Schmooze and News at AA

Posted on by Lauren Dube
Schmooze and News at AA

Special Message

Shabbat Corner

All Passover service times can be found on the Passover Hub
Shabbat and Erev Passover Service: 6:00 p.m. (Zoom)
Candle Lighting: 7:51 p.m.
Passover Morning Service: 9:30 a.m. (Zoom)
Mincha Service: 1:00 p.m. (Zoom)
Candle Lighting and Second Seder: 8:35 p.m. (counting of the Omer begins)
Saturday Biblical Readings:
Torah: Leviticus 14:1-15:33 | Maftir Aliyah: Number 28:16-25
Sunday Biblical Readings:
Torah: Leviticus 22:26-23:44 (Aliyot 1-5) | Maftir Aliyah: Number 28:16-25 | Haftara: 2 Kings 23:1-9, 21-25
Torah Commentary with Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal:
Pesach 5782 – The Torah of Passover
MaNishma by Rabbi Arnold Goodman:
The Two New Moons
Parsha Video of the Week (~15 min):
Shira Kecht-Koller, "Crafting Order from Chaos"
Passover Video (~60 min):
Making Sense of Maggid – Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, Hadar Yeshiva

Passover Hub

A guide to all things Passover: service schedule, proper Passover observance, Kashering, and community resources!
Visit the Hub

Feel-Good News

Events

Whoever Saves a Single Life: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust

Fri, Apr 1–Sun, May 8
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mAAc Meets: Movie Discussion - Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel

Mon, Apr 18 @ 7:30 p.m.
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Atlanta Interfaith Hunger Seder

Wed, Apr 20 @ 6–9:00 p.m.
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Latte and Learn

Thu, Apr 21 @ 10:30 a.m.
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Yizkor Service with Brendan Murphy

Sat, Apr 23 @ 11:30 a.m.
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NEW

Sisterhood at the Exhibit

Mon, Apr 25 @ 10:00 a.m.
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Hillel Heroes – Honoring Sanford Orkin

Tue, Apr 26 @ 6:30 p.m.
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NEW

USY HaNegev Reunion and Party

Fri, Apr 29–Sun, May 1
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Shir Shabbat

Fri, Apr 29 @ 6:00 p.m.–7:15 p.m.
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NEW

Blood Drive

Sun, May 1 @ 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
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Yom HaShoah Service of Remembrance

Sun, May 1 @ 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
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NEW

Naomi's Book Club

Mon, May 2 @ 10:15 a.m.
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Sisterhood Minyan

Tue, May 3 @ 7:15 a.m.
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Congregational Retreat - In Person Together Again

Friday, May 6-8, 2022
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DEADLINE APPROACHING

Rebbe's Tish

Sat, May 14 @ 12:15 p.m.
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Lag B'Omer: Tending Our Fire

Wed, May 18 @ 7:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
More >>
NEW

Sisterhood Closing Meeting

Sun, May 22 @ 10:30 p.m.–12:00 p.m.
Save the Date
NEW

For more events, please visit our events calendar.

View Calendar

Other Things Happening at AA

We are looking for nominations for The Marvin C. Goldstein and Rita Goldstein Wolfson Volunteer of the Year Award (presented to a volunteer who has shown outstanding efforts to strengthen our congregation and community) to be presented at the Annual Meeting in June. To submit recommendations, please contact Jackie Nix (jnix@aasynagogue.org; 404.603.5743). Along with names, please include the rationale behind your recommendations. Each recommendation received will be vetted and researched by our clergy, professional staff, and officers for final award determinations.

