Weekly E-News 5785
January 31 - February 6, 2025
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Menu
Salad Niçoise
Green Salad
Assorted Crackers
Assorted Cookies
Fruit
Thank you to
Libby Waldman-Strugatch & Bruce Strugatch
for preparing kiddush!
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Join Sisterhood Today!
If you have already joined, thank you!
If you haven't, please send your membership form and payment to the synagogue today. Make checks payable to Agudath Achim Sisterhood.
$36.00 Annual Dues
$54.00 Donor: Annual Dues plus Chai ($18.00)
$72.00 Sweetheart: Annual Dues Plus Double Chai ($36.00)
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New Course: Intro to Talmud: The Wayward and Rebellious Child
Does the Talmud seem overwhelming and confusing? How do you even learn a page of Talmud? How do the rabbis of the Talmud look at the Torah, how do they interpret Jewish law, and is it still relevant today? Over the course of several weeks, we will learn the answers by taking a deep dive into a section of Talmud dealing with the laws of the wayward and rebellious child. Deuteronomy commands that a wayward and rebellious child be stoned to death in front of the entire community, but is that really the law? What do the rabbis have to say? Come and learn! No Hebrew or Aramaic necessary! If you are interested, please RSVP to Rabbi Gelman at Rabbi@agudath-achim.com. Class will be Tuesdays at 4:00 PM on Zoom, and Thursdays at 10 AM in person. We hope to see you there!
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Motti's class on the Days of Awe.
The next class will meet at 10:30 on Wednesday, February 5th.
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SHABBAT PRAYER STUDY @ 10 AM SATURDAYS
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Ever wanted to learn a little bit more about what we say and do during our prayers? Wanted to know what prayer is in Judaism, or why we say the Mourner’s Kaddish at the end of the service, or why we stand during the Amidah? Do you have questions about our prayers, but never wanted to take a full class? Rabbi Gelman is here to help! Starting this week, after our normal Psukei Dzimrei at 9:45, every Shabbat service from 10-10:10 will be dedicated to going over a little piece of prayer knowledge. Learn the meaning of the prayers, the order of the service, and more! The Shacharit morning service will always start at 10:10 to make sure we end on time, so make sure you get to services by 10 AM to learn a little more about our prayers! | |
In many conversations about the Ten Plagues, we ask about the justness of God hardening Pharoah’s heart. Was it fair of God punish Pharaoh for something that, in the end, Pharoah had no control over? This is a good question, and it has its fair share of answers (God only hardened Pharoah’s heart for last five plagues, God hardened Pharoah’s heart so that he would receive punishment for enslaving the Israelites, and so on). But the opening of this week’s parsha also poses another, not as frequently asked question: was it fair to Moshe?
בֹּא אֶל־פַּרְעֹה כִּי־אֲנִי הִכְבַּדְתִּי אֶת־לִבּוֹ, God tells Moshe at the very beginning of the parsha. “Go to Pharoah, for/because/although I have hardened his heart.” Why tell Moshe this? Ibn Ezra understands that God is warning Moshe to not be surprised that his message to Pharoah won’t work, because God will harden Pharoah’s heart. So, if Moshe’s message won’t work, why should Moshe go at all? Why should Moshe place himself once again in danger, bearing the difficult message of liberation, if he knows for a fact, if he has been told by God, that no one will listen to it? Sure, this is not fair to Pharoah, but how is it fair to Moshe to go on an errand this is pre-destined to fail?
But Moshe does. Consistently throughout the story of the Exodus. He tries to change Pharoah’s ways, tries to secure the liberation of the Israelites, calls out the Egyptians’ sins, even though he knows it will be fruitless. But he still he tries, because the quest for justice is important, because the act of standing up for what is right matters, even if the end result is not guaranteed. Moshe models for us what doing the right thing looks like.
There is a story in the Talmud of the one time that God changed his mind. Based on a verse from the book of Ezekiel, it imagines that God instructed the angel Gabriel to travel through Jerusalem and separate with marks the wicked from the righteous, so the wicked may be destroyed and the righteous saved. The attribute of Justice then protests that there is no difference between the wicked and the righteous, since the righteous could have protested the actions of the wicked but chose not to. God responds that He knows that even if the righteous protested the wicked, nothing would have changed. The attribute of Justice responds, “It is revealed before You, but is it revealed before them?”
