A message from Rabbi Alan Shavit-Lonstein

Sinai 2.0

In the beginning, there was the Torah, given to the Jewish people at Sinai with sound and fury, lightening and smoke. With Moses at the summit, and the rest of us surrounding at the base, we all were able to hear the voice of God. This encounter left the entire nation with a sense of purpose and direction; it was at Sinai that a rag-tag group of former slaves became the people Israel. It was at Sinai that we became a community.

History is about to repeat itself.

The Temple of Aaron is unveiling a new website whose purpose is to help you stay on track with the events at the synagogue, learn about new programs and services, and to connect with each other as a community. Even as we unveil this new site, we will continue to improve our other forms of communication, like fliers, phone calls and the Aaronian.

The site is entirely redesigned, with new features and updated technology. I want to thank Karen Engelbretson who as a member of the congregation and a professional web designer for her hard work, vision and patience.

A few of the new features are outlined below, but the best way to see all that it has to offer is to visit often. As with all our programs, services and classes, we are always interested in your feedback, please don’t hesitate to call or email me with thoughts and suggestions.

Accurate Information

The centerpiece of our website is accurate information. It will be the one stop source for detailed information about all the events, classes, and worship opportunities at the Temple of Aaron. To help ensure this, we have a new interactive calendar, which you can view by day, week, or month. In addition there will be links built into that calendar for more detailed information on each event. Or, you can use our new search feature to find an event. The temple’s new Clergy Assistant, Kathy Berg, will be working with the entire staff to ensure that updates are made on a daily basis.

Brighter Faces

The cornerstone of the Temple of Aaron is a community of people. The new site reflects this very clearly, both visually and in text. On almost every page, we have pictures of people both in an around the temple. Visit often, as the pictures will change, and you will likely see people you know. In addition, we have a page introducing our staff members, so you will know better who you are calling or meeting with when you are here. We have big plans for expanding these efforts to include many others in the congregation, so keep an eye out.

More Communication

You don’t need to visit the site to say connected to it. You can subscribe to the calendar as an RSS feed and sign up for emails that will connect you with events, classes, and synagogue news. We look forward to expanding these efforts into the realms of social networking and podcasts.         

We recognize that no matter how cool, compete and up-to-date it is, no website will, by itself, sustain a community. But this improvement is just one of the many ways we are using to stay in touch with each other; making sure you always know what is happening at your temple, and how you can be involved. It’s no Sinai, but I do believe that Moses would be proud.

--Rabbi Alan Shavit-Lonstein

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