Shabbat – O –
Gram
September 23,
2005 and, Elul 19, 5765
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman,
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And check out our brand new Youth group website www.tbeyg.org!
CLICK BELOW TO SUPPORT THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT IN THE NEXT
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Contents of the Shabbat O Gram: (click to scroll down)
Just the Facts (service schedule)
Required Reading
and Action Items (links to key articles on Israel and Jewish life)
Announcements (goings
on in and around TBE)
Quotes for the Week
"All the month of Elul before eating and sleeping,
one should look into ones soul and search ones deeds in order to make
confession."
The Maharal of
EMIL FACKENHEIM z’l: ON HIS FIRST YAHRTZEIT
“In the present situation, the question becomes: can we confront the
Holocaust, and yet not despair?...The contradiction is
too staggering, and every authentic escape is barred. For we
are forbidden to turn present and future life into death, as the price of
remembering death at
…And from this beginning confrontation there emerges what I will
boldly term a 614th commandment: the authentic Jew of today is
forbidden to hand Hitler yet another, posthumous victory…And he hears it
whether, as agnostic, he hears no more, or whether, as believer, he hears the
voice of the metzaveh (the commander) in the mitzvah
(the commandment)…
[W]e are, first, commanded to survive as
Jews, lest the Jewish people perish. We are commanded, second, to remember in
our very guts and bones the martyrs of the Holocaust, lest their memory perish.
We are forbidden, thirdly, to deny or despair of God, however much we may have
to contend with him or with belief in him, lest Judaism perish. We are
forbidden, finally, to despair of the world, the place which is to become the
Emil Fackenheim. The great Jewish
philosopher passed away a year ago this month, in Jerusalem
JUST THE FACTS
THIS WEEKEND!!!!!
We set the tone for this season of repentence
and the Days of Awe
Selichot Movie and Service...
Sat. Sept. 24, beginning at 8:30 PM..in the chapel
8:30 - 10: Screening of the film
"Hiding and Seeking: Faith and Tolerance After the Holocaust" (2005).
This documentary,
featured on PBS' P.O.V. series, shows the lessons learned about tolerance and forgiveness
as a traditional Jew and his sons travel to Poland to find the family who hid
their father and grandfather in Poland for two years during World War Two.
"Hiding and Seeking" poses critical
questions for both people of faith and secular society in the 21st century.
10:00 - 11:00: Selichot
service
After a brief break for coffee and discussion, Rabbi
Hammerman and Cantor Littman will lead the Selichot
service, combining traditional and contemporary melodies, prayers and readings.
Read more about
this fascinating documentary at http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005/hidingandseeking/special_faith.html, where you can also download podcast
interviews with filmmaker Menachem Daum and Rabbi Irving (Yitz)
Greenberg on the topic of tolerance.
AND ON SUNDAY MORNING,
from 9:15 - 10 AM, in the library…
“Surviving the High Holy Days:
An Introduction to the Themes, Prayers and Customs of the Days of Awe”
with Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
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
Look for pictures of our sukkah on Google! – at http://images.google.com/images?q=sukkah&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&start=0&sa=N
Friday Evening
Candle lighting for
Stamford, CT: Candle
lighting: 6:33 pm on Friday, 23
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 – in the lobby or
outdoors (weather permitting)
Tot Shabbat: 6:45 PM – upstairs in the chapel
Shabbat Morning: 9:30 AM –
Mazal tov to Joshua Geller, who becomes Bar Mitzvah this Shabbat morning,
Children’s services: 10:30
AM, including Jr. Congregation for grades 3-6 and Tot
Shabbat Morning for the younger
kids.
