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AUGUST 2015 | AV-ELUL 5775
Th i s Mo n t h @ C h i z u k A m u n o
Celebrating Summer
by Rabbi Debi Wechsler The days after summer vacation, or really any vacation, are such a challenge. We want to hold on to those wonderful feelings and experiences that we had during our time away. If we are fortunate, some of that “glow” and sense of relaxation stays with us even after we return to our workaday lives. For days or weeks we were focused only on being unfocused. We got lost in books we’ve been waiting to read, we ate delicious simple summertime meals, we napped and daydreamed and explored.
And then August came. The shops displayed back-to-school clothes and supplies and the glow of those wonderful vacation days began to fade. But they needn’t. There is a concept in the Jewish calendar called isru hag which refers to the day following the observance of the Jewish festival. Our people found it so challenging to transition from the joy and celebrations of the festival days to the mundane concerns of ordinary days, that the Rabbis added a day dedicated to making sure that the glow and the feelings engendered by the holiday would
Back to School Shabbat
last beyond the festival itself. The term comes from one of the Psalms included in Hallel which speaks of binding (isru) to the festival (hag). Let us think of August, and late August in particular as isru summer. By adding on we can draw some of the happiness and meaningfulness of our summer vacation into our daily lives. It elevates our experience of the month of August and causes us to be more mindful about bringing aspects of our summer adventures with us into the year ahead. I wish you a wonderful summer and isru summer as well!
We are Building a Community Playground
Friday, August 28, 5-8 p.m. We look forward to celebrating Shabbat together as a school community. We hope that your family will join in the fun.
Presenting an ambitious opportunity for all the members of the Chizuk Amuno community – school families and congregation members, young and old, and those of varied skills: “Do you want to build a playground?” And do you have some friends who would like to participate as well? Over the summer, we started forming committees to focus on key components, such as fundraising, design/art, volunteers, tools/materials, etc. In the fall, we will develop the playground design and continue to involve and recruit members of the community. The actual building of the playground as well as a special gathering place for both children and adults will occur in the spring of 2016. Lay leaders for this project are Steve Pomerantz and Adam Baumwald. Liz Minkin-Friedman is project coordinator. Please contact any of them and specify any building/planning/ designing/PR skills, interests, or personal/business connections you may have, or of any other way you would like to volunteer (playground@chizukamuno.org or playground@ksds.edu). The success of this project requires creative input and physical effort on the part of its participants, as well as support from the
5-6 p.m. Meet, Mingle, & Munch Come meet the new Head of School at KSDS, Rabbi Moshe Schwartz, and his family. Join us for complimentary hor d’oeuvres plus interactive Shabbat activities for pre-school, elementary, and middle school students. No fee. 6-6:30 p.m. Special Kabbalat Shabbat Services This special Kabbalat Shabbat service will be led by our clergy and our educators. All of our school children and their parents are welcome and invited to participate. 6:30-8 p.m. Family Shabbat Dinner Join Chizuk’s school community of Krieger Schechter Day School, Goldsmith Early Childhood Education Center, and Rosenbloom Religious School for a wonderful Shabbat Dinner including break-out sessions for pre-school, lower school, and middle school students. Please let us know which parts of the evening you are able to attend. RSVP: bit.ly/WelcomeBackShabbat. Fee for dinner: $18 person, 12 years and above; $10 per person, ages 4-11; children 3 years old and under, free; $65 family maximum
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