Our remodel project is underway! Right now, it’s easy to see the exterior work, but interior prep and demolition is also underway. We’re looking forward to seeing the new building extension take shape once the site preparation and drainage vault are complete. It’s not too late to support the project! Information on the plans and our capital campaign, plus construction updates, can all be found at templebethor.org/building
TBO News
Our community gathered to celebrate Noah’s 25 years as TBO Religious School song leader. Noah is retiring from this role; happily he will continue as a regular song leader at services. Festivities included a revised dinosaur song about Noah (written by our very own lyricist, Debbie Halliday), a slide show created by Ron Green, presentation of gifts, lovely comments about Noah, and cake! Noah’s wife, kids and mom attended the event. Noah also shared some remarks with us.
Thanks to all who joined us in showing Noah our appreciation and also to the volunteers who helped make this party possible.
From June 26 through July 8, 2024, the Massa program had a life-changing trip exploring Judaism in Spain and Portugal. As the chaperone from TBO, it was my pleasure and honor to accompany our teens on this journey. We started at Sea-Tac Airport, with hellos for our fellow travelers from Congregation Beth Israel in Bellingham and goodbyes to the parents, before hopping over to Amsterdam for a four-hour layover before arriving in Barcelona, Spain.
In Barcelona, we toured much of the city, especially the Gaudi sites, before going to the oldest, Roman part of the city where the old synagogue is. Next was Madrid. We spent a little time in the city, but nearby is the old city of Toledo which had some of the most expansive evidence of Jewish life. Spreading out from the old Jewish quarter, there were little tiles in the street and along the bottoms of walls, with Jewish symbols such as stars, letters and menorahs. It was a wonderful scavenger hunt to find as many as we could.
Cordoba was the next city on our tour, where we went to the old Jewish quarter that was a walled-in city within the city. A statue of Maimonides greeted us from his birthplace.
Seville was next on our tour. We were now in the south of Spain, and the hot weather reflected it. The old city and a tour of the largest cathedral in Spain, third largest in Europe, took place in the morning, and then everyone was ready to go back to air-conditioned hotel rooms. That evening, we all went to see a Flamenco performance, one of the best parts of the trip. Grenada and the Alhambra were quite the sights to be seen, and at around 100 degrees, ones we didn’t last long at!
We finally came to the Mediterranean and stayed near the beach for three days. The evenings were spent walking down to the beach for an evening dip, and one day was spent at the beach, or hotel, for those of us who just wanted to chill for the day. Ten days in, we left Spain for the British territory of Gibraltar. Everyone could forget their Spanish for the day and shop in pounds instead of Euros. The trip up the Rock of Gibraltar was even better with the macaque monkeys that were brought over in 711 CE and have lived there ever since. Our last two days were spent in and around Lisbon. We went around the city a bit and then drove up the Atlantic coast to visit Sintra and Cascais, where we could see the remnants of Jewish culture. After twelve days of Jewish learning, seeing the history of our people in person, and hearing Spanish and Portuguese history from their perspectives, it was time to say goodbye to our tour guide, Veronica, and return to Seattle.
-Jennifer Cail
By Sam Halle
Did you know that our Everett Police Department’s K-9 Officers don’t have bulletproof vests?!В They only have a fabric police harness and a leash. They are in grave danger from armed criminals!В They risk their lives every day for citizens of Snohomish County.
This Fall, I met an Everett Police Officer and his K-9 partner, Duke.В The human officer told me that Duke and his 3 fellow K-9 Officers get shot at and some bad guys also try to stab them!В This happens all the time and even though the K-9 Officers are in danger, they risk their lives to keep us safe anyway.
I feel so strongly about trying to do something to help protect our K-9 Officers that I am making this my Bar Mitzvah project.  I can’t do this on my own and I need your help!
My goal is to raise enough money for at least 2 bulletproof vests for these real-life K-9 superheroes by my Bar Mitzvah on August 13, 2022. These bulletproof or ballistic canine vests can stop a severe or even fatal knife or bullet injury from occurring. I hope that after the fundraising is over all 4 K-9 Officers are safe from knives and bullets fired by the criminals they’re trying to catch.
Everett PD and I have partnered with Brady’s K9 Fund. The link that goes directly to my Mitzvah Project is:  https://givebutter.com/
I really love my Temple Beth Or community and appreciate your support for my Bar Mitzvah project.В Our 2-legged and 4-legged police do a lot to keep our Jewish community safe.В I hope together we can achieve this goal.В What a mitzvah it will be!
Thank you so much, everyone!В With lots of love, Sam Halle
It’s that time of year — Religious School registration is now open. The form is online again this year for ease of use. The deadline for school registration and scholarships is August 1.В Early August we will be very busy time for the office with High Holy Days preparations, so if it is possible for you to get your registration in early it is much appreciated.
Register here or contact the office with questions.
The results are in: 95% of voters supported moving forward with the capital campaign! Now that we have affirmed congregational support, we are ready to move on to the next steps. The capital campaign will launch this Fall, with a kickoff event on September 10. At the same time, we will be working with the architect to create construction drawings and will be getting bids from builders. Stay tuned to the Facilities website for more information!
Dear Temple Beth Or Community:
We often turn to our Shema prayer for comfort and grounding. As we process the school shooting this week in Uvalde, Texas, I want to share a kavanah (intention) written by our Reform Movement’s teenagers after the mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida:
When we watch the news after each senseless act of violence, we feel pain as though we ourselves were the victims. Every time someone is murdered, we ourselves are offended; God is offended, for we are all inextricably linked. We are one. We are called upon to raise our voice and turn our actions to collectively affirm this oneness.
