As we spend 2022 celebrating the impact of the Downtown Synagogue on multiple generations over the past 100 years, I am extremely excited to share that one of those generations will soon be hitting its own“100” milestone. We now have almost 100 kids under the age of 18 in our membership. Most of them are age ten or younger and represent a tenfold increase in kids in our congregation over the past decade.

We are working to meet the needs of these children as they grow. We are blessed to have our stellar musician-in-residence Gavri Yares leading Tot Shabbat on the 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month at 10:00 a.m. Gavri does an amazing job engaging the kids (and their parents), and our kids (and their parents) give rave rewards.

We are excited to announce that Zara Teicher has just taken over as the new director of our community-based family education program, Dor Hadash. If you have a kid aged ten or younger, please contact Zara to learn more about the classes starting in January—it is not too late to enroll.

And as the stresses of the past year have been particularly draining on parents, our parents have stepped up for each other in remarkable ways. If you are a parent who needs a support system, please schlep your kids to Tot Shabbat or Dor Hadash not just for your kids’ sake, but for yours. Our community is here to support you.

I am thrilled that our centennial year will include the addition of even more kids to our congregational family. I look forward to celebrating with Downtown Synagogue’s newest generation this year, and for many years to come.

As always, I also hold the deep pain of those in our community who wish to have children and for whom the journey to parenthood has been heartbreaking and sometimes feels hopeless. I recognize that seeing new babies can be bittersweet. Please know that I have been there, and I am here for you.