Events for week of October 19, 2025 » Ahavath Achim Synagogue

Time	Paradies Hall	Garden	Ellman Chapel Zoom Link This is the Zoom link for all sessions held in Ellman Chapel	Cavalier Room Zoom Link This is the Zoom link for all sessions held in Cavalier Room	Koplin-Borochoff Library Zoom Link This is the Zoom link for all sessions held in Koplin-Borochoff Library	Basement	Cohn Room
7:00 p.m.	Plenary Session Screening, Dialogue, and Live Performance Featuring “Music in Common” and Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe Join us in kicking off our Tikkun Leil Shavuot program for a powerful opening program by Music in Common! The program will feature a documentary screening, dialogue, and musical performance focused on Music in Common’s Israel-Palestine and interfaith work in the U.S. and Middle East. (7–9:00 p.m.)						Child Play and Sleep Space
9:00 p.m.			Ma’ariv Service	Iliane (Lili) Kshensky Baxter Holocaust/Nonviolence Training/Education Nonviolence is a love-centered way of thinking, speaking, acting and engaging that leads to personal, cultural and societal transformation. It’s both a way of life and a method for social change. This session will serve as a short introduction to this timely subject with emphasis on the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. Study Sheet (9–9:50 p.m.)
9:30 p.m.			Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe When You Study Talmud, is it a Song? Deep in the pages of Talmud, we find an ancient adage: “”When you study Talmud, is it a song?”” Are the pages like lyrics that we do not quite understand? Do the words move us, or invite us to join in? Together, we will read sugyot (passages) that explore these questions to deepen our relationship to this foundational work of story-telling, legal debate, and perhaps, of song. (9:30–10:00 a.m.)		Rebekka Goldsmith and Gayanne Geurin (In-Person Only) The Secret of Many Voices—B’sod Kolot Congregation Bet Haverim’s current and former Music Directors Rebekka Goldsmith and Gayanne Geurin are teaming up to facilitate an exploratory music session as a way in to unravel some of the mystery of receiving and revelation that are Shavuot’s core mystical elements.Rebekka and Gayanne will work with a structure called, “Circle Singing” to guide participants to create a singing and sound experience that reveals itself moment to moment. You are welcome to sing with us or lay down and listen. All Voices Welcome. No prior experience necessary. (9:30–11:00 a.m.)
10:00 p.m.	Chevruta (Partner)/Self-Paced Study Space Check out independent, partner, and group study materials along with coffee and snacks in Paradies Hall.			Rabbi Chaim Listfield God’s Rain and God’s Reign Deuteronomy 32 is written in symbolic poetry and it needs interpretation. As an example, at the start of the chapter we read: “”May my discourse come down as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, Like showers on young growth, Like droplets on the grass.”” Rabbi Listfield will explain what the rain means in that verse, and he’ll explain other metaphors in that poetic chapter of Scripture. His goal is to show us how it all fits with the reign of the Almighty. If you like Biblical poetry you might want to come learn why God is compared to an eagle and how we Jews are being protected in our cozy little nest. (10–10:50 p.m.)
10:30 p.m.			Lyra Hudson Sight Singing In an hour, learn how to look at a line of music and sing it through without accompaniment! (10:45–11:45 p.m.) Audrey Galex Turtle Rocks What Jewish values are embedded in a children’s book about turtles trying to get to a lake to sun themselves on a log? Join author Audrey Galex, whose book Turtle Rocks also invites you to explore your life’s journey. Study Sheet (11–11:50 p.m.)
11:00 p.m.				Rabbi Neil Sandler Kol Ha’olam Kulo: Teachings from Rebbe Nachman of Breslov Kol HaOlam Kulo Gesher Tzar Me’od—You’ve probably sung the song. Now, come learn about this statement that Rabbi Nachman coined many years ago. What does it say about Reb Nachman’s God and his worldview? Most importantly, as we celebrate this Torah – centered holiday of Shavuot, does this statement provide us with direction? Come discuss and learn. Study Sheet (11–11:50 p.m.)
