Yom Kippur Appeal
Dear Members and Friends,
Earlier this year, in Parshat Terumah, we read the well-known verse “v’asu li mikdash v’shachanti b’tocham” – “build for Me a temple and I will dwell in them.” Many commentators note the textual anomaly of “b’tocham – in them” as opposed to “b’tocho – in it” to allude to the concept that Hashem dwells not only in the Beit ha-Mikdash, but also in all synagogues built throughout Jewish communities.
We all are fortunate to have Shaare Tefillah as our warm, inviting, and multi-faceted Mikdash Me’at. While Shaare Tefillah is a makom tefillah, it also provides so much more for our members. Our children benefit from the robust youth programming. The group leaders build relationships with the children and make coming to groups each week a comfortable and fun time. Our adult ed offerings are robust and provide our members with opportunities to hear scholars on varied topics throughout the year. At Shaare, we all share in our fellow members' smachot -- births, Bat and Bar Mitzvahs, and weddings. We also are here for our members during their time of need, be it an illness or passing of a family member. We take care of each other and that has been even more important and pronounced this past year, after October 7, when all of Am Yisrael has struggled. Before the tefillah for Tzahal each Shabbat and Yom Tov morning, the rabbi announces the names of our members' relatives who are serving in the IDF; we have taken on these soldiers as our own. Shaare has a unique sense of community where each member is an important part of the klal.
As our membership continues to grow, we look to the future to ensure our Mikdash Me’at is able to be physically maintained and able to offer the programming and services our members continue to take pride in.
Each year on Yom Kippur, we focus our attention and direct our energy to Tefillah, Teshuva, and Tzedaka. We join together in shul in Tefillah; we pursue our individual and communal course of Teshuva; and we contribute funds to Tzedaka.
The Yom Kippur Appeal, as a line item in our budget, is critical to the shul’s financial well-being. This year, the Appeal focuses on growing our funds for the shul’s physical operations as well as continuing to expand the quality of services and programming that our shul provides.
Each of us has benefited from the shul, and your financial support will go a long way in helping Shaare Tefillah continue to be our spiritual home for years to come.
As in prior years, we are asking each family to contribute at least $360 to the Appeal. Whether you can give more or less than this amount, we ask you to give to the best of your ability. We humbly ask everyone who attends Shaare Tefillah, whether regularly or occasionally, to participate in this year’s Appeal as we are looking for 100% participation from the kehillah. Due to the size of our shul membership, we are especially reliant on all of our membership to give generously.
On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire Shaare Tefillah community, we wish to express our gratitude to those who have donated throughout the year for our different programs and events as well as those who have already donated towards this Year's Yom Kippur Appeal.
We thank you for your generosity and continued support and wish you and your families a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year and a ketivah chatima tova!
Rabbi Kenny Schiowitz
Teri & Neil Normand, Co-Presidents
Yom Kippur Appeal
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