Elul 10 5781

 Elul 10, 5781/August 18, 2021

Rabbi Eric Linder

We are Never Closed

Here in Athens, our building was closed for a good portion of this last year. I imagine that many of you can relate, as services and life-cycle events have been (and perhaps still are) attended virtually. 

From the beginning of our closure, I was clear that although our building is closed, our community doors are wide open. The warmth and open-ness of a community does not depend on a physical structure. Our synagogues are not the highlights of our Jewish lives - our synagogue communities are. 

During this past year, we all found creative and meaningful ways to be in each others lives without the ability to be physically proximate. As Judaism teaches us that Kol Yisrael aravim zeh ba zeh, “Each Jew is responsible for   the other,” we know that caring does not depend on geographical nearness.

As this time of COVID hopefully continues to transition toward a time of herd immunity and health, I pray that we remember that our buildings and sanctuaries and offices are there to serve a higher purpose; namely, to support and care for one another, and to continue strengthening the bonds that enable our communities to remain being fully “open."