Congregation Adas Emuno

This Week at Adas Emuno—Fifth-Grade Family Service

December 15, 2022 8:54 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Dec. 16, 2022

Dear Friends,
We welcome the 5th Grade to lead our Shabbat Evening Family Service (7:30 PM) as we get ready for Hanukkah.

It's always interesting that the holiday coincides with the epic story of Joseph (who assimilated as he rose to power in Egypt to the point that he almost forgot his heritage), which we will probe at our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM).

Hanukkah begins Sunday evening, and like every year, we will light our outdoor menorah at 7:00 PM sharp, every night of the holiday. It's fun, short, and happens rain or shine or snow- so pick a night or two or more and c'mon over.

The first night we'll have some hot chocolate and treats. The sixth night, which is our Leonia community lighting, we'll have an oneg reception before our Shabbat-Hanukkah service. Every night we'll have a different song and maybe a fun fact or joke!

Shabbat shalom and Happy Hanukkah,

Rabbi Schwartz

For Livestream Services:

Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live

This Week at Adas Emuno

December 08, 2022 9:03 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Dec. 8, 2022

Dear Friends,
What are we to make of Kanye West, Kyrie Irving and Dave Chapelle?
We'll discuss the latest variant of the ever mutating virus of antisemitism at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).

What are we to make of the out-of-control sons of Jacob, who are the forerunners of the twelve tribes of Israel?
We'll discuss the latest episode in the tragically dysfunctional family life of our namesake patriarch at our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM).

What are we to make for our upcoming Hanukkah family gathering? Learn a new holiday recipe from our prodigy chef Gibson Borelli, all the way from his study abroad in London. Gibby will also share in recent moving experience of visiting the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. Our Zoom Hanukkah Cooking Class is this Sunday (4:00 PM)- rsvp for the link.

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

For Livestream Services:
Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live

This Week at Adas Emuno—Family Service

December 01, 2022 9:45 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Dec. 1, 2022

Dear Friends,
The 7th grade is a great group of kids.
You will enjoy seeing them lead our Shabbat Evening Family Service (7:30 PM- rescheduled from Nov. 4).
That includes a slightly irreverent skit about Abraham and Sarah!

We begin our discussion of the epic story of Jacob and family at our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM).

Religious school resumes on Sunday, and with it our annual Mitzvah Mall (11:15 AM). Come learn about several worthy service organizations. Make a contribution to any one of them and receive a card that makes for a nice Hanukkah gift. In the past we have had some furry visitors, including service dogs and a rescue owl. Will we have a surprise visitor this year?

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

For Livestream Services:
Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live

This Week at Adas Emuno

November 24, 2022 8:51 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Nov. 24, 2022

Dear Friends,
We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving in the company of family and friends.

I'll reflect on the surprising origins of this national holiday (it’s not what you were taught) and its particular relevance to today at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).

Isaac is sometimes called the forgotten patriarch. Yet the brief account of his life is vivid and complicated, as we will discuss at our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM).

Ready to read the next book for our January book club meeting? Called One Hundred Saturdays, it's a fascinating profile of the vanished community of Jews of the island of Rhodes through one of its last survivors: https://www.amazon.com/One-Hundred-Saturdays-Stella-Search/dp/198216722X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=21E1M5I6V0J4B&keywords=100+saturdays+by+michael+frank&qid=1668474641&sprefix=100+saturdays%2Caps%2C110&sr=8-1

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

For Livestream Services:
Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live

This Week at Adas Emuno—Student Cantor Flaxman Solos!

November 17, 2022 8:44 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Nov. 17, 2022

Dear Friends,
The Society for Biblical Literature (SBL) hosts the largest academic Bible conference in the world (5000+ scholars!). In my capacity as head of The Jewish Publication Society (JPS) I'll be attending again this year, where we host an exhibit of our books. It's always a rewarding but exhausting experience.

In my absence I am grateful that student cantor Joe Flaxman will lead our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).
Cantor Joe will also lead our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM), as we read and discuss the last years of Abraham's life- the loss of his wife Sarah and the worries about his son Isaac.

The Cantor adds, "Please join me this Friday night as I lead my first solo service!. We welcome Shabbat in song and explore the blessings that stay with us for our lives: the blessings bestowed upon us as we leave.
I anticipate a lively discussion this week at Torah study! While love strikes Rebekah so hard that she falls off her camel, what is the state of Jewish love in America today? While Abraham wanted Isaac to marry a Jewish girl, today in America intermarriage is increasingly common (since 2010, 61% of all American Jewish marriages have been interfaith)."

