Elul
5781
September
2021
Dear
Friends,
I
hope this letter finds you and your family well.
As
we approach the end of the year, we should be aware that the new year
is a shemittah, or Sabbatical, year. Just as we are to
rest on the seventh day of each week, the Torah commands us to allow
the agricultural land in Israel to rest on the seventh year of each
seven-year cycle. God promises that the produce of the sixth year
will be plentiful enough to last for three years- for the sixth year
itself, for the seventh year when we are not allowed to plant, and
for the eighth year in which we do plant, but when we still have to
wait for the crops to mature in order to bring in the harvest. Just
as the laws of Shabbos are restrictive but result in rest and in
spiritual and physical rejuvenation, so too shemittah results
in both spiritual and physical renewal. The first is because
during shemittah, we rely on God, deepening our faith.
The second is because by letting the land lie fallow, it will recover
its nutrients and become fertile again.
During
the past year and a half, many of us were forced to rest. For all of
us, many things have changed. As we approach the new year, let us do
a cheshbon ha-nefesh - an accounting of the soul.
Let us recognize that we are all in God’s hands, and let us cherish
with greater appreciation our families, our communities and
everything we have. In this way, may we proceed me-afelah
le-orah, from darkness to light. May God bless us with success,
happiness and above all, good health in the new year and
the years to come.
We
are looking forward to the High Holidays. B’ezras Hashem,
Orrin Tilevitz will lead Selichos as he has done for
over 30 years, on Saturday night, August 28th at 12:30am. Rabbi
Reuven Hoff and Yosef Tannenbaum, will again lead services on Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur. For everyone’s safety, we will keep
the building well-ventilated and will ask people to wear masks
and observe social distancing.
The
past year and a half have been challenging for all synagogues, but I
am pleased to say that Old Broadway has been doing well under the
circumstances. We lost some congregants but we gained new ones. We
have had regular services every week with a thoughtful divrei
Torah and a delicious kiddush. We have had a number of simchas
including two bat mitzvah celebrations and two marriages. Under the
leadership of Rhonda Taylor and Laura Radensky, the Women’s Rosh
Chodesh Group has met regularly on Zoom. Rabbi Heller has been giving
excellent shiurim in the shul twice a month. Among
the topics were: “The Secret History of Lag Ba-Omer,” “How
Much Risk Can You Take on Yourself to Help Someone Else?” “When
Does a Child Become and Adult,” and “Celebrating and Mourning at
the Same Time.” The shul also organized a first aid, CPR, and AED
(automated external defibrillator) course and we also purchased a
defibrillator. Under Dale Brown’s stewardship, the garden in the
back courtyard is in full bloom.
After
a pandemic-caused delay, the project to reinforce the first floor
lobby and staircase is on track again. When the shul was built in
1923, a staircase was planned to the basement on the south side of
the lobby. The staircase ultimately was installed on the north side
of the lobby. Unfortunately, the floor on the south side was not
properly framed out and has been sinking ever since. We plan to jack
up the ceiling and floor to level it, and then, in order to stabilize
the floor, we plan to install a steel beam that will cut across the
ceiling in the northeast corner of the basement. This work will
require moving gas, electric and water lines. Drawings have been
prepared, submitted to the Department of Buildings, and approved. We
have invited three contractors to submit proposals. Our project
manager estimates that the job will cost $84,000, although does not
include unforeseen contingencies that may arise while doing the work.
So far, we have raised about $32,000. Accordingly, we are still
raising funds and will be grateful for your support.
Your
generous help has enabled us to welcome people and provide them with
beautiful davening and a warm community. You have also enabled us to
maintain and restore our historic building. As the New Year
approaches, we turn to you again. We hope that we continue to be
worthy of your support so that we may continue to be a beacon of
Yiddishkeit and Torah to many Jews in Harlem, Morningside Heights and
the Upper West Side. May Hashem inscribe and seal you and your
families for good health, happiness and success for the New Year.
Le-shanah
tovah tikatevu ve-techatemu,
A
gut gebentsht yor,
Dr.
Paul Radensky
President
