(Courtesy of CSS) On Shabbat Chanukah, December 21 (and in some cases, December 28), synagogues and communities across America will pay tribute to their CSS volunteer teams for the time and dedication each of them extends to protecting their communities. Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple after the defeat of the Seleucid Empire. After facing a hostile government that banned the practice of Judaism under penalty of death, a small group of Jewish people trained to protect and defend Jewish life and the Jewish way of life overcame the odds to reclaim Jewish religious freedom. The CSS teams strive to do just that—to safeguard triumph over oppression—to offer hope even in the most trying of times.
CSS Shabbat across America is on Shabbat Chanukah and was designed for Jewish houses of worship and their congregants to pay tribute to and to recognize the volunteers who stand guard each week.
Deena Seelenfreund, CSS NJ regional manager, said, “Our neighbors and fellow congregations know that we are a presence looking out for them. CSS Shabbat Chanukah Across America helps raise awareness of the importance of volunteer security on the local and national levels and provides a method for community members to support the volunteers protecting their synagogues. The funds raised this Shabbat will help supply the training and equipment our volunteers use daily to keep us all safe.”
CSS security teams are trained at the highest level to implement security protections at synagogues and schools. That work requires professional equipment. CSS members often purchase their own safety equipment, such as ballistic vests, radios, flashlights and medical equipment. “This Shabbat Chanukah will enable CSS members protecting synagogues across America to be properly equipped. We believe every synagogue and temple, and every volunteer, should have the same level of equipment, and CSS Shabbat helps us make that happen,” Nissan Clark, CSS trainer and team leader, said.
CSS helps safeguard communities in a professional manner, creating an open and comfortable environment for the practice of Judaism of every stream. Its volunteer-based model fills a critical gap in the security needs of the Jewish community and is essential in creating an effective and holistic security architecture. CSS trains volunteers from within their own communities in professional operational security procedures, including counter-surveillance, surveillance detection and situational awareness. The deep knowledge of their own institutions enables CSS teams to act as a force multiplier for law enforcement and to address a situation long before it escalates into a serious incident.
