Dear Friends,
This is a season of transitions. Summer has arrived, and with it, a new sense of possibility. We are stepping out more and socializing with family and friends face-to-face. As I write this, my social media feed is full of smiles: kids arriving at summer camp for the first time in two years! Although much has changed, ‘“normal life” is finally starting to feel within reach.
As you know, this is also a time of significant transition for TBT. I am so deeply honored to serve as your new rabbi, effective July 1st. Many people have been working behind the scenes to make this transition a smooth one: Marlene Schwartz and Karen Goldberg, our Transition Committee Co-Chairs; Sarah Mervine; and my staff and clergy partners: Kim, Bonnie, and Cantor Boyle. I’d especially like to recognize Rabbi Offner. Over the course of many months she has been both generous with her time and gracious in welcoming me as her successor.
I hope you’ll indulge me in a few words of introduction. My wife Susan (pictured with me, below) and I recently relocated to the Shoreline from Norwalk, where we have lived for the last four years while I served a congregation in Westport. Susan, who is also a rabbi, works as a chaplain on the palliative care team at Bridgeport Hospital. We look forward to getting to know you throughout the summer.
In fact, I hope to meet as many families as possible before the High Holy Days! To that end, please consider attending one of the many gatherings we have planned for July and August. Some meetings are scheduled for the daytime, and others at night; some will take place in congregants’ homes and still others will convene on zoom. We hope you’ll find a time and location that aligns with your family’s needs. If you can’t, though, just send an email to Bonnie and we’ll find another time.
As we enter an era that feels at once familiar and brand new, many of us are following the building renovation progress eagerly. Although the timeline for completion has changed slightly from the initial estimate, our professional staff and RAC volunteers have been working diligently to find solutions for both in-person and online access which will give honor and sanctity to our holiest time of year. Rest assured: our High Holy Day observances will be wonderful, meaningful, and spiritually revitalizing.
Transitions can be challenging, but they are also full of tremendous promise. As we prepare to open the book of life for the upcoming Hebrew year of 5782, I feel blessed to be starting a new chapter, together.
Bivracha (Blessings),
Rabbi Danny Moss