Congregation Adas Emuno

This Week at Adas Emuno—Early Outdoor Service

June 01, 2023 8:42 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

June 1, 2023

Dear Friends,
Welcome to our first Shabbat-on-the-Patio Service (6:00 PM).
Note the early start time.
I will pay tribute to the late, great Rabbi Harold Kushner, who passed away last month.

Our outdoor services will take place three times, on the first Shabbat of June, July and August.

And welcome back to student cantor Iris Karlin.
Iris will be leading most of our summer services with me while student cantor Flaxman is away.
Shabbat amidst the irises with Iris- what could be better!

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno—Shavuot Begins

May 25, 2023 9:07 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

May 25, 2023

The holiday of Shavuot, also known as Hag HaBikkurim, the Festival of the First Fruits, and Hag Matan Torah, the Festival of the Giving-of-the-Torah, begins tonight.

There is a unique Hebrew word, one of the most important in Judaism, called hesed.
How do we translate it, what is its significance, and what is its special connection to Shavuot.?
At our Shabbat-Shavuot Evening Service (7:30 PM) we will celebrate hesed.

This is also Memorial Day Weekend, and we will gratefully remember our country's fallen before the Kaddish.
I will also be giving the invocation at Leonia's annual Memorial Day ceremony on Monday (12:00 PM).

Speaking of Hebrew and Torah, we are considering offering an adult Hebrew class next year.
The course would be taught by my Student Cantor Joe on Sundays at noon, just after religious school each week.
This class would also serve as the first year of a two-year adult b'nei mitzvah program.
If you are interested, please let us know.

Shabbat shalom and Hag Shavuot sameach,
Rabbi Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno—Bat Mitzvah of Vera Alter

May 18, 2023 9:53 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

May 18, 2023

Dear Friends.
I know you will be so impressed by our teens, when the 8-10th graders of our Confirmation Class lead our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).
Our students will share brief essays on hot button ethical issues that we debated in class this year.
Special thanks to the Dennis family for their musical contributions to the service.

We celebrate the bat mitzvah of Vera Alter at our Shabbat Morning Service (10:00 AM).
Mazal tov to Vera and her family!

Our religious school year concludes this Sunday, and kudos to everyone who made this such a meaningful year.
It always takes a partnership to succeed, and this includes our director, our teachers, our parents, our students, our religious education committee, our board of trustees, and our clergy- thank you!

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno

May 11, 2023 9:21 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

May 11, 2023

Dear Friends,
At our Shabbat Evening Family Service (7:30 PM) we welcome our youngest grades 1-2.
They will sing the Shema with sign language, sing a delightful new shabbat song, and more.

We celebrate the bar mitzvah of Andy Adair, at our Shabbat Morning Service (10:00 AM).
Mazal tov to Andy and his family!

Religious school meets for its second-to-last session on Sunday, including rehearsal for Confirmation.
And it’s Mother's Day- best wishes to all our moms!

Shabbat shalom,

This Week at Adas Emuno

May 04, 2023 8:29 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

May 4, 2023

Dear Friends,
There's so much more to say about Israel following her 75th birthday.
I'll offer Part II of my extended remarks at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).

Beckett Pasky-Levinson will become a bat mitzvah at our Shabbat Morning Service (10:00 AM).
Mazal tov to Beckett and her family!

On Monday our bimonthly Adas Emuno Book Club will meet via Zoom (7:30 PM) to discuss Dinners with Ruth by Nina Totenberg.
Among the members of our congregation who knew Ruth Bader Ginsburg personally is my mother, Barbara Schwartz, who was good friends with Ruth in high school, and who celebrates her 90th birthday on Monday. Happy Birthday Mom!

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno—Celebrating Israel

April 27, 2023 8:20 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Apr. 27, 2023

Dear Friends,
Israel at 75!
We celebrate Yom Ha'Atzmaut with special music and tribute at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).
Student Cantor Flaxman will be joined by Beth Robin and the ever musical Dennis family for the occasion.
Come honor Israel at her milestone anniversary!

Asher Dennis will become a bar mitzvah at our Shabbat Morning Service (9:30 AM- note early start time).
Mazal tov to Asher and his family!

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno

April 20, 2023 9:03 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

April 20, 2023

Dear Friends,
As we do each year, we mark Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).
Besides the special music that our cantor will present with Beth Robbin, we note that this year corresponds to the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. We'll also remark on the passing of Benjamin Ferencz, the last living prosecutor of the Nuremberg Trials.

We celebrate the (adult) bat mitzvah of Vera Kishinevsky at our Shabbat Morning Service (10:00 AM). Vera, will speak of her spiritual return to Judaism after leaving the Former Soviet Union. Mazal tov to Vera and her family!

Reminder- Next week is Yom Ha'Atzmaut, and our Shabbat service will also feature special music and words in celebration of Israel at 75!

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno

April 13, 2023 9:09 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

April 13, 2023

Dear Friends,
Baseball season is upon us, and I discovered a rather remarkable, little-known fact about two Jewish major league players that I will reveal at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).

Its doubly appropriate because Sam Klein, who will become a bar mitzvah at our Shabbat Morning Service (10:00 AM) is a both a player and big fan of the sport.
And Sam is the lead-off hitter for six b'nei mitzvah in a row.
Mazal tov to Sam and his family!

Calendar notes:
Next week is Yom HaShoah, and our Shabbat evening service will feature special music by our cantor with accompanist Beth Robbin.
The following week is Yom Ha'Atzmaut, and our Shabbat service, Israel at 75, will also feature student cantor Flaxman with Beth.

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno—Family Service and Shabbaton!

March 30, 2023 9:11 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

March 30, 2023

Dear Friends,
Our spirited 3/4 Grade will lead much of our Shabbat Evening Family Service (7:30 PM) while also offering a presentation for Pesach.

A very special three-congregation Shabbaton takes place at Temple Sinai in Tenafly on Shabbat morning, with study (9:00 AM), worship with our student cantors Joe Flaxman and Iris Karlin (10:30 AM), and lunch and learn (11:45 AM). On Saturday night we conclude with a staged reading of my play As a Driven Leaf and dessert reception (7:30 PM).

All this is free and open to the public thanks to the generosity of the Rudy Schwartz Scholar-and-Artist in Residence Fund (established by my mother Barbara Schwartz in memory of my father).
Even though the registration deadline has passed, just let me know, and we will let you in!
Here is the online link to the article that appeared this week about the Shabbaton in the Jewish Standard::
https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/the-other-and-us/

Our very full weekend continues in our school on Sunday with both a Tot-Seder and school-wide Pesach program, as we get ready for our own family celebrations and our second night Congregational Seder.

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno

March 23, 2023 8:02 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

March 23, 2023

Dear Friends,
Have you heard of the term "national divorce"?
If you haven't, you should...and it is downright scary.
I'll speak about why that is so at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).

We will have our final Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM) of the school year this week.
Why such an early end?
For good reasons: next week is the Shabbaton; the week after is Pesach, and then six b'nei mitzvah in a row!

Ready to read the next book for our Adas Emuno Book Club (May 8)?
It's Dinners with Ruth by Nina Totenberg.
I know this is going to be a great session because we have congregants who went to high school, to college, and to law school with Ruth Bader Ginsberg!

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz