Weekend with Rabbi Tamara Miller (beginning Fri, Dec 7)

Rabbi Tamara Miller is coming to Congregation Beth Shalom Fri, Dec 7, through Sun, Dec 9.

Schedule

This weekend will be the end of Chanukah, so we have much to celebrate. We plan to have a children’s service on Friday as well as a Chanukah/Havdalah service on Saturday with a dessert/potato latkes party after the service.

Friday 

• 6:15 p.m. — Chanukah lighting with the rabbi. Bring your own Chanukiah (Chanukah menorah) and candles.
• 6:30–7:00 p.m. — Meet Rabbi Miller
• 7:00 p.m. — Friday service

Saturday

• 9:00–10:15 a.m. — Saturday morning service and Torah study
• afternoon — visits with home-bound community members
• 5:00 p.m. — Community Chanukah candle lighting with Rabbi Miller. (Bring your own Chanukiah and candles; bring a dessert or latkes for the party to follow.) Havdalah service and Chanukah party to follow.

Sunday 

• 9:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m. — Rabbi Miller visiting the religious school.

About Rabbi Miller

Rabbi Miller is a vibrant and devoted rabbi with three decades of sharing Jewish wisdom in the greater Washington, D.C., area.

She received her ordination as a pluralistic rabbi at the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York City and now specializes in Jewish life cycle events and non-denominational, multi-faith spiritual counseling.

You are welcome to take a look at Rabbi Miller’s Spiritualetters blog. She looks forward to the opportunity to guide us on our spiritual journey.

---

We hope that Rabbi Miller will be joining us a few more times during the year so please come on Shabbat on Dec 7 and enjoy her singing, Torah reading, and spiritual leadership.

Vigil for Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue (Sat, Nov 3)

The Vigil for Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue is open to all of our community friends. We will stand together to remember and honor the victims. We will stand in solidarity and friendship.

When: Sat, Nov 3, 5:30-6:15 p.m.

Where: Congregation Beth Shalom, 134 S. Cary Drive

Parking: Park on S. Cary and on Sanders

ISJL Rabbi Visit (beginning Fri, Oct 26)

Sefer Torah, VCU Libraries, CC BY-NC 2.0

We welcome Rabbi Aaron Rozovsky, who will be in town this weekend from Friday through Sunday.

Friday: Rabbi Rozovsky will begin by leading services at 7:00 on Friday, Oct 26. Services will include a Torah reading. We hope you will join us.

Saturday: Join us for Torah study, led by Rabbi Rozovsky, at 9:00 a.m.

At 6:00 p.m., come to the Havdalah service, and bring a dessert to share!

Sunday: Rabbi Rozovsky will visit the religious school.

Book Group Lineup, Fall 2018

Jewish Artist Jules Pascin's
Girl in Green Reading, 1917

Beth Shalom Book group met on Sunday, June 24, and chose the following books to be read in this order:

1. The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. This is a historical novel "seeped in today as well as the seventeenth century in England and Jewish London."
   
   We will meet to discuss this book on Sun, Sept. 30, at 3 p.m. at the synagogue.
2. Eternal Life by Dara Horn
   Meeting TBA
3. The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff
   Meeting TBA
4. Memento Park by Mark Sarvas
   Meeting TBA

The later books are not set in stone. If another one comes up, we are flexible and can change the selection.

Even if you haven’t ever come, we hope you all can join us!

Annual Meeting and Shavuot Celebration (Sun, May 20)

Source: Dave Sandford (via Flickr), CC BY-NC 2.0.

On Sunday, May 20, we will have our annual meeting, followed by a celebration of Shavuot.

3:00 p.m. - Annual Meeting
~4:00 p.m. - Shavuot Celebration

At our celebration, we will read the Book of Ruth. Bring a dessert if you would like!

Jewish Americana Musician Joe Buchanan (Sat, May 12)

Join us for an evening with Jewish Americana musician 
Joe Buchanan.

Saturday, May 12, at 7:30
Congregation Beth Shalom

Gather up with good friends, say goodbye to Shabbat, and start your week with song & spirit! 

The concert is free and open to the public. No RSVP is required.

A blend of southern soul and country charm, Joe's music is grounded in the belief that there is always more room at the table. Since joining the tribe five years ago, he has led Shabbat services, concerts, and workshops on choosing to be chosen in communities across the United States. He's the host of Jewish Rock Radio's Emerging Artist Showcase and has been featured at numerous festivals and conferences. His first album, Unbroken, is available everywhere. 

Another proud presentation of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

For more information: www.isjl.org 

Havdalah and Israeli Independence Day Celebration (Sat, 4/21)

Join us for Havdalah and a celebration of Israeli Independence Day!

Bring a dessert to share (parve or dairy).

We’ll gather beginning at 6:30, and Havdalah will start at about 7:15.

We’ll have guitars, singing, and maybe even s’mores!

Israeli Flag. Ishai Parasol. CC BY-SA 2.0. 

