Shabbat – O – Gram
September 2, 2005 and Av, 5765
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman,
Shabbat Shalom
We mourn the victims and extend support to all those suffering from Hurricane Katrina
Send your friends and relatives the gift of Jewish awareness -- a Shabbat-O-Gram each week, by signing them up at www.tbe.org. To be removed from this mailing list, sent e-mail request to office@tbe.org. If you have signed up and are not receiving our e-mails, check your spam filter to make sure that TBE is not being “spammed out.”
And check out the new photos of our recent
And check out our brand new Youth group website (featuring lots of photos of our young’ns)
Contents of the Shabbat O Gram: (click to scroll down)
Just the Facts (service schedule)
The Highest Level of Tzedakkah
Required Reading and Action Items (links to key articles on Israel and Jewish life)
Announcements (goings on in and around TBE)
Quote of the Week
(from this week’s Haftarah)
“Ah, unhappy storm-tossed soul, with none to comfort you:
I will make garnets your building-stones and sapphires your foundations.”
JUST THE FACTS
Friday Evening
Candle lighting for Stamford, CT: Candle lighting: 7:08pm on Friday, 02 September 2005. For candle lighting times, other Jewish calendar information, and to download a Jewish calendar to your PDA, click on http://www.hebcal.com/.
Kabbalat Shabbat: 6:30 PM – OUTDOORS (weather permitting) (and it looks good!)
Tot Shabbat : 6:45 PM – In the lobby.
Shabbat Morning: 9:30 AM – Mazal tov to Kate Hyman, who becomes Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat morning, and to Andrew Schnelwar and Shulie Weiss, soon to be married, whose Ufruf we will be celebrating as well.
Children’s services: 10:30 AM, including Jr. Congregation for grades 3-6 and Tot Shabbat Morning for the younger kids.
Torah Portion: Re’eh Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17
1: 11:26-31
2: 11:32-12:5
3: 12:6-10
4: 12:11-16
5: 12:17-19
6: 12:20-25
7: 12:26-28
maf: 12:26-28
Haftarah – Isaiah 54:11 - 55:5 We also we read selections from the Haftarah for Machar Hodesh (the eve of the New Moon) I Samuel 20:18 - 20:42)
See a weekly commentary from the UJC Rabbinic Cabinet, at www.ujc.org/mekorchaim. Read the Masorti commentary at http://www.masorti.org/mason/torah/index.asp. University of Judaism, JTS commentary is at: http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/. USCJ Torah
Rosner Minyan Maker http://www.tbe.org/minyan/index.php
Pick a Day – or pick several – and join us for morning minyan. Check our minyan calendar often to see which days need the most help. If the day is colored red that means there is a yahrzeit scheduled for that day. Also, feel free to e-mail me at rabbi@tbe.org to ensure a guaranteed minyan for that day, indicating the date of the yahrzeit.
Hospitality is essential to spiritual practice. It reminds you that you are part of a greater whole. . . .
Putting others first puts you in the midst of life without the illusion of being the center of life.
— Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro in Minyan
Morning Minyan: Sundays and federal holidays (Including Labor Day) at 9:00 AM, Weekdays at 7:30 AM – IN THE CHAPEL
Minyan Mastery
Now you can become more comfortable with the prayers of our morning service by heading to…
http://www.tbe.org/site/sog/minyanmastery.htm
The Rabid Rabbi
The
You’ve already seen my own reflections about the recent trip, sent to our e-mail list last month (if you haven’t, they are at our web site, www.tbe.org); now hear are some reflections from others, with more to come in future weeks….
It was truly an inspirational trip. What an historic time to be there and interact with so many Israelis. Although this was Jeannie's 4th visit to
It was one of the best trips we've ever taken.
Matt Kasindorf
The next article is by Michael Oren, who also addressed our group, via conference call, direct from
A SOLDIER'S STORY
Michael B. Oren
Wall Street Journal, August 23, 2005
Together with thousands of Jews, I sat on the flagstones before the Western Wall in Jerusalem Temple and crushing Jewish independence in Israel Gaza
I would take part in that operation. In a few hours, I would leave my historian's job and report for reserve service as a major in the army spokesman's office. My feelings were, at best, ambivalent. I wanted to end Israel 's occupation of Gaza 's 1.4 million Palestinians and preserve Israel 's Jewish majority, but feared abetting the terrorists' claim that Israel Israel
Nothing in my 25-year army experience had prepared me for the horror of Jews fighting Jews, nor had any of the knowledge I'd gained researching Israel
"It's me, Amnon!"
