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Looking Ahead
Here are a few upcoming events you might consider
participating in:
Sunday, May 7, 9:00AM we will be sponsoring
participation in the Jewish Relief Agency monthly
efforts. Contact Sibyl for more information.
Kabbalat Shabbat honoring a Sandy Brown's
Simchat Chochmah, Friday Evening,
May 12, 2006, 7:30 PM at the Ethical Society
Annual Meeting and Brunch,
Sunday, May 21, 10:30 AM, Penn Center House
Meeting Room, 2nd Floor
Shavuot Shabbat Service
Friday, June 2, 7:30 PM
Bagels and Books Sunday, June 11, 11:00 AM
For more information call our voice mail or visit
http://www.leyvhair.org
215-629-1995
We Welcome Your Simchas
If you have a special occasion coming up such as a
birthday, anniversary, retirement or recovery
celebration, Leyv Ha-Ir ~ Heart of the City would love
to be part of it. There are a range of ways to
integrate your celebration into the life of the
community, from a simple candle-lighting on Shabbat
to making a presentation at a service, co-leading a
service, being called to the Torah or bringing in
klezmer music for dancing. By working with me you can
craft a moment of ritual that works for you, ensuring
that your milestone will be noted in a spiritual
framework. In this way the Torah of our lives is shared
and recognized. Be in touch!
--Rabbi Julie
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Dear Friends,
In our tradition, as part of our central prayer the
shema, we quote torah saying, I placed before you a
blessing and a curse, choose life...Sometimes the
extent of our free will is the choice to see our
situation as a blessing.
I am using this space this month to expound on our
little congregation's financial blessing this year. One
member donated $5000 to offset some of the cost of
having a choir director and cantorial soloist. Another
member donated $2000 to bring in a guest Rabbi to
lead ten meditative maariv services. A third member
donated $300 to pay for the room in which these
services were held. Another member donated $500 to
fund oneg shabbat for our Friday night services. Yet
another member wrote a grant to get us $2500 for
our seder sing-along event. A different member wrote
a grant bringing us $5000 to extend loving kindness to
Jews living in institutional settings. These are
considerable blessings. Our programming this year
reflected the considerable generosity and hard work of
our members.
If I were inclined to focus on curses instead of
blessings (which I'm not) I would point out that there
is no guarantee that we will be able to raise this
money again. I would point out that our budget is also
sustained by a distribution of $10,000 from a donation
by another anonymous donor, and that we still budget
at a deficit drawing on savings from previous year's
revenues.
The reason I am able to focus on the blessings of
the generosity of last year and not the challenging
prospects of next year is because I know that year
after year, you respond from your hearts when Leyv
Ha-Ir asks for your help. I am asking each of you to
write the biggest appeal check you have ever written,
and send it to us at P.O. Box 15836, Philadelphia, PA
19103. Secondly, I am asking you to expand our
appeal by asking someone you know if they would
make a donation, maybe in your honor, to this
synagogue that means so much to you.
Thank you,
Michael Meketon, President
Leyv Ha-Ir ~ Heart of the City
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| April 2006 Activities |
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Some of the events listed below have
flyers with more detailed information about each
activity. You can view these fliers as .pdf
files and print them. The events with associated flyers
are underlined with clickable hyperlinks to the
associated flyers.
April 1 SAT
Shabbat Services
Ethical Society, 10:00 AM
Lay led
April 5 WED
LHI Council Meeting
Ethical Society, 7:00 PM
Michael
April 12 WED
First Seder
April 13 THURS
LHI Community Seder
Ethical Society, 6:30 PM
Rabbi Julie
April 15 SAT
Shabbat Services
Ethical Society, 10:00 AM
Lay led
April 19 WED
Prayer Class
Ethical Society, 7:00 PM
Rabbi Julie
April 22 SAT
Shabbat Services
Home, 10:00 AM
Lay led
April 26 WED
Prayer Class
Iris N.'s home, 7:00 PM
Iris N.
April 30 SUN
Bagels & Books
Joanne's, 11:00 AM
Lots of fun, good food and all for $5.
M. Schlanger
As part of the Kehillah of Center City we
are invited to attend all of the events that are
sponsored by the Kehillah and our larger community.
To learn more about The Passover Haggadah and
the Jewish Imagination Wednesday, April 5th,
7:00 PM at Congregation B'nai Abraham; A Family
Volunteer Opportunity Sunday, April 2nd, 1:00 PM
at the JCCs Steiffel Center; and more, Check
out the link to Center City Kehillah.
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Click here for a complete look at activities for the next two months... |
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| Share a joyful Passover with Leyv Ha-Ir |
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Led by Rabbi Julie Greenberg
Thursday, April 13, 2006
6:30 PM
Ethical Society
1906 S. Rittenhouse Sq.
Philadelphia
Call Myrna Schlanger
at 856-795-6956 for more information.
Reservations and payment ($45 for members and their
guests; $50 for non-members) are required
immediately.
Please
download the reservation form and mail along
with payment, to:
Congregation Leyv Ha-Ir
P.O. Box 15836
Philadelphia, PA 19103
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Tu B'Shevat 2006
by John Mason |
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In a spirit of better late than never, Leyv Ha-Ir
celebrated its Tu B'Shevat seder in the thirtieth floor
community room of Kennedy House, 1901 John F.
Kennedy Blvd., on Saturday, February 25, 2006.
Rabbi Anna Rosenfield, a student at the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote,
published her own seder for the evening's service. The
seder displayed the four worlds in Kaballisitic tradition,
with the accompanying fruits-one with a hard shell and
soft inside, one with a soft outside and hard inside,
and one soft all the way through.
The service began with the Havdalah service,
closing shabbat. Residents of the building joined Leyv
Ha-Ir members in the festivities.
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| Race for the Cure: The Leyv Ha-Ir Team |
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On Sunday, May 14, 2006 (Mother's Day morning), the
Third Annual LHI Team will meet at the team booth at
8-8:15AM, to the right of the Art Museum steps. Look
for team mates, wear your team shirts and bring your
team spirit. New LHI members and friends are
welcome. Call Susan Berger at 856-751-5574, or
email
her for registration information.
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| Exciting News from Rabbi Julie |
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Dear Chevrah,
Exciting news at the Heart of the City: some Leyv
Ha-Ir-niks, including me, will be helping launch a Torah
Playgroup for very young children. We will do Shabbat
and holiday activities and lively Torah stories. Our first
meeting is scheduled for Sunday, April 23, 3:00 - 4:30
in the home of one of the families. Please call Kat or
Michael at 215-235-1175 if you or someone you know
would like to bring a child aged 2 - 4. My hope is that
reaching out to young families will eventually enrich
our community with new friends and with
intergenerational life cycle ceremonies. Jewish
community flourishes when it is multi-generational!
Speaking of multi-generational, we'll be celebrating
the Simchat Chochmah of Sandy Brown on Friday
evening May 12. The Simchat Chochmah ceremony is a
relatively new Jewish life-cycle ceremony designed to
elevate and honor elders as sharers of wisdom in our
communities. The Simchat Chochmah is celebrated
from age 60 on.....Sandy will teach us about the Torah
portion, talk about how she reached this day and
sponsor an evening of delicious food and dance. All are
welcome.
Chag sameach, Happy spring,
Rabbi Julie Greenberg
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