Looking Ahead
Sunday, June 13, 2010 3:00 PM
Program with Susan
Budenstein, our beauty expert - CANCELLED!
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 Sue
Frank, at
[email protected], if you'd
like to
have an acknowledgement card sent.
Thank you.
More Connection to the Heart of the
City
One way to stay in touch with the daily
workings of Leyv Ha-Ir~Heart of the City is
sign on to our listserv. The listserv is a
way to share thoughts, concerns, ideas and
events of interest to this congregation. In
addition, the Rabbi frequently writes brief
messages with uplifting tidbits of Jewish
insight. To join the listserv, send your
first and last name and e-mail address to
Sharon Cooper at [email protected].
Please use the listserv in a respectful way,
posting short messages that are likely to be
of general interest. We hope you join this
internal conversation at the Heart of the City.
Call 215-629-1995 for more
information.
Newsletter Design and eMail Marketing:
Ilene
Hass Creative Solutions for Business
Marketing
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Dear Friends and Members of Leyv Ha-Ir~Heart of the City,
Last week, my friend Joey D. died at the age
of 51. Joe was a dad and a husband and a
public servant. He chose this life
trajectory and career. He was talented and
passionate enough to do anything.
I have experienced grief as a selfish
emotion. After the rational thought, the
empathy, the understanding of others' loss,
my feelings turn to me. I question decisions
that Joe and I have made to localize
our impact on the world -- and to choose
professions which don't make much money.
It's hard to see the rewards of humility at
the end of a life.
Joe was on the board of directors of the
Friends of the Free Library (in addition to
other organizations). His survivors
identified the FFL as a charity well wishers
could support to honor his memory. I
wish that enough donors would give money to
keep the libraries open forever, and to give
Joe a legacy. I wish this in the same way
that I want my living and dying to have an
enduring impact. I wish that my
life, with its relatively small gravitational
pull, could change the course of the universe.
Michael Meketon, President
Leyv Ha-Ir ~ Heart of the City
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Understanding the Koran |
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Several Leyv Ha-Ir members met with two
students and to discuss the history and
meaning of the Koran, explored what role it
plays in Islam and how it is used by Muslims
as part of daily prayer and ritual. Abbas
Adekola, a native of Nigeria, is currently
pursuing graduate studies in comparative
religion at Temple University. Boris Dolin,
in his fifth year at the Reconstructionist
Rabbinical College, highlighted
similarities between both Judaism and Islam.
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June 2010 Activities
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Saturday, June 5, 2010,
10:00 AM Shabbat Morning Lay-Led
Service
Home Shabbat Service/Dinner
Join us at the home of Joan Goldberg,
1901 Kennedy Blvd, Apt. 2226, for a
lay-led service and pot-luck veggie/dairy
lunch.
Sunday, June 13, 2010,
10:00 AM Council Meeting
All members are invited to a LHI Council
Meeting at Evy's, Kennedy House, 1901 JFK,
#2818, 10 AM
Friday, June 18, 2010,
6:30 PM Shabbat Home Dinner and
Service Join us for a condensed
service followed by a potluck veggie/dairy
dinner. We'll meet at Michael Meketon's, 840
Earp Street, Directions? contact Michael at
[email protected] or 215-755-3259.
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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Rabbi's Message: Rabbi Julie Greenberg |
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Hello Dear Chevre,
Leyv Ha-Ir~Heart of the City has an action
component to many of our holy days; the
Tikkun Olam (Repair of the World) committee
and the Rabbi work closely together to
channel good deeds, connected to the
holidays, into the world. This past season we
chose to make a contribution to ending hunger
at Pesach and to sharing educational
resources with prisoners at Shavuot.
John Oliver Mason was honored for his
service this year educating our community
about hunger issues. Rabbi Julie made a
donation to Mazon:A Jewish Response to Hunger
in John's name.
Thanks to all of you who brought books to
donate to Books Thru Bars, the wonderful
program that takes literature, and especially
dictionaries, into prisons. We brought books
on Shavuot because Shavuot is a time of
revelation and learning.
Thank you to all who participated in
making the values of Judaism come alive on
these holy days.
Love and Blessings,
Rabbi Julie
(Editor's Note: Rabbi Julie will be on
vacation for
July and August.)
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Mitzvot are alive and well at the Heart of the City. |
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On Tuesday, May 18, as part of the Shavuot
service, Members of the Leyv Ha-Ir community
collected books, mostly dictionaries, for
Books Through Bars, the organization
dedicated to sending books to prison inmates,
so they may educate themselves and return to
society. I took the books over to the
A-Space, 4722 Baltimore Avenue, where BTB is
headquartered. This is a wonderful act for us
to get into. Let's continue this tradition,
so that inmates could free their minds as
well as themselves.
John Oliver Mason, Tikkun Olam Chair
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2010 Leyv Ha-ir Annual Meeting Officers Elected |
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The Annual Meeting of Leyv Ha-Ir was
held Sunday, March 16th when a new slate
of officers were voted in. They are:
President Michael Meketon
Vice President - Susan Thompson
Secretary - Iris Newman
Treasurer - Polly Gussman
Council At-Large - Myrna Schlanger, Roby
Jacobs,
Patricia Saddier, and Pat Wisch
The photos are of: Rabbi Julie Greenberg
and President Michael Meketon. The photo of
bemused Karen Zeitz presenting the slate
officers with a comment from the floor.
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Find Us on Facebook! |
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Did you know that Congregation Leyv
Ha-Ir~Heart of the City has a Facebook
group?
There is not too much to see right now but,
shortly, Michael Meketon and I will be
revising it and bringing it up to date with
many photos.
Which leads me to the question - are you
hoarding photos of Leyv Ha-Ir that can be
posted on Facebook?
If that is the case, please send them to me
at [email protected].
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Shabbaton in Fairmount Park |
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In an idealic setting in the Park,
Leyv Ha-Ir had its 14th Annual get-together,
Saturday, May 1st at Chamounix Mansion.
Rabbi Julie led the Shabbat service and
Rabbi Emeritus, Rayzel Raphael, led us
in a discussion of Jewish Angels and How
Angels Guide Us. The day included a baby-
naming ceremony and delicious lunch.
It was a wonderful occasion!
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Discounted Parking for Ethical Society Events |
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EZ Park, located at 2101 Chestnut Street in
the River West Condo Garage (covered), has
offered Congregation Leyv Ha-Ir discounted
parking. The cost is $6, weekdays after
5PM; Weekends all day for $6. All tickets
must be stamped with an Ethical Society
Stamp, available at the check-in desk in the
Ethical Society lobby.
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Marking Life Cycle Events |
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Let's thank Evy Simon for the many years of
service she has devoted to sending out Life
Cycle event cards. This task will now be
taken over by Sue Frank, a long-standing
member of Leyv Ha-Ir. What a meaningful way
to mark simchas, yahreits,etc. - send a
donation to our P.O. Box 15836, Phila PA
19103, stating to whom the card should be
delivered and for what occasion. The cards
are beautiful, multi-purpose and designed by
our very own Marci Fleet, our in-house
artist. For further information, contact Sue
Frank at [email protected].
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