And so we say goodbye to another summer.   Over the course of the summer some of you may have attended a Shabbat service in our Library, or at Congregation Mishkan Israel and wondered what was going on. Thanks to the Bear family and the Bear Memorial Fund we have undergone some renovation work in our Sanctuary which prohibited us from using the room for a few weeks. Because of the Fund we were able to have the old carpet and underlying tiles removed and replaced with new carpeting.

Special thanks go out to Josh Weissman for his work in coordinating the removal of the old materials and installation of the new. While this work was being done, he also coordinated the cleaning and refinishing of our sanctuary pews. I certainly hope that everyone takes some time to attend a service (or two, or three) in the Sanctuary to take in all of the work that was done, before the High Holy Days come at the beginning of October. I also would like to extend my thanks to our neighbors at Congregation Mishkan Israel for allowing us to use their facility for Shabbat Services while our building had limited access.

During the recent work, our congregation showed, once again that it is strong and flexible. Our Saturday morning services at times filled our Library to overflowing and on the Shabbat where we relocated to CMI we had large crowds for both Friday and Saturday mornings. This is a testament to the strength of our community and I applaud the fact that we all took these changes in stride. Mazel Tov to us all.

My family and I wish everyone Shanah Tovah Umetukah, a good and sweet year.

Brian Lakin

TBS President