Dear CBI community,

I hope that you are all well and enjoying this season, no matter where you are spending your time. Though our synagogue building was closed last month due to the pandemic, our Rabbi, the Board, and Oliver Jones, our synagogue administrator, have been very busy. Our Hebrew School continued to meet in-person and by Zoom. Services have continued by Zoom on their regular schedule.

We have renewed our focus on security following the hostage-taking at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, TX. The Board convened its Security Committee to re-evaluate our security procedures to best ensure the safety of our community. A number of our members have attended webinars sponsored by Secure Community Networks (SCN) and the ADL to learn best practices, which we are in the process of implementing. We recently met with the North Adams Police Chief, as recommended in these webinars, to forge a collaborative relationship, and with leaders of other synagogues. And, we offered our community a SCN security training workshop, sponsored by Jewish Federation of the Berkshires.

Security is everyone’s job — one of the most important things we can do is to be alert to anything out of the ordinary — to notice and to report if anything seems out of place or unusual. We are also committed to continuing to be a warm, welcoming, and inclusive community.

The Board decided to continue with Zoom services for February, to give us the month to fully implement increased security and for COVID numbers to continue to decrease. We hope to be able to welcome people in person for services in March. Please continue to check weekly CBI Announcements for the most up to date information.

I am thrilled to announce the launch of our new CBI website — please visit cbiberkshires.com and let us know what you think. Thanks go to Roger Matus, who designed this site, and to Rabbi Rachel, the CBI Board, and the many other community members who helped with content and photos. Visit the calendar section for information on services and other events. You will now be able to easily RSVP for services, programs and events.

B’Shalom,

— Natalie Matus, President

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If you would like to schedule a time to meet with our president, please email her directly using our contact us form.