• OCTOBER’S THEME: Simchat Torah, Rejoicing of the Torah ~ Simchat Torah celebrates the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings - when we finish the Book of Deuteronomy and begin all over again with the Book of Genesis... just as we celebrate our birthdays as a way to acknowledge where we came from, so, too, do we celebrate Simchat Torah to remind ourselves of our people's story, and, in so doing, help to ensure our future. (reformjudaism.org)

Rededicating Our Sanctuary & Ensuring Our Future

rabbi randy sheinberg

...just as we celebrate our birthdays as a way to acknowledge where we came from, so, too, do we celebrate Simchat Torah to remind ourselves of our people’s story, and, in so doing, help to ensure our future...reformjudaism.org

• The month of September, which this year corresponded with the Hebrew month of Tishrei was a blur of Jewish holidays. First it was Rosh Hashanah, the start of the new Jewish year. We greeted 5784 with the sounding of the shofar and kicked off the Ten Days of Awe - our time of introspection, reflection, and contrition. Through those first ten days, we thought about how to atone for our transgressions. We made amends, we apologized, and on Yom Kippur we prayed and fasted. Cleansed and ready to start the year fresh, we moved into the holiday of Sukkot, the time of thanksgiving and rejoicing. There we re-learned that life is for celebrating and appreciation. We reconnected with the natural world around us and we reconnected with the people around us too. And now we celebrate Simchat Torah, our time to rejoice with the Torah. We celebrate not only the whole world, but also our unique Jewish story and its role in the world.
• What a difference a month makes!
• Tishrei was a whirlwind of Jewish holidays, however, the month that follows it, the Hebrew month of Cheshvan (which this year corresponds to the Gregorian month of October) and albeit we get to slow down, we are served with a reminder; the holiday season does not end with Sukkot. On Friday evening October 6th and Saturday, October 7th we celebrate Simchat Torah. At this time we read the very end of our Torah Scroll, the story of Moses’s death, and then…almost without taking a breath, we will read the very beginning of the scroll, the story of creation found in Genesis - Chapter One. It is a small moment perhaps. Maybe it does not have the same drama as Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur; yet to me, Simchat Torah is one of the most moving and instructive holidays in the year. For it reminds us that the story of Judaism, our story…is never-ending. There may be a beginning to our new year and an end to our old one; however Jewish life, Jewish history, and Jewish values are timeless and everlasting. Our Torah is our greatest symbol of this fact. “Turn it and turn it again, for everything is in it,” the Rabbis teach of the Torah. Every time any one of us - young or old reads or studies Torah, we are participating in the Great Jewish Story. By adding our opinions, our questions, and our interpretations to the study of Torah, we keep it fresh and alive and we ensure that our proud heritage will continue for a long time to come.
• This fall, I invite you to engage with Torah…be part of the story yourself. There are several opportunities for you to do so: 1) Come to our regular Torah Study Class. We meet Shabbat mornings both on ZOOM and in-person (check the calendar for the specific schedule). As we begin a new cycle of the Torah reading, it’s a great time to jump in and join us for wonderful conversation and probing questions. 2) Participate in the CCAR Torah Pilot. The CCAR Press is in the early stages of developing A New Torah Translation and Commentary for the 21st Century. When it was first published in 1981, The Torah: A Modern Commentary was the first English language modern Torah commentary ever published. It is time for a new generation of scholars to shed light on our Torah text and create the gift for the next generation using new scholarship and new approaches to Torah study. We have signed on to be a pilot site for the development of the translation portion of this work. In November and December, we will meet to study an excerpt of Torah using the proposed translation, and then provide our feedback. Stay tuned for details, and plan to participate in this exciting project. 3) Learn to read/chant Torah yourself! Cantor Friedlander and I are offering a class to prepare adults to read and chant Torah. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone who has never read before to do so. It is also great for anyone who wants to celebrate a milestone birthday or a simcha, or who simply wants to take on a new challenge. The class will culminate in a Torah Celebration Shabbat on Saturday morning May 19th. We hope you will join us! 4) Participate in any of the array of other wonderful learning opportunities - monthly Shabbat learning programs, workshops for families, panel discussions, Temple outings, and much more. Check the Calendar for upcoming new courses.

Hazak, hazak, v’nithazek! ~ May Torah continue to strengthen and guide us, and may we be blessed to learn and teach it for generations to come.

A Prayer for Tashlich

Here I am again ~ ready to let go of my mistakes. • Help me to release myself ~ from all the ways I've missed the mark. • Help me to stop carrying ~ the karmic baggage of my poor choices. • As I cast this bread upon the waters ~ lift my troubles off my shoulders. • Help me to know that last year is over, ~ washed away like crumbs in the current. • Open my heart to blessing and gratitude. • Renew my soul as the dew renews the grasses. • And we say together: Amen. (Velveteen Rabbi & Ritualwell)