Torah Portion: Ki Tavo - Deuteronomy
26:1 - 29:8
1: 26:1-3
2: 26:4-8
3: 26:9-11
4: 26:12-15
5: 26:16-19
6: 27:1-4
7: 27:5-10
maf: 27:7-10
Haftarah – Isaiah
60:1 - 60:22
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
Former Knesset
Speaker Avraham Burg offers Torah-based commentary on
current affairs (Y-net)
Morning Minyan: Sundays at 8:30 AM (note new
time!!!),
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
My Meeting with the
School Superintendent
I had the opportunity this week
to meet
Of particular interest to our
congregants at this time of year are issues having to do with Jewish
holidays. I brought them up at our
meeting.
Some congregants have voiced
concerns about athletic activities scheduled on the holidays, particularly on
the 2nd day of Rosh Hashanah.
These events are scheduled on a county-wide basis, so there is little
that could be done on the local level, although the Interfaith Council is
planning to take it on. But for the
short term, I did request that Dr. Starr send out a directive to coaches and
administrators imploring them to be extra sensitive to the fact that many
Jewish students will not be taking part in these events for religious
reasons. He was supportive and
understanding. Please let me know if there
are any further complications as I will relay those concerns directly to him.
There are other, more general
concerns regarding Jewish holidays, particularly those festivals that are not
as well-known to the general public as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. There are
related issues of attendance policies (particularly in High School), testing,
homework and school-related events on major festival days. While most Jews might choose to attend school
on those days, a school system that is really serious about attracting and
maintaining loyalty within the entire Jewish community needs to demonstrate
sensitivity on these matters.
A reminder: we are happy to
provide excuse notes for all those who will be taking Jewish holidays off, as
well as for those who choose to take SATs and Achievement Tests on Sunday rather
than Shabbat – something I highly recommend.
It’s much more comfortable taking these tests in a cozy room at
Bi-Cultural with a couple of dozen or so present and the ever-nurturing Lillian
Wasserman proctoring. Even if you are
not particularly observant of Shabbat on a regular basis, taking the tests on
Sunday is a way of expressing solidarity and Jewish pride and, in this small
way, acknowledging the significance of Shabbat.
Plus, I’ll be happy to add a special blessing for your success at services…and
who knows, maybe the scores will go up! Even for those choose to be at school or at
athletic events on holidays, there are other ways to acknowledge the day (e.g.
eating matzah on Passover or coming here at night on Simhat
Torah).
We all know that it is not easy
to be a Jew. We are always making hard
choices. We have to deal with the “
Some Facts about
The
Israeli date trees are now yielding 400
pounds/year and are short enough to be harvested from the ground or a short ladder.
The cell phone was developed in
Most of the Windows NT and XP operating
systems were developed by Microsoft-Israel.
The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed
in
Both the Pentium-4 microprocessor and the Centrino processor were entirely designed, developed and
produced in
The Pentium microprocessor in your computer
was most likely made in
Voice mail technology was developed in
Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only
R&D facilities outside the
The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger
ICQ was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis .
According to industry officials,
In proportion to its population,
(3,500 companies mostly
in hi-tech).
With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and
startups,
Outside the
The per capita income in 2000 was over
$17,500, exceeding that of the
On a per capita basis,
Twenty-four per cent of Israel's workforce
holds university degrees, ranking third in the industrialized world, after the
In 1984 and 1991,
When Golda Meir was
elected Prime Minister of
When the
Relative to its population,
Israel was the first nation in the world to
adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds
as "conflict free."
Israel is the only country in the world that
entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees, made more
remarkable because this was achieved in an area considered mainly desert.
Medicine... Israeli scientists developed the
first fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast
cancer.
An Israeli company developed a computerized
system for ensuring proper administration of medications, thus removing human
error from medical treatment. Every year in
Israel's Givun-Imaging
developed the first ingestible videocamera, so small it
fits inside a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, cancer
and digestive disorders.
Researchers in
Israel leads the world in the number of
scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to
85 in the U. S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions.
A new acne treatment developed in Israel ,
the Clear Light device, produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free,
narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct -- all
without damaging surrounding skin or tissue.