While our TBO community is on break this weekend, know that if you need support, I am here as your rabbi if you need to connect. School districts have shared resources with families and I want to emphasize that our children need special care right now. The American Psychological Association suggests: make space for kids to talk, take “news breaks,” monitor adult conversation, check in often, and be sure to care for ourselves too. (Helping Your Child Manage Distress in the Aftermath of a Shooting)
Our Reform Movement’s Religious Action Center is engaged in a campaign to prevent gun violence and TBO will be sure to share out upcoming action opportunities.
Our ancient Sages teach: “One who takes a life, it is though they have destroyed the universe. And one who saves a life, it is as though they have saved the universe” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5). As we reflect on the immense loss of life from gun violence in our country, our tradition asks us to grieve and, at the same time, invites us to action.
L’Shalom,
Rabbi Kort
The Combined COVID-19 Task Force (TF) has updated the TBO COVID-19 protocols and the Governing Board (GB) has voted to approve these recommendations. The revised recommendations outline how our congregation can safely gather now that statewide mask mandates have been lifted and health official guidelines have reduced restrictions as a result of decreased case numbers, rates of hospitalization, and deaths.В Required precautions will be tied to Snohomish County case rate figures (new cases per day per 100,000 population). If this value is at or below 25, these updated protocols will be in effect.В If the value exceeds 25 new cases per day per 100,000 population or other considerations warrant it, more protective measures may be necessary.
Based on the information on the Snohomish County Health DepartmentВ website on Monday, April 18,В the servicesВ thisВ Saturday, April 23В will fall under the new protocol, described below. In short, this means that we will be having mask-optional services, that members do not need to pre-register, and that we will be having a Passover friendly oneg, following our services.
More complete information is summarized below and the full recommendations can be found at templebethor.org/covid.
GENERAL:
- Protocols will be re-assessed and reviewed frequently and may change as warranted as conditions change.
- Anyone not feeling well or experiencing symptoms should not attend in-person services, activities, or events.
- TBO will continue to encourage and support vaccination and booster shots for all who are eligible.
- The metric that we will be using to determine the mode of operation is the Snohomish County Health Department new cases per day per 100,000 population. If this value is at or below 25, these updated protocols will be in effect. If the value exceeds 25 new cases per day per 100,000 population or other considerations warrant it, more protective measures may be necessary. this case information is available at http://www.snohd.org/546/Local-Case-Counts.
- Religious School (RS) will continue to follow the protocols that have been in place (including masking, symptom checks, and distancing) through the end of the school year. Others at the Temple during RS will also follow the RS protocols, including refraining from eating and drinking at the Temple.
- In addition to in-person services, we will continue to offer services and congregational meetings virtually whenever possible.
FOR ALL:
- Masking will be optional during non-RS hours. Making this choice will be an individual decision and those choosing to continue wearing masks will be respected.
- Sign in and out will be required for safety and security reasons, as well as contact tracing.
- Appointments are not required for using the building. During office hours, advanced notification of building access is requested for safety and security reasons.
- Social distancing will not be enforced, limits on numbers of attendees at services will not be restricted due to COVID-19. (Fire code restrictions and other appropriate number limits will still apply.)
- Kiddush and oneg will be allowed at services.
FOR MEMBERS:
- Pre-registration will not be required to attend services.
- All attendees will need to be fully vaccinated and boosted OR fully vaccinated and have a negative COVID-19 test. (See full recommendation for specifics.)
FOR NON-MEMBERS:
- Pre-registration will still be required.
- Proof of vaccination and booster will be required in advance.
OFF-SITE ACTIVITIES:
- Protocols will be set by the event coordinator.
- Protocols will be clearly communicated to participants so they can make informed decisions about attending.
If you have any questions about these protocols, contact Melanie Field or Wanda Bresnick.
Temple Beth Or joined over 375 Jewish and other faith-based groups and organizations from around the U.S. cosigning a letter urging President Biden to take immediate steps to welcome refugees from Ukraine and reunite families. The effort was coordinated by the Jewish Federations of North America.
“The Jewish community and our faith partners across the United States urge you take immediate steps to help Ukrainian civilians, including by expediting the resettlement of Ukrainians who are already in process to come to the United States thanks to their close family ties here,” the letter states.
Read an article about this effort at FedBeat (Jewish Federations of North America) and the full text of the letter here.
In light of the changing COVID-19 situation, the Combined COVID-19 Task Force (TF) held a meeting on February 28 to reevaluate the TBO COVID-19 safety protocols. Per the Governor’s statement, as an individual organization we are empowered to make our own decisions with regards to COVID-19 protocols. We used our value-based decision-making and focused on pikuach nefesh (sanctity of life) and connecting the community. We also used health metrics to guide our decision.
The TF recommends that we maintain our current protocols until mid-April, in order to observe the results of the post mask mandate situation.В If cases remain below 25 per 100,000 population in Snohomish County (the original COVID-19 health metric for removing mitigating protocol) masking for in person activities at TBO will become optional.В This applies to Religious School and teen programming as well.В The TF will meet again in early April to assess the post mask mandate COVID-19 situation.
We will continue to live stream in person services for the foreseeable future to ensure that everyone has access to our prayer community.
Further, for TBO events not held at the Temple building, such as book club and Next Chapter, the group should clearly communicate what protocols will be followed at each event so that people can make an informed decision about participating.В The event coordinator will determine the protocols to be followed and share them.В A virtual option should be provided, if feasible.