Shalom.
I am looking forward to many gatherings of friends, family, congregants, and community in the coming month. I am writing this just before the start of Passover, where it is so important to gather with family and friends in one’s home that we skip going to synagogue on Friday when the Seder falls on that night. Passover makes us think instead about hospitality, welcoming the stranger and the refugee into our midst (as we are thankful for our own exodus from the land of Egypt) and (of course) opening the door for Elijah! How wonderful, then, that TBT then comes together to make our synagogue our symbolic home for the communal Second Seder.
As soon as Passover ends, many TBT congregants are gathering together for a journey to the “Old World,” to Central and Eastern Europe where we will explore the ancestral homes of many American Jews but also bear witness to forces that destroyed centuries-old communities. I look forward to this TBT group adventure as well.
And right on the heels of our return from Europe will be our congregation-wide gathering—the TBT Annual Meeting on Tuesday, May 14, at 7:00 p.m. Please put this on your calendar and join us as we come together to reflect on the past year and consider the year ahead.
I also want to thank everyone who participated in another community-building event: the Social Justice Committee’s Spring Food Drive, our first food drive held entirely online, allowing us to order healthy, perishable food for delivery directly to the Branford Community Dining Room. The Committee exceeded its goal thanks to so many in our TBT community.
- Jeff Babbin