Giving Thanks for Our Blessings

by Rabbi Ari  Sunshine

​This past weekend was an incredible high for our family as we celebrated our daughter Elana’s Bat Mitzvah.  We were so proud of Elana, the wonderful job she did, the poise she displayed, and her warmth that shone through.  Moreover, we were so delighted and honored to be able to share this simcha with so many of you in addition to our out of town family and friends.  Your presence and the outpouring of your love and support for Elana and for our family added so much to this experience and elevated our Shabbat and our weekend.  

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Moreover, in the aftermath of the tragic shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, our spirits needed to be lifted, and I hope the joyous morning we shared provided that spark of hope, light and life that we all needed.  Jennifer, Jonah, Elana and I feel so blessed to be a part of the Shearith Israel family and we thank all of you for being such an important part of our lives.  If you weren’t able to join with us last Shabbat and would like to read my sermon and the remarks I shared with Elana, please click   HERE

Speaking of giving thanks and of sharing our joy, I want to encourage all of you to make plans to be here at Shearith on Tuesday night, November 20, at 7:30 PM, when we will be hosting an Interfaith Thanksgiving Service for the entire Greater Dallas community.  We have been working together with a number of other congregations and institutions representing Judaism, Christianity, and Islam for this service focused on the theme of “Diverse in Faith, United in Gratitude”.  This brief 60-75 minute ecumenical service will provide us with another important opportunity to gather together with our neighbors throughout the Dallas community, but this time for the purpose of celebration and gratitude, rather than for mourning as we did the night after the senseless killings in Pittsburgh.  The service will be followed by a dessert reception and fellowship time.  If you are in town that evening, please carve out some time in your schedule to be part of this service. We hope this will be the first of many such services that our community will share in the years ahead.  Please click HERE  for additional information. And please RSVP HERE for the service so we can plan ahead and make sure we have enough dessert for all in attendance!  I look forward to seeing you then if not before.
 
Shabbat Shalom,
 Rabbi Ari Sunshine