Category Archives: 2017
ROSH HASHANNAH HOSPITALITY
Todah Robah to the following Congregation members who have offered their hospitality to Rabbi Ruz Gulko and to provide the oneg:
- Wednesday, 09/20/2017: Airport pickup for Rabbi Ruz Gulko: Meriam Nagel
- Wednesday, 09/20/2017: Dinner hosts for Rabbi Ruz Gulko: Jerry and Nadyne Weissman
- Wednesday evening, 09/20/2015: Oneg: Nadyne and Wendy weissman, Meriam Nagel
The address for the Bethel is 1009 18th Avenue Southwest. click here for map and directions.
TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY GALA … CELEBRATING A DECADE OF LIGHT
Ten Year Anniversary Gala
Celebrating a Decade of Light
WHEN: Sunday, October 22, 2017, 6:00 P.M.
WHERE: MUSEUM OF THE ROCKIES, 600 W. Kagy Blvd., Bozeman, MT 59717
FEATURING THE MACCABEATS
HOW TO PREPARE YOURSELF AND YOUR CONGREGATION FOR THE HIGH HOLIDAYS
How to Prepare Yourself and Your Congregation for the High Holidays
By Rabbi Rick Jacobs , 9/05/2017
Tallit, machzor (High Holiday prayer book), traditional head covering, and shofar
For the Jewish community, the balmy days of summer are far from relaxing, perhaps never more so than this year, as we grappled with the meaning of the events in Charlottesville, marched in Washington, and reached out to the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Now that Labor Day has passed, the intense preparations for our fall “Rites of Renewal” are in full swing. Few of us can quite articulate the forces that summon us to the spiritual practices of the upcoming Days of Awe. For some, these rites are familiar from childhood, for others, they are the chosen practices of adulthood, but for all, there are aspects of our participation in the Days of Awe that we do not completely understand. That is not to say that our religious life is irrational, but rather that the world we live in, especially in these challenging times, defies neat rationalizations – making congregational life more vital than ever for us and our members.
Beginning on Rosh Chodesh Elul (the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul – which occurred two weeks ago, just after the solar eclipse), a month before Rosh HaShanah, there are many practices and customs that can prepare us for the intensity and depth of the High Holidays.
One such practice is to sound the shofar daily. The shofar blasts – Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah – return us to a time when most of existence was mysterious. According to Rabbi Michael Meyer in Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism, it was for this very reason that our Reform forbears of the 19th century eliminated the sounding of the shofar: “because its use was encrusted with kabbalistic notions and its raucous, primitive sound was believed more likely to disturb devotion than to stimulate it.” In some Reform congregations at the time, a trumpet’s more refined, modern sound replaced the shofar’s eerie, primitive wail, but given our collective hunger for the authentic, soul-awakening Jewish practice, I doubt that substituting trumpet blasts for the shofar is still a practice in our community. Especially for all of us who lead our people, it is important to hear the shofar’s ancient, haunting call – both to strip away facades and to face ourselves, each other, and the Nameless One with honesty and truthfulness.
Spiritual preparation and introspection, too, are essential for everyone who hopes to experience the transformative power of the High Holidays, but there is more. I love the teaching of one of my heroes, Rabbi Marshall Meyer, who was one of the 20th century’s true rabbinic giants. Born and bred in the U.S., he moved to Argentina and fought for human rights during the dangerous years of the military junta, and in the 1980’s brought his unique blend of spirituality and social justice to New York City’s Upper West Side to revive Congregation B’nai Jeshurun. He taught:
Rosh HaShanah initiates the Aseret Yimei Teshuvah, commonly translated as the “Ten Days of Repentance.” I would like to suggest that for these days to have a new dimension of meaning, we translate them as the “Ten Days of Searching, Twisting, and Turning,” of wrestling with our souls and trying desperately to find new meaning to our existence.
Like his teacher, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Rabbi Meyer wants us not only to be introspective in our preparation for the upcoming High Holidays. These days also are a time for us to accept greater responsibility for the repair of our aching world. From looming dangers of a nuclear North Korea to the famine in East Africa to the struggles for religious freedom in Israel, to the soul-searing plight of refugees around the world and the mostly locked gates of the U.S., there is urgent need wherever we turn our gaze.
In this climate, our congregations can – and must – be incubators of spiritual energy, encouraging all who enter their doors to live more courageous and fulfilling lives. Creating that energy and infusing it deeply within our communities is the biggest, most holy work before us. Let us make sure to keep our eyes on that goal.
