Long ago there was a young man traveling from village to village. There was a day when this young man had arrived in a particular village, not far from his own. The village had a watchtower, high up above the other buildings, and a watchman who sat and waited, looking here and there at all times. If the watchman ever saw smoke or a fire, he immediately sounded the alarm by blowing into his horn. Just as the young man approached this particular village a horn sound throughout the town – a fire had begun in one of the village homes! The horn sounded from the watchtower and the fire was put out. The young man was fascinated, what a great solution! He was going to bring this back to his own village! The next day, the young man headed back to his own village with a new horn in hand. He called all the villagers together and told them to no longer fear the fire, for he had a solution. The young man set fire to a small hut near the crowd, and as the fire spread he told the people … [Read more...]
Come and Learn With Us!
The High Holy Days come with both joy and trepidation. We welcome Rosh Hashanah with bombastic blasts and fanfare. We anxiously anticipate the day we atone for that which we have done wrong, and ask for forgiveness. These Yamim Noraim, ten days of awe, can be quite an emotional rollercoaster. Last year, to great success, we tried something new in addition to our simple Selichot service. We learned together as a congregation. We had a great time together and, as requested, we are bringing it back this year with the opportunity for more in depth study time!! So that we can embrace the rollercoaster, and explore the many facets and motifs present throughout the chagim, we have two exciting opportunities to learn together! Join us on Selichot for some light food and schmoozing, followed by an in-depth study session and short service. Choose one from the following four (amazing!) sessions. Join Rabbi Anderson to “Hear the Shofar of Your Soul.” Enjoy some “Food for Thought” with … [Read more...]
Charlottesville: Our Response
Dear Temple Emanu-El, like staring at the Solar Eclipse, this week we are still dealing with the psychological effects of Charlottesville, and the trouble that is to follow. This week’s Kesher Quick writing is the sermon that I gave this past Friday night in synagogue. May this Shabbat be one of peace for us, and for all America. Shabbat shalom Anderson/Re’eh/8-18-17/ Av 26, 5777/ Temple Emanu-El of Atlanta Tough week this week… Shortly after services last Fri night, 1,000 Neo-Nazi White Supremacists marched past the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. They were armed, (for VA is an open carry state), they were prepared for violence with clubs and shields. And they carried torches. Officially, they were there to protest against the removal of a statue of Robert E Lee, but their real goal was to show that they were not just an internet movement, but also rather a physical force that was ready to show strength and garner support. The torches, of course, were meant … [Read more...]
“Roll into Dark, Roll into Light, Night becomes Day, Day turns to Night”
We sing these words every Erev Shabbat right after we recite Barchu, our official call prayer and the beginning of the Maariv service. These are the evening prayers that follow the Kabbalat Shabbat service (the welcoming or more literally, the receiving of Shabbat). The beginning of the Maariv service is also known as Shema u’Virchotecha, (The Shema and her blessings), which is the basic opening rubric of every evening prayer service.[1] This rubric leads us through three central themes of our history and liturgy: creation, revelation, and redemption.[2] Shema, our declaration of faith in one God lies at the center of these three themes. Maariv Aravim serves as our “creation” liturgy, blessing God for speaking the night into being. This prayer is quite poetic. Joel Hoffman (My People's Prayer Book: Welcoming the Night Vol. 9, p. 49) illucidates that the opening line “asher bidvaro maariv aravim” means much more than “who speaks the evening into being.” Both aravim/erev and … [Read more...]
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