SHABBAT SHALOM, GESHER SHALOM!


 
July 10, 2020
 
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Shabbat Times: 
Candle Lighting
Virtual services see below

8:11pm
 
  Forecast: 86
 
/chance of rain





IMPORTANT NOTICE
Our Rosh HaShannah and Yom Kippur services will be held online and over the phone. The best way for you to feel comfortable at these services is to familiarize yourself with ZOOM in advance. So please consider joining us for any of our services or other online programming. And in the process you might just discover how sustaining online contact can be and how enjoyable it is!
"Car Nidre" and Shofar Flash Mobs: Here's What the High Holidays Might Look Like   
IMPORTANT QUESTION
Would you be interested in attending a live, in-person, socially-distanced, outdoor SHOFAR SERVICE on Sunday afternoon, the second day of Rosh HaShannah? Please let me know.

How Are You? I really want to know.
Please reach out to me as I cannot possibly reach out to each of you. I welcome the opportunity for a quick check-in, for casual conversation or for something more serious.
Please call me or email me so we can arrange it. kas







Mi SheBayrach 
We make special prayers for those who are ill at every Shabbat Morning service and during our Monday & Thursday Minyanim. Since the onset of the pandemic, we have been adding a special Mi SheBayrach for those who have contracted the coronavirus.  
You can add a name (traditionally: Hebrew/Yiddish name and mother's Hebrew/Yiddish name, but we'll take English names and the names of those who are not Members of our Tribe) by calling or emailing me.
Or better yet: why not join us for the 9:00am weekday morning minyan, and read the Psalm (in English) just before we include the name of your family member, friend or acquaintance in the Mi SheBayrach?







 

The Three Weeks
The period that began yesterday with the fast of the 17th of Tammuz is a time of grieving for the destruction of both the First and Second Temples and culminates with Tisha B'Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar.

Torah Reading  
PINHAS
As his reward for his zealousness (in last week's sidra), Pinhas is promised by God that his descendants would be in the possession of the High Priesthood for succeeding generations. God also extends to Pinhas his special covenant of peace.
 
In preparation for the conquest of Canaan, Moses and Elazar are commanded to take a census of the Israelites to ascertain the number of males above the age of twenty eligible for military service. This census will also provide the basis for the division of the land among the tribes based upon their population. The total is slightly more than 600,000.
 
Since the apportionment of the land and all future inheritances are restricted to male family members, the case of the late Tzelofchad's five daughters requires special adjudication. The matter is submitted to God by Moses, who is then informed that daughters may inherit if there are no sons.
 
God discloses to Moses that his end is near. Moses' immediate concern is for the welfare of the people and he asks that a successor with certain qualities be appointed. Moses is directed to present Joshua to the nation.
 
The sidra concludes with a comprehensive description of all public sacrifices offered daily, weekly and on holidays.  
 










SHABBAT SCHEDULE
ALL our Synagogue Prayer Services and Programs are conducted over ZOOM


 
Here is a screenshot (taken before Shabbat) of some of our participants at last Friday night's Zoom service


You can participate in one of two ways 
          • Dialing in - or - 
          • Using internet access and a smartphone, tablet or computer
 
Do You Need to Obtain a Siddur? Please call or email me for details. kas
 
Do you need a CROSS-REFERENCE GUIDE to pages in the old Sim Shalom (Blue cover) for Shabbat and Holidays (when we are using Lev Shalem)?...
Or
to the Weekday Services in Lev Shalem (when we are using the burgundy weekday Sim Shalom)?
Call me or e mail me for the GUIDE
 
 



Shabbat Services
Friday evening at 7:00 pm   CLICK HERE TO ATTEND                                               
Dial in by phone:   929-205-6099   Meeting ID: 869 8266 6380  

Shabbat Morning at 10:30am  CLICK HERE TO ATTEND                                          
Dial in by phone:   929 205 6099      Meeting ID: 874 8132 0020 
 
Havdalah at  9:15pm      CLICK HERE TO ATTEND
Dial in by phone:   929 205 6099     Meeting ID: 729-396-135

