Shabbat Shalom GRJC

Weekly Emails to the Congregation

Shabbat Be' Shalach 2008

Shabbat Shalom to the GRJC family,

We light our candles this Friday evening at 7:29 pm.  The seventh day of Passover coincides with Shabbat this week, and so when we light our candles we say:  Baruch Atah Ado-nai Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam, asher kidshanu be’mitzvotav ve’tzivanu le’hadlik ner shel Shabbat ve’shel Yom Tov.(Praised are You, Ado-nai, Our God, Ruler of the Universe, who blessed us with the mitzvoth and commanded us to light the Shabbat and festival candles.)

Friday morning at 7 am is our last service for the intermediate days of the holiday.

Friday evening services will begin at 8 pm.  Saturday morning services will begin at 9 am.  Cantor Ayelet Piatigorsky will be with us this Shabbat/Yom Tov.

Saturday evening there will be a Ma’ariv (Evening) service as we enter the eighth and final day of Passover.  SUNDAY MORNING AT 9 AM THERE WILL BE A MORNING SERVICE WITH YIZKOR.

We are now in the Omer-counting season.  We began counting on the second night of Passover and we will finish counting up to Shavuot at the end of the first week in June.  We count each night, and we can count in Hebrew or in English, or both.  You can go to the following link for a transliterated version of the Hebrew Omer counting:  http://www.torahtots.com/holidays/pesach/sefirachart2008e.pdf

The counting of the Omer is a way to both remember the harvest time and also count up to when we will celebrate receiving the Torah on Shavuot.

Since Shabbat and the seventh day of Passover coincide, there is a special Torah reading and other special parts to the Saturday morning service.  We will read from the Song of Songs, Shir ha’Shirim, before we read from the Torah.  The Song of Songs is a book of the Bible that describes the relationship of love between God and the Jewish people.  This year we will read from chapters three and four.  The Torah reading comes from parshat Be’Shalach.  You may remember that we read this parasha on Sisterhood Shabbat.  It is the parasha that tells the story of the Israelites escape from the Egyptian army and the walk through the Sea of Reeds on dry land.  We will continue to add the Hallel, the poems of praise and thanksgiving to God, in our Shabbat morning service.

We thank Judi Forer for organizing the Seder for the second night of the holiday.  It was a wonderful evening with a good spirit, good singing, and a tasty meal.  Looking towards the second night community seder for next year:  What would you like to see happen at our community Seder?  Please send your ideas and input about the Second night Seder to rabbi@grjc.org.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1.  UPCOMING SERVICES – Friday morning 7am, Friday night 8 pm, Saturday morning 9 am, Saturday evening 8 pm, Sunday morning 9 am WITH YIZKOR.
2.  GRJC HOLOCAUST REMEMBERANCE SERVICE AND PROGRAM – Tuesday evening, April 29, 7:30 pm.  Memorial service followed by a film-screening and discussion.

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THE GLEN ROCK JEWISH CENTER 2008
HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE SERVICE AND PROGRAM

MEMORIAL SERVICE TO BE FOLLOWED BY A SCREENING OF:  “NOW AFTER ALL THESE YEARS”

Hilda Metzger z”l, beloved mother of GRJC member Susan Mayerowitz, was featured in this award-winning documentary.  The film takes us to Rhina, a village whose synagogue and Jewish community was destroyed by the Nazis.  The filmmaker connects us with Jewish survivors and with Germans who remain there.  We will see first hand a refusal to confront or atone for the events of the past.

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2008 - 7:30 PM
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3. COMEDY NIGHT AT GRJC -- May 17 -- 9 pm, Sponsored by the Men's Club.  Reservation form is on the website and will be in the May bulletin as well.

4. ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE -- JUNE 1 -- Please email or call the main office to let us know that you will be coming with us to celebrate Israel's 60th birthday by marching in Manhattan with the Bergen County Jewish community.  The RSVP is necessary so that we can make sure there is space on the bus.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Same’ach / Gut Yontif to everyone,

Rabbi Tow

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