Weekly E-News 5784
September 15 - September 21, 2023
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To all AA families,
Shanah Tova U'Metukah!
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High Holidays Schedule
Friday, September 15th, Erev Rosh Hashanah
6:00 PM-Ma'ariv
7:13 PM-Candle Lighting
Saturday, September 16th, Rosh Hashanah
9:00 AM-Main Service
10:00 AM-Children's Service
8:06 PM -Candle Lighting
Sunday, September 17th, Rosh Hashanah
9:00 AM-Main Service
10:00 AM-Children's Service
11:00 AM-Shofar Service
5:00 PM-Tashlikh (back of Heard Elementary)
8:04 PM-Havdallah
Sunday, September 24th, Kol Nidre
6:30 PM-Mincha
6:45 PM-Kol Nidre
7:01 PM-Candle Lighting
Monday, September 25th, Yom Kippur
9:00 AM-Shacharit
10:00 AM-Children's Service
5:45 PM-Mincha
7:00 PM-Neilah/Maariv
7:54 PM-Fast ends
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We are exploring the possibility of another trip to Israel!
If you are interested, email the office or call Motti.
There will be a planning meeting mid-October.
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Opportunities at AA
- We're still looking for new members of the Bylaws and Fundraising Committees. These committees will help update our practices and ensure our long-term congregational health. They will form and begin work after the High Holidays. Please let Adam know if you are interested.
- We also need members to sit on the bima or act as a door greeter during the holidays. Please help us make things run safely and smoothly by welcoming our members and guests, or by moving the services along. Use the link below to sign up.
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Upcoming Themes
9/15 - Rosh Hashanah
9/22 - Musical Shabbat - Join us as we sing together old classics, learn new tunes, and explore the varieties of Jewish music at our musical Shabbats! If you are the kind of person who loves to sing along, this service is for you!
9/29 - Classic Shabbat - Join us for our classic Kabbalat Shabbat service! Featuring timeless melodies, ageless prayers, and a little bit of learning. Come be a part of our heimish community as we welcome in Shabbat together.
10/6 - Pajama Shabbat - Come join us for an intergenerational PJ Shabbat! We invite everyone to come in their comfiest PJs and get cozy with us, as we sing songs to welcome in Shabbat, read a book all about Purim, and pray together as a community. The person in the best set of PJs wins a prize! This slightly abbreviated service is for people of all ages.
Please add these to your calendars!
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New Class: The Soul of Prayer |
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For many of us, when we come to services, whether that is twice a year or twice a month, we open the prayer book and are immediately faced with questions. What do these words mean? Why am I saying this? Why do I bow here? Why are Shabbat morning services 3 times as long as Shabbat evening services, which are 5 times as long as weekday evening services? Join Rabbi Gelman as we work our way through the prayer book. We’ll examine the origin of Jewish prayer, what the words mean, and the where the order and stage directions come from. Together, we’ll answer the question: why and how do we use a siddur to pray?
We will be holding class twice a week: on Tuesdays at 4 PM on Zoom and on Thursdays at 10 AM in person. Both classes will cover the same material, so feel free to come to whichever class is most convenient. Classes begin the week of October 1st.
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Daf Shevui/Talmud Update! |
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Thank you to those who registered for the Daf Shevui Talmud class! Class will move to 4 PM Thursday Afternoons on Zoom. Class will resume Thursday September 28th.
We look forward to learning with you!
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Rabbi's Message
This weekend, something really special is happening. The most important holiday in the Jewish year is taking place this Saturday. This holiday is so important that Jews all over the world will have family over to eat 3 meals over the course of 25 hours, go to synagogue, sing songs, and rest and take a break from the weekday. I am, of course, talking about Shabbat.
For Shabbat is considered, by Jewish law and tradition, to be the most important holiday of the year. There are more special restrictions and considerations on Shabbat than any other holiday (except for those which fall on Shabbat and Yom Kippur, which is considered like a Shabbat). For instance, we are allowed to cook on holidays, but not on Shabbat. And Shabbat takes precedence over other holidays. That is why, when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, we do not sing Avinu Malkeinu or blow the Shofar. And that is why, when we say the blessing over the candles Friday night, we will say “Shabbat and Yom Tov,” not the other way around.
There is a principle in Jewish law that the regular is prioritized over the irregular. That is one reason why Shabbat always overrules other holidays, though we can see it in places outside of Shabbat. On Rosh Chodesh Tevet, when it is Hanukkah, we read the Rosh Chodesh Torah reading before the Hanukkah one, because Rosh Chodesh happens 12 times a year, and Hanukkah just once. If we forget to pray one of the three services throughout the day, and want to do a makeup service the next time we pray, we first pray the regular service, and then service we want to makeup. Consistently, it is the more regular event that gets preferential treatment in Judaism.