An Israeli company was the first to develop
and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity
generating plant, in southern
All the above while engaged in regular wars
with an implacable enemy that seeks its destruction,
and an economy continuously under strain by having to spend more per capita on
its own protection than any other county on earth.
High Holiday
Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunities
(Aside from our own TBE High Holiday Appeal, which needs your help this year as much as ever,
and
our annual Person to Person food drive, which will fill the bare cupboards of
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The
United Jewish Federation has established a mailbox to accept donations for humanitarian
aid for members of the Jewish and general communities impacted by hurricane
Katrina in Contributions
may be made below via our secure website using a credit card. |
ADL LAUNCHES HIGH HOLIDAY
AS THE NEXT PHASE OF ITS ONGOING
Hamden, CT, September 22, 2005 … In response to the
ongoing genocide and atrocities being committed in the Darfur
region of Sudan, which have claimed some 400,000 lives and displaced two
million others from their homes, the Anti-Defamation League’s Connecticut
Regional Office has launched a High Holiday Darfur
Appeal to assist in providing much needed humanitarian aid. ADL is asking that members of the Jewish
community and others in
ADL’s High Holiday Darfur
Appeal comes on the heels of its previous efforts to raise consciousness and
funds in
Contributions
to the ADL High Holiday Darfur Appeal can be made out
to “JDC/Jewish Coalition for
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Dear Joshua,
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FROM MAZON
Dear Rabbi:
First, let me thank you for being so responsive to MAZON's
“Corners of Our Fields” Campaign. With the High Holy Days fast approaching,
many of you have planned to conduct food drives and are using our sermon notes,
distributing our envelopes and using our camera-ready ad. We are so grateful
for your partnership and support.
I wanted to take a brief moment to update you about MAZON's
work in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's unprecedented destruction. Within 48
hours of landfall, MAZON had mobilized emergency grant money and opened a fund
dedicated to hurricane disaster relief.
This past Monday evening, the executive committee of MAZON's
board of directors approved $300,000 in emergency allocations to 15 agencies
working to alleviate suffering in the affected region. A complete grants list
is available at our website, www.mazon.org.
The rapid turnaround of our allocations process is a direct result of our
ongoing, longtime partnerships with grassroots agencies in the
As we enter the High Holy Day season in the shadow of such tragedy and we remember
the victims of this catastrophe, we cannot forget those who go hungry every
day. It is your vital commitment that enables us to assist hungry people in
need, wherever they should live and whomsoever they should be.
Once again, I thank you for your support.
Best wishes for a sweet and healthy New Year,
H. Eric Schockman, Ph.D.
President
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
1990 S. Bundy Dr. Ste. 260
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 442-0020
(310) 442-0030 fax
PS For any additional materials, please don't hesitate to contact us at mazonmail@mazon.org.
Spiritual Journey on the Web
ELUL – the Month of Turning – Part 4
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 find the entire month’s quotes at http://www.maqom.com/aug19_2004.html. 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.
19 Elul See
the Potential for Greatness in Everyone
Ben Azzai used to say: Do not despise any person and do not
consider anything impossible; for there is no one who does not have his hour
and there is nothing that does not have its place. (M. Avot
4:2)
20 Elul Study
so Intensely You Create a Link Between Yourself and
God
It was
related of Jonathan b. Uzziel [that] when he sat and
studied the Torah, every bird that flew over him was burned. (B. Baba Batra 134a)
21 Elul God
Chooses You to Transmit Torah
Rav
22 Elul Don't
Let Your Intellect Get in the Way of Your Prayer Life
There are
seven kinds of pietists: The showy, the haughty, the
bookkeeper, the parsimonious, the repaying, the fearing, the
loving.
The showy carries his good deeds on his shoulder.
The haughty says, "Wait for me. I am [busy] fulfilling commandments!"
The bookkeeper pays off each debt [i.e., sin] by performing a commandment.
The parsimonious says, "From the little I have, what can
I set aside for performing commandments?"
