Here we are in November and before you know it, Hanukkah will be here. I’m hoping to get some new holiday items in the gift shop within a couple of weeks.
Sometimes we just wonder where the time goes. It seems like just yesterday I was raising my three children and now my granddaughter Patricia is expecting my first great-grandson — yes, we know it is a boy.
Turning to Sisterhood business, I would like to hear from all the members to see what you would like to accomplish this year.
You might be asking why, with our membership aging and few new members — one or two each year — are we conducting a capital campaign? To put it bluntly, if we want the building to stand and remain safe for its occupants, we must act to repair the facade and the interior.
But why should we put out the effort to maintain the building? Here is the answer:
The Jewish community has been an integral part of the Wabash Valley for almost 170 years.
People look to our community to share our faith with them.
Our prayer book says that on Shabbat we should pray, rest and attend to the House of Study.
Yes, you can do all these things in the privacy of your home. And, yes, the practice of Judaism includes personal practices.
But…. Judaism also stresses the need to practice our rituals in community. The minyan is evidence of that. Our weekly Shabbat services allow us to gather as a community and pray together.
Two years ago, Indiana Landmarks/Sacred Places Indiana invited United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute to apply for a planning grant, earned due to the congregation’s small size and the daunting challenge it faced in maintaining a large, historic house of worship.
“I’ve heard people ask, ‘is the synagogue still even open?’” says Vice President/Secretary Terry Fear. “From the street, our building looks dark all the time. Even on Friday nights, our lights are shuttered.”
That challenge also created opportunity, however, as the congregation won a $5,000 grant — and a succeeding $25,000 capital grant — through the work of a team dedicated to revitalizing Temple Israel, a neoclassical structure built in 1911.