It’s that time of year again, when we see the signs that the High Holidays are on their way:

The evenings are starting to get a little cooler; the new school year has begun; advertisements for challah, honey, and brisket are creeping into the newspapers; emails for sukkah building kits clog our inboxes; we add Psalm 27 to our morning and evening prayers; we blow the shofar every morning (except on Shabbat); we end casual conversations with “hey, if I don’t see you, have a happy New Year.”

Another sign that Rosh Hashanah is right around the corner, at least in our community, is Jewish Federation’s annual security briefing for all of our local Jewish organizations.

We will show up to services on Rosh Hashanah and see ushers, security guards, police, and perhaps metal detectors, and we will feel safe. We may be upset that we need this level of protection, but ultimately, we’ll be happy that we have it.

This effort doesn’t just happen. Executive directors, house and grounds chairs, and security teams work hard, behind the scenes, to make it happen. Yesterday, scores of these folks crowded into our building to hear from the FBI, NYS Counter Terrorism, campus security, local police, and, new this year, the Albany County Threat Assessment Coordination Team, and the Greater Hudson Valley regional director of Community Security Initiative (CSI).

After the event, one synagogue’s security chair emailed to me, “That was the best Federation safety and security event of all the ones we have attended… I am happy that CSS now comes this far north, and we plan to take advantage of what it has to offer. Thank you again for getting all these high ranking, very impressive law enforcement officers together at one time to support our community.”

While we appreciate the thanks for organizing and hosting the event, the real thanks goes to law enforcement for spending the morning with us yesterday and working every day to keep us safe.

Hey, if I don’t see you…