Temple President - lisa lupo

As We Begin 5784, Let’s Continue to Celebrate and Rejoice the Torah

• I am sitting down to write this column after returning from a beautiful Day 2 Rosh Hashanah Service in Cunningham Park. The sky was blue, the sun was out, and it was about 75 degrees with a slight breeze. The weather could not have been more perfect.
• It was a wonderful way to end a weekend of beautiful Rosh Hashanah Services that were held in our sanctuary for the first time since 2019!
• That special, peaceful feeling I get just by being in our sanctuary has returned, and it feels great.
• I particularly enjoyed our Family Service this year. Under the direction of our cantorial soloist and new school song leader Kathryn Kitt, our Kol Simkha Student Choir helped lead the congregation in song. Most of our religious school community attended and many students/families had honors.
• As they have in the past, our Kol Simkha Choir will sing at our Monthly Family Services. If you normally do not attend Family Services, I highly suggest that you at least try one out. While geared to families, these services are also appropriate for adults (no kids required). I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how lovely a family service is. Family Services generally start at 7:00pm, a half hour before our other services to better accommodate our kids’ schedules.
• Now that we are back in our sanctuary, we have introduced a new way to stream services. We are moving away from ZOOM and Facebook Live, which can be time consuming and distracting for our clergy to manage and a bit confusing to some congregants, to YouTube.
• We have created a Temple Tikvah of New Hyde Park YouTube Channel. A direct link will be in the Weekly Update, and we are working on creating simple access from our web site. So far, the feedback I have gotten on this new channel has been positive, however stay tuned for more information on how we will make it even easier to connect. Many thanks to Hayley DiRico, Jay Beber, and David Peskin for working tirelessly on getting the technology set up and working.
• We reopened our sanctuary with our first Shabbat Service on September 8th. Other than a couple of relatively minor (and often hilarious) glitches with the sound system, it was a seamless transition back into the sanctuary. We changed the Torah covers, honored Andrea Comerchero and Sandy Peskin for all their hard work getting us to this point and enjoyed a three-piece band for a very lively and musical service.
• Many thanks to Rabbi Sheinberg, Cantor Friedlander, and our Temple Tikvah Choir for bringing us back into our sanctuary with such joyfulness. Thanks to Brotherhood and Sisterhood for providing extra-special community mingling time by sponsoring our pre-service wine & cheese and then our festive oneg. There was a great sampling of a variety of homemade baked goods at the oneg, courtesy of our many Sisterhood bakers.
• Please join us for our Simchat Torah Shabbat on October 6th. There will be a Tot Event at 5:30pm (think grandchildren!) followed by a Pizza Shabbat Dinner (open to all - reservations are required), followed by services at 7:00pm (it is a Family Service). We will also be consecrating our new Religious School students, and there will be plenty of dancing with the Torah to celebrate the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings...I look forward to greeting you there.

As always, please reach out to me by clicking on the LINK below with your ideas, thoughts, complaints, and compliments.

A Heartfelt Thank You to Brotherhood & Sisterhood for Sponsoring Our Pre-Service Wine & Cheese, Followed by a Festive Oneg for Us to Mingle Together When We Rededicated Our Sanctuary and Celebrated Andrea & Sandy

Education Director

We Learn Teshuvah So We Can Reflect, Apologize, Forgive, and Resolve; So We Can Do Better the Next Time

• We had a great first day of school!
• While all our classrooms were not quite ready for prime time, we still had a successful first day and everyone was joyous to be home. Thanks to April Heron and Julie O’Donnell for leading an informative parent orientation and thanks, in advance to all the parents who will step up to be class parents and volunteer to help with various activities this year.
• We are also so grateful to Temple leadership, and particularly to Andrea Comerchero and Sandy Peskin for working tirelessly to make sure our space would be ready for the new school year.
• During school, we studied our first Middah (Jewish value): Teshuvah (the value of repenting and asking for forgiveness). Our students also learned about the meaning of Ein Keloheinu (there is none like our G-d), and we began our Holocaust Book Club, as well as ate apples and honey to celebrate the upcoming new year, courtesy of our PTA.
• Some upcoming key dates: • Wednesday, October 4th at 4:30pm will be our first Teen Holocaust Witness Program Event. We look forward to our 6th and 7th grade students and teens joining with Temple Judea students for a joint Youth Holocaust Witness Program. This is an amazing learning opportunity, and we strongly encourage all eligible students to participate. • Friday, October 6th, Pizza Dinner at 6:00pm: Shabbat Family Service/Consecration of New Students at 7:00pm. In addition to dancing with the Torah, we will hold a consecration ceremony to welcome our new students to Religious School. The following students will be honored: Benjamin Braunstein, Charles Braunstein, Ryder Gutterman, Chloe Kellogg, Spencer Kramer, Parker Kramer, Leyna Maletzky, Aiden Miller, Luca Muto, Leo Pitt, and Sophie Pitt. • And of course ~ Congratulations to the McCorey Family on the upcoming Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Leah on October 21st 2023!

Last month you met our teachers. This month, we are delighted to introduce you to the seven high school students who are volunteering as Madrichim (student helpers) in our Religious School this year:

temple-at-large

Why Not Begin 2024 with Rabbis Sheinberg & Alpert by Traveling to Israel for an Opportunity to Encounter the Wonders of this Ancient Land?

Social Action

The Torah Reminds Us to Lead a Life of Value and Significance

• October is “Rejoicing of the Torah.” During the High Holidays we strive “to understand what God would have us do and be”. Among our community’s values are repairing the world, doing mitzvot, and reflecting on the obligations of being Jewish. We ask questions and consider the meaning of our heritage to give our lives more meaning and purpose, and to live a life of significance and value.
• The process referred to above is often the goal and subject(s) of the Social Action Committee. Our first meeting for this new year began with a discussion of plans for the Saturday, October 14th Lunch and Learn coordinated with Lifelong Learning (please see the Lifelong Learning Column for details of what we have planned). In addition, we also sent information out to our community about the Climate March on September 17th near the United Nations for those interested in participating (see photos below).