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Announcements for Week ending Dec. 25
Announcements
Written by Shomrei Torah Office   

 

Friday Service is Special Event

This week's Friday night service will feature a special treat from the family of Rochel and Michael Abrams. All four of their children are at home at one time and will be leading the service, which begins at 8 p.m. Mom and Dad are sponsoring the Oneg in honor of their children.

Religion School Reminder

We will not have Religion School classes again until Wednesday, January 10, 2010, when the regular Wednesday/Sunday schedule resumes.

Sisterhood news

Maggie Anton Plans —  The Sisterhood program planning committee met recently to prepare hosting the event for author Maggie Anton at Shomrei Torah on February 24. At the meeting, we decided that the event will be community wide. We need your help to make this a success.  If you are interested in helping any way or serving on any of the following committees— hospitality, sponsorship, publicity, house (such as set up, decoration, breakdown) and food please email Debbie Robinson at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  

 January Game Night-   We are planning a game night in January. If there are any expert Mah Jon players who want to teach others, please email Debbie Robinson at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

LAST CALL TO PAY SISTERHOOD DUES!! This is the LAST call for Sisterhood dues! If you have not already paid your Sisterhood dues for 09-10, please send your check for $36 payable to ‘Shomrei Torah Sisterhood.’ Please send to the Shomrei Torah Office.

 Don’t forget about sponsoring an Oneg Shabbat (or two) in 2010.

Please call Susan Bodell at 385-1075 to select an Oneg Shabbat date in honor of a birthday, anniversary, simcha or other occasion.

Notes of Appreciation

The activities surrounding Rabbi Daniel Stein's monthly visit were a wonderful success. About 60-plus people attended the annual Sisterhood Latke Bar before services on Friday, a great Kiddush Lunch was served on Saturday, and the Hanukkah party sponsored by Debbie and Joe Robinson on Saturday evening was grand. Special thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make all of the activities so special. It takes everyone to pull these weekends together and your efforts are greatly appreciated by all.

By the way ...

If you have not paid for your Latke Bar meal, please send a check made out to Sisterhood to the synagogue office.
 
End of Week Announcements for Dec. 18
Announcements
Written by Shomrei Torah Office   

Latke Bar is Tonight

Don't forget that the annual Sisterhood Latke Bar is tonight at 6:30 p.m. Rabbi Daniel Stein will be joining us for dinner and the service afterwards at 8 p.m. If you have not paid in advance, you will be billed.

Party is Tomorrow

In honor of Rabbi Stein's visit, Debbie and Joe Robinson have invited the congregation to their home for a Hanukkah Party at 7:30 p.m. Please bring a covered dish of your favorite Hanukkah recipe and RSVP to let them know you are coming. Check your directory for a phone number and address.

No Religion School Sunday

Sunday marks the beginning of the Winter Break for our Religion School. There will be no more classes until January.

Monday's Schedule Change

The synagogue office will be closed Monday morning. If you need assistance, leave a message and your call will be returned after lunch when the office is reopened. If you need immediate assistance, call Lisa's cell phone at 850-294-0894.
 
Announcements for Week Ending Dec. 18
Announcements
Written by Shomrei Torah Office   

 

 

Better Late Than Never


Below is a link to the National Public Radio interview with our own Ann & Jeff VanderMeer that aired on Nov. 29. Unfortunately, it got lost in a flurry of other emails and much to your administrator's embarrassment, was never brought to the attention of the Congregation.

With apologies to the VanderMeers ...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120925913&ps=cprs <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120925913&ps=cprs>

     Hanukkah Party Was Great


The Religion School Hanukkah party yesterday was a wonderful success. The children presented a Hanukkah play that explained the origins of the festival, the Men's Club served potato latkes and everyone enjoyed arts and crafts projects developed by teachers and aids. Thank you to everyone who helped make it such great fun.

     Fundraiser on Thursday



You are invited to a fundraiser to support North Florida Legal Service's
efforts to save homes in the Florida Panhandle.
North Florida Legal Services provides free legal representation to indigent individuals and families at risk of losing their homes.
Tickets are by donation ($20 suggested).
at Ray’s Steel City
515 John Knox Road, Tallahassee
*Thursday, December 17^th from 6-9 p.m.*
Come enjoy a gourmet holiday food buffet, Ray's famous potato pancakes, along with good friends and a joyous holiday celebration.

Cash bar will be available.



*$20 Tickets are available by calling Mary Dekle at (850) 701-3313 or e-mailing This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it <mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it > This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . – or at the LSNF offices on Delta Boulevard. Visa & MasterCard, checks and cash are accepted and all funds will go towards LSNF’s Homelessness Prevention Project.*
**


     Coming Up


Rabbi Daniel Stein will be visiting this weekend. He will arrive on Friday, Dec. 18, and will be available in the afternoon for one-on-one consultations. Please call the office to schedule an appointment.

