Nina McHenry – event organizer – Introduction
Thank you all for coming today, especially to our Temple Sinai community, our South Jersey Jewish community, and our friends at Rancocas Valley Singers for helping us get in the mood for today’s program. We are so excited that you could join us for this incredible program. We hope you all had a wonderful New Years, Channukah (חֲנֻכָּה), and of all the holiday celebrations.
As we just finished the Jewish holiday of Chanukkah this week, we all know the story of the ancient victory of the Maccabees but we were reminded especially this year and the time since October 7th about the enduring power of light and hope in this story. In times of struggle, we often find ourselves wondering if we will make it through, if things will ever get better. Yet, Chanukkah teaches us that even the smallest glimmer of hope, like that tiny amount of oil, can sustain us and help us to endure.
This holiday also encourages us to reflect on the power of our community. Just as the Maccabees were not alone in their fight, the people of Israel and the Jewish people are not alone in their pain post-October 7th. We find strength in each other and in music. Music has always been a powerful force, bringing us together, lifting our spirits, and helping us to connect especially here at Temple Sinai. Since October 7, 2023, I, Nina McHenry, daughter of our co-Presidents Marty and Rose Rose, have constantly been looking for ways to connect to the Jewish people and the people of Israel(יִשְׂרָאֵל) and more often than not, I turned to music to help me with this connection.
Josh Shron and his podcast and show, Israel Hour Radio, have been a light for me since October 7th. I selfishly wanted to bring Josh here (a perk of being the president’s daughter I guess and also thanks to the help of a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation) because I found his podcast during the weeks after October 7th when I had a lot of trouble processing my emotions and feelings as an American Jew but knowing that what I was feeling was a small fraction of what my close friends and family who were in Israel were feeling who actually had to live it and are continuing to live this nightmare. I felt helpless and I felt guilty that I was going on with my life as best I could but that there were so many suffering in Israel and beyond.
Josh’s weekly podcast, where he shares music in Israel but also talks about the ever-changing mood in Israel over the last 15 months, helped me move past my feelings of helplessness and replace it with feelings of support, love and community with the people of Israel. Every week I was able to feel closer and closer until eventually I just had to go be there myself. I think at some point or another, we all struggle with our connection to Israel during this difficult time but I know Josh’s presentation will help us all come together as a community.
You should know that we didn’t charge for this event on purpose thanks to the Jewish Community Foundation but also because we hope that you will donate to an organization that is very near and dear to our hearts since they came to speak at Temple Sinai a few years ago- One Family which supports bereaved families and victims of terror.
Before we start, I’d like to take a moment to remember the 100 hostages who are still being held captive in Gaza. We must remember that behind every headline and news report of what is going on in Israel, there are real people- mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and friends whose lives have been completely stopped as their loved ones still are not home.
So we light these candles to honor those 100-plus people and pray that they are returned home to their families immediately. Bring them home. שָׁלוֹם