Beginning in Elul, and with growing in intensity during the upcoming High Holidays and throughout the new year of 5778, may we hear and respond not only to the shofar’s wailing cries, but also those of the countless people, both near and far, who are crying out for healing and for love.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs
Rabbi Rick Jacobs is the president of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), the largest Jewish movement in North America, with almost 900 congregations and nearly 1.5 million members. An innovative thought leader, dynamic visionary, and representative of progressive Judaism, he spent 20 years as the spiritual leader of Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, NY. Deeply dedicated to global social justice issues, he has led disaster response efforts in Haiti and Darfur. Learn more about Rabbi Rick Jacobs.
2017 SHABBAT PROJECT
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ONE WALL ONE PEOPLE: UPDATE FROM IMPJ
Dear friends,
As I am sure many of you have already heard, this morning’s Supreme Court deliberations did not result in any concrete decision. However, the Supreme Court Justices sent a very clear message to the government, strongly advising them to unfreeze the resolution. As Chief Justice Miriam Naor said, “something frozen can also be melted.”
The deliberations this morning lasted for over two hours, during which the Government representatives tried to convince the court that their commitment to building an egalitarian platform was met. The Justices did not accept this argument.
We were prepared for the fact that a final decision would not be made this morning. In any case, we intend to continue our highly intense campaign over the next couple of months. The Supreme Court Justices clearly indicated today that if the government still refuses to implement the resolution, the court will eventually intervene. We have strong reason to believe that this intervention will be in our favor and force the government to do as they agreed upon over a year and a half ago.
There is no doubt that this is a long and daunting process, but we continue believing that in the end, we will reach the “promised land.”
For a more detailed update on today’s proceedings, Click here.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Gilad Kariv
President and CEO
Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism
The Israel Movement for Reform & Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) is the umbrella organization of all the Reform communities and institutions in Israel.
We seek to integrate Jewish tradition with the realities of modern life, and believe in the right of each individual to shape their own Jewish way of life through a process of study and reflection. The Reform movement emphasizes the commandments concerning relations between humans, religious tolerance, and full equality between women and men in the synagogue and in all walks of life.
GFIA MINUTES FOR AUGUST, 2017
Great Falls Inter-Faith Association
August 24th, 2017
Those present:
Pastor Ray Larson, Benefis Healthcare
Stephen Boyd, GF Hebrew Association
Rick Allison, Big Sky Baptist
Jim McCormick, Rescue Mission
Kristy Pontet-Stroop, Alliance for Youth
Tom Moore, GF Public Schools
Kerry Parsons, CMR
Heather Hoyer, GFHS
Kathy Schendel, Echoz Pregnancy Care
Renee Phillips, Calvary Chapel of Great Falls
Dave Strand, Big Sky Baptist Church
Lacey Spencer, United Way
Beth McKinney, GF Food Banks
David Culpepper, Foothills Cummunity Christian School
Dave Nordel, City of Great Falls
Gringer King, Family Connections MT
Focus: Back to School & City Resources
Pastor Ray opened with a reading from 1st Corinthians and a prayer.
Back to School with Tom Moore, Drew Uecker, Heather Hoyer, and Kerry Parsons.
Tom – Great Falls Public Schools – This year’s Convocation, the school year kickoff, is at the GFHS Field House, 8am Monday Morning. September 8th, at Paris Gibson is education and training for all the school foodbanks, introducing a software package in the hopes that all the foodbanks will implement it. Each School has unique needs, and most of the schools have expressed interest in partnering with their area churches to assist those needs.
Heather – Great Falls High School – Have need of hygiene items, baby shampoo(non-allergenic) is especially needed, along with toothbrushes. Church partnership is going well, they’ve been working with Pastor Jeff with 2 concepts: Many hands, 2 tons of food being moved to families in need. Also Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. They spend two days delivering boxes to needy families, in the past they’ve utilized students with adults to drive and deliver food, however, she would prefer the students stay in class so they are always looking for volunteers to help. If interested, Call Heather @ 268-6313.
Caregiver trauma – Teachers get exhausted with all the worry and stress as they care for all the impoverished students, and small encouragement from volunteers means much.
Kerry – CM Russell High School – Welcoming teachers back Monday, 1400 students on Tuesday, the school has already been bustling though with prep for their first ever varsity football contest. Construction is beginning for their new STEM addition and is continuing on other infrastructure upgrades Kerry had a meeting with their partners earlier this week, customer service is a large component of the mission of the school. Many kids in crisis, free and reduced lunch population is smaller than GFHS but still definitely high. Their food pantry is very active. As far as needs, food pantry and hygiene items are always needed, as well as volunteers. Many extra-curricular activities can be expensive, and not all kids can front the expense, they are asked to give scholarships and have set up accounts to help cover the costs. Faculty fatigue will be ever-present; any volunteer help is welcomed. To help, call Kerry Parsons at 268-6241.
