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Celebrate Sha’arey Shalom – to share in the June Scroll

CELEBRATE SHA'AREY SHALOM

Dear Friends,

For over 63 years, Temple Sha’arey Shalom has been a mainstay of a Reform presence in Springfield. You have grown up in her walls. Learned your alphabet and your first Jewish words in preschool. Raised your children and watched them grow, celebrate their Jewish life events and blossom in her hallways, from her Bimah and in her classrooms. You wrote Purim spiels and not only marked your spiritual life but also your social life at Temple Sha’arey Shalom. You studied Torah and taught Torah in many different forms through our traditional books, art, philosophy, through films and literature. You left your mark on Temple Sha’arey Shalom as she and her Rabbis, Cantors and Educators left their mark upon your heart.

Our Scroll is usually where we send out messages for upcoming events, but the June Scroll will be written by you. You have an opportunity to share what the synagogue means to you and how it’s been an important part of your life. Tell stories, teach Torah, write your goodbye to the place and the people who formed Temple Sha’arey Shalom and those who continue to leave their mark here. You can be of any age. Your essays or pages can be a page or under. You can use your creativity; we would love to have art, poetry, or odes to our spiritual home.

Please write and send your pieces in to Sandy at scroll@shaarey.org by June 12th at the latest. Please leave us all with a great big love letter to Temple Sha’arey Shalom.

Fondly,
Rabbi Renee

Letter from the Presidents – Special Congregational Meeting

 

Dear Temple Friends,

We are writing to you for several important reasons. But before business, we hope that you and those you love are healthy and safe. If you need help, please call or email your co-Presidents: Roberta Krumholz (bertkrum@gmail.com, 908-561-4841) or Ellen Lieberman (ellen.s.lieberman@gmail.com, 201-207-3117) or The Temple Office (973-379-5387).

The business purpose of this letter provides the requisite ten (10) days notice of a special congregational meeting. While we would like to meet in person it is prohibited by the “shelter in place” and state of emergency that is currently mandated due to Covid-19.

For whom is the meeting intended? Voting members of our Temple.
What is the meeting? Special congregational meeting.
When: Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 10:00 A.M. (ET)
Why? Vote on several issues listed below and attached.
Where? Online meeting with computer or dialing in by telephone.
How? Join Zoom Meeting. (Please refer to the email from TSS Office, Subject: Letter from the Presidents, Date: April 9th for the Zoom meeting information)

The issues presented for vote:

  1. Amendments to by-laws. On April 6, 2020 the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to amend our by-laws (Article V) to permit remote Congregational meetings while a declared State of Emergency exists. The Board of Trustees also voted unanimously to change the by-laws (Article VII) to have a Board composed of a minimum of six (6) Trustees instead of nine (9) trustees based upon a decline in congregant participation due to Covid 19 and anticipated decline. Article XVIII permits these changes and allows the Board to pass amendments, which must then be approved, by the Congregation at a regular or Special Meeting. You will be asked to approve by-law changes.
  2. Authorize a Mortgage on the Temple’s main building. An “Angel Lender” has offered to provide a secured loan of up to $305,000 to help cover expenses for the Temple. The loan is to be secured by a mortgage, which will be subject to our existing mortgages with Valley National Bank. The Temple has already received $50,000 from the Angel Lender as a bridge loan. On March 30th the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the secured loan, which will allow the remaining $255,000 of the loan to be accessed by the Temple for deposit into the Temple bank account, subject to required congregational approval. You will be asked to approve the mortgage in favor of the Angel Lender (as required by Article XV)
  3. Sale of Property. On March 30, 2020 the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the sale of the Temple-owned house located at 46 South Springfield Avenue to Joey Santos for the sum of $225,000 subject to purchase price adjustments as may be negotiated by Joey Santos and Temple Sha’arey Shalom prior to the closing of title. Article XV of our Constitution and Bylaws requires a vote of our members to authorize a sale of real property. You will be asked to approve the sale of the house to Joey Santos.

For informational purposes (not to be voted upon at Special Meeting of April 19):

  1. Slate of Officers and Trustees. In the past, members in advance of the Annual Congregational Meeting have been provided with the proposed slate of officers and trustees in one of the spring issues of The Scroll for review in June. Because the mailing of The Scroll is disrupted due to Covid 19, we are enclosing the proposed slate of officers and trustees, which was prepared by the Nominating Committee reflecting the change in the size of the Board per the by-law amendment described in item 1 above. This slate will be voted on at the Annual Congregational Meeting in June for which you will receive the ten (10) days requisite notice.

Enclosed are copies of the resolutions as prepared by the attorney representing the Temple and also enclosed is the proposed slate of officers and trustees. This letter and enclosures are being sent via email and surface mail. Notice of the special congregational meeting will also be posted on https://shaarey.org/ and on the Temple Facebook page.

Enclosures

Please pay any outstanding obligations to the Temple as soon as possible.

We wish you peace, health and a relaxing Passover.

B’Shalom,
Roberta Krumholz and Ellen Lieberman
Co-Presidents

Passover Greeting from the Rabbi Renee

 
 

To my Friends at Sha’arey Shalom,

As Pesach begins, I wanted to check in. We are living in unprecedented times. Every year at Seder, the attempt to recreate the Egypt experience for ourselves. We dip parsley in salt water to symbolize tears and we eat bitter herbs to remind ourselves of the bitterness of slavery.

This year, these symbols serve a different purpose. They are our own suffering. They honor our tears and our suffering. Many of us are scared, or overwhelmed. It does not help that when we need to turn to family and friends, they are a screen away. Many of us will be celebrating Passover with many empty seats around the table.

We know that many of you are hosting the Seder for the first time. Please be kind to yourself. Let yourself off the hook if you do not have the right ritual items, or cannot determine how to use zoom. These are unprecedented times and your health and wellness are most important.

