Happy H a N U K K
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Congregation Or Atid Connections Connecting community with spirituality Kislev - Tevet 5780 December 2019 HAPPY H A N U K K A H SHABBAT SERVICES Friday - 7:30 PM Services Saturday - 10:00 AM Services with Torah Study at 9:00 AM Saturday mornings ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COA’s DECEMBER AT A GLANCE Friday, 6th 7:30 PM : Simchah Shabbat services Saturday, 7th 9:00 AM : Tour D’Torah with Rabbi Hal with Shabbat services to follow. After services Mickey and Stan Corn’s Kiddush luncheon in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary Friday, 13th 7:30 PM : Life and Legacy Shabbat Celebration with “Friday Night Live” program Saturday, 14th 9:00 AM : Tour D’Torah with Rabbi Hal 10:00 AM : Student led Shabbat services Wednesday, 17th 5:15 PM: The Great Latke Cook-off Wednesday 18th thru January 6th: SCHOOL WINTER BREAK (resume school January 7th) Saturday, 21st 9:00 AM : NO TORAH STUDY Sunday, 22nd: Erev Hanukkah Tuesday, 24th/Wednesday 25th: Office Closed Saturday, 28th 9:00 AM : Tour D’Torah with Rabbi Hal Monday, 2nd: CYBER MONDAY SHOP AMAZON THROUGH OUR WEBSITE!!! 2 From the Rabbi Cave... In just a few weeks, we will celebrate Hanukkah, which begins on the evening of Kislev 25, corresponding to sundown on Sunday, December 22nd on the civil calendar. We celebrate our festival of lights in a number of ways: telling the story of the Maccabean Revolt against the Greeks, lighting the eight-branched Menorah, singing Ma’oz Tzur, eating latkes (with the preferred sour cream or apple sauce condiment), sufganiyot (jelly donuts), and chocolate gelt, and playing dreidel. And of course, giving presents. Each of these customs has hundreds of years of precedent and symbolic meaning, but the giving of presents is a relatively recent phenomenon, limited only to the American Jewish experience. Is this just a way for American Jews not to feel left out while our Christian co-religionists give and receive gifts for their winter holiday? Why do we give gifts on Hanukkah? The original giving-related custom on Hanukkah was to give gelt, or money. This comes from the Talmud, which stipulates that everyone must light candles for the holiday. A person who cannot afford candles was to be supported by community giving so that they could have the dignity of fulfilling this mitzvah. Another explanation says that Jewish students gave gelt to their teachers in Europe, inspired by the linguistic connection between the word Hanukkah (dedication) and the Hebrew word ḥinnukh (education). Ironically, the celebration of Hanukkah was once in danger of disappearing from American Jewish practice, and many 19th century rabbis lamented this development. Similarly, Christmas was a minor holiday among American Christians, rarely celebrated. However, there was a revival of Christmas in the late 19th century, and it was declared a national holiday around this time. Hanukkah’s popularity among American Jews grew, parallel to the growth of Christmas. American Jews used to exchange gifts on Purim, but in the late 19th century, this shifted from Purim to Hanukkah. Because Hanukkah is a holiday with no restrictions on work, Jews began to celebrate with pageants, song-fests, big parties, and gift-giving. By the mid to late-20th century, one could find Menorahs of various designs and sizes, Hanukkah decorations, greeting cards, wrapping paper, and music. In the post-war generation, Jewish child psychologists and rabbis encouraged the giving of gifts as a way to make Jewish kids happy to be Jewish, rather than sad about missing out on Christmas. Despite the extreme minority of Jews in America, Hanukkah and Christmas became linked as the “holiday season.” There is an irony to this because the story of Hanukkah is about maintaining distinctly Jewish practices instead of assimilating into Hellenistic (cosmopolitan Greek) culture. So, should we make a big deal of Hanukkah? Yes, but only if we make a big deal of out the other Jewish holidays as well. Light up your homes with multiple Menorahs. Eat fried foods. Put up lots of decorations. Fulfill the mitzvah of publicizing the miracle. Give gifts to celebrate our religious freedom in a spirit of identity-preserving acculturation. But also celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Shavuot, Pesach, and Purim with equal gusto and festivity. Remember, we have 10 holidays, Christians only have 2, and Santa Claus is for the kids who don’t get to celebrate Hanukkah! While you are giving gifts this year, keep in mind that over 2,000 years ago in the land of Israel, a small group of Jews believed that it was more important to stay true to their identities than assimilate into the greater culture. 