12:00 a.m.		Midnight Kiddush Levana Music with Bonnie and Michael Levine At midnight, we will come together in the garden courtyard to participate in a brief musical Kiddush Levana service. “Kiddush Levana” means “sanctifying the moon” and is a traditional ritual including blessings, greetings, and movement, performed monthly during the week following Rosh Chodesh (the new moon/new month in the Jewish calendar). Bonnie and Michael Levine will lead this musical experience, accompanied by Randy Crohn on percussion, followed by casual singing and dancing in the moonlight. Song Sheet (12–1:00 a.m.)
12:30 a.m.	Cheesecake Eating cheesecake is a highlight of Shavuot tradition—we’ll bring it out into Paradies after we celebrate the moon. (12:30–1:00 a.m.)
1:00 a.m.	Chevruta (Partner)/Self-Paced Study Space Check out independent, partner, and group study materials along with coffee and snacks in Paradies Hall.		Scott Glazer Abraham Idelsohn’s Musicological Research into Ashkenazic Music” An Exploration including Musical Examples Abraham Zvi Idelsohn (1882–1938) remains a premier musicologist of Jewish music and liturgical practice. We’ll take a look at Idelsohn’s history, early influences, his work and the importance of it in Jewish musicology. (1–1:50 a.m.)	Dave Schechter What Makes the News Jewish? What role does Jewish news media play relative to secular? What happens when the news about Jews is not good? What responsibility does Jewish news media have to the communities they cover? (1–1:50 a.m.)		Sleep Space
2:00 a.m.			Jordan Forman Name that Tune: Nusach and Trope Why does Torah reading sound the way it does? What about Haftorah? and of cource, our various services throught the year. Come learn the meaning of trope and nusach, the reasoning behind the various modes and who who knows, maybe we’ll even sing a little bit. (2–2:50 a.m.)	Michael Miller Song of the Ark During the Torah service, as we take out, and then return, the Sefer Torah, we read two verses from Numbers, referred to by some as the Song of the Ark. Our sages also argue that these two verses make up their own book of the Torah. We will learn about and discuss all of this with a musical interlude of the singing of the Song of the Ark (on YouTube, not to worry, no singing required of participants). Study Sheet (2–2:50 a.m.)
3:00 a.m.			Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal Traditional Shabbat Song with Serious Mystical Underpinnings A staple of the regular Shabbat Morning prayer service, El Adon presents an incredible Mystical image of God which most people aren’t contemplating as they singing this by rote. Join Rabbi Rosenthal for a deep dive into the spiritually rich description and illusions that this prayer evokes and how it is tied to many other sacred texts from our tradition. (3–3:50 a.m.)
4:00 a.m.			Rabbi Mike Rothbaum Sinai on Broadway: Sondheim and More Explore the connections between the themes of Jewish tradition and the works of Stephen Sondheim and other Broadway greats. Rabbi Rothbaum will lead an engaging session that brings together the magic of Broadway with the depth of Jewish spirituality and storytelling. (4–4:50 a.m.)
5:00 a.m.
5:30 a.m.		Sunrise Shacharit Service Zoom Sing Hallel (with the birds as the sun rises and the birds sing). (5:30–9:00 a.m.) Zoom Link label
6:00 a.m.
8:00 a.m.		Morning Stretching, Yoga, and Mindfulness (In-Person Only) Join CBH’s Rebecca Leary Safon for 30 minutes of stretching, yoga, and mindfulness. (8:10–8:40 a.m.) Mindful Moments Following our yoga session, we will all join together as part of CBH’s daily virtual minyan for 30 minutes of mindfulness, chant, and prayer. (8:45–9:15 a.m.) Zoom Link label
8:30 a.m.	Breakfast
9:00 a.m.	Linda Lippitt The Story of Zipporah Over breakfast, join Dr. Linda Lippitt in a fascinating exploration into the life of Moshe’s wife Zipporah. (9–9:50 a.m.)
9:30 a.m.
10:00 a.m.