This Week's Yahrzeit Observances
We hope that our weekly listing of yahrzeit observances will serve 2 purposes:
1)     To remind those who have the yahrzeit for a second time, much closer to the date of the actual observance
2)     To alert friends and acquaintances that someone they know is observing a yahrzeit. We hope that you will show them your support by joining them at our (virtual) minyanim, and helping to assure that Kaddish can be recited with a minyan 


Iris Coleman will be observing yahrzeit for her friend, Rebecca Serkey on Friday evening, July 10th
Moriah Weissman will be observing yahrzeit for her sister, Rebecca Serkey on Friday evening, July 10th
Evelyn Baer will be observing yahrzeit for her grandfather, Julius Baer on Saturday evening, July 11th
Karen Meyers will be observing yahrzeit for her father, Manfred Gruenspecht on Sunday evening, July 12th
Howard Gruenspecht will be observing yahrzeit for his father, Manfred Gruenspecht on Sunday evening, July 12th
Naomi Altschul will be observing yahrzeit for her mother, Lillian Heller on Sunday evening, July 12th
Eloise Polinsky will be observing yahrzeit for her husband, Albert Polinsky on Monday evening, July 13th
Helene Polinsky will be observing yahrzeit for her Brother-in-Law, Albert Polinsky on Monday evening, July 13th
Irwin Gottlieb will be observing yahrzeit for his father, Meyer Gottlieb on Tuesday evening, July 14th
Ethel Chesen will be observing yahrzeit for her sister-in-law, Doris Rostoker on Tuesday evening, July 14th
Jeffrey Adler will be observing yahrzeit for his sister, Gail Frankfort on Wednesday evening, July 15th
Hennie Ostrower will be observing yahrzeit for her sister, Gertrude Kartzmer on Wednesday evening, July 15th
Lucille Laufer will be observing yahrzeit for her mother, Betty Schoenfeld on Wednesday evening, July 15th
Erwin & Marlin Dickman will be observing yahrzeit for their daughter, Marah Dickman on Thursday evening, July 16th

Birthdays & Anniversaries
Rochelle Schneider
Edith Adler
Scott Alenick
 
Audrey & Mark Altschul



 
OUR WEEKDAY MINYANIM
  
Sunday - Friday Mornings at 9:00 am CLICK HERE TO ATTEND
Dial in by phone:  929 205 6099     Meeting ID: 110 379 215
 
Sunday - Thursday Evenings at 7:00 pm CLICK HERE TO ATTEND
Dial in by phone:  929 205 6099       Meeting ID: 338 747 559
 
Special Request: if you purchased or downloaded Siddur Lev Shalem (Shabbat and Holidays) and/or Siddur Sim Shalom (Weekdays), please let Rabbi Stern know. (Please call him or email him).
 
 
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
 
Our Weekly Programming  
 
GPS is on HIATUS
Guided Prayer Service
Please join Rabbi Stern for a series of explanatory talks that will reveal the structure, choreography, and varied functions of the prayers we say. 
 
No, not really. Linda Richman will not be joining us...but join us for schmooze anyway!
 
Every Wednesday, 12 Noon with Rabbi Stern
BYO coffee, lunch, etc.
CLICK HERE TO ATTEND
Dial in by phone: 929 205 6099           Meeting ID: 814 6433 7599
 
Next Wednesday, July 15:  Dr. Avi Yacobi r eturns with Part II of A Wandering/Wondering Jew. The circumstances that led him to leave his home and to make aliya.

On July 22:  In honor of Rosh Hodesh Av: A Virtual Tour of the entire Western Wall followed by a presentation by a representative of Women of the Wall, who earlier in the day will have attended WOW services at the Wall.
 
Our thanks to Marvin Chertkoff for a marvelous talk on literary devices in the Biblical text this past Wednesday. We look forward to his presentation on Women in the Bible in the near future.
 
ATTENTION: Please let me know if you would be interested in a close reading of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice under the direction of Janet Chertkoff. Five consecutive weekly sessions to be held at a mutually convenient day/time.

"Talk Amongst Yourselves; I'll give you a topic: Discuss..."         
 
