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This Weekend (and then some) at Kehillath Shalom Synagogue - January 17 - 21, 2020

1/16/2020

A word from Rabbi Lina

Kehillath Shalom Synagogue was founded by families who supported a spiritual leader who worked for Civil Rights and against the Vietnam War. Rabbi Lloyd Tennenbaum was fired from his previous congregation for being too political. For our founding families, this was not a problem, but an inspiration.

What were his commitments? Rabbi Tannenbaum was an organizer for the Consultative Conference on Desegregation in Virginia in 1955; he was one of 9 clergy arrested at a prayer vigil and protest in Albany, Georgia in 1962 (which inspired the Conservative Movement's Rabbinical Assembly to pass a resolution supporting its rabbis to go to Birmingham to support Dr. King in its name); he was at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963; and he was a founder of Clergy Concerned about Vietnam.

Today is the yahrzeit of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Below is the picture of Rabbi Heschel marching with Dr. King and others on the second March from Selma to Montgomery. Many people reference this picture when speaking about Jews' work in civil rights, but it is important to remember that this picture is from 1965, more than half a century ago.

There is still much work to be done, broadly and in our own communities. Newsday recently published a piece of investigative journalism exposing ongoing discrimination in housing on Long Island. Perhaps you are reading this and asking yourself, "but what can I do?" Here are a number of opportunities for this weekend and beyond:

On Friday night, please join us at 7:30 for a service and Forum with Elaine Gross, executive director of ERASE Racism, which has been working to end segregation and discrimination on Long Island. On Sunday night, come to the Suffolk Y JCC for a community interfaith celebration of Dr. King's legacy. On Monday, do service: we will make lunch for our neighbors who are fed by Helping Hands Rescue Mission in Huntington Station. And on Tuesday, attend one of ERASE Racism's programs right here in Huntington on building a just Long Island.

Ten days before Dr. King's assassination, Rabbi Heschel introduced him to speak at the Rabbinical Assembly: "Where does God dwell in America today? Is God at home with those who are complacent, indifferent to other people's agony, devoid of mercy? Is God not rather with the poor and the contrite in the slums? ... Where in America do we hear a voice like the voice of the prophets of Israel? Martin Luther King is a sign that God has not forsaken the United States of America. ... Martin Luther King is a voice, a vision and a way. I call upon every Jew to hearken to his voice, to share his vision, to follow his way. The whole future of America will depend upon the impact and influence of Dr. King."

Let us live up to the teachings of our tradition, the legacy of Dr. King and Rabbi Heschel, and embrace the foundation of our synagogue, Kehillath Shalom, a community of peace.

Join us for a Shabbat service and conversation with Elaine Gross, Executive Director of ERASE Racism.
Shabbat is “a remembrance of the going out of Egypt,” of liberation from slavery, and the Torah re-minds us, over and over again, to both act without bias and also to remember the vulnerable because we were once vulnerable. MLK Weekend is an important time to remember Jewish and American values of equality and justice and look at how we fall short.
Long Island is among the ten most racially segregated metro regions in the country. We did not get that way by happenstance. We didn’t even get that way due to virulent hate on the part of individuals. We got that way largely because large swaths of people embraced laws, policies and practices in governments, businesses, and other institutions and groups that produced discriminatory outcomes.
ERASE Racism is a regional organization that leads public policy advocacy campaigns and related initiatives to promote racial equity in areas such as housing, public school education, and community development. Its mission is to expose forms of racial discrimination, advocate for laws and policies that eliminate racial disparities, increase understanding of how structural racism and segregation impact our communities and region, and engage the public in fostering equity and inclusion.

Come in out of the cold and join Rabbi Lina for another Meditative Shabbat Service
Torah Study at 10am - service to follow

Please note: this event is NOT at KSS! Click HERE for more details

Support Our Neighbors! Monday, January 20, 2020
We'll be meeting at KSS at 10:30 to make lunch for guests at the Helping Hands Rescue Mission in Huntington Station and take action to end hunger.
All ages welcome to help.
Donations to support program supplies welcome as well!
RSVP required by 1.17 to Rabbi Lina - Rabbi_AT_KehillathShalomSynagogue.org

Showing of The Red Sea Diving Resort on January, 21st, 2020

On Shabbat morning, January 25, we will welcome Aviv Zaro, a “shinshin,” a young Israeli on a year of service between high school and army service.
Aviv will share stories of his family’s journey to Israel from Ethiopia and share about his own experiences as an Israeli in Israel and here in the US with our adult members during our Torah Study time and then join our Torah School.
His father came to Israel during Israeli operations depicted in the Netflix film “The Red Sea Diving Resort.” If you would like to see the film together, we will screen it on January 21 at 7 pm.
Please rsvp to Rabbi Lina for location.

And this is all *just* this weekend!

To get a preview on what's to come, visit our Coming Events page!

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This Weekend at Kehillath Shalom Synagogue - January 10 -12, 2020

1/9/2020

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Rabbi's Message
This week's Torah portion is VaYechi/And [Jacob] Lived. But it tells of Jacob's last days, and the bulk of the section is his blessing/analysis of his sons. Of his fourth son, he says: The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet; So that tribute shall come to him And the homage of peoples be his.

Why did Judah merit the scepter? Why are we Jews named after him (Yehudah/Yehudim)?