Know that the message of Passover is that we did pass through the dark and narrow place to freedom and light. I know that we are all suffering and living with uncertainty. Remember that we are doing this together. If you would like to speak tomorrow from 10-3, please do. Or call after the first two Seders.

We are all in this together.

Wishing you a meaningful and happy Passover.

Rabbi Renee

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Letter from the Presidents

 
 

Dear Congregants,

We hope that you and those you love are safe during this unprecedented time of world-wide health concerns. While closed, the Temple has been fully cleaned in anticipation of our re-opening. However, please understand that the Temple will remain closed until further notice in keeping in line with Governor Murphy’s directive and following CDC guidelines.

While the building is closed and we are all following “shelter in place,” there is still a lot of activity and energy. Every day our talented Preschool teachers and Director Mindy are posting activities for our preschool children. Rabbi is working on religious school programming and Cantor continues bar/bat Mitzvah preparations.

Also, Friday night services continue “remotely” with Cantor Jason and Rabbi Renee. Using a computer from your home, via a live stream, you can enjoy a Friday night service. You will see the familiar sanctuary and experience the energy, the joy, and peacefulness that Shabbat services instill. To experience this, go to the Temple Facebook page on Friday night to view the stream. For those not on Facebook, we are looking for a way to post the service on our website in order to reach a larger audience.

If you know someone in need of food or other necessities, please let the Rabbi or Cantor know. We may be practicing appropriate social distancing, but we are your community – and we are here to help.

And, anytime you want to connect by phone or email please contact the Rabbi, the Cantor, another congregant, a Board member, or the Temple co-Presidents Roberta Krumholz (908-561-4841, bertkrum@gmail.com) or Ellen Lieberman (201-207-3117, ellen.s.lieberman@gmail.com). Also, if you call the Temple Office, you will receive a call back. We are all here to support you.

Wishing you health and blessings,

Warmest regards,

Ellen Lieberman, Roberta Krumholz

Special Friday Night Service on Zoom Meeting (Updated Link)

 

Friday Night Service on Zoom Video Meeting Join Cantor Jason Rosenman and Rabbi Renee Edelman at 7:30pm

Where: Zoom Video Meeting

The service is open to all, Please join us.

How to Join the Service:

1. Click on the link – https://bit.ly/friday-services (click a little before 7:30pm to enter the service)
Meeting ID: 305 835 601
Password: 253324

2. Click here to add to your online calendar – https://bit.ly/3dEqzGf (calendar file will download – open file and add to your calendar)

INE Committee Update: Phone-in Q&A Session

 

As you know, the Investigating a New Entity (INE) committee had announced our intention to conduct three congregational meetings to give every member of Sha’arey Shalom the opportunity to hear the latest information about our plan to create a new entity with Congregation Ohr Shalom. Our goal is to offer clarification and provide you with an opportunity to ask questions and offer suggestions. You may remember that circumstances required us to reschedule those meetings. And now that our temple is closed because of the virus emergency, we have had to change our plans again.

We will conduct a phone-in Q&A session about the creation of the new entity on Sunday, March 22, at 10:30 am. Members of the INE committee, the President of Congregation Ohr Shalom, Phil Kantor, and both rabbis will be on hand to respond to your questions and suggestions.

To participate, call 973-466-8450. Enter 690779 into your phone when the system requests the pass code.

We are looking forward to having this very important discussion with you. Please join us!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Temple will close because COVID-19.

 
 
We are blessed that there have been no reports of COVID-19 at Temple Sha’arey Shalom.  Best practice and recommendations from the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control is to take preventative measures such as avoiding being exposed to the virus that causes it and to limit social gatherings.
 
As such, The Temple will “close” for services, religious school, preschool, and social gatherings from 3:00p.m. Friday, March 13, 2020 through at least 9:00am Monday, March 30, 2020.  This includes the Tricky Tray which will be rescheduled for a later date. 
 
During the closure, the Temple will be fully cleaned and sanitized. If you have a special circumstance, you may consult with the Rabbi or the Presidents.  For now, one-to-one meetings (such as for Bar/Bat Mitzvah prep) or small group meetings may continue assuming all involved show no signs of illness and are in agreement to meet.

We are taking this action because “…Community-based interventions can help slow the spread of COVID-19. This includes measures collectively known as “social distancing.” Social distancing measures aim to reduce the frequency of contact and increase physical distance between persons, thereby reducing the risks of person-to-person transmission. These measures are most effective when implemented early in an epidemic. We are at a critical inflection point where we may have the opportunity to slow the spread of this epidemic by taking proactive steps now.” (source: Health and Human Services, March 12, 2020).

More information on COVID-19 is available at https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 or other reputable sites such as the Center for Disease Control.

You can always reach Rabbi Renee at 516-662-4479, Cantor Jason at 732-289-5646, and co-Presidents- Ellen at 201-207-3317 or Roberta at 908-561-4841.

Stay Healthy – להישאר בריא

Roberta and Ellen

Tricky Tray Postponed


The Tricky Tray will be postponed because of the coronavirus. We do not want anyone to become ill and are following the guidelines set by the state. The future date will be announced as soon as we can determine that it is safe to hold it in our synagogue.

Family Promise – March 24th

Sha’arey Shalom is going to help Central Presbyterian Church provide dinner for their guests on March 24th. We need your help. Our meal is usually main course, salad, vegetable, starch, and dessert. Your children are welcome to come and help.

E-mail or phone Susan and say you will do this mitzvah.

Thanks,
Susan Berowitz-Kolmodin and Bev Lerner
Susan’s email: kolberrfam91@gmail.com
Susan’s phone 908-789-0620

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