Monthly Archives: November 2020

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Religious School Update from Cantor Rebecca Robins

Temple Sinai Religious School began the 5781 school year fully online in mid-October.  As we considered how both to maintain and create a space where Significance, Belonging, and Fun were the top priorities, we also thought about:

  1. What local and federal regulations were as it relates to COVID-19, and
  2. What the Temple Sinai COVID Advisory Group suggested and supported as it relates to public health guidance and wisdom to keep our community safe,
  3. What is developmentally responsive for our TSRS students at all ages, and
  4. How our programming could best support and strengthen families during this unique time.

We wondered: what is it that children and teens need from their synagogue community during a crisis in the world? Religious education is important, and faith development is a lifelong endeavor, but how a religious community responds to an acute crisis had us asking:  how do we create a ‘tiny temple’ for our kids? We knew that in cultivating programing for the 2020-2021 year, we needed to create a space that was a bet midrash (house of learning), but also a bet t’filah (house of prayer) and bet k’nesset (house of gathering).

Our 2nd-10th grade programs have adapted to be responsive to this moment and are enrolled at about 80%.  Our traditional Kindergarten and 1st grade programs are meeting this year through periodic “in-a-box” experiences (holidays for K, monthly for 1st grade). These are curated by our educators and supported with prerecorded video and live Zoom content. Most of all, in the spirit of our ‘tiny temple’ for K-12 participants, worship and gathering are interwoven into our programs – in both religious school specific spaces and across Temple Sinai programming. Finally, TSRS continues to strive to support all Temple Sinai families with children in grades K-12 to connect, find meaning and access, and participate in their temple during these ongoing days of distance.

For more information about TSRS as the pandemic persists, visit our online school lobby, and connect to all of our classrooms and learning spaces. It’s a fun place to hang out for a bit – but you’ll need to bring your own coffee.  😊

Staff Update

All Temple Sinai staff will be furloughed for one week in order to reduce our expenses and position our finances for long term viability. The furlough will impact our administrative, building and security, clergy, and full time religious school staff. It will not impact our teachers in either nursery school or religious school as they have already enacted significant reductions in staff levels and decreased hours and salaries for remaining teachers.

Our last update included information and figures about the temple’s financial position. In the Spring as we created our budget and plans, we anticipated a dip in our membership and lower revenue both from member financial commitments and school tuition. Our experience so far is close to what we projected. The long-term nature of the pandemic, however, has created further uncertainty about temple finances that we could not foresee when we expected a quicker return to normal.

We need further expense savings in order to position the temple to weather the financial impact of the pandemic. Many programs and supply related costs have already been reduced or eliminated. Despite our efforts to avoid further impact on our staff, we must turn to personnel expenses for further savings. In trying to avoid more lay-offs and to be as equitable as possible, we are implementing a one-week furlough for all staff excluding religious school and nursery school teachers.

We greatly appreciate all the members of our exceptional team and understand the sacrifices they must make on behalf of the temple to endure the pandemic. Each staff member will choose one of two options: the week around Thanksgiving or the week around Christmas. You will see our temple operations impacted during those weeks when our staff are furloughed. They cannot work at all during their furlough week and we hope you will be patient and understanding when you do not receive a quick response to a request or experience a temporary cancellation or delay of a program you enjoy. One clergy member will remain on call for pastoral needs during this time as usual. So please do not hesitate to contact us regarding illnesses, deaths, or any urgent pastoral need.

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Temple Sinai Covid-19 Status and Update

Dear Sinai community,

TGIRH (Thank God it’s Rosh Hodesh)! Today is the last day of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan. This month is sometimes called “Mar Cheshvan” which means “bitter cheshvan” (mar is a cognate of the word maror that you may know from Passover’s bitter herbs). It’s bitter because it’s getting colder and darker and the month has no holidays – especially striking after the month with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah. This past month has been bitter for us in non-religious terms too. We are happy to say goodbye to the month of election stress and unrest and dangerously spiking Covid-19 cases.

The new month, Kislev, represents future promise and better days. This month brings Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. Despite our return to stricter virus precautions, the good will and gratitude, the gifts, latkes, and bright candles symbolize a new boost to our spirits. Like the Hanukkah candles and the moon itself, however, the light does not shine immediately at its brightest. The moon waxes fourteen days before it’s full and the Hanukkiah takes eight days to fully shine. Patience and tenacity are more important than ever. Giving and receiving help are also critical for our community’s longevity and vitality. The shamash on the hanukkiah reminds us that light is kindled and grows steadily brighter only with the presence of “the helper” and each of us needs to give and receive more these days.

This update is meant to be a kind of helper – to keep you informed of the Temple’s status and important steps being taken for the community’s future. It is also a reminder that we face serious challenges ahead – including a furlough for our staff – and that we persevere the challenges by leaning on each other and supporting those who need it. Please, be careful and vigilant about virus spread prevention in the coming weeks as holidays return to our lives. Please, continue to lean on the temple community and the connections we are creating and supporting virtually even as our staff bear some extra burdens to ensure those connections can remain strong. I look forward to seeing your reflections on gratitude, your photos of good meals, and soon, the lights shining brightly in your windows. With blessings from my house to yours as we enter the month of Kislev, Rabbi Jonathan Roos

CONTACT INFO

www.templesinaidc.org
3100 Military Rd NW
Washington DC 20015
Main: (202) 363-6394
TSNS: (202) 362-3836
TSRS: (202) 363-1942
Fax: (202) 363-6396

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