Category Archives: Events
CHRISTMAS AT THE MERCY HOME 2015, 5776
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it is time to start thinking about helping out at the Mercy Home this Christmas. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this “minchag,” our Jewish community volunteers to run the 24 hour domestic violence shelter from 2 PM on Christmas Eve until 5 PM on Christmas Day while the staff spend time with their own families. Anyone is welcome – training is provided. The only stipulation is that a male does not volunteer himself – he must volunteer with a female due to the sensitive nature of domestic violence on women. Because this is a “secret shelter” the location of the shelter will be provided to you closer to Christmas.
We usually volunteer for 3 hour shifts starting at 2 PM on 12/24 through 5 PM on 12/25. Here are the shifts that I need:
• 12/24: 2 – 5 PM
• 12/24: 5 – 8 PM
• 12/25: 8 – 11 PM
• Overnight from 11 PM to 8 AM (you can usually sleep as long as you keep the phone nearby in case there is a call)
• 12/25: 8 – 11 AM
•12/25 11 AM – 2 PM
• 12/25: 2 – 5 PM
Please contact me, Wendy Weissman, at 868-5712 or wendy@weissman.com with any questions or to sign up.
Hope to see you there!
Wendy Weissman
A KOSHER RESCUE MISSION
EDITOR’S NOTE: Yes, there are Jews, even in the desert of Montana, and perhaps they are here for just such a time as this.
The following was submitted by Nancy Oyer.
I thought this was great. Nice job, Congregation Beth Aaron (Donna Healy) and Bozeman Chabad (Chavie Bruk)!
Just in case anyone missed it – see below. The story made it to Tablet Magazine and the Times of Israel among many other news outlets. Here are three of the articles out there.
Nancy Oyer
Butte
406.490.8989
neogeo@montana.com
After an Emergency Landing in Montana, El Al Passengers Are Treated to a Kosher Feast
A rag-tag group of caring Jews came to the aid of about 300 stranded passengers on their way from Israel to Los Angeles
By Tess Cutler
November 16, 2015
It could be the premise of a hit sitcom: An El Al flight en route to Los Angeles is forced to make an emergency landing in Billings, Montana, and its passengers are stranded at the airport for 12 hours, waiting for the next aircraft to arrive from New Jersey. But here’s the kicker: There’s no kosher food at the terminal, or enough food to feed nearly 300 hungry passengers, many of whom are presumably Jewish. Well guess what? It happened over the weekend.
At 6 a.m. on Sunday morning, an El Al airplane experienced engine issues and was forced to touch down in Montana, a state which boasts a population of 1,350 Jews as of 2014. “You just don’t often get a planeload of Israelis in Billings,” local resident Donna Healy told The Billings Gazette. Healy, who is Jewish, sprung into action, supplying the stranded passengers with snacks and toiletries, such as diapers. “We thought we should do what we could to make them comfortable,” she said. “Kosher food is a part of that.” (Her congregation, Beth Aaron, paid for the goods.)
Rebbetzin Chavie Bruk of Chabad Montana in Bozeman also got word of the incident. So she packed her three children into her car and drove 150 miles (about a two-hour journey) to deliver a smorgasbord of cold cuts galore, hummus, eggplant, fruit and bagels. “It was a tremendous kiddush Hashem—amazing and inspiring!” gushed Israeli passenger Hillel Fuld about the impromptu kosher food delivery.
Apparently, El Al crew members also went on a Costco run, nabbing lifetime supplies of grapes, Cheerios, milk, and sacs upon sacs of what appears to be onions.
The famished passengers noshed on the delights, kibbitzed, and Facebooked to pass the time. In their 12 hour interim, they had a feast fit for kings and queens due to numerous supermarket sweeps.
The well-nourished, jet-lagged passengers eventually landed in Los Angeles at 4:45 pm.
LA-bound El Al plane makes emergency landing in Montana
http://www.timesofisrael.com/la-bound-el-al-plane-makes-emergency-landing-in-montana/
Fire breaks out in Boeing 777’s right engine; flight had nearly 300 passengers on board
By JTA November 16, 2015, 12:59 am
An El Al flight with nearly 300 people on board made an emergency landing in Billings, Montana.
Warning lights showed that there was a fire in the right engine, the Billings Gazette reported Sunday. The passengers had to exit using a landing ladder, according to the newspaper, as the Boeing 777 was too large to park at the terminal.
