Weekly E-News 5785

November 22 - November 28, 2024

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Thank you to Lauren Fins & Tova Javetz

for preparing kiddush!

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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)

Motti's new class will focus on the Days of Awe.

The next class will meet on Wednesday, December 11th , at 10:30.

Calling all parents! It doesn’t just have to be your kid that learns during Shalom School. Every other week of Shalom School, when Rabbi Gelman is not teaching 7^th grade, he will be walking over from Congregation Mickve Israel at 9:45 to the Sentient Bean south of Forsyth Park, to grab some coffee and have an open conversation with anyone who wants to join! Topics will include Jewish parenting, Torah portion of the week, ethics, and more! Future dates to be announced! For more information, please email Rabbi Gelman at rabbi@agudath-achim.com

Rabbi's Message

Who knew that Game of Thrones and the Talmud would give similar advice? Not on most things, certainly, but this week’s parsha has a piece of Talmud on it that sounds very similar. The setup certainly seems very different. In the Torah, Avraham’s servant (named Eliezer in the Talmud but never named in the Torah itself) has gone to back to Haran, to Avraham’s kin, to find a suitable wife for Yitzchak. He has seen Rivkah drawing water from the well, and seen that she gave both him and his camels water to drink, as well as promises of hospitality. Having been invited back to her house, he now begins to recount his errand to her family. In Game of Thrones, Tyrion Lannister, a dwarf, is attending a feast at the keep of their rival house, House Stark. A bastard, Jon Snow, has just left the feasting angry at being looked down on for being a bastard, and Tyrion follows him outside.

Very different setups. But they arrive at similar conclusions. Eliezer begins his tale by simply saying “עֶבֶד אַבְרָהָם אָנֹכִי” “I am Avraham’s slave (or servant).” Why does he start his tale with this declaration? The Talmud comments “מִילְּתָא גְּנָאָה דְּאִית בָּיךְ – קְדֵים אַמְרַהּ” “If there is something negative to be found in you-say it first.” Eliezer began his speech by admitting his lower social status. Similarly, when Tyrion addresses Jon, he refers to him as a bastard. When Jon reacts angrily, Tyrion responds “Never forget what you are. The rest of the world cannot. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.”

When this episode of TV came out (because, lets face it, not as many people read the books as saw the show), there was a whole lot of buzz about how wise Tyrion was in giving this piece of advice. But the Talmud beat Tyrion to the punch by 1500 years. By starting off by stating clearly that he is Avraham’s slave, Eliezer disarms that fact from being used as a line of attack against him by the willey Lavan. He is not coming to trick anyone, or hide who he is. He acknowledges the truth, and therefore the truth becomes his ally, not his enemy.

We all have traits that we are not proud of. Sometimes they are not our fault (Eliezer’s servitude, Jon’s bastardy,) and sometimes they are. The Talmud encourages us to start by recognizing our negative qualities. This may be good advice for social situations, but it is also good advice for ourselves. Never forget who we are. Don’t lie to ourselves. Start by recognizing the truth: who we are, and what kind of person we are. Yes, it can prevent others from using our negative traits against us, but self-knowledge also helps us improve. To recognize what we can change and what we can’t. To not let what we can’t change weigh us down, and to not let what we can change permanently define us.

George R. R. Martin published a book called The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister, but I don’t know that it was really necessary. The Talmud has been here the whole time. And it can offer us some good advice, if we are willing to listen.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Gelman

This Shabbat: 

2024 | 5785

Chayei Sarah

Candle Lighting: 5:03 pm

Havdalah: 6:00 pm

(all times are for Savannah)

Annual Torah reading: Genesis 23:1-25:18,

(Etz Hayim pp 127-141)

Triennial Torah reading: Genesis 24:53-25:18

(Etz Hayim pp 137-141)

Haftarah: 1 Kings 1:1-31

(Etz Hayim pp 143-145)

Week-at-a-Glance

SHABBAT PRAYER STUDY @ 10 AM SATURDAYS

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!

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.

