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
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