| Looking Ahead | |
Intro to Judaism
 Beginning in October 2012, Rabbi Julie Greenberg will offer a
5-part lecture series on Intro to Judaism.
For further details, contact:
Wendy Armon,
Managing Director
InterFaithways
Interfaith Family Support Network
(215) 207-0990
interfaithways.org
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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,
Tisha B'Av with all its sadness is just behind us, and we move into the seven weeks of comforting - Nahamu, nahamu ami-Comfort you oh comfort you, my people. Soon we'll move into Elul - August 19 - with the sounds of the shofar on the horizon. It's wonderful how our Jewish calendar provides opportunities for spiritual downs and ups! Not only in a religious sense, but also personal - my sadness, my loss, my longing, my helplessness as well as all the good things and blessings that abound! Sharing all this within community is a hallmark of Leyv Ha-Ir. It is there for anyone who chooses to share it with us!
Moving through Elul, we will prepare ourselves both spiritually and practically towards the High Holy Days. We can use hearts, minds, hands and feet to do the many tasks needed. Will you please do your share and let us know what you can do to help us reach another high this year?
Bobbi, Iris N. and Roby
Your Executive Committee
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| LHI Calendar August 2012 | | |
Saturday, August 4, 10 AM, Shabbat Morning Service
We enjoy going every summer to a lay-led service at Myrna Schlanger's in New Jersey. We'll discuss the Torah prtion and enjoy a potluck veggie lunch. Contact Myrna at 856-795-6956 or myrna111@aol.com for directions and car-pooling.
Monday, August 13, 7 PM, Council Meeting All members are invited to join us at Iris Newman's home. Call 215-629-1995 for directions.
Friday, August 24, 6:30 PM, Shabbat home dinner/service
Join us for a 45-minute lay-led service, followed by a veggie pot-luck dinner. We'll be at the Butlers' on Rittenhouse Square. Call 484-410-9060 or email jag1955@aol.com for directions and to tell them what you'll be bringing.
 Sunday, August 26, 11 AM, "One Book, One Congregation"
In this Annual event, Rabbi Julie will be discussing three books, "Rashi's Daughters, written by Maggie Anton.
These books, which are meticulously researched historical novels, are set in eleventh century France. Each book focuses on one of the three daughters of Rashi, the famous eleventh century Jewish scholar, also know as Salomon ben Isaac. Reading them will immerse you in the day-to-day life of medieval Jewry and expose you to many fascinating Talmud texts. It is a great read!!
Laura Jacobs, member and Center City resident, will be hosting this event. A wonderful brunch will be provided. The cost is $10/members; $15/non-members. Call Myrna Schlanger at 1-856-6956, or myrna111@aol.com, for further details. **IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO HAVE READ ALL THREE BOOKS TO PARTICIPATE.** --------------------------------------------------------------------------
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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| HIGH HOLY DAYS - PLEASE REGISTER | | 
All of the information for the High Holy Day services is now up on our website here. For security and planning purposes, it is important that everyone planning to attend services, INCLUDING LHI MEMBERS, register on the website or by calling us at 215.629.1995. It only takes a minute and helps us a great deal. Thank you.
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| MAH TOVU |
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 How good, how fair are your tents, Jacob; your dwelling places, Israel!
Once again, we are opening the Leyv Ha-Ir tent to all who want to nourish their souls during the High Holy Days' season. The High Holy Day tent opens for members, returning guests and newcomers alike! We want you to experience the welcoming arms of our community. To stake out the tent, to put up the cloth, the flaps, to place the ark, set up seats, ready the prayerbooks and more, we need many hands, feet, alert eyes, organizing minds. As a note for our newcomers: LHI is sort of a do-it-yourself community. A wonderful way to become part of us is to pitch in and make yourself useful; the blessing you will receive from this is a real sense of belonging!
Please call or email me to tell me you will do your part. Thank you.
Roby Jacobs
High Holy Days Chairperson
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HIGH HOLY DAY PRAYER BOOKS
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On sale now at ReconPress!
Many of our members have found that they enjoy having their own prayer books for High Holy Day services. Now is a great time to get your own, as they are on sale by ReconPress. Regularly selling for $47.00, the sale price is just $30.00 plus shipping.
To order one or get additional information, just go to the ReconPress online book store. Other books are on sale, too!
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PLEASE CHECK YOUR MAILBOX
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About the same time that you receive this issue of Leyv Ha-Ir HEARTBEAT, we will be sending you one of our infrequent paper mailings. It will contain information on three important topics:
* Membership information and form
* High Holiday service schedule
* Yizkor form for Yom Kippur
Please review them, keep them handy and respond appropriately (and generously, of course). This is the only paper mailing we plan to send before the High Holy Days. We will keep you updated electronically via this newsletter and our listserv.
Thank you.
