A Table Big Enough for All of Us
Launching the PCS Community Outreach Blog
There’s a moment in every Shabbat service when we rise for the Amidah and the room grows so still you can almost hear each heartbeat answer the call. That hush is a reminder: community isn’t the building or the program—it’s the invisible thread between pulses, the space we make for one another.
Today I’m weaving a new strand into that thread. Welcome to the Pleasantville Community Synagogue outreach blog—a digital picnic table where we can pull up a bench, pass stories back and forth, and dream aloud about the kind of village we hope to be.
Why start another blog?
Because the best way to nourish a community is conversation. Newsletters announce; a blog invites. Here we’ll share:
Neighborhood spotlights – meet the barista who sneaks extra foam onto your cappuccino and the sixth-grader who just built a sukkah out of recycled skateboards.
Behind-the-scenes peeks – ever wonder how the sanctuary transforms from musical mayhem on Friday night to contemplative calm on Saturday morning? Spoiler: lots of guitar picks and even more coffee.
Small acts, big ripples – mitzvah ideas that take less time than finding parking on Bedford Road but change someone’s day.
Holy day how-tos – from challah hacks to DIY menorah hacksaws (kidding—mostly).
The heartbeat test
Everything we post here will face one question: Does this strengthen the heartbeat between us? If yes, it stays. If not, it waits.
Your voice belongs here
A synagogue is literally a beit knesset—a house of gathering. So gather! Comment, argue kindly, share a memory, pitch a post. Send a photo of your dog stealing the afikoman. Tell us what justice project keeps you up at night. This is your table too.
Coming next
In the weeks ahead we’ll map out summer Shabbat strolls, introduce our new tikkun olam crew, share some of Rabbi Ben’s poetry, and unpack the art of showing up when the news feels heavy. For now, just know that however you arrived—lifelong member, curious neighbor, wandering web-surfer—you already have a seat.
Pull it closer. Pass the conversation. Let’s keep that sacred hush beating strong—together.
With anticipation and a ready refill of coffee,
Rabbi Shoshana “Shosh” Leis
Pleasantville Community Synagogue