March 16, 2023 |23 Adar 5783

Included in This Newsletter

Announcing New Spiritual Leader

Shabbat Service - 3/17

Passover Third Night & Pot Luck - 4/7

This Week's Torah Portion

Upcoming Classes

Greenwich Jewish News With Article By Rabbi Levy

Shir Ami Announces New Spiritual Leader

Good news! As of July 1, 2023, our congregation has a new spiritual leader, Rabbi David Evan Markus.

A little bit of background . . . .

The Shir Ami Search Committee has worked diligently over the past two years to find our next long-term Spiritual Leader. Last year, when we weren’t able to fill the position, we were fortunate to be able to hire Rabbi David E. Levy for a one-year interim term. We are beyond grateful that Rabbi Levy has supported and nurtured our congregation over the past seven months and will continue to do so through the end of our fiscal year on June 30.

In mid-February, the Search Committee enthusiastically recommended Rabbi Markus as the clergy candidate to the Board of Directors. The recommendation was unanimously approved and a small team worked with him on a 3-year contract, which was finalized and signed this week - an event we hope to celebrate soon!

Music is a part of the DNA of Shir Ami. True to this spirit, Rabbi Markus is musically talented. He is a former a cappella vocalist, a composer and conductor, and plays piano and guitar. We are working on a schedule of meet and greet opportunities, which we will share with you within the next few weeks. Rabbi Markus looks forward to getting to know members of the congregation, as well as important secular and interfaith leaders within the Greenwich and Stamford communities. It is his desire to learn and worship with us and help us grow in new and meaningful ways.

Click here to read the full announcement to the membership and learn more about the many impressive accomplishments of Rabbi Markus.

With gratitude and enthusiasm,

The Shir Ami Board of Directors

Third Night of Passover

Pot Luck Dinner

Friday, April 7th

6:30 PM

 First Presbyterian Church

in Greenwich

We are thrilled to be gathering in-person on Friday April 7th - the third night of Passover - to recognize the special place Passover and Shabbat have in our lives.

This service will be part meal, part Shabbat, and part Seder. We are looking forward to our delicious Shir Ami style pot luck meal!

Please register and sign up to bring one of your favorite Passover dishes. 

Asking Big Questions: Rosh Chodesh for

Women and Men  

What Are You Thankful For? 

Tuesday, March 28th

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.

Living In Jewish Time

Hitkansut Yom HaShoah: A Special Service For Yom HaShoah

Tuesday, April 18th

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.

Help UJA-JCC Greenwich Support Earthquake Survivors in Turkey and Syria

We are heartbroken by the news of devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria. The death toll is at 35,000 and still rising.

While an overwhelming number of homes and businesses have been destroyed, rescuers are racing to provide humanitarian aid to survivors who have lost everything.



UJA-JCC along with Federations across the country, are supplying thousands of tents, heaters, thermal clothing, ready to eat meals, and first-aid kits. 

But they need your help to do more to save lives!

Click here to donate.

There are many ways in which we can participate in welcoming refugees into our community.

At the Refugee Shabbat, we also talked about ways in which volunteers could provide hands-on help with:

• Initial apartment set-up and provisioning;
• Ongoing transportation to appointments;
• English practice, tutoring;
• Job search and financial skills. 

Contact Barbara Salop or Ronny Kaplan if you are interested in any of these volunteer opportunities in Greenwich or Stamford.

Thanks for “welcoming the stranger” - as we are reminded: "You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Leviticus 19:34)

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