Join us for our very first Mussar cohort beginning this January. Mussar is a centuries-old Jewish tradition that can help you develop inner awareness, and bring about transformation of the traits of the soul, in order to become the finest version of the person you already are.  Through journaling, meditation, and personal reflection, we will delve into Mussar using methods drawn from the Mussar Institute and Everyday Holiness by Alan Morinis.

Taught by Rabbi Jennifer Gubitz.

Course cost: $54 TST members/$108 non-TST members and includes a copy of Everyday Holiness, online materials and resources.

There are two parts to registration:

1.  Register at www.shirtikva.org/mussar  

2.  Click here to fill out a questionnaire as part of registration: http://tinyurl.com/TSTMussarCohort1  

Classes meet at Shir Tikva on January 29, February 12, 26, March 12, 26 April 9, 23, May 7

Simchat Shabbat, Friday, 6:15 p.m.

Early Shacharit, followed by Torah study, Sat. 8:30 a.m.

Late Shacharit, Saturday, 10:45 a.m. - 1 p.m.
 
Shabbat Yeladim (Tot Shabbat) - 1st  Saturday of each month, 9:30 a.m.

Shabbat Mishpacha (Family Shabbat) - 3rd Saturday of each month, 9:00 a.m.   

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Please join us for a great night of community and laughs!  The night includes a Chinese food buffet dinner, drinks (beer and wine) and dessert followed by some top notch comedians.  This has always proven to be a very fun, great adult night out at the temple.  (Must be at least 21 years old.) 

Sunday, January 25, 2015, 2:30 p.m., Danforth Museum, Framingham, MA

Please join us for an interesting afternoon at the Danforth. A private tour has been arranged to teach us about the life and works of artist Hyman Bloom, who emigrated to the U.S. with his family from Latvia in 1920 and spent most of his life living in Boston. His art was heavily influenced by his orthodox Jewish upbringing, as well as by many other artists of the time.

The one-hour tour will begin at 2:30 p.m., followed by light refreshments.

The cost is $15 per person and reservations are required by January 20.

Register here. 

For more information, contact:

Beth Volk (missbeth47@aol.com) or Joan Lappin (jglappin@yahoo.com)

Join us for "Ruchi G'viati--My Soul, My Body," our Jewish Mind-Body Spirituality experience. Together we will learn timeless strategies drawn from Jewish tradition for caring for your mind, body and soul. This dynamic series of workshops is based on music, contemplative meditation, Torah study, psychological thought and gentle Yoga.

• Wear comfortable clothing
• Come prepared to remove your shoes
• Bring a yoga mat (mats will be provided for those need them)
• Bring friends, old and new
• Bring frayed nerves in need of healing
• Bring open minds and hearts, eager to learn, share and sing

Facilitated by Cantor Hollis Schachner, Dr. Randy Kamen Gredinger and Holly Friedman Glick, LICSW, RYT 

Monday, January 26, 7:30 p.m.  

Discussion will be led by Daniele Bick, M.D., psychiatrist  

From the unique, contemporary and odd, perspective Etgar Keret brings to his writing, to a more serious study of Nazism and the aftereffects that Moacyr Scliar explores in Max and the Cats, the hope is to illuminate and explore what other cultures bring to the experience of being a Jew and to Judaism in general.   

Note, this book is not available as an E-Book.  There will be 5 books available in the office for sharing - it is only 128 pages so please read and return as soon as possible so others may read it too!   

Click here for more information 

Join us for our next Sisterhood book club! We are reading A Guide for the Perplexed by Dara Horn.

Software prodigy Josie Ashkenazi has invented an application that records everything its users do. When an Egyptian library invites her to visit as a consultant, her jealous sister Judith persuades her to go. A century earlier, another traveler arrives in Egypt: Solomon Schechter, a Cambridge professor hunting for a medieval archive hidden in a Cairo synagogue. Both he and Josie are haunted by the work of the medieval philosopher Moses Maimonides.  An engrossing adventure that intertwines stories from Genesis, medieval philosophy, and the digital frontier, A Guide for the Perplexed is a novel of profound inner meaning and astonishing imagination.

Join us for wine, dessert and a lively discussion, whether you finish the book or not. 

• Peter and Nancy Gossels, on the engagement of their son, Daniel Gossels to Jackie Chae

• Lisa Schreiber,  on the death of her father, David Botvin
• Joan Friedman,  on the death of her father, Arthur Friedman

The Site Is Up. The Box Office is Open!

Whether it was meeting an Indian singer who was so excited to do a concert with a cantor, or the joy of the Irish Consul of Boston when we talked about Saints and Tzadiks, there are many incredible stories to tell about this year's festival. Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing more details and anecdotes with you.

Click here to find out more information and to buy tickets

Transitions to Work is an employer based program that focuses on creating new employment opportunities for young adults with a disability. The program provides hands-on training and classroom instruction to help prepare students for work.  The Transitions staff assists participants in obtaining employment upon completion of the program. Transitions to Work serves individuals with a disability between the ages of 18 to 35 who have completed high school and are motivated to work.

The Transitions to Work Program is excited to announce an upcoming training session beginning in January 2015.

Transitions will offer a training program in retail and customer service at the CVS Caremark Regional Learning Center in Boston.  Students will gain hands-on work experience and cash register training that is relevant to real jobs.

The training will take place at JVS' Boston office and classes are run by JVS instructors.

If you or anyone you know are interested please contact: Madeline Wenzel at Mwenzel@jvs-boston.org or 617-399-3241.

This program is made possible through the collaboration of CJP, the Ruderman Family Foundation and JVS. This project is also funded in part by a grant through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.  The grant program is administered by Commonwealth Corporation. Together with our employer partners, we're working to help people with disabilities develop skills needed for employment and place them into jobs that provide earnings and a sense of purpose.

10 - 11 a.m.

The JCC Early Learning Center is located at 141 Boston Post Road, at Temple Shir Tikva.

The JCC Early Learning Center, Wayland is holding open houses for parents of toddlers and preschool age children.

Parents can meet the educators and the school's director, tour the classrooms and register for the Fall 2015 school year.  The school accepts children ages 15 months to 5 years and is one of five schools in the Boston area operated by the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston. Program offers part day with full week and part week options, school year and summer programs as well as early drop-off, extended day and afternoon enrichment programs. Everyone is welcome. The JCC proudly welcomes interfaith families and people of all abilities, cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations.

For more information contact 508-358-5331, wayland-elc@jccgb.org or visit bostonjcc.org/earlylearning. 

Sunday, February 1, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Meet the camp director and staff and learn how JCC Grossman Camp is a place to be active, a place to make friends and a place for building skills and community.

Varied activities give campers ages 4.5 to 15 years old a sense of the world around them-and supportive, experienced staff encourage exploration and growth in this vibrant Jewish camping environment. Located on 75 acres of the Hale Reservation in Westwood.

Bus transportation available from more than 40 communities throughout Greater Boston. Extended day available in Newton (at the Leventhal-Sidman JCC). Financial assistance is available.   

No charge for open house. Everyone welcome. A program of the Ryna Greenbaum JCC Center for the Arts.

For more information, visit bostonjcc.org/grossman or call 617-244-5124.