It WAS revealed before Moshe, and he still tried to warn the wicked, to do what was right. We do not have that burden. It is not revealed before us if our efforts will fail. All the more so we should follow the example of Moshe, and stand up for what is right, and work to bring justice to this world. If Moshe can face the certainty of defeat and still stand up to Pharoah, we can face the uncertainties of this world and stand up for what is right.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Gelman
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This Shabbat
2025 | 5785
Bo
Candle Lighting: 5:40 pm
Havdalah: 6:37 pm
(all times are for Savannah)
Annual Torah reading: Exodus 10:1-13:16
(Etz Hayim pp 374-394)
Triennial Torah reading: Exodus 12:29-13:16
(Etz Hayim pp 387-394)
Haftarah: Jeremiah 46:13-28
(Etz Hayim pp 395-398)
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Service Leader Sign Up
Are you interested in leading services? Reading Torah? You can sign up on our service leader sign up sheet! If you are interested in learning how to read Torah or lead services, contact Rabbi Gelman at rabbi@agudath-achim.com.
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In Person Service Times
Tuesday: 7:30 AM
Wednesday: 8:00 AM
Friday: 8:00 AM
Feb 8th, 6:00 PM, With Guest Rabbi
Shabbat: 9:45 AM
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Birthdays
January 31st
Richard Bodziner
February 2nd
Monique Mayo
February 3rd
Dorothy Stock
February 4th
Frank Slotin
Jennifer Tillinger
Rhoda Weiland
February 5th
Michelle Heyman
February 6th
Helene Friedman
Anniversaries
February 6th
Sandy & Marcus Seligman
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Yahrzeits
January 31 – February 6, 2025
Thursday night/Friday, January 31 – 2 Shevat
Jonathan Blumenfeld – brother of Brian Blumenfeld
Bertram Freed – father of Suzanne Konter
Joseph Geffen – father of Morris & Ted Geffen
Friday night/Saturday, February 1 – 3 Shevat
Sam Elman – grandfather of Brenda Salter
Lester Swallwood – father of Steven Swallwood
Fanny Zoller – grandmother of Michael Zoller
Saturday night/Sunday, February 2 – 4 Shevat
Yafa Ehrlich – grandmother of Motti Locker
Sunday night/Monday, February 3 – 5 Shevat
David Fiegleman – father of Arlene Ratner
Goldie Schmalheiser – grandmother of Lynn Reeves & Paul Cranman,
great-grandmother of Kasey Berman & Morgan McGhie
Monday night/Tuesday, February 4 – 6 Shevat
Arhtur Holstein – father of Douglas Holstein
Sandra Samuels – mother of Scott Samuels
Tuesday night/Wednesday, February 5 – 7 Shevat
Abraham Kamine – father of Roberta Kamine-Haysman,
grandfather of Michelle Heyman, uncle of Arthur Haysman
Joseph Kaminsky – grandfather of Toby Friedman, Danny & Myron Kaminsky
Anna Kaufman – great-aunt of Marilyn Farley
Jerome Tillinger – father of Marcus Seligman & Arnold Tillinger
Harry Zoller – father of Michael Zoller
Thursday night/Friday, February 7 – 9 Shevat
Harry Landesman – father of Louise Harkavy
Julie Metzger – wife of Buddy Metzger, sister of Merry Bodziner
Commemoration of the Yahrzeit begins the evening of the first noted date.
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February 1-28, 2025 - Bryan Wilson
Opening Reception: Sunday, February 2, 3-5pm
Artist Bryan Wilson said of his upcoming show “The world is a beautiful place where you can see, hear, smell, taste and touch many things. What people find beautiful is different. Some find food with its taste and smell to be beautiful. Others find their loved ones to be the most beautiful and precious. In this world, for me, I find environments to be that. I have always been awestruck by both the natural world and architectural world so I decided to draw with the part of the world I find to be most beautiful and hope to share that with all of you.”
