Shalom,
Welcome to Beth Abraham (the house of Abraham). Jewish tradition teaches us that Abraham was a wonderful examplar of hospitality: he planted his tent at the crossroads so that people coming from all directions could find his home easily accessible upon their approach, Abraham would not only provide food and drink, but would wash the feet of arriving angels and mortals alike. Although we practice more hand washing than foot washing today at Beth Abraham, we hope that our ancestor’s model reverberates within the walls of our synagogue.
In our over 105 years as a congregation and the 45 years that we have been located at our present site, Beth Abraham has worked hard to serve the many needs of our Jewish community. With services on close to 365 days a year, we celebrate life’s joys, among them, baby namings, Bat and Bar Mitzvah, and weddings. As community we support each other in times of sadness such as illness and death. We provide opportunities for both children and adults to learn about ourselves: to help each of us reach our destiny as creatures who have been created in God’s image.
Pictures of our synagogue show a lovely campus with a sanctuary which echoes the roofline of Eastern European synagogues of a century or two or three ago. These roots are very much part of who we are, but we are also a community of individuals who are searching to create a meaningful contemporary Jewish life for ourselves, our families, and future generations.
During the course of a year, the face of Beth Abraham can be seen in those praying in the synagogue on Rosh HaShanah and later throwing past misdeeds (and bread crumbs) into the Nashua River; it can be seen in the teenagers who lead us in havdalah before the shofar’s tekiah gedolah at the end of Yom Kippur. It can be seen among those celebrating in our beautiful Sukkah as well as in the children who march with etrog and lulav at the outdoor Sukkot service on Hol HaMo’ed. The face of Beth Abraham can be seen in those at the Beth Abraham Hanukkah party, at the reading of the Megillah on Purim, and at the community seder. One can see the face of Beth Abraham in the beaming Religious School students leading their class services or receiving their awards on Shavu’ot. In the summer one can see the face of Beth Abraham in those sitting by candlelight on a quiet Tishah B’Av summer evening and in our teenagers doing the same at summer camps in the US and on trips to Israel. One also sees the face of Beth Abraham in those picking up their kosher meat deliveries through a kosher coöp and in the Hevre Kadisha (burial society) who care for our departed before burial Indeed, the face of our community is far more than two buildings and some three hundred families.
Again, welcome. You are now part of the face of Beth Abraham. May this congregation be a gateway towards a meaningful Jewish life. May we learn and live together as children of Abraham and Sarah in this house of Abraham and Sarah.