Extra regular-size cards available! To order your card(s), please email Barbara Nathan (bgnathan@mindspring.com) with a list of names and addresses of all recipients so they can receive their cards in the mail. To pay, please write a check, payable to AA Sisterhood, and mail to Barbara Nathan (200 Brandon Place, Sandy Springs, GA 30328). Regular card = $9

We are grateful for your continued support, patience, and fortitude as our community, country and world move through one of the most challenging times in modern history. With the guidance of the Center of Disease Control's (CDC) latest guidelines, we are sharing with you our updated protocols which will allow our synagogue building and community to live up to its traditional name, a Beit Knesset (A House of Gathering). Effective today, Friday, March 11, the following changes to our safety protocols will be in effect for our worship, cultural events, adult learning, and business meetings:
  • Fully vaccinated adults (16 years old and above) and individuals who have fully recovered from a documented COVID-19 infection in the last six months may attend indoor activities with or without a mask.
  • If you are not vaccinated or have not recovered from a COVID-19 infection in the last six months (natural immunity), we invite you to use our virtual platform to participate with our community.
  • If you are immunocompromised, a high-risk individual, or spend time around others who are, we encourage you to continue the use of masks when attending synagogue functions.
  • For programs that share spaces with kids under five years old, including Family Shabbat, Kesher, and holiday celebrations, we will continue to require masks while inside the building for all attendees. We will always strive for outdoor gatherings for these communities whenever the weather cooperates.

We are hopeful that we are in the final stages of this pandemic, and we can continue to go from strength to strength (Hazak, Hazak, vNet'hazek). As we slowly reemerge from these difficult two years, there will be anxiety, concern, and caution. We anticipate some people will continue to wear masks. It is understandable to still be nervous about removing our masks indoors. Whatever choice you make regarding masks, we ask that, in the spirit of the cohesive and empathetic community that we are, you respect the choices that others make, even if you disagree with them. We will be monitoring the CDC recommendations carefully and will continue to adjust as we know more; this might mean that we revert to more stringent protocols if guidance changes. We appreciate your understanding, support, and patience as we continue to navigate these unprecedented times.

A joint committee representing AA Synagogue and The Temple, consisting of Betsy Teplis, Ivan Millender, Janice Rothschild Blumberg, Emilie Posner Haas, and Sperry Wilder (a tour guide at Oakland since 1999) has been formed to collect and compile your most relevant family history of those family members buried in Oakland Cemetery. Please note we are not soliciting funds for this project. It is voluntary. The information will be included on the tours of the AA and Temple sections in Oakland Cemetery and archived at the Breman Museum. We appreciate your participation in this worthwhile project. Please submit a brief synopsis of your interesting family history, hopefully by year-end, via email to Ivan Millender (ivanmillender@earthlink.net) or postal mail (addressed to the Synagogue – 600 Peachtree Battle Ave NW, Atlanta, GA 30327). We look forward to your response. Thanks in advance for your help and participation! – Betsy, Ivan, Janice, Emilie, and Sperry
We're excited to announce that the Sisterhood Directory is now available digitally on our website! The following password is required to access the directory contents: Sisterhood21. We ask that you please refrain from sharing the password with those outside our congregation. The directory can be accessed through the Sisterhood webpage or by clicking here.
Do you know an AA congregant who is in the hospital or infirm? We are concerned about loved ones and friends who are in the hospital or infirm. Although our synagogue office remains closed, we are still working and would like to connect with you, especially in regards to pastoral care. If you have information about friends or family in the hospital or other care facilities, please contact Rabbi Rosenthal (lrosenthal@aasynagogue.org) directly. We always appreciate the opportunity to speak with anyone in need and offer support in any way we can.

