Weekly E-News 5786

April 3 - April 9, 2026

There will be a light Pesach Kiddush on Shabbat.

Passover

Service Times

Tuesday: 7:30 AM

Wednesday: 8:00 AM

Thursday: 9:45 AM

Friday: 9:45 AM

Shabbat: 9:45 AM

Birthdays

Saturday, April 4th - Merry Bodziner & Reggie Goldstein

Sunday, April 5th - Steven Smithberg

Wednesday, April 8th - Matthew Allan & Sandra Schneider

Thursday, April 9th - Zac Berwitz (13)



Anniversaries

Friday, April 3rd - Tova & Jonathan Javetz

Sunday, April 5th - Charna & Marvin Cweibel

Monday, April 6th - Lisa & Ben Mackowiak

Our synagogue will be awarding scholarships to young people interested in attending a Jewish summer camp!

We are providing financial assistance to support our belief that participation in Jewish summer camp is vital to the spiritual development of our youth.

Would like to be considered for one of the AA Jewish Summer Camp scholarships? Please call the synagogue at 912-352-4737 if you need more information or to request a printed application. The application can also be accessed using the button below.

The deadline for consideration is Thursday, April 30th. 

From the Desk of

Rabbi Cantor

Unlike Sukkot, which draws its Torah readings from two places (Leviticus 22:26-33 and Numbers 29:17-34), Pesah draws its readings from all over the place:

• Exodus 12:21-51 (the story of the very first Seder in Egypt)
• Leviticus 22:26-23:44 (the summary of the holiday cycle)
• Exodus 33:12-34:26 (a different summary of the holiday cycle)
• Exodus 13:1-16 (a summary of the laws of Pesah)
• Exodus 22:24-23:19 (yet another, different, summary of the holiday cycle)
• Numbers 9:1-14 (a different summary of the laws of Pesah)
• Exodus 13:17-15:26 (the story of the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds)
• Deuteronomy 15:19-16:17 (again, a different summary of the holiday cycle)

Which gives me so many options for what to say to you this week. What is the value of reading the same stories (the Exodus from Egypt, the laws of Pesah, the Cycle of the Holidays) multiple times, albeit with variations?

Our tradition places a high value on repetition. Repetition, shana, is a synonym for teaching. The very first book of Rabbinic Law the Mishna, is literally “the repetition”. The Rabbis of the Mishna are known as Tanaim (“repeaters”). Repetition for the sake of learning is understood as an act of love:

Bar Hei Hei said to Hillel: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between he who serves God and he who does not serve Him” (Malachi 3:18). There are two redundancies here: “The righteous” is the same as “he who serves God,” and “the wicked” is the same as “he who does not serve Him.” Hillel said to him: The one “who serves Him” and the one “who does not serve Him” are both referring to completely righteous people. But the verse is hinting at a distinction between them, as one who reviews his studies one hundred times is not comparable to one who reviews his studies one hundred and one times. (Hagiga 9b)

Now I am in no way suggesting that we should dedicate all of our spare time to repeatedly reading the same thing as an act of spiritual devotion. But I am trying to suggest that there is something sweet about the way our Tradition invites us to delve deeper into the stories that make us who we are: there is a value in repeating the Passover Seder, in retelling the same story in multiple different ways. It helps us to remember. It gives greater depth to the narrative. And it reminds us that it’s important.

In your family, what are the stories that you love to repeat? For the Jewish people it is the Exodus, as we will reread in the Haggadah,

And even if we were all wise, we were all understanding, we were all elders, we all knew the Torah, we would still be obligated to tell about the Exodus from Egypt. And the more one tell about the Exodus from Egypt, behold it is praiseworthy.



Rabbi David Cantor

This Shabbat

Pesach Shabbat Chol ha-Moed / פֶּסַח שַׁבָּת חוֹל הַמּוֹעֵד

Saturday, 4 April 2026 / 17 Nisan 5786

Candle Lighting 7:28 PM / Havdalah 8:23 PM

Torah Portion:

Exodus 33:12-34:26; Numbers 28:19-25; Song of Songs 1:1-8:14

1: Exodus 33:12-16 · 538

2: Exodus 33:17-19 · 539

3: Exodus 33:20-23 · 539

4: Exodus 34:1-3 · 540

5: Exodus 34:4-10 · 541

6: Exodus 34:11-17 · 542

7: Exodus 34:18-26 · 543

M: Numbers 28:19-25 · 932



Haftarah: Ezekiel 37:1-14 · 1308

Service Leader Sign Up

Are you interested in leading services? Reading Torah? You can sign up on our service leader sign up sheet!

Donations

To make a donation to the synagogue in recognition of a birth, birthday, anniversary, bereavement, or yahrzeit, you may use the button below. The message box can be used to tell us who we should notify of your donation.

Recent Donations

From Lynn Berkowitz to Kiddush Fund in memory of her grandfather, Louis Perl.

From Sherry Jacobson to the General Fund.

From Amy & David Rosenthal to the Kiddush Fund in memory of Karen Friedenberg, Amy's sister.

From Buddy Metzger to the Kiddush Fund on the Yahrzeit of his mother, Edythe Metzger.

From Amy & David Rosenthal to the Kiddush Fund in memory of Julie Spector - Sprague.

From Marilyn & Jim Farley to the Security Fund for the Yahrzeit of Paul Jolles, Marilyn's father.

