HIGH HOLY DAYS

DEAR FRIENDS

July 2010

We hope you are enjoying a restful and relaxing summer. Here at Temple, it is preparation time! The High Holy Days are just weeks away and plans are well underway for us to come together as a congregation in celebration and reflection on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and throughout this powerful holiday season.

Our ancestors in the wilderness built a sacred space for God’s presence out of some very
mundane materials: rods and sockets, cloth and poles. And we do the same. The enclosed
logistical materials are the nuts and bolts, the rods and sockets that will help us create an
experience of holiness and spirituality for this great congregational community on the
Days of Awe. We appreciate your taking the time to fill out the forms and communicate
your preferences, and we are grateful to the volunteers and Temple administrative staff
whose hard work and patience make all of this possible.

This year our warm and participatory services in the Olan Sanctuary will continue to grow in energy, depth, innovation and beauty. Our Pollman Hall daytime experiences will focus primarily on families with school aged children, with opportunities on both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur for children in grades 2-6 and their families to join with our creative youth education team led by Rabbis Asher Knight and Adam Allenberg together with our new Director of Youth Learning, Rabbi Amy Ross, using informal liturgy, participatory music and an interactive learning activity. Also new this year will be an opportunity for our teens to be part of a teen centered and teen-led service on Yom Kippur. This prayer and study experience is a collaboration between our teen leadership and our clergy. We continue our tradition of opening our doors to all those in Dallas who do not have a congregation. This year we will connect our guests in the Lefkowitz Chapel to the service in the Olan Sanctuary via audio and video connection.

The great Hasidic master, the Baal Shem Tov once taught: “The first time an event occurs
in nature, it is called a miracle. Later it comes to seem natural and is taken for granted.
Let your worship and your service be your miracle each day…performed from the heart
and with the enthusiasm of fresh wonder.” May this coming season of soul-searching and
celebration be a blessing to us all—a season of heart, service and wonder—and may the
new year 5771 bring health, sweetness and peace to you, your family, and all of God’s world.

L’shanah Tovah,
Rabbi David E. Stern
Rabbi Debra J. Robbins
Rabbi Oren J. Hayon
Rabbi Asher Knight
Rabbi Adam Allenberg
Cantor Richard Cohn