Letter from Rabbi Ross

/ /

Rabbi Michael RossDear TBS Friends and Family,

As we prepare for our Year-end Congregational Meeting next Friday, 6/23, at 6:30 pm, I wanted to present a brief year-in-review to get us thinking about the highlights of the past 12 months.

Last Summer with Chuck Fink
While Robin and Jonathan were in Israel for a few months, we invited Chuck Fink to lead our music offerings last summer. Chuck led our first ever Pride Shabbat last June as well as our two outdoor cookouts at Hudson Springs Park. Chuck will be joining us for a few dates this summer, and will serve as Robin’s sabbatical replacement from late fall to early spring.

Religious School Retreat and First Serve
Last August, we kicked off our religious school year with a half-day retreat at Camp Y-Noah. Rabbi Rachel Brown led the retreat and kicked off our second year of Sababah Sundays. Many of us gathered in North Hill again to volunteer for various service projects. We will be part of this wonderful effort again this September!

Prayer Lab – the High Holiday edition
In late August and September, I ran three special sessions of our new program called “Prayer Lab.” Our past year was dedicated to diving deep into Jewish prayer. We held a 45-minute discussion each time about one or two of the high holiday prayers, we held a brief prayer service, and then spent some time in Torah Study. TBS will continue the Prayer Lab idea next year, with another unit preparing us for the High Holidays in August and September.

High Holidays – a huge turnout and a sigh of relief! 
As the pandemic finally began to wane, TBS hosted its first open High Holidays without Covid restrictions in three years. It was so touching to see the sanctuary filled again with your faces for the evening and morning services! The ruach in our services was memorable.

Sukkot and Simchat Torah
Brotherhood did a wonderful job of erecting our Sukkah, and we enjoyed it for our holiday celebrations. Rabbi Rachel led our Simchat Torah service with her unrolling of a large section of the Torah before our eyes.

Sababah Sundays with Rabbi Rachel
This is a special Sunday morning program where we invite a member of the community to share some of their expertise with the students and Rabbi Rachel connects the dots to how the ideas are connected to our Jewish lives and traditions. For example, Amanda Weinstein, a school parent and an economics professor, came in to talk to the students about economics last fall.

Prayer Lab – Saturday Morning Liturgy 
Last fall, we began an 8-month journey through the Shabbat prayers. We discussed the various meanings and metaphors. We looked at traditional texts alongside our current prayerbook. Our fall classes explored the morning blessings and the introductory prayers we use as spiritual warm-ups on Saturday mornings and Friday nights. This fall, we will move from the structure and basics of prayer to the “Art of Prayer.”  We will explore stumbling blocks in our prayer life, and how we can develop spiritual tools to explore the beauty of prayer.

Interfaith Thanksgiving Service – at TBS
For the first time since the tragic Pittsburgh Shooting, TBS hosted the Hudson Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. We had a strong turnout, as I spoke about the rising tide of antisemitism.

Hanukkah Parties 
Last December, we had two special Hanukkah celebrations. Again, our turnout was very impressive for both of these.

Wine And Chocolate Social
Last January, we held a short musical service, and then went downstairs for an expanded social hour where we feasted on wines and chocolates and told our stories about our favorite bottles of wine. We then began a monthly routine of having a shorter, more musical service.

Tu Beshvat Potluck Lunch & Seder
After our morning Prayer Lab session in late January, we held a delicious potluck lunch for Tu Bishvat as we talked about Jewish environmentalism.

Purim Parties
We hosted a fun carnival and later in the week held a reading of the book of Esther. It was so great to have a lechaim and enjoy ourselves for the holiday.

The Art of Siona Benjamin 
James Field, our co-president, led us on a field trip to Case Western for an art exhibit from the fabulous Jewish Indian artist, Siona Benjamin.

Community Seder
We hosted a wonderful Passover Seder on the third night. We celebrated Susan Terkel’s birthday, where her son David delivered a beautiful talk.

Hudson Worship Community Dialogue
TBS joined with St. Mary’s and the First Congregational Church for an afternoon dialogue about how to re-engage our spiritual communities after pandemic living.

Sisterhood Shabbat
Rabbi Rachel and the women of TBS led a lovely service last April.

Israel Shabbat
In early May, we hosted Roei Mizrachi, the Israel Fellow at Kent State. We read Israel’s Declaration of Independence, and talked about the challenges of the dramatic protest movement in Israel over the past 6 months.

Final Day of Religious School – Thanking our Volunteers
On the last day of Sunday School, we held a special service where we thanked all of the TBS volunteers this year. We then had a wonderful hot dog lunch.

Shavuot – Welcoming Julie
TBS had a gorgeous celebration of Shavuot, as we read the Book of Ruth and celebrated Julie Lakas’ entry into the Jewish community. The night before, TBS co-sponsored the annual Tikkun, where I taught a session on “Revelation in Exodus.” A handful of TBS members joined us.

Pride Shabbat – Welcoming Amaryllis
Our Second Annual Pride Shabbat featured a handful of members sharing their LGBTQ experiences and how they intersected those identities with their Jewish identities. Amaryllis Beck, a Kent State student was ritually welcomed into the Jewish community.

Gwenyth Katz’s Bat Mitzvah
Gwenyth Katz read Torah and led our services as we ritually welcomed her into her entry into Jewish adulthood. We also concluded our series of Prayer Lab sessions, as we begin a summer hiatus for our Saturday morning group.

TBSBrotherhood meetings/events
• Sun. 6/25, 1:00 pm – TBS grounds clean-up
• Sun. 7/23, 2:05 pm – Rubber Ducks
• Sun. 8/6, 9:00 am – Brotherhood meeting at TBS. Join us for bagels and coffee.
We meet throughout the year in the spirit of friendship and good humor. We sponsor social events, fundraisers and building beautification projects to support and enhance the TBS community. Contact: Eric Draper at ej_draper@yahoo.com

TBSSisterhood meetings/events
June Sisterhood dinner out – 7:00 pm on June 22 at Blue Canyon Kitchen & Tavern, Twinsburg
• Please RSVP to the Sisters organizing the dinner: Julie Lakes at redtailsky@mac.com and Wendy Hess at wendykhess@hotmail.com by June 21st!
• We requested the screened balcony, and hope to be seated there.

UPCOMING TBS GATHERINGS

  • Thu, 6/22, June Sisterhood dinner out – 7:00 pm: Blue Canyon Kitchen & Tavern, Twinsburg
  • Fri. 6/23, Congregational Meeting – 6:30 pm – 7:20 pm: – in-person only
  • Fri. 6/23, Musical Shabbat – 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm:  – in-person and on zoom
  • Sun. 8/6, Brotherhood meeting – 9:00 am: TBS. Join us for bagels and coffee.