I was dumbstruck. Back in 1982, when he was a handsome commando, Amnon had fought beside me in Beirut Gaza Temples
Should I? In fact, the same code of ethics that binds members of the IDF also obligates them to "preserve the laws of Israel
These were the questions that challenged me and the 55,000 soldiers assembled in and around Gaza
Preparations for the mission meanwhile accelerated. At Re'im, a dust-enveloped tent city, an embedded American correspondent and I observed a battalion drilling their anti-riot techniques. Women and men, religious and secular, native-born Israelis and immigrants from Russia and Ethiopia, they had left their usual army jobs as teachers, flight engineers, and navigators to join the disengagement force. When asked about their feelings on Gaza
That night, we watched the battalion's officers, many of them combat pilots, poring over aerial photos of our targeted settlements, Badolah and Netzer Hazany. Booklets were passed out detailing the legal authority by which soldiers could request settlers to evacuate and arrest those who refused. We listened as the battalion commander reminded his soldiers of the three weeks' intensive training they had received for this, and reiterated the need to show sensitivity to the settlers' pain but also determination to achieve their objectives. He wished us all good luck. A few hours later, at 4 a.m., we moved out.
In a combat formation of twin columns we approached the settlements. With their gates barricaded, their houses swathed in smoke from burning tires and refuse, these looked, indeed, like battlegrounds. But we came unarmed, wearing neither helmets nor flakjackets but only netted vests emblazoned with the Menorah and the Star of David. For nearly a month, teams of IDF psychologists and rabbis had been quietly convincing settlers that disengagement was a reality and urging them to refrain from violence. Still, from behind the gate, youngsters pelted us with eggs and paint balloons, while many parents berated us with words reminiscent of Amnon's--"You disgrace your uniforms!"--and worse, "You're no better than Nazis!" The soldiers bore both the eggs and invective impassively, and when a bulldozer broke through the barricades, they filed into the streets.
More onerous challenges awaited them inside. The mother of a child who had been killed by terrorists had locked herself in his room, together with gasoline tanks that she threatened to ignite. Another family whose son, an Israeli naval commando, had fallen in Lebanon
The severest test of the battalion's fortitude--and humaneness--occurred in Badolah's synagogue, where the settlers were afforded an hour of parting prayer. But after two hours waiting in the blistering sun, the soldiers decided to enter. The scene that greeted them was shocking: settlers clutching the pews, the Ark
Ultimately, the settlers were either escorted or carried, sobbing, onto buses. But their rabbi, stressing the need for closure, requested permission to address the soldiers, and the battalion commander remarkably agreed. So it happened that 500 troops and 100 settlers stood at attention, with Israeli flags fluttering, while the rabbi spoke of the importance of channeling this sorrow into the creation of a more loving and ethical society. "We are all still one people, one state," he said. Together, the evicted and the evictors, then sang "Hatikvah," the national anthem--"The Hope."
The disengagement from
I retain many of my forebodings about disengagement--the precedent it sets of returning to the 1967 borders, the inducement to terror. About the army's role, though, I have no ambivalence. The same army that won
(Michael B. Oren, senior fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, is author of Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East [Presidio, 2003].)
Ask the Rabbi
How can I help victims of Hurricane Katrina?
The devastation caused by this week’s storm cannot even begin to be estimated. The images are frightening, the stories heartbreaking. Here are some ways that we can help.
Credit card donations via the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism at www.uscj.org, click on the link to the Hurricane Disaster Relief Fund. When you make a credit card donation you must write in the designation box that the donation is for the Hurricane Disaster Relief Fund. http://www.uscj.org/Hurricane_ReliefYou_6553.html
Contributions through the UJC can be made online at www.ujc.org or by mail at United Jewish Communities, P.O.
