Looking Ahead
Saturday, Jan. 31st Leyv
Ha-Ir 12th Annual Retreat - and third
Shabbaton in Fairmount Park. Join us for
a joyful Shabbat morning service with Rabbi
Julie, and Jessie Roemer leading us in song.
After a delicious catered lunch, Betsy
Teutsch will treat us to an afternoon of
learning, of "greening" our lives and the
world from a Jewish perspective.
Mark your calendar for the day; a flyer with
specifics and sign up will be mailed at the
end of December to members. For non-members,
write hayden15@verizon.net
for a flyer.
Marking Life Cycle Events
Making a financial contribution to
Congregation Leyv
Ha-Ir is a great way to mark special life events,
simchas, yahrzeits, etc. We are happy to send an
acknowledgement of your contribution to a
designee
of your choice. Contributions can be sent to our
regular P.O. Box address, or contact Evy
Simon, at
215-561-7474 or evylhi@hotmail.com, if you'd
like to
have an acknowledgement card sent.
Thank you.
Lessons from the garden
A tree can laugh
Its bobbing branches
A floppy-eared dog
With sun and shade
Formed grin
---
The gaudiest flowers aren't always
attractive to honeybees
---
Birds who analyze too long the supply of
food find it's lost to a
quicker on-the-wing flying bird
---
Check coffee cup for small swimmers before
drinking
---
When it's hot and you can't get to the
crumbs because of the crowd,
have a cool drink of water instead
---
Spartacus sparrow
Shleps a crust of bread
To a second-story site
For its nest
(try saying that a few times in a row)
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Enjoy the garden
Its lessons are a bonus
Maria Mackey 2008
STAR STREAMS
A drop of water hits a mountaintop
Flows down the slope till it comes to a stop
At the base of a mountain where it runs
rapidly
From a stream to the river to the sea
Put a drop of water on a thirsty man's
tongue
Read an adventure book to the inquisitve
young
Be a mentor to some climbers
Help them reach their dreams
You may light up the sky
With tomorrow's starstreams.
Roy Shenberg 2008
Newsletter Design and eMail Marketing:
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Friends,
Our council is beginning to plan how we
will honor the magnificent covenant into
which we have entered with Rabbi Julie
Greenberg. Julie has been with us for seven
years, having entered into and successfully
completed three contracts. Our new contract
is for seven more years (kind of a Leah --
Rachel thing without the deceit). It is not
lost on us that at the end of this contract,
Julie will have been our Rabbi for fourteen
years. Guiding us spiritually will have been
one of the works she has dedicated the most
time in her life. We are very honored that
she has been willing to share such a
substantial piece of her life with us. We
want to convey love and respect with this
covenant.
Julie and I are committed to making
Leyv Ha-Ir the Heart of the City. We make
great efforts to welcome everyone to our
shul. We know that status anxiety and money
issues generally have been a restraining
force blocking many Jews from engaging a life
of meaning and spirit in our tradition. Julie
has told me many times that she believes one
day, in the future, that we might become a
post-dues community if as the Torah suggests
each of us gives from the heart. Over these
next years, we could build an endowment
substantial enough that its income can
replace dues as a funding mechanism. I can
think of no better way to honor our covenant
with Julie than by beginning to make this
vision a reality.
Mystical Jews identify ten Sephirot
or divine qualities. One is Chesed or
expansiveness/lovingkindness. Another one is
Gevurah or strength/structure/discipline. It
is a common practice to examine these
qualities in relation to each other. So what
is the Chesed of Gevurah? We are entering
into a time of fiscal Gevurah. Markets are
down. People are losing jobs. It is more
challenging to be a community of loving
kindness during a time of difficulty. Many
people are reviewing their end of the year
Tzedakkah opportunities and deciding to give
less this year. The Chesed of Gevurah would
suggest that in times of scarcity, more
generosity is needed.
Michael Meketon, President
Leyv Ha-Ir ~ Heart of the City
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Bagels & Books - December 7 Event! |
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Libby Cone, a member of Leyv Ha-Ir, will
discuss her published book, "War on the
Margins", a novel about the German occupation
of the Channel Islands during WWII.
