Dayeinu. It would have been enough. The attendance throughout Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services was heartening and inspiring. Our building was filled with bustling activity, programming, and prayer. Add to that the hundreds beyond our four walls who joined us via Zoom and Livestream. In a challenging year of isolation and heartache for the Jewish people, I felt uplifted by your presence throughout the Days of Awe. That alone would have been enough. Dayeinu.
But then, the most remarkable thing happened: you returned mere days later. We welcomed 200 of you to Erev Sukkot Live; we benefited from consistent attendance throughout our Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah services; and we had dozens upon dozens of “hoppers” at our Sukkah Hop. We packed our calendar with programming over this last month (including two significant collaborations with neighboring synagogues). In turn, you showed us just how relevant a sense of community continues to be by showing up. This photo was taken last Tuesday evening, on Chol Ha’Moed Sukkot. On one side of our sukkah, Cantor Wallach and I hosted dinner for our 9th – 12th graders. On the other side of the sukkah, Mike Greenstein held a pizza dinner for our 6th – 8th graders. At the same time, our BBRS leadership organized a fun evening at Genis Gems for our Pre-K through 5th graders.
Imagine that: in one evening, tens of CBI youth gathered in different locations to celebrate Sukkot. All of this might reflect our recent growth, strength of programming, and importance of CBI as a center of community. Perhaps even more importantly, though, is that these youth will grow into adults with Jewish pride and a connection to our tradition and peoplehood. Wherever they settle, be it in our township or halfway around the world, we will have done our job as stewards – not only of CBI, but of Jewish peoplehood. For that, we might say Dayeinu.
Rabbi Ari Isenberg