We are excited to move forward in aligning Ahavath Achim with United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism's (USCJ) membership section of Standards for Congregational Practice: "We celebrate diversity among and within our synagogues and encourage the engagement of all those who seek a spiritual and communal home in an authentic and dynamic Jewish setting." Most of us have or know Jewish families with loved ones of other faiths. Embracing these families will allow us not only to support their Jewish growth and identity with AA, it will also help them create a Jewish home of their own. To this end, we will soon be introducing proposed changes to our by-laws

We are in need of an online gabbai to help us deepen our Shabbat morning hybrid service experience. This opportunity will be facilitated from the comfort of your in-home "sanctuary." We seek somebody who can welcome our Zoom participants and invite selected individuals to participate in the service with honors like online aliyah to the Torah, English readings, etc. This position requires the use of the Zoom chat feature, computer camera, and a smiling, outgoing personality. Detailed instructions and training will be provided. We are looking for several individuals to create a monthly rotation. If you are interested, please contact Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal (lrosenthal@aasynagogue.org).
We have so many wonderful activities at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, from communal to spiritual to social action. The Membership Committee is requesting your help in asking others to come WITH you to any/all synagogue events! Share how many wonderful things are going on at AA with your friends and family! If you know of anyone who should be on our prospective member list or should be contacted by leadership in any way, please reach out to Miriam Habif Gelfond, Director of Outreach and Engagement (mhabif@aasynagogue.org). Thank you for your good word and promoting what Ahavath Achim – the synagogue of brotherly love – has to offer!
Ahavath Achim's Sisterhood is a dynamic organization of women of all ages with diverse experiences, talents, and interests within our synagogue, community, and the Jewish world. Every woman counts for Sisterhood to grow and thrive. Basic membership dues are $45, but we encourage you to join at a Chai-er level. Your generous dues and donations are vital for Sisterhood to continue to offer programs and projects that strengthen and sustain our Jewish values.
 
We need your involvement in AA's social action programs! Motivate your family and friends "into action" towards the betterment of our community, and envision our current programs continued for the future. Reach out to your nieces, nephews, friends, and new neighbors for new contacts and ideas to help us increase our pool of volunteers for our wonderful existing and future programs. We need you! Find out how you want to be involved by reviewing the list of social action programs in which our synagogue has been involved for many years. If you'd like to become involved, please email our Social Action Chair: Alan Wexler (alanwexler@databankinfo.com; 404.872.8880).
Are you a warm, friendly, dedicated volunteer who wants to make a difference in a fellow congregant's life through acts of loving kindness? Are you willing to make a personal call or visit to comfort and support a congregant who has lost a loved one or been ill? These caring touches – acts of loving kindness – make all the difference in the world to those receiving them. If you want to be a part of strengthening our community, then AA's new Chesed Initiative is for you! This committee will work with our clergy, staff, and lay leaders to connect members who need help with members who want to do good deeds! Additionally, if you know of a congregant who is facing personal difficulties related to health, loss, or grief, please contact Fern Schorr (fschorr@aasynagogue.org; 404.355.5222) to let us know. Help us reach out to members in need. We welcome your help and time with this important project.

Donate to the Ukraine Emergency Fund of Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta

Donate

Tribute donations offer the ability to memorialize or honor friends and family through donations to a variety of designated funds. Tribute donations can be made in honor of B'nai Mitzvah, the birth of a baby, a graduation, a wedding, or other special occasion. Donations in memory of loved ones are a thoughtful and meaningful way to remember those who have passed away. Your donation will be acknowledged with a card to the recipient of this tribute. Please note that Tribute Donations require a minimum contribution of $18.
 
The Rabbi Neil Sandler Education Scholarship is funded by the Sisterhood to further promote Jewish education in the older adult population. To be considered for a scholarship, the program must benefit the Ahavath Achim community and be targeted toward older adult Jewish education. Please fill out the application form for your program to be considered for funding.
 
We are proud and grateful to formally launch the Marilyn Ginsberg Eckstein Cultural Arts Program Fund. Formerly the Cultural Arts Program, established in 1977, this fund was established by congregant Marilyn Ginsberg Eckstein to perpetuate AA's broad cultural arts program offerings. AA's cultural arts programming currently consists of: the Fran Eizenstat and Eizenstat Family Memorial Lecture Series, the Chamber Concert Series, the Liturgical Music Artist-in-Residency Program, weekly Shabbat and annual High Holiday musical offerings, and jazz, pop, vocal and instrumental concert offerings. The Cultural Arts Program has long been recognized for its breadth of offerings and its excellence. We hope that you will consider making contributions to this fund as the Marilyn Ginsberg Eckstein Cultural Arts Program offerings continue to present world-renowned speakers, dignitaries, artists, and virtuoso musicians.
 
