THIS Mont h h aHodesh AT CHIZUK AMUno CONGREGATION AND SCHOOLS January 2016 | Tevet–Shevat 5776 Engaging Jewish Life and Learning
Rabbi’s Column Welcome to 2016! A year we greet differently than we expected. A year RABBI RON SHULMAN we enter into more afraid than we anticipated. Responding emotionally to acts of terror, we hear incendiary rhetoric in this year of national debate and election. What we need is the conviction to live according to our values and beliefs. Individuals and groups who wish to harm us can’t undermine the freedoms we enjoy in our society. They can’t win a war of ideas with their hatred and irrational faith. They can scare us, however, with their callous acts of violence. Terrorists earn their title because their only accomplishment is to make us afraid. We feel terror and sadness watching the news of victims and grief. In response, social science teaches us. When we remember what we value most and when we honor our best instincts and beliefs we look to the future with greater confidence. We respect the responsibilities that come with our freedoms. We look out for one another. We express our hopes to greet health, compassion, and goodness in the travels and travails that will be our experience in the weeks and months ahead. David Sarnoff, a Jewish immigrant to America from Belarus and beginning in 1930 President of the Radio Corporation of America, once observed, “We cannot banish ▶ Continued on page 4
Wonder of Wonders 2016 Glassgold Kallah
50th anniversary of Fiddler on the Roof
February 5-6
Join us as we welcome award winning drama critic Alisa Solomon who will trace how and why the story of Tevye the milkman, the creation of the great Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem, was reborn as blockbuster entertainment and a social touchstone, not only for Jews and not only in America. Friday, Feburary 5 6 p.m. Participate in our New Shabbat Service, a lively gathering of prayer, guitar music and singing or our weekly Kabbalat Shabbat Service, a joyous gathering of prayer and singing. 7 p.m. Share the beauty and warmth of a communal Shabbat dinner after which Alisa Solomon will speak about “Fiddler’s Fortunes: The Mighty Life and Afterlife of a Broadway Musical” exploring the cultural and social impact of Fiddler on the Roof. We’ll also sing some of our favorite Fiddler songs! Saturday, February 6 9:15 a.m. Shabbat Morning Services Noon Special Shabbat luncheon following services. After lunch Alisa Solomon will enchant us with more insights about the show’s legacy as she discusses “The Surprising Rediscovery of Jewish History and Identity in Poland through Fiddler on the Roof.” Cost for dinner $25 per adult; $12 per child; no charge for child under 4. Please register online for the dinner at http://bit.ly/WonderOfWonders by January 27, and return your check made payable to Chizuk Amuno Congregation to the synagogue office. We thank Jackie Glassgold for her on-going support of this annual Glassgold Kallah, a weekend that honors the generations of her family’s participation at Chizuk Amuno Congregation.
“Thinking about the Jewish Future” with JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen Tuesday, January 12 • 7:30 p.m. Chancellor Arnold Eisen of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America returns to Chizuk Amuno to speak and meet with our community. Dr. Eisen will think with us about challenges present in American Jewish life, considering responses and opportunities. Following his remarks, we’ll share in conversation together with Dr. Eisen. Over the past many years we have been privileged to meet in Dr. Eisen a dynamic and insightful teacher. We are delighted that he returns to us to further our discussion and relationship.