Feel-Good News
Shabbat Corner
- Candle Lighting: 5:38 p.m.
- Shabbat Evening Service (Hybrid): 6:00 p.m.—Zoom
- Shabbat Morning Service (Hybrid): 9:30 a.m.–Zoom *Bar Mitzvah of Gerald Kogon
- Torah Study (Hybrid): 10:30 a.m.–Zoom
- Chodesh Tov: A New Moon Musical Meditation (In-Person): 1:00 p.m.
- Mincha/Ma'ariv/Havdallah Service (Virtual): 5:45 p.m.–Zoom
- Conclusion of Shabbat: 6:23 p.m.
- Torah Parsha (Va'era):
Annual: Exodus 6:2–9:35
- Triennial: Exodus 6:2–7:7
Haftara: Ezekiel 28:25–29:21
- Parsha Video of the Week: The Weighing of the Heart — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
- Bible Video of the Week: Va'era – Covenant and Conversation — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Events
Other Things Happening at AA
Camp and Summer Experience Scholarship applications are open and available to help support the summer experiences of our AA members! Please note, the application includes a short essay question to be completed by the camper. We recommend having the essay completed before beginning the application process. The essay question is "Please describe the experience for which you are applying for a scholarship, why you selected it and what you hope to gain from the experience."
Scholarships are generously provided by family funds, Sisterhood, and AA's general budget. For more information, please contact the Director of Education: Sharon Graetz (sgraetz@aasynagogue.org; 404.603.5754).
Applications are due by Wednesday, February 3.
This year, we would like to include grandchildren in our college and graduate school outreach. In addition to letters and treats around the Jewish holidays, our rabbis will be making visits to schools with more than three Ahavath Achim connected students. Let us know where your grandchildren are studying, and we will make sure they receive something meaningful from you and your spiritual family! If you have a grandchild enrolled in college, please contact Jill Rosner (404.603.5741; jrosner@aasynagogue.org) with the student's name, email, and school housing address.
We feel blessed to have a vibrant community that believes in the power of prayer as a source of comfort, strength and healing. At every service, we take a moment to recite the names of individuals we are holding in our hearts for health and healing. Beginning January 1, 2023, all are welcome to add names to our Misheberach (Healing) Prayer List for 30 days. These names will be recited each morning during prayer regardless of their support's presence at services. At the end of 30 days, we request that names be renewed with our office receptionist, Fern Schorr (fschorr@aasynagogue.org; 404.355.5222). Without renewal, names will be removed from the list with our hope that our prayers were successful in sending strength and wholeness.
Registration for Kesher (youth program) and Nesiah (teen program) is now open!
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.
The Nominating Committee is seeking engaged congregants to serve on the 2022–2023 Nominating Committee. This committee will select a slate of Officers and Board of Directors to be elected by the Congregation at the 2023 Annual Meeting. This is one of the most important committees of our synagogue. Members of the Nominating Committee should be actively involved in the congregation or familiar with the operations and programs of the congregation, and must be in synagogue members in good standing. Committee members are not eligible to be on next year's slate of elected officers or directors. If you, or a fellow congregant you know, want to be considered to serve as member of the Nominating Committee, please submit their name to the chair of the Nominating Committee: Rob Wildstein (rwildstein@brawwlaw.com). Nominees to serve on the committee will be elected by the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees at their upcoming meetings.
Through our membership with the ADL's (Anti-Defamation League) Kulanu Initiaitve, our AA family is creating an antisemitism task force to partner with other communities across the country to collectively fight hate and antisemitism. Membership on the task force will require a year's commitment and involve participation in ADL virtual meetings and community of practice working sessions. Our congregation will also offer special programs, initiatives, and action steps to raise awareness, call out local and national antisemitic incidents, and build relationships with communities susceptible to antisemitic infiltration. To learn more about or to join the task force, please contact Rabbi Rosenthal (lrosenthal@aasynagogue.org).
It's time to order your 2023 Mah Jongg card(s)! To order, please email Barbara Nathan (bnathan@tbginc.net) with a list of names, e-mail addresses, and home addresses of all recipients. To pay (prices listed below), please write a check, payable to AA Sisterhood, and mail it to Barbara Nathan (200 Brandon Place, Sandy Springs, GA 30328). If you do not get confirmation from Barbara within a few days of your order, call her at 404.406.8770. This is a wonderful and easy fundraiser. Last year, Sisterhood received $400 from your participation!
Standard card = $14
Large card = $15
The price of the cards was previously listed incorrectly. If you have already put in an order, please contact Barbara Nathan.
Help feed the women at Rebecca's Tent, a shelter for homeless women at Congregation Shearith Israel! There are 21 dates to fill during the months of December, January, and March. Volunteering to provide dinner this season is easier than ever; safety concerns limit the number of women served, and the shelter can now accept restaurant meals or your home-cooked specialties. If you're ready to choose your date(s) to volunteer, please fill out the online form (link below). After signing up, we will email you with confirmation of your submission. For more details or questions about volunteering, please contact Ann and Herb Alperin (alperin@mindspring.com; 404.231.2310).
We are currently accepting nominations and applications for the Arnovitz Leadership Institute. This program was developed to shape and train the future leaders of our community. Our curriculum will provide unique and engaging training across a broad range of areas including leadership skills, ritual, marketing, branding, and public speaking. Classes will begin in October 2022 and run once monthly (except in December) through May 2023. Use the link below to apply or nominate someone. Applications are due by Wednesday, October 12. Spaces are limited for this exciting program, so please make sure to get your nomination(s)/application in soon!
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 the donation form below.
Donate
Select Fund>AAACTS
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.
