Category: Announcements

Only 18 days until Chanukah begins!

I can hear the gasps from here. Really? Isn’t it November? Well in case you have somehow missed the hype, Chanukah and Thanksgiving collide this year and it is the only time it will happen in our lifetime so you better enjoy it while you can!  I know you are all not completely in the holiday spirit yet, but at TBA, we are getting into full swing starting this weekend. Sunday we have Latketeeny, which is an everything-Chanukah fair from 9:00am-1:00pm. There are vendors to buy presents from, teddy bears to stuff,  latkes to eat, books to purchase, courses to learn from, and raffles to win.  Come check it out, because it will definitely help you kick off the holiday season!

 Wishing you all a peaceful Shabbat

Pam Barkley

Only 18 days until Chanukah begins!

I can hear the gasps from here. Really? Isn’t it November? Well in case you have somehow missed the hype, Chanukah and Thanksgiving collide this year and it is the only time it will happen in our lifetime so you better enjoy it while you can!  I know you are all not completely in the holiday spirit yet, but at TBA we are getting into full swing starting this weekend. Sunday we have Latketeeny which is an everything-chanukah fair from 9-1. There are vendors to buy presents from, teddy bears to stuff,  latkes to eat, books to purchase, courses to learn from and raffles to win.  Come check it out because it will definitely help you kick off the holiday season!

Wishing you all a peaceful Shabbat

Pam Barkley

Shabbat Shalom!  I was once told that the best way to shine a light on an atrocity was to come together as a community and to talk about it and not sweep it under the rug.  As a community, we come together each week to celebrate Shabbat in part to stand together and show the world that all of the atrocities perpetrated on our people have not succeeded.  Rabbi Holtz and I would like to invite you to join us at services next week (Friday, November 8 at 7:30) in commemoration of Kristallnacht.  Let’s shine a light by gathering together to pray, to study, celebrate Shabbat, and to remember those who were lost fighting to keep the flame alive.

Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, was a pogrom (a series of coordinated attacks) against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht)  On the night of November 9, 1938, the sounds of breaking glass shattered the air in cities throughout Germany while fires across the country devoured synagogues and Jewish institutions. By the end of the rampage, gangs of Nazi storm troopers had destroyed 7,000 Jewish businesses, set fire to more than 900 synagogues, killed 91 Jews and deported some 30,000 Jewish men to concentration camps.  “Kristallnacht” provided the Nazi government with an opportunity at last to totally remove Jews from German public life. It was the culminating event in a series of anti-Semitic policies set in place since Hitler took power in 1933. Within a week, the Nazis had circulated a letter declaring that Jewish businesses could not be reopened unless they were to be managed by non-Jews. On November 15th, Jewish children were barred from attending school, and shortly afterwards the Nazis issued the “Decree on Eliminating the Jews from German Economic Life,” which prohibited Jews from selling goods or services anywhere, from engaging in crafts work, from serving as the managers of any firms, and from being members of cooperatives.  (People & Events “Kristallnacht”, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/holocaust/peopleevents/pandeAMEX99.html)

Recently the Cantor and I spent two days at a conference/workshop on prayer.  It was largely an opportunity to hear from people who are experimenting with how to express ancient feelings in new ways, such as chanting or yoga, or with how to present our familiar prayers more creatively, such as using a beautiful on-screen siddur, called visual tefilah.

But for me, the most interesting exercise by far was when we were asked to define what our goal was for a prayer service.  What do we want worshippers to feel/think/get at the end of Shabbat services?  And then, of course, we have to figure out how to get there.  What was fascinating about this was to discover that people have so many different goals for prayer.  Peace.  Energy.  Comfort.  Inspiration.  Intellectual Challenge.  Connection with Myself.  Connection with God.  Connection with Community.  Strength.  Answers.   This was amazing – and a bit daunting.  Is it possible to create a service that does all of that?  I’m going to be working on this for a while.  And how about you?  What would you like to get from a prayer service?  Have you found it here at TBA?  If so, I’d love to hear about it.  If not, I’d love to hear that too.  And I’d love to know if you have a sense of how the service might change to help you find it.

