, a few things:

Our Nominating Committee is going to be reaching out to some congregants in the next 2 weeks to ask if you will be a part of our Board of Trustees. We would love to have a diverse group of congregants that bring a variety of time, treasure and ties to our Board. If our Committee reaches out to you, please consider coming from a place of “YES!” when asked. Being on the Board can be a fulfilling opportunity to foster and strengthen our vibrant community. We NEED people to come from a place of yes, so please deeply consider.
In addition, if you have been looking for a way to become involved and have a talent, treasure, tie or time that you could lend us, please consider reaching out to me personally at president@congregationshalom.org. We have several committees that need members to help spread the work.
Our Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, June 9th at 6:30PM. Please be sure to watch your email for important information and documents that will come your way in preparation for the meeting. We would love to have as many people involved as possible. We want the budget and the process to be transparent and accessible to all. You may learn something you didn’t know before about the process and how your pledge helps with the security and upkeep of our spaces, supports religious education, provides essential services and fosters a sense of responsibility and tikkun olam.
I appreciate so many of you helping to “Close the Gap” by making a donation before our new fiscal year. We are close but we still have a little bit to go – if you were considering making a donation, it’s not too late. Please reach out and I can send you more information or a link to donate. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we appreciate your help.

Spring is on the way

Keeping Connected April 2024

Despite the bit of snow and ice that we got over the past weekend as I write this, I can tell Spring is on the way. We’ve changed the clocks, bought some tulips, celebrated Purim… maybe if you’re really brave like at my house, you’ve started to put away the big coats and boots. I can see that there are tiny buds on the first forsythia bush that blooms in my yard. And of course, the start of my son’s baseball schedule is always a clear indication that longer, warmer days are upon us.

But I can also tell it’s spring by how vibrant and active the temple is. There is more on the calendar and many of us are coming out of our winter hibernation. This morning, I watched so many kids and families fill the sanctuary for Purim. I can see the different services, events and programs that different groups have planned for the spring. Our nominating committee is working on next year’s slate of trustees. B’Mitzvahs fill the weekend slots on the calendar if you check out the next few months.

WIth all of the different things that are going on, please consider getting involved in some sort of way. We have multiple committees that are in need of members and chairs. Our nominating committee will be making asks for people to join our temple board – please consider coming from a place of “yes”. Come to a service or an event that you’ve never tried before. Try saying hello to an unfamiliar face and meet someone new, you never know what kind of connection you will have. As I’ve shared with many of you that I’ve talked to about this, after October 7th, I felt like I needed a Jewish community more than ever. If you’re looking for a place to fill that need, we have lots of different ways for you to do so. If you need help finding what works for you, please reach out to me at president@congregationshalom.org. I would be happy to chat with you to see how your needs and wants match with ours.

I hope that as the last of the snow melts, you’re able to consider trying something new with us!

-Becky

Shalomites Creative Service

Keeping Connected January 2024

Despite the cold temperatures that come along with it, the Shalomites Creative Service is always one of my favorite services of the year. In fact, it’s been one of my favorite services to attend since before I was in Shalomites as a teen myself. The service always provided food, fun, singing and a sanctuary packed with families and teens.

This year was no different. While the temperature outside was chilly, the warmth that came from having our Shalomites and temple youth from other synagogues in attendance could keep you warm for the rest of the winter. The Shalomites hosted 25 other teens for dinner and a sleepover – yes, a sleepover with teens – so a huge thank you to the volunteers, chaperones and advisors who helped make that possible. The teens settled right in and participated fully in the Creative Service. They helped lead it, sang songs (complete with hand motions and dance moves) and were fully engaged with each other and the rest of the Congregation. It was truly so wonderful to see so many teens packed into our sanctuary on a Friday night and know that they were choosing to spend their time with other Jewish teens.

An especially moving moment came when the teens participated in a prayer for Israel. It was absolutely beautiful to hear the voices of these young adults, praying for soldiers, for innocent lives, for hostages, for peace. In a time where adults are having trouble parsing out their emotions when it comes to Israel, it was amazing to hear these teens praying together for a place that many may be too young to have a strong connection to. It gave me so much hope in that moment to hear them.

