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And then there was the extraordinary re-welcoming of Reb Rebecca – Rebecca Joanne Bat-Ohni. I’m sure I’ll never forget the Shabbat morning service when Rebecca appeared for the first time, and was surrounded on the bimah by a dozen women as we offered a Mi Shaberach and a hearty Sh’hechiyanu! I indicated in my note to you all that our rewelcoming of Rebecca would be a blessing on our congregation – and I genuinely believe that to be the case.
At our Shabbat evening service on Nov 11, we were able to support one another in other essential ways. We had a healing service for Jo, we offered memorial prayers for Stuart’s mother Eleanor, and we heard an amazing bit of Jewish history when John Nestel spoke to us about piloting the plane that flew the body of Theodore Hertzl to Israel for burial.
And then on Nov 14, nearly 30 of our members showed up to give blood samples in the hope that one of us will be a bone marrow match for the Brattleboro father dying of leukemia, and several more of our members volunteered to pay for the blood tests. Is that a mitzvah or what?!
At this writing, we are preparing for, and eagerly anticipating, the first adult Bar Mitzvah ever held at BAJC – that of John. Our hope is that this will trigger an avalanche of similar ceremonies for those of you adults who never had a Bar- or Bat- Mitzvah celebration. Already on the calendar is the B’nai Mitzah of five women next fall, on October 14, 2006.
These, together with our Hebrew School, the endlessly creative adult education offerings organized by Andi Waisman, the evolution of our Greenleaf house into an increasingly beautiful space, and new initiatives of our Board and its committees indicate to me – as if there ever was a doubt - that we have a vibrant community indeed.
Yasher koach!
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