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Beth Elearning's Mission:
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To provide you with an eclectic assortment of
web-based Jewish learning content and original articles that are relevant, stimulating and suitable for people at all stages of learning.
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About this Issue
Change is the overriding theme of the Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur issue of Beth ELearning. As we take inventory of where we have been in 5772 and where we hope to go in 5773, this issue provides you with links to a potpourri of articles which illuminate the different dimensions of the High Holiday experience.
Rabbi Garber gives us a plan to glean maximal spiritual benefit from the Holidays. Of particular interest are her comments about Lev Shalem, our new Mahzor (prayer book). And Linda Stanger's piece provides a paradigm to help us incorporate historical values and treasured memories into the matrix of our rapidly changing lives, as we enter the New Year.
This issue also introduces an updated look and refined mission statement as we aim to provide you with relevant information in an easy to use format.
L'Shana Tova from the entire Lifelong Learning committee!
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 Online Weekly Torah Portion Class
Register NOW!
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Wouldn't it be great to learn about the weekly Torah portion right from the comfort of your home?
Each Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., starting October 3, Rabbi Sowalsky
 will present a 15-20 minute synopsis of the weekly Torah portion. After that there will be time for questions and discussion.
Class members will sign in remotely, and may participate either over the Internet, or by telephone.
(There will be no actual class in the Beth El Temple building) This class is free and is limited to 25.
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We are most appreciative for the guidance provided by Rabbi Rosen, Rabbi Garber, Rabbi Rosenbaum,
Rabbi Sowalsky and Cantor Ness.
Lifelong Learning Committee:
Rabbi Howard Rosenbaum, Amy Goldman, Roz Hahn, Lois Koteen, and Steven Stier
The Beth Elearning Newsletter is available to members and non-members.
To add e-mail addresses or to opt out, send an e-mail request to beth.elearning@gmail.com
Newsletter Editor: Steven Stier
Newsletter layout: Amy Goldman
(Logo design assisted by Leah Goldman)
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| Making This Rosh Hashanah Your Own...
 Rabbi Garber shares a High Holiday message personally by video.
Click here to watch the video
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Congregant Contributor [top]
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Navigating the High Holidays
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 By LINDA STANGER
So here we are in September again. Each year around this time (global warming not withstanding) the air starts to get cooler, the days get shorter and the colors of the leaves start to change from green to gold. Like it or not, the winds are changing and I can't control it.
I wonder how it is that September always seems to sneak up on me, and why we talk about the Jewish holidays being early or late. And I begin to feel that I am being swept along with the change. But perhaps it's less important what the calendar date says, as long we enter this season on the right spiritual date. In that respect, the chagim (High Holidays) are actually right on schedule. All I can do is adjust my sails.
The older I get, the harder it is to consider time as my friend. When I was a little girl, I could not wait until I was older.It was an ephemeral time when all the things I wanted to be able to do, all the things I wanted to happen, everything I wanted to be, would somehow become reality. Now I live more in real time. With more yesterdays than tomorrows (although I hope for many more tomorrows!), time feels different.
[click to continue...]
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A whimsical preview of the upcoming High Holiday season; from Rosh Hashanah through Simchat Torah.
(from jewishfederations.org)
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An A to Z guide about the shofar, including everything from the mundane to the arcane.
(from mazornet.com)
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What is Tashlich and how does one observe it? Learn the basics in this quick, informative article.
(from judaism.about.com)
Note: Beth El's Tashlich service takes place Monday, September 17, 5:00pm , 25 Huntington Drive, West Hartford. (Rain date is Tuesday, September 18)
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An inspiring and little-known story about a Danish citizen and the risks he took with his family to save Jews during one Rosh Hashanah of the Holocaust.
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Actress Mayim Bialik reflects on what she learned about herself and her family by leading High Holiday services while at UCLA.
(from tabletmag.com)
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Have some fun as you look forward to the Jewish High Holidays with this break dancing video!
(from aish.com)
*Suggestion: Click on the CC (captions) button on the bottom of the video to have the lyrics displayed on screen.
