Special Message
Shabbat Corner
Candle Lighting: 8:31 p.m.
Shabbat Morning Service (Hybrid): 9:30 a.m.—Zoom
Torah Study (Hybrid): 10:30 a.m.—Zoom
Mincha/Ma'ariv/Havdallah Service (Virtual):
8:30 p.m.—Zoom
Conclusion of Shabbat: 9:14 p.m.
Shabbat Torah Parsha: Numbers 22:2–25:9 – Parshat Balak
Shabbat Haftara: Micah 5:6–6:8
Parsha Video of the Week (~6:30 min): Parshat Balak: The Torah of Privacy – Rabbi David Golinkin; Schechter Institute in Jerusalem
Feel-Good News
Events
Other Things Happening at AA
Registration for Kesher (religious school) and Nesiah (teen program) is now open! Click here to learn more about 
As the High Holidays approach, we invite you to honor the memory of your loved ones by including their names in the Ida Pearle and Jospeh Cuba 2022-23 Yizkor Memorial "Pages of Remembrance" book. By inscribing their names in this book, you fulfill the mitzvah of giving in honor and in memory of those who have passed.
In order to meet our mandatory publication deadline, requests for inclusion must be received on time. Due to mailing constraints, the deadline to receive submissions is Friday, August 5.
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.
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.
AA has been supporting Rebecca's Tent Women's Shelter by providing dinners. Now we have an opportunity to support the shelter's success by staying out of the kitchen and attending their annual benefit at Horizon Theater on Tuesday, July 19. have a delightful evening that supports a wonderful cause!
It's time again to send the sweetest Rosh Hashanah greetings and support Ahavath Achim Sisterhood with your honey purchase. Shipping is FREE for orders submitted online through Monday, August 1. After August 1, $6.50 per jar is automatically added for shipping. Your order will be shipped to arrive in time for Rosh Hashanah.
If you are unable to order online, you can mail your order to Janet Kupshik at Honey Chairperson, 769 West Paces Ferry Road, NW, Atlanta, GA 30327. Mail orders must be received by Monday, July 25 or shipping charges will be added and charged to you.
The AAACTS (Awareness and Action to Abolish Child Trafficking for Sex) Committee is working to provide backpacks filled with school supplies to children who have been trafficked and rescued. Please help these children feel confident and cared-for as they start school in the fall. You can help make this possible by making a donation to AAACTS via this form (select Fund>AAACTS).
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
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
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.