Inspiring Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) Program (Wed, Apr 11)

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

Join us on April 11 at 7:00 p.m.

We will mark Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) with an inspiring program.

We will have live music and more--an inspiring event. Please come.

Beth Shalom Passover Seder (Tue, Apr 3)

Passover Seder with Rabbi Dreffin

Tuesday, April 3, 2018
5:30 p.m.

---

Women's Club of Auburn
712 Sanders Street, Auburn, AL 36830

---

$15 per member
$25 per non-member
$5 per child 5–12 (under 5 free)
$30 per family

Please RSVP to bethshalomauburn@gmail.com

*Make checks payable to Beth Shalom. Bring to Seder or mail to Mike F.

– Contact us at the email above for full mailing details.

Blood Drive (Sun, Mar 25)

Come join us from 11 to 2 on Sunday, March 25, for our blood drive.

LifeSouth will bring the Bloodmobile and their friendly staff. Bring a healthy, well-fed, well-hydrated you. Bring a friend. Bring all of your local friends, for that matter!

LifeSouth says,

To give blood you must be in good health, 17 years or older (or 16 with parental permission), weigh at least 110 pounds and show a valid photo I.D.

Good health? Yep. Remember that iron supplement if you need it.

At least 110 lbs? Got it (and then some, and, if you're like me, then some more)!

17+ years old? Let's not get into exact age...it might not be polite.

As Mike says, "If you can please donate; it is desperately needed and it will be a mitzvah for our congregation."

Promises, Film and Discussion (Sun, Mar 4)

Please join us for the next event in the Beth Shalom Cultural Arts Series.

At 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 4, the Series is co-sponsoring the film "Promises" with The Jule Collins Smith Museum.

Allen Furr will moderate a Q&A discussion panel. Light refreshments will be served.

About the movie:

Promises is a beautiful and deeply moving portrait of seven Palestinian and Israeli children. Emmy award-winning and Academy award nominat-ed, Promises follows the journey of a filmmaker who meets these children in and around Jerusalem, from a Palestinian refugee camp to an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Although they live only 20 minutes apart, these children exist in completely separate worlds, divided by physical, historical and emotional boundaries. Promises explores the nature of these boundaries and tells the story of a few children who dared to cross the lines to meet their neighbors.

Jule Collins Smith Museum, 901 S College Street, Auburn, AL 36849

Purim! (Wed, Feb 28)

Photo by Nate Steiner on Flickr. Public Domain.

Join us on Wednesday, Feb 28, at 6:00.

We'll read the Book of Esther (M'gillat Esther) and eat delicious hamantaschen (of course!).

Come in costume if you’d like. The kids are already discussing what they plan to wear.

We will provide the groggers (noisemakers), but we need you to come make noise!

American Freedom, the American Revolution, and American Jews: A History (Thur, Feb 15)

Photo by Josh Hallett*

Please join us at Beth Shalom on Thursday, Feb. 15, at 7:00, for our second installment of the Beth Shalom Cultural Arts Series.

Hear Dr. Adam Jortner speak about "American Freedom, the American Revolution, and American Jews: A History."

Wine and light appetizers will be served. 

Please invite your friends.       

Adam Jortner studies the transformation of religious and political life in the early United States, concentrating on Judaism and the American Revolution.

Dr. Jortner has received fellowships from the following:

• Woodrow Wilson Foundation
• McNeil Center for Early American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania
• Massachusetts Historical Society
• Kentucky Historical Society
• Redd Center for Western Studies. 

He is teaching a course this semester titled "American Religious Liberty & Religious Minorities."

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


*Hallett, J. Declaration of Independence—National Archives—Washington, DC. Photo. 2009. CC-BY-SA 2.0. https://flic.kr/p/6shrhc                   

Religious School Happenings (Sun, Feb 4)

Letter from Temple Beth Shalom in Puerto Rico

Our ISJL Fellow, Harrison Bleiberg, visited with us this weekend, and the kids loved the games!

Barbara led planting for Tu BiSh'vat despite the rain.

And the children received a beautiful thank you letter from Temple Beth Shalom in Puerto Rico, the recipient of their tzedakah collection (text below). We wish the best for San Juan's congregation and whole community as they continue to recover.

Dear Students of the Beth Shalom Sunday School,

All of us at Temple Beth Shalom in San Juan, Puerto Rico (we have the same name!) would like to express our sincere thanks for the tzedakah money you collected towards hurricane relief.

This has been a very difficult time for us, as well as for all of Puerto Rico. Many of us are still without power or water. In my own case, our water has just returned but we have yet to get our power restored. We turn on our generator for a few hours in the morning and a few hours at night. We avoid opening the refrigerator when the generator is off. After it is turned off at night we leave candles lit in the bathrooms and use flashlights. I like to use the flashlight on my phone.

We loved the photo of you and the wonderful card you made. We have put it on out bulletin board for all to admire. If you come to Puerto Rico with your parents in the future, come and visit us!

Sincerely,

Emily Krasinski
President, Temple Beth Shalom
San Juan, Puerto Rico