Depending on when you read this
article, we just premiered The Community Synagogue Theater Company’s
performance of Bye Bye Birdie at The Landmark Theater here in town. And as I
write this article, in advance of that premier, I am excited. I am excited not
just because my wife will be acting up on stage, and I am excited not simply
because I love musical theater; I am excited because I love the fact that our
synagogue community is putting on a show (tickets might still be available
through the synagogue website).
When we think about the
traditional Hebrew names for a synagogue they are: ,xbf ,hc Beit
Knesset – A House of Gathering, arsn ,hc Beit Midrash – A
House of Study, or vkhp, ,hc Beit Tefillah – A House
of Prayer. All of these speak to elements of what synagogues do and what we are
about as a congregation. But none of these words on their own are sufficient
for describing what a synagogue is about. In my opinion the only word that
comes close to doing justice to what we as a synagogue are all about is the
word vkhve kehillah – community.
When we think about a community
the most important thing is that it provides an opportunity and a place for
everyone to feel at home, to belong and to play their part. There are many ways
that people express their Jewish identity, and I love that we have now added
acting as a way for members of our community to be involved and be active.
And hopefully we won’t stop
there.
When I think about our Bye Bye
Birdie production one of the things that makes me smile the most is the fact
that this all grew out of one person’s idea for a project they wanted the
synagogue to be involved in. Lori Zlotoff wanted us to have a Theater Company
and so she made it happen. I hope that she will serve as an example and an
inspiration for other people to let us know what type of projects they would
like to see the synagogue involved in. There are many ways for people to become
involved in our community, and we want to support you in finding even more ways
for people to become engaged in our community.
If there is a project you want to
see the synagogue involved in please do approach one of the Staff or the Board
to talk to us about your idea, and hopefully we can support you in turning
other ideas into reality.
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