A reviewer described it as follows: "The
story is gripping from the beginning. You
see how different people react to various
levels of danger. The affect becomes more
intense when you realize that these events
really did take place. Libby Cone gives you
the story with clever use of actual
correspondence and public notices from the
time. People lived in fear, not only of the
Germans, but of each other. The book does an
excellent job of draping the whole in a cloak
of doubt and suspicion. This is one good read."
The book is available on Amazon.com and at
Giovanni's Room.
An excellent brunch will be provided for
$7.00. Call 215-629-1995 for additional
information.
Join us at Joanne Perilstein's apartment,
December 7 at 11AM.
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December 2008 Activities
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Thu - Dec 04 - 2008,
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Council Meeting
At the Ethical Society
Sat - Dec 06 - 2008,
10:00 AM Shabbat Morning Service
Lay-led
Our service, Torah discussion and
veggie/dairy pot-luck
lunch will take place at the Ethical Society,
1906 S. Rittenhouse Square.
Sun - Dec 7 - 2008,
11:00 AM "Bagels & Books"
Come for a book discussion and for brunch
($7). At Joanne's, 1901 Walnut Street, #16F.
Call
215-629-1995 for more details.
Mon - Dec 8 - 2008,
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch & Learn -
Hanukah Stories for Grown-ups with Rabbi
Julie Greenberg. At the Bellevue,
Broad & Walnut Streets, 8th floor.
Reservations are a MUST - call 215-629-1995.
Lunch provided.
Fri - Dec 12 - 2008,
7:00 PM Friday night Dinner &
Services at home
Join us as we have brief services and a
potluck dinner at Iris Newman's apartment.
Call her at 215-561-0228 for location and
what dish you are providing.
Fri - Dec 19 - 2008,
7:30 PM Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Join us as we welcome the Sabbath Bride, with
Rabbi Julie Greenberg, at the Ethical
Society, 1906 South Rittenhouse Square. There
will be a Hanukah celebration as well. Bring
family and friends.
Thurs - Dec 25 - 2008,
12:00 PM "Latkes & Laughter"
Celebrate Hannukah, have fun and latkes!
Karen Zeitz, our in-house stand-up comic,
will be the MC. Bringing latkes, no charge.
If not, cost is
$10. Call 215-629-1995 for reservation and if
you are bringing some food. At the Ethical
Society, 1906 S. Rittenhouse
Square
Sun - Dec 28 - 2008,
4:00 PM "Annual Leyv Ha-Ir Womens'
Rosh Hodesh" Bring your Chanukia, and a
pot-luck dairy or vegetarian contribution.
Also, bring a gift for our pollyanna, -- a
new something, or, better yet, an item you
like to recycle, of value of $10! At
Home of Roby Jacobs.Call Roby at 215-546-8965
for location, what food you will bring, and
for any questions.
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 these events,
check
out the link to Center
City Kehillah.
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Click here for a complete look at Congregation Leyv Ha-Ir activities for the upcoming two months. |
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Message from Rabbi Julie
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Dear Chevre, There's a Hassidic
teaching that the universe is filled with
shefa, God's abundance. It's our job
as humans to be vessels for the flow of this
shefa. We keep it flowing in by
opening ourselves to new people, ideas,
projects and we keep it flowing out through
acts of generosity. All of our congregational
committees are important to this flow of
shefa, as they organize what comes
into and what goes out from our community.
This year I'm working to strengthen two
essential committees, one concerned with
directing the flow of kindness into our
community and the other concerned with
directing the flow of kindness out into the
world. The Chesed (Kindness) Committee, led
by Pat Wisch, met with me in November. I am
so impressed by the talent and commitment of
Pat's committee members. If you have a good
deed to offer, or know of someone in the
congregation who needs support, please
contact Pat --215-563-1894.
