To Our Kol Ami Community,
In these trying times, we are grateful for our Kol Ami community. Since the coronavirus outbreak, we have been guided in our decisions by two central Jewish principles:
First, the importance of Kol Ami to the spiritual well-being of our community. At all times, and especially during challenging ones, being part of a community can play a critical role in providing a safe haven from fear and anxiety.
Second, it is our responsibility to act consistently with the goals of protecting and promoting the health and well-being of our congregants as well as our friends and neighbors.
As you all know, this has been a very fluid situation changing day to day and even hour to hour. Lay leadership, our clergy, our Executive Director and our senior staff have been in constant contact with each other, with health officials and with other Jewish institutions. While we are not aware of anyone in the Kol Ami community who has tested positive for COVID-19, we believe the health and safety of our congregants and the broader community compel us to implement more significant measures in addition to those we announced on March 11th. In particular, we are keeping our schools closed through March 29, and possibly longer. Please see below the notices sent to our Early Childhood Program and Religious School families. Please consult our website and future communications for additional updates as to other programming and life-cycle events. The office will remain open, but we ask that you do not come to the building unless necessary, and please call in advance.
While we may not be together as much in person, we still intend to remain connected as a community. We are going to take advantage of technology to continue programming and connectivity during these times. One such program will be daily Zoom conferences by our Clergy called “Zoom Gali Gali.” The name comes from traditional Hebrew song “Zum Gali Gali” relating to the formation of the State of Israel, originating sometime around its creation in 1948. The pioneers referred to in the song were the Jewish settlers who built the new Israel. Years ago, this chant was sung by people while working together. We will all be working together during these challenging times. The schedule and details of our first program are below. We have also created a committee of dedicated congregants who will be reaching out to assist those in need and to help keep us connected. We look forward to being in touch with additional ideas and details, and we would also love to hear from you.
Shabbat Shalom.