A spare plane was being sent from New Jersey to allow the passengers to finish their journey, which started in Tel Aviv.
With no US Customs agents stationed at the Billings airport, Customs officials were sent from Great Falls to handle the passengers, the Gazette reported.
A Kosher Rescue Mission for El Al Travelers Stuck in Montana
http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/3130372/jewish/A-Kosher-Rescue-Mission-for-El-Al-Travelers-Stuck-in-Montana.htm
Hillel Fuld from Beit Shemesh, Israel, says that Chabad emissary Chavie Bruk “showed up and instantly put a smile on hundreds of faces.”
They were stuck in a Montana airport with no end in sight to their wait and no kosher food to eat. That’s what happened today to some 300 passengers on an El Al airlines flight Tel Aviv to Los Angeles. The Boeing 777 made an emergency landing in Billings, Mont., when a reported fire in one of the engines made it unsafe to continue.
Passengers disembarked the plane and were bused to a terminal, where they waited for another plane to take them to their final destination—Los Angeles International Airport. There they sat as the hours ticked away and the food supplies—in particular, the kosher food—dwindled.
Hillel Fuld of Beit Shemesh, Israel, says that somehow, Rabbi Chaim and Chavie Bruk—co-directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Montana in Bozeman—got news of the situation and set about immediately to offer assistance. With her three young children in tow, Chavie Bruk drove a car full of kosher food 150 miles to Billings Logan International Airport, where passengers had been waiting for nearly 10 hours.
“She showed up and instantly put a smile on hundreds of faces. She did it with utter grace and never stopped smiling for a second,” says Fuld, 37, who works in technology. “Based on the constant smile on her face, she is happier to be here than we are to have her here.
“It was a tremendous kiddush Hashem—amazing and inspiring!”
Fuld, who is traveling with his wife and 11-year-old son to Los Angeles, enjoyed kosher bagels, cold cuts, chips and cake. Heaps of hummus, fresh fruit and other goods were also available.
Rabbi Chaim Bruk recounts that the rabbi at El Al in Israel called him this morning and apprised him of the plane trouble. Bruk himself was on a flight to Minneapolis, but his wife snapped into action. She gathered as much ready-to-eat food as she could—they had just received a kosher shipment the night before—piled her children into the car and drove two hours to the airport.
“She was welcomed like a heroine,” says the rabbi.
Meanwhile, the group of tired (but not hungry) passengers remain in the airport two hours later—a half-day now—waiting for the next leg of their journey.
Chavie Bruk, co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Montana in Bozeman with her husband, Rabbi Chaim Bruk, drove a car full of kosher food to Billings Logan International Airport for stranded passengers of an El Al flight to Los Angeles that had to make an emergency landing. (Photo: Hillel Fuld)
Hundreds of people enjoyed bagels, cold meats, hummus, fresh fruit, chips and more as they lingered in the terminal. (Photo: Hillel Fuld)
A welcome respite from a long and hungry wait. (Photo: Hillel Fuld)
Fuld, his wife and their 11-year-old son in Tel Aviv at the start of their trip. (Photo: Hillel Fuld)
Also picked up by the Times of Israel
COMMUNITY CHANUKAH PARTY DECEMBER 6, 2015
With many, many thanks to Jerry and Nadyne Weissman, the Aitz Chaim Chanukah party will be on the evening of Sunday, December 6, 2015. We will all gather at the Diane Kaplan Memorial Chanukiah at the Civic Center at 5:30pm, light the menorah, and then caravan to 2777 Green Briar Drive for an evening of latkes, sufganiyot and conversation.
Sound like fun?
Something to be aware of: the Great Falls symphony Association’s Holiday Concert begins at 3:00 P.M. and should be concluding about 5:30 P.M., so parking will be at a premium, and we may have an audience.
THE MARCH OF THE LIVING
Shalom,
My sister, Marcia Tatz Wollner, has led March of the Living trips to Poland and Israel for over 10 years. This is a great opportunity for any 11th-12th graders you may know ~ think children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews, etc. Do not hesitate to contact Marcia for more information if you are at all interested.
Janet
The March of the Living is a two-week journey to Poland and Israel. In Poland, along with survivors, the teens visit Nazi concentration camps and become “witnesses” to the Holocaust. While in Poland, the teens commemorate Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day with a silent march between Auschwitz and Birkenau.
