I love to give. I am passionate about giving, and whether it’s baking cookies for my new neighbors, helping in the Urban Ministries soup kitchen, or giving money to a worthy cause, I get such great pleasure from feeling like I am helping. It’s a good thing too, as it is also something we, as Jews, are commanded to do. It’s an important part of being Jewish, and doing tikkun olam- repairing the world and making it a better place.
So, it just makes so much sense to me to start the giving at home…at home in our own Jewish community, and specifically our synagogue. For the past five years, we have looked at giving at Temple Beth El from a more sacred perspective. We have grounded it in Torah and invited our congregants to give from their hearts as they themselves have been blessed, just as the Jews were asked to do at Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot so many years ago. Not much has changed…we continue to give, except we give money instead of sacrificing animals, and giving to Temple Beth El specifically helps sustain us and enables us to have the warm and vibrant community we have.
If you have already renewed your Sacred Gift, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring for and supporting our synagogue. If you have not yet renewed, I hope you will soon. In this time of transition, I would like all of you to remain a part of our temple family because you are what makes us such a wonderful place.
See Candace’s jewTuBE video to learn more about Sacred Giving.
