Dear Friends,
I want to start by saying thank you. Thank you so much for your collective response to our call for contributions at the end of the year to help us meet this community’s needs. We exceeded our ambitious goal of $45,000 and it makes such a difference in our efforts to continue to support this community: through Jewish learning; through the forging of human connections and bonds; through gemilut hasadim — acts of lovingkindness to one another; through immersion in the rhythms of Jewish tradition; through support of one another throughout the Jewish life cycle, from birth, to B’nai Mitzvah, to death and mourning; through social action/Tikkun Olam. Your contributions help us to continue to have the resources to carry out these sacred tasks meaningfully. Thank you.
It takes a lot to create community, and we each have different ways in which we give, which can look different at different points in our lives: some of us show up on Shabbat, contributing to the warmth of this community through their presence in the pews; others lend their voices, singing along, filling this space with the sounds of song and prayer; others contribute of their minds and spirits, chiming in to our Torah or class discussions, helping us continue to generate new insight, as a place of depth and learning. Others lend their expertise, through board or committee conversations helping us navigate the complexities of serving a modern society. Others make a financial contribution when they are able, enabling us to invest in the building blocks of creating a synagogue community—staff, space, sustenance.
We are so grateful to all of you for the many ways in which you help make this community what it is. Thank you so much.
RABBINIC INSTALLATION
I wanted to highlight a couple dates for you coming up in early 2024.
A couple of weeks ago I shared with you the details of my rabbinic installation here at SHS, Sunday March 10, cocktail hour beginning at 4 pm, installation ceremony at 5:15, dinner at 6:30 pm, with childcare provided.
I hope you’ll mark your calendars and join us as we celebrate the history of the Society Hill Synagogue community and mark the transition into a new chapter rooted in its values, together.
SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE: EXPERT ON JEWISH VIEWS OF THE AFTERLIFE
I also want to highlight, two weeks before that, a very special scholar-in-residence weekend with Reb Simcha Raphael, Ph.D., a preeminent scholar on Jewish views of the afterlife.
If you’re confused or blurry on what Jews believe happens to us after we die, you are not alone: as Judaism has been passed down to us, there has not been an emphasis on harmonizing the various Jewish teachings on the afterlife and presenting them in a systematic way.
But that does not mean Judaism does not have anything to say to us about what happens to us when we and our loved ones die: it very much does. There is a deep and rich Jewish theology relating to the afterlife, and no modern scholar has done a more comprehensive work gathering the various teachings of Jewish beliefs in the afterlife than Reb Raphael, and we are fortunate that he is coming to teach us.
I should also note that Reb Raphael is not only a scholar of Jewish theology, but a practitioner of grief counseling, and has authored important works on the care and thoughtfulness that go into accompanying those grieving the loss of loved ones. His balance of spiritual insight and practical guidance is immense, and I highly recommend joining for this scholar in residence weekend. There will be a teaching over dinner following services Friday, February 23, and over lunch following services, Saturday, February 24. I hope you’ll join us.
As the weight of the world continues to challenge us, confronted as we are by heartache all around the world — including in Israel and Gaza — Jewish communities like this one can serve as a bastion of helping us find strength, warmth, connection, wisdom, and togetherness. I look forward throughout 2024 to continue gathering, finding our way together.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi K.
