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26 Tamuz  5774
July 24  2014

4
TORAH TALK

The Wandering Jew

 

There is a species of plant known as the Wandering Jew.  This plant likely got its name because while it needs sustenance to grow and spread, it easily adapts to varied environments.  Not unlike its namesake, we Jews have a heritage and legacy of wandering, regenerating and flourishing. 

 

We read in this week's Torah portion, Parshat Masei, that in their forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites made forty-two stops along the way.  The Sefat Emet, a 19th century Hasidic master, taught that each of these forty-two places offers a unique challenge to the Jewish people.  In each of these places the Israelites were to accomplish a specific tikkun, a specific spiritual repair.  We, too, journey as a community, constantly striving to grow and improve.  Additionally, each of us is also on our own journey with many stops along the way.  Sometimes we are physically moving from one place to another, and other times it is more of a spiritual passage.  Either way, the Sefat Emet teaches us that each stop on our journey holds a unique purpose and challenge, and the hope is that each one leads to a tikkun, a repair of our soul. 

 

As we journey through life, may we each be as resilient and adaptable as the Wandering Jew.  May we always have a place to plant our roots.  May we always find the sustenance we need, and may we offer it to others.  And may we always find the strength to regenerate and flourish.  

 ~ Rabbi Shana Nyer

WORSHIP

July 25 Kabbalat Shabbat
On Friday, July 25, at 6 pm, Rabbi Shana Nyer will lead Kabbalat Shabbat services.  Rabbi Vann is the rabbi in residence at Chautauqua this Shabbat.

   

August 1 Kabbalat Shabbat: Hear, O Israel: A Shabbat Service of Learning and Prayers for Israel

On August 1, at 6 pm, our Shabbat service will be dedicated to understanding the situation in Israel through learning, song and prayer. Please join us as we learn from Alan Melamed, Past President of American Jewish Committee, recent co-author of the Op-Ed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, along with AJC Director Lee C. Shapiro, " Israel and Hamas: A Need for Moral Clarity,"and our own Loree Resnik, Executive Director Emerita of ST-KA, and Board member of both AJC and ARZA.  Rabbi Vann will offer poetry of healing and peace, and Laura Lindauer will lead us in songs of peace.  

   
ONGOING 

Torah Study is held in the Gries Library every Saturday morning at 9:15 am.

 

Birthday Blessings

Are you having a birthday?  We'd love to celebrate with you!  Rabbi Allison Vann will call you up to the bimah on the third Friday of the month. Our next Kabbalat Shabbat service with birthday blessings will be August 15 at 6 pm. 

  

Yahrzeit Requests

To add the name of a loved one to the weekly Yahrzeit list, please contact the office before 5 pm on Thursdays at 216.991.0700 or [email protected]  
 
Shabbat Flowers and Onegs 
Celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or other simchas or remember a loved one by sponsoring Kabbalat Shabbat bimah flowers or the Oneg Shabbat following services. Your donation of $35 for flowers or $50 for the oneg will be much appreciated.  Thank you!
              
COFFEE, TEA, AND WE!

Get to know Brett Shankman, our new executive director, and shmooze with Brett and Rabbi Vann over a cup of joe at Peet's Coffee (corner of Richmond and Chagrin at la Place) on Wednesday, August 13, from 4-5:30 pm and Tuesday, August 19, from 8-9 am. Coffee's on us!

 

SHABBAT UNDER THE STARS


 
Shabbat 
Under the Stars
 
Celebrating Summer and 
Honoring the Memory of 
Rabbi Eric J. Bram z"l
 
Join us for Kabbalat Shabbat on 
Friday, August 15, at 6 pm
Followed by supper with 
Debbie, Jessica, and Daniel Bram
 
Bring lawn chairs and blankets for this song-filled, spiritual and casual service. Hawaiian shirts are
encouraged to honor Rabbi Bram's z"l  

preferred attire. Rabbi  Vann will give birthday blessings.

 

Stay for a picnic supper and 

catch up with the Bram family.

Dinner $10 per person | $25 per family
Prospective members are welcome as our guests.
Bring a friend!

RSVP by Monday, August 11
[email protected] or 216.991.0700

Event Co-Chairs Sandra Lusher-Waterhouse & Beth Curtiss.

Donations welcomed to the Rabbi Eric J. Bram Scholarship Fund

to help provide lifelong learning opportunities for our members.

