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H desh January – March, 2019
Tevet – Adar II, 5779
From Rabbi Lerner “Head, Heart, and Hand” As I write these words, the candles and days of H.anukkah are waning and I am reminded of the debate between Hillel and Shammai about how to light the candles. Emphasizing that we move higher in holiness, Hillel teaches we should light one candle on the first night and then add another each night until we reach eight. Shammai argues that we should start with eight candles and have one fewer each evening until we end with one, to mimic the way the oil diminished. As is the case here, Hillel’s viewpoint is accepted in almost all of their debates. One of the most famous narratives between these two great h.evruta (study partners)—Hillel and Shammai—occurs when a non-Jewish person comes to see Shammai about conversion. Having some h.utzpah (audacity), the potential convert approaches Shammai, asking him to teach him the whole Torah while the potential convert stands on one foot. Offended, Shammai sends the man away. Rebuffed by Shammai, the man approaches Hillel with the same request. Echoing Leviticus chapter 19, Hillel states: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor—that is the whole Torah, while the rest is commentary.” But Hillel does not stop there, encouraging this man to “zil gmor—to go and learn it.” And sure enough, this new Jew does just that. (continued on page 16)
Glatzer Memorial Weekend With Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld March 15–16, 2019 Everyone is invited for our annual weekend of learning at Glatzer Memorial Weekend. Every year we honor the memory of Dr. Nahum Glatzer & Mrs. Anne Glatzer, beloved and revered active members of Temple Emunah for more than 25 years. Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld became President of Hebrew College in July, 2018. She graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1990 and subsequently spent 15 years working in pluralistic settings as a Hillel rabbi at Tufts, Yale, and Harvard. Rabbi Anisfeld has been a summer faculty member for the Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel since 1993 and is co-editor of two volumes of women’s writings on Passover, “The Women’s Seder Sourcebook: Rituals and Readings for Use at the Passover Seder” and “The Women’s Passover Companion: Women’s Reflections on the Festival of Freedom” (both from Jewish Lights Publishing, 2002). In 2015, Rabbi Anisfeld was named one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world by The Jerusalem Post. She writes and teaches widely, weaving together Torah, rabbinic commentary, and contemporary literature in her wise and compassionate approach to the complexities of the human experience and the search for healing and hope in a beautiful but fractured world.
Get Ready to Wrap & Roll!
Save January 19, 2019 for Social Action Shabbat!
World Wide Wrap Sunday, February 3 at 8:30 am www.WorldWideWrap.org
Join Us January 25–26 Shorashim/Judur/Roots is a grassroots movement of understanding, nonviolence, and transformation among Israelis and Palestinians. We invite you to join with Roots activists, one Palestinian and one Israeli, as they share their personal, interconnected stories and present the groundbreaking and challenging work of this initiative. See page 15 for more information.
www.TempleEmunah.org
Inside: President................................... 2 Shabbat Services....................... 3 Adult Ed..................................... 4 Worship..................................... 5 Religious School/Youth............. 6 Family Ed................................... 7 Pre-School................................. 8 Social Action/Inclusion.............. 9 Theme Minyan/Mak’haylah..... 10
בתוך Library......................................11 Sisterhood ...............................12 Brotherhood.............................13 Israel........................................15 Rabbi....................................... 16 Yahrzeits.................................. 18 Donations.................................21 Milestones............................... 22 Calendar.................................. 23