What is Aitz Chaim’s Minhag?
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As we prepare to enter the year 5772 and schedule our services for the year, I think it a good idea for our community to continue to discuss our rituals and traditions.
We have a ritual committee. Unfortunately, that committee has not had a meeting since 2005. In the coming weeks, I am going to put together a document outlining our minhag. In the meantime, please find after the “more” link copies of the minutes from our 2005 Ritual Committee meetings. Please read and give us your comments!
The Jewish Dog by Elliott Magalnick
Morty visits Dr. Saul, the veterinarian, and says, “My dog has a problem.”
Dr. Saul says, “So, tell me about the dog and the problem.”
“It’s a Jewish dog. His name is Seth and he can talk,” says Morty.
“He can talk?” the doubting doctor asks.
“Watch this!” Morty points to the dog and commands: ” Seth, Fetch!”
Seth the dog, begins to walk toward the door, then turns around and says, “So why are you talking to me like that? You always order me around like I’m nothing. And you only call me when you want something. And then you make me sleep on the floor, with my arthritis. You give me this fahkahkta food with all the salt and fat, and you tell me it’s a special diet. It tastes like dreck! YOU should eat it yourself! And do you ever take me for a decent walk? NO, it’s out of the house, a short pish, and right back home. Maybe if I could stretch out a little, the sciatica wouldn’t kill me so much! I should roll over and play dead for real for all you care!”
Dr. Saul is amazed, “This is remarkable! So, what’s the problem?”
Morty says, “He has a hearing problem! I said ‘Fetch,’ not ‘Kvetch.”
GREAT Video on Creating Welcoming Synagogue Websites
This is a GREAT video — how are we doing here? What could we do better? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Is There Life After Death? Follow up reading material from Elliott’s discussion topic.
Here is a link to the complete article that Elliott distributed tonight:
http://www.momentmag.com/moment/issues/2011/08/LifeDeath.html
One of the contributers is Dara Horn who wrote a book called The World to Come which I recommend highly:
http://www.darahorn.com/worldtocome.htm
It touches on some of the themes we talked about tonight and many others.
If you’ve read it (or after you read it now that I’ve recommended it)…BUT not before!…take a look at her comments about the “deliberately ambiguous” ending here:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=276468180611
-Laura
BRUCE BRESLAUER NAMED REGIONAL MANAGER OF BLIND/LOW VISION SERVICES GREAT FALLS
It is my pleasure to announce that, as of July 14, 2011, Bruce Breslauer has been named the regional manager for BLIND/LOW VISION SERVICES In Great Falls. Bruce has worked for BLVS for five years as an Orientation and Mobility specialist, which he will continue to do. During the last eleven months he has been acting regional manager.
How To Get the July Issue
Our experiment here, moving our former magazine-style newsletter to these “pages” is becoming a success. How do we know this?
Since last week, when we began posting articles for the July “issue”, readership on these pages has spiked with over 150 page views in the past two weeks. Our experience over the last several months is that readership “spikes” after we post articles here. In weeks we do not post articles, readership goes down.
We have made another recent change. As you may have noticed, the “address” for these pages is now simply “aitzchaim.com”. We hope that you will find that this simplification will make it easier for you to find us online!
You may have also noticed the “category tags” that we apply to articles. These “tags” are a great way of narrowing down information. For instance, if you want to just read the articles that we consider to be part of the “July Issue,” just click on the “July, 2011” category tag and you will just get those articles. You can also get a customized listing of any other category.
We look forward to seeing you over the coming weekend. It looks like we will have some very interesting discussions!
G-d’s Air Traffic Controller by Hazzan Elliott Magalnick
I have decided to pick the topic of the/a Jewish view(s) of Life After Death. I have three sources, one is the current issue of MOMENT magazine, and the other two are books:Does The SOUL SURVIVE? by Rabbi Elie Spitz and the Death OF Death by Rabbi Neil Gillman. I am going to introduce several topics and viewpoints and some anecdotal data since we are unable to come up with personal interviews of the dearly departed. I put this title on this letter because I want to narrate a talk that Rabbi Spitz had with a woman who was on her deathbed and unable to let go. This woman’s name was Gertie. This following soliloquy is from Marielle Fuller and Rabbi Spitz:
“Know Gertie, that you need not fear death. You will leave your body gently, surrounded by GOD’S caring light. With your permission, let me lead you in a guided imagery that will ease your way. See yourself walking on a path. Alongside the path is a river with fresh flowing water that comes down from a tall waterfall. At a certain point some of the water of the stream gathers to form a pool. a kind of mikvah. Read the rest of this entry
THE THREE WEEKS
Posted in The July Ram’s Horn with permission from Rabbi Chaim rabbi@jewishmontana.com
The Three Weeks
The Three Weeks is an annual mourning period that falls out in the summer. This is when we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple and our launch into a still-ongoing Exile.
The period begins on the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, a fast day that marks the day when the walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans in 69 CE. It reaches its climax and concludes with the fast of the 9th of Av, the date when both Holy Temples were set aflame. This is the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, and it is also the date of other tragedies, spanning our nation’s history.
Article on the Challenges of Rural Judaism featuring Butte’s B’nai Israel
The most recent edition of the Forward contains a fascinating article on the challenges faced by small, rural Jewish communities. The article features an interview with Janet Cornish of Butte, Montana.
As the article notes, smaller rural communities like Aitz Chaim and B’nai Israel are facing extreme demographic changes that are reducing our sizes. Keeping yiddishkeit alive in the face of these demographic pressures remains a challenge.
Aitz Chaim will be holding Jewish services this coming Friday evening, July 22, 7:30 p.m. at the Bethel, 1009 18th Ave SW. We will also be holding torah study at 10 a.m. and an adult discussion and milchig (dairy) potluck at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday morning, July 23.
Please join us as we attempt to fly in the face of these demographic pressures and continue to offer yiddishkeit to Northcentral Montana!
JOKE
Chaim Yankel was walking down the street when a security guard came up to him and said, “Why is there a penguin following you?”
Chaim Yankel said, “I don’t know, he just followed me.”
The security guard replied, “You take that penguin to the zoo right now.” And Chaim Yankel complied.
A couple of hours later, Chaim Yankel came out of the zoo with the penguin still following him.
The security guard said, “I thought I told you to take that penguin to the zoo.”
Chaim Yankel replied, “I did, but he enjoyed himself so much that now I’m taking him to the library.”
The Aitz Chaim Ram's Horn 