April 10, 2025 /12 Nisan 5785

Included in This Newsletter

Shir Ami Passover Seder - 4/13

Online Yizkor Service - 4/18

Shabbat Service - 4/25

New Community Conversation

Weekly D'var Torah

Social Action Items

Greenwich Jewish News

Spotlight Calendar


Members and guests are always welcome to attend our Shir Ami services, classes and special events (fees may apply)


April


Soul Spa - Meet the Midrash (virtual)

Saturdays, April 12, 19 and 26 (continues weekly through June 2025)

10:00 AM


Unlocking the Jewish Prayer Book Class (virtual)

Sundays, April 20 and 27

5:00 PM


Community Second Seder (in person)

Sunday, April 13

6:00 PM


Board Meeting (virtual)

Monday, April 14

7:00 PM


Spring Conversation - Pride, Pain and Purpose Astride the Mideast (virtual)

Tuesdays, April 15 and 29

7:00 PM


Online Passover Shabbat and Yizkor (virutal)

Friday, April 18

7:00 PM


Shabbat Service (in person)

Friday, April 25

7:00 PM


May


Soul Spa - Meet the Midrash (virtual)

Saturdays, May 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 (continues weekly through June 2025)

10:00 AM


Unlocking the Jewish Prayer Book Class (virtual)

Sundays, May 4, 11, 18 and 25

5:00 PM


Shabbat Service (in person)

Friday, May 9

7:00 PM - Details to follow


Board Meeting (virtual)

Monday, May 12

7:00 PM


Spring Conversation - Pride, Pain and Purpose Astride the Mideast (virtual)

Tuesdays, May 13 and 27

7:00 PM


Shir Ami Annual Meeting

Sunday, May 18

11:00 AM - Details to follow



2024-2025 Calendar is now available on our website

Click here

Contact Us:


Email Address

shirami.info@gmail.com.


Website

www.congregationshirami.org


Donations and Payments

congregationshirami.org/donate.html


Mailing Address

1273 E. Putnam Ave

​PO Box 312

Riverside, CT 06878

To Make Donations or Payments:


To make donations or register for classes or events, please visit our website's donation page.


congregationshirami.org/donate.html

SAVE THE DATE

SHIR AMI ANNUAL MEETING

Sunday, May 18th

11:00 AM

More details to follow


Shir Ami members are encouraged to attend the annual meeting each year in May. Your feedback, input and ideas are so important for us to hear as we shape the goals together for the upcoming year. Please put this date on your calendar. More details about the location will follow.

Wherever you are celebrating, we wish you a healthy and happy Passover!


The registration for the Shir Ami Community Seder on April 13th is now closed.


For those already registered, the Seder is at 6:00 PM; check-in begins at 5:30 PM at Round Hill Community Church. We will tell the story of our exodus from Egypt, enjoy music and songs, and share a delicious pot luck dinner and the traditions of Passover.

Online Passover Shabbat

and Yizkor

Friday, April 18

7:00 PM


Rabbi David will host an online Shabbat during Passover on April 18, starting at 7:00 pm, so folks can offer Yizkor for beloveds no longer in body. 

Register for Passover Yizkor - 4/18

Shabbat Service

Friday, April 25

7:00 PM


Please join us for Earth Week Shabbat. Earth Day (usually April 22) is a worldwide event celebrated by millions. Many major and minor religions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, emphasize the stewardship of the Earth.


During our Shabbat, like many Shabbatot around the world, Jews celebrate Earth Week and our beautiful natural world. Our Torah commands us "to guard it and work it" (Genesis 2:15) and notes our moral authority to care for God's creation. This command is so important, it's one of the first things God asks of us after our creation.


Torah guides us to come to terms with our place in nature and the Jewish concept of bal tashchit, "do not destroy." There are countless ways we can practice this commitment and preserve our natural world for future generations, including addressing such challenges as climate change, clean air and water and overall environmental protections. 


Thanks to Marie Orsini Rosen and Phil Rosen for sponsoring the Oneg in honor of Earth Week.

Register for April 25 Shabbat

Weekly D'var Torah

D'var Torah by Rabbi David

Parashat Tzav and Passover (5785)


You Are the High Priest – and Omer 5785


The matzah that is the Passover bread is about many things. Amidst the crunch and crumbles we might find humility, ancestry, community and reminders of liberation.


Hidden in matzah's layers of meaning (and this week's Torah portion) is one more thing – a profound empowerment and call to each of us. Read more...


Shir Ami Classes

Six Tuesdays starting April 15, 2025.  

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.


In order to confirm the best format for this offering, Rabbi David and the planning committee need to determine how many people will participate. In that spirit, please register immediately. It will best serve participants and the community if participants make maximum effort to attend all sessions.


For details about the series, topics and expectations, please read our full blogpost here.

Register for Pride, Pain & Purpose

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.

Register for Unlocking the Jewish Prayer Book

Community News

April 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.

April Issue of

New Jewish Voice


Please click here to read the latest digital version.

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/.

Social Action

Registration for the US election for the 39th World Zionist Congress is now open! Reform Jews have the unique opportunity to make our voices matter in determining Israel’s future. A vote for Reform is a counterweight to the ultra-conservative voices that are attempting to drown out more progressive voices in Israel. Your vote will help advance pluralism and secure resources for Reform synagogues, rabbis, and values in Israel, safeguard the rights of minorities, women, and the LGBTQ+ community in Israel and influence the allocation of $1 billion annually to causes that impact Israel and the global Jewish community. Am Yisrael Chai! 18 shekels ($5) will register you to vote at www.azm.org - vote now to make our voices heard!

JFS Greenwich Emergency Appeal


Shir Ami has already contributed from its Social Action Fund, but individual members may also want to contribute or otherwise participate. Click here for the link to the JFS website donation page.

Blessings and Simchas


Blessings for a Happy Birthday to our members with April birthdays:


David Pribish - 4/3

Tenzin Pelyang - 4/4

Chip Raymond - 4/24

Eric Birnbaum - 4/29



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. 

Membership

We warmly welcome you to join our community at Congregation Shir Ami. 


Please visit our Membership Page where you can find:

  • Membership Letter - from our Shir Ami Officers
  • Membership Form - easy-to-fill out online or print
  • 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.
  • 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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