August 27, 2010 – 17 Elul 5770
Shabbat Shalom!
This week’s parsha is Ki Tavo, which contains a list of blessings that God will bestow on the people if they follow his commandments, and a rather harsh list of curses that will be their fate if they do not. One of the blessings, “you shall be blessed when you come, and you shall be blessed when you depart” (בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה בְּבֹאֶךָ וּבָרוּךְ אַתָּה בְּצֵאתֶךָ) (Deut. 28:6) is a very common Hebrew phrase to see engraved on doors and walls of synagogues.
While this passage is very appropriate for the purpose of welcoming people to synagogue, its original meaning, in context, is clearly to indicate that the Jewish people will receive God’s blessing in all situations (coming and going) if we follow God’s laws, not that we will be blessed only when we come to synagogue. Why then, is it important to come? Because it is in synagogue that we study God’s laws, so that we might be deserving of earning these blessings at all times in our lives.
We will have many opportunities to come to synagogue in the coming weeks as we approach the Days of Awe (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) and Sukkot. Religious school is opening, bringing some of us to synagogue even more often. This message is full of new family educational opportunities organized by our Educator-in-Residence, Rabbi Mitch Levine, that we hope you will consider attending. On all these occasions, we hope you feel blessed to come to Agudas Achim, and blessed as you leave with new knowledge or spiritual strength. But most importantly, we hope that the time you will spend with us over the coming weeks will help you lead lives full of blessing, blessings that extend into your homes, your businesses, and anywhere else you “come and go.”
Come study with us this Shabbat, and we look forward to seeing you often during the holidays.
Candlelighting tonight is at 7:54 p.m. Mincha begins at 6:00 p.m. in the Irving E. Schottenstein Chapel, followed by Kabbalat Shabbat.
Shabbat morning services begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Schottenstein chapel.
We are grateful to all our talented and committed congregants who honor us by reading Torah each week. This week’s Torah reader is Ed Frankel. The haftarah will be chanted by Adena Tanenbaum. If you would like to help read Torah, or learn to read Torah, please contact Leah Weintraub at lbw001@columbus.rr.com
Mincha will begin at 6:30 p.m., also in the Schottenstein Chapel, followed by Seudah Shlishit. Havdalah is at 8:53 p.m.
Babysitting on Saturday morning begins at 10:00 a.m. in Room 210. Jr. Congregation also begins at 10:00 a.m. in the library.
Minyan Schedule
Services on Sunday are at 9:00 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. Monday through Friday morning services are at 7:00 a.m. Monday through Thursday evening services are at 5:45 p.m. Please join us. Your help is needed!
Help Jewish Family Services Assemble Food Bags
This Sunday, August 29, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Jewish Family Services (JFS) will be “bagging” kosher holiday food items that will be picked up and delivered to needy individuals and families in the Columbus community. Agudas Achim is providing space for JFS to assemble the bags. If individuals or families with children are looking for a community project, please call Susie Blair at JFS, 559-0184 or email sblair@jfscolumbus.org or Bobbie Shkolnik at Agudas Achim, 237-2747, ext. 11, bshkolnik@agudasachim.org. There will also be a table for young children to make Jewish New Year cards to be put in the bags.
Agudas Achim Choir
Agudas Achim’s new choir will begin rehearsing this Sunday, August 29th at 7 p.m. We will be preparing simple melodies to lead the congregation in a Kabbalat Shabbat service sometime after the holy days. We will keep you posted on the date! All Agudas Achim members are welcome to join the choir. It’s fun and you don’t have to have a voice like Barbra Streisand! Call Cindy Leland at 614-598-4674 or email TZIVA06@gmail.com (TZIVA06@gmail.com) with questions or thoughts.
Reminder To All New Members
Rabbi Crespy is hosting a “New Member” get-together at her home, 2764 Dale Avenue this Monday, August 30th at 7 p.m. This will be a time to mingle, enjoy some refreshments and learn about what is happening at Agudas Achim. Please RSVP to Bobbie Shkolnik, 237-2747, ext. 11 or email bshkolnik@agudasachim.org (bshkolnik@agudasachim.org) by noon on Monday, August 30th.
Agudas Achim Academy Planning for Fall
Registration for the 2010-2011 school year is now open. The first day of school is Tuesday, August 31! Please contact Naomi Kurland for more details.
If you know any children or grandchildren in our congregation who are not receiving a Jewish education, or unaffiliated families who are looking to educate their children, please have them contact Naomi right away at 237-2747, ext. 17. We have a place for everyone in the Academy! It is our obligation as a congregation to teach our children the laws and rituals of our people. Help us reach out to all who can benefit from the Agudas Achim Academy.
Agudas Achim Welcomes Malachi!
Congregation Agudas Achim is thrilled to welcome one of its own, Malachi Kanfer, who will serve as Cantor for the synagogue’s High Holiday Services.
“Last summer, Malachi gave a recital in our chapel and those who attended walked away astounded by the strength and magnificence of his voice,” said Agudas Achim President Eric Fingerhut. “We look forward to Malachi carrying us through the beautiful melodies of the High Holiday services, promising all a ‘sweet’ beginning to the New Year.”
Click here to see Malachi’s YouTube performance to get a taste of what’s in store for you at services this year.
Be sure to join with family members and friends for a special 45-minute performance by Malachi on Saturday, September 4th, beginning at 9 p.m. Malachi has selected songs for all to enjoy! Selichot Services will follow, beginning at 10:30 p.m.
Take an Intellectual Break!
