 | As I write these words, I look to my backyard spot where my sukkah should have been – and perhaps will yet be when the storm passes. Lots of gratitudes to share for our High Holy Day journey, and suddenly our synagogue year of gatherings, opportunities and events begins. Let's keep building community together. |
By Rabbi David
Happy October, Shir Ami!
As I write these words, our freak nor'easter is still raging outside. I'm bummed that we needed to cancel our Sukkot celebration: it would've been brisk and soggy instead of celebratory. Had I built the sukkah, by now it'd be a box kite headed for Rhode Island.
I imagine building the sukkah as soon as the storm ends, and getting some Sukkot before we celebrate Simhat Torah together on Saturday.
Please join me in applauding Shir Ami's core volunteers who made our High Holy Days possible – especially Abby Ross, Fran Pribish, Jenny Lake, Rick Mason, David Green and Jackie Marschall for holy mechanics seen and unseen, and Ronny Kaplan for anchoring our successful JFS Dignity Drive. From my heart to yours, thank you!
If you missed (or want to read) my High Holy Day sermons, here they are:
Happy October, Shir Ami!
As I write these words, our freak nor'easter is still raging outside. I'm bummed that we needed to cancel our Sukkot celebration: it would've been brisk and soggy instead of celebratory. Had I built the sukkah, by now it'd be a box kite headed for Rhode Island.
I imagine building the sukkah as soon as the storm ends, and getting some Sukkot before we celebrate Simhat Torah together on Saturday.
Please join me in applauding Shir Ami's core volunteers who made our High Holy Days possible – especially Abby Ross, Fran Pribish, Jenny Lake, Rick Mason, David Green and Jackie Marschall for holy mechanics seen and unseen, and Ronny Kaplan for anchoring our successful JFS Dignity Drive. From my heart to yours, thank you!
If you missed (or want to read) my High Holy Day sermons, here they are:
There are reasons Shir Ami offers all that we do. As we explored during the High Holy Days, community helps ballast us and thus balance us. Leaning into joy liberates us from becoming trapped in travails. Giving makes us rich in the important ways. Spiritual learning anchors us in the continuity of time and builds our capacity to navigate complexity. Prayer, meditation and physical spirituality keep us limber.
Renewing balance – our theme not only for the High Holy Days but also for the entire year – asks fullness of experience. That's my ask of you: lean into what Shir Ami offers, to make the most of our time and our sacred community.
And because there's no better time to start than now, let's begin now, at the very beginning ("a very good place to start").
Renewing balance – our theme not only for the High Holy Days but also for the entire year – asks fullness of experience. That's my ask of you: lean into what Shir Ami offers, to make the most of our time and our sacred community.
And because there's no better time to start than now, let's begin now, at the very beginning ("a very good place to start").
 | Saturday, October 3, 7:00pm Havdalah & Simhat Torah Celebration First Presbyterian Community Church Come for a musical Havdalah followed by the ritual end and re-start of Torah. Come for joyous music and personal blessings, followed by a potluck oneg with congregant recipes! Mini-Yizkor will be commemorated. |
 | Tuesday, October 6, 7:00pm Launch of Shir Ami Book Club Home of Wendy & Larry Nadel Join Wendy Nadel, Joan Green and R. David as we launch Shir Ami's members-only book club, a periodic gathering to discuss great books at the forefront of modern Jewish life. Our first book is Rachel Goldberg-Polin's When We See You Again about an October 7 mom's journey from grief to meaning in a broken world. |
 | Saturdays starting October 10, 10:00am SoulSpa – Paths of Peace Zoom only • click here for link & videos I'm excited to begin Shir Ami's fourth year of SoulSpa, our weekly Shabbat learning circle. This year's theme is Paths of Peace, drawn from the Proverbs line we sing during a Torah service (v'khol netivoteha shalom / "and all her paths are peace"). It's also the title of a Torah commentary book by R. Shalom Noah Berezovsky (d. 2000). We'll lean into this genre of wisdom to touch the heart of what shalom really is and how we make shalom in our lives and in the world. No experience, background or commitment is required. Free and open to all: drop-ins welcome. |
 | Friday, October 16, 7:00pm Kabbalat Shabbat First Presbyterian & Zoom It's our first "regular" Shabbat of 5787. Join for a musical Shabbat themed to the Torah journey of pre-history's Noah, the Ark, and the primordial journey toward a balance worthy of all humanity. Includes brief Torah experience. Celebratory oneg to follow. |
 | Tuesday, October 20, 7:00pm Shema-nic Journeys: Hearing & Healing Zoom only Join R. David a we begin a six-session exploration of the "watchwords of our faith" – the Shema and V'ahavta at the heart of Jewish liturgy. We intone these words at every service, but why? What's the point? What's the purpose? What practices of mind and heart have Jewish wisdom tradition layered onto the Shema and V'ahavta to enrich our experience of these words and their imprint on us and our lives? Alternating Tuesdays, October 20 - December 29 Free for members, $120 for guests |
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