April 2025

Letter from the President

Dear Members and Friends of Temple Israel,

First, I want to acknowledge each of you who expressed your condolences to Suzanne and me and our family on the loss of my father, George H. Siegel. Dad was a wonderful mentor and friend, and he and my mother were generous supporters of Temple Israel and active members of our community. Dad was very much at home in Temple Israel services, connected often via zoom, and used our accessible bimah to good effect whenever he visited in recent years. He chanted his Bar Mitzvah haftorah on the 80th anniversary of that event, and was honored with an aliyah just last Pesach at age 97. We were most gratified by the warmth of community support that we felt at the shivah in our home. We truly are a community that cares for one another, and we all benefit.

Sadly, our synagogue family and the greater community has also been rocked by several other losses of stalwart pillars in the past few weeks. Former leaders of Temple Israel – Hersh S. Rozen and Jeffrey B. Shapiro – passed away, and their strong voices and diverse perspectives will be sorely missed. May their memories, along with those of others we have recently lost, be for a blessing, and an inspiration to the rest of us to do our part to support the institution we hold dear.

Kudos to Rabbi Friedman and all the volunteers who made our first Artist-in-Residence Weekend a joyous musical and spiritual event. Backed by local musicians, Zach Mayer demonstrated virtuosity and versatility, leading us in vibrant song and inspirational prayer throughout the weekend. The Megillah Reading and Kabbalat Shabbat service were the most entertaining and meaningful Purim celebration we have held at our synagogue in many years, and the full house of costumed participants really enjoyed it. The rest of the weekend activities were each special and rewarding – Shabbat Morning Services with special Kiddush, Havdallah service and Participatory Concert Saturday Evening, and the Sunday Morning Harmony Workshop were all well-attended and well-appreciated. We are already thinking about how we can follow that act – your ideas are welcome!

Passover is coming soon, and we need your support. Several of our regulars will be traveling and unavailable at our Shabbat and Holiday services. If you will be in town and can participate in our services, please make every effort to attend, and so indicate by responding to our on-line survey. It will be very helpful to our hard-working Ritual Committee, who are organizing the services. Please watch email closely for schedule changes around these services in case we need to adapt. Whether you are traveling or at home, whether your seder is a big boisterous banquet or a quiet reflective repast, I wish each of you a zissen Pesach – a sweet holiday celebration.

In stunning contrast, we note with sadness that the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East continue to boil, with loss of life and humanitarian crises worsening by the day. Strife and polarization at home and abroad are equally distressing. It is my hope that our synagogue may serve as a refuge for all, a safe space for members to seek and share comfort.

Spring finally seems to have broken through the chill, so come on out and join us at Temple Israel services soon!

Zissen Pesach to all,
Art

Arthur B. Siegel
President – Temple Israel