Come celebrate Shabbat Chanukah with your extended Temple Emanuel Family! Bring your own Chanukkiah and let’s fill the sanctuary with light on this very special Chanukah shabbat!
After the service enjoy a family-style meal. Bring some latkes to share at our annual latke cook-off, and may the best latka win!
We look forward to joining with all houses of worship in the Town of Orange for our annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, November 23 at 7:00 pm. This year the service will be hosted by the Church of the Good Shepherd, 680 Racebrook Road in Orange.
What a Holy Day season we had this year! A huge thank you to all the volunteers who have helped make this year the best yet! (We are blessed with so many, that I would not be able to thank everyone by name here – but that’s a good problem to have, I’m sure you will agree:) The sukkah has come down and the chilly weather has arrived, but here at TE we are buzzing with energy and excitement for the new year. The calendar is filled with opportunities to get engaged – so whether you are looking to nourish your mind, your body or your soul, we have many opportunities for you to do so!
The elections are on everyone’s mind right now, and I encourage you to make your choice wisely and to make sure you vote! On Rosh Hashanah I spoke about a different kind of election coming up soon. Over the next 180 days, U.S. Reform Jews have the chance to help chart Israel’s future. In 2015, Jews in the United States will cast their vote for representation in the World Zionist Congress – a global governing body that influences both the shape of policies and the distribution of funds in Israel. The values we as Reform Jews hold dear – equality, pluralism and peace – must be championed by that Congress. Together, we can make that happen. That’s why I wanted to make sure that you were one of the first to know that ARZA Campaign Website “Reform Jews 4 Israel” is now live: www.reformjews4israel.org
From now until voting begins on January 15, 2015, the site will provide information about the WZC elections and encourage individuals to pledge their support for the ARZA campaign. The website will change on January 15th to a link to the actual voting site. Please take a moment to look at the site and to register your support and your interest. Thank you very much in advance!
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” —Max Planck
Discussing gratitude in November is really a “batting practice fastball” as they say in baseball. After all, it is the month of our most cherished national holiday, Thanksgiving. For Jews, gratitude isn’t something for just once a year; it’s a daily practice. The Hebrew term for gratitude means “recognizing the good.” The good is already there, and so it means recognizing the gifts we already have. It means focusing on the part of the glass which is full, rather than on the part which is empty (something hard for me to do without constant reminding). It is often easier to focus on what we lack, rather than on what we have. Since there is no limit to what we don’t have, we can end up very dissatisfied with life. By reminding ourselves to be grateful, we change our perception of our lives, and with that we actually change our lives too. Even when we are aware of the gifts that surround us, we can grow immune to them and take them for granted. So gratitude requires practice.
Gratitude can make us happier and healthier. Recent studies have concluded that the expression of gratitude can have profound and positive effects on our health, our moods, and even on the survival of our marriages. Mussar practice cultivates gratitude by first having the individual identify the good and then acknowledge that it is a gift and not something that is deserved. Next gratitude involves saying “thank you” for the gift and to its source. We need to do that as individuals and as communities. So, I want to thank each and every one of the TE community for their willingness to participate, give back, pay forward, lead, follow and belong to an extraordinary group of people. This High Holy Day season I started to list some of our members who have gone over and above in their contributions to the congregation, but I know I only scratched the surface and unwittingly left many people off the list. Thank you to the 73 member units who have signed up to participate in Tikkun Olam projects. That is more than half our congregation!! Expect to hear from those project leaders in the next month. Thank you to all the members who made High Holy Day pledges above their Fair Share pledges. We have commitments for $8,972 to repair TE, $4,220 to our four special projects, and $2872 toward Israeli bonds. I am so grateful for your generosity (a trait for a later column).
Spend this month practicing gratitude and say “thank you” to every person who does something that is beneficial to you. Check out what I am describing in Everyday Holiness by Alan Morinis or on the website at www.mussarinstitute.org.
Earlier this year Rabbi Mark Winer, TE’s first Rabbi, was awarded an MBE (Member of British Empire) in London for his interfaith work. We are delighted to welcome him back and to congratulate him on this high and well-deserved honor.
(You can read an article about Rabbi Winer and the Honor he received here. )
You and your family are invited to a Shabbat dinner at 6:00 PM on Friday, November 21, 2014. Enjoy a terrific classic Shabbat chicken dinner with scrumptious sides and salad. Challah of course! Vegetarian options available.
From Russia with love
We’re back! Twenty-seven exhausted, happy and deeply impressed travelers left Lithuania on Thursday 7/24. The trip led by Michael Farbman and Olga Marcus included Fran and Steve Grodzinsky, Wendy and Will Sherman, Chris and Monte Radler, Anne and Larry Eisner, Joan and Alan Kliger, Marilyn Fischman, Jo-Anna and Steve Fischman, Rita Brieger, Bess Chosak, Lynne Maser, Naomi and Jessica Klotz, Lee and Peter Stolzman and friends of TE: Ann and Ira Bindman, Paulette Lehrer and Jane Stolzman/Marc Hoffman.
During the three city tour perceptions were challenged, friends were made and an incredible culture was unveiled. Most of us were products of the cold war and expected a Russia that was dull, drab and regulated. Some of us were nervous about being Jews and Americans at a time when relationships were strained. Our identities never seemed to be a factor. As Alan Kliger said, “my unconscious expectation of Russian cities was a dull, grey, Soviet-style architecture ….. The city (St. Petersburg) reminded me more of Paris than of Siberia.”