The repaying says, "Tell me what sin I have committed and I will perform a
commandment to offset it.
The fearing [pietist emulates] Job. The loving [pietist] emulates Abraham and none is more beloved of God
than the loving [pietist who emulates] Abraham. (Y. Berachot 9:5)
23 Elul Develop
Good Spiritual Habits
R. Hisda said in Mar Ukba's name: He
who prays on the eve of the Sabbath and recites "and [the heaven and the
earth] were finished (Genesis 2:1)", the two ministering angels who
accompany man place their hands on his head and say to him, "and your
iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged. (Isaiah 6:7)"
It was taught, R. Yose son of R. Judah said: Two
ministering angels accompany man on the eve of the Sabbath from the synagogue
to his home, one a good [angel] and one an evil [one]. And when he arrives home
he finds the lamp burning, the table laid and the couch [bed] covered with a
spread, the good angel exclaims, "May it be even thus on another Sabbath
[too]," and the evil angel unwillingly responds "amen". But if
not, the evil angel exclaims, "May it be even thus on another Sabbath
[too]: and the good angel unwillingly responds, amen." (B. Shabbat 119b)
24 Elul The Strongest
Force in the World: Charity Conquers Even Death
[R. Yehudah] used to say: Ten strong things have been created
in the world.
The rock is hard but the iron cleaves it.
The iron is hard, but the fire softens it.
The fire is hard, but the water quenches it.
The water is strong, but the clouds bear it.
The clouds are strong, but the wind scatters them.
The wind is strong, but the body bears it.
The body is strong, but fright crushes it.
Fright is strong, but wine banishes it.
Wine is strong, but sleep works it off.
Death is stronger than all, and charity saves from death, as it is written,
"Tsedakah delivers from death. (Proverbs
10:2)" (B. Baba Batra 10a)
25 Elul What
Are the Criteria by Which God Will Judge Your Life?
Raba said, When one is
led in for Judgment he is asked,
1. Did you deal faithfully [i.e., with integrity]?
2. Did you fix times for learning?
3. Did you engage in procreation?
4. Did you hope for salvation?
5. Did you engage in the dialectics of wisdom?
6. Did you understand one thing from another?(B.
Shabbat 30b-31a)
26 Elul See
God's Image in Everyone
"Love
your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18)" Rabbi Akiba
said: This is the greatest principle in the Torah. Ben Azzai
quoted the verse: "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In that
day God created human beings in the likeness of God did God make him. (Genesis 5:1)" He said: This is a principle
greater than that. (Sifra on Leviticus 19:18)
MORE SPIRITUAL PREPARATION FOR THE HIGH HOLIDAYS….
There is a cyber shofar at www.ou.org:
Hear how it sounds.
Check out www.myjewishlearing.com for lots of
super articles about the High Holidays, including
Multimedia: How
to listen to the shofar meaningfully
Guided Meditation: Focusing
on the past year
Spiritual Preparations…
Here
are five tips to help you get in the right frame of mind.
And Intention
& Prayer How important is kavvanah--direction
or intention--when praying?
On Teshuvah – from the Jewish Encyclopedia:
http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=216&letter=R
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/diduknow/jrpguide/12_part2.shtml,
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/diduknow/jrpguide/12_part3.shtml
-- Rabbi Isaac Klein’s (Conservative) Guide to Jewish Practice – on Elul
and teshuvah
http://www.ou.org/chagim/elul/default.htm
-- from the Orthodox
http://www.inner.org/times/elul/elul.htm
-- a Kabbalistic approach
http://www.franion.com/StarElul_pages/week1.html
-- material (excellent) from a STAR project on Elul, in which our synagogue
participated
http://www.ritualwell.org/Rituals/search.html -- Creative new rituals and meditations for the holidays.
