Dear Friends,

After many (way too many) months of being apart from each other, we are so excited to welcome you all back to CBT (safely of course and at your level of comfort). Thankfully, the number of daily new Covid-19 cases in New Jersey has significantly dropped in recent weeks and more and more people continue to get vaccinated. Therefore, we are finally able to continue our transition back to normalcy by reopening our doors and resuming in-person services on a regular basis!

For the time being, we will continue to require that masks be worn, and that social distancing be maintained while inside the building. Also, we recommend that you only attend in-person services if you are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. We will, however, re-evaluate these policies as conditions continue to improve and hope that we can make the change sooner rather than later.

Beginning on Monday, June 14, 2021, we will resume our “normal” (pre-Covid) in-person schedule for Shabbat and daily minyan services. Sign-ups for services are suggested but will no longer be required to attend services. We will continue to stream services via our digital platforms.

The service schedule is as follows:

Minyan

Monday – 7:30 pm

Tuesday – 7:30 pm

Wednesday – 7:30 pm

Thursday – 8:00 am and 7:30 pm

Sunday – 9:00 am and 7:30 pm

*Please note that we will continue to use WhatsApp to try to make sure that a minyan is present. If you would like to be added to the WhatsApp list, please contact either Cantor Rockman or Stacey Rockman.

Shabbat

Kabbalat Shabbat – 6:30 pm

Shabbat morning – 9:30 am

*Please note that Jump Into Shabbat will continue to be held on Zoom at 5:45 pm before Kabbalat Shabbat until June 25, 2021. We will take a break for the summer months, due to vacation schedules, and we will reevaluate whether to have Jump Into Shabbat in-person in the Fall.

We encourage everyone to Come Back to Tikvah and join us for in person services. However, we understand that there are varying levels of comfort and familial circumstances that make doing so a very personal decision. We respect all feelings regarding our transition back to normalcy and ask that we all continue to be kind to each other. As conditions continue to improve, we will keep making incremental changes that will allow for more togetherness and fewer restrictions.

Entry Into CBT

Please note that we are now using magnetic key fobs to enter the building, instead of the digital keypad with a four-digit code we used previously. Each family receives one key fob at no charge. However, if your family needs additional key fobs, they can be purchased for $18 each. Please contact Lesley in the office to arrange a time to pick up your key fob(s). Going forward the key fob will be how you enter the building, including for services.

We look forward to seeing everyone at our Come Back to Tikvah weekend June 11-13! The RSVPs have been overwhelmingly positive, and we cannot wait to pray together, hangout and schmooze for the entire weekend! May this be just the beginning of better days ahead.

The Covid-19 Task Force