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Shabbat and Holy Day Schedule2
Rabbi’s Corner,
President’s Message
3Reflections,Lifelong Jewish Learning 4-5
What’s Happening
6-7
“Scene” at Sinai
8-9Sinai Committees 10-14My Sinai 14-15Supporting Sinai 16-20September Calendar 21October Calendar 22In the Sinai Family 23-24 Those We Remember 24Contributions 25-27New Members,
Bubbe’s Bits
27
SINAI NEWS
Rabbi David B. Cohen • Cantor Rebecca Robins • Rabbi Emeritus Jay R. Brickman
Director of Administration Karen Lancina • Program Coordinator Jen Friedman • Sinai News Nicole Sether
Congregation Sinai • 8223 N. Port Washington Road• Fox Point, WI 53217
414.352.2970• 414.352.0944 (fax)• www.congregationsinai.org
September-
October 2010 • Elul
-Cheshvan 5770-5771
In this issue
Cantor’s Notes
Celebrating Sukkot and Simchat Torah at Sinai
Many of us know where it is. Mine was in the drawer of our dining room
breakfront with the collection of velvet and satin kippot from weddings and b’nei
mitzvah. My brother keeps his near the religion section in his personal library (also
known as the nook behind the TV wall). Where do you keep yours, or your child’s?Keep what?…the little Torah you received when you started religious school.
On the heels of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we launch into the festivalof Sukkot, which ends with Simchat Torah. The time of year is perfect; warm fall col-ors everywhere from the ingredients in the kitchen, to the trees, and the stores. The joy of being together, renewedand revitalized from our holidays continues. The aromaof apples and pumpkins fill our farms and kitchens, and the memory of red, wind-chilled cheeks comes back to usso quickly! At this rich and wonderful time of year, through our fall holidays, we have the opportunity to sit together - as we eat and schmooze in our sukkot, to cele-brate together - at festival services and meals, and sing and dance together
–
as we roll the Torah from the veryend back to the beginning, and start yet another year of learning.Join us Erev Sukkot (Wednesday, September22nd) for an autumn potluck dinner at 6:00 pm, followedby a short Erev Sukkot service at 7:00 pm. Bring a dish to share with a fall theme
–
pumpkin soup, stuffed squash, apple pie…be creative! The Sukkot celebration con-
tinues at 9:30 am on Thursday, September 23rd. And be sure not to miss our an-nual Sukkot sing-a-long and BBQ
–
great for families of all ages, 9 months to 90years (and beyond)! The sing-a-long begins on Friday, September 24th at 5:30 pm,
immediately followed by our Brotherhood’s amazing BBQ!
The celebration continues with Consecration and Simchat Torah. Join us onWednesday, September 29th at 7:00 pm as we welcome our newest learners (and
give them their little Torahs!), and together rejoice in the celebration of Torah. We’llsing. We’ll dance. We’ll read Torah together and roll our scroll back to the begin-ning. On Thursday morning, at 9:30 am we’ll begin at the beginning, as they say,with the reading of B’reishit. Yizkor, the memorial prayers, will also be recited. We’ll
conclude together with a picnic lunch in the sukkah. Make sure to bring yours!All these holidays! We have so much to celebrate. Zerek and I wish you andyours a
shana tovah umetukah
–
a sweet and happy new year and a
chag sameach
–
a joyous Sukkot and Simchat Torah!Cantor Rebecca Robins
Page 2 September-October 2010
Shabbat
Nitzavim
September 3 Last Outdoor Shabbat Service 6:00 pmSeptember 4 Torah Study 8:00 amMorning Minyan 9:30 am
S’lichot Program 9:30 pm
S’lichot Service 11:00 pm
Erev Rosh Hashanah
September 8 Erev Rosh Hashanah Family Service 5:45 pmErev Rosh Hashanah Service 8:00 pm
Rosh HashanahGenesis 21:1 - 21:34 & Numbers 29:1 - 29:6
September 9 Rosh Hashanah Morning Service 9:30 amTot Rosh Hashanah Service 2:30 pmTashlich & Shofar Blowing Contest 3:15 pmSeptember 10 2nd Day Rosh Hashanah Service 10:30 am
Shabbat
Shuvah
September 10 Shabbat Shuvah Service 6:15 pmSeptember 11 Torah Study 8:00 amMorning Minyan 9:30 am
Erev Yom Kippur
September 17 Kol Nidre Service 8:00 pm
September 18 Morning Service 9:30 am Afternoon Study Session 12:30 pmTot Yom Kippur Service 2:00 pmService of Healing & Forgiveness 3:00 pmYizkor Service 4:30 pm
N’ilah (Concluding) Service 5:30 pm
Break-the-Fast 6:45 pm
Erev Sukkot
September 22 Sukkot Potluck Dinner 6:00 pmErev Sukkot Service 7:00 pm
Shabbat Chol Hamoed Sukkot
September 24 Sukkot Family Sing-a-long 5:30 pmSukkot BBQ 6:15 pmSeptember 25 Torah Study 8:00 amMorning Minyan 9:30 amKevin Blutstein Bar Mitzvah 4:00 pmSeptember 29 Simchat Torah & Consecration 7:00 pmSeptember 30 Simchat Torah Service 9:30 am
Shabbat
Bereshit
October 1 Shabbat Service: Cantor RebeccaRobins & Zerek Schwartz Auf Ruf 7:00 pmOctober 2 Torah Study 8:00 amMorning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat
Noach
October 8 Shabbat Service 6:15 pmOctober 9 Torah Study 8 :00 amMorning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat
Lech-Lecha
October 15 Shabbat Limud Service 6:15 pmOctober 16 Torah Study 8:00 amMorning Minyan 9:30 amJordan Ellerbrock Bat Mitzvah 10:00 am
Shabbat
Vayera
October 22 Scholar-in-Residence Shabbat Service 6:15 pmOctober 23 Torah Study 8:00 amMorning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat
Chayei Sara
October 29 Shabbat Service 6:15 pmOctober 30 Torah Study 8:-00 amMorning Minyan 9:30 amJacob Bern Bar Mitzvah 10:00 am
Shabbat & Holy Day Schedule
High Holy Day packets were mailed the first week of August.Please contact the Sinai office if you have not received your packet.