LINDA RICHMAN is looking for VOLUNTEERS to share their passion or expertise with the COFFEE TALK crowd....
Your profession
Your avocation
Your hobby
Your expertise
Your life experiences
Your travels
Please be in touch with the Rabbi

Rabbi's Weekly Class 
TAKING A BREAK
Below please see information about the class, we will let you know when it resumes
 
Dial in by phone:  929-205-6099      Meeting ID: 886 1779 2509
 
 


Important/Interesting Reads
The Coronavirus Is Killing Off American Jewish Institutional Life          
With emptying coffers and no end in sight, many Jewish institutions no longer see COVID-19 as a crisis to weather, but rather as a new reality 

 
1,000 Jewish Groups Received at Least $500 Million in Government Loans. Some Laid Off Staff Anyway. 
( Our Shul also received a PPP Loan) 

Have Brooklyn's Hareidi Communities Acquired Herd Immunity?
Brooklyn's Hasidic Jews Are Acting Like They Have Herd Immunity. Could They Be Right?                     
vs
Not So Fast...
Central Jersey Doctor Reports Patients REINFECTED With Coronavirus                                 
 
Gordis vs Beinart
End the Jewish State? Let's Try Some Honesty, First  
To read Peter Beinart's piece is to slog through an array of misrepresentations and omissions, and to feel dismissed because we know he hopes we don't know enough to catch him
vs
In Jewish Currents--Yavne: A Jewish Case for Equality in Israel-Palestine                                          
In the NYT--  I No Longer Believe in a Jewish State
For decades I argued for separation between Israelis and Palestinians. Now, I can imagine a Jewish home in an equal state.
 
Chief Justice of South Africa: I Will Not Retract My Comments in Support of Israel                                                                        
Woodrow Wilson Was a Hero to Jews. What Should We Do with his Racism?                                                  
Auschwitz Museum Says Preserved Site is Different from Statues Honoring Controversial Figures
Kielce Pogrom
I only saw this last Sunday. Had I been aware earlier that the 74th anniversary of the Pogrom was on July 4, I would have included it in last week's Shab Sha:
Remembering the Kielce Pogrom (a 2-minute video)
Remembering the Kielce pogrom
Remembering the Kielce pogrom
As I said in a recent sermon, tearing down statues is a slippery slope. (At first I thought this essay was crafted as an illustration of the slippery slope and the unreasonable lengths to which it can lead, but the author is dead serious):
Tear Down the Arch of Titus             


BDS / Anti-Semitism / anti-Zionism

Iran / Syria / Hizbullah
Damage to the Iran Centrifuge Assembly Center (ICAC) at Natanz Is Far More Severe and Extensive Than Previously Reported- A ¾ of Centrifuge Assembly Facility Destroyed                                                                       
Iran Ordered to Pay $879 Million to Khobar Towers Bombing Survivors
                         
Iran Registers Another Victory in Iraq                                     

The Palestinians
How the Coronavirus Spreads between Israel and the PA          
  The infection routes tell us that the Green Line, which many in Israel and abroad view as some sort of official boundary, has essentially been erased and doesn't exist in actuality. 
On the one side...
House Subcommittee, with Jewish Legislative and Organizational Support, Advances $250M for Dialogue, Palestinian Development          
On the other side...
Fatah and Hamas Hold Joint Press Conference - a Qatari Statement of Intentions   Abbas Has Partnered with Hamas                 Palestinian Authority Schools Edit Out Christians and Jews from Textbooks      Public Opinion Poll of Palestinian Christians  PA Banks Refuse to Accept Salaries for Terrorists U.S. Report Undercounts Palestinian Terrorism 
                                 

Hi-Tech        
From the vaunted Bezalel Academy of Art and Design:
March 2020: Just before the coronavirus hit Israel, Yael Mordechay made a mask that's sleek, full of technology and a lot more comfortable than the disposable version for a class on Wearable Technology Studio at the Industrial Design Department. Her story gets to The Times Of Israel.