We are grateful and privileged to announce the launch of the Sonia Fishkin Memorial Fund. This fund was established by Dr. Andy Zangwill in Sonia's memory. The Sonia Fishkin Memorial Fund will honor Sonia's passion for the connection between song and Jewish spirituality. Contributions to the fund will sponsor individuals to create and bring new and singable Jewish music to Ahavath Achim and to the wider Jewish community for use during sacred events and services. Activities may include artists-in-residence, teaching workshops, concerts, and recordings.
 
We are proud and grateful to formally launch the Shirley Reisman Media Outreach Fund. This fund was established by the Reisman family in honor of Shirley z"l. Shirley was always passionate about the AA and together with her family had always been involved in various efforts and regularly attended services at the Shul I have had the personal privilege of knowing Shirley and always treasured my interactions with her, Don, and especially Bruce. This fund has been established to help us to upgrade and maintain the necessary audio/visual equipment to ensure that we give our clergy, staff, and leadership the necessary tools as we embrace the new digital platforms which will only become more important, even after the pandemic has ended. We hope that you will consider making contributions to this fund as we move forward so that we can remain current with the latest technology and trends.
 
AA and Ahava Early Learning Center are proud to participate in the ALEF Fund Scholarship, a program that allows families to make the dream of a Jewish school experience for their child a reality! Parents with children enrolled at Ahava are eligible and encouraged to apply for an ALEF Fund scholarship, which can provide up to approximately $9,000 of support per child per year! The ALEF Fund, Inc. is a registered Georgia 501(c)3 Student Scholarship Nonprofit organization that supports Jewish education in Georgia by helping taxpayers receive a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit for providing scholarships to students at the Jewish preschools or schools of their choice. This past year, thanks to the many who contributed a portion of their Georgia State Income Taxes to the ALEF Fund, Ahava received more than $100,000 in scholarship funds designated for students in our Pre-K class. Todah Rabah! Please visit the ALEF Fund website for more information about how you can allocate a portion of your taxes to help support Ahava or how your child can receive a financial scholarship for Pre-K. It's simple to qualify! Questions? Contact the Ahava ELC Director: Beth Arnold Helmey (beth@ahavalearning.org; 404.900.9411).

MaNishma with Rabbi Arnold Goodman – The Two New Moons

Posted on by Lauren Dube

MaNishma with Rabbi Arnold Goodman

The Two New Moons

By Rabbi Arnold Goodman

Each of the five biblical festivals: Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and Succot. is dated according to the phases of the moon but only Pesach and Succot  are celebrated on the full moon. Under a full moon our liberated ancestors exited from Eypt, and under a full moon we will soon gather at our Seder tables to celebrate this cardinal event in our history thereby reaffirming the challenge and the joy of being part of our historic community.

The Haggadah reminds us that in every generation there were those who sought to harm us, but by the grace of God we continue to survive.  Yet as we recount the story of our liberation and our persistent survival, we do take note of the suffering of other peoples and communities, and this year focus will be on the horrors being perpetrated in Ukraine. Pesach's central message, however, reaffirms and celebrates our Jewish identity.

Succot, the other full moon festival, celebrates universalism. The Rabbis noted that during the seven-day festival a total of seventy bullocks were sacrificed in the Temple as a prayer for all humanity. (In the Rabbinic worldview there were but seventy nations in addition to ours.) It was on the following one-day festival (Shemini Atzeret) that only one bullock was sacrificed on our own behalf. We rightly celebrate our uniqueness, but we are never to lose sight that we are part of humanity; on Succot we pray that all humankind will be blessed with God's beneficence.

