Showing Up for One Another

Tonight, our Temple Israel family will gather to celebrate Shavuot and the Confirmation of five remarkable young people.

We honor:

 • Matteo Chaiten, child of Jodi Chaiten and Corinne Daprano
• Hillary Katchman, child of Nika and Steve Katchman
• Beau Kleinholt, child of Lela Klein and Robert Holt
• Jonah Halasz, child of Karen Bodney-Halasz and Scott Halasz
• Jonah Dritz, child of Michele and Jay Dritz

as they affirm their commitment to Judaism, Jewish values, Jewish learning, and Jewish identity.

Families are built in many different ways, and so are synagogue families. Some of these students have grown up within Temple Israel from their earliest years. Others found their way into our community later on. Some were brought by their parents, while others inspired their parents. Each has taken a different path to this moment, and each brings unique gifts, perspectives, and strengths to our community.

That is part of what makes tonight so meaningful.

At a time when being openly Jewish can feel complicated, these five teens are choosing to stand before their congregation and deepen their connection to Jewish life and the Jewish people. They will teach Torah, lead prayer, and read from our sacred texts — including our Czech Holocaust scroll, which carries its own history of survival and continuity.

I hope our teens will be surrounded by the presence of their Temple Israel family tonight.

In families, presence matters. It matters when people celebrate your milestones, listen to your voice, and remind you that you belong. I hope our teens will look out into the sanctuary and see the people of Temple Israel there to support them — not only their parents and relatives, but the broader congregational family that has helped raise, teach, encourage, and care about them over the years.

Tonight is an opportunity to remind these young people that they do not carry Judaism alone. They are part of a people, a tradition, and a community that stands beside them.

That connection feels especially fitting on Shavuot. At Sinai, Torah was given to a gathered people. Jewish life has always been sustained through community — through learning together, celebrating together, and showing up for one another across generations.

I have been thinking about that same idea as our congregation prepares for next weekend’s Jewish Cultural Festival. For months, members of this community have been giving their time and energy to make the Festival possible — planning, organizing, cooking, volunteering, raising money, promoting, and preparing to welcome thousands of guests into our communal home. Like tonight’s Confirmation service, the Jewish Cultural Festival reflects what it means to be a congregational family. We show up for one another, and we open our doors to others. I hope many of you will also join us next weekend — whether volunteering, attending, welcoming guests, or simply spending time together as a community.

That is how Jewish community is built.

Chag Sameach and mazal tov to Matteo, Hillary, Beau, Jonah, and Jonah, and to their proud families.