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Note from our Rabbi: For These Things I Weep
November/December 2025

from the Congregation Newsletter

There is no concept of a synagogue in the Torah. There is a mishkan in the wilderness, a sacred center around which the community is encamped. Once the Israelites arrive in the land of Israel, there is the instruction to build the beit hamikdash (literally, house of the holy place)—the Temple, where people gather to offer sacrifices, which functioned as celebratory meals in which people of all classes were fed.

 

The concept of the synagogue as a gathering place for prayer and mutual communal support and decision-making traces back to the Babylonian exile in the 6th century b.c.e. The word “synagogue” is from the Greek word for “assembly.” The synagogue has been particularly important in places and times when Jews have been a distinct minority, needing to look to each other for social support and cultural stimulation in addition to fulfilling religious ritual functions together.

 

It’s worth considering the purpose of a synagogue, especially when so many institutions are being aggressively dismantled. Some of our members have lost SNAP benefits this month. Others have been laid off, or lost funding for research or projects. The bad news we read about isn’t an abstraction, it’s hitting right here in our “house of the Jewish People.” So I’m trying to think about what we need from a synagogue, and let that need guide some of the projects that I am supporting at TBI now and in the coming months.

 

First, to feed our community and offer more opportunities for connection, we are initiating Wednesday Suppers. Starting in December, on some Wednesdays at 6:00pm, as Talmud Torah is ending, we will offer a light supper to the whole community. Details are still being worked out. If any of you would like to help cook or shop, please be in touch with Lauren. (With thanks to those who have donated to my discretionary fund), I’ll also be stocking grocery gift cards. Anyone in need can pick one up once a month.

 

To cultivate joy and celebrate Jewish culture, Raanan Fogel is starting a choir that meets Tuesday evenings. You can join any time, and no vocal training is necessary. See the following page for details.

 

And because I know that my own imagination—both of what people might need from community right now and of what people might be able to share with is each other—is limited, in the next few weeks, Lauren Slovic and I will be hosting several town halls, wherein we discuss what people feel they need from the synagogue, and what skills and energy they feel they have to offer each other in these difficult times.