Contributions through the
Contributions through B'nai B'rith should be made payable to the B'nai B'rith Disaster Relief Fund and sent to: B'nai B'rith International, 2020 K Street, N.W., Seventh Floor, Washington, D.C., 20006; or online by going to www.bnaibrith.org and clicking on the link for disaster relief.
What Hillels are doing on college campuses:http://www.hillel.org/Hillel/NewHille.nsf/0/B3B6949F49CF27028525706E004D8804?OpenDocument
Spiritual Journey on the Web
ELUL – the Month of Turning
This week we begin the month of Elul (on Sunday night). Elul is Judaism’s opportunity to warm-up our teshuvah muscles before engaging in the marathon of the High Holidays. As any runner knows, you can’t possibly finish the race without a proper warm-up. Below I’ve included brief texts for each day of the coming week, from Rabbi Judith Abrams’ wonderful website, “Makom.” You can findthe entire month’s quotes at http://www.maqom.com/aug19_2004.html. For now, I’ll just get us through the first week. Take some time each day to reflect on one of these passages. If you have reflections you would like to share for next week’s Shabbat O Gram, send them to me.
Physical Life: Bein adam l'gufo
1 Elul, Sept. 5
How to Begin: Just Start!
Each tribe was unwilling to be the first to enter the [Red] sea [during the exodus]. Then Nahshon the son of Amminadav descended first into the sea [and then it parted]. (B. Sotah 37a)
2 Elul, Sept. 6
Did you wake up this morning? Did you know who you were? Then you're blessed.
When he hears the cock crowing he should say, "Blessed be the One who has given the cock the understanding to distinguish between day and night."
When he opens his eyes he should say, "Blessed be the One who opens the eyes of the blind."
When he stretches himself and sits up, he should say, "Blessed be the One who loosens the bound."
When he dresses he should say, "Blessed be the One who clothes the naked."
When he draws himself up he should say, "Blessed be the One who raises the bowed."
When he steps on to the ground he should say, "Blessed be the One who spread the earth on the waters."
When he commences to walk he should say, "Blessed be the One who makes firm the steps of man."
When he ties his shoes he should say, "Blessed be the One who has supplied all my wants."
When he fastens his girdle, he should say, "Blessed be the One who girds
When he spreads a kerchief over his head he should say, "Blessed be the One who crowns
3 Elul, Sept 7
God Uses Human Hands, So Use Yours For Charity
Mar Ukba had a poor man in his neighborhood into whose door-socket he used to throw four zuz every day. Once [the poor man] thought, "I will go and see who does me this kindness." On that day [it happened] that Mar Ukba was late at the house of study and his wife was coming home with him. As soon as [the poor man] saw them moving the door he went out after them, but they fled from him and ran into a furnace from which the fire had just been swept. Mar Ukba's feet were burning and his wife said to him: Raise your feet and put them on mine. As he was upset, she said to him, "I am usually at home and my benefactions are direct." (B. Ketubot 67b)
4 Elul, Sept 8
Sometimes We Need Physical Reminders to Do the Right Thing
It was taught: R. Nathan said, There is not a single precept in the Torah, even the lightest, whose reward is not enjoyed in this world; and as to its reward in the future world I know not how great it is. Go and learn this from the precept of tsitsit.
Once a man, who was very scrupulous about the precept of tsitsit, heard of a certain harlot in one of the towns by the sea who accepted four hundred gold [denars] for her hire. He sent her four hundred gold [denars] and appointed a day with her....
When he came in she prepared for him seven beds, six of silver and one of gold; and between one bed and the other there were steps of silver, but the last were of gold. She then went up to the top bed and lay down upon it naked. He too went up after her in his desire to sit naked with her, when all of a sudden the four fringes [of his garment] struck him across the face; whereupon he slipped off and sat upon the ground.
