Let’s Say a Shehecheyanu!

As we start the 2024 secular New Year, I am left reflecting about our start of our school year in September. New beginnings feel like they bring so many possibilities and a great time to recite the Shehecheyanu blessing (a common Jewish prayer to celebrate special occasions) as well as to delve into the newness we feel as we start a new year Shehecheyanu Blessing.indd (1).pdf. The ECLC started the school year introducing our staff to the Shehecheyanu prayer as we thought about new possibilities a new school year holds. This feels just as true as we say hello to 2024. We will continue our school year wondering what possibilities this new year brings and where we can be grateful for what we have in our lives. We look around at our ECLC community within the larger JCC community and continue to build, grow and come together as a community.  As we begin anew with the start of 2024, the Shehecheyanu prayer brings with it a way to have gratitude for the new experiences that come with a new year.

At the ECLC, celebrating Shabbat this school year has opened new possibilities. We have been hosting once a month, in person, Shabbat’s as an ECLC community. This has brought with it extreme gratitude for our families, educators and children at the ECLC who help fill this space monthly with warmth, Shabbat songs and prayers including families helping to lead the weekly Shabbat prayers. This contributes to a greater family-school connection that we look forward to monthly.

I continue to look forward to the new possibilities that come with this new year as we continue reflecting and growing our ECLC and J community.