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January 1-31, 2025 - Grenville T. Emmet IV
Better known as Sean, he grew up in Manhattan and attended Saint David's School in NYC and The Canterbury School in Connecticut before receiving his diploma from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. Following graduation in 1988, he spent time living in Europe and California. In the mid 1990s he drove across the country and made many stops in picturesque Rocky Mountain towns including Aspen, Telluride, Crested Butte and Colorado National Park. Of this experience he said “The groves of aspen trees took my breath away. Their white bark and leaves were exquisite. The Rocky Mountains abounded with beautiful walks. The abundance of glistening peaks rivaled any natural aesthetic that I had seen in Europe.”
Twenty years ago Sean moved to Savannah where he lived until 2021. Now a resident of Amelia Island, Florida, he traveled back to the Rockies in 2023 and 2024 and is where his photographs from this show were captured.
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The JEA will partner with The Blood Connection on Friday, February 14th from 9am-2pm to fulfill the greatest mitzvah- saving a life. Donors can be 16 or 17 with signed parental consent.
All donors will receive $40 in rewards.
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Brendan Murphy To Present “Why The Jews?”
A Multimedia Presentation On The Long And Tragic History Of Antisemitism on February 26th and 27th at the Jewish Educational Alliance
The entire community is invited to join on Wednesday, February 26th from 6:00-8:00pm and Thursday, February 27th from 10:00am-12:00pm at the Jewish Educational Alliance, 5111 Abercorn Street, for a two-part lecture from Brendan Murphy, award winning educator as well as gifted and highly sought-after speaker. The lecture is free and open for the community, but donations are appreciated.
Brendan Murphy
Mr. Brendan Murphy is the founding director of the Bearing Witness Institute for Interreligious and Ecumenical Dialogue at Marist School. With a distinguished career at Marist since 1994, Mr. Murphy has significantly contributed to the school’s endeavor to live its Catholic values through promoting dialogue and education that encourage mutual respect. Mr. Murphy is a dedicated history teacher and advocate for interfaith dialogue, notably creating the “History and the Holocaust” seminar and leading international field trips to Holocaust sites in Europe. Beyond the classroom, he moderates the Peace by Piece group, uniting students from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim schools to build friendships and understanding—a model soon to be replicated nationwide. His work, including community presentations on antisemitism, laid the foundation for the Bearing Witness Institute.
Mr. Murphy’s commitment to interreligious education has earned him accolades such as the Outstanding Educator Award from the Anne Frank Center and the ADL’s Abe Goldstein Human Relations Award. His excellence in teaching has been recognized with awards like the Goizueta Chair of Excellence and the Faber-McKinley-Stadler Award. Recently, he was selected for Leadership Atlanta’s Class of 2025.
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Congregation Agudath Achim
Donor Dues
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Benefactor
$9,999 - $5000
Melvyn & Eleanor Galin
Leader
$3,599 - $1,800
Stephen & Annette Friedman
Patron
$1,799 - $720
Aaron & Dayle Levy
Allan & Arlene Ratner
Sherwin & Sara Robin
Sol & Stephanie Zerden
Chai Member
$719 - $360
Michelle & Matthew Allan
Linda & Joe Cooper
AM Goldkrand
Paul & Harriet Kulbersh
Andrew & Leslie Walcoff
Michael & Linda Zoller
Supporters
$359 - $100
Lynn Berkowitz
Adam & Lauren Fins
Ted & Adelle Geffen
Doug & Lisa Goldstein
Lynn Goodman
Seth Grenald
Steve Herman
David & Gale Hirsh
Jonathan & Tova Javetz
Harriet Karlin
Michael & Suzanne Konter
Larry & Betsy Lehner
Rene Lehrberger
Steve & Linda Sacks
Victor & Elise Shernoff
Judy Todtfeld
Ed Wexler
Thanks to these donors for going above and beyond by participating in the Donor Dues Program this 2024-2025 fiscal year.
If you would like to participate by making this additional commitment, please contact the office.
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Rabbi Samuel Gelman
Morgan McGhie, President
Motti Locker, Executive Director
Congregation Agudath Achim | office@agudath-achim.com | 912-352-4737 | www.agudath-achim.com
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