Dear Friends,
I hope this note finds you well and enjoying the last days of summer. It is hard to believe that Rosh Hashanah is less than two weeks away! Information about the High Holy Days has been shared in the Sentry and in mailings; tickets have been sent to members in good standing. If you have any questions about the holidays, please review your recent mailings or check out our web site. Please contact the office by emailing Hillary Hans at hhans@templesinaibc.org or calling 201-568-3035 if you believe your tickets should have been received.
In order to make our worship services meaningful, we are always exploring ways to improve the experience. For many years, the High Holy Day morning services in the main sanctuary have included a Mi Shebeirach prayer for healing in which we read the names of family and friends of those in attendance who are ill or injured or in need of healing in some way.
Unfortunately, the method we have used to collect names during services is a time consuming and cumbersome practice with many practical challenges including reading people’s handwriting, repetition of names given by different worshipers, distraction of handing out slips of paper and writing names during the service and the substantial time it takes to distribute and collect names.
This year the ritual committee and I are implementing a new approach. We are asking you to send those names by email to my assistant, Sally Collins, at scollins@templesinaibc.org instead of the awkward process of submitting names during the services. Please give Sally the person/s name and how they are related or connected to you. If the pronunciation is not obvious please provide a phonetic key to tell me how to pronounce it
I am happy to read either English or Hebrew names. There is a traditional practice during a Mi Shebeirach prayer for healing of saying a person’s Hebrew name together with the Hebrew name of their mother (e.g., Yitzhak ben Sarah, Dinah bat Leah) as opposed to their father (e.g., Yitzhak ben Avraham), which is the traditional practice when one is called to an aliyah to the Torah. But, any way that you want to give me the name is absolutely fine – either in Hebrew or English.
I urge you strongly to make sure that the person or people whose names you give me are OK with their name being read out loud (or if they are not capable of giving permission, that their family members are OK with this), particularly if you are giving me their English name. (One advantage of using a person’s Hebrew name is that it keeps their identity confidential.) We do not want to violate their privacy by effectively telling others that they have a medical problem.
I would greatly appreciate if you send all names to Sally by Friday, August 30. We cannot guarantee that names sent after that will be read. Please do not assume that if a person’s name has been on the weekly Mi Shebeirach list that we will read it during the High Holy Days. This will be a separate list.
If you know Temple members who are likely not to see this email (either because they just don't check them or actually do not have a computer), or non-members who will guests at our services please advise them that they should call Sally with the names of those they would like mentioned for the Mi Shebeirach.
L’Shanah Tovah – May you have a happy, sweet and HEALTHY year ahead.
Jordan
p.s. Also, don’t forget our new practice of reading the names of babies born during the past year during our Rosh Hashanah morning services. Please share their (English) names and that of their happy but tired parents with Sally at scollins@templesinaibc.org by August 30 to have them included in this wonderful blessing. The parents need not be members of Temple Sinai for their babies to be included in this blessing.
No comments:
Post a Comment