To the Editor:
Last week I asked The Hull Times to run an ad about High Holiday services at Temple Beth Sholom. The ad ran, with color, thank you, but I gave the wrong dates for the Yom Kippur services. Luckily, it is the time of year when Jews ask for forgiveness, and so I am asking for your forgiveness. The actual dates of Yom Kippur are Sept. 15 and 16 (not Sept. 8 and 9). If you or anyone in your family would like to attend services, we are open to members and non-members who wish to attend online or to attend a socially distanced, masked service. Please sign up in advance, as we are limiting on-site attendance to 100. Information on times and prices are on the temple website under the heading “High Holiday Schedule.”
Speaking of schedule, this year marks the 106th year of High Holiday services in our wonderful town. Way back in 1915, Myer Cohen, Max Axelrod, and Henry J. Morrison gathered a group of summer residents to conduct the town’s first High Holiday service on Kenberma Street. The people who convened that service were also some of the people who raised the funds and built Temple Israel of Nantasket, and so our traditions continue.
As occurred last year, services will be held both in person and on Zoom and will be conducted at Temple Beth Sholom because there is more room to socially distance there. Whereas last year’s services were a mixture of online performers at other locations, this year will feature our own Rabbi David Grossman as well as Reb Zisha, aka Scott Tepper, to sing along with Rabbi Grossman. Reb Zisha has been a teacher in Boston’s Jewish community and beyond for decades. He sang with the renowned Zamir Chorale of Boston and was a founding member of two Boston-area “chavurot” (informal organizations). For 12 years, he was the lay religious leader of United Brothers Synagogue in Bristol, R.I., (Rhode Island’s second-oldest synagogue.) He received a B.A. in Near Eastern and Judaic studies from Brandeis University and a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His primary career is in applications and software training.
Again, my apologies for the incorrect information and wishing all who observe a “Shana Tova,” a good, sweet (new) year.
Steven Greenberg