"Ruach"

The story was told that as quite a young woman, my mother would travel from her hometown in Poland to visit her uncle and his family in Warsaw (the Paris of Poland!). It was recounted by her much younger first cousin, that when my mother arrived, her uncle would exclaim, "She comes in like a wind!". That was my mother. Her lively, vibrant, animated spirit filled any room she entered. It's interesting to me that her uncle called her "a wind" since the Hebrew word ruach can mean breath or wind. In people, ruach is a source of spirit other than the physical. It is their essence, thought, intellect.                                                     

It was with this in mind that Temple Shalom's ritual committee adopted the following mission statement:
The primary purpose and mission of this newly formed ritual committee is to continue to elevate the ruach, the spiritual atmosphere, of Temple Shalom via Reform Jewish activities, projects, events and holiday celebrations. Within this context, we will also strive to raise awareness of the "three legged stool" of Judaism: tzedakah (charity), chesed (loving-kindness), and study of Torah.