5/11/22
Knock, knock…
Who’s there?…
Noah…
Noah, who?…
Noah good joke about bagels?
Shalom Chaverim! We have something very exciting happening in our community this coming Sunday. After a three year hiatus due to Covid, the Bagel Brunch is back!! This will be an incredible event where we’ll schmooze, schmear, and nosh.
Attending the Bagel Brunch will also be a “Shehecheyanu” moment for our community. While it is true that we have been back together in person for almost a year, there have been limits to what we could do. One way we’ve been majorly impacted is in the simple act of gathering and eating together.
Since the very beginning of the Pandemic, we have made health and safety our primary concern. The last time we gathered in person and packed the building was in February of 2020 for the Installation of Hazzan Steve and me as the Spiritual Leaders of CBI. That was a glorious evening and I still remember the buzz of energy–and the fabulous Oneg dessert we shared.
It’s not that we haven’t eaten together, because we have enjoyed smaller gatherings and wonderful lunches outside. But this Sunday, we bring back a fantastic tradition that our Sisterhood started decades ago. As they did in 2019, our Brotherhood has picked up the baton and is hosting the Brotherhood Bagel Brunch Bonanza this Sunday in CBI’s backyard.
In many ways we have experienced a kind of exile over the last two years. So most of all, I’m looking forward to relaxing and experiencing what feels like a return. It reminds me of the power of the words from Lamentations we recite whenever we replace the Torah to the Ark, and throughout the High Holy day season:
Hashivenu Adonai elecha venashuvah
Help us turn to You, and we shall return
Hadesh yameinu kekedem
Renew our lives as in days of old.
We return to our Shul. We return to our community. We return to a beloved annual tradition. In this return we renew ourselves. I can’t wait to see you all. I’m looking forward to every aspect of this event. I’m looking forward to our many, many returns.
May we continually renew our lives as in days of old! L’chaim!
I leave you here with what the Internet promises are THE top 8 Bagel Jokes!
What kind of bagel can fly?
A plain bagel
How do you hold a bagel back?
You put lox on it
Why do seagulls fly over the sea?
If they flew over the bay, they would be bagels!
Why did the bagel lose the election?
He was the victim of a schmear campaign
What does a bagel do when it is locked out of its house?
Calls a loxsmith
What do ghosts put on their bagels?
Scream Cheese
What did the bagel say to the Rabbi?
I’m holier than you
What does a bagel call its father?
Poppy!