CLAL Holy Days: Rosh Ha'Shanah
"On Rosh Ha'Shanah,
Jews proclaim that God is creator and ruler of the universe. But while Rosh Ha'Shanah celebrates cosmic Creation, its central message
is addressed to the individual: You are not fixed by your past. Through
Creation, the world came into being; it has a beginning and an end. The
individual also has a beginning and an end. In the dramatic imagery of the High
Holy Days, each person is on trial for his/her life in this period. "On
Rosh Ha'Shanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur, it
is sealed; who shall live, and who shall die?" Facing death, would you
live your life the same way? Or would you be more considerate and loving, more
ethical, more adventurous, more creative?"
Required
Reading and Action Items
My column in last week’s Jewish Week,
“Disengagement: The Package Tour,” reporting on our recent trip to
TBE’s own Gabi Birkner
reporting on the condition of the Jewish communities hit by hurricane Katrina, http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=11366
http://www.geocities.com/truthmasters/jointheboycott.htm
- Join the
Boycott - Protesting
Anti-Israel Propaganda in the Los Angeles Times and Beyond
- Outrage Over Arab Burning of Synagogues: utrage over Arab burning
of synagogues is no less, simply because it was predictable. see JPost
and Arutz The LA Times says
Reform rabbi petitions
High Court for official post (Ha’aretz)
http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/PMSpeaks/speech150905.htm
- Prime Minister Sharon’s remarks to the UN last week
On Simon Wiesenthal…
Wiesenthal
dies - Holocaust
survivor Simon Wiesenthal dies in Vienna at age 96. Rabbi: He was conscience of
Holocaust (Y-Net)
The Palestinians'
Turn - Editorial
Prime Minister Sharon made clear at the UN that, having taken a giant step,
involving "painful concessions, in order to resolve the conflict,"
The early signs are not good: Terrorists are running rampant and
have flooded the territory with thousands of fighters and significant arms.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
has shown no inclination or ability to bring the terrorist hordes under
control. (
See also Palestinian
Leader Appears Weak, Isolated - Lara Sukhtian
Abbas is having trouble imposing order in
Out
of Gaza's Chaos - Editorial
The most powerful force in
New
York Times Reports Palestinian Obligations as Israeli Demands - Alex Safian
In his story on upcoming Palestinian elections, "Israel to Disrupt
Palestinian Vote if Hamas Runs," (Sept. 17,
2005), reporter Joel Brinkley portrayed as a unilateral Israeli demand what is
in fact a Palestinian obligation under the Oslo Accords to bar terror groups
from elections. Annex 2 of the Interim Agreement clearly requires the
Palestinians to bar terror groups like Hamas from the
electoral process: "The nomination of any candidates, parties or
coalitions will be refused, and such nomination or registration once made will
be canceled, if such candidates, parties or coalitions...pursue the
implementation of their aims by unlawful or nondemocratic
means." If Hamas suicide bombings against
civilians are not "unlawful means," then what would be? (CAMERA)
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FROM THE
Urge Your
Representative to Reject Federally-funded Religious Discrimination in Head
Start
The School Readiness Act of 2005 (H.R. 2123) is currently
scheduled to be voted on in the House on Thursday! The bill will reauthorize the Head Start early education
program. Currently, the employment rules contained in Head Start are fair and
equal to all parent-volunteer and Head-Start employees, but Rep. Boehner (R-OH)
has announced his intention to introduce an amendment on the House floor to
repeal longstanding civil rights law by permitting government-funded
faith-based Head Start programs to discriminate on the basis of religion in
hiring. Head Start programs should hire the most qualified teachers, not
teachers whose religious beliefs or practices best match those of an employer.
>Take Action
In e-mails, faxes, and phone calls, urge your Representative to oppose efforts
to permit discrimination in federally-funded Head Start programs. Tell them to
protect civil rights as well as our nation's most vulnerable children and to
vote against final passage of the bill if discriminatory provisions are
included. To easily reach your member of Congress, call the Capitol Switchboard
at 202.224.3121. You can also send a letter via our Legislative Action Center.
