SYNAGOGUE NEWS
December 2023
NAPLES JEWISH CONGREGATION
Federation Star
43
www.naplesjewishcongregation.org / 239-431-3858
Anniversary and Chanukkah celebrations Charles Flum President
O
n Dec. 11, Naples Jewish Congregation will celebrate its 25th anniversary. Details are being taken care of so go to naplesjewish congregation.org for the latest updates as well as how to buy tickets. Oh, and we will also be celebrating Chanukkah. Another big event is coming up on March 10. Listen Up! A Jewish a cappella music group from Chicago will entertain us during our Artist in Residence
program. They were here a few years ago and wowed the sellout crowd. In order to accommodate all the people, it will be held at Federation’s Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center this year. For more information and to get your tickets before they sell out, go to naplesjewishcongregation.org. Ticket sales will begin in January. Rabbi Herman has created a once a month wonderful adult education program before a light dinner and Shabbat services. You can find the topics for this free program on naplesjewish congregation.org. You get the gist now. The place to go to find out what is happening in our congregation can be found at naples jewishcongregation.org. You can also search for us under naplesjewishcongregation
on Facebook. You will find information such as: services schedule, who our congregational leaders are, how to join our synagogue, and so much more. Going back to Chanukah, why do we celebrate it? No, it is not because the oil lasted for eight days. That story was written 400 years after the Maccabees overthrew the Greek overlords. The answer is found in the book of Maccabees. According to the story there, the Jews were fighting so much that they had no time for Sukkot. When they liberated the Temple, it was decreed that they should then (around December) celebrate the eight-day holiday. That is what evolved into the Chanukah celebration today. Historically, and perhaps most importantly, it was the first
time anyone had ever fought a war for religious freedom. Chanukah also helps us remember that when our rights are taken away, we Jews can fight. That is something which we nearly lost in the 2000-year diaspora. As Israel reminds us today, we Jews are a tough people. We can defend ourselves when necessary. Hopefully (though, unfortunately, I do not hold out much hope), there will come a time when we do not have to defend ourselves, especially as there are so few others who will stand by our side. So, it is fitting that we celebrate our 25th anniversary and Chanukah together as both show Am Israel Chi, the people of Israel live!
Naples Jewish Congregation celebrates 25 years By Charles Flum, President
N
aples Jewish Congregation (NJC) was founded 25 years ago by 13 couples who wanted something different, a Reform congregation which would serve the needs of adults without young children. Initially, the couples met in each other’s homes. When they realized that the synagogue needed a new place to meet in order to have room to grow, they decided to partner with the Unitarian Universalist Congregation and meet there. This partnership has continued to this day. We have had four permanent rabbis since the synagogue’s inception. For the first few years, a rabbi was hired only to conduct high holiday services. As our congregation grew and we could afford a full-time rabbi, we hired Rabbi Solomovitz followed by Rabbi Schenkerman, who served until he passed away in early 2005. Rabbi Sylvan Wolf next led the congregation for 12 years. Our current rabbi, Howard Herman, was hired in 2017, bringing a new vision and ever-increasing energy to our congregation. Through the years, we have been blessed with a wonderful cantorial soloist, Jane Galler, and our music director and pianist, Alla Gorelick. They have been with us since shortly after the synagogue was created. Together with the volunteer
choir, who sing at many of the services, they provide beautiful, uplifting music. Our services take place Friday evenings at 7 p.m. and once a month on Saturdays at 10 a.m. Go to naplesjewishcongrega tion.org for the schedule of services. We have a very active congregation, even though we are relatively small. We socialize after Friday services at the Oneg and Saturday morning services are followed by a light lunch. The rabbi conducts fascinating adult education classes once a month, October through March. These take place prior to Friday night services. As one would expect, the topics are varied: aging, the prophets, Jewish views on the hot topics of today, etc. The classes are attended by more than half the members. Probably the most unique feature of NJC is an activity named Flamingle. We gather about once a month in a park or a restaurant to socialize and learn about each other. For example, for our upcoming Flamingle, we are meeting in a park, bringing food to share as well as a funny story about ourselves. Flamingle has proven very popular, with close to half of our members participating. People who are considering joining our congregation are always welcome to attend. Our sisterhood is very active. It sponsors many activities during the year: Tai chi classes, book discussions, dinners and other get-togethers. Our congregation hosts a second seder and a break the fast after Yom Kippur. These events are always very well attended. Our annual Chanukah dinner is very special this year. We are combining it with our 25th anniversary celebration. We will have a very elaborate dinner, with memorabilia and photos from our 25 years on display. Other activities for the evening are being kept under wraps. This serves to kick off a year of celebration.
March 10, 2024 our Artist in Residence program will feature Listen Up!, a nationally known Jewish vocal band from Chicago. The event nearly sold out the last time they were here. They were so good that we are bringing them back. The Artist in Residence program and the 25th Anniversary/Chanukah
celebration are open to the public. Go to our website, naplesjewishcongregation. org, to sign up. While there, you can see all the activities we have planned. We would love for you to come join us, become a member and worship with us. Come join “The Congregation With a big Heart.”
SUMMER SCHOLARSHIPS Jewish Federation and Temple Shalom offer PARTIAL scholarships for Jewish Summer Sleep-Away Camp & Israel Experience programs! Scholarship opportunities are available to all Jewish youth in the community, regardless of synagogue affiliation. For more information and the application form, please visit: jewishnaples.org/scholarships-grants
or call (239) 263-4205
APPLICATION DEADLINE
IS FEBRUARY 2, 2024