Pop Culture
11 Canadian Jewish Celebrities, Because Why Not?
From TV stars to musicians and comedians, get to know these stars from up north.                                                                            
 
Brooks Brothers Files for Bankruptcy - and Yeah, There's a Jewish Backstory 
 
On his 80th Birthday, Ringo Starr's Secret Jewish History          
 
In "The Tobacconist," a Young Austrian Befriends Freud During WWII                     


J-ADD  is the Jewish organization that sponsors the Group Homes in which Sharon Berman and Robert Perlis live. Please support it, if you can:

 
 



Kolot Ramah this Sunday, July 12 at 8 p.m.

Join Rick Recht and Rabbi Josh Warshawsky for music, inspiring words, and camp highlights from Ramah tzevet, chanichim, alumni and shira leaders. Join us on National Ramah Facebook Live! #SingStrongRamah


Racial Unity, Community, and Music:
A Conversation with PLVNK and Ramah
Live: Thursday, July 16 at 9 p.m. ET
 
Join National Ramah Director Rabbi Mitch Cohen in conversation with  PLVNK about racial unity, community and music.

PLVNK (pronounced "plank") is an LA-based band. Rapper JohnBoyCool represents the new wave of the Compton music scene that brought both Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar to prominence. Singer Nachum Peterseil from Israel (and Ramah California) and UK drummer Mal result in an eclectic texture of music. PLVNK'S members bring the flavors of the cities they grew up in: Compton, Jerusalem, and London.



Sunday July 12th at 1:00pm:
The State of Israel's Water Crisis in 2020
 
Sunday July 26th at 1:00pm
Bird Conservation in the Negev
 
Sunday August 9th at 1:00pm
Israel's Bats


Monday, July 13 @ 2 p.m.
Join Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter as she talks to contemporary stars of Yiddish comedy and mavens of Yiddish humor - Shane Baker, Michael Wex, Allen Lewis Rickman, Yelena Shmulenson and Hy Wolfe. Hear some of the routines that keep audiences coming back for more.
Register here.

Israeli Culture in North America
Music
Guy Mintus Trio + Special guest artists: Gershwin for Jazz Foundation of America | July 19, 2pm EDT
The award winning pianist, vocalist and composer will host a Gershwin themed special live stream featuring his trio + a cast of special guest artists in solidarity and support of the Jazz Foundation of America. Photographer: Karine Mahiout | In collaboration with The Office of Cultural Affairs, Consulate General of Israel in New York.

Film
Watermarks
In this online film presentation and discussion, director Yaron Zilberman (Incitement) will be joined by Prof. Raanan Rein of Tel Aviv University for a conversation about the 2004 documentary, telling the story of the women swimmers of the legendary Jewish sports club Hakoah Vienna. | Co-hosted by The Museum of Jewish Heritage and The Office of Cultural Affairs, Consulate General of Israel in New York.

Literature
Outside by Etgar Keret
A short story from The New York Times Magazine's Decameron Project. Translated by Jessica Cohen from Hebrew.

Music
Steps Up to a Miracle, Cause for Celebration | July 12, 2pm EDT
Internationally renowned concert pianist Evgeny Kissin and a host of Yiddish stars join together to honor writer Boris Sandler on the publication of 4 new books. With recitations in Yiddish and musical performances. Photo by Arthur Rosengurt.

Theatre
Off Broadway! On HaMaser! Theatre Shorts | July 19, 12pm EDT
Enjoy Israel's first and only professional English theatre, Center Stage, along with a Brooklyn, New York based cast, including a member of Netflix's "Unorthodox". Join American Israel Friendship League for a presentation of this selection of three, short performances. Photo credit: Andreas Glockner.

Dance
Artown Opening Night Extravaganza
A virtual spectacle of sight, sound, song, and dance, featuring personal messages and performances from Artown's headline artists including Vertigo Dance Company. Photo by Yoel Levi.

Film
Creating a Character: The Moni Yakim Legacy
What do Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis and Alex Sharp have in common? They all studied under the renowned acting teacher Moni Yakim at Juilliard, America's greatest performing arts school. This film explores his extraordinary life and takes us inside the drama classes.

Music
Israeli Philarmonic Orchestra Global Gala
Join Dame Helen Mirren, Maestro Lahav Shani and iconic soloists and conductors for an exceptional Global Gala, featuring Maestro Zubin Mehta, Pinchas Zukerman & others. Photos courtesy of Trevor Leighton and Marco Borggreve.



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