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It's not too late to join us! We're meeting
in the GRJC parking lot on Monday, 6/22, at
4:30 sharp and proceeding to Daughters of
Miriam Residence, 135 Hazel Street, Clifton,
New Jersey. Call Laurie Herman
201-251-9617.
You are Cordially Invited to
Perform a Mitzvah
by Attending
The GRJC
Senior Prom
for the
Senior Residents
at
Daughters of Miriam
Clifton, NJ
Monday, June
22
5:00 - 7:00pm
Semi-formal Attire
Bogrim and Madrichim
teens, college kids, recent Hay Class
students and
parents and other
interested GRJC adults are invited to
converse,
dance and nosh with
the senior residents.
Hot hors
d'ouevres and delicious desserts compliments
of Daughters of Miriam
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WOMEN'S ROSH
CHODESH GROUP
Welcomes the Month of
TAMMUZ
TUESDAY, JUNE 23,
7:00-8:30pm
Join us for lively conversation and an
intellectual discussion in a friendly
atmosphere.
.
RSVP to Ornit Michael 201-445-3292 or
ornitmichael@yahoo.com
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COMMUNITY
SHABBAT DINNER AT GRJC
FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2009, 6:30 PM
Join us for a Shabbat dinner in the GRJC
social hall at 6:30 pm,
and then we'll participate in the Friday
evening service.
We'll explain and then
perform together all the Friday night
rituals including candle-lighting, kiddush,
hand-washing, blessing children, and the
blessing after the meal.
Dinner will include: Brisket, Chicken,
Vegetarian
$9 per individual
$18 per family
To
sign up, please fill out and mail in the
form contained in the June Bulletin. The
form will also be sent by email.
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SAVE THE DATES!
Friday, Aug. 14
GRJC BBQ and Erev Shabbat Service
under the tent in
Rabbi Tow and Rabbi Schwartz' backyard.
Sunday, Aug. 23
Family White Water
Rafting in Lehigh, PA
Tuesday, Sept. 22
Annual Men's Club
Golf Outing
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Shabbat,
June 19-20, 2009
28
Sivan 5769
Torah portion:
Shelach Lecha
Bamidbar (Numbers)
14:8-15:7
We light our Shabbat candles at 8:13 pm
MUSICAL PRELUDE TO SHABBAT
BEGINS AT 6:30
PLEASE NOTE: Friday evening services
will begin at 7:30 pm
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday morning services will begin at
9 am
Shabbat ends at 9:23 pm on Saturday.
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Before Sundown, Join
Us for a
MUSICAL
PRELUDE TO SHABBAT
FRIDAY,
JUNE 19
6:30 PM
WITH RABBI TOW
and
SHIR MICHAEL
ON GUITAR
SING AND CLAP
ALONG AS WE GET INTO THE
SHABBAT
SPIRIT
FOLLOWED BY
TRADITIONAL FRIDAY EVENING SERVICES AT
7:30 PM
ONEG SHABBAT AFTERWARDS
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THE ISRAEL TRIP IS ON!
After a successful opening meeting, we're
moving forward with the Israel trip that's
scheduled for February 6-16, 2010. We
have the proposed itinerary available as
well as the costs. Please contact Rabbi
Tow (rabbi@grjc.org) to learn more about
this exciting Israel opportunity!
This trip offers a maximum Israel
experience at the most affordable price
available today--a unique opportunity!.
*See Tel
Aviv, the Golan, the Galilee, Jerusalem,
Masada, the Dead Sea and more...
*Participate in an archaeological dig in
Jerusalem.
*Dinner with members of a Masorti/Conservative
congregation in Rehovot.
*Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial
*Wine tasting in the Golan Heights Winery
*See where King David lived
*And so much more...
Join us on our Israel adventure!
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Shabbat Shalom to the GRJC family
How can we come to know a town, an
organization, a group? Can we really get
to know any place or group without being
present there or living there first and
without meeting the people? This is a
question we ask as we read from parshat
Shelach Lecha this week.
Moses instructs one representative from
every tribe to scout the Promised Land.
He asks them to survey the people who live
there, their numbers and strength. The
scouts should report on whether the cities
are open or walled. Is the soil rich or
poor? Are there trees? They are supposed
to bring back the fruit of the Land.
The scouts may be able to look at people
and towns, but unlike surveying trees,
they cannot come to really know people
unless they interact with them. If the
scouts in our story meet and talk to
anyone, they will be discovered and
detained or worse. The Midrash suggests
God caused a plague against the local
notables, and so the people of the towns
did not notice the scouts since they were
occupied with burying their honored dead.
The scouts, then, moved about among people
whom they did not really come to know in
any tangible way. With this lack of
interaction and understanding, 10 of 12
scouts report, "All the people we saw are
men of great size...and we looked like
grasshoppers to ourselves and to them."
We know from the Torah that just because
someone is of great stature does not make
the individual a great warrior. David
defeated the great Goliath with a single
shot.
To really get to know a group of people,
we have to interact with them and
experience what it is like to be among
them. The Haftarah that we read for this
week takes us along on a parallel journey
with scouts that Joshua sends out into
Jericho. In this story, they interact
with a native of the city. It is this
interaction that is decisive in helping
the Israelites toward victory.
When I started college, Tufts Hillel Rabbi
Jeffrey Summit spoke to the new Jewish
students about Hillel. He told us that we
should not feel left out if we didn't make
instant friends the first time we came to
services or a program. He told us we
should try coming back a few more times so
that we can get to know people better and
they can get to know us.
The story of the scouts is ultimately a
story about how the people lack faith in
God's promise, but we can take a positive
lesson from it about how to come closer to
the other members of our community. We
can hear in its ancient words a call to
break down the barriers of silence,
isolation, and prejudice as we strive to
transform ourselves from a kehillah,
community, into a kehillah kedoshah, a
holy community, or rather, a
wholly-community.
And with regard to recent weather events,
we pray today, as we hear in our old
favorite musical "Annie": May the sun
come out tomorrow!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Tow
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