It was a warm, cozy, and comfortable environment as congregants met for services at the Cantor’s house. The family room served as our sanctuary and it was filled with singing and chanting of prayers the entire night. In fact, Cantor complimented us on how fine we all sounded…we did indeed bring our voices with us!

It was just one more example of how TSS has become a close knit community that relies on each other to fill our spiritual and social needs. There were hugs, kisses, and pats on the back for those who needed one throughout the service and afterwards at the Oneg. There was laughter as we listened to funny comments and stories throughout the evening. It was a shared moment in time that continues to make TSS a very special place. For those who missed it, please make an effort to attend services so that you too can share a special moment in time with friends.

Throughout the past week we celebrated Sukkot, The Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. The congregation came together at the home of Marc and Carrie Silverstein who hosted this year’s holiday in their back yard under a beautifully lit Sukkah that Marc and his family built.

The festivities continued last Sunday at the home of Cantor Sussman and David Vaida with a Sukkot Open House where dozens of congregants attended for more faith and fellowship. Everyone had a turn shaking the lulav and etrog while reciting the blessing as a special mitzvot.

There was a bit of a chill in the air, but the warmth of friends and family, who together recited prayers and sipped wine, was a perfect introduction to the impending season of fall.

This festival represents several themes … our agricultural heritage, the desert wanderings of our ancestors and the commemoration of the bounty of the Holy Land. To many of us at Temple Shirat Shalom, Sukkot represents the start of another New Year as a spiritual community. Beginning our third year together, we are thankful for the many friends we have made and the opportunity to come together in peaceful worship. With such a bountiful harvest, we are ever hopeful for an even brighter future ahead.

Here we are at TSS – Celebrating our third HHD together as a congregation, under the leadership of Cantor Sussman and guest Rabbi Sally Priesand, and for the beautiful service and spiritual leadership they offer, I thank them both. And thank you to Michael Krentz for your beautiful piano accompaniment.

Here we are at TSS – Celebrating our third HHD together as a congregation, and our congregation has lots of energy and social events. We have weekly worship services, and most of us have enjoyed the combination of worship at Swain and the personal touch of worshipping in our homes. Cantor Sussman offers torah study nearly every week at the TSS Mother Ship, better known as Wegmans. We have had an active religious school, with bar and bat mitvot and 8 young adults underwent confirmation this past spring. We are engaged in social action projects. We have had a full agenda of adult ed and outings, ranging from A to Z – African violets to zombie movies. And we have lots of social events which usually seem to involve food and wine.

When Judy and I moved into our house 26 years ago, it had the most amazing feature – a magic laundry chute! In the morning I could drop my dirty clothes down the chute, and I would go to work, and by nighttime, my clothes were back on my bed, clean and folded! It was remarkable! The magic laundry chute worked for the kids, too! Of course, a few years after moving in, on a day off, I discovered that Judy was the magician at the other end of the magic laundry chute, and it was through her efforts that our family was kept in clean clothes.

So, here we are at TSS – Celebrating our third HHD together as a congregation, where we have created a warm and welcoming and spiritual place for those who choose to be involved. We are flexible and innovative, and through TSS, you have the institutional infrastructure to express your religious and spiritual and social life as a Jew.

I would like to take a moment to become mindful that this TSS infrastructure doesn’t just happen magically. Cantor Sussman has a remarkably busy schedule, especially given the size of our congregation. We have no other paid staff, and everything else that happens at the Temple happens as a result of volunteers. Books get moved because someone (Don Bastian) moves them. The bulletin gets sent out because someone (Elliot Gluskin) puts it together. The torah attends every worship service because someone (David Vaida) gives it a lift each week. The oneg shows up every Friday evening after services like clockwork, not through the magic oneg bin, but through someone’s (Susan Shmookler’s) consistent efforts. The Shabbat flyers and Shabbat announcements and membership lists and yahrzeit calendar gets done by a volunteer congregant (Karyn Goldner), not an administrative elf. The religious school coordination (Shari Gluskin) and Temple finances (Jay Plotnick) are extremely time consuming, and are accomplished by congregants volunteering their time and expertise. And the list could continue on and on, through every aspect of Temple life. Our congregation is blessed with a wonderful group of people who are willing to put in the time and energy to make it successful. I and the Cantor and the Board of Trustees honor those who provide the magic behind the scenes. “Thank you” to all of the magicians of TSS.

So my Rosh Hashanah message to you is to feel the magic of TSS. Come to worship or come to study or come to social activities. We have created an extraordinary social network at TSS, which truly is an extended Temple family.

My Rosh Hashanah message to you is to join the magic of TSS. Your dues and donations allow us to develop the many projects and programs we have envisioned that we don’t yet have the resources to bring to fruition.

My Rosh Hashanah message to you is to be the magic of TSS. Get involved.

Feel the magic.

Join the magic.

Be the magic.

Shana Tovah.

 

Don Belmont

Here is a suggestion for late summer reading from TSS. The Torah! The best book ever written is now available to all of us through our iPhones, iPads, Tablets (no pun intended) and all other smart phones.

Whether you believe it was given by God or inspired by God, The Torah is one of the most fascinating literary works of all time. In a world overwhelmed by reality TV, media hype and cable news alerts sent directly to our phones, The Torah still remains relevant and vibrant.

Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel ARE the Real Housewives! Read their stories and become inspired. Noah could have starred in his own version of Deadliest Catch. Moses, Aaron and Joshua make Duck Hunters look like child’s play. Who else on reality TV parted the waters to save thousands of people from slavery?

The Torah is available to us in so many different ways. We can study together each week with Cantor Sussman at Services or at Wegman’s Café. We can read together with our families at home. And now we can experience Torah while sitting on a beach enjoying a late summer vacation.

The Torah … there’s an App for that!!!