In Israel, the teens visit historic and contemporary sites to learn about the creation of the Jewish State, celebrating its existence and meaning of the continuity of the Jewish people. While in Israel the teens observe Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day and celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day.
Since its inception in 1988, this journey has become the world’s single largest Jewish education program for 11th and 12th graders attracting over 10,000 participants annually from all over the world.
The dates for this year’s MOTL are May 1- May 15, 2016. The cost, including domestic travel is $6375. Teen will be able to take the AP tests upon their return to the United States.
Applications are available on line, http://www.motlthewest.org
For more information, contact Marcia Tatz Wollner,
marcia@motlthewest.org
or by phone at (858) 395-3590.
Contributed by Janet Tatz
MEETING: YWCA 10:00 A.M. THIS SUNDAY ONLY
Since we didn’t finish our Torah study on Saturday morning, Rabbi Ruz has graciously offered to continue the study Sunday morning, 11/01/2015, at 10:00 a.m. at the YWCA, 220 2nd Street North, with a possible no-host lunch to follow somewhere downtown. Please remember to turn your clocks back one hour and be there. This is going to be special; it’s something that doesn’t happen often. Don’t miss it.
HAVDALAH
EDITOR’S NOTE: I stumbled upon these two articles during an internet search for something else, and thought they were both interesting. Loving music as I do, I want to share them with you.
Reform Judaism magazine has an interesting article on the musical settings of Havdalah!, and JW Magazine has an interesting article on the history of Debbie Friedman’s Havdalah melody.
The Ram’s Horn recommends both articles. I hope you read them and enjoy them as much as I did.
AS THE SHABBOS PROJECT CONTINUES TO SPREAD ACROSS THE WORLD …
and to Shabbos Project participants in:
Aberdeen, Abuja, Adam, Addis Ababa, Addison, Adelaide, Afula, Agoura hills, Akko, Alamo, Albany, Allentown, Almere, Altamonte Springs, Amersfoort, Amsterdam, Anaheim, Ann Arbor, Annapolis, Antigua, Antwerp, Arcachon, Arcata, Ariel, Ashdod, Asheville, Ashkelon, Ashland, Astoria, Atlanta, Atlantic Beach, Attleboro, Aubern, Austin, Aventura, Baitar Ilit, Bakersfield, Baltimore, Barcelona, Basel, Bat Yam, Bayswater, Baytown, Beachwood, Beaverton, Beer Sheva, Beit Shemesh, Belem do Para, Bellaire, Bentleigh East, Berkeley, Berlin, Bet shemesh, Betar Elite, Beverly Hills, Biloxi, Binghamton, birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomington, Bnei Brak, Boca Raton, Bogotá, Bologna, Bordeaux, Bossier City, Boston, Boulder, Bridgeport, Brighton, Boston, Brindisi, Brisbane, Broomfield, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Buffaloa, Burlingame, Burlington, Burnaby, Calabasas, Calgary, Cali, Camarillo, Cambridge, Cancun, Cannes, Cape Town, Caracas, Carlsbad, Carthage, Cayenne, Chandler, Charleston, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Chesterfield, Missouri, Chicago, Chico, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Cochabamba, Coconut Creek, College Park, Colmar, Columbia, Columbus, Conyers, Cooper City, Copenhagen, Coral Gables, Coral Springs, Cordoba, Cork, Corpus Christi, Corrientes, Curitiba, Dallas, Dana Point, Dayton, Del Mar, Delray Beach, Denton, Denver, Detroit, Dijon, Dimona, Doncaster, Dortmund, Dulzura, Dunwoody, Durban, Düsseldorf, East Wenatchee, Eau Claire, Edison, Edmond, Edmonton, Efrat, Eilat, El Cajon, El Paso, Elad, Elk Grove, Elliot Lake, Englewood, Escazu, Eugene, Evanston, Exeter, Fairfax, Fairfield, Farmington Hills, Fayetteville, Florence, Folsom, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Fort Wayne, Frankfurt, Fresno, Fullerton, Gaithersburg, Galway, Gatineau, Gautier, Geneva, Givat Shmuel, Givatayim, Glasgow, Goiania, Gold