She also slipped off and sat upon the ground and said, 'By the Roman Capitol, I will not leave you alone until you tell me what blemish you saw in me. 'By the Temple', he replied, 'never have I seen a woman as beautiful as you are; but there is one precept which the Lord our God has commanded us, it is called tsitsit, and with regard to it the expression 'I am the Lord your God' is twice written, signifying, I am He who will exact punishment in the future, and I am He who will give reward in the future. Now [the tsitsit] appeared to me as four witnesses [testifying against me]'. She said, 'I will not leave you until you tell me your name, the name of your town, the name of your teacher, the name of your school in which you study the Torah'. He wrote all this down and handed it to her.
Thereupon she arose and divided her estate into three parts; one third for the government, one third to be distributed among the poor, and one third she took with her in her hand; the bed clothes, however, she retained. She then came to the Beit Hamidrash of R. Hiyya, and said to him, 'Master, give instructions about me that they make me a proselyte'. 'My daughter', he replied; 'perhaps you have set your eyes on one of the disciples?' She thereupon took out the script and handed it to him. 'Go', said he 'and enjoy your acquisition'. Those very bed-clothes which she had spread for him for an illicit purpose she now spread out for him lawfully. This is the reward [of the precept] in this world; and as for its reward in the future world I know not how great it is. (B. Menachot 44a)
5 Elul, Sept 9
Atonement through Physical Suffering
It was said of Nahum Ish Gamzo that he was blinded in both his eyes. His two hands were cut off. His two legs were amputated, and his whole body was covered with boils and he was lying in a dilapidated house on a bed the feet of which were standing in bowls of water in order to prevent the ants from crawling on to him [since he was unable to drive them off his body himself]. His students sought to remove his bed [from the house] and afterward take out the utensils [from thence]. He said to them, "My sons, take out the utensils and afterward take out my bed for I assure you that all the time that I am in the house, the house will not fall." They took out the utensils and afterward took out his bed and the house [immediately] fell down.
His students said to him, "Rabbi, you are [clearly] a thoroughly righteous person [so] why has [all this] happened to you?" He said to them, "I brought it on my self, for one time I was walking on the way to the house of my father-in-law and I had with me three asses, one laden with food, one with drink and one with all kinds of dainties. One poor man came and stood in my way and said to me, "Rabbi, sustain me [with something to eat]." I said to him, "Wait until I unload [something] from the ass. And I did not succeed to unload [something] from the ass before he died [from hunger]. I went and fell upon his face and I said, 'My eyes, which did not have pity upon your eyes, may they become blind. My hands, which did not have pity upon your hands, may they be cut off. My legs, which did not have pity on your legs, may they be amputated.' And my conscience was not quiet until I said, 'May my whole body be covered with boils (sh'hin).'" They [his students] said to him, "Alas for us that we should see you like this." He said to them, "Alas for me if you did not see me like this!"
Why was he called Nahum of Gamzu? - Because whatever befell him he would declare, This also is for the best. (B. Taanit 21a)
6 Elul, Sept. 10
Suffering Can be an Expression of God's Love
Rabba, and some say Rav Chisda, said, "If a man sees that sufferings come to him, let him examine his conduct. For it is said, 'Let us search and try our ways, and return unto the Lord. (Lamentations 3:40)'. If he examined [his deeds] and did not find [anything objectionable], let him attribute it to the neglect of the study of the Torah. For it is said, 'Happy is the man whom God chastens, and is taught from Your Torah.(Psalms 94:12)' If he did attribute it [thus], and [still] did not find [this to be the cause], then it is known that these are chastenings of love, for it is said, 'For those God loves, He reproves. (Proverbs 3:12)'" (B. Berachot 5a)
7 Elul, Sept. 11
Studying Torah Cures All Ills
R. Joshua b. Levi stated: If a man is on a journey and has no company let him occupy himself with the study of the Torah, since it is said in Scripture, "For they shall be a chaplet of grace. (Proverbs 1:9)"
If he feels pains in his head, let him engage in the study of the Torah, since it is said, "For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto your head.(Proverbs 1:9)"
If he feels pain in his throat let him engage in the study of the Torah, since it is said, "And a necklace about your neck. (Proverbs 1:9)"
If he feels pains in his bowels, let him engage in the study of the Torah, since it is said, "It shall be a healing to your navel. (Proverbs 3:8)"
If he feels pains in his bones, let him engage in the study of the Torah, since it is said, "And healing to all his flesh.(Proverbs 4:22)" (B. Eruvin 54a)
Required Reading and Action Items
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A note for Sephardim - Only one of the nine 'A Star is Born' finalists has ever been Ashkenazi. |
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Tides Of Help
In wake of killer Hurricane Katrina,
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3136394,00.html Jewish help given for Katrina's victims
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1125368483720 Communities open doors to
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1125541482287&p=1006953079865 Why do flood victims suffer?
