Riverside Roundup: 08/26/11 A Message From Rabbi Mitch At Temple Sholom About Hurricane Irene

Friday, August 26, 2011

08/26/11 A Message From Rabbi Mitch At Temple Sholom About Hurricane Irene

A message from Temple Sholom
August 26th, 2011

With the approach of the impending storm, we are writing to express our concern

for your physical safety, and your spiritual well-being.

If you have not already done so, we encourage you to learn how to best prepare for a hurricane. The State of Connecticut has a storm-preparedness website, which is accessible here: http://www.governor.ct.gov/malloy/cwp/view.asp?a=11&q=485102

For our Westchester congregants, the County Government has set up this site to assist with storm preparation: http://www3.westchestergov.com/news/2796-hurricane-update-and-preparedness

Please do not wait to access this important information and prepare to evacuate if you need to do so. Some communities have already placed mandatory evacuation plans into effect.

At Temple Sholom, our hope as a home for sacred connection is to help our congregational community and our community at large understand that acts of nature sometimes affect our world, and that by preparing for these events, we have an opportunity to make the way safe for our families, communities, and those we love.

If you know of a fellow congregant, family member or neighbor who may be alone or in need, please reach out to them before and after this storm. We all pray that our community will emerge from it unscathed.

We at Temple Sholom are here for you - to offer support, care and concern. We will update our website and phone messages throughout the weekend to alert you to any Temple resources which may become available. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to any of us.

We wish you peace and safety in the days to come.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Mitch

and the Leadership and Staff of Temple Sholom

And God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark, and God caused a spirit to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. And the springs of the deep were closed, and the windows of the heavens, and the rain from the heavens was withheld. And the waters receded off the earth more and more, and the water diminished...

...And Noah sent forth the dove from with him, to see whether the waters had abated from upon the surface of the earth...and the dove returned to him at eventide, and behold it had plucked an olive leaf in its mouth; so Noah knew that the water had abated from upon the earth.

...And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant, which I am placing between Me and between you, and between every living soul that is with you, for everlasting generations. My rainbow I have placed in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Myself and the earth.

--from Parashat Noach