October 2026
Letter from the Rabbi
Shalom Aleichem, Temple Israel Friends!
Happy “After the Hagim!” Over the past month, along with Jews around the world, we welcomed the beginning of the year 5787—and we did so in style! Thank you to everyone who helped make the Fall Hagim such a wonderful time at Temple Israel, including our High Holiday Oversight Committee, High Holiday Honors Committee, Safety and Security Committee, Cantor Joel Nathanson, and all who came together in prayer, song, and celebration. You can continue to share your feedback by filling out the survey on our website.
Special thanks are also due to Dave Channin—and to the many other volunteers who stepped up to lead and support our services—over Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah. Written versions of my Divrei Torah for these holidays are available on the website for anyone who would like to read them. May we continue to write for ourselves a year of compassion, patience, and generosity toward one another!
Of course, the beginning of October and the conclusion of the Fall holidays have taken on new emotional dimensions over the past three years, following the horrifying October 7 attack in southern Israel and the devastating years of war that followed. This is a season when we are especially conscious of ourselves as part of Klal Yisrael, the collective of the Jewish people. It is also a time to allow ourselves to feel the grief of the many lives lost and the suffering experienced by so many since October 7. May all those who have died be remembered as a blessing, and may we continue to hope and work for a future of peace and human flourishing.
In October and beyond, we have a special opportunity to practice Klal Yisrael by welcoming two rabbinical students to our community as Rabbinic Interns. They will lead services, teach Torah, and bring new creativity and energy to Temple Israel. I am especially excited to support two rabbis-to-be, each at a different point in their journey, as they learn and grow through serving our community.
Student Rabbi Idan Erez is a fifth-year student at Hebrew College, where I studied in Boston. She will be joining us for the first time at the end of October for a weekend of spirited prayer, song, and learning. Sheindl Spitzer-Tilchin is a first-year rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, and she will be joining us for the first time the weekend of October 16–18.
Welcoming these rabbinical students as interns gives us the opportunity to strengthen Klal Yisrael by helping develop the next generation of rabbinic leadership. At the same time, we will be the beneficiaries of their unique styles, perspectives, and passion for Judaism. I hope that many of you will take the opportunity to welcome them, get to know them, and learn with them.
We are also launching our renewed Jewish learning program for children this month: TI Cheder! The program begins this Thursday, October 8, and will meet each Thursday afternoon from 4–6 PM, focusing on Torah stories, Jewish values, and the experience of living Jewish traditions. On Tuesday afternoons, children will also have the opportunity to receive focused, personalized Hebrew instruction from 4:30–5:30 PM before participating in our weekly minyan.
Please see the attached materials for more information. If you have young children, we hope you will join us! And if you know a family who might enjoy being part of TI Cheder, please send them our way.
We will also come together for our first Family Shabbat Dinner of the school year on Friday, October 16! Everyone is invited to join us for a family-friendly Shabbat service followed by a fun and festive Shabbat dinner. We look forward to creating more opportunities like this throughout the year, including another Family Shabbat Dinner during the first Shabbat of Hanukkah on December 4th. During each of these weekends, we will also welcome one of our Rabbinic Interns, giving us the opportunity to connect with them and learn together.
Last but not least, October brought a tragic loss to our Temple Israel community with the untimely death of Lee Foreman, may his memory be a blessing. I know that many of us continue to feel devastated by the loss of such a bright young person, and that there are no words that can adequately explain such a loss. My heart continues to break with Lee’s parents, Brett and Abbi Foreman; his sister, Shayna; and his grandmother and longtime Temple Israel member, Ilene Pinsker.
May we continue to offer our sympathy, love, and support to Lee’s family, and may we continue to come together as a community to support one another and each other’s families in times of need and sorrow.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Micah R. Friedman
הרב מיכה שמחה פרידמן
