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February 2012 Newsletter Part 2

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February 2012 Newsletter Part 2 The Shalom OSEH SHALOM’S CONGREGATIONAL NEWSLETTER VOLUME 45, NO. 6 OCTOBER 2007 / 5772 Rabbi’s Message I N S I D E THIS ISSUE: Dear Hevre, Rabbi’s 1-2 Message I hope the year 2012 is off to a great start for you. President’s 1-3 Report The classical Jewish book the Zohar asserts that God created the universe only after gazing deeply into the Torah for guidance. Even God—the ultimate creator—needed a blueprint to Religious 5 guide the actions of creation. School Social Action, 6-8 So, too, at Oseh Shalom we need to recall and stay focused upon our plans and ideal visions Caring & so we can best nurture them to reality. You may remember that, a couple of years ago we Support created a Vision Statement, together with a series of Vision Forums for the community. In reviewing the final document I noticed one point that I especially want to revisit and address Sisterhood 9 with members of the community. Specifically, Objective #5 declared the key goal: Men’s Club 10- “To serve as a vibrant regional center for Jewish learning and culture.” 11 Oneg Honors 12 I’m currently working with members of the synagogue to focus on this objective. I believe that one current priority is to maximally strengthen our relationship to families who don’t any longer have children in our Religious School, and engage them intellectually, spiritually, and 13 socially. We will likely announce a few town-hall meetings soon to explore this topic and to ask some important related questions. 15 For example: are you aware of the many educational and cultural events for adults at Oseh Calendar 18- Shalom these days? A current partial list of activities includes: 19 • Lecture by renowned theologian Art Green on February 12th • Talk by neuroscientist Roland Griffiths on February 21st • Top Chef Oseh evening of wine, food and music on March 31st • Tu Bishvat seder on February 11th after Shabbat morning services • Upcoming Saturday evening film series • Judaism: the Pathway of Awareness, 6 session class in Feb. & March • Ongoing classes in Jewish Mysticism • Current Melton class on Ideas of God in Judaism • Recent trip to the National Museum of American Jewish History • Roots, Rocks & Writings Israel tour last December • Friday evening talks on “Have I Practiced Being Jewish Today?” • Torah study on most winter Shabbat mornings P A G E 2 Rabbi’s Message (continued) (Continued from page 1) If we haven’t communicated to you effectively to learn about these events and others, what sort of communication would help you? Would you need: • Announcements sent by mail • Reminders on Facebook • Phone calls • Some other means of communication What other sorts of activities would you find inviting and engaging? Some ideas might include: • An educational/support group for adults caring for aging parents • A class on Jewish issues in grandparenting • Weekday lunches, discussions or lectures • Art & drama groups • Other activities? Please let me know any thoughts or suggestions you might have about these questions. I’m confident that, by working together, we will find many ways to make our community even more satisfying and wonderful. Just as God’s act of planning helped bring creation to life, so too a bit of planning and consultation within Oseh Shalom will help our community to live most fully. I look forward to seeing you sometime soon at Oseh Shalom. B’vracha, Rabbi Doug Heifetz President’s Report As I began reading about Tu B’shvat in order to prepare this month’s newsletter address I came across numerous interesting concepts and ideas. Apparently Tu b’Shvat started as a farmers holiday. According to the Torah, it is forbidden to eat the fruit of a tree during the first three years of a tree’s life. With this in mind, a “birthday” for trees was established on the 15th day of the month of Shvat as a way to mark each of the passing years. The Kabbalists created a spiritual context within which to celebrate the THE SHALOM VOLUME 45, NO. 6 P A G E 3 President’s Report (cont.) holiday. According to Lurianic Kabbalah, all beings are imbued with a divine spark. This internal spark is conceived of as similar to the actual seeds of new life and potential growth that lie within some varieties of fruits and nuts. From a Jewish mystical standpoint, human actions can release these sparks and augment G-d's presence in the world, resulting in both personal and communal spiritual growth. So on Tu b’Shvat, the Kabbalists would eat certain fruits associated with the Land of Israel as a symbolic way of releasing these divine sparks. To practice being Jewish we are required to act, both concretely and symbolically. “Jewish” actions should improve our connection to G-d and to our tradition, but should also work towards releasing the “divine sparks” in order to heal and improve the world. So it is worth a pause at this time in the Jewish calendar to ask yourself: “What would I be doing differently—more or less of— if what I did was going to liberate the divine spark that resides within me and others?” “To practice being In recognition of Tu b’Shvat, there are plenty of ways to begin repairing the Jewish we are world, here at Oseh Shalom. During the months of January and February, Oseh required to act, both Shalom hosts Women’s and Men’s Winterhaven. Thank you to the volunteers concretely and who helped with Women’s Winterhaven in January, and please consider symbolically.