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L’Shanah Tovah Temple Israel,

It is our very great pleasure to celebrate the Jewish New Year, 5784, as a new clergy team. We officially welcomed Rabbi Benjamin Sharff and his family in July. Rabbi Sharff, Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin, and Cantor Joanna Alexander have been working seamlessly to build a strong clergy team as we lead worship, care for our community members, and plan for the holidays and beyond. We are so grateful to join with you, our Temple Israel community, in this New Year.

As we enter into this season, our collective journeys as a congregational community are both old and new. This year, 5784, commemorates the tenth anniversary of moving into this building. It also marks a new beginning with a new Senior Rabbi. We are excited to celebrate both the heritage of Temple Israel and its future with you.

We pray 5784 marks a rededication of our commitment to Temple Israel, to the Jewish community of Omaha, and to the Tri-Faith Commons. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are always moments in time meant to connect us through time. We come together each year to hear the piercing sound of the Shofar, to uplift the teaching of Torah, to pray for forgiveness, and to re-dedicate ourselves to the ongoing effort to become the best versions of ourselves for the upcoming year. We join with friends and family who we may only see at this time of year, and we remember those who once sat in the seats beside us but are no longer with us. We remember the children we‘ve sent out into the world who are, perhaps, sitting in similar sanctuaries hearing similar prayers, but surrounded by a new community. We re-orient ourselves in our relationships, in the balance of daily life, and in our relationships with God, history, and community. We relish the new, we are re-invigorated by the traditional, and we find ourselves, somehow, back home.

For some of us, Temple Israel has been our home for four or more generations, and for some of us, it is brand new. We hope that when you join us this New Year, as you greet your friends and family members, you will also reach out to someone who you do not recognize. Perhaps this is their first time in synagogue, perhaps they are a regular on Shabbat, perhaps they have just moved to Omaha, perhaps they’ve been joining online, or perhaps you’ve just never taken the time to stop and say hello to one another. Please welcome and invite all who celebrate the new year to join us, and open your hearts to the changes that will come in this new season.

On these High Holy Days, we will pray the words: some old some new. We will sing the songs: some new, some traditional. We will greet and be greeted and learn and become more learned, together.

We cannot wait to welcome you to our home, Congregation of Temple Israel, the only Reform community in Omaha, Nebraska. We invite you to join us in the renewal of our spirit: the celebration of our Jewish New Year and the whole holiday season.

May it be a year of health, happiness, and renewal.

Senior Rabbi Benjamin Sharff | Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin | Cantor Joanna Alexander