"Chanukah" Party or "Hanukkah" Party? Either Way, It's Happening! (Sun, Dec 17)

It's Time to Celebrate

Hanukkah!

Sun, Dec 17

5:00–7:00 p.m.

Stop by Beth Shalom this Sunday from 5:00–7:00 p.m. to celebrate Hanukkah!


Please see the recent SignUpGenius email from Mindy and sign up to bring desserts or latkes.

(We can definitely use some more latkes, so don't be shy. Shine your light this Hanukkah! How yummy are your latkes?)

If you'd like, bring your menorah—and a few candles—so we can all light together!

Dreidels, chocolate gelt, live music (thank you to our resident songsters!), and some excellent company. Join us for a wild and crazy night of Hanukkah festivities.

See you there!

Auburn University Holiday Lighting Ceremony (Sun, Dec 3)

A blast from the not-long past:
The 2014 lighting ceremony

Auburn University will have its annual holiday lighting ceremony on Samford Lawn at 5:00 on Sun, Dec 3.

The ceremony includes lighting the menorah (chanukiah). A little birdie said early arrivals might be able to get a cup of hot cocoa. We hope she's right!

Join us for a community lighting of the Auburn University chanukiah. More information is available on the Student Government Association's holiday lighting page.

Being Jewish, Coaching Basketball, & Anti-Semitism (Wed, Oct 25)

The Beth Shalom Cultural Arts Series* presents

Being Jewish, Coaching Basketball, & Anti-Semitism:

an Evening with Coach Bruce Pearl

We all know about Coach Pearl's coaching credentials, but he has also made a name for himself as a former Maccabi USA coach and as a founding member and president of the Jewish Coaches Association.

Coach Pearl will speak about "being Jewish, coaching basketball, and anti-Semitism."



We will have wine and hors d'oeuvres.

When: Wed, Oct 25, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Congregation Beth Shalom

Invite your friends!

*Congregation Beth Shalom is offering a cultural series to provide our community the opportunity to hear from leading figures and outstanding scholars on issues of religion and contemporary society from a Jewish perspective through lectures and films.

ISJL Fellow Leading Services (beginning Fri, Oct 20)

Our ISJL Fellow, Harrison Bleiberg, will be in town this weekend from Friday through Sunday.

Harrison will begin by leading services starting with Tot Shabbat at 6:00 on Friday, Oct 20. Regular services will begin at 7:00. We hope you will join us.

Don't forget about our other events this weekend, too: Torah study on Saturday and, for our families with younger children, religious school on Sunday. Harrison has two programs for the kids: one for the younger kids, and one for the older kids.

Tot Shabbat with the ISJL Fellows (Fri, Aug 18)

Tot Shabbat!

When: Fri, August 18th, at 5:30 p.m.

(before regular services)

Who is leading: Our ISJL Fellows 

Meet the Fellows:

Harrison Bleiberg grew up in Mountain Brook, Alabama and recently graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in Jewish Studies and a minor in Mediterranean Archaeology. During his time at Emory University, Harrison was recognized for planning award winning service and educational programs serving the local community. Harrison has previously worked at Temple Emanuel in Birmingham, The Atlanta Jewish Academy, JScreen, and URJ Greene Family Camp where he spent over ten summers as a child. Harrison fell in love with youth leadership and Jewish education after working at Greene Family Camp and engaging with younger Boy Scouts as an Eagle Scout. As a lifelong Southerner and traveler, Harrison is excited to visit communities all across the South, and make new connections in the world of Jewish education!

Gabi Cohn grew up in Fairfax, Virginia. She earned her Bachelors' Degrees in Psychology from Columbia University's School of General Studies and Modern Jewish Studies from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America's List College. During her time in New York, Gabi helped to create an Annual NYC-Wide Progressive College Student Shabbaton to bring together Jewish students from across universities to learn and pray together at HUC-JIR. She also worked to create JQ, a Jewish LGBTQA club through Columbia's Hillel. Off campus, Gabi taught Sing and Sign Mommy and Me classes around the city. She also worked as a development intern at VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired as part of a Fellowship in Jewish Social Entrepreneurship at JTS. Gabi spent ten years working at her synagogue's day camp as a counselor for kindergarteners and later program coordinator for preschool and kindergarten and supervisor of the extended day program. Gabi is excited to continue to serve as an Education Fellow and work with a wide variety of Southern Jewish communities.

Religious School Orientation and Blood Drive (Sun, Aug 13)

Religious School Orientation

Our parent orientation meeting will be 10 a.m. at Beth Shalom. We
welcome your involvement and suggestions and look forward to seeing all of you!

Please bring the registration form Mindy sent.

Blood Drive

Our blood drive will be 12 p.m. to about 2 p.m. Please come donate blood!

Life Cycle Service (Sat, May 13)

We are so pleased to have a significant life cycle service with Rabbi Jeremy Simons.

Annual Meeting, Special Service, and Awesome Oneg (Fri, May 5)

Join us for a special Shabbat: Welcome the new board, celebrate our graduates, and enjoy goodies.

• Attend a short Annual Meeting (before service)
• Meet the new Beth Shalom board!
• Show the incoming presidents your support!
• Welcome Shabbat!
• Ice cream bar & goodies baked by Shira’s mom!

Shabbat of Strength and Unity (Fri, Apr 21)

Guitar strings, Роман Карчмитович.  CC-BY-NC 2.0.

Join our local musicians to welcome Shabbat together.

Bring Children
Bring Friends
Show up

"Come in," she said.

"I'll give ya shelter from the storm."

-Bob Dylan 

Community Seder with Rabbi Dreffin (Wed, Apr 12)

Red Barn on Donahue just past Samford.
Map at the bottom of the page.

Third night Seder at the Red Barn?!

Beth Shalom's community Passover Seder will be held on the third night of Passover—Wednesday, April 12—at the Red Barn on AU's campus.

This Seder will be part of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL) Passover Pilgrimage.

Don't miss it!

Logistics

Time: 5:30 p.m.
Leader: Rabbi Matt Dreffin of the ISJL.
Parking: Available on site.
Food drop-offs: Let Paula know if you are dropping off food.
       You can drop it off from 12:00 p.m. onward.
RSVP by Friday, April 7, if you plan to attend.

Cost of attendance

$25/person for non-members
$15/person for members (capped at $30 for member families)
$5/person for children ages 5-12/13
no charge for children under 5 years of age

Payment

Checks covering the cost of attending can be given to our treasurer, Scott, on the day of the Seder or mailed to the synagogue's PO Box:
Congregation Beth Shalom P.O. Box 1888 Auburn, AL 36831

Or bring up the map to the Red Barn in Google Maps.

Purim Shabbat and Music! (Fri, Mar 10)

Esther by W. L. Taylor, 1915 (public domain)
Photograph of art by "in pastel"; some rights reserved.

It’s PURIM! 

It’s Music! It’s Shabbat!

We’ll sing, we’ll celebrate. It’s a whole Megillah!

Friday, March 10th, 2017
7:00 pm


Bring children,
Bring friends,
Bring hamantaschen!

Rabbi Jeremy Simons will lead a special service (Fri, Oct 17)

Please join Rabbi Jeremy Simons from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life and the community for services.

We will have a special Shabbat service honoring a momentous lifecycle event for a congregant.

Don't miss this time to come together and celebrate!

Special Oneg to follow.

Musical Shabbat of Peace on (Fri, Jan 20)

Don’t miss a wonderful musical Shabbat.

Special focus on PEACE.



Bring children.
Bring friends.
Bring yourselves.