“ volunteering for Men’s Winterhaven in February. Additionally we would like to remind you to attend services. Rabbi Heifitz will continue exploring how we practice being Jewish with his Friday night Derashot series. On February 10 he will discuss Community and Individuality; and on February 17 he will discuss Tzedakah, Money and Compassion. The Sisterhood will sponsor the Tu b’Shvat seder on February 11, where you will have the opportunity to perform the mitzvah of savoring some of the aforementioned fruits and nuts. The Men’s Club will host their annual Super Bowl party on February 5. P A G E 4 “Have I Practiced Being Jewish Today?” Rabbi Heifetz will present a series of drashot (talks) on Oseh Shalom’s chosen theme for the year, “Have I Practiced Being Jewish Today?” Each talk will occur as part of the regular 8 PM Erev Shab- bat service on Friday evenings. The drashot are scheduled as follows: October 21th: The Ethics of Speech November 11th: Welcoming Children November 25th : Bioethics, Genetic Engineering & Physical Enhancement February 10th: Community & Individuality February 17th: Tzedakah, Money & Compassion March 9th: Economic Justice March 30th: Sexual Ethics May 18th: Everyday Spirituality June 9th: Food & Jewish Dietary Practice June 23rd: The Journey of Mourning Please note that each one of these talks will draw upon a volume of the series, A Guide to Jewish Practice, edited by Dr. David Teutsch and published by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) Press. They’re recommended reading as you attend the talks. Six of these individual book- lets were recently collected into one newly published collection, entitled “A Guide to Jewish Prac- tice: Everyday Living.” The individual booklets, and the new compilation, are all available for pur- chase the RRC Press (tel. #215-576-0800 ext. 129, or online at http://www.rrc.edu/ethics-center/ publications/publications). Baruch Dayan he’Emet The congregation sends its deepest sympathy and condolences to Vaughn Winchell and the entire Winchell family on the recent death of Nancy Winchell, z''l, mother of Vaughn Winchell. The congregation sends its deepest sympathy and condolences to Stan Brodsky and the entire Brodsky family on the recent death of Laura Brodsky, z''l, stepmother of Stan Brodsky. The congregation sends its deepest sympathy and condolences to Lisa and Ron Alper and the entire Alper family on the recent death of Selma Wasserman, z''l, loving mother of Robert (Scarlett) Wasserman and Lisa (Ron) Alper, dear sister of Norman (Margo) Greenstein and the late Nathan Greenstein, cherished grandmother of Matthew, Danielle, Michael, and Marissa. The congregation sends its deepest sympathy and condolences to Emily Blank and the entire Blank family on the recent death of Annette Blank z''l, mother of Emily Blank. THE SHALOM VOLUME 45, NO. 6 P A G E 5 Religious School 101 First of all, I’d like to thank all the smart and appreciated move. volunteers we’ve had this past month: Judy Arnoff, Rose One of my primary responsibilities Fishman, Jacqueline Gentile, is to coordinate facility usage and I Molly Hullinger, Karen Israel, Doris want to do the best job possible. Kirschbaum, Pauline Pivowar, and So, please help us all to be the Linda Schoolnick. I can’t tell you best operation possible. Check the enough how much help they’ve calendar, call me with questions, been. including whether after normal hours the building is open. It can We have had a lot of activity in the be open, but we have to recruit a building this year with a lot more to volunteer, who is available to open come, which has me thinking I and close the building, or our should talk about the Oseh maintenance person, which is an Shalom community calendar. It additional expenditure. won’t surprise you to know that the calendar is only as good as what That concludes my soapbox for this we, well, input into it. The calendar issue. On a lighter note, particularly evolves and often changes. The for those of you who attended the calendar meeting is held every December Lunch and Learn where year in May, and six months later I spoke about “Jews in Science leadership may have rescheduled Fiction, Fantasy, and the Comics,” I a key program or meetings.
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