The second committee is our Tikkun Olam
(Repair of the World) Committee, led by John
Mason, which will be meeting with me before
our Friday night service on Dec. 19. We'll
meet at the little café called Tuscany, a few
doors away from our building. Let's gather at
5:30 to order food or drinks and be ready to
start an exciting discussion at 6:00. All are
warmly welcome to join. You can come check us
out even if you aren't sure how much you'll
be able to be involved.
Looking forward to filling our souls with
light at this dark time of year and letting
that light overflow into goodness for each
other and for the world.
Warmly,
Rabbi Julie
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Read more from Rabbi Julie |
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Tikkun Olam Outreach for 2009 |
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In 2009 Leyv Ha-Ir~Heart of the City will
be honoring the memory of the
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his
friend Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
by volunteering together. Unlike previous
years when we identified a
particular volunteer task and did it
together, we will be joining together in small
groups identifying our own tasks and sharing
details in this e-newsletter.
Your job is to send an e-mail to Beverly
Hayden at hayden15@verizon.net by December 20th
telling her where you have been
volunteering this year and/or where you
intend to volunteer on King Day, January
19, 2009, together with contact information
so that others can join you.
Opportunities will be found at this website:
http://www.mlkdayofservice.org/volunteers.aspx
among other places. We will compile an
article including everyone's information in
the next issue.
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Leyv Ha-Ir to Eliminate Paper Newsletter Mailings |
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Due to economical and environmental reasons,
we are discontinuing paper mailings. We
recommend that our faithful readers obtain an
email account through hotmail or gmail, free
and accessible at the Library or a friend's
house. If this creates a hardship, let us
know and we will consider requests on a case
by case basis.
Beverly Hayden, Editor
215-557-3777
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Welcome New Members |
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The Membership Committee is proud to welcome
the following new members to the Leyv Ha-Ir
Family:
David Beck & Marsha Doman
Dr. Ron Collman
Cindy, Michael & David Durst
Ron & Elaine Erenhouse
Ed and Diana Glickman
Annette Marks
Jonathan Seligman & Daughter
Roberta Spivek & Craig Eisendrath
We will be honoring them at a new members
tea in December.
The Membership Committee:
Susan Budenstein, Frann Shore and
Karen Zeitz
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Ways to Save Money |
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2009 Medicare prescription drug and health
plan choices
are now online. The Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced
that beneficiaries, caregivers, and family
members can review and compare medicare
options through the Medicare Prescription Drug
Plan Finder and Medicare Options Compare Tool
at www.medicare.gov.
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November Bagels and Books Discussion at Leyv Ha-Ir |
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Congregation
Leyv Ha-Ir assembled a nice
group for the November
Bagels & Books get-together. Brunch was
excellent and Myrna Schlanger (third from
left) read a very
interesting essay, followed by a lively
discussion.
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Recipe to Spice up Your Shabbat Dinner! |
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Submitted by Beverly Hayden This delicious
dish was brought by a guest, Marsha Hyman, to
a recent Shabbat dinner. Perhaps you can try
it at a future meal:
ASIAN NOODLE SALAD WITH
SPICY PEANUT SAUCE
Ingredients are available at Asian markets
and many supermarkets. Salad components may
be made ahead, covered, refrigerated. When
ready to serve, bring sauce to room
temperature. Udon noodles are thick Japanese
wheat noodles; linguine may be substituted.
SERVES 4.
- 1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
- 1/4 cup tamari or other soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Asian chili paste
- 2 garlic cloves, minces
- 1/2 cup water
- 12 ounces udon noodles
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- 2 cups cored and finely shredded
cabbage
- 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into
matchsticks
- 1 bunch scallions, minced
1. In medium-size bowl, combine peanut
butter, tamari, vinegar, chili paste and garlic,
stirring to blend well. Add water, whisking
to make a thick sauce. Set aside.
2. Cook noodles in large pot of boiling
water until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain
and rinse noodles under cold running water,
transfer to a large serving bowl. Toss with
sesame oil to coat.
3. Add carrot, cabbage, bell pepper and
scallions to the noodles. Add just enough of the
peanut sauce to coat, tossing gently to
combine. Serve at room temperature.
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