Shabbat Blast!

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Shabbat Blast!

04/27/2018 01:56:52 PM

Apr27

From Rabbi Bernstein

Dear Congregation,

Many of us drift in and out of our connection to Judaism. When we're young, we learn because our parents send us to school. There is an excitement to baking hamantaschen, learning about the Jews who survived the many challenges, and eating grandma’s matzah ball soup. Judaism is provided to us. And then we become bar or bat mitzvah. There is still programming for us, USY, BBYO, Camp, but everything is getting a lot less mandatory, so our Jewish behavior starts to wane. If we go to university, we may go to Hillel or Chabad. We may not. For some, this will be a time of rebellion. For others it is a chance to explore one’s Judaism more deeply but on your own terms. There is a whole world out there of Jewish and spiritual connection that many think is just a myth.

Our tradition tells us that you are born a Jew, but that is not enough. Our Holiness Code in Acharei Mot- Kedoshm tells us that on the one hand we are naturally part of something special, but on the other, to get the full effect, you have to behave like a Jew. “Behavior” is up for interpretation. 2 Jews, 5 opinions. But many want to avoid words like “Kashrut,” “study” or “Shabbat,” because of perceived baggage. Is it possible that the Judaism of your youth may have more to offer than you realize? Maybe those questions gnawing at you in the back of your mind about purpose, meaning, and happiness may have been asked before by previous generations? Those answers are housed in the traditions and conversations that have taken place over thousands of years.

We are not the first and we are not the last. If you have strayed and are looking to find your way back to deep engagement, feel free to call or email. Sometimes connection is just one call away. 516-781-3072 or Rabbi.bernstein@cbohr.org.

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Bernstein

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Services: Friday, April 27 - Thursday, May 3

Kabbalat Shabbat Service Tonight, 8:00 PM
Nosh and Drosh Saturday, 9:00 AM
Shabbat Saturday, 9:45 AM, Bat Mitzvah Brooke Horowitz
Junior Congregation Saturday, 10:00 AM
Minyan Sunday, 9:00 AM
Evening Minyanim Sunday - Thursday, 8:00 PM at the shiva house (Monday in memory of Harry Astrof, Tuesday in memory of Elaine Ackerman, Wednesday in memory of Hannah Seplowitz). The address is 2840 Len Drive, Bellmore
Minyan Monday, 6:30 AM
Minyan Thursday, 8:00 AM, requested by Elayne Berkowitz in memory of her mother Hannah Seplowitz

Please join us on Sunday, April 29th as we thank Cantor Elliot Joseph Yavneh, Cantor Emeritus.

We will present him with his portrait.
Minyan at 9:00AM
Presentation at 9:45AM followed by bagels and coffee.

From the Cantor Search Committee
Thank you to all congregants who participated in our two interview weekends with Cantor Kowtiz and Cantor Greenberg. If you have not made your comments known to any of the committee members please do so or you can click HERE send them in.
The role we are trying to fill, while called a “Cantor Search”, can more appropriately be labeled a Second Clergy Search. As we interviewed candidates and reviewed the tasks of the job, it became apparent that leading weekly services is not the major part of the job but only one of the many tasks that this person would be responsible for. To this end we asked the Rabbinical Assembly for Assistant Rabbi candidates to possibly fill this position. We searched for Rabbinic Candidates with strong Davening and Torah reading skills. After reviewing many resumes and interviewing candidates we have decided to invite the best Rabbinical prospect to our synagogue.Please join us on May 4 and May 5 to experience Rabbi Benjamin Levi Goldberg.

Friday, May 4
6:30 PM, Family Kabbalat Shabbat Service with Aleph and Pre-Aleph followed by a cocktail reception with hot hors d'oeuvres and desserts.

Saturday, May 5
Nosh and Drosh, 9AM
Shabbat Service, 9:45AM

Rabbi Ben Goldberg will be ordained as a rabbi this spring by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Due to his own powerful experiences of Jewish community and learning, Ben is pursuing a career in the rabbinate to help others experience that power as well. Currently, he serves as the rabbi of Beth El Synagogue in Woodbury, CT. Previously, he served as Rabbinic Intern at Rutgers Hillel and also at Congregation Beth Israel in Scotch Plains, NJ. During rabbinical school, he spent summers at Camp Ramah in the Poconos, Hillel International, as a hospital chaplain, and with Faith in New York. Before enrolling at JTS, he studied for a year at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Originally from the Philadelphia suburbs, Ben graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in History and Jewish Studies.