Category: Featured

Temple Emanuel Annual Scholar in Residence March 8-10, 2019

RABBI URI REGEV, President of ‘HIDDUSH – For Religious Freedom and Equality in Israel’.

Friday, March 8  

•5:30pm Tot Shabbat Welcome Shabbat with joy and songs (for under 5s & their families)

•6:00 pm Shabbat dinner – Please RSVP for dinner/lunch online

•7:30 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service. Rabbi Regev will speak on “The Challenge of Pluralism in Israel: Can Israel be Truly Jewish and Democratic?”

Saturday, March 9

•10:00 am Parashat Pekudei – Torah Study with Rabbi Regev.

•11:30 am    Dairy lunch.  RSVP for dinner/lunch

•12:30 – 2:00 pm “Kotel, Conversion, and Rabbinic Blacklists: What Are the Effects of the Latest Conflicts on Israel-Diaspora Relations?”

Sunday, March 10

•10:15 – 11:45 am  “Israel heading to the polls April 9: How will the elections impact Religious Freedom and Israel-US relations“

About our Speaker: Rabbi Regev serves as the President and CEO of the educational and advocacy Israel-Diaspora partnership, “Freedom of Religion for Israel” and of its Israeli counterpart, “Hiddush— For Freedom of Religion and Equality ”. A past President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, Rabbi Regev served as founding chair, and later as executive director and legal counsel, of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the advocacy group established by the Reform movement in Israel.

This weekend is generously supported by an Anonymous TE Leave a Legacy Donor.

A year of the Mensch

By Olga Markus

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn. – Benjamin Franklin

 

As a teacher and a member of Temple Emanuel Religious School faculty, I love this quote for it expresses a deep truth: the best education happens when we make it a part of who we are. This year, as we are getting ready to open our doors to our new and returning students and their families, we strive to create meaningful ways to embrace new experiences, to gain valuable lessons, and to acquire new skills and perspectives along the way.

At the end of last year, our faculty decided that in the true spirit of the TE community, ‘Be A Mensch’ would become an overall theme for our 2018-19 school year. “Mensch“ is a Yiddish word meaning “a person of integrity and honor”. Being a “mensch” is not at all related to success, wealth or social status. A mensch is many things and one simple thing.  A mensch does what is right – because it is right – towards family, community, towards strangers, at home and in public.  When people behave with honesty, integrity, consideration and respect, they themselves prosper, as does society at large. By spreading mensch-like behavior we can make our society happier, healthier and more successful. In the framework of our school this year we are planning to have school-wide and grade-specific programs that will encourage all of us to be respectful of ourselves and each other, of our beautiful building that we all share, and of those who put in numerous hours and much effort to keep it clean, safe and welcoming for all of us. We will continue to engage with our Jewish traditions and wisdom, and to learn from them how to be more aware and respectful of each other’s needs and personal spaces. We hope to become mensches who have courage to do the right thing, to stand up for what’s right, and to admit when we are wrong.  We want our students to care about their community, about Am Israel, and about the world.

There are, of course, different recipes for making mensches, but I know together we can come up with a good one!

Ben Zoma (a 2nd century CE Jewish teacher) said: “Who is wise? He who learns from every person.” (Pirkei Avot 4:1). Education comes in all shapes and from all sources. Everyone has something to teach. A key to growth is being open to learning from all different types of people. Our students are blessed to have so many role models among TE members. We call them different names – elves, angels, volunteers – but it all comes down to being true mensches in the deepest meaning of this word.

There is so much to look forward to in the new school year at Temple Emanuel! Our last year’s junior teachers became full members of the faculty, and we are so proud of the four high school seniors serving as true role models. We can’t wait to see all of our students and madrichim, and to welcome new families. Our school year begins on Sunday, September 23rd with a sukkah build at 9:30 am, followed by a community potluck lunch in the sukkah. We will also be celebrating Simchat Torah and welcoming new students to our Hebrew school on September 30th at 6:00 pm – hope to see you all there!

We look forward to new experiences that will involve our students and their families in true learning through doing, being, engaging.

“Shir Magic” weekend with Jacob “Spike” Kraus, Nov 2-4, tickets now on sale!

An annual musical weekend in memory of Rabbi Jerry Brieger z”l

November 2-4, 2018

Jacob ‘Spike’ Kraus returns to TE with his new album “Cornerstones”!

Friday, November 2

  • 6:30pm – Family Shabbat Service

Saturday, November 3

Sunday, November 4

  • 11:30 am – mini concert featuring TE religious school students.

All services are open to the public (and always free!)

Saturday night concert tickets AVAILABLE NOW!

Jacob “Spike” Kraus is a singer/songwriter hailing from Boston, Ma. He has three studio releases: ‘The King’s Beanie EP,’ “Shake Off The Dust,” and he released his second studio album ‘Cornerstones’ in May 2017. His music has been included in the cantorial curriculum of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, and is featured on Jewish Rock Radio & PJ Library. A member of the Jewish A Cappella group Six13, JSK believes in music’s power as a community-builder. He tours the country singing with multi-generational communities and using Jewish music as a tool to educate and engage the next generation of Jews. Find out more about Jacob and his music at www.jacobspikekraus.com.

iEngage at Temple Emanuel: Jewish Values and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

A Shalom Hartman Institute Lecture and Study Series led by Rabbi Michael Farbman

Through video lectures, text study, and lively group discussion, we are pleased to bring the world-renowned faculty of the Shalom Hartman Institute into the Temple Emanuel community this fall.

