January 19, 2023 | 26 Tevet 5783 | |
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Included in This Newsletter
Friday Shabbat With Special Guest-1/20
Refugee Shabbat-2/3
Civil Rights Trip Info - register today!!
This Week's Torah Portion-Rabbi Levy
Upcoming Classes With Rabbi Levy
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Upcoming Services and Calendar | |
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Refugee Shabbat Service
Friday, February 3rd
7:30 PM
First Presbyterian Church
in Greenwich
Shir Ami volunteers perform so many mitzvot, fighting food insecurity, addressing equity in basic hygiene needs., combating racism, and many others. As Rabbi Levy tells us: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say: It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it." Pirkei Avot 2:16
Our world is far from perfected, we have so much work to do to build the world as it should be. Join us for a Shabbat dedicated to building that more perfect world, focused on the work of Refugee resettlement. Through prayer and action, we will make a change in our hurting world.
Come to hear about how our members are active in resettling families from Ukraine, Afghanistan, and other countries, through our work with JFS-Greenwich (a HIAS Resettlement Agency), and SIRS (Stamford Interfaith Refugee Settlement). As we begin our reading of Exodus again, its lessons are ever relevant in our world today.
Rabbi Levy will be leading the service accompanied by Andrew Yeargin on piano. We thank Barbara and Evan Salop for hosting.
Please be sure to register if you plan to join us in person so you can receive the passcode to enter the building. If you are not able to, we are now offering livestream for all services. Please click here for the link (it will be updated for each service).
As we get closer, we will determine if this service will be able to be in person or virtual. A timely email will be sent out if there is bad weather or if we determine there is an increased risk of respiratory viruses and it is safer for everyone to have a virtual service.
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Don't Miss Out on this Exciting Trip!
Registration deadiine is this Friday 1/20/23
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Members and non-members are welcome to join us! We are so close to making this trip a reality and just need a few more people to register to make it a go. Are you interested? Others who have taken this trip with Rabbi Levy from his previous congregation have raved about the experience! | |
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Would You Be Interested?...
Shir Ami Civil Rights Trip With
Rabbi Levy
April 13-16, 2023
The deadline to register and make a deposit is Friday, January 20th
The Civil Rights movement in the US brought the Black and Jewish community together over shared values and with great courage. Rabbi Levy has a special historical and spiritual interest in this history and has led many congregations on a "Civil Rights Trip" in the South. He has offered to bring this journey to Shir Ami this spring. A minimum of 20 individuals is needed; costs vary depending on the number of attendees.
Click here to see the itinerary.
Click here for the registration form to print and return.
In Rabbi's own words: I have been lucky enough to travel to the American South so many times over the past decade to walk in the footsteps of Dr. King and experience the Civil Rights movement from the perspective of people who not only lived through it, but continue to live with it. We go to meet living textbooks, who share their stories and how their stories intersect with our own American Story. Our journey begins with the story of Leo Frank, who was lynched because of a horrible combination of anti-Semitism and racism, which sparked the rebirth of the KKK in America. We then travel to Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham to hear from people who lived through the struggles of the time, and end with a beacon of hope: Ebenezer Baptist Church where Senator Warnock is the head reverend. This is a rare opportunity to experience history with your heads and your hearts, and engage with the continuing challenges of racism in America.
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Parashat
D'var Torah by Rabbi David Levy
Towards the end of his life, Dr. King was working hard to ensure that everyone had a living wage. The day he died, he was in Memphis, supporting the sanitation workers in their strike for fair working conditions. The fight for the dignity of a living wage continues 55 years after Dr. King's death: Workers' rights are at the heart of such current negotiations as with the 7,000 nurses who were striking at Montefoire Medical Center and Mt. Sinai Hosptial and the Teamsters Union members who are seeking a living wage from UPS. Dr. King knew the truth of our Torah portion: that human dignity starts with having your core needs met. Consider this inspiring concept in more detail in the words of Rabbi Sacks: https://www.rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/vaera/spirits-in-a-material-world/
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Asking Big Questions: Rosh Chodesh for
Women and Men
How Do We Talk About Israel?
Tuesday, January 24th
7:30 PM via Zoom
Why are we here? What does community look like? How do we find meaning? The best questions often don’t have concrete answers, but we enrich ourselves by struggling with the questions. We look forward to unpacking these questions together!
To see the full schedule of classes and topics, please visit our website.
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Tu B'Shvat
Tuesday, February 7th
7:30 PM via Zoom
We live every day by the Gregorian calendar. In this monthly class taught by Rabbi Levy, we will consider what the Jewish calendar has to teach us about how we live in the world. Each time we gather, we’ll unpack our Jewish calendar to find meaning in every day life.
To see the full schedule of classes and topics, please visit our website.
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Blessings for a Happy Birthday to all of our members with January birthdays:
Larissa Friedenberg - 1/2
David Green - 1/4
Karen Brand - 1/5
Nancy Birnbaum - 1/6
Zaac Lake - 1/15
Abby Ross - 1/16
Marcia Lazarowitz - 1/19
Rick Lake - 1/22
Aviv Nisinzweig - 1/25
Wendy Nadel - 1/27
Matt Rosen - 1/30
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In our weekly Blessing and Simchas, we invite members to offer congratulations on a special event in someone’s life, blessings for healing, or to remember a loved one.
Submit your listing including your name, the occasion and the recipient's name/s to [email protected] with the subject line, "Blessings and Simchas". In order to appear in the next week's newsletter, the entry must be received by 9:00 AM on Monday morning.
You are not required to make a donation but if you chose to, you may do so on our website's donation page or by mailing a check to Congregation Shir Ami, 1273 East Putnam Avenue, P.O. Box 312, Riverside, CT 06870-9998.
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Social Action TIKVAH Team | |
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Ukraine Continues to Need Support
We are all horrified at what is happening in Ukraine to all the people, and although other news can surface to take its place in the headlines, they continue to need our unwavering support.
Should you wish to send assistance to Ukrainians in need, please visit the Social Action Page on our website for suggestions of organizations to send to.
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TIKVAH - Touching Individuals with Kindness, Vision, and Hope
- Opportunities to support and volunteer to help immigrants and those in need.
- Ways we can each help combat racism.
- Shopping for Seniors with JFS.
- Dignity Grows supplies essential toiletries to people in need.
- and more worthwhile activities...
Recruit some Shir Ami friends to participate in one of these projects with you!
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November Issue of Greenwich Jewish News
Please click here to read the digital version. Check out the wonderful articles about Shir Ami including one about our High Holiday Social Action donations.
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December Issue of New Jewish Voice
Please click here to read the latest digital version.
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The Benefits Of Membership | |
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For those of you who are not yet Members but are considering joining Shir Ami, we warmly welcome you!
Being a Member of Shir Ami, allows you to
- practice our faith together and learn from the Torah and each other
- help shape our community
- support Shir Ami's mission
- find inspiration in our diverse offerings
- participate in rituals and events reserved for members
- have access to our wonderful clergy
- recognize our loved ones who have passed during our Yizkor service each year
This is the time of year when many choose to join a congregation. If that is you, we hope you will join Congregation Shir Ami. The Membership Policy has details on dues, benefits, events, life-cycle and pastoral care and general involvement in congregational life and can be found here And if you already are a member, it's a good time to revisit the policy and refresh your memory on why you joined.
If you are interested and would like to know more, please look for membership information which can be found on our website's membership page.
Contact us if you have any questions or would like to speak with an officer or our clergy, [email protected]
All are welcome to join our community!
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For a full listing of all local events of Jewish interest visit the websites for:
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CongregationShirAmi.org
203-900-7976
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