Shalom Congregants,
As I write this article, Helaine and I anxiously await the birth of our first grandchild. Our daughter Lyla is 5 days past her due date, so it won’t be much longer. We are incredibly excited for our 
kids, for ourselves, and for all the Ettinger-Blooms, but equally so, we cannot wait to share the news with our CBI Family. You have been with us through all of our moments of joy and sorrow during the past 25 years, and we know it will be no different this time.
At CBI during the past week alone, on Shabbat morning we celebrated with Jackie Printz and Robert Finkel at the aufruf of their daughter Rachel and future son-in-law Jacob Levin. Also at Shabbat morning services, we celebrated with Howard Kessler on the occasion of his second Bar Mitzvah, and at the morning minyan we celebrated the 100th birthday of Bernie Zenn. From my perspective, sharing these moments in our lives creates the strong fabric of our CBI community and leaves no doubt that synagogues like ours will continue to occupy an essential place in modern society. For sure, our synagogue will change to meet the varied needs of younger generations, but as a place for marking personal milestones and for sharing times of joy and sorrow grounded in the foundation of our Jewish heritage, CBI is irreplaceable. We join synagogues for a variety of reasons. We stay at synagogues because the relationships that bind us to the community support and sustain us.
At a time when our supposedly “connected” world leaves more and more people of all ages disconnected and alone, CBI offers on-line and in-person ways to connect: game nights, book discussions, community-wide Shabbat dinners, softball and basketball, musical programs, guest speakers, social action projects, Israel engagement, adult education classes, Shabbat and holiday worship, Jewish learning and programing for kids from preschool through high school, and so much more. In a world where many of our interactions have become transactional, CBI offers something larger, more meaningful and long lasting, welcoming our participation to enrich us and connect us to the community. Given the diversity of our needs and interests, CBI is not a one-size-fits-all place. Whether our explorations are spiritual or intellectual, our interests social or individual, our needs immediate or far off, CBI has a pathway for connection.
If you have not yet found your particular pathway, I invite you to speak with one of the professional or lay leaders at CBI, who would be delighted to serve as your tour guide. Our doors are open. We hope you’ll drop in.
Shabbat Shalom!
Henry Bloom
President
Congregation B’nai Israel
