Category Archives: 2015
DEBBIE FRIEDMAN’S “SHALOM ALEICHEM” — A LIVING MEMORIAL
Debbie Friedman’s “Shalom Aleichem” – A Living Memorial
This Week in the Shabbat Corner, by Beth Am Congregant Lisa Rauchwerger
FRIDAY, JULY 5 TO SATURDAY, JULY 6
It’s been over two years since my friend Debbie Friedman z’’l tragically passed away on January 9, 2011, and I still miss her deeply. She was as wickedly funny and irreverent in private as she was spiritually uplifting and inspirational in public. She never got a chance to record her new version of Shalom Aleichem, the hymn traditionally sung Friday evenings to welcome the Shabbat angels, but she confided in a friend, “I think this is going to be my legacy. This is going to be bigger than Mi Shebeirach,” referencing her melody for the prayer for healing that has become hugely popular in liberal communities
throughout the country and beyond. Here is a link to Debbie singing her version of Shalom Aleichem informally at a chavurah Shabbat dinner in December, 2010, a month before she died. May this haunting melody be learned and passed on, as a living tribute to her memory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57re15AQoVE
Debbie Friedman z’’l, performs at a chavurah Shabbat dinner, December 2010
THE HEBREW BIBLE: TAKE AN ONLINE COURSE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/EQ6QItyQnGY
An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible with Richard Elliott Friedman
Free sample session:
https://coursecraft.net/courses/z9PKb/lessons/cnZNF7
Richard Elliott Friedman is the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia and Katzin Professor of Jewish Civilization
Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego, and author of the classic Who Wrote the Bible? (1987). He was a visiting fellow at Cambridge and Oxford,
a senior fellow of the American Schools of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, a visiting professor at the University of Haifa and participated in the City
of David Project archaeological excavations of Jerusalem.
DISCOUNTED TRAVEL TO ISRAEL
Dear Friends,
Despite the trying times we are currently experiencing, we are pleased to report that there have been no major cancellations in travel to Israel. This is certainly encouraging news to all of us. I would like to take this time to share with you some other positive news regarding Israel travel.
The Israel Ministry of Tourism has been working closely with Groupon to craft a special destination package which would make travel to the country more affordable. We are happy to announce that we have solidified such a package that includes: a full tour with accompanying guide, airfare, and 6 night accommodations all for the attractive price of $999. The deal launches today (October 22nd) with packages valid for travel between January-February 2016.
For more information, check out the following link: https://www.groupon.com/deals/ga-gate-1-travel-israel-2.
We encourage you to pass this exciting news along to other in your network in order that many others may utilize this wonderful opportunity to visit Israel.
In addition, IMOT recently launched its new Jewish website, http://www.israel.travel, devoted exclusively to North American Jewry who are contemplating a visit to Israel. The website contains a wealth of information for the first-time as well as seasoned traveler, and features our online advertising efforts that will continue over the coming months. We hope you will inform others about the site so that they can make use of the information it contains for their own travel plans.
The Ministry of Tourism is here to helpfacilitate your travels and make them an enjoyable one. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Sincerely,
Uri Steinberg, Consul
Israel Tourism Commissioner, North America
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
OD AVINU CHAI!
EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m posting this because I love this song. I used to have it as a ring tone on my phone before I lost my phone last January somewhere in the Minneapolis airport. Since I don’t have a smart phone, I wasn’t able to recover the ring tone, and I have not found it since.
April 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of what has become, after “Hatikvah,” the second Jewish national anthem — Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach’s “Am Yisrael Chai.”
Reb Shlomo wrote the tune in response to a request by the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry’s founder Jacob Birnbaum for a marching song for the mass April 1965 “Jericho March” from the Soviet Mission to the United Nations.
In a short time, “Am Yisrael Chai” made its way into the USSR, where young Jews defiantly sang it in front of the few remaining synagogues and in underground groups. The song became the anthem of the entire Soviet Jewry movement, and today is omnipresent within the world Jewish community.
Readers can see and hear Reb Shlomo sing “Am Yisrael Chai” online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmWUyOBmwdU
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 