The High Holidays are a sacred time on the Jewish calendar for intense personal reflection and spiritual growth. Our weekly email series,
YOU ARE HERE,
is designed to help make this time personally meaningful. Look for an email from Beth El every Friday through October 18 with a video teaching from our clergy, a personal reflection from a Beth El member, liturgical music, and holiday programming details. May this be a season of growth, renewal, and reflection.
Chag Sameach!
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Rabbi Rachel Marder: The Sukkah
Continuing our
YOU ARE HERE
series,
Rabbi Marder
teaches on the central mitzvah of the sukkah and the meaning it has for us today:
“We think about our ancestors’ journey, wandering in the wilderness and receiving physical and spiritual protection, both from God and from feeling the protection of the community. We also think about the journeys that our family members may have faced in coming to this country, as well as the harsh journeys of immigrants today. May we provide support to those seeking safety and comfort.”
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Beth El Celebrates Sukkot!
Join us for these events!
Monday, October 14 and Tuesday, October 15:
Sukkot Services
- Services Begin: 9:30am
- Mini-Minyan and Pray Ground (elementary age) Services: 11:00am
- All services followed by Congregational Kiddush in the sukkah
Saturday, October 19, 8:00pm:
Stories in the Sukkah
with Comedian Liz Glazer and congregant storytellers.
Event is free and open to the community; program is meant for adults.
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Michael Schloff: On Building the Sukkah
Beth El member, House Committee Chair, and former Men's Club President
Michael Schloff
shares his reflection on the building of the Sukkah. Mike has been Beth El's master Sukkah builder for many years.
"
Sukkot is a celebration of the harvest and reminds us that people working together is not only a biblical activity, it also satisfies a deep human need. We are social creatures and whether we are threshing grain in a biblical village, walking through the desert, or putting up pine and plywood panels in a NJ parking lot, we relish that connection."
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Resources for Celebrating Sukkot
Hadar
: Sukkot teachings from our Beth El Beit Midrash/Project Zug partner organization
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Holiday Music: Achat Sha'alti (Psalm 27:4)
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We continue to chant Psalm 27, the Psalm for the Season of Repentance, through Hoshana Rabbah. This beautiful setting of the "Achat Sha'alti" stanza
was sung by Rabbi Warshawsky on Erev Rosh Hashanah, and is by Chava Mirel.
אַחַ֤ת
׀
שָׁאַ֣לְתִּי
מֵֽאֵת־’ה
אוֹתָ֪הּ
אֲבַ֫קֵּ֥שׁ
שִׁבְתִּ֣י
בְּבֵית־’ה
כָּל־יְמֵ֣י
חַיַּ֑י
לַחֲז֥וֹת
בְּנֹֽעַם ’ה
וּלְבַקֵּ֥ר
בְּהֵיכָלֽוֹ
Ahat sha’alti m’ate Adonai
Ahat sha’alti m’ate Adonai otah avakesh
Shivti, shivti b’veit Adonai
Shivti, shivti kol yimai hayai
Lahazot b’noam Adonai ul’vaker b’haihalo
One thing I ask of the Lord, only that do I seek: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, to frequent God’s sanctuary.
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Links to our Rabbis' Yom Kippur Sermons
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Previous Emails in the "You Are Here 5780" Series
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Congregation Beth El is an inclusive, egalitarian synagogue affiliated with United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism, serving Essex, Union, and Morris counties. We can be reached by calling
973-763-0111.
Jesse M. Olitzky, Rabbi
Rachel A. Marder, Rabbi
Jason Silberfein, Executive Director
Danielle Weitz, Director, Thelma K. Reisman Preschool
Rivka Nelson, Director of Religious Education
Karen Freeman-Pettis, Assistant Director
Molly Gimbel, Youth Program Director
Terry Pridgen, Coordinator of Maintenance Services
Jehiel Orenstein z"l, Rabbi Emeritus
For more information about Beth El membership, please contact
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