SHABBAT SHALOM, GESHER SHALOM!


 
August 14, 2020
 
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Shabbat Times: 
Candle Lighting
Virtual services see below

7:36m
 
 Forecast: 84
 
/partly cloudy





LAST CHANCE
This was inside a fortune cookie I opened earlier this week:
"Don't count calories; be counted in the 2020 Census"
Like at Yom Kippur's Neila, service the gates are rapidly closing on the pandemic-hampered Census count. That makes it all-the-more important for you to participate by the new, early deadline, September 30.
You can fill out the form online: 
Need help? Please call or email me. kas
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Our Rosh HaShannah and Yom Kippur services will be held remotely (online, over-the-phone, streaming). We are still in the process of working out the specifics...
The most important thing for you to know is that
We Have Reserved the Best Seat for You in YOUR House for the HiHo's!
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. 







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?







Torah Reading 
R'EIH
In yet a further continuation of Moses' farewell speeches, the Israelites are informed that a future of either blessings or curses is in their hands. The specifics of these alternatives will be spelled out in a ceremony that is to take place upon entry into the land. All is contingent upon adherence to the Torah.
 
As part of the Torah's program for eradicating idolatry, all local cultic shrines, sacrifices and other practices were to be eliminated; ritual would be centrally concentrated "in the place that God would choose." The second tithe was to be brought to this central location - not for donation to the Sanctuary, but to be consumed and enjoyed by the religious pilgrim. Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot were to be celebrated by pilgrimage to this as yet unidentified, "place."
 
Other idolatrous trappings were also prohibited: child sacrifice, and inflicting gashes or shaving as a sign of mourning. False prophets - those who encouraged idolatry - were to be executed, and any town that had been subverted (i.e., that had totally gone over to idolatry) was to be thoroughly destroyed.
 
The laws of kashrut are reiterated, after which a further dietary restriction is added: both animals and produce are tithed--some of the tithes go to the poor, some to the Levite and some are to be eaten by the pilgrim at the Sanctuary.
 
Tithing logically leads into details of a social and economic contract that gives great consideration to the poor, and the sidra concludes with the reasoning behind the three Pilgrimage Festivals










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

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
 
17% of American Jews Attended a Virtual Prayer Service Last Month, Compared to Half of Christians  




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  8:30pm      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 


Roberta Mathes will be observing yahrzeit for her grandfather,  Nathan Mathes on Friday evening, August 14th
Diane Sudakoff will be observing yahrzeit for her sister, Susanne Zucker on Friday evening, August 14th
Vida Elette Story will be observing yahrzeit for her grandfather,  Avrom Dyme on Saturday evening, August 15th
Solomon Arbeiter will be observing yahrzeit for his mother-in-law, Clara Sonkin on Saturday evening, August 15th
Iris Coleman will be observing yahrzeit for her mother, Eleanor Coleman on Sunday evening, August 16th
Sylvia Gosberg will be observing yahrzeit for her husband, Nathaniel Gosberg on Monday evening, August 17th
Mark Halpern will be observing yahrzeit for his mother, Lois Halpern on Tuesday evening, August 18th
Elsie Zeilberger will be observing yahrzeit for her mother, Rena Blumenthal on Wednesday evening, August 19th
Ethel Chesen will be observing yahrzeit for her son, Jeffrey Chesen on Thursday evening, August 20th
Rita Frazer will be observing yahrzeit for her father-in-law,  Isidore Frazer on Thursday evening, August 20th
Laurie Singer will be observing yahrzeit for her father,  Leslie Singer on Thursday evening, August 20th
Gloria Singer will be observing yahrzeit for her husband, Leslie Singer on Thursday evening, August 20th


Birthdays & Anniversaries
Helen Kimberly
Roz Zim
  Marlene & Leon Perkal
 




 
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

Our Minyan Participants this last Monday evening

 
Sunday - Thursday Evenings at 7:00 pm CLICK HERE TO ATTEND
Dial in by phone: 929 205 6099       Meeting ID: 338 747 559
 
This morning:

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, AUGUST 19:
MARVIN CHERTKOFF begins a 3-week course in: WOMEN IN THE BIBLE
We thank Marvin for bringing us a marvelous video tour of the Machane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem this past Wednesday.

"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
Happening tomorrow in Salzburg:
Remembering Music's Saving Powers at Auschwitz       
Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who says her role as a cellist in the camp orchestra kept her alive, takes her message to the Salzburg Festival.

UAE and Israel
This saves face for Bibi (who now has a "good reason" to forego the international/diplomatic crisis that annexation would have brought), it allows Pres. Trump to cite a "good reason" for backing away from this problematic aspect of the US Peace Plan, and the UAE gets to be a semi-hero to the Palestinians for averting annexation, while shifting the focus away from their role in Yemen's civil war. "Semi-hero" only because the Palestinians can't be too happy about full diplomatic relations between Israel and another Arab state:
 Israel and United Arab Emirates Strike Major Diplomatic Agreement to Establish "Full Normalization of Relations" In Exchange Israel Will Forgo, For Now, "Declaring Sovereignty" Over Disputed West Bank Territory.   
 
Netanyahu Drops Troubled Annexation Plan for Diplomatic Gain  In Historic Deal With the UAE, Israel Is the Biggest Winner                  
In halting threats to annex parts of the West Bank to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found a way to leave behind an unrealistic promise. And Saudi Arabia may well stand to lose the most.                     