St. Petersburg was a whirl of both Jewish events and of Russian highlights and history, the days extended by the “white nights” with dark around midnight. The grandeur of the Czars was proudly on display at Peterhof (summer residence of the Czars) and at the Palace of Catherine the Great. Visiting the Hermitage with Rabbi Sasha Lyskovoy (a rabbi/artist friend of Rabbi Farbman) and listening to his discussion of Jewish subjects in the art was special. Our visit to the Museum of the Blockade helped put St. Petersburg’s experience during the 900 day siege in WW2 into perspective. Wandering the streets and seeing the restored buildings and the resilience of the city was impressive. “Beyond the beauty and history of Russia, there was an onion peeling of layers of emotion” Lynne Maser
Our visit to the Jewish Cemetery on day one gave many of us pause. The serenity of the place, the wildness of the growth, the feeling of continuity with the people and the realization that this wasn’t an ancient monument but a functioning cemetery filled us with emotion. We visited the magnificent Choral Synagogue (run by Chabad) and were told it was the only synagogue in St. Petersburg. Our visit to Sha’arei Shalom (the congregation Rabbi Farbman helped build) disproved that. The congregation was alive, energetic, welcoming and very much in existence. To celebrate Shabbat with them was a thrill and to have havdalah on the Neva River in a boat with new friends from the Jewish community was powerful.
And of course we visited Orthodox Churches: Peter and Paul, Kazansky Cathedral, St. Isaac’s Cathedral and theChurch on Spilled Blood. We saw and learned about icons, viewed wonderful frescoes and were overwhelmed by the grandeur. We even managed to attend a ballet (most made it beyond the first intermission and enjoyed it to the end.)
All this and more! On to Moscow. The fast train was comfortable and offered great views of the flat, unending birch forests. We travelled through one of the most populated corridors in Russia and it seemed empty of people. This is a big country.
In Moscow the architecture was more soviet style but the city was interesting and welcoming. In our brief visit we went to the Kremlin and saw its collection of churches and offices. Far from the regimented and controlled atmosphere some feared, we jockeyed with tourist groups for camera angles and gathering space. This was a must see for visitors from around the country and around the world.
Red (Beautiful) Square was also an eye opener. Site of military parades and public viewings of missiles for the world to see, we encountered an enclave of history and culture. G.U.M. Department Store with its avenues of growing flowers, Lenin’s tomb, historic office buildings and the spectacular St. Basil’s Cathedral. This iconic picture of Russia with its onion domes and bright colors was worth the visit by itself.
Our stay in Moscow included a visit to the Choral Synagogue (same name, different city). In meeting with its Gabbai we were given a view of the situation of Jews in Russia today. When asked about his feelings for the future given all the changing attitudes during his life, he simply said the future will be what it is and it is today that matters. Honest and profound.
On to our final city, Vilnius in Lithuania. Of all our stops this was the great unknown. We may not have known much about St. Petersburg or Moscow before our visit but we at least had an impression (inaccurate perhaps but something none the less). Vilnius was different, who knew? A small city by comparison, it is compact and laid back. We visited the former Jewish Quarter and stood at the site of the Great Synagogue. You could almost feel the presence of the Vilna Gaon and the vibrant Jewish community. A visit to the Museum of Tolerance gave me goose bumps when our guide, Iga, spoke of her grandmother and father (and others in her family) who have been remembered as Righteous Gentiles for their efforts during the Nazi occupation.
We visited the Paneriai Memorial, site of mass executions, set in the forest outside Vilnius and had a chance to say Kaddish for those whose lives ended there. We went to Trakai Island and were taught about Karaite Judaism. We had a lovely farewell dinner in the former Jewish Quarter.
On our visit to Vilnius University we were privileged to go into the library area of the Yiddish Institute. This beautiful space is devoted to gathering, preserving and teaching Yiddish language and Jewish culture. Students come from around the world to study. It could not be ignored that while the Jewish community was almost destroyed, this center of culture and learning is rebounding. Am Yisrael Chai!
Bess Chosak was grateful for the chance to meet with individual Jewish leaders who are forward looking, hopeful and impressively committed to tikkun olam. Among many impressions from the trip Wendy Sherman had her taste buds reawakened to the spices and flavors of her childhood. There are so many impressions of this trip that it is impossible to isolate one or two. What moved me the most? Was it the cemetery on the first day? The vibrant Jewish Center and community of St. Petersburg? Was it the Gabbai in Moscow or the young woman who went out of her way to lead a group of us to the correct subway train? Was it Iga’s story about her family or being in the Yiddish library? Was it the sign on a St. Petersburg street commemorating a warning to people that that side of the street was dangerous because of the shelling during the 900 days siege during WW2? Or was it being with friends old and new in this communal adventure?
Thank you Rabbi and Olga for sharing all of this and more with us.
Pete Stolzman
Erev Simchat Torah and Consecration Service
We will also welcome the newest students of our religious school with a consecration ceremony and a special blessing! Please join us at Temple Emanuel Wednesday evening, October 15 at 6:30 pm for our Erev Simchat Torah and Consecration Service and a special kiddush in the sukkah! For more information about the holiday, please visit www.reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays
Come & delight in learning to prepare delectable foods from Chef Jawahar [Jack] Doraiswamy’s native India, and then happily partake in a full, three course Indian meal.
Take home the recipes for all dishes & packets of spices used, so you can impress family & friends for your next home-cooked dinner.
Join the TE community, along with friends, for this special, first-of-a-kind event! Seating is limited, so make your reservations now!
Friends & family from the larger community are welcome & encouraged.
What to you know about your family’s past? What mysteries can be unlocked and what secrets are waiting to be revealed? Howard Siegel, Temple member and genealogist, will teach us how to use a variety of sources to discover our Jewish ancestry. Join us for ‘Jewish Genealogy: Tracing Your Roots’ on Sunday, October 26, 9:45 am bagels and…, program at 10:00 am.