In Person Service Times

Tuesday: 7:30 AM

Wednesday: 8:00 AM

Friday: 8:00 AM, 6:00 or 8:00 PM

Shabbat: 9:45 AM

Nov 22^nd – Lynn Simon

Nov 25^th – Gerald Caplan, Gale Hirsh, Morgan McGhie

Nov 27^th – Michelle Allan, Rachel Israel

Yahrzeits

November 22 – November 29, 2024

Thursday night/Friday, November 22 – 21 Heshvan

Casey Fisher – son of Paul Fisher

 Friday night/Saturday, November 23 – 22 Heshvan

Evelyn Gaynor – mother of Howie Gaynor

Saturday night/Sunday, November 24 – 23 Heshvan

Irving Kaminsky – uncle of Michael Konter

Anchel Samuels – father of Scott Samuels

Frank Singer – father of Sharon Honeycutt

Clara Todtfeld – mother-in-law of Judy Todtfeld

 Sunday night/Monday, November 25 – 24 Heshvan

Lillian Miller – mother of Julian Miller, Martin Miller & Ellen Goldberg,

grandmother of Jana Feiler

Sylvia Terner – mother of Joe Cooper

Monday night/Tuesday, November 26 – 25 Heshvan

Louis Kamine – uncle of Roberta Kamine-Haysman

Lawrence Konter – father of Jerry Konter & Sally Greenberg

Madeline Rubin – mother of Elise Shernoff, aunt of Brenda Salter

Joseph Schmalheiser – grandfather of Lynn Reeves & Paul Cranman,

great-grandfather of Kasey Berman & Morgan McGhie

Tuesday night/Wednesday, November 27 – 26 Heshvan

Lillian Young – mother of Arnold Young

Wednesday night/Thursday, November 28 – 27 Heshvan

Abrom Daitch – grandfather of Michael Zoller

Julius Kaminsky – father of Danny Kaminsky, Myron Kaminsky, & Toby Friedman

Charles Reeves – father of David Reeves, grandfather of

Kasey Berman & Morgan McGhie

Thursday night/Friday, November 29 – 28 Heshvan

Annie Karp – grandmother of Sidney Karp & Sheryl Kreh

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

Community Events

November 1-30, 2024 - Liza Crowley Judson

Liza earned her bachelor's degree in studio art with a concentration in photography from the University of California, Santa Cruz. (Yes, she is a banana slug!) Teaching became her creative passion. Her teaching career has spanned from Japan, China, Northern California and Savannah, GA where she settled with her husband and daughter in 2006. Liza also earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and is now the director of SCADextra, the University’s academic resource hub at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). She loves to travel and take photographs of her adventures.

Of her show she says: "These days I enjoy taking photographs with my phone versus my digital Nikon camera. I find that I can afford to upgrade my phone more frequently than I can my camera, and the ease of transport is much more convenient with a phone than a heavy camera bag. My photography most often focuses on the landscape or cityscape; they hold still, unlike humans. With each image, I make many decisions; questioning what the individual image is calling for. Does it need to be cropped for the best composition? Would the image be stronger in black and white, sepia toned or some other treatment of the color? This is where the experimentation comes in. I use Adobe Photoshop and the Snapseed app to edit my photographs. I feel the images speaking to me, and I mold them to be the best that they can be, versus bending them to one unique vision. Photographing while traveling is my greatest passion, because then I see everything with fresh eyes. I love the democracy of sharing my photographs via social media. More people can enjoy them this way, and I can receive immediate feedback. It has been over seven years since I have shown my photographs in a public setting. I hope you enjoy the show."

Congregation Agudath Achim

Donor Dues Program

                                           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

Ed Wexler

Sol & Stephanie Zerden

Chai Member

$719 - $360

Michelle & Matthew Allan

AM Goldkrand

Paul & Harriet Kulbersh

Andrew & Leslie Walcoff

Michael & Linda Zoller

Supporters

 $359 - $100 

Richard Z"L & 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

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. 

Rabbi Samuel Gelman

Morgan McGhie, President

Motti Locker, Executive Director

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