August 6, 2019/5779


Temple Israel Champions! Congrats to our Softball Team! 
Calendar On the Calendar
8 Av 5779
Torah portion:
D'varim
Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22


Haftarah portion:
Isaiah 1:1-27 Chazon
Friday, August 9
5:30 p.m. Meditation on Sanctuary Bima

6:00 p.m. Qabbalat Shabbat in the garden, weather permitting

7:00 p.m.  Soul Food Friday
Saturday, August 10
9:00 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service and Torah Study

6:30 p.m. Tisha B'Av with Brookline Reform Communities at Temple Israel
Sunday, August 11
5:00-6:00 p.m. Tisha B'av Lament at the JFK Federal Building

RSVP Quick Links
1/30-2/9/2020: Cantor Einhorn's "Victory Tour"
8/11/2019: Tisha B'av Lament
Life Cycle Events

Mazel Tov! We celebrate the wedding of:
Jackie Ehrhardt and Roy Dow
August 3, 2019

*Are you or is someone you know celebrating a wedding? An engagement? A new baby? Do you know someone who is ill or in need of a friendly, supportive call?  Please let Rachel Daniels know.
*If you are saying Qaddish or are in need of a community, our daily Minyan takes place every weekday our building is open at 6:15 p.m.
tishaTisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av is the fast day which traditionally commemorates the destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE and by the Romans in 70 CE, the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, and other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people. If you're interested in learning more, please review our library resource guide.
Tisha B'Av with Brookline Reform Congregations
Saturday, August 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel of Boston
Please join Temple Israel, Temple Sinai, and Temple Ohabei Shalom for a time of reflection on Tisha B'Av. Temple Israel's Rabbi Dan Slipakoff and Cantor Roy Einhorn will lead us in song, prayer, and readings from Eichah , the Book of Lamentations. 
Tisha B'Av Lament for the Torment of Migrants and Refuges
Sunday, August 11 at 5:00-6:00 p.m.
US Immigration Courts at JFK Federal Building
15 New Sudbury Street, Room 320, Boston, Massachusetts 02203
On Tisha B'Av, the Jewish people lament the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and the slaughter of thousands of innocents. Last year at Tisha B'Av, we commemorated the torment of innocent immigrants and refugees. Tragically, we have even more reasons to lament today. We lament our modern American catastrophe. This year, we will gather outside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service offices, at the JFK Federal Building Plaza, in Boston. We must demonstrate publicly that the Jewish community will not turn its back on refugees arriving in our country and our immigrant neighbors already here.
read2Preparing for the High Holy Days with Our Congregational Read
Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
This High Holy Day season the Temple Israel community will dive into a collection of his Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's important essays, entitled Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity. This essential collection captures the best of Heschel's thought and speaks directly to the spiritual, political, and moral issues of our day.  We will be using the d'vrei Torah during the Shabbatot of Elul to lift up essential ideas from this book and then we will have the opportunity join together in communal study during Slichot and Yom Kippur afternoon.  All are invited to flip through this book of essays to find what is personally meaningful, or to follow our suggested study guide found HERE .
Clergy Thoughts: Rabbi Elaine Zecher
There is one degree of separation--because of the Reform Movement--between each of us and Abraham Joshua Heschel.  In 1940, the Hebrew Union College, under the leadership of its President, Julian Morgenstern, rescued five prominent rabbis from the clutches of the Nazis.  One of whom was Heschel.  Though Heschel felt more aligned with a traditional practice, he never forgot how he ended up in America.  We are all the beneficiaries.  According to his daughter, Susannah, a prominent scholar herself, Heschel embraced the prophetic voice and understood the power of saying what people may not want to hear but need to nonetheless.  He combined piety with social activism and believed that prayer can never allow immoral activities.  In a speech I recently heard by Professor Susannah Heschel, she quoted her father who noted, "prayer can never be a citadel for selfish concerns."  He defined piety as the direct opposite of selfishness.  Professor Heschel's collection of her father's remarkable poetic call-to-action essays, our congregational read, keeps her father's legacy present as an inspiration to us all.
ambassAmbassadors and Doctors in the House
In order to foster a welcoming environment for the High Holy Days, Temple Israel is seeking High Holy Day Ambassadors and Doctors in the House. Ambassadors greet congregants and guests with warmth and kindness while Doctors in the House will be stationed in each service for any medical emergencies. Both are welcome to attend the service time and color of their choosing. We are seeking both seasoned Ambassadors and Doctors, as well as those who would be joining us for the first time this year. To register of for more information, please contact Dekel Luban.
cajl
Pre-Shabbat Meditation with Rabbi Slipakoff
This Friday, 5:30 - 5:50 p.m. on the Sanctuary Bimah
Join Rabbi Suzie Jacobson on Friday nights for a pre-service meditation and chanting circle to help us enter Shabbat with greater focus and peace. No RSVP required. Contact Brigid Goggin with questions.
TrainRepairsGreen Line Repairs
This summer, the D line will be doing repairs that may disrupt weekend transportation. Please check the MBTA website to learn more.

Shuttles will replace service between Riverside and Reservoir:
  • August 10 - 11
  • August 24 - 25
Shuttles will replace service between Newton Highlands and Kenmore:
  • September 14 - 15
  • September 21 - 22
Living Judaism together through discovery, dynamic spirituality, and righteous impact.