The two full moons complement one another. Even, as on Succot, when we recognize God's concern for all humankind, there are instances when we also celebrate our uniqueness and recall the Exodus from Egypt, so, too, on Pesach as we celebrate our deliverance from slavery, we reaffirm, through appropriate readings and discussions, our concern for the welfare of all humanity. May we continue to celebrate our Jewishness even as we embrace and are embraced by all with whom we share the Succah of God's blessings.

Torah Commentary with Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal – Pesach 5782

Posted on by Lauren Dube

Torah Commentary with Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal

Biblical Readings for Pesach 5782
The Torah of Passover

By Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal

The eight days of Passover are replete with Torah readings. Each day of this special holiday we have a Torah reading to celebrate, elevate, and help create a sense of holiness for each day of this festival of freedom. This is not completely unusual. Sukkot and Hanukah, both eight days long, have a Torah reading for each of the eight days. However, Passover is different. Whereas Sukkot and Hanukah's Torah readings each day are structured with a lot of repetition, reading from the same Torah portion for most of the days, the Passover readings for each of the day pull from all over the Torah. By looking at these eight disperse Passover Torah reading, one for each day, I hope to uncover an important message that our sages are trying to communicate to us through the placement of these each Torah readings, sending us a text message over many generations.

 

Saturday, April 16 – Passover Day 1
Torah Reading: Exodus 12:21-51 (Parshat Bo)
This Torah reading for the first day of Passover lays out the important steps that the Israelites needed to do in preparation of their freedom. This Parsha recalls the painting of blood upon the door post to separate the houses of the Israelites from those of the Egyptians. The text also talks about the haste taken to bake bread that has become the iconic unleavened bread that we eat throughout Passover. Our sidra for this first day ends with sharing the many people included among the Israelites who can partake in the pascal lamb offering.

 

Sunday, April 17 – Passover Day 2
Torah Reading: Leviticus 22:26-23:44 (Parshat Emor)
Chapter 23 of Leviticus lists the holidays that the Israelites are to observe. Starting with Shabbat, moving through the High Holidays and mentioning the three-pilgrimage festival, this chapter touches on the iconic elements or rituals of these holy days. Interestingly, although there plenty of pasukim (sentences) in Leviticus, chapter 23 to divide the chapter into separate aliyot for the public reading, this Torah reading begins in Chapter 26, prohibiting the slaughter of a calf on the same day as its mother. One can surmise that this prohibition recognizes the emotional distress that might be inflicted upon the animal by such trauma.

 

Monday, April 18 – Passover Day 3 (Chol HaMoed Day 1)
Torah Reading: Exodus 13:1-16 (Parshat Bo)
By the third day of Passover, the first day of Hol HaMoed (literally, the ordinary days of a festival) we are returning to the book of Exodus, to the instruction given to the Israelites before they left Egypt. This section commands the people that upon entering the land, they shall consecrate their first born to the service of God. It also institutes a spring holiday of unleavened bread during which we will teach our children about our freedom. Woven into this text is also an introduction to the signs of the covenant that we will put upon our arms and between our eyes, what would eventually become tefillin (phylacteries).

 

Tuesday, April 19 – Passover Day 4 (Chol HaMoed Day 2)
T-rah Reading: Exodus 22:24-23:19 (Parshat Mishpatim)
On the fourth day of Passover, we review a collection of laws which speak about ethical behavior spanning from a prohibition against usury to the commandment of returning to your enemy their lost property. We get a quick description of the Shemita year (7th year of rest for the land; we just happen to be in the Shemita right now) and finally the Torah reading ends with a reminder about observing the three pilgrimage festivals at their appointed time.