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An interesting perspective on Kol Nidre written by Marsha Bryan Edelman
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For Jews, Kol Nidre signifies the beginning of Yom Kippur and atonement. For Anti-Semites, Kol Nidre is a representation that Jews may act duplicitous with impunity. This fascinating article by Michael Weiss explains.
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Rabbi Mary Zamore details both the physical and spiritual benefits of the Yom Kippur fast in this insightful piece.
(from huffingtonpost.com)
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Is the kaporres tradition a barbaric anachronism, or is it something else? You decide...
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Daniel Gordis explains why the future of American Judaism as we know it depends on the survival of the Jewish state.
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Congregant Contributor continued...
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Remember in old movies how the passage of time would be depicted? A sheaf of pages with days of the year being magically blown away, faster and faster...That's how time passes for me now. No way to stop the winds of time to slow things down when things are going well, no way to increase the velocity of the days when I wish it were tomorrow already. Living by the Jewish calendar, starting with Rosh Hashanah, helps me deal with life's challenges.
Jewish ritual speaks directly to the passage of time, and continually affords us a chance to readjust to changing conditions. It helps us to bring forward from the past those things that we just don't want to give up. As we say Havdalah every week at the end of Shabbat, we look to the week ahead and hope that "a good week will come to us with good fortune and blessing, sustenance and success." Monthly, at Rosh Chodesh, we reconnect with our place in the physical environment, marking the day in the month when the moon is not visible to us at all. We pause to hope that the coming month will be filled with light and goodness knowing that gradually, the full light of the moon will reach us. There are the personal Jewish life cycle events in our life's channel: the breaking of the glass at a wedding, making Grandma's chicken soup recipe, saying kaddish for those who are gone but not forgotten. And the unyielding current of the Jewish holidays also carries us through the year: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Chanukah, Pesach, Shavuot; each speaking of rebirth and renewal.
How does living by the Jewish calendar help me to get unstuck from the past so I can move forward? To pull up my anchor so the wind can fill my sails? Memory. It's built into the fabric of Jewish life in a way that does just that. Not everyone values memory; some people prefer to let go of old things and dump the excess cargo. But when we imbue life's small and large moments with Jewish memory it makes them even richer. We remember because we are commanded to and because it makes us feel whole. And it helps us to access the accumulated wisdom of 4000 years about how to be in the world and how to help make the world a better place. Yes, memory is a unique and crucial part of Jewish life and what it leaves us are the spiritual provisions to move on.
As I course through my life, one minute at a time, good times and bad, momentous moments and uneventful spaces, the Jewish traditions remind me to treasure each moment, and that I constantly have new opportunities to change for the better, to experience positive things in my life, to take advantage of opportunity.
In this season of kids going back to school, changing weather and yes, the Chagim, I invite you to think about adjusting to the mercurial winds. Even slight changes in the way you trim your sails makes a difference in the course you steer. No need to let go of all of your past cargo. Maybe this year, choose to embrace the gift of living time Jewishly just a little more! Beth El is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Daily minyanim, Shabbat, and yes the Chagim. Come for Rosh Hashanah, stay and play in the Sukkah and maybe sometimes even for Shabbat in the coming year. Allow the wave of the Jewish High Holiday season to propel you in its spiritual wake.
I wish each of you a sweet and meaningful holiday season. May you always have fair winds and I hope to see you often at Beth El in the coming year.
Linda Stanger is a longtime a Beth El member, and regularly attends Minyan & Shabbat services. She has made numerous contributions to the Beth El community over the years including: co-founder of the Beit Midrash adult education program with her husband Bruce, in charge of Hineni program providing bereavement assistance to members, instrumental in the "It's a Girl Thing" Rosh Chodesh program, involved in Jewish women's' retreats and Camp Ramah. Recently, Linda assumed the Chair of the Ritual Committee. Linda holds her MSW degree and works with recruitment and family support for foster and adoptive families. She is also a sometime sailor. |
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