A Few Words from Rabbi Craig Marantz

One of my favorite words is "serendipity," the phenomenon of finding something valuable not sought after. In this serendipitous spirit, I was recently enjoying a food tour of LA's Farmers' Market. Our guide happened to be a Jewish Chicago native named Andrew Carter. Then while we are walking around enjoying delightful Southern California cuisine, Andrew bumped into some folks he knows from Chicago; people you and I know as well, the Tweedy family!! What an olam katan! What a small world! Susan and I emailed recently. She still can't get over it. Neither can I. I thought you might enjoy the picture we took of our wonderful moment of warm connection and surprise.

On a more planful note, I am happy to report to you that our Emanuel trip to Israel, scheduled for May 2018, is picking up momentum. We are up to 13 participants and, by mid-January, we need 15 to lock in our hotel and other arrangements. Plus, if we can convince 20 of you to go, we will be able to make the trip less expensive. The itinerary will avail you a wonderful experience in Israel, and traveling together will help strengthen our community and our love forHa'aretz and its people. If we haven't already, let's chat about this amazing opportunity. I look forward to making this journey with you. Please email me: rabbimarantz@emanuelcong.org. Or, call 860-966-5669.

On behalf of Betsy, Cara, and Jared, I hope this new year 2018 - 20Chai - bring both anticipated and unexpected blessings. And may any serendipity you encounter fill your life with inspiring joy, wonder, and fullness. L'chaim!