TBS News and Information

I had lunch yesterday, which is not that remarkable as I have lunch most days. (As a friend once reminded me, lunch is one of the three most important meals of the day.) It was who I had lunch with that was more notable. Ten TBS members – all furloughed federal employees or otherwise affected by the government shutdown and turmoil of the past several months – took me up on the offer for lunch together at a local restaurant.

We had representation from a wide variety of government departments and agencies. And it was a good cross-section of our congregation, from religious school parents to empty nesters, newer members to almost-founding-families. The talk was not so much of the current state of politics but stories of the joys and foibles of working for the federal government, parenting dilemmas, surviving snowstorms, and the best place to get a burger in northern Virginia. It was good to set aside the troubles of the shutdown and focus instead on the trouble of finding a parking spot when half the shopping plaza lot was closed for repaving. It was good to get out of the house and be together.

I was reminded, once again, of the power and importance of being in community, how good it is to share with others in good times and bad, how meaningful it can be to make connections with others. (Remember the High Holy Day assignment: meet 4 new people at temple before Rosh HaShanah next year!) It is not lost on me that there were 10 who gathered for lunch – a minyanof TBS members, making an official quorum of the congregation. TBS is a kehillah kedoshah, a sacred community. It doesn’t just exist inside the walls of our building on Old Ox Road. It exists in the bonds between people, between all of us, wherever we may be.

If you have been affected by this shutdown and need assistance, please know that we have resources available to help. Stay tuned for another lunch gathering if this shutdown persists. And, for all of us, let us continue to seek out opportunities to contribute to, and benefit from, the bonds of connection in our sacred community.