This gallery contains 10 photos.
Author Archives: Aaron Weissman
Article By Clair Baiz in the Jewish Magazine
Our sharp-eyed Cantor, Hazzan Elliott Magalnick, noticed that our own Clair Baiz, daughter of Arlene Reichert, penned a very poignant and personal article in the May issue of the Jewish Magazine entitled “Growing Up Jewish in Great Falls, Montana.”
The article talks about many of the Jews that lived in Great Falls over the previous years and our previous worship space at the Malmstrom AFB chapel. The article is worth your time and attention — mazel tov Clair!
Mark Your Calendar for 2012 MAJCO and Hadassah Shabbatonim
The Montana Association of Jewish Communities (MAJCO) held its annual Shabbaton over the past weekend, July 15-17, near Glacier Park hosted by Congregation Bet Harim of Kalispell. By all reports, it was an exceptional event. The weekend saw a keynote address by Rabbi David Sapperstein, the Director and Chief Legal Counsel for the Union for Reform Judaism’s Religious Action Center.
Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts kept any congregants from Aitz Chaim from attending the Shabbaton. The next MAJCO Shabbaton will by hosted by Congregation Beth Aaron in Billings over October 5-7, 2012. The 2013 Shabbaton is scheduled by be hosted by Great Falls.
During the MAJCO business meeting on July 17, Hadassah also announced that their 2012 Hadassah Shabbaton will be June 22-24, 2012 at Big Sky. (ed note: This information has been corrected as of 7/26/2011).
Other news from the meeting included:
* Announcement of an election for MAJCO officers during the December, 2011 meeting in Helena (coinciding with the annual menorah lighting in the Capitol).
* A series of changes to the MAJCO bylaws. Those by-law changes will be the subject of an additional article on this site.
July Aitz Chaim weekend coming soon!
Aitz Chaim will be holding services the weekend of July 22 (Parashat Matot).
This is the first time we have experimented with mid-Summer services, in an attempt to cater to the ever-growing segment “snowbird” contingent of our congregation.
As such, please watch this site in the coming days — another virtual issue of the Ram’s Horn will be soon posted here, with all of our standard features, articles, columns and information!
Debate on Patrilineal Descent on Greaterfalls.com?
One of the most interesting aspects of our new online technologies might just be the advent of “blogs.” In this writer’s opinion, these websites are today’s equivalent of the town squares and cafes of yesteryear, where interested people discuss subjects ranging from aardvarks to zymurgy.
One local blog, greaterfalls.com, often discusses Great Falls politics, the weather and photos of geese. Today, however, it discusses what it means to be a Jew and a subject of common debate here, patrilineal descent.
I encourage you to take a look at the discussion, which can be found here. If you think the subject interesting, you might also want to join the discussion by posting a comment!
2011 Montana Council Scout Shabbat
The Montana Council of the Boy Scouts of America had its Council Camporee over the previous weekend in Townsend, MT. The Scouts have a Camporee like this every four years.
In 2007, Montana Scouts had their first-ever Scout Shabbat at the Council Camporee in Townsend, led by our own Aaron Weissman. This year, Bozeman-based Beth Shalom rabbi Ed Stafman came to the Camporee to lead Shabbos Services.
The Service was well attended by interested Scouts and Scouters.
Interestingly enough, the weekend fell on Parashat Sh’lach, the only section of the Torah that discusses “Scouts!” An interesting discussion ensued about whether the “Scouts” sent by Moishe really embodied the Scout Oath and Law. (Caleb and Joshua certainly did!)
The service was sponsored by the Montana Council’s Jewish Committee on Scouting, which is chaired by Great Falls resident (and Aitz Chaim congregant) Diane Sherick. More information on the National Jewish Committee on Scouting can be found at jewishscouting.org.
Rabbi Chaim Block Visits Great Falls
Chabad Rabbi Chaim Block of San Antonio, Texas, stopped by Great Falls over the last weekend! He is pictured here with members of the Weissman family.
Longtime Northcentral Montana residents may remember the children’s Hebrew School/Camp that Rabbi Block organized and ran in Great Falls in the late 1970s.
Rabbi Block is also the father-in-law of Bozeman Chabad Rabbi Chaim Bruk.
Lecture and Performance by Dror Eydar
Dror Eydar, Ph.D., of Israel, visited Great Falls last night to give a lecture on a fascinating new archeological discovery by Professor Adam Zertal of the University of Haifa in Israel.
Zertal posits that a foot-shaped natural amphitheater on Mt. Ebal, dating back to the Iron Age, was the site of early-Jewish religious observance. He has found several other sites in Israel with similar archeological characteristics.
Zertal compares this foot shaped structure to references to feet and foot found throughout the Bible. All in all, Dr. Eydar gave us a lot to think about last night!
Many thanks to Soultrain and it’s organizer, Motti Isaak, for making this wonderful evening possible.
Please Help those in Joplin, Missouri
As we all learned today, the town of Joplin, MO has been devastated by terrible tornado. We have just heard news of the synagogue from Joplin through the URJ Small Congregations mailing list.
Per emails to that list, we now know that the synagogue is intact, and the synagogue’s president and much of the congregation is now homeless.
The URJ requests that interested donors provide aid through the URJ Disaster Relief fund. Information on how to donate and how the funds will be used is available after the link.
Register for the MAJCO Shabbaton NOW!
Congregation Bet Harim has finalized the registration form for the MAJCO Shabbaton! The weekend looks like it will be an incredible event, and well worth your time.
The guest speaker at the MAJCO Shabbaton will be Rabbi David Saperstein, the director and chief legal counsel at the Union for Reform Judaism’s Religious Action Center. Register now!
The Aitz Chaim Ram's Horn 