The restorative power of prayer has always been at the core of Jewish meaning.  It has sustained and enriched generations of Jews.  But today, for so many, it seems to be slipping away.  It takes practice and it takes attention, but the results are transforming.  I hope that we can help you find meaning in prayer, and I hope that you can help us create ever more meaningful prayer services.

Shabbat shalom.

As Shabbat arrives, 75 congregants of all ages will be beginning a weekend retreat at KinderRing Camp in Hopewell Junction, NY. This annual Shabbaton has become something many of us look forward to each year. It is an opportunity to get away from the regular weekend routine and take some time to relax, reflect, and connect. Whether you are joining us or not, I hope that you each find a moment during the next 24 hours to just take a much-needed break.  Talk to someone you haven’t spoken to in a really long time. Go out and enjoy the beautiful weather and the magnificent changing leaves. Just breathe.

Shabbat Shalom one and all!

Pamela Barkley

So what do this week’s bar mitzvah boy and I have in common? He’s young and handsome and looking forward to being called to the Torah.  And I’m… Well you can look at the photo and judge for yourself. But both of us have strong relationship with Abraham.  As we begin the Amidah tomorrow, we’ll call upon Abraham and Sarah and their children and grandchildren – the Avot v’ Imahot (Patriarchs and Matriarchs). We don’t mention Adam and Eve or Noah. Our connection to a Jewish faith starts with Abraham. And in this week’s parasha, Lech L’Cha, he bursts upon the scene with a call and promise from God. Showing the personality trait by which he is known, Avram (as he is known in this parasha) obeys God’s command and goes forth. Commentators have long struggled with the enigmatic and grammatically unusual phrase which gives this week’s reading it’s name.  Is he going to himself,  for himself,  with himself? All of these have their proponents and each finds a different meaning in Avram’s action of taking himself away from his land, his birthplace, his family. As his feet take him closer to the land that God will show him, is he also taking an inward journey? Is he comfortable with this change? He’s certainly a risk taker and willing to embark on a new and presumably better phase of his life when he answers the call that he hears. Our Jewish journey also begins here as we see that our God is not tied to place or time, that our God is with us wherever we are and throughout history.

I wish our bar mitzvah Mazel Tov as he continues his Jewish journey now as an adult member of our community recalling that this is the anniversary of my own bar mitzvah.  Turns out that we do have something in common!

Shabbat shalom!

“Are you ready? Yes, I’m ready.” Remember these song lyrics from the mid-1960’s? In the context of  Barbara Mason’s song they referred to a relationship but at this time of year we can apply them to other things that affect our Temple Beth Abraham community. When I last wrote a post, we were getting ready to start the month of Elul. This is the month preceding Rosh Hashanah and traditionally a time of introspection. We take stock of ourselves, our lives, and our relationships. We know that the High Holydays are approaching and that it’s the time when our liturgy tells us that we will be judged for the coming year. While our fate is determined by our actions of the past year, we also learn, in an unusual display of cognitive dissonance, that we can modify our inscription for the coming year: “Repentance, Prayer, and Tzedakah avert the severe decree”.  So we can each ask whether we are ready for the High Holydays which will begin next week. Are our homes ready? Our relationships? Ms. Mason’s song was also about love and at this time of year we can take the time to look at what and who we love and recall why. If we think that too much of our time is spent thinking about “stuff” and not enough about the people that are important to us, we have the chance to change that.  Let’s take this opportunity to find the true meanings in our lives and create a fresh start for 5774.

Am I ready? Well…almost. As I work to get TBA ready, let me take this opportunity to extend wishes from Anita, myself,  and our family for a New Year filled with Health, Happiness, Joy, and Peace to all of you and your families.

L’Shana Tova,

Stuart

Shabbat Shalom!  As I left TBA this week after Choir rehearsal and the Ritual committee meeting I was struck by the night sky and the full moon.  It was beautiful each night, first surrounded by clouds and then as they moved off just the bright white moon in the pitch black sky.  A full moon during the month of Elul means that the High Holydays are not far off and while there is still much to do to prepare I am looking forward to welcoming you all as we join together in prayer, song, and teshuvah, the process of turning to each other and to God to ask for forgiveness.  In preparation and study I am reading several Elul blogs.  “Jewels of Elul” is produced by Craig Taubman, a fantastic musician, a sweet singer of Israel, and an inspiring community organizer.  Each year he assembles a diverse group of writers to share a daily story, text, or inspirational thought on a particular subject that will prepare us for teshuvah.

