May 2026 - Merry Month of May

It’s the merry month of May, and we are marking the days from the physical joy of Pesach and our freedom to that of the spiritual joy of the giving of the Torah on Shavuot.

We also take stock of the past year at Beth Samuel and celebrate our own highlights – events, holidays, tsedakah projects, and more.

By now you know that my seminary is recognizing my 25th anniversary of Ordination as a Cantor! In those 25 years I have made friends and connected with many clergy around the country, and the circle widens with each passing year. To that end, I have brought so many of my colleagues to Beth Samuel, many on zoom these days, to teach and learn with us. You may remember these from just this past year: Dave Schlossberg, Rev. Carino Casas, Rabbi Laurie Gold, Dan Hudak, Cantor Barbara Barnett, Rabbi Suri Krieger, Dar James, Rabbi Michael Kohn, and Suzannah Warlick, whom we have already secured for another (very different) presentation for early fall.

Their topics ran from art to sports, travel, Jewish traditions, Torah study, Holocaust and personal stories, and more. I will be attending several conventions this spring, as I usually do, sometimes teaching there as well, and I will no doubt connect with others who want to share their knowledge with us. And some of our previous guests are eager to return.

I am proud to reach this milestone leading this wonderful congregation, as we continue to grow and flourish. And so I say, Chazak, chazak, v’nit’chazek! Be strong and together we will be strengthened! 

B’shalom,
Cantor Rena