Stay Positive

    It's not easy to stay positive during this pandemic. In fact, it's much easier to look at all of the negatives, and for many of us, it would be rightfully so. We've lost jobs, had loved ones contract the virus or have contracted the virus yourself, had to teach our children from home while trying to work from home, had to learn new types of technology when technology may not be your thing. Truth be told, this pandemic has highlighted many weak areas. 
    However, through all of this negativity, I have chosen to look at the good things that have come from this pandemic. For example, it's allowed many people to have the time to do mitzvot. I've seen families post "Front Porch Photos" to help out a local photographer who needed work. I've seen how people have come together to support our essential workers in the healthcare field. I've seen how people have developed or worked with platforms that are delivering food to families who are wondering where their next meal will come from. I've also seen, first-hand, how religious institutions (especially ours!) has gone above and beyond to make sure that their members feel like they still have a place to go to for spiritual inspiration, have a chat with their leader, or connect with their community in creative and safe ways.
    All of the virtual offerings that Beth Shalom offers look and feel seamless because of our staff in the office and members who volunteer their time to make all of our experiences with Beth Shalom meaningful. From home, it may not seem like hard work, but to record, edit, and produce a short two-minute segment of "Two Minutes of Torah" actually takes a few hours. These segments, along with everything else that Beth Shalom offers are labors of love because we care about you and your experience as a member of Beth Shalom, and we hope you are feeling the love.
    Our other hope is to get everyone back into the building...one day. Like the rabbi mentioned in his sermon this past Shabbat, "Living through this pandemic is like running a marathon; you need to pace yourself." We don't want to rush the reopening. We need to pace ourselves with our decision making process and trust that this slow reopening will result in a strong crossing of the finish line. Thank you for understanding and keeping with our pace.
    On another note, while staying positive, I use music to keep myself in good spirits everyday. I stream different playlists depending on what I am doing. It might be a playlist for my daily walk, or when I clean the house, but whatever the task, I am always listening to music. In fact, to make light of a very serious pandemic, I have created a "Pandemic Playlist" that I'd like to share with you. If there are any songs you would like to add, leave a comment below!

"Pandemic Playlist"
  • Don't Stand So Close to Me! (The Police)
  • The Safety Dance (Men Without Hats)
  • Don't Worry, Be Happy (Bobby McFerrin)
  • Stayin' Alive (The Bee Gees)
  • My House (Flo Rida)
  • I'll Be There (Jackson 5)
  • What's Going On? (Marvin Gaye)
  • U Can't Touch This! (MC Hammer)
Enjoy!

Wendy Widis,  President

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bravo!

Image
When I got the call last Friday afternoon, I could hear the excitement in his voice.  "Wendy," he said, "I'm in kind of a silly mood, but I think I have a great idea that will connect with the congregation."  With a smile on my face, I asked, "What is it? Tell me."  He went on to explain that he had seen Hamilton at the Fox Theater when it was in town, but it wasn't until he watched it on Disney+, recently, that he realized he could create something really special. He indicated that the song performed by the king would be perfect for him, considering the current circumstances we all are facing, and proceeded to perform the parody for me over the phone, with just one verse left to write.  My immediate reaction was, "You have to do this!"  Little did I know that just three short days later, I would receive an email with a link to his YouTube parody of "You'll Be Back!" from the acclaimed Broadway musical, Hamilton . I immediat
Read more

Pass the honey!

Image
What are your New Year traditions?  For me, it's a blintze casserole sitting amongst a buffet of bagels, tuna and egg salad, apples and honey, and a few glasses of wine after services on the first day of Rosh Hoshana. The blintze casserole is a staple this time of year, especially with pie filling that has been slowly warmed on the stove to pour over each serving. This coupled with a home full of friends and family make the gathering even more special. Unfortunately, this year another holiday will look and feel a bit different. Although the spiritual traditions of years' past have been corrupted by "the pandemic" (I feel like this word is mentioned so often these days that I now need to use it in quotes.), Jews around the world, and in our own communities, have stepped up in creative ways to celebrate those spiritual traditions that we all know and love. For example, Beth Shalom offered a community-wide Passover Seder on Zoom, from the rabbi's home, in the Spring.
Read more

A Brief Update

Image
     It's been  a  busy week! While many of you may be on the edge of your seats wondering what else 2020 could bring besides  a  pandemic, Sahara Dust, and murder hornets, your Beth Shalom Board has met for the very first time, this past Tuesday, for the fiscal year 2020-2021, on Zoom. Believe it, or not, we met for three hours (again, on Zoom!) and covered  a  lot of ground. We know that Covid-19 is on the minds of everyone and we are extremely aware of how different our "normal" is looking right now.      Please know that all of you are on our minds, but especially mine, as we navigate through this pandemic. I am especially proud of our Beth Shalom Task Force who has been meeting each week to determine the risks and the benefits of  a  potential reopening of the building. Unfortunately, if our collective communities of Dekalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett can't get our Covid numbers moving into  a  downward trend, we will need to stick with what is working for us now, whic
Read more