Masks are not required in the Synagogue but are available for anyone who wants to wear one.  No one will be turned away or prevented from entering the Synagogue to pray and worship.  

Weekly Message from the Board President

It costs a lot to run the Synagogue.  The congregation owns our building, so we don’t have a mortgage.  That’s good news.  But we do have to pay for things like insurance and heating the building.  Our beautiful Synagogue has a lot of very large rooms – think of the large sanctuary or the social hall.  It takes a lot of heat during the winter to keep things pleasant for events like the Hanukah party, or Shabbat Onegs.

Our building is also more than 60 years old, and requires regular maintenance.  Just this past year, we had to have plumbers in, and repainted the social hall.

So why bring this up?  Because on Sunday, we’re holding our annual congregation meeting, and we will go over the budget in detail.  You’ll see exactly where we spend every dollar, and where we get the money we need (and why we are always asking for you to help us with dues and donations).  

The Mt. Sinai Congregation was founded in 1910, and our brand of “Frontier Judaism” has been a beacon for Jews in Cheyenne and throughout Wyoming ever since.  We’ve been around a long time and with your help, we will be around for a long time to come.

The annual congregation meeting starts at 10 AM with a yummy brunch.  The meeting itself will begin at 11.  It will take place in the Social Hall of the Synagogue and we don’t have plans to broadcast it over Zoom.

Rabbi Halfon is leading services this weekend.  Saturday is our second First Saturday.  That means we will hold Shabbat services Saturday morning, in person and on Zoom. Steve Borin and Carol Fischer will be honored, during the service and afterwards at the Oneg.  Lunch will be served immediately following the service.  The food will be from Noam Mantaka’s Taste of Tel Aviv food truck (we’re getting hungry just thinking of his falafels and hummus.)  The service starts at 10. The Zoom call begins at 9:30. Here’s the Zoom info: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89143353884  Meeting ID: 891 4335 3884.

Rabbi Halfon’s new class, “Judaism 101”, begins next Tuesday, December 6.  This is an indepth class that will run through the spring.  There is a charge for the course – it’s $400 for non-members and $200 for members.  If you’d like to take the course, or just find out more about it, please contact the Synagogue office, or email the Rabbi at [email protected]. 

It’s always fun to see the boxes of See’s Candy lined up on tables in the Social Hall.  The piles of boxes are shrinking fast – the candy sale began on Sunday.  It will run on Sundays until Christmas or the candy is all sold (and we don’t think it will last very long).  You can order on our website here – https://www.mtsinaicheyenne.org/sees-candy-order-form or come to the Synagogue on Sundays from 10 AM to 4 PM and shop in person. 

The Endowment Fund is getting close to a major benchmark.  Currently, the Endowment Fund returns 18% of its interest to the Synagogue.  When the fund reaches $500,000 that percentage doubles, to 36% of the interest.  The Fund was on target to hit that level this year, but the drops in the stock market slowed it down.  The Fund didn’t decline as much as the overall stock market.  Our investors took steps to limit the downside.  But we didn’t hit the target based on earnings alone.

The Endowment Fund is continuing to actively fundraise.  A key part of its efforts is the chair program.  For $500 you can sponsor a chair in the large sanctuary, and have a plaque with the name of a person you would like to honor (including yourself) installed on the chair. 

The Endowment Fund also selects a person every month for the community to honor.  For the month of November, it is Jackie Humphrey, a long time volunteer, former Board member, and part of a family of volunteers.  An anonymous donor has offered to cover half the cost of her chair under certain conditions.  If you would like to donate, please use our website or contact the Synagogue office.

Here’s our Yiddish Phrase of the Week:

Bay ferd kukt men af di tseyn; bay a mentshn afn seykhl.              
With horses you check the teeth; with a human you check the brains.     

Shalom,

Dave Lerner
President
Mt. Sinai Board of Directors

Community Partner with Family Promise of Cheyenne

Family Promise Brochure

November Birthdays

1              Marilyn Beeman

3              Jared Miller

4              Julie Breen

7              Ya’el McLoud

11           Alan Wolf

11           Aviv Mantaka

25           Therese McKinnon

25           Stephanie Ehrlich

26           James Peebles

27           Phyllis Bloomberg

27           Nolan Rap

29           Lila Gallensky