Shana Tovah. A happy and a healthy new year. I hope everyone had a wonderful summer. For our Temple families, we have had some additions and some losses, but I am happy to report, we are doing well as we head into our high holiday season. There has been a lot happening this summer.

For the start of our new school year, the classrooms are looking marvelous! They received a complete overhaul thanks to generous donations by the Sisterhood, Men’s Club, Renee Bretz, and David Halpern. We are very grateful for all the help, support and hard work the sisterhood did in running the attic sale to make money for the classroom renovation. Thank you also to everyone who helped out, donated and came to buy! The actual work done to the classrooms would not have been possible without the help of Shimon Ben David, Steven Shapiro, Lorraine DeSisto and Ed Rodman. So I hope everyone will benefit from brighter and newer classrooms. If you have any further suggestions, please let me know.

Also, we have new Siddurim revised by our Rabbi, and copies made and donated by the Mirchin family.

As I write this, the outside of the temple is being repaired, power washed and stained. The outside parking lot light, which was hit by lightning is also being repaired, along with a broken pipe underneath the parking lot and the gutters on the building. Scott Maher is fixing the pipe and the parking lot for us. We are grateful to him. I want to send another big thank you to Shimon Ben David, Mel Gottesfeld, and Steven Shapiro for being on top of these things and making sure the temple stays in good shape. Mel is also getting us a new sign for the outside of the Temple to let people know we are here. Along with the new Temple exterior and sign, we also owe a great deal of thanks to Elaine Sanders and the Sisterhood for the beautiful flowers all summer.

Of course, the Temple could not run without all our volunteers, especially our board members and the members of our education committee who keep things running so smoothly.

Our next project is new carpeting for the Sanctuary. The carpeting has been damaged by floods and wear and tear. We are currently working on evaluating the best option for our Temple and hopefully the carpet will go in during the fall. We might need some volunteers to help with the pews and fall cleanup. Donations are welcome and appreciated.

I am so excited to tell you about the Adult Ed classes Rabbi Darnov will be having starting this fall. The first is an adult B’nai Mitzvah class, which can culminate in an adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah, or you can just take it to learn and improve your knowledge and skills. The other is Torah Study, which will be on Saturday mornings when school is in session. This is a drop in class, so please, drop in. Please see the email or flyer on these classes.

There are at least two areas which really need more member participation. They are membership and social action. Robin Silverman is in charge of Membership, but she needs your help to spread the word about our temple and come and help out with membership events. Also, very crucial to the Reform movement’s social action initiative are the projects headed by Lorraine Desisto and Roni Rodman. Please help out either with your time to volunteer at the food pantry or with a donation. It’s so important.

The high holidays are always a time to reflect. I was recently reading an article in the Brandeis University magazine, about an artist, Mr. Harry Feiner, and some of his experiences touring the concentration camps. Mr. Feiner says, “How we deal with our heritage and identity is as complex an affair as the human mind can produce, laden with enough psychological insights to fill a textbook.” He is so right and it reminds me of the wonderful diversity of people we have at the Reform Temple of Putnam Valley. People whose Jewish backgrounds and educations are as diverse as the Jewish people, people who are not Jewish, but are here either for their families, or because we fulfill an important need in their life. Some who are just starting out in life, and some who have lived much longer. Some who can’t wait for Friday night, and some who need more motivation. Some who come for God, and some who come for community. However, when we all come together we bring all of our backgrounds, heritages and life experience together, it makes being together very interesting ,very special, and a privilege to be able to be together.

So as we move towards the time of reflection, of turning back, even in these hard economic times, don’t forget your Temple needs you. Please make a high holiday donation, be generous. Come help us set up and take down before and after the high holidays. How about sponsoring a temple repair? Send in your bags of food for the food pantry on Yom Kippor and/or make a donation. Remember, even though the total at the gas station and supermarket makes us faint recently, there is always someone who really needs your help.

Before I sign off, have you gotten your RTPV tee shirt yet? No? What are you waiting for? It’s the hottest new fashion item for the fall, and it’s a fund raiser for social action. Find Lorraine or Roni. Go now.

L’Shanah Tova

Stacy Shapiro