If you have never been to a Shalomites Creative Service, I hope that next year you will join them. To witness our own Jewish teens planning and participating in the service is moving. The sound of the music and singing is electric. The sight of the packed sanctuary is powerful. It shows our younger kids what they have to look forward to as they grow into Jewish teens – and maybe it reminds the rest of us what it used to be like when we were younger versions of ourselves.

Israel: Welcome Home.

Keeping Connected November 2023

Growing up, I never had a strong connection to Israel. In fact, probably the most connected I felt was raising money in 5th grade religious school selling fruit slices at Passover to plant trees there – which spoiler alert: the Jewish National Fund doesn’t keep track of your trees like my 10 year old mind expected. So when I landed at Ben Gurion airport this past spring and there were signs and banners that said “Welcome Home”, I assumed it was a message for Israelis returning from overseas trips.

But the message “Welcome Home” was in fact, for me. For me, the 8 other New Hampshire women I was bringing to Israel – most for the first time – and for the 150 women from across the country that were all there on a trip with Momentum. Momentum is focused on bringing the biggest Jewish influencers – Jewish mothers – to Israel for an empowering and inspiring journey. Working with the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, Momentum combines traveling throughout Israel with personal and Jewish growth. Think of it as “Birthright for Moms – with Wine”.

To say that the trip was life-changing is an understatement. I was lucky enough to be there on Yom Ha’atzmaut – celebrating 75 years of Israel – complete with dancing in the streets of Tel Aviv, flyovers, fireworks, and a BBQ with IDF soldiers. I climbed Masada, floated in the Dead Sea, rode camels, looked out over Lebanon from Rosh Hanikra, visited Tsfat, Akko, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, ate everywhere from gorgeous restaurants to market sabich stands (and ate and ate and ate…). I experienced Israel with other women from my state and country, but also with a small group of women who were until almost 3 weeks ago, retired IDF officers and commanders. These women have now been called up and instead of trading photos of our kids, we are sending prayers and receiving photos of them in their IDF uniforms. Connecting to Israel during my trip was more than JNF trees and dutifully singing Hatikvah like when I was 10 years old. I felt a true, yet unexpected, connection to the people and the land.

As I crisscrossed Israel, travelling to places I had only seen in pictures, I truly began to understand that the message “Welcome Home”, was actually for all of us. While I was at the Kotel, someone asked me, “how many of your family members, your ancestors, have stood here with their hands in this place?” The truth is, none that I know of. But something deep in my soul understood that this was in fact, a homecoming. Israel is home for all of us, regardless if we have been there once or countless times. Israel is our home, even if we have never stepped foot on the land. I hope for everyone to feel that deep sense of connection that I was able to experience. Israel will be waiting to welcome us home again.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Becky

President’s Rosh Hashanah Speech

Keeping Connected October 2023

I’m wondering… how did I get here? Maybe you’re wondering the same thing? Not in an existential kind of way, though that may be a thought for these days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur… but I mean, how did I end up standing in front of you on Rosh Hashanah morning, delivering the President’s speech?

The truth is, this is perhaps a role that has been generations in the making. For those of you who don’t know me, I grew up at Congregation Shalom. I had my Bat Mitzvah here with Rabbi Bard, my Confirmation with Rabbi Perry. I was a religious school teacher as a high schooler, a Shalomites board member and President. I was an advisor when I was in college. I got married here in this sanctuary. As I was growing up, I watched my mother involve herself in temple life. I would see her already very busy calendar fill with temple activities – youth commission meetings, executive committee meetings, board meetings. There would be special projects, events or fundraisers that she would commit herself to. Maybe that commitment wasn’t a surprise for her, because she watched her father, my grandfather, as a founding member and President of the North Shore Synagogue in Syosset, NY. He was involved in the purchasing of the land and the building of the temple, as well as the hiring of the first Rabbi there.More

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