THIS MONT H HaHodesh AT CHIZUK AMUNO CONGREGATION AND SCHOOLS
AUGUST 2016 | Tammuz-Av 5776 Engaging Jewish Life & Learning
RABBI’S COLUMN Our new Shabbat and Festival prayer book is called Siddur Lev Shalem meaning “full, content heart.” RABBI RON SHULMAN We begin using it this month as we return to the sanctuary for another year of prayer and celebration together. It’s a beautiful image, to enter into prayer with hearts full of our desires and cares, feeling pain, joy, and always love. Deep within each of our hearts beat the promises and hopes of our dreams. Quiet and private, our hearts know our real personalities. In our hearts, we imagine and plan. How do we find wholeness when we have been broken? What is true? What do we believe? For who and what do we care? In our hearts’ feelings we find goodness to share with others. In our hearts’ longings we hope to receive kindness. Approaching each Shabbat and holiday our hearts yearn to be full, to be strong, to know love and tenderness, conviction and resolve. When you open this Siddur you’ll recognize the words. It’s not the Hebrew prayers that are different. It’s how we may approach them that moves us to adopt a new prayer text. Filled with rich commentaries and meaningful reflections, this Siddur represents what I think prayer should be: something personal shared in community. Continued on Page 2
So.... WE BUILT A PLAYGROUND! Over this past year we have channeled the creativity, talent, skill, determination, and hard work of hundreds from every corner of our congregation and schools to create playgrounds and an amphitheater. It was a complex operation, with 80 leaders working on our 10 different teams, from Tools and Materials to Volunteers to Publicity to our Children’s Committee. Fundraising brought incredible support from a vast cross section of the community. In total, we raised over $500,000. We assessed our needs, developed a design, and infused it with our Jewish values. All ages and all parts of our shul and schools were represented. We thank the 426 donors who believed in our shul and schools. We are indebted to our lead donors, the Brills, the Goldsmiths, and the Rosenblooms for whom we have named these playgrounds and amphitheater. Thank you to the clergy, school leadership, synagogue and school staff.
A special thanks to the chairs Stephen Pomerantz and Adam Baumwald and project manager Liz Minkin-Friedman. Most importantly, thank you to all the volunteers who came out rain or shine, morning until night. Together we have energized and united our different institutions and provided for our kids future, and therefore our congregation’s future. We can all individually and collectively feel a sense of ownership of our playgrounds and amphitheater that we drilled, sawed, and screwed together ourselves. We moved mountains together…and not just of mulch. We have opened our hearts and we have built community… and we did it together.
School’s in Session! August 29 - Kindergarten Orientation August 30 - Goldsmith Early Childhood Education Center Krieger Schechter Day School September 7 - Rosenbloom Religious School (Grades 2-5) September 11 - Rosenbloom Religious School (Grades K & 2) September 11 - Sparks - Rosenbloom Religious School (Grade 6) September 14 - Atid - Rosenbloom Religious School (Grade 7) September 20 - Aschav & Netivon - (Grades 8-12)