Blog

“From Sorrow into Joy, from Darkness into Great Light...”
-Rabbi Professor David Golinkin

By Rachel Wallis Andreasson, Temple Israel's Executive Director

One of the most rewarding components of my job as Executive Director of Temple Israel has been the opportunity to witness our members participate in committees and task forces, sharing their guidance and expertise.

This month, I am doing a shout-out to our Reemergence Task Force, which began its work in May 2020. The objective was and continues to be, to help make the best decisions regarding our school and synagogue. The task force is comprised of doctors, business leaders, and institutional leaders who bring various perspectives and diverse opinions. At each meeting, our objective is to make the best decision with the information we have, to be responsible, and do our part in keeping everyone safe.

As you can imagine, there has been a plethora of information coming from multiple sources since last March when we closed our building. In the beginning, we prioritized sanitation of every visible area and now we prioritize wearing masks and maintaining social pods. This task force has been thoughtful and disciplined in its approach, and because of that, we are now ready to move out of Phase 2 and into Phase 3.

The task force has already begun planning for High Holy Day services and will meet again this month to work on details. Due to our limited capacity, we will continue to offer an incredible virtual experience option for High Holy Days this year.

More information will be forthcoming in our eNews and August Dateline. Until then, if you have any questions, please reach out.

We know COVID brought sadness, silver linings, and change. We are anxious to see you all in person again but will continue to do so in a methodical and thoughtful way that aims to keep everyone safe. May you be blessed with joy and light as we continue on this journey!

THANK YOU TO OUR REEMERGENCE TASK FORCE
Co-Chairs:
Dr. Burt Bromberg
Dr. David Weinstein

Committee:
David Chassin, Facilities Chair
Dr. Amy Knoblock-Hahn
JoAnne Levy
Adele Lewis, Worship Chair
Brian Newman
Kathy de la Garza Ortbals
Lynn Wallis