Let's start with the meaning of his name. His mother Leah named him gratitude – like todah, thank you. The first expression of gratitude in the Torah is for his birth.

So who was he?

Judah was the one who had the idea to sell Joseph to passing caravan.
He was the one who sent his daughter-in-law away after his sons died and commanded that she be taken to be burned when he learned that she had become pregnant. And he was the one who declared "she is more righteous than I" and realized how he had wronged her.
And he was the one who, later, pledged himself to his father that he would bring his brother home safely.

In last week’s Torah portion, he is the one who steps up - pleading for his father’s grief and his brothers’ freedom - to tell Joseph, who is now second only to Pharaoh, nearly the most powerful person in Egypt, that he would stay as his slave so his brother could go free.

Rabbi Menacham Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, teaches that from this text is derived the saying in Talmud: Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh/All Jews are responsible one for another (Babylonian Talmud Shevuot 39a).

He taught that: One meaning of the root '-R-V / ע-ר-ב is "sweet." Jews are sweet, pleasant one to another, imbued with love and fellowship one for the other.

Perhaps this is aspirational, but it is something we can grow toward, as Judah grew in his lifetime.

The Rebbe further taught:
'-R-V / ע-ר-ב also has the sense of mixture, being mixed together one with the other, in the sense of partnership. Each Jew holds some piece that belongs to another. This is certainly true in the spiritual sense of the whole of the people of Israel: each person holds some part that belongs to the other…in a collective partnership… Klal Yisrael - the body of Israel - is embracing, all inclusive. …[we have] mutual responsibility one for another, as Judah said: "your servant has pledged himself…."

This is who we Jews are named after: Judah – growth and gratitude and interdependence. In these times of fractious division and increased acts against Jews, let us respond by fully living our mission. Let us be grateful growing caretakers of each other, and be a light unto the nations (Isaiah 49:6) and a blessing to all the human family (Genesis 12:18).

Rabbi Lina Zerbarini

Questions? Feedback? Concerns?
Rabbi_AT_KehillathShalomSynagogue.org

Saturday, January 11, 2020 - Torah Study at 10am followed by services at 11:15am

Sunday, January 12th, 2020

Join us to learn about the Jewish history and tradition of engagement in civic life and learn to make your voice heard.
With Kayla Glick, New York Organizer of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action and Suffolk County Legislator Dr. William Spencer, who will speak about the impact of citizen communication.
For adults and children 8 and over. FREE to the community. RSVP to Rabbi Lina by responding to this email.

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This Weekend at Kehillath Shalom Synagogue - January 3 - January 5, 2020

1/2/2020

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Join Rabbi Lina for a joyful Jewish celebrations for babies and toddlers and their families. 5pm Friday evening, followed by Soup Shabbat at 6:30pm

Saturday, January 4th, 2020 - Torah Study beginning 10am
Worship Service immediately following at 11:15am

Sunday, January 5th, 2020 - 10am Torah School

Sunday, January 5th, 2020 - New Members Brunch

A Message from Rabbi Lina

How do we respond to the increased expressions of Jew-hatred that we are seeing today?

Do we cower in fear and move our Jewish stars under our shirts?

Or do we respond as we did during Hanukkah, as we added light to the darkness, publicly proclaiming the miracle of hope in the time of despair? Let us now bring that action beyond the ritual and symbolic and into our communities.

Let us increase our love and care for each other.
Let us show solidarity for our Jewish kin in the ultra-Orthodox communities where they are in danger every day.
Let us show solidarity to others who live in fear of bias crime: immigrants, people of color, Muslims, lgbtq people.
Let us respond to evil with good deeds. Pick a mitzvah or act of caring and do it, dedicating it to more peace and safety in the world.

Some specific actions you might take:

Join Friday's gathering (details below) at Sid Jacobson JCC to stand against acts of hate against ourselves and others
Attend the New Members Brunch to welcome new members - and perhaps become one yourself, if you are not already!

As Rebbetzin Rachel Posner wrote on the back of her Hanukkah menorah in 1932 Germany: "our light will outlast their flag."
But only if we join together as a community, holding fast to our values, living and manifesting them proudly.

Rabbi Lina Zerbarini

Questions? Feedback? Concerns? Email Rabbi_AT_KehillathShalomSynagogue.org

Combating Anti-Semitism - A Time to Gather
Friday, January 3 at 12:30 p.m.
Sid Jacobson JCC
300 Forest Drive, East Hills, NY 11548

We are dealing with a global phenomenon that requires a global response but also a local awakening. More must be done to protect all vulnerable communities. As the Jewish community gathers, we invite people of all faiths and creeds to join with us to stop the alienation and hatred of the "other."

Please Join Us

Sid Jacobson JCC is hosting a Community Gathering this Friday, January 3, 12:30-1:30pm. Join area rabbis, Center for Israel’s Shinshinim and UJA representatives in song, statements of solidarity and social action to renew our connection and fortify our bond to one another.

All hearts welcome

David Black Susan Berman Gili Dvash
Please remember to bring a photo ID.

*Rabbi Lina Zerbarini will be a Speaker at this event*

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This Weekend (and then some) at Kehillath Shalom Synagogue - January 17 - 21, 2020

This Weekend at Kehillath Shalom Synagogue - January 10 -12, 2020

This Weekend at Kehillath Shalom Synagogue - January 3 - January 5, 2020

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