Happy New Year

Rabbi Les has recovered from his bout with the flu and was back in action for Shabbat services on Friday in CC. We had a small turnout and I will accept part of the blame as the calendar was not up to date and my first email blast had not gone out. Rest assured however that changes have been made and the current calendar reflects all things important in the world of Temple Beth Shalom.

I want to bring you good news that the planning committee has asked the Rabbi to perform a Saturday Shabbat service, along with Torah/Hebrew Study and Bar/Bat Mitzvah Classes on the second Saturday of each month. The committee hopes this new venue will encourage participation from more people who live in the Northern segment of our area since it is a shorter distance to drive as well as perhaps a more convenient meeting time. So please show your support by attending the next Shabbat service, since there is probably one in our schedule now that is convenient for you!

With the new year and event planning comes the need to fulfill our financial obligations as a congregation. I request that you consider making your membership committment as early as possible. Membership dues remain at $300.00 this year, nearly all of which goes to retain the services of Rabbi Les-as it should. Making contributions early helps out the hard working people to plan events for your local Jewish community to reach out to everyone who wants to keep their heritage alive and well.

I encourage feedback via email at the address above regarding this web site as well as any TBS issues you would like to bring up. If you are a visitor to the area or have just relocated to our corner of the world, we want to welcome you and invite you to join us at any of our functions.

I hope everyone has a happy New Year and wish you continued health and fulfillment for 5768!


~Al

Welcome and Change of the Guard

I'd like to welcome you to the new TBS blog! This is the best way to find out the most current news and views of what has been happening in our small corner of Northern California/Southern Oregon.

We have many requests for information about the existence of a Jewish community in the Crescent City/Brookings region, and I believe a presence online that is updated regularly should prove helpful to those who are curious.

We enjoyed a wonderful Rosh Hashanah service with Rabbi Les this week. In spite of his temporary bout with the flu, Rabbi Les never fails to impress and blew the Shofar loud enough to hear across three states.

At the moment our discussion has centered upon our vision for the future of the congregation, specifically how to retain members in a more active role for our regular services. We discussed the possibility of having Shabbat services once a month on Fridays as we do now, and adding an additional Saturday morning Shabbat service with Rabbi Les once a month as well. We are considering locating one of the services in Brookings , location to be announced. Finally we looking at revisions to the Bar/Bat Mitzvah training schedule which be determined as soon as possible as we have at two children who are entering their penultimate year of training before the big day arrives.

~Al