Cantor Short: A Year of New Beginnings

This article first appeared in our Jan/Feb '25 edition of The Bulletin

The start of a new year always beckons promise and hope! I’ve always loved New Years, particularly when I lived in New York City. In the year before we left Manhattan to move up to Albany, Frankie helped fulfill a wish of mine - to watch the ball drop in Times Square. She was asked to interpret the ball drop experience for some deaf patrons, so we got front row seats (and a free, clean bathroom - thank goodness) to watch the year change from 2022 to 2023. It was pure magic!

As we head into the year 2025, I am struck by all the new beginnings ahead and promises of hope here on our beloved Academy Road. On January 11, 2025, we’ll be hosting Rabbi Marla Feldman for a Shabbat of learning. With gratitude to our Sisterhood, we’ll celebrate Shabbat morning services together and learn about Women of the Exodus. We’ll also host the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Celebration on January 15, 2025. Five students will be granted scholarships for college, based on their academic excellence and commitment to the values taught by Dr. King. The celebration will be bookended with our Shabbat Tzedek services on Friday, January 17, 2025, focused on the social justice impacts of our community.

February brings us to our much anticipated trip to visit our congregants in Florida. Rabbi Weitzman and I look forward to this every year. On Sunday, February 9, 2025, we’ll be hosting a brunch in Delray Beach to connect with anyone living down in the sunshine state. Every one of our congregants’ voices and perspectives are important to us, so we hope to connect with many of you. I am so looking forward to escaping the cold winter of Albany and flying down to the sunshine and warm weather of Florida. Please keep an eye out for our Save the Date and invitations soon. If you have any questions or need assistance with your RSVP, please feel free to reach out to our Clergy Assistant, Lita Carbone, at Lita@CBEAlbany.org.

Another new beginning that I’m looking forward to is taking a group of our Beth Emeth teenagers to Washington, D.C. at the end of February for the L’Taken Social Justice Seminar. Last year, our students learned so much about public policy, public speaking, and Jewish values within our nation’s capital. We’ll be visiting the National Portrait Gallery and the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Our students will also have the chance to bond with other high school students from over 20 synagogues around the country. Last year, our students left empowered and excited to have these important conversations within our congregation. We are so lucky to have them as our future leaders!

While I’m away in D.C. with our students and Rabbinic Intern Spencer Mandell, Rabbi Weitzman will be leading Beth Emeth’s first ever Jewish Disabilities and Social Action Shabbat. February hosts many awareness opportunities, and we felt it important to give a platform this year to the remarkable disabled individuals within our community. At Beth Emeth, we can always be better advocates for our disabled members. The disabled community is constantly adapting, shifting, and changing, so it is imperative that we listen to those who need our support. Hearing their stories and understanding their perspective on Jewish life will make us better allies on our path towards collective tikkun olam (repairing the world).

We all know that phrase, “new year, new me.” In Judaism, we are lucky enough to celebrate two new years. One on Rosh Hashanah and one on January 1. May we take advantage of this fresh start, building upon what we’ve accomplished so far and looking forward to the many blessings ahead. Frankie and I hope 2025 brings all of you good health, happiness, adventure and time with your loved ones. From our family to yours, Happy New Year!