Welcome to Temple Beth-El! I am delighted that you are interested in our congregation and its activities. As the congregation’s rabbi I look forward to engaging with you about your potential involvement in our community. We love when our building is filled with the many wonderful occasions we enjoy – from ritual observances to life cycle celebrations to social gatherings, and especially when someone expresses an interest in joining our community. You can be part of the great joy of Temple! Now is a great time to become part of the Temple Beth-El family: for your child’s Jewish education; for your own personal fulfillment through community involvement; for finding Jewish friends in the neighborhood – Temple Beth-El can help you reach these goals. Consider yourself warmly invited to join us at one of our many upcoming activities. I hope to continue building the special relationship that I cherish with so many members of the congregation. We hope to hear from you soon. For more information about Temple Beth-El, please call, write or drop on by! Most sincerely- B’shalom,
Rabbi Eric J. Siroka
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HELP TEMPLE RAISE FUNDS BY SHOPPING!!!
Our Scrip program lets you purchase gift cards and gives Temple a percentage of the sales. Some of the best sellers and highest percentage of profit include: Outback, Bonefish, Carrabba's, Panera, Starbucks and Chipotle. Now you can reload gift cards online and also print several gift certificates from your computer. Please consider ordering gift cards from Great Lakes scrip on a regular basis. Go to www.glscrip.com and click on the list of retailers for a complete list. If you are interested in reloading cards for places such as Gap, Starbucks or Speedway contact Lisa Gerber. If you would like e-mail reminders to place an order, send an e-mail to Lisa to indicate this. Thank you for your support of this program.
To celebrate Shavuot last week I joined with friends at a nearby community-wide tikkun leil Shavuot (an all night Torah study) hosted by our congregation, Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn. As in so many communities, it was a lively scene as people gathered together, listened, learned, questioned and challenged each other. This inclusive form of community gathering is a foundation of Reform Judaism and has served as a core element for the Campaign for Youth Engagement. Following the launch of the campaign at the Biennial in 2011, the URJ began reflecting on NFTY, URJ camps, Mitzvah Corps, Israel programs, and [...]
All eyes are on Grapevine, Texas today as the Boy Scouts of America begins the annual meeting of its National Council. Earlier this year the Boy Scouts of America announced that it would postpone a reconsideration of its policy prohibiting gay scouts and scout leaders until the meeting this week (see the letter that Rabbi Saperstein sent to the BSA in response to that decision). Today the 1,400 person National Council, including representatives from across the country, will vote on whether or not to lift this ban and make the organization a more inclusive one. In 2000 the Supreme Court [...]
By Rabbi Leon A. Morris There was a time, more than century and a half ago, when piyutim were seen largely as a kind of cultural burden to be cast aside in order to make the service shorter and more meaningful. Early liturgical reformers argued that the siddur and machzor had grown too lengthy and no longer inspired modern Jews. Piyutim – medieval poetic extensions of the traditional prayers, with allusions incomprehensible to the average congregant – were first on the chopping block. The irony, however, lies in the fact that the piyut was itself a sort of liturgical reform. While [...]
On May 2, Rhode Island’s governor signed a marriage equality bill, making it the tenth state to take this important step. Shortly afterwards, Delaware and Minnesota also passed marriage bills, making this a remarkable spring of advancement towards equality. I composed the following reflection after the last critical step in the long process of advocacy and legislative debate, the hearing held by the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee in March. The prescribed biblical reading for the beginning of Passover includes Exodus 12:42…in describing the end of the 430 years of oppression, the text describes that final night as a “leil [...]
This season of Shavuot, the giving of Torah, is so important. Some key opportunities this month:
Cantor Yvon F. Shore – Simon Foundation Scholar
Intergenerational Shabbaton – May 10/11 2013
The Kurt and Tessye Simon Foundation is pleased to present yet another wonderful intergenerational opportunity for the Temple. On Shabbat, May 10th and 11th, we will host Cantor Yvon Shore, who serves as Director of Liturgical Arts at HUC-JIR in Cincinnati. In addition to participating and co-leading our Shabbat services that week, Cantor Shore will present two engaging learning sessions:
The Musical DNA of Jewish Identity: Expressing Ourselves through Cultural Arts Friday evening, following worship and prior to Shabbat dinner
Wisdom, Wit and Wonder: Storytelling and Superstition from our Sages Saturday afternoon following services and Kiddush lunch
The entire community is invited and encouraged to participate in these programs.
SHAVUOT – Festival evening dinner and study session
Tuesday, May 14 at 5:30 p.m.
It is customary to study Torah and Jewish texts on the eve of Shavuot. Join together with fellow members of Temple as we share a dairy pot-luck dinner and explore traditional teachings surrounding the holiday and the power of Torah. This observance will also culminate this year’s Taste of Text. RSVP to the office by May 10.
CONFIRMATION – Friday eve, May 17 at 5:30 p.m.
The entire Temple family rejoices at this significant milestone being celebrated this year by our wonderful young adults Sam Brockman, Alexa Bruetman, Adam Duke, Ethan Sandock and Molly Schrager. We join as a congregation with their families in congratulating them. Our Shabbat will begin with our confirmation service at 5:30, followed by a pot-luck celebratory meal (“A Taste of Confirmation”), and culminate with the students sharing their lobbying experience from L’taken at the Religious Action Center in Washington D.C. RSVP by May 13.
May this Shavuot season be meaningful and fulfilling!
As the congregation’s rabbi I look forward to engaging with you about your potential involvement in our community. We love when our building is filled with the many wonderful occasions we enjoy – from ritual observances to life cycle celebrations to social gatherings, and especially when someone expresses an interest in joining our community. You can be part of the great joy of Temple! Now is a great time to become part of the Temple Beth-El family: for your child’s Jewish education; for your own personal fulfillment through community involvement; for finding Jewish friends in the neighborhood – Temple Beth-El can help you reach these goals. Consider yourself warmly invited to join us at one of our many upcoming activities. I hope to continue building the special relationship that I cherish with so many members of the congregation. We hope to hear from you soon. For more information about Temple Beth-El, please call, write or drop on by!