On both days of Rosh Hashanah, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., meet with Rabbi Mitch Levine, Agudas Achim’s Educator-in-Residence, in the Stein Library for a discussion on “Why We Should Not Attend Services” (to be followed by joining the congregation for services). Rabbi Levine and participants will take a look at an ancient synagogue inscription and a variety of Talmudic texts, in an effort to understand how text study could trump prayer as a pathway in Jewish spirituality. Original texts with English translations. No background necessary; critical thinking skills a plus!
The Family Education Program
sponsored by Congregation Agudas Achim Academy
invites the community (all ages!) to join together for a
Free “Days of Creation” Program
Sunday, September 12, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center
505 West Whittier Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215
There will be a Scavenger Hunt at 9:45 a.m.!
Following the program, we will meet back at Agudas Achim for creation-related snacks and a craft.
RSVPs greatly appreciated by September 7! For more information or to register, call Naomi Kurland, 237-2747, ext. 17 or e-mail: nkurland@agudasachim.org (nkurland@agudasachim.org)
Transportation not provided. We will meet at the Audubon Center at 9:20 a.m.
Book Club
The next meeting is Tuesday, September 21st at 1 p.m. The book is “A Seat at the Table” by Joshua Halberstam. For more information or to join the Agudas Achim Book Club, please call Helena Schlam at (614) 267-9516.
Mark Your Calendars for two fun events to be held on Sukkot!
The fun begins with our “Sukkah Hop,” starting at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 23rd. We will go from sukkah to sukkah, enjoying treats and visiting with synagogue friends in their beautiful sukkahs: Leah Weintraub & Greg Adams, Alexandra Schimmer & Adam Davis, Amy & Eric Fingerhut, Katie & Brett Kaufman, Joyce & Steven Keller and Robin Judd & Ken Steinman. Watch for directions in the next Shabbat Shalom!
Join us for our traditional Sukkot dinner in our Sukkah, Friday, September 24th, following the 6:00 p.m. service in the Schottenstein chapel. Bring your family members and friends for a delicious meal prepared by Catering by Scott. Cost is $12.50/adult and $7.50/children (12 & under). Reservations must be in no later than September 20th. Please mail your check, payable to “Agudas Achim,” to 2767 E. Broad St., or call Jennifer at 237-2747 with your credit card number.
Simchas this Week
Happy Birthday to children and teens celebrating their big day: Brittany Sifuentes, Samuel Garvin & Josh Barkan.
Happy Birthday to adults celebrating their big day: Gary Lichtenstein, Blyuma Babitskaya, Donald Ruben, Vadim Landa, Mitchell Schwartz, Barbara Sanderow & Susan Zelman.
Happy Anniversary to: Herb & Marilyn Minkin and Herb & Janice Wolman.
Yahrzeits This Week
This week we mark the following yahrzeits and remember: Slava Slobodkina, Rose Ruben, Saul Ruben, Richard Goldstein, Nathan Rothstein, Anne Berlin, Leonard Dworkin, Rachel Goldis, Yakov Katon, Sylvia Mellman, Evelyn Solomon, David Mellman, Stanley Hohenstein, Sol Shenk, Esther Rachel Shulman, Morris N. Cohen, Iz Harris and Alma Schwartz.
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Message from Rabbi Crespy – October/November
“Mourning vs. Celebration”
I write these words soon after hearing of my sweet cousin Sandee Kline’s death. She died of a very severe strain of leukemia which she has been battling courageously for 9 months.
Sandee died in the midst of the festival of Sukkot. Sukkot is one of Judaism’s major holidays because, along with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret, Pesah and Shavuot , it is a festival which comes to us straight from the Torah. (Surprisingly enough, Hanukkah, TuBishevat, and Purim are considered minor holidays in Judaism, because they are not found in the Torah.)
In any case, when a death occurs on a major Jewish festival, we have two sets of values which pull at us. On the one hand, we have the responsibilities to the deceased and his or her relatives – which include a proper burial, a formal mourning period, and comforting the mourners. On the other hand, we have the commandment to observe and celebrate the festival. Often these two sets of values are in conflict with each other.
According to halakhah, Jewish law, a person cannot be buried or mourned publically on a Major Festival day itself (and obviously not on Shabbat). In the Diaspora, this means on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the first two days of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simhat Torah, the first two and last two days of Pesah, and the two days of Shavuot, a Jewish person may not be buried, nor should funeral arrangements be made for them. In general, we only sit shiva (the seven day mourning period) after these holidays occur. Our sages of the past understood that there cannot be outward mourning while the rest of the community is celebrating a holiday which comes from the Torah.
It is a sticky situation when someone dies during the intermediate days of Sukkot or Pesah. Those are days during which work can occur, and so a Jewish person can and should be buried on those days, as soon as possible. Yet, the holiday still occurs – we still use the lulav, etrog and sukkah on Sukkot, and we still eat matzah and abstain from hametz (leavened foods made from five grains named in the Torah) on Pesah. And there is great joy celebrated on those intermediate days of those holidays. And so, while a person may and should be buried on those days, we don’t observe any public signs of mourning on them, and the period of sitting shiva officially begins after the completion of the whole holiday, which may be five or six days later.
It is a decidedly difficult time for mourners when this occurs, and privately, most of the time, they will spend time mourning. But our tradition, throughout hundreds and hundreds of years, has decided that the public celebration of our beautiful festivals overrides an individual’s need to mourn publicly.
I pray that none of us should have to experience the pain and discomfort of losing someone dear to us during a holiday. But, should it happen, we will know what to do.