Dear Friends,
As I conclude my first month as your rabbi, I want to share my gratitude for how welcoming you have been. Settling into South Bend and Sinai Synagogue has felt like a homecoming. Getting to know so many of you across the services, meals, and conversations over the High Holiday season has been a privilege. My wife and children have likewise thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone and feeling the embrace of this community as we establish our here together.
Following the intense spiritual work of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we moved into the festive rhythm of Sukkot, and as I write this message I am still in anticipation of our lively Tacos and Torah gathering on Simchat Torah. While that will wrap up the holidays, we will not be leaving behind the warmth of the holidays. In the Talmud (Sukkah 45b), our sages observe that the festive branches used during the holiday are tied together with cords, interpreting the verse in Psalm 118:27, "Isru chag ba'avotim" ("Bind the festival with cords"). The Chasidic masters note that isru chag teaches us to bind the holiday's inspiration so that it does not slip away once the calendar turns.
To help channel that momentum as we enter Cheshvan, we are launching several new opportunities to learn and pray together in the weeks ahead. We will be starting a series of regular weekly exploring core Jewish texts and contemporary ideas, designed for diverse backgrounds and levels of study. Additionally, we are introducing a new monthly Friday evening Kabbalat Shabbat service, blending song, spirit, and community to help usher in Shabbat together, and then to even get to know each other better through shared shabbat dinners. Full details, dates, and times are listed further along in this bulletin.
Over the past month, several members have kindly mentioned that they would love to host me at their homes, but hesitate because their kitchens do not meet traditional kosher standards. Please know that your hospitality is always welcome. Elsewhere in this bulletin, I have provided a practical guide on how we can comfortably share food and drink together in your homes within Jewish traditions. Kashrut should serve as a bridge to community rather than a barrier to fellowship.
For those I have not yet had the chance to meet, as well as those I have only greeted in passing, I invite you to reach out. I would be glad to meet you for a cup of coffee, sit down for a one-on-one study session, or join you for a walk around the neighborhood. And for those with whom I have already met, I hope we can repeat the pleasure. Building a congregation is work done person by person, and I look forward to deepening our relationships throughout the years to come.
Kol tov,
Rabbi Tyson
Five Minutes From Sinai - Rabbi Herberger will continue an email for Torah Study, beginning with Parshat Bereshit this fall. Please contact the office to be included on this email.