This year’s theme is “Welcoming”.  In his introductory note Craig wrote:

This is the art of welcoming: being open as well as extending invitations. Welcoming brings ease – makes people feel wanted and accepted. It allows us to sanctify a moment, cherish a relationship, receive and embrace.  (Jewels of Elul)

TBA’s doors are open, you are invited, and I hope that it is with ease that you will join us as we come together as a community to pray, to sing, to be together, and to turn to one another as friends and family do to look for support, understanding, and peace.  As we begin a new year together I hope that you will look to TBA and our fantastic community as a place where you are always welcome!

L’shalom,

Cantor Margot E. B. Goldberg

Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians have begun!  Though there is more than a little cynicism being expressed from all sides, there is reason to be hopeful.  There is a unique confluence of events that has opened the door to an agreement (more about that, perhaps, at the Holydays…).  Now if we could just get everyone to step through.

Despite all that has happened to us – perhaps because of all that has happened –  Jews are a people of hope, and our fondest hope is for peace.  Ashkenazic Jews greet one another not with “Hi” or “Good day,” but with “shalom aleichem -peace to you.”  The response is “aleichem shalom – unto you, peace.”  Every Friday night and Saturday we turn to one another and say, “Shabbat shalom – a peace-filled Shabbat.”  And of course, every worship service contains numerous prayers for peace.

There is always hope.  We should be practical, but we should not be cynical.  And we must not only pray, but also act.  May the One who makes peace in the heavens help us to make peace here on earth, between the Children of Isaac and the Children of Ishmael, and among all peoples.  Shabbat Shalom!

How will you spend the next 27 days?

Hopefully, hanging out with family, enjoying the sunshine, and reading a good book are all part of the picture. But I also hope that as the countdown to the High Holydays begin, you will take some time to reflect upon the past year and consider what you might want to do differently. Tradition tells us that the Hebrew month of Elul, which is the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah, is meant to be a time of introspection. It’s just not possible to do all that hard work on Rosh Hashanah or on Yom Kippur. To really think about one’s life takes time and careful consideration. It is (at least!) a month-long process.

Luckily, there are many people out there who want to help you in this process. My two favorites are “Prepent” by Amichai Lau-Lavie and “Jewels of Elul” organized by Craig Taubman. Each will send a daily post right to your inbox that is meant to spark a conversation of sorts.  Sometimes this is a conversation you have with yourself, and sometimes this might be a conversation you need to have with someone else.

I know, I know, you get a zillion emails a day. Why do you want one more? Well, I am willing to bet that very few of those emails inspire you to action. And probably none are a daily reminder to think, to change,  to grow.  So for the next 27 days treat yourself to this little gift. Sign up for one or both of these posts and see where the month of Elul takes you!

Jewels of Elul: http://www.letmypeoplesing.com/jewels/

Prepent: http://amichai.me/writings

Shabbat Shalom!

Pamela Joy Barkley

The countdown has begun. We knew that as we came to the end of  Tisha B’Av in mid-July. As of today we are less than five weeks away from the start of Rosh Hashnah. And I’m not even counting Selichot which will occur this year at the end of August. That thought is just too scary…

Leaving aside the earliest occurrence of Rosh Hashanah for the next 200 years or so our calendar and cycle of readings is a miraculous thing. For three weeks before the observance of Tisha B’Av we listen to the words of Jeremiah rebuking us for our behavior. In a master stroke of psychology our ancestors realized that it was easy to say something critical but harder to soften that blow with kind words. The harsh comment stays with us longer so while there are only 3 weeks of rebuke it takes seven weeks to feel consolation. We are already into that cycle and hearing these haftarot recited each summer reminds us that we are counting the swift passing of weeks toward the High Holydays. We also remember the words found in Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of our Fathers, to watch our words and our speech. Especially in this era of instant communication we need to be mindful not only of what we say but of how we say it. That seems to be a thought to keep in mind as we look to the start of Elul and the time of year when we examine ourselves and our behavior. May we find peace and comfort in Shabbat and the strength to start our chesbon ha-nefesh.

Shabbat Shalom!