Danielle Ben-David’s Column September – October 2026 – A Year of Hellos and a Sweet New Year, Shana Tova!

A Year of Hellos and a Sweet New Year, Shana Tova!

One of the things I didn’t expect when I became Synagogue Administrator was just how many times I would say hello.

Hello to someone I had known for years as a fellow congregant, but was now meeting in a completely different context.

Hello to someone whose name I recognized but whose story I didn’t yet know.

Hello to a new family or visitor walking through our doors.

Hello to someone I hadn’t seen in a while.

Hello in the hallway, at a program, on the phone, by email, or across the parking lot.

And, of course, hello to many of you who have stopped by the office – here for a meeting, a class, to pay a bill, to get gift cards, and more.

Becoming part of the professional team here has given me a completely different view of this community. I’ve had the opportunity to meet people I might never have crossed paths with as a congregant and to hear stories I might otherwise never have known. While I’ve recognized many of your faces from years of Zoom board meetings, now I am getting to know many of you much better.

I’ve learned that there are a lot of different ways to be part of Beth El.

For some, it is sitting in the sanctuary on Shabbat. Others… Zoom or Livestream. Yet for others, it is bringing children to a program, attending a dinner, playing MahJong, joining a committee, coming to a class, volunteering, or simply showing up when someone needs you.

Sometimes it is as simple as seeing a familiar face and knowing that you belong.

That, I think, is one of the quiet gifts of a synagogue.

We don’t all participate in the same way. We don’t all come for the same reasons. We don’t all have the same relationship with prayer, tradition, community, or Judaism itself.

But we all belong. We all feel part of something bigger than us.

And sometimes that begins with something as small as a hello. (Shalom!)

As we approach the High Holidays, I find myself thinking about how many hellos we are about to share. We will greet people we see every week and people we haven’t seen since last year’s High Holidays. We will welcome guests, reconnect with friends, introduce ourselves to someone new, and perhaps notice that someone we’ve been accustomed to seeing is not there.

There is something special about that annual gathering.

The sanctuary fills. The hallways fill. The parking lot fills. We look around and remember, perhaps with a little surprise, just how many people make up this community.

This past year has taught me that a congregation isn’t defined only by what happens on the bimah or what appears on the calendar. It is also defined by the relationships that happen in between.

The quick conversation.

The familiar face.

The unexpected introduction.

The person who asks how you’re doing and actually waits for the answer.

The person who notices that you haven’t been around.

The person who makes room for you to sit beside them.

Those moments may be small, but they are part of what makes a synagogue feel like a community rather than simply a place we go.

I am grateful that this past year has given me so many opportunities to say hello—and even more grateful for the conversations that came after.

And if we haven’t met yet, please come say hello.

I’ll be here.

Shanah Tovah u’Metukah,

Danielle Ben-David

Synagogue Administrator