Coast, Goldendale, Goleta, Gomel, Gothenburg, Granville, Grenoble, Grovetown, Guadalajara, Guelph, Hagerstown, Haifa, Hallandale, Hamburg, Hamilton, Har Nof, Harrisonburg, Henderson, Herzelia, Hialeah, Highlands Ranch, Hobe Sound, Hoboken, Hod Hasharon, Hong Kong, Houston, Howell, Huntington Beach, Huntsville, Irvine, Issaquah, Istanbul, Izmir, Jackson, Jacksonville, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Johns creek, Jos, Kalamazoo, Kankakee, Karmiel, Katy, Kearney, Kfar Saba, Kharkov, Kiev, Kingston, Kiriyat Sefer/ Modiin Illit, Kiryat Melachi, Kiryat Ono, Kitchener, Krakow, Krefeld, La Jolla, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Dallas, Lake Forest, Lancaster, Laredo, Las Vegas, Latina, Laval, Lawrence, Leeds, Leicester, Les Pavillons-sous-Bois, Liepzig, Lima, Lincolnton, Lisbon, Liverpool, London, Long Beach, Long Branch, Los Angeles, Louisville, Lusaka, Lyon, Maale Adumim, Macon, Madison, Madrid, Malmö, Manassas, Manaus, Manchester, Mandan, Marietta, Markham, Mason, McKinney, Melbourne, Melila, Memphis, Menlo park, Mequon, Mercer Island, Meriden, Mesa, Mexicali, Mexico City, Miami, Miami Beach, Milan, Milford, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Modiin, Mogilev, Monterrey, Montevideo, Montreal, Morgan County, Moscow, Mountain Brook, Alabama, Mumbai, Munich, Muscatine, Myrtle Beach, Nahariya, Nashville, Natal, Naucalpan, Nepean, Netivot, Neuilly-Sur-Seine, New Brunswick, New Haven, New Orleans, New Port Richey, New Rochelle, New York City, Newark, Newcastle, Newport, Newport Beach, Nice, Norfolk, North Bay Village, Norwalk, Nottingham, Novi Sad, Nürnberg, Oak Park, Oakland, Ocala, Oceanside, Odessa, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orangeburg, Orlando, Orléans, Oshawa, Oviedo, Oxford, Ozark, Palm Desert, Palo Alto, Panama City, Paramus, Paris, Passaic, Pawtucket, Peabody, Pembroke Pines, Perth, Petah Tikva, Petaluma, Philadelphia, Pickerington, Pierrefonds, Pinsk, Pittsburgh, Plainfield, Plainview, Plano, Plymouth, Pomona, Port Angeles, Port Elizabeth, Port Saint Lucie, Port Washington, Portland, Porto, Porto Alegre, Potchefstroom, Poughkeepsie, Providence, Puerto Iguazu, Punta Gorda, Quito, Ra’anana, Ramat Gan, Ramat Hasharon, Randolph, Redmond, Redondo Beach, Rehovot, Renton, Richmond, Rio de Janeiro, Rishon Letziyon, Rochester, Rockbridge, Rome, Roseville, Rosh HaAyin, Roswell, Rotterdam, Sacramento, Safed/Tzfat, Saint Louis, Saint Louis Park, Saint-Raphaël, Salford Manchester, Saltillo, San Angelo, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San jose, San Marcos, San Miguel de Tucumán, San Pedro Sula, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santa Maria, Santa Monica, Santa Rosa, Santiago, Sao paulo, Sarasota, Saratov, Sarnia, Satellite Beach, Scottsdale, Scranton, Sderot, Seal beach, Seattle, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Sherman Oaks, Shoham , Siem Reap, Sofia, Somerville, South Bend, Southfield, Spanish Fork, Sparta, Spokane, Srirangapatna, St Augustine, St Kilda, St Petersburg, Stamford, Stillwater, Stoughton, Strasbourg, Sugar Land, Sunny Isles Beach, Sunnyvale, Suva City, Sydney, Syracuse, Tampa, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, Tel Mond, Temple Terrace, Tenafly, Terrell, Tijuana, Tokyo, Toronto, Torrance, Trieste, Troy, Tucson, Tulsa, Tuscaloosa, Tustin, Tyler, Union, University Heights, Urbana, Valencia, Valparaiso, Vancouver, Vaughan, Venice, Victoria, Vienna, Villemomble, Vilna, Walnut Creek, Waltham, Waterbury, Waterloo, Welland, Wenatchee, West des moines, West Hollywood, West Palm Beach, Weston, White plains, Wickliffe, Wien, Williamsport,, Wilmington, Winchester, Windhoek, Winnipeg, Wollongong, Wrocław, Yorba Linda, Zagreb, Zamboanga, Zichron Yaakov and Zürich.
https://www.theshabbosproject.com
We’re logging off, as the tranquility of Shabbat spreads across the world.
