President’s Message
Kislev. The month Hanukkah is celebrated. Don’t miss out on the community menorah lighting of the first candle Sunday, December 14, at 5:00 p.m., in front of the Morris Performing Arts Center.
After we publicly share our love of light with the world, we shall all continue the celebration with our fellow Jews back at Sinai. Like last year, we plan to invite our many Temple Beth-El friends to join us. We had a great turnout and a lot of fun last year. Let’s make it a repeat performance this year!
I encourage everyone (small and tall) to bring their very own special menorah, and we will light them up together. Of course, there will be latkes and lots of other goodies to eat, along with fun and games and songs to sing.
Many hands make light work, so please sign up to help. We need people to prepare and cook the food, folks to set up all the tables and chairs, and people to serve, strike, and clean up that Sunday evening. Our Sisterhood leaders have all the details. Contact them!
Sinai has many wonderful people with terrific talents, but it wasn’t until a dear old friend pointed out another great Sinai gift we must treasure: Shirley Berebitsky. She turns 100 December 27!
If you have been lucky enough to interact with Shirley, you probably would never guess she is about to become a centenarian. She still lives at home on her own. She has help to drive her to appointments and the grocery store, but her mind remains sharp, and she still makes decisions on her own behalf.
Her best friend for years was Lucy Gould. When Lucy passed, Sally Goloubow became her best bud. Now that Sally is gone, her closest friend is Pinky Raab. What’s the common denominator there? All three were or are Sinai members, but most interestingly, all of Shirley’s best friends are sisters; the Linderman sisters.
Shirley Rosenfeld was born in South Bend and has been a Sinai member her entire life. She married George Berebitsky at Sinai, although it was before our current synagogue was built. She has three children: Michael, Susan, and Jody. Neither of her two brothers made it this far in life, and Shirley has no idea why she has been so blessed with longevity. Maybe it’s the mahjong. She plays twice a week!
We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but another gift we hope to be getting is a new rabbi. As tight as the market is for rabbis wanting to serve on the pulpit, we have two people who have expressed interest in our opening. It’s still early going, and we hope to attract at least one more individual to the talent pool.
The basic process is the Rabbi Search Committee will conduct brief, initial Zoom interviews with candidates to get a sense of who they are and how they communicate. If we get a good feeling, then a second, in-depth Zoom interview exploring religious practice and philosophical outlook will be conducted via Zoom. The attributes identified through last spring’s survey will drive our questioning.
If that goes well, an invitation will be offered to visit South Bend, meet us, participate in Shabbat services, and deliver a d’var Torah. That is likely to happen between mid-January and mid-March.
And speaking of rabbis…save Sunday, May 31, 2026. That’s the date we will celebrate Rabbi Michael Friedland and his 30 years of service – not just to Sinai Synagogue, but to the wider Michiana community! It’s not too late to get in on the planning and join one of the committees working to make this a truly special event for one and all.
See you at shul!
Will Turbow