Shabbat Blast

Shabbat Blast!

Erev Shabat – July 8, 2016

Candle Lighting: 8:09 pm

Maariv: 8:00pm

Shabbat, July 9, 2016

Parshat Korach

Nosh and Drosh 9:00

Services 9:30

Check us out on Facebook, (Bellmore Jewish Center) Twitter (@BellmoreJC) and Instagram (congbethohr)!!!!

7/9/16 – 7/15/16

Birthdays:

Rachel Sandomir

Max Hershkowitz

Carole Feith

Robyn Einbinder

Ira Harris

Warren Siegel

Howard Fingeroth

Shira Astrof

Dear [first_name],

While I am in Jerusalem, I am still very connected to Congregation Beth Ohr, except in one way. The Torah in Israel is one portion ahead. The US is reading Korach, while in Israel, we are reading Hukkat.

It is my pleasure to share with you some highlights from my learning here are the Hartman Institute. The subject of the entire conference is, “What is a Jew? Dilemmas of Identity of Identity in the 21st Century.” We have been discussing the complexities of identity, including how we tell our own stories, what our boundaries are, and how to ask these questions for particular situations. Who is a Jew for the purpose of making Aliyah? Who is a Jew for the purpose of marriage? Who is a Jew for the purpose of honoring the dead?

Each day, the institute hosts a different teacher to illuminate the 180 rabbis who are gathered together in study. Our teachers include Rabbi Doctor Donniel Hartman, Tal Becker, a senior member of the Israeli peace negotiation team, and Melila Hellner- Eshed, an expert in Kabbalah, among many others.

On Rosh Hodesh, I had the incredible, spirit lifting, experience of davening with Women of the Wall. When I stepped in the women’s section of the Western Wall and heard the harmony of women’s voices, it felt like the presence of God was hovering over the remnants of the Temple. There was so much love and pride and passion emanating from this minyan. A young girl had her Bat Mitzvah and I had the great desire to travel back in time and experience my Bat Mitzvah in the embrace of this group. It felt like going home. Male supporters of this group stood in the men’s section and behind us in the plaza, trying to offer encouragement and counter the voices from Haredim, Ultra Orthodox, who shouted that we were not Jewish.

A ceremony of singing followed the minyan where the Reform and Conservative Jews joined to send the message that we are not willing to forget the promise of the Israeli government to make a permanent space for egalitarian prayer at the Wall. It was strengthening to join in one voice with many to express our values.

Shabbat shalom from the Holy Land,

Rabbi Bernstein