October 6, 2022

Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),

I am writing this week’s message to you on Erev Yom Kippur. Our first Yom Kippur in South Palm Beach County, it also marks 6 months since we moved to town. So much has happened in our lives since then, and I am reminded of what a joy it has been to make new friends and to contribute to the growth and success of our new community. Lori and I will also be celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary on October 9th. Where have the years gone?

This past weekend our Levis JCC Helene & Roy Schwedelson Special Needs Department was back in full swing with the highest enrollment for this program yet! Over the past few weeks, our Schwedelson Sunday Social Scene, Schwedelson Young Adult Social Scene, Fit & Fun, Otzar, and Parents Night Out programs brought together new and returning children, teens and adults with special needs to enjoy bingo, fitness, Jewish studies and so much more. It has been just wonderful to see their excitement and smiles as they gathered and enjoyed activities in our new space, and I look forward to the exciting season ahead in our Schwedelson Special Needs Department, and in all of our Levis JCC departments.

This week’s Torah portion is Ha’azinu (Listen In) in Deuteronomy, the 5th and final book in the Five Books of Moses. In it, G-d instructs Moses to climb mount Nebo from where he will look into the Promised Land, but not enter it. It is there that Moses dies. As each of us contemplates our past year during these Days of Awe, we all metaphorically stand on such a precipice, looking back on how we have lived our lives this past year, and hopefully looking ahead to a new year of good health, happiness, and prosperity. May we enter into this new year in peace. At our Adolph & Rose Levis JCC, my sincere hope is that we all continue to come together as a strong, vibrant, and growing community in our new “Bayit” (home), one in which the possibilities for the future of our Levis JCC are limitless!

Light candles Friday night at 6:42 p.m.
Shabbat ends Saturday night at 7:34 p.m.

Shabbat Shalom,

Marty