When I first started this blog, it began not as a forum for posting my divrei Torah from the previous Shabbat but as a forum for soliciting thoughts from readers. It morphed into a format of providing the weekly Torah commentaries later on.
Marcia Kushner and I meet frequently thinking about our shul and ways to maintain a sense of community within our shrinking community. One idea she had which seems to be working quite well is the Simcha Shel Shabbat Birthday Celebration that we hold on the first Shabbat of each month. If you've come to one of these celebrations, we attempt to mention every congregant having a birthday in the current month and tell a little bit about them. The idea is to help each other know one another. Of course there are individuals who are not present to hear the small "blurb" from the "bimah".
From those who are present, I've heard two varying opinions: 1) Only speak about those individuals who are present in the sanctuary on the given day. 2) Speak about all the individuals because it lends a feeling of connection to even those who are not present.
I'm not sure whether we will maintain our change our format, but I would like to suggest that if it is at all possible for you to join us on your birthday month Simcha Shel Shabbat celebration, we'd love to have you do so. We believe you will find the connections pleasant, the lunch delicious, and the sense of gratitude for your existence apparent!
If anyone would like to add a comment about your experiences with this new TI monthly event, please feel free to do so.
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