http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=15788&intcategoryid=4 On Labor Day, Jews should think of working poor.
http://www.socialaction.com/remembrance_labor.html Exodus, Remembrance and Labor, By Rabbi Saul J. Berman
Harlem Renaissance For Jews At 'City' - As school year begins, Jewish life at
Gabrielle Birkner – (Jewish Week) ...more
Mysterious Temple Mt. artifact evokes `Da Vinci Code' (Ha’aretz)
'No fogiveness' Funerals for 14 Gush Katif dead reburied in Jerusalem took place Thursday; rabbis, mourners blast those behind disengagement in highly charged ceremonies; Knesset chairman asks forgiveness of those reburied, interrupted Full Story . . . (YNet)
Israeli National team preps for Switzerland
· Gaza's Final Evacuees - Jeff Jacoby
The last Jewish inhabitants were removed from the
· Who Rules Gaza? - Eyad El-Sarraj
International organizations decided to prevent their workers from entering the
It seems that our security forces were mainly trained to protect official parades. Amidst this reality, the attorney general and a supreme court judge were attacked and neither is able to move freely. It seems that we are following
· How Jordan Can Help Palestine - Joseph Braude
By departing Gaza without a peace deal, Israel affirmed with finality that the dream of economic integration and political partnership between Israelis and Palestinians is dead. Confederation in the sense of heightened political and military coordination as well as economic interdependence between Jordan and Palestine may represent the most viable path to rebuilding the economy and society of the West Bank and Gaza.
King Abdullah formally relieved his half-brother Hamza of his role as crown prince and replaced him with his own ten-year-old son Hussein, whose mother, Queen Rania, is a Palestinian with roots in the
See also Are There Signs of a Jordanian-Palestinian Reengagement? - Dan Diker and Pinchas Inbari (ICA/JCPA)
Bush Steps Up Pressure on Abbas
President George W. Bush stepped up pressure on the Palestinians one day after a suicide bomb attack, urging Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday to show the courage to crack down on terrorism. Bush praised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's for pulling Jewish settlers out of Gaza, saying this was a first step toward creating a democracy for Palestinians. "It took political courage to make that decision," Bush said during a speech in
Sharon: Israel Will Not Keep All West Bank Settlements in Final Peace Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says Israel will not keep all Jewish settlements in the West Bank in any final peace deal with the Palestinians. Mr. Sharon spoke Monday on Israeli television, one week after removing Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank enclaves. He did not provide details of future Israeli pullbacks, and he said all main
U.S. Backs Down on Settlement Boundaries Demand - Aluf Benn
Washington has rescinded its demand that Israel and the U.S. jointly mark the boundaries of settlements in the West Bank, according to American and Israeli officials. Neither side reportedly has an interest in marking the boundaries: for
U.S. officials said they are now making do with warning Israel to refrain from expanding the West Bank settlements. As an effect of such warnings, they note that most construction licenses in recent years have been given within the large settlement blocs or within built-up areas. (Ha'aretz)
Mofaz Orders Hebron Old City Evacuation - Matthew Gutman
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has issued an order to evacuate a controversial Jewish outpost in the heart of the Old City of Hebron, long one of the
Never Again - Kenneth Bialkin
The images flashed around the world last week of Jewish families uprooted and evicted through no personal fault of their own by young male and female soldiers who shed tears along with the settlers in the sad fulfillment of their duty has cut deeply into the minds and emotions of Jews everywhere.
Prime Minister Sharon has said that until the Palestinians fulfill their defaulted steps under the road map, including dismantling the infrastructure of terror, disarming Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hizballah, and other terrorist groups, and bringing criminals to justice, no one should expect Israel to renew further steps under the road map, which is based on reciprocal progress.
