This Friday night is Shabbat Mishpacha – a family Shabbat.  We will begin with Tot Tefillah at 6 PM, followed by a Shabbat family dinner at 6:20.  The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades will participate in our Shabbat evening services which begin at 7:30.

There will be a Gates of Prayer Classical service in the chapel at 7:30 PM this Friday as an alternative to family services.  Bob Reiser will be leading the service. 

On Saturday morning, Jordan Goble, son of Tara Rosenblum, will be called to Torah as a bar mitzvah.  Shabbat morning services are at 10:15.  Mazel tov to Jordan and all of his family.

Torah study will be at 9 AM in the library.

This Sunday is our grand Israel Independence Day celebration.  Festivities begin in the Temple Israel  multi-purpose room at 12:30.  The highlight of the afternoon will be a concert by Seeds of Sun in our sanctuary at 1:30 PM.  Seeds of Son is a fabulous and well known Israeli Jazz group.  They have appeared all over the United States including at the recent URJ biennial in San Diego.  Please join us.

According to the commentary by Akedat Yitzchak, God provided three ways for the Jewish people to find divine connection, that is, to create a covenantal connection to God.  The first is through Torah study.  While this is held in the highest of value, the simple truth is that most Jews do not relate through study.  Torah study is not memorization of text, but deep study of the meanings, often very hidden, of the text.  Most Jews do not engage in this kind of study.  The second way is through prayer.  While prayer is more accessible to people, it also has a limited ability to engage people, as many Jews either do not feel moved by prayer feeling their prayer knowledge is not adequate, or perhaps that prayer is too esoteric.  The third way is through the system of holidays and festivals outlined in this week's Torah portion (Emor).  These include Shabbat, the three pilgrimage festivals, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  These festivals are opportunities for Jews to hear the Jewish story, to hear our history and learn why we are a people covenanted to God.  This method, of hearing and telling stories, is open to all Jews, no matter how young or how old.  And it is possible that once hearing the Jewish story, one might feel motivated to try one of the first two methods after all.

Have a Shabbat of peace and blessing.

Jack Romberg
Rabbi