The Video Lecture Series Jewish Values and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict explores one of the most divisive issues affecting the Jewish people today. Through the study of Jewish narratives about Israel and the unpacking of the complex meanings of peace in Jewish tradition, participants are invited to explore the ideas and values that animate different attitudes toward the conflict and how these values shape their own political understandings. Though a common political platform may not be attainable, this course strives to achieve a shared respect for our differences.

Each session includes text study and discussion led by Rabbi Michael Farbman, and video lectures and roundtable discussions with leading Hartman scholars.

Sundays | 10:15 – 11:45 am

Nov 11 & 18, Dec 2 & 9, Jan 6, Feb 3, 10 & 24, Mar 3 & 31, April 28, May 5 

 $36.00 per person. Registration is required. To register for class, please follow this link.

It is Temple Emanuel policy not to prevent any of our members from participating for financial reasons. Please speak to Rabbi Farbman confidentially.

 

Tot Shabbat service on Friday, June 15 at 5:30 pm

Come celebrate Shabbat with Rabbi Michael in the beautiful TE sanctuary with songs and stories! Perfect for children under 5 and their families. Members and non-members welcome!
The Tot Shabbat service on Friday, June 15 at 5:30 pm will be followed by a Shabbat reception and dinner (in honor of our Temple Board), allowing congregants of all ages to interact and enjoy the meal! We will have some teens to help out during dinner, allowing parents a chance to get to know more adults at TE.
To register for dinner, please follow this link.

Fragile Dialogues in the 21st Century

As I write this column, our nation continues to reel from the pain of another devastating school shooting, this time in Parkland, Florida, that claimed 17 lives. As always happens after such tragic events, we engage in fierce debates and discussions, in person and increasingly online, on how best to prevent such tragedies. As always, there is not much listening going on in these debates – but quite a lot of shouting. The issues are real, the pain is real, and the frustration is real. It is hard to talk about difficult issues, amidst communal and national pain, when we are so divided in our opinions. It is obvious that people are finding it increasingly hard to even acknowledge the humanity of anyone holding an opinion that differs from his own. And yet also we must acknowledge that unless we find a way to listen to each other, and to really hear each other, the solutions to this and many other of our problems, will continue to elude us.

Over the last five months some 40 plus TE members have engaged in learning about the 100 years of modern Jewish history, 1917 through 2017, through the study of pivotal events in the history of the State of Israel with the help of the materials prepared by the faculty of Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. As we deepened our knowledge and understanding of the historical events of 1917, 1947, and 1967, we also considered some of the fundamental ideas of Zionism, as well as the challenges. We were most inspired by the way multiple (and diverse) opinions were presented and debated by the Hartman faculty in the Round Table discussion of each lecture. Having dramatically different ideas, and disagreeing, perhaps vehemently, does not have to stand in a way of listening and engaging in a conversation, however challenging it may be.

As you will see elsewhere in the Shofar, our Scholar in Residence this year is Rabbi Larry Englander, a wonderful teacher and a colleague, who co-edited the recently published ‘The Fragile Dialogue: New Voices of Liberal Zionism,’ a collection of essays presenting a wide variety of modern liberal Zionist ideas and challenges. While we will have an opportunity to learn so much from Rabbi Englander during his time here (see the full list of events in the Shofar and online), I am particularly looking forward to continuing our conversation on how to have these ‘fragile dialogues,’ addressing some of the most difficult, most challenging questions of our generation. I look forward to this continued journey of learning and listening with all of you and with Rabbi Englander on April 12-14, as well as during a special session on April 8th where we begin to look at the ideas presented in the book. In the meantime, I wish you a Chag Pesach Kasher v’Sameach – Happy Passover, and I look forward to seeing many of you at the TE Seder (first night, March 30) and the Passover Morning Service on March 31st.

‘The Fragile Dialogue’ is available for purchase at a discounted price of $15 through TE website and at the office.

New TE Tikkun Olam program: serving monthly dinners at Beth El soup kitchen in Milford

  As part of TE’s social action program, Nancy Weber and Max Case have organized a group of TE members to serve dinner at the Beth El Center soup kitchen in Milford on the first Tuesday of each month.

Here’s how it works: We purchase a main course meal sufficient to provide for approximately 40 individual meals. The cost of the main course is not more than $100 and we are working out a system where we can all share this expense equitably over the year. Salad, bread, dessert, coffee and drinks are available from the Beth El Center’s food pantry at no charge to us.

Preparing for dinner generally takes 30 to 45 minutes and includes setting tables, making coffee and drinks, preparing salad and plating desserts. The dining area is open from 5 to 6 and our members serve dinner, clean tables and bring dirty dishes and glasses to the dishwasher.

After the dining room closes at 6, we clean up the kitchen and the dining area, put away dishes and silverware and wipe down the tables. As you might expect with any TE function there is plenty of time to socialize and catch up with each other. Depending upon the socializing and talk, we are generally finished by 6:30.

Want to join us-contact Nancy Weber or Max Case for more information or to sign up for this rewarding experience.

Biennial Asian Fusion Banquet and Auction, Sunday, February 11th at 6:00pm

Join the fun and come to the biennial Asian fusion dinner on Sunday, February 11th at 6:00 (snow date Feb. 25). This year’s event will take place at a new location – Tengda, 1676 Boston Post Road in Milford. In addition to a sumptuous dinner with friends, there will be wine, a silent auction, and grab bags. You don’t want to miss this TE fundraiser!

Space is limited, and there are only a couple of seats left.  Please contact Caryn Shaffer  if you are interested in attending.