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Meeting of KST Vaad November 27, 2025, 9:30 AM D’Var Torah, given by Rabbi Goldin: In Parshat Va-Yeitzei, we are told “Va-yifga Bamakom”, Yaakov encountered a place. “Makom,” also a term for Hashem, is the object here. Makom towers over Yaakov. At the end of the parshah, it says, “Va-yifgi’u bo malachei elokim”, the angels of G-d encountered Yaakov. Yaakov, at that point, was a different person after the challenges he had faced at Lavan’s; he had held on to his beliefs and emerged stronger Our people have been through a terrible ordeal that has had an impact on so many of us. But we are resilient and will be able to face the challenges that lie ahead by working together. ***************** We had about 95 seats filled this year for yamim nora’im. We need to move beyond our members to run the minyan. Looking forward, we will need to attract younger congregants and/or to hire people for davening and leining. Perhaps we should start by bringing in outsiders for Rosh Chodesh davening. We will consider advertising these positions and might speak to rabbis of local shuls for suggestions. We also need a ba’al toke’a to replace Kal. He is ready to coach someone new. We may want to move the minyan upstairs for shabbat in order to have more space. That is a fundamental change that requires approval from BF. We would also need to hire someone to set up and take apart the room and someone to run the elevator. We are still looking for a lighter sefer torah that we can borrow on a long-term basis. Perhaps we should advertise in Torah Tidbits. Future programming could include a trivia night or a program for Yom Ha-shoah. We have a new wooden announcement board for seasonal/holiday additions to the davening. Kiddush fees include a charge of 175 shekels for using the back room. Should that be covered instead by the increased rent? Shul finances: We took in 37,000 shekels in membership fees. We currently have 112,000 in cash. If needed, the membership fee of 500 shekels can be increased. The shul currently pays the fee of 175 shekels for using the back room for a sponsored Kiddush provided the sponsor is a KST member. The meeting was adjourned at 10:40 AM. Recorded and transcribed by Shelley Helfand