A major lesson of the disengagement experience is that
Weak Palestinians Risk Civil War - Richard Z. Chesnoff
Palestinians have the chance to improve their lives if they stop feeling sorry for themselves. Possibly 600,000 of them fled the 1947-48 war that Arab states launched against newly born Israel, and 60 years later they still consider themselves "refugees." Now the Palestinians claim they number more than 5 million - and that the world still owes them a living. Here's my advice to the Palestinians. Get your act together, work with what you have and build up global trust. Most importantly, convince the Israelis you want peace - not to destroy
"The Arafat Model" - Michael Rubin
While U.S. diplomats and Washington advisers continue to facilitate compromise among Iraq's disparate sectarian, ethnic, and political groups, the reality emerging outside Baghdad is directly challenging Iraq's aspirations to constitutionalism. Massoud Barzani in the Kurdish north and Moqtada al-Sadr in the Shiite south have rejected the experts' academic proposals, and have chosen instead a model perfected by Yasser Arafat, the late PLO chairman. While
A great resource on all things Jewish: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/news.html
The best Jewish site for Jewish learning: http://www.myjewishlearning.com
Jewish Identity Databases: http://pages.infinit.net/jackross/jt-judaism.htm
THE MOTHERLODE OF ISRAEL-RELATED LINKS: http://www.israel.org/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00kj0
http://www.myisraelsource.com./
Israel Education resources for all ages – wonderful collection http://www.myisraelsource.com/
See My Jewish Learning's Talmud section for great resources on the Talmud.
See Eliezer Siegal's Talmud Page for the best visual introduction to a page of Talmud anywhere.
A Jewish Guide to the Internet: http://www.uscj.org/metny/bellmobj/jnet2.htm
You can find an online Hebrew dictionary at http://milon.morfix.co.il/
Nice Jewish parenting site http://jewishfamily.com/
http://shamash.org/trb/judaism.html
Online Texts Related to Jewish History. All the primary sources “fit to print.”
Links to all the Jewish newspapers that are fit to print: http://www.jta.org/page_newspapers.asp
http://jokes.jewish.net/ - the best place on the planet to find Jewish Jokes
Conservative Responsa (fascinating decisions related to applying Jewish Law to our times):
Israel (Masorti – Schechter Institute): http://www.responsafortoday.com/eng_index.html
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ONLINE JEWISH STUDY
- Distance learning at JTS
- eAcademy Israel Studies
- Guided Learning Mini Courses
- Halakhah Study Group (RA in Israel)
- Hashkafah Study Group (RA in Israel)
- Jewish Interactive Studies
- Jewish Online and Interactive Learning
- Jewish University in Cyberspace (JUICE)
- Mishnah Yomit Study a Mishnah a day
- Perek Yomi Study a Bible passage a day
- Rabin Mishnah Study Group (RA in Israel)
- The Virtual Bet Midrash at Yeshivat Har Etzion
FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS… AND EVERYONE ELSE
http://www.studentsfordemocracy.ca/site_files/book.pdf
ASHIRA
Friday, September 9, 2005 at 7:30 p.m.
Join us at our first Family Friday Night Service of the season!
ASHIRA brings a unique sound to Jewish music. Comprised of Arianne Slack, Laura Lenes, and Leah Moss, this NYC based trio draws on the various backgrounds of its members, ranging from pop and musical theater to cantorial and opera, to create an exciting new sound. Singing both contemporary and traditional melodies in new settings of three-part harmony, ASHIRA involves the congregation by using sign language and teaching new melodies. Their concert repertoire is varied, including Hebrew, Yiddish, English and Ladino songs. ASHIRA’s unique vocal sound is enhanced by close bonds of friendship as well as the trio’s love of music and Judaism.
NEWS FLASH!
DO YOU KNOW ANYONE Shopping for a
HAVE THEM Check out our new “Taste of TBE” offer for Kindergarten and first grade and…sample our excellent school!
PAY SCHOOL TUITION ONLY!
No need to join for the first year!
No membership dues!
No strings attached!
We just want you to try us out. We hope you’ll like us!
For registration and more information, contact the Education office @ 322-6901 x 306 or education@tbe.org.
