Coming Up
Thursday, November 15 - 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM - Library Open. Other times by request. Call Tim Solon, 632-4105
Thursday, November 15 - 12 noon to 1 PM - Torah Thursday. Join us on Thursday at noon as, with the help of Rashi, Sforno and Rabbi Steinsaltz we look at how Isaac changed the family dynamics for Abraham and Sarah and the eventual repercussions. Feel free to bring your lunch.
Thursday, November 15 - 6:30 P.M. - Shalom Dinner at Olive Garden.
Friday, November 16 - 7 PM - Shabbat services led by Rabbi Moldo followed by Oneg sponsored by the Sisterhood.
Saturday, November 17 -10:30 AM to 11:30 AM - Shabbat services and Torah study led by Rabbi Moldo followed by Oneg sponsored by the Sisterhood.
Sunday, November 18 - 10 AM to 12 noon - Religious School.
Sunday, November 18 - 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM - Library Open. Other times by request. Call Tim Solon, 632-4105.
Sunday, November 18 - 12 noon to 1 PM - Sisterhood Meeting.
Sunday, November 18 - 1:30 PM to 3 PM - Israeli & Jewish Dancing!! New dancers welcome! Contact Mary Weinstein (or any of the dancers) if you have any questions.
Tuesday, November 20 - 6:30 PM - Board Meeting (re-scheduled from Thanksgiving Eve).
Friday, November 23 - 7 PM - Shabbat services followed by Oneg sponsored by the Sisterhood.
Saturday, November 24 -10:30 AM to 11:30 AM - Shabbat services and Torah study followed by Oneg sponsored by the Sisterhood.
Sunday, November 25 - 10 AM to 12 noon - Religious School.
Sunday, November 25 - 10 to 4 PM - See's Candy Sale opens. Gift Shop Open House.
Sunday, November 25 - 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM - Library Open. Other times by request. Call Tim Solon, 632-4105.
Sunday, November 25 - 1:30 PM to 3 PM - Israeli & Jewish Dancing!! New dancers welcome! Contact Mary Weinstein (or any of the dancers) if you have any questions.
NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS
1 Marilyn Beeman
3 Jared Miller
4 Julie Breen
7 Ya’el McLoud
10 Roslyne Kaufman
11 Alan Wolf
14 Ruth Langley
25 Therese McKinnon
25 Stephanie Ehrlich
26 James Peebles
27 Phyllis Bloomberg
27 Nolan Rap
29 Lila Gallensky
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Weekly Message from our Board President
It’s always fun to go out to dinner with members of our Synagogue. And we have a Shalom Dinner coming up – this Thursday at 6:30 at Olive Garden. Now, when food is involved, members of our Mt. Sinai family like to show up early. They get some well-deserved gentle teasing about it, such as the comment last week that anyone who finishes their dinner before the time of the reservations has to buy drinks for the rest of us. We hope to see you at 6:30 at Olive Garden. That’s when the reservations will be set. Oh heck, come when you want. If you show up for the reservations, you’ll probably be late….
The Rabbi is on the mend from that horrible cold he caught a few weeks ago. That’s good news – he’ll be leading services this Shabbat and it will be nice to have him back on the Bima.
We moved our Board of Directors meeting up a day, to Tuesday, November 20. Our Board is always hungry for action and making important decisions, but we thought holding the meeting the night before Thanksgiving might interfere with their appetites. This will be the final Board meeting before the annual Congregation meeting on December 9th, so if you have something you would like to bring before the Board, please come to the meeting. We start at 6:30 P.M. on the 20th.
The annual Congregation meeting is Sunday, December 9th. We’ll start with brunch at 10 AM, which means for Shalom Dinner early birds… come at 9 and help us cook. The brunch is at 10, then the meeting begins at 11. We’ll review the budget, present committee reports, and vote on new members of the Board of Directors.
The See’s Candy Sale is accepting pre-orders, but the sale itself begins on Sunday, November 25. The Social Hall will be filled with boxes and boxes of delicious See’s Candy. The See’s Candy Sale benefits the Sisterhood, and that keeps us fed the rest of the year (thank you, Sisterhood!) A special thank you to the volunteers who will be helping with the sale. You are very much appreciated!
The Endowment Board is working on getting new plaques installed in the large and small sanctuaries. It’s a great way to honor or remember someone special. The money given to the Endowment is not spent. It’s invested, and when the principal gets large enough, the interest will benefit the Synagogue. So your donation will last a lifetime (or many lifetimes, depending on how you look at it).
Did we mention donations to the Synagogue, the Endowment or the Trust are all tax deductible? (hint, hint)
Here’s our Yiddish Phrase of the Week:
Vi zaif faren guf iz a trer far di neshomeh.
Like soap for the body, so are tears for the soul.
Shalom!
Dave Lerner
President
Mt. Sinai Board of Directors
Rabbi's Column
I think this season In America we might better understand the misperceptions that led the Israelites to the Golden Huge Male Animal Image fiasco.
I mean, Moses was later than we expected him to be, just as anyone who thinks that colored maps on election night are meaningful might be presumed to think they knew who won. What if nobody knew who won an election until the votes were actually counted, recounted if necessary and certified?
Before continuing - Alyssa Milano and Debra Messing - thank you. They called out anti-semitism in one place they found it, without being Jewish themselves (becoming one of the upstanders - somebody who stands up for others being denigrated, as opposed to just standing by [expression possibly created in Sheridan, Wyoming]).
This week's Torah portion has one rather intriguing feature. There are no paragraphs within the Torah text itself. Paragraphs in the Torah are slightly different than paragraphs in English literature. A paragraph in the Torah can be either open or closed. An open paragraph is what we are used to - blank space after the last word of the paragraph until the end of the line. A closed paragraph is one where there are some blank spaces between the last word of one section and the first word of the next section.
From the time that Jacob is on the road away from Canaan until Laban is no longer part of his life is all considered a single "paragraph" - everything dealing with Haran is considered to be "life with Laban" - the details do not really matter, as the underlying reality is less and less welcome for Jacob and family within the old country system.
The good news is that after a couple of weeks of staying home as much as possible, I think I am almost over the cold. May your next week be healthy and safe. |
