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ha odesh y c g d
JANUARY | TEVET-SHEVAT 5775
Th i s Mo n t h @ C h i z u k A m u n o
Meeting through Text
The workplace has the water cooler. The high school has the lunch room. European cities have the town square. Jews have text. We often use our sacred scriptures as a meeting ground of sorts – a gathering point where we come together from diverse locations to discuss, to argue, to forge friendships, and to figure out where we fit in. We meet across a page to let the text speak to us and for us to speak to the text. Throughout many years of Jewish learning, I have enjoyed getting to know people of different religions and streams of Judaism through the lens of Torah study. At times our differences melt away in a shared love of study and a similarity of approach to the material. At other times, those differences are heightened by vastly different readings and understandings of the text in front of us. For all these reasons I have invited two colleagues and friends to join me at Chizuk Amuno for an evening of “Texting Together” – Rabbi Etan Mintz of B’nai Israel: The Downtown Synagogue and Rabbi John Franken of Bolton Street Congregation. On Wednesday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m. the three of us, from three different congregations and ordained from three different Jewish denominations, will meet each other across and through the study of traditional texts. Using the format of traditional study, prior to the program there will be an opportunity to study the text together in hevruta (pairs or small groups) in preparation for the rabbis’ discussion at 7:30. It is our hope that through understanding how we read text, we engage with each other and build bridges.
A Retrospective on Jewish Music The Sabbath of Song – Shabbat Shirah Friday, January 30 Kabbalat Shabbat Service • 6:15 p.m. Dinner • 7 p.m. Concert • 8 p.m.
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ach year the Jewish calendar calls our attention to the week our ancient Israelite ancestors rejoiced in song on the banks of the sea following their exodus from Egypt. To mark this occasion, Hazzan Emanuel C. Perlman, T. Herbert Dimmock, and the Chizuk Amuno Choir present a reprise of Jewish musical favorites following a lovely Shabbat dinner. The music will range from the lively to the solemn, from the participatory to the meditative.
Please plan to join us for a warm and wonderful Shabbat dinner and z’mirot, songs, with friends. Walk-ins for the concert are welcome as well. The cost for dinner is $25/ adult; $15/child under 12; Free/child 4 and under. RSVP online at http:// bit.ly/ShabbatShirah or to ppollack@ chizukamuno.org and we will charge your account.
Playdate Together
Monday, January 19 • 11 a.m.-noon CHIZUK SCHOOLS
VOLUNTEAM WITH JEWISH VOLUNTEER CONNECTION
The Goldsmith Early Childhood Education Center and the Jewish Volunteer Connection have joined forces to create the program, Playdate Together, an intergenerational program for families to sing songs, play games, and interact with the residents of North Oaks. Becky Gordon, our GECEC music teacher, will accompany our students and residents in song. This program provides an opportunity for GECEC
families to get involved, perform the mitzvah of hiddur p’nei zakein, honoring our elders, and teach-byexample the value of service to their children. Our volunteers will also be presenting hand-made crafts created by our preschool students. Volunteering their time is the perfect way to pay tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. on the holiday that commemorates his important contributions. Members of the community are welcome to participate in this touching service project. For more information or to sign up, please contact GECEC parent Lauren Kean, lkean808@gmail.com.
Inside: Mid-Year Program Guide Update 1