This is pretty amazing for Shabbat, since it means that the most important holiday happens every single week. But this principle also should have a deep meaning for us. It reminds us that it is important to not overlook a joyous or happy occasion because it happens often. Regularity is not a bad thing, and infrequency does not mean that an event is automatically better. It is important for us to take stock of the regular joys and markers in our lives, not just those that happen annually. And while it is great to rejoice in those infrequent events, and come to synagogue on those once-a-year Jewish holidays—remember that Shabbat is the most important holiday, and we get a chance to celebrate it every single week.
Shannah Tovah, and Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Gelman
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Service Leader Sign Up
Are you interested in leading services? Reading Torah? You can sign up on our service leader sign up sheet! If you are interested in learning how to read Torah or lead services, contact Rabbi Gelman at rabbi@agudath-achim.com.
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Tuesday: 7:30 AM
Wednesday: 8:00 AM
Friday: 8:00 AM (followed by breakfast) & 6:00 PM
Shabbat: 9:45 AM
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This Shabbat:
2023 | 5784
Rosh Hashanah Day 1
Candle Lighting: 7:13 pm
Candle Lighting Saturday Evening: 8:06 pm
(all times are for Savannah)
Annual Torah reading: Genesis 21:1-34
Triennial Torah reading: Genesis 21:1-34
Haftarah: 1 Samuel 1:1-2:10
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Happy Birthday!
September 17th
Adelle Burnsed-Geffen
September 20th
Tom Glaser
Brenda Salter
September 21st
Lisa Mackowiak
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Happy Anniversary!
September 17th
Yael Elfassy-Conner & Brad Conner
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If we have missed your birthday or anniversary, please email the office with the information so we can update your account. We apologize for the omission. |
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Yahrzeits
September 15 - September 22
Thursday night/Friday, September 15 - 29 Elul
Gerson Freed - uncle of Suzanne Konter
Jerry Parker - father of Jerry Parker
Friday night/Saturday, September 16 - 1 Tishrei
Beverly Rosenthal - mother of David Rosenthal
Saturday night/Sunday, September 17 - 2 Tishrei
Janice Fiegleman - mother of Arlene Wizwer
Sam Hirsch - grandfather of Stanley Rosenberg
Albert Hyman - father of Bruce Hyman
Leah Schwartz - grandmother of Mark Schwartz
Sunday night/Monday, September 18 - 3 Tishrei
Bettye Cohen - mother of Ronald Cohen
Bailee Kronowitz - mother of Lowell Kronowitz
Monday night/Tuesday, September 19 - 4 Tishrei
Israel Broder - grandfather of Paul Abel
Tuesday night/Wednesday, September 20 - 5 Tishrei
Herschel Isaacson - father of Robert Isaacson
Claire Rubin - mother of Gil Rubin
Alice Spindel - grandmother of Naima Gilman
Wednesday night/Thursday, September 21 - 6 Tishrei
Dorothy Handshu - mother of Dayle Levy
Linda Wexler - wife of Ed Wexler
Thursday night/Friday, September 22 - 7 Tishrei
Alfred Appel - father of Rene Lehrberger
Loretta Fisher - mother of Paul Fisher
Dorothy Goldkrand - mother-in-law of AM Goldkrand
Betty Melaver - mother of Martin Melaver
Commemoration of the Yahrzeit begins the evening of the first noted date.
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The Art Show at the JEA beginning September 1, 2023,
will feature the works of
Janet Bailey
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Our diverse planet Earth is a beautiful place to live. Life has flourished on the planet, thanks to the bountiful sun and vast oceans of water. All of us, including the vast flora and fauna of the earth, are dependent upon what lies in the skies beyond the earth – in the mystery of space. |
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“These new paintings invite you to feel the warmth and energy from the sun; the tides of the ocean that are controlled by the moon; and the stars that are used to guide us, to navigate our way. The space and distance between may appear far away, but yet these all affect our lives. We must better appreciate all that is given to us by our natural surroundings and not take it for granted,” says Janet. |
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Janet Bailey has painted a large series of tides, landscapes, sky, star, moon, and space-related paintings for several decades; these paintings have been collected by many. Even in her abstracted paintings, anything related to our natural surroundings – what is both seen and unseen – has long been her interest and influences her work.
Janet has won numerous awards for her art and has even designed a book cover for a published novel.
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Janet Bailey’s artwork will be available for viewing from
September 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023, at the JEA (5111 Abercorn Street).
Enjoy the Art Gallery
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Rabbi Samuel Gelman
Adam Fins, President
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