21st Annual Harold E. Hoffman Memorial Lecture
Thursday, September 15, 2005 at 7:30 p.m.
Featuring
DAVID HOROVITZ,
Editor-in-Chief of The
On Thursday, September 15th, Temple Beth El will be holding its Annual Harold E. Hoffman Memorial Lecture. This year’s speaker will be writer David Horovitz, the editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.
Before taking over The Jerusalem Post last October, Horovitz was the editor and publisher of the award-winning newsmagazine The Jerusalem Report for 14 years. He has also contributed to such papers as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Irish Times and The (
Some of David’s personal publications include the book “Still Life with Bombers:
The Hoffman Memorial Lecture is sponsored by the family of the late Harold E. Hoffman, a former member of the
Call the
ON SEPTEMBER 16…
TOT SHABBAT TRAVELS…
TO
Join us at the Harrisons,
HAVDALAH AT THE BEACH
Join Early Childhood Development director Nurit Avigdor,
Saturday, September 17th at 5:00 p.m.
for a family service on the beach! Bring your own picnic dinner and we’ll supply dessert! The program is aimed toward families with young children, however all are welcome - members and non-members alike!
ADULT ED AT TBE
CD T’FILLAH PROGRAM
with
meets weekly on Thursday from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Class begins September 1st.
HEBREW ULPAN
with
meets weekly on Tuesday from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Class begins September 6th.
IT’S MORE THAN LOX AND BAGELS
with
meets monthly on Tuesday from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Class begins Wednesday, September 14th.
JUDAISM FOR EVERYONE
An Introductory Class for Dummies, Smarties…
and Those Who Don’t Know How to Ask
with
meets weekly on Sunday from 9:15 - 10:00 a.m.
Class begins on September 25th.
(A prerequisite for those who wish to join our newest
Beth El Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah class.)
Fee: $50 for material.
OUR HOLIDAYS: THE RYTHYM OF JEWISH TIME
with
meets on select Sundays from 9:15 - 10:00 a.m.
Class begins September 25th.
“Surviving the High Holy Days: An Introduction to the Themes, Prayers and Customs of the Days of Awe”
(Runs parallel with JUDAISM FOR EVERYONE - see above.)
PIRKE AVOT: Ethics for Our Daily Lives
with
meets monthly on Sunday from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Class begins September 25th.
NEW PRAYER BOOKS!
We are pleased to announce that a new shipment of SHABBAT MORNING PRAYER BOOKS has arrived at the
A donation of $27, made payable to Temple Beth El , will reserve a prayer book for you. A lovely, personalized book plate will be placed inside the front cover.
For further information, please call the
BETH EL CARES
Attention all Teens looking for a Mitzvah Project
Jewish Family Services needs you!
Volunteer one hour a week or one hour a month, on Friday afternoons visiting senior citizens at an assisted living facility (Thursday afternoons/evenings work too)! Host a pre-Shabbat “service”... celebrate the Jewish holidays...contact Ellie Mirne at 356-1887 for more information.
Cheryl Wolff (968-6361)
Sue Greenwald (329-1662)
HIGH HOLY DAY USHERS
Please sign up early for your High Holy Days Usher slots and to help us put up and take down the bimah platforms. We need to ensure that we have enough volunteers committed to accomplish these critical tasks. Here are the details:
High Holy Days usher slots are available for men, women and couples. Those of you who have performed this task know of its ease. For those of you who are new to this request, each “watch” is approximately 45 minutes. Please help us maintain the traffic flow and decorum that makes the services a better experience for all. Reserve your ushering slots by calling Rich Cohen at 322-1131 (email rxrphrich@optonline.net).
BIMAH SET-UP
We will be setting up the bimah platforms on Sunday, September 25th at 8:30 a.m. and taking them down on Sunday, October 16th at 8:30 a.m. We’ll have some refreshments available for both the folks who work on the installation of our bimah platforms and for those who just want to stop by and schmooze. Call Marty Israel at 325-8511 (e-mail mhisrael@optonline.net) if you want to have some fun playing steelworker for an hour or two, help set up chairs, or just lend general support.
