Dear Friends,
I hope you will join us for services this Friday night and Shabbat as we celebrate the bat mitzvah of Netta Marziano. Mazal Tov to Netta and to her whole family!
We have recently concluded the counting of the Omer and celebrated that culmination with the holiday of Shavuot. Going forward, we rely on the spiritual strength of having counted each day for 50 days, numbering them one by one, as we continue with our lives until next year….And yet, we retain the awareness of counting through the weekly Torah portion of Naso which begins with the census of the Levites. This week our Torah reading focuses our attention on the counting of people rather than on the counting of days!
Our Torah portion outlines the variety of ways in which our ancestors served as participants in the quest for holiness in Jewish life and in Jewish community. Centered around the Sanctuary, each tribe had a part to play. Each family within each tribe had a role. Each person contributed to the overall project of sustaining our covenant with God and making it a living blueprint for continued connection, dedication and joy in Jewish living and in Jewish community.
This Shabbat, Netta joins the adult members of our community, leading services, reading Torah and chanting Haftarah, and speaking words of Torah, affirming her place among us in the Rodef Sholom Temple community and in the Jewish community around the world.
May this Shabbat be a sign of blessing to us at Rodef Sholom Temple and to all of our people everywhere as each one of us says with full heart: “Count Me In!”
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Gilah Dror
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