| Looking Ahead | |
LHI Annual Meeting
Sun., May 6, 11:30 AM
Kennedy House, 30th Fl.
Brunch served too! (see article)
SHAVU0T SERVICE
Sunday, May 27, 10 AM
Kennedy House, 30th Fl.
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Marking Lifecycle Events
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Please remember Congregation Leyv Ha-Ir~Heart of the City when you have any occasion to send a greeting card to someone.
While we are happy to receive contributions in any amount, for a minimum $10 contribution we will gladly send one of Marci Fleet's lovely art cards created for this purpose to the recipient of your choice.
Make a donation to your congregation and honor someone you care about at the same time. It might be a note of sympathy, a message of congratulations, get well, or a shout-out on a happy occasion. Sue Frank will gladly send along either one of Marci's cards, or one she will customize one based on your suggestions. Sue will also compose a note that carries your thought to the recipient.
Please use the
contribution form on our website, which contains the mailing address for your contribution, PO Box 15836, Philadelphia PA 19103. You can also
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| Join Our List |  |
| Contact Leyv Ha-Ir | |
Voice Mail:
215-629-1995
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Dear Friends of Leyv Ha-Ir ~ Heart of the City,
Preparing for the ritual meal on the eve of the Exodus, God gives Moses and Aaron these instructions: "Speak to the whole community of Israel and say that on the tenth of this month each of them shall take a lamb to a family, a lamb to a household. But if the household is too small for a lamb, let him share one with a neighbor who dwells nearby."(Ex. 12:3) Here are directions for the world's first cooperative Seder. At Leyv Ha-Ir, we exist to make possible participation in a Jewish community, so central to our religion. We hope you can join us in our communal Seder on April 7.
Bobbi Cohen, Susan Thompson, Iris Newman, Patricia Saddier
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| Our Seder is Coming, Our Seder is Coming! | | 
Leyv Ha-Ir~Heart of the City celebrates the rites of spring in our annual festival of freedom Passover Seder.
Lift your spirits and join freedom fighters around the world with rituals of new birth and justice for all. Friends and feasting always add to the special holiday themes.
See you there!
Rabbi Julie
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Our community seder will take place the second night of Passover:
Date: Saturday, April 7
Time: 6:30 pm
Location: Social Room at The Philadelphian, 2401 Pennsylvania Avenue, Philadelphia
Food: will be catered by Little Pete's
The seder will be led by Rabbi Julie and will include Jessi Roemer and the Leyv Ha-Ir Choir.
Reservation information can be found here here or you can call us at 215-629-1995 or email us at info@leyvhair.org.
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| LHI Calendar April 2012 | | |
Saturday, April 7, 6:30 PM, Community Seder
Join Rabbi Julie and the LHI choir as we read the Haggadah and eat a traditional meal. We'll be at the Philadelphian Community Room, 2401 Pennsylvania Ave.
Monday, April 9, 7 PM, Council Meeting, All members are invited to join us at Susan Thompson's apartment. Call 215-629-1995 for more information.
Saturday, April 14, 10 AM, Shabbat Morning Minyan
Join us at the Ethical Society, 1906 S. Rittenhouse Square, for a lay-led service, Torah discussion, and veggie potluck lunch.
Sunday, April 15, 11 AM, Bagels and Books,
Apartment of Iris Newman
John Mason will discuss the book "Jewish American Folklore", a collection of very short stories and anecdotes about people and situations. Some are funny; some are fascinating. This is a statement about our culture - so attend and find out more!!
The cost is $10 for members and $15 for non-members - including a very nice brunch. Come and enjoy.
Please let Myrna Schlanger know if you are attending, myrna111@aol.com - 856 795 6956
Friday, April 20, 7:30 PM, Friday Night Service
Rabbi Julie and the LHI choir will lead us in Friday night prayers as we welcome the Sabbath Bride. We'll be at the Ethical Society, 1906 S. Rittenhouse Square.
Friday, April 27 through Sunday, April 29 LimmudPhilly
Please plan to attend this annual Jewish learningfest. Details and registration are available at http://www.limmudphilly.org.
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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.
Take a complete look at Congregation Leyv Ha-Ir upcoming activities.
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| Looking Ahead to Next Year | | |
Rabbi Julie's Sabbatical
As part of her contract with us, Rabbi Julie will be taking a sabbatical during the coming year. She will be with us for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in September, then will mostly be off until the following August. This will be a well-deserved break for our Rabbi, who has worked very hard for us for eleven years.
Council and a special committee have been working out how to have professional coverage during Rabbi Julie's sabbatical. We are delighted that our own Jessi Roemer, choir director and cantorial soloist, will be taking over most of Rabbi Julie's responsibilities while she is on sabbatical. During this time Jessi will be:
- Conducting monthly Kabbalat Shabbat and holiday services
- Conduct services and participate in Shabbaton, if we have one
- Lead Passover Community Seder
- Present 2 education classes, 1 in the fall and 1 in the spring
- Prepare a monthly newsletter article
Jessi is vey excited for this opportunity to get closer to our community. More details and an opportunity for questions will be available at our Annual Meeting on May 6.