Tom Friedman is a very smart man who has been wrong many, many times (I am thinking the Arab spring demonstrations in Cairo, for one). Still we can remain hopeful that at least some parts of his analysis turn out to be correct:
A Geopolitical Earthquake Just Hit the Mideast        
The Israel-United Arab Emirates deal will be felt throughout the region. 
Palestinians Recall Ambassador from the UAE Over Peace Deal with Israel
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, convened a meeting of his top leadership Thursday night, and afterward his spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh, said the agreement amounted to "treason." He added that the UAE must reverse the decision and urged other Arab countries not to follow suit "at the expense of Palestinian rights."
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said the Palestinian ambassador to the UAE was being recalled.
In Gaza, Hamas called the deal a "stabbing in the back of our people."
Moving to head off the Palestinian criticism, UAE officials said the deal had prevented the annexation and kept hopes alive for Palestinian statehood. "The UAE is using its gravitas and promise of a relationship to unscrew a time bomb that is threatening a two-state solution," Gargash said.
Israeli hard-liners accused Netanyahu of missing an opportunity to annex parts of the biblical land of Israel. Naftali Bennett, a pro-settler lawmaker, welcomed the agreement but said it was "tragic that Netanyahu did not seize the moment." Netanyahu insisted there was "no change" to his annexation plans. He said Israel would "wait temporarily" at the request of Trump.

The one element left out of this article is that DNA markers show the close similarity between Ashkenazi and Middle Eastern Jews-and our genetic similarity (not quite as close between Jews) to the Arabs.
Ashkenazi Jews Are Indigenous To Israel, Not Europe      
 
Bibi is not wrong when he says that many of today's Palestinians came to the area in the last 2 centuries dues to the economic opportunities generated by the early Zionists. But that is not the whole story:
DNA from the Bible's Canaanites Lives on in Modern Arabs and Jews
 
Ruins of Ancient Jerusalem Help Unravel Enigmas of Earth's Magnetic Field      

Israel 
Knesset Rejects Bill That Would Stop Netanyahu from Forming Government                                                                
Israeli PM's Uneasy Alliance Seems Headed Toward Collapse
The IDF Observation Unit on Israel's Northern Border 


BDS / Anti-Semitism / anti-Zionism

Iran / Syria / Hezbollah
Beirut's Shiites Like the Idea of Change, but Like Hezbollah More       
In a Shiite stronghold, people agree that the political system is dysfunctional and needs replacing, but not if that means Hezbollah ceding its power.
Iran Convicts Man of Spying for Germany Maximum Pressure May Bring Iran Back to the Table After All             
 Combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, the country is struggling to stay afloat.                                                     


The Palestinians
PA Calls Installation of Elevator for Disabled People at Cave of Machpelah (Tomb of the Patriarchs) a War Crime   EU Study Examines Israeli Textbooks in Arabic, Concludes Palestinian Authority Promotes Peace with Israel
No social distancing here-but due to their isolation, the pandemic is very limited in the Gaza Strip:
'Dream Destination' Cafes Offer Taste of Paradise in Blockaded Gaza Strip     Hamas Threatens Further Escalation Unless Israel Meets its Demands    
 Senior Palestinian officials tell Israel Hayom that unless Israel makes things easier for the residents of Gaza, "the security situation will only worsen."       
Incendiary and Explosive Balloons from Gaza Spark 68 Fires in Israel on Tuesday           Israel Deploys Laser-Defense System on Gaza Border Amid Surge of Incendiary Balloon Attacks
Israel Closes Gaza Border Crossing after Spike in Palestinian Arson Balloon Attacks         


Pop Culture
One day...homegrown David Meyers will make it big in the entertainment industry. View the trailer for his proposed 2-minute installments saga on UTUBE. Please consider subscribing to his channel:
Bloomywood  
Bloomywood Official Trailer | Comedy Webseries (Satire)
Bloomywood Official Trailer | Comedy Webseries (Satire)

 
On her 90th Birthday, the Jewish Origin Story of Betty Boop       
 
'Dirty Dancing' Sequel Starring Jennifer Grey Announced
 
Epic Israeli Series "Beauty Queen of Jerusalem" to Feature "Shtisel" Star Michael Aloni    
 
A Bunch of Jewish Things About Kamala Harris, from Her In-Laws to Israel 
 
 
Seth MacFarlane Adapting Herman Wouk WWII Novels for Miniseries 
 
ChaiFlicks, the "Jewish Netflix," is Here!




WEBINAR Click here to register
Should the Jewish Community Forgive Antisemites?

Doing this Daily Jewish Ritual (Daf Yomi or A-Page-A-Day) Has Helped Me Cope with Coronavirus    
 
This announcement came in just a bit too late to be included last week. But no worries: you can easily play catch-up for the week's-worth that you misssed. And while you are already 2 tractates behind in this current cycle, 7 years down the road you can sign up for the beginning of the next cycle


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Upcoming webinars
The Land is our Shofar with Rabbi Paul Citrin
Sunday August 26th at 20:00 Israel time, 13:00  NY time  
Inspiring Youth in Conservation hosted by Alen Kacal
Sunday September 6th at 20:00 Israel time, 13:00 NY time