From Janet & Bob Benjamin to the Kiddush Fund on the birth of Debby & Barry Luskey's grandbaby.

From Elise & Victor Shernoff to the Kiddush Fund in memory of Julie Spector - Sprague.

From Janet & Bob Benjamin to the Kiddush Fund on the birth of Bunny & Jim Montag's great-grandbaby.

From Amy & David Rosenthal to the Kiddush Fund in memory of Ina Kaplan, sister of Steve Kaplan.

From Janet & Bob Benjamin to the General Fund in memory of David Hirsh.

From Elise & Victor Shernoff to the Kiddush Fund on the birth of Stephanie & Sol Zerden's grandbaby.

From Linda & Michael Zoller to the Kiddish Fund in honor of the birth of Elliot Luskey.

From Sydney Karp to the Eric Nathan Karp Fund in memory of Julie Spector - Sprague.

From Sheryl & Stavie Kreh to the Eric Nathan Karp Fund in memory of Julie Spector - Sprague.

From Fran & Myron Kaminsky to the General Fund in memory of Ina Kaplan.

From Elise & Victor Shernoff to the Kiddish Fund wishing Brenda Rosenberg a speedy recovery.

From Marcy & Jerry Konter to the Backpack Buddies in memory of David Hirsh.

From Bruce Strugatch & Libby Waldman-Strugatch to the Kiddush Fund for the Yahrzeit of Emanuel Strugatch.

From Michael Bonder for the Yahrzeit of Joyce Bonder.

From Michael Bonder for the Yahrzeit of Arnold Chester Bonder.

Yahrzeits 

Wednesday night/Thursday, April 2 - 15 Nisan

William Lasky - great-uncle of Kenneth Sadler & Elise Shernoff

Thursday night/Friday, Apr 3 - 16 Nisan

Louis Perl - grandfather of Lynn Berkowitz

Friday night/Saturday, Apr 4 - 17 Nisan

Erica Kreh - daughter of Sheryl & Stavie Kreh

Saturday night/Sunday, Apr 5 - 18 Nisan

Jack Kamine - uncle of Roberta Kamine-Haysman

Sunday night/Monday, Apr 6 - 19 Nisan

Morris Neidich - grandfather of Linda Hoffman

Fernande Djian - mother of Monique Mayo

Mark Berry - brother of Jean Weitz

Tilda Mann - sister-in-law of Linda Sacks

Monday night/Tuesday, Apr 7 - 20 Nisan

Miriam Knafo - mother of Eva Locker

Rebecca Paderewsky - grandmother of Steve Arkin & Beth Bosman

Tuesday night/Wednesday, Apr 8 - 21 Nisan

Abraham Javetz - grandfather of Leslie Walcoff,

Nanci Aronstein, Jonathan Javetz

Michael Krissman - father-in-law of Sally Krissman

Sam Thomas Webb - husband of Margo Webb

Wednesday night/Thursday, Apr 9 - 22 Nisan

Florence Haysman - mother of Melvin Haysman

Henry Hess - grandfather of Daniel Skidmore-Hess

Thursday night/Friday, Apr 10 - 23 Nisan

Julius Waldman - grandfather of David Rosenthal

Commemoration of the Yahrzeit begins the evening of the first noted date.



Donor Dues

      

Benefactor

$9,999 - $5000

Melvyn & Eleanor Galin



 Leader

$3,599 - $1,800

Stephen & Annette Friedman

Ed Price

Patron

$1,799 - $720

Aaron & Dayle Levy

Allan & Arlene Ratner

Sherwin & Sara Robin

Sol & Stephanie Zerden

Michael & Linda Zoller

Chai Member

$719 - $360

Michelle & Matthew Allan

Gerald Caplan

AM Goldkrand

Paul & Harriet Kulbersh

Jeffrey & Stacy Lasky

Andrew & Leslie Walcoff



Supporters

 $359 - $100 

Lynn Berkowitz

Linda & Joe Cooper

Adam Fins

Doug & Lisa Goldstein

Seth Grenald

Gale Hirsh

Jonathan & Tova Javetz

Harriet Karlin

Michael & Suzanne Konter

Larry & Betsy Lehner

Steve & Linda Sacks

Victor & Elise Shernoff

Thanks to these donors for going above and beyond by participating in the Donor Dues Program this 2025-2026 fiscal year. If you would like to participate by making this additional commitment, please contact the office. 

Community News

 Dr. Jerzy Wójcik of the Holocaust Memorial Partnership. Dr.Wójcik, a distinguished scholar and guide of 20 years, was born in the town of Oświęcim (Auschwitz), Poland. He is a graduate of Jagiellonian University and holds a PhD in political science. He has dedicated his career to Holocaust education through his work with multiple institutions, including the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, the Center for Holocaust Studies in Krakow, the Center for International Relations in Warsaw, and the European Association of Israel Studies  works as a guide and educator at Auschwitz-Birkenau and runs the Holocaust Memorial Partnership. Jerzy is a graduate of International Relations at the Faculty of Political and International Studies, and of postgraduate studies on the Middle and Far East at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. 

Rabbi David Cantor

Morgan McGhie, President

Motti Locker, Executive Director

Congregation Agudath Achim | office@agudath-achim.com | 912-352-4737 | www.agudath-achim.com