 

Wednesday, April 20th – Passover Day 5 (Chol HaMoed Day 3)
Torah Reading: Exodus 34:1-26 (Parshat Ki Tissa)
By the fifth day of Passover, we find ourselves reading a very special section of Torah (all sections of Torah are special, but you know what I mean): The 13 attributes of God. Exodus, chapter 34 begins with the instruction to Moses to carve a second set of tablets, like the first that were broken. Then, God calls out the 13 divine attributes which are recited as part of the service on Holidays and High Holidays. The instruction turns to fidelity, imploring the people not to follow the idolatry ways of the inhabitants of the land they will soon possess. There is a mention of the Feast of Unleavened bread, what we know as Passover, with a reminder that the first of every womb belongs to God and therefore must be redeemed. The reading concludes by mentioning the holidays of Shabbat and Shavuot.

 

Thursday, April 21 – Passover Day 6 (Chol HaMoed Day 4)
Torah Reading: Numbers 9:1-14 (Parshat Behaalotecha)
On the sixth day of Passover, our reading focuses on situations where a person might not be in a state of purity by the 15th of Nissan, case in point is when one encounters a dead body, and therefore can't participate in the Passover Seder at its requisite time. Therefore, this section of Torah establishes a little-known backup holiday called Pesach Sheni, the second Passover, where Jews and strangers within the Jewish community can observe the holiday of Passover later once purified.

 

Friday, April 22 – Passover Day 7
T-rah Reading: Exodus 13:17-15:26 (Parshat Beshallach)
The seventh day of Passover is the concluding day of the holiday (chag) and has an elevation of sanctity from the previous four days of Hol HaMoed. On this day, tradition recalls the actual exodus from Egypt. Whereas the first day of Passover reading is spent in preparation from the Israelite's departure, it is believed that on this seventh day, the people left. Therefore, our reading is known as the Song at the Sea, the joyful celebration that Miriam and Moses led for the people after the waters of the Reed Sea closed upon Pharoah and his army.

 

Saturday, April 23 – Passover Day 8
Torah Reading: Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17 (Parshat Reeh)
This final day of Passover, the eighth day is only observed in the diaspora (outside the land of Israel). For this reading, we travel deep into the book of Deuteronomy, our first exploration into this book during this holiday. Our reading begins with instructions concerning the tithes, a setting aside of a tenth of one's bounty for God and the service of the Temple in Jerusalem. Recognizing that depending on the size of one's farm or flock, a tenth could be a burdensome amount to haul up to the Temple in Jerusalem, an allowance to liquidate or assess the value of these assets and bring the amount to the Temple mount is proscribed. We are reminded to care for the Levite communities as they don't have an inheritance of the land, since their focus is on Temple service. The reading delves deeper into the observance of the Shemita year which was also mentioned in our text read on the fourth day of Passover. The reading concludes with another reminder to celebrate the three pilgrimage festivals, Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot while also expanding the community of celebrants to include servants, slaves, and strangers.

 

—

 

That is a lot of Torah. The question I am interested in asking is, "What is the common thread in all of these? "What textual, spiritual Journey are we being led on through the readings of these various texts?" As always, there are many layers that we get the pleasure of uncovering each year. For me this year, this jaunt through scripture is highlighting the practice element of a "spiritual practice." We weren't brought out of Egypt to do whatever we want. We were brought out of Egypt, under servitude to Pharoah in order to serve God. To be of service takes refining. To be good at anything takes practice.

 

Spiritual practice is akin to being a musician. The only difference is that a musician can limit their playing to moments when they have their instrument in their hand. The instrument of spiritual practice is life, which is hard to put back in its case. Just like playing a musical instrument, the more one practices the better they sound, the more comfortable they feel with it in their hands, the more agile they might be when performing with others. A true musician also is good at listening to others playing around them, knowing when to step forward and solo or step back and keep the rhythm.

 

The Torah reading for Passover helps to frame out freedom as an opportunity to develop a spiritual practice. Freedom isn't free, it takes practice.

 

Chag Sameach!