Showing Up for One Another

This Sunday marks an important moment for our friends at Beth Abraham Synagogue. After sharing our Temple Israel home while work was being completed on their building, they are ready to return to their own building. At 1:30 p.m., they will gather at Temple Israel for a brief ceremony as they carry their Torah scrolls from our building and prepare to bring them home to Beth Abraham.

I hope many of us will come to wish them l’hatzlachah—success and blessing—as they begin this next chapter.

Over these past months, we have had the opportunity to share more than a building. We have been reminded of what it means to be part of a Jewish community that extends beyond the walls of any one congregation.

Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh—all Israel is responsible for one another. To me, those words are about more than helping when someone needs us. They are a reminder that we belong to one another. We show up for each other. We celebrate one another’s joys. We make room for one another. And we recognize that what happens in one part of our Jewish community matters to all of us.

Our congregations have different customs, melodies, histories, and traditions. Those differences matter. They are part of what makes each community itself. But underneath those differences is something we share: we are all part of the Jewish people and of this Jewish community. Had our circumstances been reversed, I know that others in our community would have opened their doors to us as well.

We will miss seeing our Beth Abraham friends at Temple Israel on Saturday mornings. Even though our own Shabbat morning services are not weekly, their presence here has become familiar, and we will miss having them with us.

There is something especially meaningful, then, about seeing the Torah scrolls that have had a temporary home within our walls carried out of our doors on Sunday. We welcomed them when Beth Abraham needed a place for them. Now we have the privilege of standing with our friends as they carry their Torahs from our shared space and prepare to bring them back to their own sanctuary.

Shehecheyanu is the blessing we offer when we recognize that we have been sustained and have reached a significant moment. Sunday certainly feels like such a moment. We are grateful to have shared this chapter with Beth Abraham and to be able to celebrate with them as they reach this milestone.

And our relationship doesn’t end as their Torah scrolls leave our building. Soon, the roles will reverse. On September 5, we will join Beth Abraham in their home for Selichot. I hope we will show up for that as well. There is something wonderful about moving from being hosts to being guests, continuing to pray and celebrate together in a different space.

So, if you are able, come Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Help us send our friends and their Torah scrolls off with joy. Wish them mazal tov and l’hatzlachah. Celebrate this moment with them.

May we continue to build a Jewish community in which we make room for one another, celebrate with one another, and show up for one another.