Page 3September-October 2010
The High Holy Days arrive early this year (are they
ever ―on time?‖) Amid the frenetic pace of the first weeks of
fall, we will take time to think about the past year. How won-
derful it would be if we could ―erase‖ certain events from therecord. That’s not the way the world works, however. Our
deeds and choices are etched in stone, as present and immu-
table as the Ten Commandments on Moses’ tablets. But that’s
not the whole story. This season reminds us that
we can’t change the past, but we can shape the
future.In that spirit, I offer some thoughts about
Teshuvah
, or repentance. Repentance is a dy-namic process that involves three steps: first,
identifying the wrongs we’ve done; second, ap-proaching those we’ve hurt, our friends, our fami-
lies, and asking forgiveness; and third, resolving never to repeat the wrongs.
Repentance doesn’t mean forgetting or
burying the past. It means confronting the past,
and, in so doing, preparing our way to the future. Like Moses’s
broken tablets that became the base for the second set of TenCommandments, our past transgressions can become asource of wisdom and inspiration. We cannot forget or bury the past. But we can overlay it with new and better choices. Or,
Rabbi’s Corner
as one of my teachers once said: we ought not to confuseour mistakes with the life we are building.Teshuvah also means extending forgiveness to those who have hurt us. This is difficult but necessary. Foruntil we have reached a point of letting go of our anger andpain, however justified, we cannot, with a full heart, ask oth-ers to forgive us. Again, forgiving others does not mean for-getting. It means putting those hurts we so oftencarry with us down on the ground, that we mightclimb upon them and, through our souls, em-brace God.To enable us to participate more fully in the work of this season, our second communityprogram on Saturday evening, September 4
th
,hosted by our congregation, will focus on thequestion of the potentials and limits of forgive-
ness (see page 6 for details). I hope you’ll be able
to join us.I hope that these weeks preceding theHoly Days will allow for introspection and self-examination. Ihope we have the courage to forgive others and ourselves.And I hope that our souls emerge refreshed and renewed,and rededicated to the holy purposes to which we all aspire.
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From the President
We are modern Jews who live in two worlds. Our reli-gious life exists in the realm of the Jewish calendar and ourday-to-day lives respond to our secular world. Therein lies thechallenge for all of us. In contemporary Reform Judaism weembrace a life that is in both worlds and our challenge is al-
ways to bring what is ―Jewish‖ into our secular world. We are taught: ― We shall be a light unto the nations.‖ Jewish learn-
ing does not end on Sunday when we pick up our childrenfrom religious school. Words of loving-kindness extend past
―Shabbat Shalom.‖ Being Jewish means bringing our values,
celebrations, and Jewish selves into our everyday lives.At significant times of both years we resolve to do things differently. In a new year, we resolve to be better peo-
ple in God’s eyes. This is a time that we engage in self
-examination, reflection, and planning for change in the com-ing year. It is a time when we think about our relationshipswith family members, friends and others in our various com-munities. I hope that we all continue to reflect during the up-coming holiday season on the important role that Congrega- tion Sinai plays in our lives.New years arrive on our personal calendars as well,with many times to rejoice. Thank you to all the congregantswho shared our 40
th
wedding anniversary with Michael andme and made contributions in our honor. It was so special tobe together with friends and family at our Shabbat serviceand oneg this summer.A wedding is a constant re-minder of the honor and joy of commit- ting to a friend and soulmate for life; the start of a personal new year for acouple. On Friday, October 1
st
, we willhave the honor of sharing in the familycalendar of our own Cantor RebeccaRobins and her husband-to-be ZerekSchwartz. Join us on that evening for aspecial service with the traditional auf-ruf (pre-wedding blessing) and a cham-pagne oneg honoring this exciting eventin their lives and in the life of our congregation. We can alsocelebrate another Shabbat together with abounding joy.I look forward to enjoying the High Holy Days with ourremarkable congregation. I know I will love looking out at afull sanctuary and greeting all of you with a smile and a
‖Shanah Tovah.‖
Judi Ketten
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