The weekend schedule of events is as follows;

Shabbat Dinner/Sisterhood Latke Bar at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 18
Regular Friday services at 8 p.m.
Saturday Morning Service at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 19
Immediately after the service, Kiddush Lunch and then a learning opportunity with Rabbi Stein

On Saturday evening at 7:30, the Congregation is invited to the home of Debbie and Joe Robinson for a Hanukkah Party with Rabbi Stein. Please RSVP to the Robinsons and bring a dish of your family's favorite Hanukkah food.


     Religion School Schedule

We WILL have Religion School classes this Wednesday, but not on Sunday, which will mark the beginning of our Winter Break.

 
End of Week Announcements for Dec. 11
Announcements
Written by Shomrei Torah Office   

 

End of Week Announcements


Time for Party

Don't forget the annual Religion School Hanukkah Party on Sunday, Dec. 13 -- THIS SUNDAY -- from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Men's Club will be serving latkes and fun and games will be provided by the Religion School. The Gift Shop will be open for those of you who still need to purchase some last minute Hanukkah socks or this year's best Hanukkah accessory -- a pair of menorah sunglasses.

RSVP Deadline Today

Today is the last day to RSVP to Sisterhood's Latke Bar on Friday, Dec. 18. Adults are $8; children under Bar/Bat Mitzvah age are $5; and kids under 5 are free. The Latke Bar is at 6:30 p.m. and marks the beginning of a weekend full of events surrounding Rabbi Stein's December visit.

A Holiday View From Israel

Below is a timely column forwarded from the Jewish Theological Seminary.

(Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, has made Aliyah with his family and is now living in Israel as the director of Israel Programs for JTS.  He will continue to send updates about life in Israel on a regular basis.)

 

A View from Jerusalem: Hanukkah in Israel by Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, Director of Israel Programs, JTS

 

Driving into Jerusalem tonight, I was struck by the decorative hanukkiot (menorahs) illuminating the road leading into the city. Had I been in my native United States of America, it is not the songs and decorations of the Festival of Lights that I would be surrounded by—rather it would be Christmas carols, pine trees, and ornaments—reinforcing the folkways of the majority culture. Jews have finally come home—and part of the gift that such a homecoming entails is living according the natural rhythm of one’s festivals. Our four-year-old daughter Rachel has already begun humming and singing the lyrics of numerous Israeli Hanukkah songs. Today, she came home with a decorated sword and shield, recounting the tale of the Maccabees waging their battles against the Yevanim (the Greeks). Adir, our ten year old, is learning the halakhot, Jewish laws related to lighting the hanukkiah (menorah) and the central mitzvah of pirsumei nisa (publicizing the miracle of Hanukkah). Soufganiot (doughnuts) have been in the bakeries for two weeks already, and there is a sense that everyone is preparing for Hanukkah together.

 

One of the most vivid images and experiences I cherish comes from our Hanukkah celebration of last year. On the eighth and final night of the holiday, I took two of our three children to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) neighborhood of Mea Shearim. We arrived in this section of Jerusalem just as the sun was setting and people began rushing to prepare for the lighting of their hanukkiot. Since the core mitzvah of the holiday is publicizing the miracle, hanukkiot are lit in glass display cases outside of the home. Typically, they are hung in open courtyards so that as many passersby as possible can enjoy the glow and warmth of their lights. And since the miracle on which Hanukkah is based revolved around a flask of oil, it is oil hanukkiot that are most popular. Most palpable is the feeling of being embraced by a nation.

 

At the same time, I remain cognizant of the nuanced view of the Hanukkah story that has so much to teach modern Israelis. Were the Maccabees religious extremists deserving of censure or heroic freedom fighters worthy of emulation? (For a worthy and important conversation on this topic, see “Insight Israel: The View from Schechter” by Rabbi David Golinkin, in which he republishes a debate he had with Rabbi Jeremy Schwartz on this topic (The Jerusalem Report, December 31, 2001); both stake out well-argued positions.

 

Such a debate speaks to some of the tensions resident in modern-day Israel. The battle between the Maccabees and the Greeks certainly does not seem as clear cut today as when I was a child. Hellenistic culture has added a great deal to our world, and yes, it has enriched and shaped the development of Judaism.

 

To what extent can and should Israel be influenced by other cultures—especially the West? Should the response be one of fighting fiercely against foreign influences, or should we be much more embracing and nuanced in our approach? How do we learn to live in creative tension with larger cultures? (The most important book on this topic is Milton Steinberg’s classic, As a Driven Leaf.) And how should we, as people, deal with religious extremists in our midst? One of the ways such tension is expressing itself is with regard to some calls from the Orthodox community in Israel to refuse government orders pertaining to the evacuation of settlements. Are such soldiers modern-day Maccabees (heroes in the eyes of some Israelis) or latter-day Samsons who are liable to take down an entire people with them?

 

And of course, there is Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was captured on June 25, 2006, by Palestinian militants. These days Gilad is on the minds of every single Israeli. When an Israeli parent looks at the image of Gilad Shalit, s/he sees his/her own child. Children are our lights in this world. We hope and pray that the light of Gilad Shalit returns home speedily. May this wish and prayer be fulfilled over our celebration of Hanukkah.

 

Hag Urim Sameah m’Yerushalyim!

Best wishes for a joyous Festival of Lights from Jerusalem!


 
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