From The President

Dear Congregants and Friends,

It is almost time for Passover, a time when we prepare our homes for the holiday, look forward to gathering with family and friends, and celebrating together as we tell the story of Passover. I am writing to you from Hong Kong, where I am visiting with my family. It is very interesting to celebrate in a country so different in many ways from our own. There is only one place in Hong Kong to purchase kosher for Passover foods – the Kosher Supermarket, located within the complex of two synagogues and the Jewish Community Center. Everything is shipped in from Australia, and the brands are often different from what we find in New England. The shipment arrives one day, and the community turns out to make their purchases. Food is put out for purchase on long tables in the indoor parking lot – the only place it will all fit. We try to get everything we think we’ll need in one trip, as there is no guarantee that what we need will still be there if we run out. But once we sit down at the seder table, it is as if we are back home, with familiar rituals and foods that bind Jews together around the world and through the years.

As happy as Roger and I are to be with our family, we miss being able to gather with the CBI community. I hope that if you are in the Berkshires during the holiday, you will join Rabbi Rachel at our Second Night Community Seder on Sunday, April 13 at 6pm. A sumptuous feast will be catered by our own Jen Burt. Children are welcome and will help tell the Passover story. You will find details and a link to register on our website and in this newsletter. Please RSVP by TODAY (Monday, April 7) if you plan to join us.

While we were cleaning out kitchen cupboards at CBI recently, we discovered a number of beautiful silver serving dishes that were donated to CBI, some more than 70 years ago. We’ve polished them up and look forward to using them for the Passover seder. What a wonderful way to link CBI’s past and present on this important holiday!

Looking towards the coming months, please mark your calendar for the Annual Meeting on Wednesday, May 28 at 7:30pm, which will be held in-person and on Zoom. We hope to see many of you as we share a report on the past year and vote in the new Board.

In my absence, Wendy Penner and the rest of the Board will be handling anything that comes up. I look forward to seeing many of you on my return.

B’shalom,

— Natalie Matus