As I write this, Purim is a few days away, but we have already received news that I think will bring all of us light and gladness. In what might be a new speed record for a bureaucracy, Rav Natan has received approval for a change in immigration status to what is called R-1, a special category specifically for religious workers. It’s used extensively by the Catholic Church to bring in priests from other countries, but it also applies to us. But don’t lose all faith in the inefficiency of bureaucracy just yet! The decision approves his eligibility for an R-1 visa, but to get the visa, he has to go back to Brazil and visit the embassy there – which is currently closed due to COVID.

I urge you all to read the weekly emails that contain our upcoming activities. If you didn’t catch the adult education presentation on Jews in comedy given by Ron Rosenberg and Adam Cohen, you really missed something. We had people attending (virtually) from Canada. Some of the people had relatives who were involved in some way with some of the comedians in the presentation.

30 days from Erev Purim is Erev Pesach. I know a number of you are searching for a vaccine appointment the way kids search for the afikomen, and if you haven’t had your first shot already, it’s quite likely you won’t get vaccinated in time to make long-distance travel safe. In the past, Zoom has lifted the 40-minute time limit on meetings for personal accounts for holidays. I’m hoping they do that for Pesach this year – I’ve already put in feedback asking that they do that, and it wouldn’t hurt for others to do so.

Finally, I want to say thank you to our preschool director, Alexis Joyce, who has decided that this will be her last year running our program. We are sad to see her go, and wish her the best in whatever she decides to do in the future.

As always, my mailbox is open at president@etzhayim.net