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December 25, 2009
Rededicating Ourselves in Body & Spirit
Dear Friends,
Shabbat Shalom! Tomorrow we will read Parashat Vayigash, which deals with the encounter between Yehudah and Yosef. In the HafTorah, this encounter symbolizes the reconciliation between the kingdom of Israel, and the kingdom of Judea. Also, on Chanukah, we learn form the book of Macabbi, that the rededication of the Temple in the Greek period symbolized the renewal of Jewish faith. In just having celebrated our rededication, our own faith has been renewed for the coming New Year, during a month of much support, and many visits from our brothers and sisters abroad.
1. Rededication Ceremony
On Wednesday, December 16th, Or Hadash held our 45th anniversary celebration, and building rededication, following months of renovation on the building. The rededication came at a very meaningful time, coinciding with the Chanukah holiday. The ceremony, which was conducted by myself as the rabbi of the congregation, included many moving speeches from both friends and members of Or Hadash in Haifa and abroad. Among the speakers were: Or Hadash President, Dr. Yuri Kilgerman; Or Hadash Vice President, Mirjam Jurmann; Or Hadash Executive Director, Ami Perelman; Rabbi Meir Azari of MARAM; and Danny Nishlis, Head of the Boston-Haifa Project in Haifa, and Executive Director of Radio Haifa.
One of the ceremony’s highlights was the reading of messages sent from our overseas friends and supporters, to the crowd. I was honored to read messages from many great friends, including:
Bente and Daniel Lyons of West Palm Beach. Florida
Neil and Diane Exter of Temple Isaiah, Lexington, MA
Paul and Denny Finesilver of Temple Beth Sholom- North Miami Beach, FL
Howard and Rona Perley of Temple Shir Ha-Maalot, Irvine, CA
Abby and David Joseph Cohen of New York City, NY
Joan and Peter Hoffman Of Temple Beth Elohim- Wellesley, MA
Margi and Neil Peskin of Temple Beth David- Gladwyne, PA
Lauren and Brad Egna and Family of the Community Synagogue- Port Washington, NY
Rabbi Moti Rotem, of Temple Rodef Shalom-Waco, TX
Rabbi Eric Gurvis, of Temple Shalom-Newton, MA
Rabbi Ronne Friedman, of Temple Israel-Boston
Rabbi Buzzy Beifield, of Temple Beth Ahabah- Richmond, VA
Rabbi Danny Zemel, of Temple Micah, Washington D.C.
&
Our Friends from Beth David Reform Congregation, who sent us a lovely bouquet of flowers!
The reading of messages was followed by everyone gathering for spiritual prayers, and the entire night was concluded with a special song session with Doron Tovim, who has helped Or Hadash produce our past three children’s music CDs. Overall, we could not have asked for a more wonderful or heartwarming evening, and we would like to thank all of you who contributed to this successful event.
2. 5 Groups from the Boston Area
How could it be more symbolic than to celebrate this Shabbat with 3 different synagogues from the Boston area, in a week where we met more than 100 of our brothers and sisters from the Reform movement in America, from 7 synagogues!
This week’s groups include:
-December 23rd
A group of teens, lead by Rabbi Debbie Bravo of Temple Emanu-El Edison, NJ
- December 24th-29th
A youth mission, lead by Rabbi Eric Gurvis, and Director of Lifelong Jewish Education, Julie Vanek, of Temple Shalom of Newton, MA
- December 25th
A group of visitors from Temple Beth David, Westwood, MA, lead by Rabbi Jeffrey Wildstein
A group of visitors from Temple Sinai, Brookline, MA, lead by Rabbi Andi Vogel
-December 29th
A group of visitors from Congregation Bnai Torah, Sudbury, MA, lead by Debby Kardon Schwartz (Family Educator)
-December 31st
A group of visitors from Temple Bnai Shalom, East Brunswick, NJ, lead by Rabbi Eric Milgrim
On top of everything this week, we are blessed to have 8 different Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremonies! Since all of the available times for last Saturday and this Saturday were filled (there will be one Bar Mitzvah at 10am, one at 12pm, one at 2pm, and one at 5pm), we even had a ceremony yesterday evening!
Wishing you all an early happy New Year’s, filled with happiness, health, and love!
In Friendship,
Edgar