3 Information & Upcoming Events Saturday, January 25th Student Led Shabbat Services at 10:00 AM, Kiddush Lunch-and-Learn at 12:15 PM. We will enjoy food together with Rabbi Hal; topic and more details to be announced in upcoming emails, so stay tuned….. SHOP AMAZON ON CYBER MONDAY THROUGH OUR From the Rabbi Cave... - Page 2 WEBSITE! Information-Upcoming Events - Page 3 Life & Legacy Information - Page 4 Burial Informational Presentation - Page 4 Book Club - Page 5 Israel Mission Trip Info - Page 5 The vision of this congregation shall be to establish and maintain an institution Shul Cloud Update - Page 5 that creates an all-embracing Religious School News - Page 6 & 7 egalitarian participatory Conservative Celebrations - Page 8 synagogue that serves as a Jewish Donations and Sponsors - Page 8 & 9 spiritual, cultural, and educational Donation Form - Page 9 center for children, adults and families. Mitzvah Corps - Page 10 The synagogue will foster Jewish Shepherd’s Way Information - Page 10 Identity and values, promote the observance of Jewish traditions and Care Committee Info - Page 10 enhance the spiritual growth of our Yahrzeits - Page 11 members; to create a comfortable Candle Lighting Times - Page 11 social environment for our members; to Life Cycle Recognitions - Page 11 involve the congregation in issues of Ongoing Ways To Support - Page 12 Jewish concern and interest. 804 740-4747 Education Coordinator President Website: oratid.org Alison Litvin Lynn Landesman Office Hours: [email protected] Vice Presidents Tuesday - Friday: 9:00 - 4:00 Administrative Assistant Jeff Scharf Jacqui Shepperson Missy Bunce Rabbi [email protected] Sherrie Wiener Rabbi Hal Schevitz [email protected] Synagogue Administrator Treasurer: Tom McClish and Wanda Schweiger David Jaffe Rabbi’s Office Hours: [email protected] Secretary: Sandy Mayer Tuesday: 2:00 - 4:00 PM Advisor: Rick Wiener Thursday: 9:30 - 11:30 AM Gabbi: Fran Todras Life and Legacy Celebration 4 On Saturday, November 17th, the Life & Legacy team held a Havdalah service dinner and movie night at the Congregation. More than 20 Life & Legacy donors enjoyed pizza, salad, garlic bread and assorted drinks and then watched the “The Little Traitor,” a moving and sensitive movie about a friendship between an 11-year old Israeli boy and a British sergeant during the last days of the British occupation of Palestine in 1947-48. Thanks to Sandy Mayer of the Life & Legacy team for organizing this program and to Sandy and Fran Todras for preparing the delicious meal. Thanks also to Jeff Scharf, Tom McClish and Art Todras of the Life & Legacy team for providing the technical support and setup that made the movie showing possible. On Friday, December 13th, the Life & Legacy team will hold a Life & Legacy Shabbat service to again honor the donors. The Klez’m’or’a’mim, Richmond’s longest running Klezmer band, of which I am proud to be a member, will perform the highly acclaimed “Friday Night Live” program created by contemporary Jewish composer Craig Taubman. Originally performed by Taubman and his ensemble at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles and then released as an album in 1999, Friday Night Live sets the prayers and psalms of Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv to contemporary melodies and arrangements and explores new ways of engaging spirituality with community. We welcome everyone to attend this Shabbat service, which promises to be lively, spirited, and just plain fun. For those of you who are new to Congregation Or Atid, Life & Legacy is a community-wide project to encourage members of Jewish organizations to designate a portion of their legacy, such as a retirement fund, life insurance benefit, will bequest, or charitable gift annuity to the organization of their choice. With the support of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the Richmond Jewish Foundation, our congregation has received 49 Life & Legacy commitments. In this, the fourth and final official year of the Life & Legacy start-up campaign, we are looking for additional commitments from more members and to continue growing our Legacy in the years to come. In the coming months, we will be reaching out to potential new donors like you to consider helping us secure our future as a congregational and spiritual community. Financial giving is not always easy. It often competes with a family’s obligation to meet living expenses and save for education and retirement. Giving to Life & Legacy, however, is relatively easy because it involves a contribution from after life savings—as much or as little as desired. So, if I may twist the words of President Kennedy, we do Life & Legacy, not because it is hard but because it is easy. For more information on Life & Legacy, please email [email protected]. Art Todras Sunday, December 8th 2:00 PM: All are invited to “What happens when we die” A concise presentation on the cost of a burial, the advantages of prearrangements. The total process and current cost will be clearly presented for those who currently own sites and those who may want more information concerning future purchases.