Rosh Hashanah, Blessings, Blogs, and a new Web Site...

Welcome to 5772! In the spirit of the New Year, and in the spirit of taking stock of our lives at this important time of the year, there are many exciting and new things happening with TBS online which I thought I would highlight here.

First, we have launched our newly updated web page. You can still find us at www.tbsneedham.org but when you log in, you will notice that the site has a slightly new look and feel. The calendar of events is now firmly linked in to all of our subpages, and we have several exciting new features which will be debuting in the coming weeks (and, in fact, later in this email).

To access much of the customized content, we have moved away from the model of a single user password for the entire congregation. Instead, you will have an individual user identity and password. If you have not already registered for a username and password, please do so by clicking here, and following the instuctions below:

• Fill out the form to register for an Online username and password.


• Enter key information: First Name, Last Name, Password and confirmation, Email, and Display Name


• Enter required information on the Custom Tab: Timezone.


• Enter optional information: Address, Avatar / Profile photo, Tags tab (to indicate your interests or affiliations), Custom tab (for privacy settings), and Activity tab (settings for how you want to be notified about activities within the Community Area).

You will be sent an email with a confirmation that your account has been established once you have been approved. Login information is per user, so everyone in your family can (and should) create their own username on our new page.

Also on the new page (as you begin to explore) you will find that we have updated the section including the Rabbi's sermons to feature the two sermons delivered on Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Todd's erev Rosh Hashanah sermon entitled "Opening our Eyes to Blessings" can be found here and the list of blessings mentioned in his sermon can be found here. Rabbi Jay's Rosh Hashanah sermon entitled "Israel: Seeking Hope, Inspiration, and Courage to Act" can be found here. After Yom Kippur, we will update their respective pages with copies of this year's sermons.

Another new feature of our relaunched website are two new blogs for our K-5 and 6-12 learning programs. Following the incredible success last year of our pre-school blog, we have launched two fully interactive blogs with posts from your children's teachers, pictures from the classrooms, information about learning and curriculum, and lots of opportunities for ongoing conversation. We welcome you to come view how exciting learning at TBS is! The Elementary Learning (grades K-5) blog can be found here and the Teen Programs blog (grades 6-12) can be found here. Please note you must be logged into the Temple web site to access these pages. (If you would like to have a family member who is not a member of the Temple [i.e. grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc.] be able to access the blog, please note that they can also register for a username and password using the instructions above although their access to the webpage as a whole may be limited).

As a final reminder and update, we are in the middle of our Annual Shofar Appeal. This is time of year when we reach out to you asking for your support as we begin the year ahead. A pledge card was sent home to all members, and if you prefer to make a contribution online feel free to click here (you will be able to use Paypal to make a contribution by credit card).

We hope you enjoy the start of the New Year as well as the new ways in which we are using technology at the Temple. May the year to come bring you and yours many blessings!

Congratulations to TBS and Needham High School Graduates by BESTY President Matt Lerner

Ed. Note: The following speech was delivered at Shabbat Services several weeks ago at which we offered congratulations to our graduating seniors. The words of blessing were delivered by Matt Lerner, current and incoming BESTY president. In recognition of yesterday's Needham High School graduation ceremonies, we offer Matt's words below.

Everyone loves ice cream. (For those of you who are lactose intolerant, my apologies, please cover your ears)… You know…I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. Everyone loves to eat ice cream in their own way-cup or cone, shake or split, sprinkles or fudge. But whether you would vote for chocolate, vanilla or maybe cookie dough, we can all agree that it’s a great dessert.

As it happens, I know quite a bit about this tasty treat. (Stay with me here, I promise to get back to our graduates…) I spend the majority of my weekends scooping ice cream, often getting more on me than in the cup. Working at an ice cream store, I have to opportunity to observe the differences in how people prefer this iconic frozen dessert.

One day, a small child and his grandmother came into the store together. It’s a big store, so it took them a while to get their bearings, checking out all of the flavors and toppings. (Folks come in all the time and get overwhelmed by all of the choices. They end up settling on a flavor based on a catchy title, pretty color, or they go with what they know.) But this little boy was SO excited, he couldn’t decide on just one. He wanted EVERYTHING! The flavors, the toppings, in a cup with a cone… and by the time he was done, it was falling out of the cone, dripping everywhere. It was not a pretty sight. He had a scoop of black raspberry ice cream, with a scoop of peanut butter as well. He wanted marshmallow and strawberries and kit-kats on top. He just kept adding things while his grandmother stood by in shock.

When he was finally done, and it was his grandmother’s turn to order, she chose a small cup of mint chocolate chip. No toppings needed.

And as I watched this, I realized that as a child you want everything. You need to try all the flavors and combinations to find the ones you really love. As you grow older, you learn what you like most. And that’s the beauty of it… Some day that child will grow up, and bring his grandkids to get ice cream - hopefully I won’t still be there - and he will look on with a knowing smile as his grandchildren order everything on the menu.

And so now, as you move on from TBS, NHS, and this phase of your life, I want to offer you good luck in creating your own perfect ice cream Sundae, no matter what shape it takes. You will be constantly adding to it, changing it, altering the flavors as you grow and learn about yourself.

Keep in mind that there is only so much room in your cup - and be sure to keep the important things in there - your loved ones, memories, and your Jewish identity. Although you’re not all going to be together next year, remember that TBS will always be a common ingredient in your Sundae. Regardless of cup or cone, remember that this experience we’ve had at TBS is always with you - even if it gets buried underneath the other flavors.

Enjoy the chance to taste all that life has to offer: Good luck and we will miss you. Shabbat Shalom.

--Matt Lerner