Shabbat Shalom!
The word of the week:
It feels good to be home! Saturday afternoon Scott and I arrived in Barbados and are now in quarantine. Not sure where we will be zooming in from tomorrow, but we are just happy to be home. You might ask “How was flying? How were the airports?” The flight was OK. Sadly, there are not many people arriving in Barbados these days, but when they do arrive, Barbados is second to none in terms of organization. They had nurses taking temperatures, young people putting our information into iPads and putting tracker bracelets on us. They had us download an app called BIM SAFE that provides us with all the latest updates on COVID and allows us to send them our temperatures 2x daily.
It is very impressive for a small country and is obvious that they are working hard to provide a safe country for locals and visitors. Well done Barbados!
The Barbados Jewish Community is implementing a 2X Match Food Drive to help assist those people who are lacking food during the pandemic. This is a time when it is important to respond to the needs of our society and to address the challenges that some people face in light of the Pause. Our goal is to be able to raise $5,000 in donations and then to match that sum and donate a total of $10,000. No donation is too small. If you would like to be part of this drive please write a cheque to ” The Barbados Jewish Community” with a note for the 2x match food drive. To date, we have already received pledges of $2000.00 which means we only need $3000.00 more to reach our goal of $5000.
“Tzedekah is the hebrew word for Philanthropy and charity. It is a form of social justice in which the donors benefit from giving as much as the recipients. So much more than a financial transaction tzedekah builds trusting relationships and includes contributions of time, effort and insight. Tzedakah is more than giving money to the poor. Done properly, tzedakah requires the donor share his or her compassion and empathy along with the money. (by Jacquelyn DeGroot).
We thank you in advance for your support. Please email any of the members of the executive committee if you have questions.
Yahrtzeits for this week:
Dr. Richard Cohen
Jane Baron Rechtman, wife of Neal Rechtman
Get well wishes go out to Aaron Truss who had surgery this week.
We will be holding ZOOM services Friday evening, March 5th, 2021 at 6:30pm. Please click the link below to join the Zoom Meeting. For the passcode please email bjc@jewishbarbados.org.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/95083597091
Please see the below link for a copy of our siddur.
https://www.bethshalomnb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Shabbat-evening-SIDDUR-SIM-SHALOM.pdf
Shabbat Shalom!
Sharon Oran
President, Barbados Jewish Community
