Welcome to Temple Beth Shalom!
***Non-members who wish to attend High Holy Day services at Temple Beth Shalom***
You can purchase guest tickets. To request tickets, please contact Amy McCormick, ticket coordinator, at e-mail: membership@tbshudson.org. In your e-mail, please leave your full name (first and last) as well as your phone number and best contact e-mail so Amy can get back to you.
Temple Beth Shalom is a dynamic congregation of about 100 families, under the leadership of Rabbi Michael Ross. Known as the Synagogue of the Western Reserve, we are a Reform Jewish congregation, affiliated with the national organizations of that movement.
Although the Temple has grown over the years, it endeavors to maintain a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Please come join us so we can share who we are today and our vision for the future.
The Temple is located in a beautiful, historic building at 50 Division Street in Hudson. Friday night services are held twice a month at 7:30 p.m. For a schedule of services and other activities, see our Calendar page.
Address: 50 Division Street, Hudson, OH 44236
P.O. Box 2230, Hudson, OH 44236
330-656-1800, Please Note: there is no on-site staff and there may be a delay in retrieving and returning messages left at this number.
Office hours vary; please email for appointment.
Rabbi: rabbimichaelross@gmail.com
Education Director: education@tbshudson.org
President: president@tbshudson.org
Membership: membership@tbshudson.org
Accounting: accounting@tbshudson.org
January 16, 2025
Issue #698
Letter from Rabbi Ross
Dear TBS Friends and Family,
A Gaza ceasefire has been announced. We collectively hold our breaths that the hostages will begin to be released Sunday or Monday.
We pray that this will be a lasting ceasefire that will lead to a lasting peace. I am cautiously optimistic. We will discuss these hopeful updates in Torah Study this Saturday, as we begin the Book of Exodus. Join us!
ZOOM LINK
TORAH STUDY LINK
Meeting ID: 844 3145 6155. Please contact the temple or join our Facebook group for the passcode.
Below is my weekend column about the L.A. fires:
The Los Angeles fires weigh heavy on my heartI was born and raised in Los Angeles. I grew up in North Hollywood, and attended USC for undergraduate study. I lived in Brentwood for two years, and Playa Del Rey for 2 years. and I worked at a summer day camp in the Santa Monica mountains for six summers where our daily bus routes ran through the Palisades.
After a 13-year hiatus in the Bay Area, I returned to West L.A. for 2 years to earn a master’s in Jewish Education from American Jewish University, which was located where the San Diego freeway meets Mulholland Drive.
My parents and extended family live in Southern California. My mom lives in Bel Air, my dad lives in Thousand Oaks. Everyone is fine. My mom’s home is just beyond the current edge of the Palisades fire evacuation zone. She spent the past weekend with my sister’s family in Sacramento breathing clean air.
Growing up in Los Angeles one learns the stories of the wildfires that have occasionally swept through the hillsides. One learns about the fierce Santa Ana winds. But nothing prepared me for the scope, depth and horror of this current tragedy.
I am heart-broken, devastated.
I have sought out other transplanted Angelenos in the area over the past week to simply check in and see how they are doing. The ability to commiserate our pain and anxiety has a healing quality to it.
In 1991, I lived and worked as a newspaper editor in the East Bay as the Oakland Hills firestorm swept the hillsides for several days. Nearly 3,000 homes were destroyed. It was a terrible experience. As I write this, 19,000 homes and buildings have been partially or completely lost in L.A.
We don’t need to suffer this anxiety and stress alone. We can bring our worries and fears to our communities and begin to face them. We can hold ourselves with great gentleness.
We can hope and pray that the lessons we learn about these fires will wake us up to the existential threat of living in a world ravaged by climate change.
We can prepare ourselves for the massive cleanup effort that will likely take a decade or more.
It is a very sad time for those of us connected to the Los Angeles fire scene. In this week’s Torah reading, we begin the painful reading of the Exodus narrative. As we re-enter the darkness, and feel the constriction, let us find courage and strength from each other so we don’t enter alone.
How to Help in L.A.:
-The California Fire Foundation works with local fire agencies and community based organizations to provide direct, ongoing support to victims of wildfires.
–Malan is a clearinghouse of small, hyper-local businesses and organizations that are providing relief. You may donate to them, or click here for their database of individual businesses and organizations in their network that you can support directly.
-Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles Resources (at the bottom of the page is a “donate” section)
-Through its California Fire Relief program, Direct Relief is distributing medical supplies and essential resources to health care workers and impacted communities. (Scroll down to the middle of the page to donate.)
–World Central Kitchen’s Relief Team is supporting first responders and families impacted by wildfires in the Los Angeles area. They are mobilized across the region to provide nourishing meals to people in need.
–Canine Rescue Club to find temporary foster homes for displaced animals,
–Greater Good Charities for humanitarian aid to humans and animals.
May those who have been affected by the fires in Southern California find safety. May they feel held in the embrace of our prayers and in our hearts as they move toward recovery.
TBS’ Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class Starting this winter!
Have you wanted to transform your adult understanding of Judaism into a meaningful ritual? We are forming an adult b’nai mitzvah class this fall. We will spend the next 18 months studying together. Each student will read from the Torah, lead part of a group prayer service, and deliver a D’var Torah.
Rabbi Michael Ross and Jean Beasley will be the instructors. Costs will be determined by enrollment.
CLASSES:
– Jewish Prayer Essentials – structure & meaning of prayers (Fall ’24: Saturday mornings before Torah Study, from 9:00 – 9:45 am)
– Making Prayer Real – the art of prayer (Spring ’25, Saturdays before Torah Study, from 9:00 – 9:45 am)
– Basic Hebrew (Winter and Spring ’25, class time to be determined)
– Torah Reading & Chanting (Fall ’25)
– Spiritual Autobiography writing (Fall ’25 or Spring ’26)
TBS Legacy Fund Update
Exciting News!
We have now reached $118,400 or 59% of our goal. And the really good news (which I
announced at our fabulous Hanukkah celebration Friday night) is that one of our members has generously offered to match all donations up to the next $10,000 and another member is talking about taking over the match when that goal is reached.
Which means that since your donation is a mitzvah (the blessing of a good deed) your donation at this time will be a double mitzvah. We would really love to see everyone receive the blessing of knowing they played a part, however small, in completing the purchase of our wonderful building and insuring our Jewish presence well into the future. It is an investment we can all be proud of.
While we are at 59% of our goal, only 25% of our congregation has participated so far. We would love to see that reach 100% as well. Please join us. All contributions of any size will be greatly appreciated and then doubled in value. Let’s do this together! I know we can.
Donations to support Israel can be made at
Cleveland Federation:
Temple Beth Shalom can now use Zeffy for donations, membership dues or other payments. On the Dues/Fees/Donations tab on tbshudson.org is the option Zeffy, which works like PayPal except Temple Beth Shalom does not pay a fee.
Dues/Fees/Donations Link
