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May 29, 2025 /2 Sivan 5785
June Newsletter
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Included in This Newsletter
Shavuot Gathering - 6/1
Healing Shabbat - 6/13
Beach Shabbat - 6/27
Rabbi's Corner
Weekly D'var Torah
Interfaith Blood Drive - 6/14
Community News
| | Rabbi's Corner - June 2025 | | |
Happy June, which this year also means Happy Shavuot!
Rabbi David offers coming attractions about the Shavuot festival of love this weekend, and some personal thoughts about what this festival means to him amidst family challenges.
Read more...
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D'var Torah by Rabbi David
Parashat Bamidbar 5785
Who Counts
The fourth book of Torah (Numbers) opens with our desert-wandering ancestors starting their 14th month walking free from Egypt. They begin by taking a census of the Children of Israel, of each separate tribe, and of subsets of the Tribe of Levi dedicated to sacred service. Thousands of years later, Auschwitz survivors bore numbered tattoos on their forearms, a gruesome testament to the horror of treating people as ledger entries.
What does it mean to "count" in Jewish life? Read more...
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Six Alternating Tuesdays started April 15, 2025. The next date is June 10.
Open only to Shir Ami members and individuals who have learned with Shir Ami previously
Israel evokes inspiration, dismay, pride, anger, blessing, suffering, love and hate. The State of Israel and the Mideast community, including the ongoing crisis in Palestinian life, deeply touch the heart of everyone in and near Jewish life. Yet rarely do we discuss them openly. Too often such matters are avoided like a Third Rail of Jewish life, or suppressed, or relegated to quiet corners.
This community conversation series will explore how the Mideast touches us and our Judaism, through the lenses of Jewish values and important topics in Jewish and Mideast life. We also will explore together how to have open and respectful dialogue about the Middle East with each other…and hopefully others in our lives.
For details about the series, topics and expectations, please read our full blogpost here.
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Soul Spa is open to all.
Our Torah study each Shabbat morning has become a mainstay of our programming. As we examine the parashat each week under Rabbi David's guidance and questioning, our sacred writings become more familiar, the stories clearer, and the teachings more meaningful.
Soul Spa is free for members and non-members alike. You may drop in frequently or infrequently, as you like. Please click here to find the weekly Zoom link and for recordings of previous discussions.
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The Red Cross is looking for blood donors! No matter your blood type, you're needed.
Give at the Red Cross Interfaith Blood Drive on Saturday, June 14th, 8:00 am to 1:15 pm in Fellowship Hall at First Presbyterian Church of Greenwich.
In thanks for giving, you'll get a $15 Amazon.com Gift Card by email PLUS automatic entry for a chance to score one of two $7K gift cards. Sign up to donate at rcblood.org/donate using code: FPCG or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
Make your appointment now.
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April/May Issue of
Greenwich Jewish News
Please click here to read the digital version. Please see the Shir Ami Second Seder article on page 5 and a Passover message from Rabbi David on page 7.
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May Issue of
New Jewish Voice
Please click here to read the latest digital version.
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A Trip That You Might Find Interesting
Anne Frank The Exhibition
Hosted by the Center for Jewish History
15 W. 16th Street, New York, NY
Whether or not you have faced that revolving bookcase and the steep staircase that leads you to the rooms in the annex where Otto Frank hid his family in Amsterdam, you should consider a visit to the replica now on exhibit in New York.
This prefabricated construction was commissioned by The Anne Frank House in June 2024 and shipped in a container. The exhibition opened on January 27th to mark 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz and has been extended to October 31, 2025.
Thousands of photos of The Annex were taken to assist in creating an accurate replica of the space in which the Frank family was confined and where young Anne wrote her diary. The exhibition surrounds you with the story of that dangerous time in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam and the
Frank family’s valiant effort to survive.
Interesting background and ticket purchase available at:
https://www.annefrankexhibit.org/.
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Blessings for a Happy Birthday to our members with end of May and June birthdays:
Fran Pribish - 5/30
Richard Preng - 6/3
Jay Polansky - 6/14
Rick Mason - 6/15
Gary Meisel - 6/22
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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.
If you make a special donation and would like to share it in the newsletter’s “Blessings and Simchas," let us know by emailing shirami.info@gmail.com with the subject line, "Blessings and Simchas" no later than 9:00 AM on Monday. Be sure to include the wording for how you want the donation and the donor to be recognized, including your name, the occasion and the recipient's name(s).
If you choose to make a donation, you may do so by visiting 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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We warmly welcome you to join our community at Congregation Shir Ami.
Please visit our Membership Page where you can find:
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Membership Letter - from our Shir Ami Officers
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Membership Form - easy-to-fill out online or print
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Membership Policy - details on dues, benefits and more
Membership allows you special access 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 of services, classes and events.
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participate in rituals, group trips and member events
- have access to our wonderful clergy for pastoral care and life cycle events
- recognize our loved ones who have passed during our Yizkor service each year
As with most faith-based organizations, membership dues fuel everything we do and account for only 65% of our annual budget. Full dues payments and additional contributions are always appreciated. If an alternate arrangement is needed, please contact Co-Presidents Jackie Marschall at jackiea.broadcast@gmail.com, Fran Pribish at faprib807@gmail.com or Abby Ross at aar1@optonline.net.
If you are interested and would like to know more, please find membership information on our website’s membership page. The easy-to-fill-out form may be completed online and submitted with a button, or can be printed out and sent to our mailing address: Congregation Shir Ami, 1273 E Putnam Ave, PO Box 312, Riverside, CT 06878.
Contact us at shirami.info@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like to speak with an officer or our clergy.
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:
| | If you're only receiving the newsletter monthly and would like to receive it weekly, please click the link above to edit your email preference. | | |
CongregationShirAmi.org
203-900-7976
shirami.info@gmail.com
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