Dear Friends,

It gives me great pleasure to reach out to you as members of the Ahavath Achim community. Some of you may know me already from my previous work in the community, and to those who have not yet gotten to know me, I look forward to getting to know you soon.

It is a great privilege to serve our distinguished and historic congregation. The level of dedication to Jewish values and halachic practice of this community has always served as a source of inspiration to me. As we continue along our lifelong quests of spiritual growth, here are three areas that we can work on together as a congregation:

1. Building a sense of community.
   Jewish continuity is dependent on the existence of community. We are much stronger as the whole than we are as individual parts. Let's continue to think about our spiritual, emotional, and material obligations to one another as we focus on building a sense of unity in our wonderful community.
2. Creating a meaningful davening experience.
   As a shul, there is probably no one act that defines us better than the act of prayer. Let's think about how we can continue to establish an environment of kavanna, free from cell phone disturbances and other distractions, as we commune with the Almighty on a daily basis.
3. Integrating Torah study into our lives
   One of the things that really excites me about serving as the rabbi of Congregation Ahavath Achim is the opportunity to expand my Torah learning and teaching.

Our shul offers a variety of weekly Torah study classes. This past Shabbat, we inaugurated a weekly class in the writings of the Rambam. This class takes place between Mincha and Maariv on Shabbat afternoon. Please join us for Shabbat mincha, and stay for the stimulating conversation.

I look forward to working with all of you in these areas, and to serving this wonderful congregation going forward.

All the Best,

Rabbi Peretz Robinson