From The President

Dear Congregants and Friends,

Preparations are fully underway for our High Holy Day services and programs. I am looking forward to worshiping with you very soon. It is always wonderful to welcome you to our beautiful sanctuary. Thanks to those of you who have already RSVP’d for services. If you have not already done so, please take a minute to RSVP now – the links are in this newsletter. We also need to know before the end of today (Monday, October 7) if you are planning to join us at the Break-the-Fast meal so we can plan for the right amount of food.

Soon after Yom Kippur, we will celebrate the Harvest festival of Sukkot with several different programs. We lead off on Friday, October 18 at 5:30pm with our annual Harvest Moon Sukkot Potluck Supper, including music around the campfire, weather permitting. Should it rain, we will move into the social hall. All are welcome, of every age. We will hold a Shabbat Sukkot Festival Service in the sanctuary the next morning – Saturday, October 19 at 9:30am. And together with NEFESH families, we will celebrate with a Sukkot Family Music Jam & Potluck on Saturday, October 19 at 11am at a private home in Shaftsbury, VT. Our holidays will end joyously with a Simchat Torah Shabbat Celebration & Dance Party on Friday, October 25 at 6pm. There will be a live band drawn from the CBI community, dancing with our Torahs, and a potluck supper. Please come to as many of these services and programs as possible and enjoy worshiping and celebrating with our wonderful CBI community.

The High Holy Days remind us of the centrality of Torah in the traditions and values of Judaism. We treasure our physical Torahs, which came to CBI many years ago from Poland. They are over 125 years old and are a gift from the generations of Jews in the northern Berkshires who came before us. We hope to pass them on to the generations who will follow us. Last winter, we had the opportunity to have our two main Torahs evaluated by a sofer (Torah scribe) and learned that the scrolls were “pasul,” not kosher, because of faded ink, smudging, and other defects. The sofer made emergency repairs, but our Torah scrolls require extensive additional repairs and ongoing maintenance. We need your help to do this!

We aim to raise $50,000 to establish a Torah Restoration & Maintenance Fund to address deferred repairs and care for them in the future. You will learn more about this during the High Holy Days.

And finally, we look forward to celebrating Rabbi Rachel’s 13 years as spiritual leader of CBI, with a special Shabbat service on Saturday, November 16 and celebration to follow. We hope you will join us in expressing our love and appreciation for all she has done for our CBI community. Look for your invitation in your email and in weekly announcements. We have chosen to open this celebration to as many people as possible by not charging a fee – we ask that you RSVP by November 2.

L’shanah Tovah umetukah — Wishing you and your loved ones a good and sweet new year.

— Natalie Matus