Good morning and L'Shanah Tovah. It is a blessing to be here, all together, as we celebrate Rosh Hashana, the beginning of a new year. These past weeks have been a time for reflection and hope - hope for better times in the year ahead. As we take this opportunity to let go of the past and turn toward the future, I would like to share a bit about my hopes for Temple Shir Tikva and why I believe the synagogue plays such an important role in our lives. First, a bit about me…I am married to Dan Schneider and my family has been part of this community since our oldest son, Paul, was ready for religious school in the mid 90s and our youngest, Ben, attended the JCC Preschool. Paul is now a Brandeis graduate and is completing his clinical work to become a certified paramedic. Ben is a junior at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. He traveled to Israel this past summer on a Birthright trip, and it was such a powerful experience for him that he convinced Paul to go this winter. I’m thrilled. The synagogue did not play much of a role in my youth. I never had a Bat Mitzvah as a child. Our family celebrated Shabbat at my grandparent's home often, I received some religious schooling from a neighbor who tutored me weekly for a few years, and we attended High Holiday services each year. Aside from attending a relative's Bar or Bat Mitzvah, I rarely stepped inside a shul. Looking back, I had no idea what I was missing. I became truly engaged here at Shir Tikva when I prepared for and celebrated my Bat Mitzvah, along with ten other women, in January of 2001. I chose this path partly because I felt an obligation to learn more about my faith as my children were beginning their Jewish education, but also to build connections with others. My Bat Mitzvah as an adult turned out to be one of the highlights of my Jewish journey and led me to greater involvement in synagogue life. I now know that what I had been missing as a child and young adult was a sense of belonging to a community with shared values and a shared heritage. This place really is all about the connections - the relationships we build as we journey through life together. Through the ups and the downs, the simchas and the pain, we at Shir Tikva are here for one another. The synagogue is a place that holds us even when there is chaos around us. It is a safe haven for us to come and be together. We learn together, we pray together, we work for social justice by doing acts of tikkun olam together, and we share friendship. There is really no other place where we can live our Jewish values together in so many different ways. While there are many options today to learn about our traditions, no website or individual tutoring session can provide the rich tapestry of experience that is possible by participating in temple life. Membership in this community is a statement about support – in every sense of the word: supporting our heritage; supporting our faith; and supporting one another. So, what do I hope for our future? We have spent the last two years listening to your wants and needs and exploring ways of making them a reality through our visioning process called Chazon. My hope is that we continue implementing the recommendations that emerged from this work. You told us you wanted innovations in spirituality; a warmer space in which to worship and to visit with one another; improvements in how we utilize technology; and a welcoming community where interfaith families can fully participate in temple life. We listened and we have taken action. Many of the Chazon initiatives that are underway are described on our website. I want to assure you that my single most important goal is that every single person who walks through our doors feels instantly at home. If the overarching value that we receive here is the benefit of being in relationship with one another, we must make that happen. Beginning with our next Kabbalat Shabbat we will all wear name tags so that we can put faces to names and get to know one another better. Our Board of Trustees is reading Dr. Ron Wolfson's book, Relational Judaism, to help us develop a deeper commitment to interpersonal engagement. I was pleased to learn that we already use some of the strategies suggested by Dr. Wolfson, but there are many more opportunities for us to strengthen the bonds of this community. This year we will have opportunities to gather for holiday celebrations, to learn from compelling guest speakers, to participate in engaging programs, and get to know one another with a heightened awareness of our shared connections. We are so excited about our newest social action initiative which is that we are becoming a host congregation for Family Promise, an interfaith organization in MetroWest that provides temporary housing to families in transition. Our synagogue will be home for a total of three weeks for up to a dozen guests, and we will receive assistance from support congregations including the Islamic Center across the street. I am so proud that Shir Tikva is taking such an active role in this important initiative. Each of us has different interests; different touch-points for connection to synagogue life, different levels of commitment to our practice of Judaism, different ways in which we want to make this world a better place and different ideas about how to support Israel. We are here for everyone. This is an inclusive community. We welcome all who enter. Life is filled with uncertainty, but knowing that we have a spiritual home in which to gather together is a great comfort. I wish you all a sweet New Year filled with much joy, community, fulfillment and many mitzvoth. L’Shanah Tovah.