Weekly Message from the Board President

We have news about Rabbi Halfon.  The Mt. Sinai Board of Directors has decided not to renew the Rabbi’s contract when it expires at the end of June.  The decision was made at the October Board meeting. 

The vote had to take place around now, because the contract specifies that negotiations on a new one would begin in December.  The Board did not take this decision lightly.  It came about after long discussions during several Board meetings, and meetings with members of the congregation.

The decision not to renew is also kind of a Mt. Sinai tradition.  The Synagogue was created back in 1910, when two Cheyenne congregations merged.  We have had many Rabbis in the last 114 years, and the terms were frequently about the same as Rabbi Halfon’s.  Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman, and Rabbi Arinna Moon Shelby each served one three-year contract, for example. 

The Board of Directors will begin a search for a new Rabbi after Rabbi Halfon’s contract ends in June.  This means we will go as much as a year without a Rabbi.  The Ritual and Liturgy Committee will arrange for services to be led by lay leaders, and we may have visiting Rabbis come to Cheyenne on occasion.

We’ll create a Rabbi Search Committee in the late spring to handle the process of finding a new Rabbi, including advertising and reviewing applicants.  If you would like to serve on the Rabbi Search Committee, please let the office know.

In the meantime, we wish Rabbi Halfon well and we will be providing references and other assistance as he moves to the next chapter in his life.  Rabbi Halfon will still be leading services and teaching classes until his contract ends in June. 

The prices have gone up for the See’s Candy Sale, but only by a dollar.  We have an order form on our website – please click here to see it: https://www.mtsinaicheyenne.org/sees-candy-order-form.  Place your order now, and then pick up your candy and pay for it after Thanksgiving.  This is the biggest and tastiest fundraiser of the year for Sisterhood.

Let’s try Italian food for our next Shalom Dinner.  We have reservations at Napoli’s Restaurant at 1901 Central Avenue (the corner of 19^th and Central).  We’ll meet on Wednesday, November 13, at 6:30 PM.  Napoli’s was the choice of the folks who attended our October Shalom Dinner.  The Shalom Dinner is a great way to meet people in the congregation and make new friends.  Everyone pays their own way, and we just enjoy going out to dinner together.

This is our last Shalom Dinner before the big one… that’s at China Buffet on Christmas Eve.  Chinese food on Christmas Eve seems to be a Jewish tradition, but the China Buffet restaurant is always very busy that night, and not just because of us.  We get the highest turnout, by far, of any Shalom Dinner of the year on Christmas Eve.  So mark that one on the calendar and come join us.

Here’s our Yiddish Phrase of the Week:

Di zun shaynt glaykh af orem un raykh.        
The sun shines the same on rich and poor.

Shalom,

Dave Lerner
President
Mt. Sinai Board of Directors

Donations to Israel

If you would like to send money to Israel, here are some options:

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A selection of Basic Jewish Library (Books, movies and other resources), recommended by Rabbi Halfon.  Please click here.

Community Partner with Family Promise of Cheyenne

Community Partner with Meals of Hope

November Birthdays

1              Marilyn Beeman

3              Jared Miller

4              Julie Breen

7              Ya’el McLoud

11           Alan Wolf

11           Aviv Mantaka

19           Dennis Fisher

25           Therese McKinnon

25           Stephanie Ehrlich

26           James Peebles

27           Phyllis Bloomberg

27           Nolan Rap

29           Lila Gallensky