Dave Nordel – City of Great Falls – Disaster Preparedness, Emergency Management Passed out books, Schools are very prepared, have excellent ability to handle bad situations. No major disasters have happened in Great Falls for almost 57 years, which is a blessing and a curse, we don’t know how to react in an emergency.
In Great Falls, there are on duty at any given time 12 firemen, 6 police, 3 ambulances, and 2 sheriffs. So only about 23 EMS responders for 60,000 people. That’s not counting everyone coming in from outlying areas seeking help. Because of this, Dave goes throughout the city to educate people about preparedness. Everyone should be able to keep themselves alive for 72 hours without emergency services, and he has a small booklet he hands out everywhere he goes called “Family Preparedness” that lays out everything to do for your family.
He suggests every organization has a disaster preparedness talk, churches would act as a major gathering point, and the more churches are prepared for disasters, the more load they can take off of shelters and hospitals.
Code Red is the vehicle they use to alert people to a disaster, if you have a landline, you are already signed up, if you have a cellphone you can go to https://public.coderedweb.com to sign up, or download the CodeRED app on your smartphone.
Pastor Ray Adjourned the meeting.
Submitted by Stephen Boyd, recording secretary.
ECLIPSING THE ECLIPSE BY RABBI CHAIM
Sitting on the lawn of Ashton Elementary School in northeast Idaho, I watched the total eclipse in absolute amazement. Yet, I’ll admit publicly, that for me, the eclipse was eclipsed by a far greater wonder, the birth and adoption of our newborn. It’s been six-plus years since my mom’s passing and, ever since, I’ve been hoping for a baby to carry her name. At the Shabbos Torah reading, after reading the words “in accordance with the blessing of the Eternal, your God, that He has given to you” I had the honor of naming our daughter Chana Laya (She has a registry here.) She is delicious, cute and so lovable. During these “seven weeks of consolation”, I received mine.
Raising a hand-full (literally) of children, is no simple task. Our world is chaotic, winds of secularism and unchecked insanity are blowing strongly, and divisiveness has overtaken our once United States. Nevertheless, we are still capable of raising holy children in the 21st century.
In this week’s Torah portion, Shoftim, we discuss war. The Jewish soldiers are commanded not to fear their enemy, even if seemingly mighty. Soldiers that are unfocused, whether newlyweds, new homeowners, new vignerons and those that are “chicken”, should go home. You don’t want a few distracted soldiers, weakening the entire army. In the pre-war words of the priest “Hear, O Israel, today you are approaching the battle against your enemies. Let your hearts not be faint; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not be alarmed, and you shall not be terrified because of them”.
Sun Tzu writes “Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him”. The world is a war zone, and our children must not fear it, must not find excuses to dodge the skirmish, but rather we must inspire, encourage and educate them to know the Art of War. Let’s put secularism on the defense, let’s arm our children with so much Yiddishkait, so much Torah, so much authenticity, giving the enemies of tradition a run for their money. Learn Kuzari, Chovas HaLevavos and Kuntres Umaayon with them, talk to them about what G-d means to you, infuse them with logic and faith, giving them the necessary ammo to decimate the darkness, or at least dismiss the temptation for instant gratification. I pray to merit raising my beloved Chana Laya, with her four amazing siblings, in the ways of their Bubby, my mother of blessed memory, who stared at the world and said, “bring it on”.
Our children need not to fear the world; the world needs to fear them!
PROJECT TO PRESERVE MONTANA CEMETERIES GETS 25K GRANT
Project to preserve Montana cemeteries gets $25K grant
Posted: Aug 23, 2017 4:44 PM MDT
Updated: Aug 23, 2017 4:44 PM MDT
By: Melissa Jensen – MTN News
HELENA – The Montana History Foundation recently announced it is receiving a grant from the National Park Service – one of just 12 grants given nationwide and the only one in Montana.
The $25,000 grant will be used for a three-day workshop next spring on preserving Montana cemeteries through education and technology.
Montana History Foundation CEO Charlene Porsild says they expect to bring up to 50 people from across Montana to Helena for the workshop.
It will include experts on various types of technology that can aid in grave identification and location, along with traditional methods like archival research.
Porsild says there are hundreds of historic cemeteries across Montana that can benefit from the workshop.
“Our community histories are caught up in those burials, whether they stayed in the same place or moved, whether the marker is still there or not,” says Porsild. “So that’s part of what we want to help people recover is the history of who’s in those cemeteries, whose family’s connections are in those cemeteries and how to draw those out and to preserve them for future generations.”
Porsild says the workshop will be recorded and eventually placed on their website to help continue education efforts for those who are unable to attend in person.
FROM KRTV
The Aitz Chaim Ram's Horn 