Earlier this month, I observed the second yahrzeit for my mother Sharon Chester z”l.
On the night that my mother pased away, Jews around the world were gathering and reciting what Ashkenazim observe as the first night of Selichot, the penitential prayers that we say daily in the lead-up to Rosh Hashanah through Erev Yom Kippur.
This circumstance - the fact that my mother, who spent much of her adult life dedicated to volunteering with her local Chabad, passed on the one night of the year when Jews formally pray well past midnight - has moved Rina and me to sponsor CBAJ’s annual Selichot concert in her honor. It has also gotten me thinking about what makes Selichot unique.
A core portion of Selichot - the Yud Gimmel Midot, Hashem’s 13 Attributes of Mercy - is only recited with a minyan, since with a minyan these words attain a holiness similar to that of Kedusha or Kaddish. Though our trespasses may be ours as individuals, we invoke Hashem’s mercy as a congregation. Together, our voices are louder, our prayers more forceful.
Our CBAJ community reflects that dynamic. Though we are all individuals with our own personal goals, needs, politics, families, and livelihoods, we nonetheless elevate ourselves when we join together as a shul.
We pray together: daily, on Shabbat, and on holidays. Our services are always free and open to all, regardless of background or membership status.
We learn together: in morning study groups, in Kiddush conversations and Living Room Learning, in communal Scholar-in-Residence weekends, and through Rabbi Kean’s divrei Torah and lectures.
We work together, because around CBAJ, the work is never done. We build and take down the shul Sukkah; we re-mulch the playground in the spring; we set up and take down and rearrange chairs and tables in the social hall; we prepare kiddushes and luncheons week after week.
We socialize together, everywhere from chitchatting on the playground while pushing kids on the swing to big sponsored kiddush luncheons celebrating a major simcha. In just a few weeks, our holiday season will culminate in our annual Simchat Torah pizza dinner and Ungerman family breakfast and lunch - events which my mother delighted in sharing with our community when she visited.
Just as Selichot reminds us that our voices rise higher in unison, our shul thrives when each of us helps to build it. With this idea in mind, I invite you to participate in the 5786 CBAJ Chai Campaign.
This campaign is critical to helping us balance our budget each year, and every contribution matters tremendously. As ever, we strive for 100% participation in the campaign. If you have participated in the campaign in prior years, I ask that you consider increasing your contribution by 10% or 20% this year.
To donate, you can use this link. Or you may call the office (Melissa: 518-489-5819 x 3) with your credit card, or mail a check to our office.
My mother lived her life believing and demonstrating that the best way to sustain a thriving community was to play an active role in building it. Whatever your participation level, your generosity will be magnified by the contributions of the rest of our community.
On behalf of the CBAJ Board of Directors, I extend to all of you a greeting of L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu V'techatemu - may we all be inscribed and sealed for a good year, and may we continue to grow and flourish as a congregation in 5786. Elliot Chester President, Congregation Beth Abraham-Jacob
Congregation Beth Abraham-Jacob 380 Whitehall Rd Albany, NY 12208
