Shabbat Blast

Please note: there is no Hebrew School this Sunday and Monday (Oct. 7-8)

From Rabbi Bernstein

Dearest Congregants,

I’m still reeling from Simchat Torah, one of the most joyful 25 hours of the year. All of Sukkot is Zman Simchateinu, the time of joy, for the Jewish people. I notice that when families introduce converts to Judaism, they often bring them to Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur for the first service, but it’s the longest, the most standing, and you can’t eat! I would recommend Simchat Torah.

My fondest memories from childhood include sneaking around the sanctuary on Simchat Torah and tying people’s tzitzit to the legs of their chairs. All other days of the year, I was the model child (ask my parents), but that day we were all mischievous. It was our tradition. Kids would take off from school. Adults would put in for time off at work and we would get together, dance, eat, drink, and throw off all pretenses of seriousness that may have carried over from Yom Kippur.

It was my favorite holiday. It was easy for my family because I went to Solomon Schechter and school was cancelled. Now that I think back, I see that my friends who went to public school and their parents made the conscious choice to put in for vacation. It must have been difficult to juggle everything. I imagine bosses replying to a request to get off for ANOTHER Jewish holiday, but Simchat Torah is worth it. It’s one of those moments in which you truly feel like you are a MOT (Member Of the Tribe). With the dancing, L’chaim’s, and Torah exploring, both evening and morning, you can’t help but feel that you belong to something great.

I want the kids in our shul to grow up feeling like members of our great tribe. I would love to encourage our families to consider how they might experience our Jewish community not just on Shabbat and the Yamim Noraim, the High Holidays, but also on the Holidays of Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Pesach and Shavuot. Perhaps, this year, you might choose one more Jewish holiday to explore in a different way.

Here are the holidays this year:

Chanukah: The Jewish festival of light
Dec 3-10, 2018: Monday to Monday

Purim: One of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar
Mar 21, 2019: Thursday

Pesach: Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread
Apr 20-27: Saturday to Saturday 

Shavuot: Festival of Weeks, commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai
Jun 9-10, 2019: Sunday to Monday

Tish'a B'Av: The Ninth of Av, fast commemorating the destruction of the two Temples
Aug 11, 2019: Sunday

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Bernstein

SERVICES
Friday, Oct. 5 - Thursday, Oct. 11

Friday 
6:30 PM Family Kabbalat Shabbat 
Saturday 
9:00 AM Nosh and Drosh 
9:45 AM Shabbat (Bat Mitzvah – Lauren Rosenkrantz) 
Sunday 
9:00 AM Shiva Minyan (Tabin Home, 3174 Judith Dr.) 
Monday 
7:30 AM Shiva Minyan (Tabin Home, 3174 Judith Dr.) 
Thursday 
8:00 AM Minyan 

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