Toda rabah (many thanks) to everyone who participated in and contributed to working out the details for this unprecedented step in the growth of our congregation.
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| April Yahrzeits | | 
May These Souls be Bound in the Book of Eternal Light:
Irving Gussman
Samuel Goldberg
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| Rabbi's Message | |  by Rabbi Julie Greenberg
Dear Chevre,
"For every purpose there is a season: A time to be born, a time to die." ~ Ecclesiastes
From a young age each one of us knows that we will eventually die. But death often seems far away and not very relevant to our daily lives. Then something happens that jolts us into facing mortality. Maybe it is facing someone else's distressing death. Maybe it is aging and knowing that the end of life is nearer than the beginning of life. One of the spiritual challenges of a life is to integrate our knowledge that death is a definite outcome of our lives.
What experiences have you had with the death of people close to you? What do you hope for when considering the end of your own life? What do you fear? Have you made end-of-life plans? What message would like conveyed about you in a eulogy? What inscription on a gravestone? It is possible that feeling at peace about death helps us live more fully.
This spring I will be holding open office hours for Leyv Ha-Ir ~Heart of the City members who would like to reflect on where you personally are in the journey that has "birth as a beginning and death as a destination." (Quote from a prayer-poem in our prayerbook) Office hours will take place on Sunday, April 15 and Sunday, May 6 (after our Annual Meeting) by appointment. Please call or e-mail me if you'd like a time to meet.
Kol Tuv,
Rabbi Julie |
| Rabbi Julie's March 2012 Classes | |
THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE BIRTH OF MODERN JUDAISM
Rabbi Julie led two classes on "The Enlightenment and the Birth of Modern Judaism," the 18th century movement that changed Judaism forever. The speaker in the second class was Milton Viorst, a renowned journalist and scholar, who reviewed the course of the Enlightenment for us.
"Reading Ruth" Class with Rabbi
Rabbi Julie's second 2-part lecture series discussed, in great detail, the Book of Ruth. It contains the quote "Wherever you go, I will go" and was conducive to wonderful conversations.
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| Leyv Ha-Ir Listserv Reminders | | 
To Post a Message - just send an email to leyvhair@npogroups.org.
Leyv Ha-Ir Event Postings - will be posted by Beverly Hayden using the information on our web calendar.
Other Event Postings - You can post information about other events or information of interest by sending an email to leyvhair@npogroups.org.
Contact Beverly or Bobbi if there are questions about the listserv.
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| Purim Celebration! |
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Thirty members and friends of Leyv Ha-Ir gathered for a wonderful, and sometimes raucous afternoon on March 5th for the Annual Purimshpiel. The costumes were elaborate and beautiful, as provided by our in-house artiste. Note the artful performance of King Ahasuerus, backed up by his council. Hazzan Jack Kessler did an excellent rendition of the reading of the Megillah. Not to be missed next year!
 The Purimshpielers doing their thing! The topic under discussion? The GOP Primary Candidates, of course! A fun time was had by all and thanks to everyone who participated in this special event.
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| Report from POWER (Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild) | | 
On the evening of March 18th, more than 225 leaders from POWER's 36 member congregations gathered at Rodeph Shalom (615 N. Broad Street) to ratify an Economic Justice Platform and advance the organization's 10,000 Jobs Campaign.
(One of our POWER team is highlighted in photo).
The group amended and ratified the Economic Justice Platform and agreed that this Platform will be used to advocate for:
1) local hiring preferences
2) living wage standards, and
3) a system of neighborhood-based recruitment and training for all large, city-subsidized development projects and contracts, including the Philadelphia Airport Expansion project.
For more information, visit the POWER website,
http://www.powerphiladelphia.org and their Facebook page.
The next Center City Cluster will be held April 11th at 6:30 PM at St. Peter's Church, 303 Pine St. Contact Beverly Hayden or Susan Thompson for more information.
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| Mazel Tov! | | 
Mazel Tov to Rosi Greenberg, Rabbi Julie's oldest daughter, on her engagement to Richard Cozzins.
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| LHI Annual Meeting | | |
Save the Date - Sunday May 6
 Our annual meeting, open to all members, will take place on Sunday, May 6 at the Kennedy House Community Room, 1901 JFK Blvd., 30th Floor. Brunch will be served at 11:30 AM and the meeting will begin at 12:30 PM. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about upcoming plans, elect new officers and Council, and approve next year's budget. Please plan to be there. A letter is going out to all members with more details.
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| A Note of Thanks | | 
Our thanks to those at Leyv Ha-ir for their many cards, phone calls, babysitting with me and so much more. Truthfully, words cannot adequately express the depth of our feelings.
Your love, support, and caring are more than anyone can expect, and means more than you can imagine in raising our spirits and uplift my resolve to get better. You are a unique group.
How fortunate David & I are to be part of this phenomenal congregation!!! Todah Rabah!
Enid and David Adler
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