 

VINTAGE PICNIC & KLEZMER CONCERT

Vintage Picnic Planned for August 3

All congregants of Vintage age (60+) are invited to join us for our annual picnic on Sunday August 3, from 4-7 pm at Suburban Temple-Kol Ami.  We will provide hot dogs, burgers, and veggie burgers - thanks to Chef Charlie Vann - and we ask that you bring an appetizer, side dish or dessert to serve 8. The cost for the event is $5/member and $6/guest.  To RSVP, call the temple at 216-991-0700 or email [email protected].

 

After the picnic, the entire congregation is invited to an outdoor concert by the Workmen's Circle Klezmer Orchestra, featuring our members Lyle Merdler, Brynda and Todd Ivan and Stephen Langel. Bring a friend - the concert is open to the community. We will provide chairs or you can bring a blanket and enjoy the entertainment under the stars.  

 

QUICK LINKS

July/August Bulletin
SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL

  

To learn more about the current conflict in Israel and Gaza, please consider the following resources:

 

www.urj.org

www.jewishfederations.org

www.jpost.org

www.haaretz.com

 

There are many ways to support Israelis with financial assistance. Among the options:

www.jewishcleveland.org

www.arza.org

www.afmda.org

  

BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE
DEADLINE IS JULY 31

As the Days of Awe approach, our thoughts turn to loved ones who are no longer with us.  At Suburban Temple-Kol Ami, we prepare a Book of Remembrance for distribution at the Yom Kippur observance. We list the names of all who have passed away since last Rosh Hashanah, allowing us to keep their memories close during the High Holy Days.  

 

A congregational mailing was sent in early July. To ensure that the Book of Remembrance will be printed in time for Yom Kippur, all names must be in the office no later than July 31.  Please contact the office at 216.991.0700 or email [email protected] for more information. 

 

COOK UP AND SERVE A MITZVAH

For over 20 years, Suburban Temple-Kol Ami has prepared and served meals for the needy at Calvary Presbyterian Church  at E.79th St. in Euclid. Our members make spaghetti and meatballs and desserts, deliver them to the Temple in advance, then help serve at the dinner. 

 

Our next dinner is on Wednesday, July 30 at Calvary Church. Please pick up the simple recipe and bring foil pans of spaghetti, cookies, and brownies to the Temple by noon on July 30. Volunteers are needed to serve dinner from 4-6:30 pm.

 

To get involved, please contact Sandy Lusher-Waterhouse, coordinator of the ST-KA Calvary supper program, at  [email protected] or 440.498.8282

 

DO YOU KNOW GCC?

Suburban Temple-Kol Ami is part of Greater Cleveland Congregations (GCC), a non- partisan coalition of faith communities and partner organizations in Cuyahoga County working together for social justice. GCC unites people across lines of race, class, religion, and geography to promote public, private and civic actions that improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

 

GCC helped pass a critical 2012 levy in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and partners with 10 schools to increase parental involvement in the schools' transformation. GCC was a critical force in securing the 2013 expansion of Medicaid in Ohio.

 

Leviticus 19:16 reads, " Do not stand idly by while your neighbor's blood is shed."  By this text, we are called to act. We are called to act in the wake of the incredible amount of gun violence in our country, in our county, and in our cities.  

 

GCC calls for law enforcement agencies to create a countywide initiative to halt the pipeline of illegal guns and hold accountable those responsible for their flow into our neighborhoods. Gun store owners and dealers are asked to prevent illegal sales. GCC demands that law enforcement seize and trace illegal guns, investigate straw purchases and multiple purchases, and arrest and prosecute those who sell illegally. 

 

These tangible steps to reduce gun violence in Cuyahoga County will make a difference.  For more information, please see this editorial from the June 20, 2014 Plain Dealer:

As Gun Deaths Mount, A Welcome Initiative Begins to Take Shape.

 

Please join Rabbi Vann to work to reduce gun violence in our communities. We can no longer stand idly by as our neighbors bleed.  To learn more, email Rabbi Vann at [email protected]. 

 

 

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

If you are facing unemployment or another job-related need, we are here to assist you. Clients can come to the Career Transition Center in the Shaker Heights Public Library at no fee.  For more information contact Bonnie Dick at 216.283.9148 or  bonnie.dick10@ gmail.com or Amy Rogat at 216.921.3353 or [email protected].  
 

CONTACT US

22401 Chagrin Blvd.
Beachwood OH 44122
216.991.0700
fax: 216.991.0705

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ABOUT US

Suburban Temple - Kol Ami has a time-honored tradition of commitment 
to being an inclusive, egalitarian and intimate community. 

We welcome all to our congregation.