[CBI] Board of Trustees Letter to CBI Millburn/Short Hills Residents

[CBI main mailing list]

cid:180324921 at 22092014-32F1

 

October 15, 2014

 

 

Dear Congregants,

 

The Board of Trustees of Congregation B'nai Israel, as the Conservative
Congregation in Millburn/Short Hills, encourages eligible voters to select
Rosh Hashanah Day 1, Rosh Hashanah Day 2 and Yom Kippur to remain as days
off on the Millburn Township school calendar and encourages you to recognize
the requests of all the other communities in town for the following reasons:

 

For literally thousands of years, Jews the world over have been hearing the
call of the shofar and attending Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. Jews
of every denomination, of every culture, flock to their local services to
celebrate the New Year and pray for their inclusion in the Book of Life. The
roots of the commemoration of these days can be found in the Old Testament
where it is written that Rosh Hashanah is to be celebrated as the beginning
of the new year and to begin the ten Days of Awe that culminates with Yom
Kippur. During these holiest of days, Jews are precluded from performing
work or attending school. The fact that the Millburn Township Public Schools
have for decades been closed on these days has enabled our school children
to fully observe the holy nature and importance of these days, free from the
pressures of missing class, tests, and/or homework. But now, the Millburn
Township Board of Education has enacted a petition and voting process that
could lead to the schools remaining open on those days.  

 

If the School Board takes even one of these days away from the Jewish
community it severely impacts each child's ability to commemorate and
celebrate these most holy days. Additionally, it sends a message to our
children that their observance is no longer valued by the community. Thus,
if you have children in the Millburn Township schools, the Board of
Congregation B'nai Israel urges you to demonstrate your support by
participating in the online voting in favor of keeping the schools closed on
the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the second day of Rosh Hashanah, and Yom
Kippur so that all of our children can attend services on each of these days
and continue the chain of ritual that began thousands of years before us. 

 

The CBI Board of Trustees also firmly believes the School Board should be
able to keep the schools closed on all three days of the Jewish High Holy
Days while at the same time accommodating reasonable requests from other
communities who have requested School Board acknowledgement of their own
days of personal observance,  

 

In accordance with these positions, we urge all eligible voters to
participate in the online selection process and remind the School Board that
we are a multi-cultural society and that each day of the Jewish High Holy
Days is important and needs to be recognized as a day off on the school
calendar.

 

Sincerely,

 

The Board of Trustees of Congregation B'nai Israel

 

 

 

Congregation B'nai Israel

160 Millburn Avenue

Millburn, NJ 07041

973-379-3811

 <mailto:cbiandrea at gmail.com> cbiandrea at gmail.com 

 <http://www.cbi-nj.org> www.cbi-nj.org

 

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