In a dramatic rescue
operation, Mr. Isaac Leider, of the
"Out of six, only two are possibly restorable," Leider
said, as he sat in an inflatable rescue boat with the Torah scrolls he
recovered. "I'm glad that we did this, but I'm terribly saddened. It's
hard to see them in this condition." The scrolls are blackened from the
toxic water and severely damaged. (A Torah scroll, which is entirely
handwritten, can cost over $35,000.)
Mr. Leider, who spent five years with ZAKA's search-and-rescue squad in
In the operation to rescue the Torah scrolls, Mr. Leider
was joined by members of the National Guard and other volunteers who were
brought by ZAKA in a private helicopter from
Since the Israel-based charity organization, ZAKA, is strapped for cash, Agudath
Upon opening the ark, Mr. Leider burst into tears as
he removed the Torah scrolls, all of them drenched. The scrolls were
subsequently handed over to representatives of the synagogue in
ZAKA Rescue &
Recovery
1-877-ZAKA-911
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
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
MYTH #192
“The
Palestinian Authority protects Jewish holy sites.”
FACT
Less
than 24 hours after the last IDF soldier withdrew from the Gaza Strip, Palestinian
Authority (PA) bulldozers
began to raze synagogues that were left behind by Jewish residents.
Thousands of Palestinians also stormed the former
The
desecration of these Jewish holy places in
The
decision to keep the 19 synagogues and yeshivot in
Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas defended the
razing of
This
was not the first instance when the PA has failed to protect Jewish holy
places:
- In Septemer
1996, Palestinian rioters destroyed a synagogue at Joseph's
Tomb in Nablus.
- Rachel's
Tomb near Bethlehem has been repeatedly attacked since
1996.
- In October 2000, Joseph's
Tomb was torched after the Israeli garrison guarding it was temporarily
withdrawn. It was subsequently rebuilt as a mosque.
- Also in October 2000, the
ancient synagogue in Jericho was destroyed by arson and a second
historic synagogue was damaged.
PA textbooks continue to teach young Palestinians that
Jews have no connection to the Land of Israel and to disparage Judaism, so it should not be surprising that
Jewish institutions are not shown respect. This is one reason why
This
article can be found at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths//mf18.html#w
Source:
Myths &
Facts Online -- A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Mitchell G. Bard,
ADULT ED AT TBE
CD T’FILLAH PROGRAM
with
meets weekly on
Thursday from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
HEBREW ULPAN
with
meets weekly on
Tuesday from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
IT’S MORE THAN LOX AND
BAGELS
with
meets monthly on
Tuesday from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
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.
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).
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.
NEW FOR
OUR YOUTH!!!
Visit
this brand-new website for TBE’s youth groups!
You’ll
see pictures, links and much more!
YOUTH
EVENTS
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.
DON’T
MISS
…..MACCABI
MANIA!
Stamford 2006 JCC Maccabi Games
Kickoff Event
The
JCC Maccabi Games are coming to our area
Sunday,
September 25th from 1-3pm
At
the JCC
Fun
for all ages!!!
Try
your hand on our Rock Climbing Wall, Velcro Wall or Bungee Run
Race
through the Crash Course, Jump on the Moon Bounce
Win
big at our Tournament of Champions
Sing
out loud at our Karaoke booth
Enjoy
hot dogs, refreshments, snow cones, cotton candy, and popcorn
And
learn how YOU can GET IN THE GAMES!
Be an athlete! Be
a coach! Be a host family! Be a volunteer!
How will you GET
IN THE GAMES?
For
more information call Jocelyn Sherman at 203-487-0996
Or
email jsherman@stamfordjcc.org
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.
We will never forget…
Help us plant a
At
Bring your shovels, gloves, and “white” daffodil bulbs
or buy bulbs at the
(Bulbs must be white daffodils.)
Join us
on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2005
11 AM-1
PM
Next to
the Sanctuary.
For more info, call:
The Pomerances 329-8620
The Rutsteins 461-9816
Parents must supervise their children.