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POWER (Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild) Leadership Meeting
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By John O. Mason
Members of the Leyv Ha-Ir community took part in a leadership assembly of POWER held at Harold O. David Memorial Baptist Church, 4500 North 10th Street (near Roosevelt Boulevard), on Thursday, July 19, 2012.
The Reverend Dwayne Royster, Executive Director of POWER, gave a summary of the accomplishments of the group since its founding a year ago; over a thousand people have attended POWER forums, and eight City Council members have committed to a Good Jobs policy, and POWER has received thirteen "hits" from the news media. Royster said that POWER hopes to have more Council members and congregation members attend meetings, and to attain greater media outreach. A video was played about the success of POWER in the past year, which is due to be on the website.
The Reverend Jarrett Kerbel spoke about the recent voter ID laws passed in Harrisburg, which would bar certain types of people from voting; this would leave people powerless, said Kerbel. He also spoke of the failures of the public school system and of the need for faith communities to affect positive change for the city.
Member congregations were urged to to engage their members to discuss the city's issues. A leadership retreat is being planned for late in September.
Organizer Wes Lathrop put forth an organizing plan for POWER for the next six months. Lathrop reminded participants that it would help to appeal to people's self-interest, not selfishness, but to focus on the things that concern people the most, like "Is my kid getting a good education in the school?" or "Will I find a decent job that pays my bills?" Self interest moves people, said Lathrop, but self interest changes.
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My Holland Vacation and Baltic Sea Visit
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by Roby Jacobs It can be hard to do something Shabbat-like when on vacation. During my May/June Dutch time, Jewish life was far away. Actually there were two Shabbats on a Holland America Line boat, sailing through the Baltic-St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Tallin and so on. The ship provided for Erev Shabbat a room, wine, two challahs, some cake and gefilte fish! Whatever service people choose is to be lay-led. I was missing Mike and Sol and Iris to do something meaningful. It was at first Jewish at its "typical" and chaotic: what to do or what outline service to use from the Reform Siddur. I found a few pages with songs and began to sing (typical me?!). Eventually a mixture of things took place. The second night a more orthodox man did his thing--not exactly to everyone's liking either. Overall it was just short and okay and fun to catch up with a few people privately. One woman was from Florida, from Rabbi Jeff's congregation in his time! She was to lecture in Holland. I did lots of reading up on what is going on in Jewish Holland and read Dutch books of Jewish interest (available in English: "The Hare with the Amber Eyes" by Edmund de Waal and "Melnitz "by author Charles Lewinsky). I spent a wonderful time with my French-Jewish-Dutch friend in her absolutely picture perfect Zutphen, where a shul was rescued and has now some functions. We did a guided walking tour--sad to hear and see how little Jewish life is left as a result of the Shoah. This is of course true all over Holland. I spent only one day in Amsterdam and was highly interested to see what renovations had taken place at the Portuguese Synagogue (Snoge-new exhibit of their Treasures. Google it!). The Jewish Museum now houses a splendid interactive exhibit in the old-time three Ashkenazy synagogues and an adorable children's museum is there now permanently.  Around the corner from this complex I searched and found the three Stolpersteine (German word; google it) that Betty, a Dutch Israeli friend, had just placed on the sidewalk in front of the family home to "eternalize" her perished parents and baby brother.
I must conclude how different the feel is in Europe from the USA when it comes to Jewish life in general, and the depths of the Shoah in "Real" life. This is hard for me to explain. |
| AUGUST YAHRZEITS | | 
May These Souls be Bound in the Book of Eternal Light:
Haim Klimoff
Gregory Triestman
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| Thank You! | | 
As our fundraising appeal nears its designated end, we want to thank the many members and nonmembers who responded so generously. We hope to be able to continue providing you with the high quality programming, including High Holy Day services, that you've come to expect from Leyv Ha-Ir, and these contributions will help us do that.
Please keep Leyv Ha-Ir, YOUR community, in mind for contributions marking life cycle events and mitzvot throughout the year.
Toda raba (many thanks).
The Executive Committee, LHI
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UNTIE THE "NOTS"
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Wandering,wandering
Down by the lakeside
My mind filled up with negatives
My soul tied up in "nots"
Searching, searching
I scanned the skies above me
Hoping to find a ray of hope
That lights my soul with joy
Then much to my amazement
There appeared on the lake before me
A huge white bird with giant wings
That made me shiver with awe
"Fear not!" the white bird seeemed to say.
"I am the Shekhina who answers prayers.
I'll cover you with hope
'Neath my wings of peace."
Shekhina:
Untie the "nots" in my soul
Make me whole
Make me whole
Let your wings of wisdom cover me
Let me not complain
That my lot is filled with pain
I will harbor doubts and fears
Nevermore
Cover me
With your wings
My soul will not fear 'neath your canopy
You led us through the wilderness
When we were in distress
Free our souls that we may bless
Your kind caress
Radiant light shone on Shekhina
As she swooped away.
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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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