SUKKAH SET-UP
We will also be setting up the
SHOFAR BLOWERS NEEDED
(during the month of Elul prior to Rosh Hashanah)
If you are thinking about buying a shofar and would like to learn how to blow, or if you already know how, we need you! Contact Chuck Donen at 847-5667.
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING CHANGE!
SUNDAY MORNING MINYAN WILL MEET AT 8:30 A.M.
BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 11, 2005
NEW FOR OUR YOUTH!!!
Visit this brand-new website for TBE’s youth groups!
You’ll see pictures, links and much more!
YOUTH EVENTS
USY at New
September 10th from 8 - 11:00 p.m.
Price M: $35, NM: $45
USY Meeting
September 11th from 7 - 9 p.m.
USY Shabbat Service and Lunch
September 17th from 10 - 1:00p.m.
Kadima: Rock & Bowl at Rip Van Winkle
September 17th from 8:30 - 10:30 p.m.
Price M: $20, NM: $30
Atid: Apple & Honey Dumpling Gang
September 25th, lunch from 12:30 - 2 p.m.
Price M:$10, NM: $15
USY Meeting
September 25th from 7 - 9 p.m.
WOMEN OF THE BOOK
It has been said that the point of reading is not how many books you get through but how many books get through to you. The Women of the Book Discussion Group is a great way to stumble on new authors, and a great motivator to read something challenging while having a chance to discuss it with various viewpoints expressed. We are an intelligent, friendly bunch who enjoy sharing ideas and are addicted to reading. Interspersed with the great books are equally great and riveting videos that we watch together and then discuss. We have a wonderful program planned for this year. The books and the videos vary and run the gamut from thought provoking, to timely, humorous and good reads. Our discussions are lively and you will leave our meetings shouting, “MORE, MORE!”
We want to encourage all of you who have thought about coming to one of our meetings but never quite made it. At our first meeting we will put the name of every newcomer in a hat, and the woman whose name is drawn will receive a complementary copy of our November book, The Kite Runner by Kheled Hosseini.
Looking forward to seeing you.
Please join us for any or all of the following programs:
SPECIAL GUEST: We will have a special guest for our first meeting on September 20th. We will meet a woman who was a “hidden child” and hear her amazing story of survival.
September 20, 2005: Hidden Children and their Rescuers
What would you risk in order to save the life of a loved one? What would you risk in order to save the life of a neighbor? What would you risk in order to save the life of a stranger? In this video we will meet some “righteous gentiles” who risked their lives and the lives of their own children to save Jewish children during the Shoah. We will also meet the gentile children whose lives were risked in order to save the Jewish children.
Rosh Hashanah Family Service at
On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Tues, Oct. 4 at 4 PM,
SUKKOT 2005
Begins on Monday evening, October 17th
Cut and paste this order form on another sheet for your lulav and etrog!
NAME
PHONE
NUMBER OF REGULAR SETS at $36 per set
NUMBER OF CHILDREN’S SETS at $18 per set
TOTAL = $
Remember… Order by Sunday, October 2nd
Please return this form with your check payable to:
Pick-up will be on Sunday, October 16th
9:00 a.m. - 12 noon
For additional information call (203) 322-6901.
Moshe is driving around in a car park, but to his dismay, he cannot find a parking space. He drives around for half an hour then looks up to the heavens and says:
"Excuse me? It's Moshe. G-d I really need your help. I can't find a parking space. I promise if you find me one I will go to shul every week and I will keep every Jewish law ever written!"
Just then, a parking space appears in front of him. Moshe looks up to the sky again and says:
"Actually, don't worry G-d, I just found one!"
Previous Shabbat-O-Grams can be accessed directly from our web site (www.tbe.org)
The Web link for this week's Shabbat-O-Gram is - http://www.tbe.org/site/sog/050902.htm - The site is continually updated during the week with corrections and additions. Feel free to forward this link to your friends. People can subscribe to the weekly Shabbat-O-Gram at www.tbe.org, where you can also find some of my other writings and sermons. You can also check out my recent books, thelordismyshepherd.com : Seeking God in Cyberspace and I Have Some Questions About God.
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