Executive Director

Shanah Tovah! I hope this email finds you all safe and well in our first week of 5784. Safety remains a top priority at TBS, and with careful consideration, a high standard of security procedures for the High Holy Days have been put into place. In addition to the security procedures that are in place throughout the year at TBS, Cherry Hill Police, JFED Security, and other professional security personnel will be on site both in the building and in the parking lot during Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur services, as they were during Rosh Hashanah. Extra security personnel will ensure that we have a safe environment for family services that will be conducted in the tent, as well as for the congregational service in the main sanctuary.

Please have your parking pass displayed for security as you enter the parking lot. And please have your High Holy Day tickets ready to display to security as you enter the building. The front, main synagogue entrance will be the only point of entry into the building, and you must have a ticket in order to enter the building. I want to thank and acknowledge RCC Security (Bob), JFED Security, and the Cherry Hill Police Department for helping to keep all of us safe. I also want to send a huge Todah Rabah to the members of our Men’s Club for their assistance in the parking lot. 

As some of you might be aware, over the past few months Jewish institutions around the country have received prank emails and phone calls called Swatting, which is the action or practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers (SWAT Team) to a particular address, a harassment technique that involves calling in an emergency police response against an innocent target. 

These hoax phone calls typically start with a phone call to 911 or a local police department reporting that there is a bomb or active shooter at a certain location. The individuals who make these prank calls do so in an effort to create chaos. Please know that Temple Beth Sholom has not received any such threatening phone calls or emails, but in the event that we are the target of a swatting/prank emergency call, we will take direction from our local law enforcement agencies who I have been in communication with on this topic. 

Feel safe, our security measures are very strong, but we need to remain vigilant. Be aware of your surroundings, no matter where you are, and if you see something say something. 

We had a wonderful in-person turnout for Rosh Hashanah, and I look forward to seeing all of you again on Shabbat/Kol Nidre/Yom Kippur.  

Shabbat Shalom and G’mar Chatima Tovah!

B’Shalom,
Ron Safier
Executive Director