See you at Havdallah!
Over and out,
The Shabbos Project team
#KeepingItTogether
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THESE UPCOMING EVENTS
Please mark your calendars for these upcoming events during the week end of October 30-31 and November 1, 2015. (Cheshvan 17-19, 5776.)
- Friday evening, 10/30/2015, 7:30 P.M.: Kabbalat Shabbat services led by Rabbi Ruz Gulko, at the YWCA. Oneg to follow.
- Saturday morning, 10/31/2015, 10:00 A.M.: Torah study, led by Rabbi Ruz Gulko.
- Saturday lunch host for Rabbi Gulko: Meriam Nagel
- Saturday afternoon, 10/31/2015, 5:30 P.M.: Community milchig (dairy) Potluck at the YWCA. Followed by adult discussion led by Rabbi Ruz Gulko. Please bring a dairy or vegetarian dish to share.
- Sunday morning, 11/01/2015, 10:00 A.M.: Continued Torah study led by Rabbi Ruz Gulko at the YWCA, with no-host lunch to follow somewhere downtown.
Due to ongoing construction at The Bethel, our community gatherings are being hosted temporarily at the YWCA, 220 2nd Street North. Our thanks go out to the YWCA for allowing us to use their space while the usual space we use is being renovated.
WEEK END HOSPITALITY OCTOBER 30-31 NOVEMBER 1, 2015
Todah Robah to the following Congregation members who have offered their hospitality to Rabbi Ruz Gulko and to provide the oneg:
- Friday, October 30, 2015, Airport pickup: Helen Cherry
- Friday evening, October 30, 2015, Dinner hosts: Jerry and Nadyne Weissman
- Oneg: Mimi Wolf
- Saturday Lunch: Meriam Nagel
- Sunday: Daylight Savings Time Ends. Don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour.
Please contact Helen to sign up.
ASK BIG QUESTIONS II: WHAT SHELTERS YOU?
EDITOR’S NOTE: Posted with permission from Rabbi Elana, CBA, Billings. I know this is late, but still worth contemplating, in my opinion. Joy
Hillel International has a program called Ask Big Questions which we have appropriated for use in Billings, MT, at Congregation Beth Aaron (where I am the student Rabbi). Each week, I will pose a different “big” question to allow us to ponder a different aspect of our lives and how we live them. This particular textual immersion was on the question: “What is shelter for you?”
There are no questions with each text, as they are meant to stir different things in each person. Please enjoy the texts and delve into them. They are meant for either personal contemplation or communal reflection. If you would like to engage me in conversation, I am more than willing to participate. Please email me at elana.nemitoff@huc.edu
Elana Nemitoff
Rabbinical Student – HUC-JIR, 2018
enemitoff@gmail.com
Follow my Journey at: http://jewishwanderings.blogspot.com
Dear Congregation Beth Aaron,
I hope all is well! I write to send you the questions from the second in the set of Ask Big Questions. This is about what shelters you. I invite you to delve into the texts and discover what shelter means to you and how you find shelter. Please feel free to share your thoughts or reactions with me; I’d love to hear what you think!
Shavuah tov,
Rabbi Elana, CBA, Billings
What is shelter for you?
Lunch and Learn
Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot ~ 3 October 2015
Student Rabbi Elana Nemitoff
Leviticus 23:4243
כָּלהָאֶזְרָח,
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, ; בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ, שִׁבְעַת יָמִים
יֵשְׁבוּ, בַּסֻּכֹּת. לְמַעַן, יֵדְעוּ דֹרֹתֵיכֶם, כִּי בַסֻּכּוֹת
הוֹשַׁבְתִּי אֶתבְּנֵי
יִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּהוֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ
מִצְרָיִם: אֲנִי, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
You shall dwell in booths seven days; all the
citizens in Israel shall dwell in booths; that
your generations may know that I made the
children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I
brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am
Adonai your God.
Jonah 4:5
וַיַּעַשׂ לוֹ שָׁם ; וַיֵּצֵא יוֹנָה מִןהָעִיר,
וַיֵּשֶׁב מִקֶּדֶם לָעִיר
סֻכָּה, וַיֵּשֶׁב תַּחְתֶּיהָ בַּצֵּל, עַד אֲשֶׁר יִרְאֶה, מַהיִּהְיֶה
בָּעִיר.
Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on
the east side of the city, and there made him
a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he
might see what would become of the city.
Isaiah 4:56
וּבָרָא יְהוָה עַל כָּלמְכוֹן
הַרצִיּוֹן
וְעַלמִקְרָאֶהָ,
עָנָן
יוֹמָם וְעָשָׁן, וְנֹגַהּ אֵשׁ לֶהָבָה, לָיְלָה: כִּי
עַלכָּלכָּבוֹד,
חֻפָּה.
וּלְמַחְסֶה, ; וְסֻכָּה תִּהְיֶה לְצֵליוֹמָם,
מֵחֹרֶב
וּלְמִסְתּוֹר, מִזֶּרֶם, וּמִמָּטָר.
And God will create over the whole habitation of
mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud
and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming
fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a
canopy . A nd there shall be a p avilion for a
shadow in the daytime
from the heat, and
for a refuge and for a covert from storm and
from rain.
Psalm 31:21
תַּסְתִּירֵם, בְּסֵתֶר פָּנֶיךָמֵרֻכְסֵיאִישׁ:
מֵרִיב לְשֹׁנוֹת. ; תִּצְפְּנֵם בְּסֻכָּה
You grant them the protection of Your
presence from the plottings of man; You
shelter them in a pavilion from the strife of
tongues.
Job 36:29
תְּשֻׁאוֹת, סֻכָּתוֹ. ; אַף אִםיָבִין,
מִפְרְשֵׂיעָב
Yea, can any understand the spread of the
clouds, the crashings of God’s shelter ?
Hashkiveinu
הַשְׁכִּיבֵנוּ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ לְשָׁלוֹם וְהַעֲמִידֵנוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ לְחַיִּים.
וּפְרוֹשׂ עָלֵינוּ סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמֶךָ וְתַקְּנֵנוּ בְּעֵצָה טוֹבָה
מִלְּפָנֶיךָ וְהוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ וְהָגֵן בַּעֲדֵנוּ. וְהָסֵר
מֵעָלֵינוּ אוֹיֵב דֶּבֶר וְחֶרֶב וְרָעָב וְיָגוֹן וְהָסֵר שָׂטָן
מִלְּפָנֵינוּ וּמֵאַחֲרֵינוּ וּבְצֵל כְּנָפֶיךָ תַּסְתִּירֵנוּ כִּי אֵל
שׁוֹמְרֵנוּ וּלְשָׁלוֹם מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ
הַפּוֹרֵשׂ סֻכַּת שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל
יְרוּשָׁלָיִם.
Grant that we may lie down in peace, Eternal God, and
awaken us to life. Shelter us with Your tent of peace
and guide us with Your good counsel. Shield us from
hatred, plague and destruction. Keep us from war
famine and anguish. Help us to deny our inclination to
evil. God of peace, may we always feel protected
because You are our Guardian and Helper. Give us
refuge in the shadow of Your wings. Guard our going
forth and our coming in and bless us with life and
peace. Blessed are You, Eternal God, whose shelter of
peace is spread over us, over all Your people Israel,
and over Jerusalem.
Ray LaMontagne
“I tell you what we’re gonna do. You will shelter me, my love. I will shelter you.”
David Brooks, “The Power of Marriage,” The New York Times, November 22, 2003
Marriage joins two people in a sacred bond. It demands that they make an exclusive commitment to
one another and…take two discrete individuals and turn them into kin. Few of us work as hard at the
vocation of marriage as we should. But marriage makes us better than we deserve to be. Even in the
chores of daily life, married couples find themselves…coming closer together, fusing into one flesh.
Married people who remain committed to each other find that they reorganize and deepen each other’s
lives. They may eventually come to the point when they can say to each other: ‘Love you? I am you!’
Anonymous
we sit here in our sukkot
built with love
decorated with…fruit…vegetables…sweet pictures
enjoying the fall breeze
we sit here in our sukkot
inviting guests
to dine with…meat…vegetables…fruit…sweet drink
enjoying the bounty
we sit here in our sukkot
while thousands seek shelter
running from…fear…war…rape…death
hoping for life
we sit here in our sukkot
and ask:
we built it with love
we invite guests
how do we open it to the (hundreds of) thousands seeking shelter?
we sit here in our sukkot
The Aitz Chaim Ram's Horn 