January 2019:

I want to begin this message by wishing you all a Happy New Year and hope everyone enjoyed the holidays with family and friends. Also, I want to take this opportunity to give an update on some of what has been going on at TBS.

We recently had the second stop in our Shabbat Around the World family dinner series in December, when we experienced some of the cuisine from Egypt and Syria, inspired by family recipes shared by Al Harary.   In my role as cultural travel agent, I will mention that the next destination will include a Shabbat dinner from Italy. Turnout for the dinners so far has been great. I am hopeful that the Italian dinner will see even more of our younger families in attendance as well.

Additional security improvements continue to be made and implemented. Cameras have been installed around the building, inside and outside. We will continue to have a Security Guard present at services on Friday nights and Saturday mornings. Many have provided feedback to me on the efforts we have already made, and I am proud to say that it has been very positive. To anyone who wants to become involved in this process, I continue to encourage you to attend Security Committee meetings and be a part of the conversations. Also, a number of people have approached me to ask about making donations toward the Security project. Monetary contributions can be made directly through the Temple Office, specifying that the donation is for Security. We will ensure that the funds are earmarked appropriately.

To stay fully up to date on Services, meetings and events at TBS, if you have not already, I recommend checking out the Temple Beth Sholom Hamden page on Facebook in addition to the Tablet, the Bulletin and the website.

Josh Weissman