Coping with Death and Dying – Panel with TE members and discussion facilitated by Chaplain Lisa Irish, Bereavement Coordinator, Yale-New Haven Hospital, Saint Raphael Campus and Chaplain Sarah Blum.

Sunday, March 30th, 2014.

Bagels @ 9:45 am, talk 10:15 – 11:45 am

How do we accompany our friends, family and fellow congregants in difficult moments, such as serious/terminal illness or end-of-life? How do we care for ourselves as we seek to care for those we love?

Chaplain Lisa Irish, MEd, MA, BCC and Chaplain N. Sarah Blum, MS, DMINc, NAJC, both from Yale-New Haven Hospital, St Raphael campus will present a point of view that responds to these questions. Their presentation will be followed by volunteer TE members Rise Siegel, Ed Cantor, Steve RIvkin and Sandra Boltax Stern sharing their personal experience in coping with death and dying. Chaplains Sarah and Lisa will then facilitate a discussion on this topic that touches all of us in some way.
This program is part of TE Adult Education Series, free and open to all.

Jewish Recipes for Holiness in the 21st Century

Temple Emanuel Scholar-in-Residence Feb. 28-Mar. 2, 2014

All of us are seeking meaning for our lives as we rush through our busy weeks and packed schedules. We want to cultivate wonder and creativity in our children and we would like to be part of a larger community that nurtures these values, reminds us of ways to seek holiness in our lives and reach out to others in holy relationships of care and concern. How can Judaism play a centring thread in our search for meaning? How can we cultivate these dispositions in our children for a lifelong experiencing of wonder and creativity? How can we find in our community a shared place of value and trust and a means to outreach to others with care? Join Rabbis Michael Shire and Marcia Plumb for an exploration and a rich Jewish experience of Shabbat menucha (comforting) and kedusha (holiness).

Friday Feb. 28

8 PM Kabbalat Shabbat Service “Jewish recipe for Holiness in the 21^st century” with Rabbi Marcia Plumb

What are the Jewish recipes that our tradition has handed down to us through Jewish study, practices and thought?

Saturday March 1

10:30 AM (Bagels and Coffee at 10 am, session starts at 10:30)

Musar study with Rabbi Marcia Plumb. Musar study of Jewish texts is a traditional practice of focusing on character development through studying our biblical and rabbinic texts. It has become a rich spiritual practice for modern Jews and opens a new dimension to Judaism’s role in our search for holiness and meaning in our lives.

4 PM

Seudah Shlishit with Rabbi Michael Shire. Join us for food for the soul and body at the traditional third meal of Shabbat. Our Torah portion Pekudei details the intricate details of the holy vessels of the Israelite camp: the mishkan, the High Priest’s vestments, the holy ark, all of the things they created on their journeying in the wilderness. What can we glean from our ancient religion that resonates for our search for holiness today? Where and when will the shechinah (God’s presence) journey with us and rest with us today?

5:30 PM

“Stepping into holiness” Havdalah experience. Havdalah heightens all our senses; tasting the wine, seeing the flame, smelling the spices, hearing the sizzle of the flame extinguished and embracing each other in a close circle of intimacy as we say goodbye to a time of menucha and kedusha. Step into an exploration of all these senses with spiritual exercises, lilting melodies and warm feelings.

Sun March 2
10 AM (Bagels and Coffee at 9:30 am, session starts at 10)
“Modern Prophets” – adult study session.
Holiness in Judaism cannot be divorced from passionate engagement with the world and the activity of Tikkun Olam (repair of the world). Our Hebrew prophets of old were the first to speak ‘truth to power’ and forcefully represent a holy message of social justice.
However, it did not end with the ancient prophets and there are many who have continued this perspective of Judaism’s unique contribution to our moral and ethical society. Rabbi Shire has written a book on the prophets of Judaism; ancient, medieval and modern, as role models for us all.

About our scholars:

Rabbi Dr. Michael Shire
Rabbi Dr Michael Shire is the Dean and Professor of the Shoolman Graduate School of Jewish Education at Hebrew College in Boston. Formerly Vice-Principal of Leo Baeck College in London, he has authored four books on creative liturgy accompanied by medieval Jewish illuminations. His doctoral studies at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles investigated the enhancement of the spiritual life of children. He now directs the Torah Godly Play project as a methodology of spiritual pedagogy of teaching Torah. He is a board member of the Union of Reform Judaism’s Day School Board (PARDES).
Rabbi Marcia Plumb
Rabbi Marcia Plumb is the Rabbinic Chaplain at Hebrew Senior Life facility in Boston and Associate Rabbi at Congregation Mishkan Tefila in Chestnut Hill, Mass. She is an accredited teacher of Jewish Spirituality including the Jewish spiritual practice of Musar. She is the teacher of Musar and spirituality at several Reform synagogues in the Boston area including Beth Elohim Wellesley, Beth El
Sudbury and the Rashi School. Formerly Rabbi at Congregation Shaarey Tsedek in London, she is the founder of Neshama; a Jewish spirituality organization in the UK.

Rabbis Michael Shire and Marcia Plumb currently live in Boston and are raising two children, Anya and Micah.

The Temple Emanuel Band, Children’s Choir and Hebrew School invite you to join in a morning of singing and celebration in memory of the music and legacy of Debbie Friedman, z”l, on Sunday morning, January 12, at 10:30. This year, we welcome the participation of the Ezra Academy Choir.
In addition to several iconic songs by Friedman, who passed in 2011, songs by two generations of musicians who were influenced and inspired by her ability to bring a woman’s voice and perspective into late 20th-century Jewish music and to write accessible songs combining liturgy and social commentary will be performed. Please bring your friends and your voices!

The event is free and open to public.