Both the cantor and I will participate in the Leonia Community Thanksgiving Service on Tuesday evening (7:00 PM) at the Leonia Methodist Church on Broad Avenue. We appreciate your support of this annual ecumenical gathering of our faith communities.

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz and Student Cantor Joe Flaxman

For Livestream Services:
Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live

This Week at Adas Emuno

November 10, 2022 8:35 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Nov. 10, 2022

Dear Friends,
Tonight I will have the opportunity to hear two past presidents of the United States, Clinton and Bush, speak at a synagogue- Temple Emanu-el in New York.

I'll reflect on their words, as we also reckon with the mid-term election results.

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day and we will honor those who have served. And we will also remember the 84th anniversary of Kristallnacht yesterday and today, all at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).

The remarkable saga of Abraham and Sarah yields bountiful lessons for our own lives, the subject of our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM).

Religious school is in session this Sunday, including both Tot and Confirmation classes.

Poetry Garden meets Sunday evening (7:00 PM) and Book Club on Monday (7:30 PM).

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

For Livestream Services:
Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live

This Week at Adas Emuno

November 03, 2022 8:15 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Nov. 3, 2022

Dear Friends,
The 7th grade is a great group of kids.
You will enjoy seeing them lead our Shabbat Evening Family Service (7:30 PM).
That includes a slightly irreverent skit about Abraham and Sarah!

We explore aspects of Abraham and Sarah's legacy at our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM).

As noted in a separate congregational email last week, masks are now optional in the sanctuary and social hall, and weekly indoor onegs will follow services. Its been a long wait and we thank you for your patience and perseverance!

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno

October 27, 2022 8:39 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Oct. 27, 2022

Dear Friends,
With the holidays and our marvelous 150th Gala weekend now over, we return to the quieter rhythms of Shabbat.

As we read the story of Noah this week, what better time to talk about our furry friends, and the role animals play in our lives, which I will do at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).

The command to Noah and his descendants to replenish and fill the earth leads us to some interesting observations about Jewish fertility and demography at our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM).

Our religious school teacher and youth group advisor Reina Stern is getting married this Sunday (and I have the honor of officiating). To Reina and her mother Charlene (also on our faculty) and family- mazal tov!

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno—Big Celebrations!

October 20, 2022 8:08 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Oct. 20, 2022

Dear Friends,
We bring to a close our wonderful sesquicentennial 150th Anniversary Year with a gala weekend.

Our festive Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM) will feature both student cantors Joe Flaxman and Iris Karlin, accompanied by Beth Robbin.

Then on Sunday at our Jubilee Concert (3:00 PM) they will be joined by a host of our other talented, including Elka Oliver, Peter Hays, Michael Scowden, Scott Dennis and family. The mix of Jewish and folk music will be tantalizing!

The festivities will be capped off by our Gala Reception (4:30 PM) under a big party text next to our new patio!

Earlier in the day our students will engage in a Religious School Funfest (12:00) that will include completing a 150th Anniversary Time Capsule, to be opened in 50 years!

Let me take this opportunity to thank our incredibly hard working 150th Anniversary Committee for a wonderful year of celebration befitting our milestone anniversary.

And amidst all the festivities we also celebrate the bar mitzvah of Nick Guberman at our Shabbat Morning Service (10:00 AM); extending a mazal tov to Nick and his family.

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

For Livestream Services:
Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming".

This Week at Adas Emuno—Sukkot and Simchat Torah Celebration

October 13, 2022 8:55 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Oct. 13, 2022

Dear Friends,
How is our upcoming Shabbat Evening and Holiday Family Service (7:30 PM) extra special?
*It's our Sukkot/Simchat Torah celebration!
*It's our Back-to-School Family Service!
*It's the consecration of our new students!
*It's the welcome of our new families!
*It's a special oneg in our Sukkah and new patio!

We hope to see you in-person at this festive celebration, and looking ahead to next week, at our 150th anniversary gala (rsvp required).

Our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM) examines the very last Torah portion of the year, as we reach the end of the annual reading cycle (and begin again).

On Sunday our religious school will have another chance to celebrate Sukkot and Simchat Torah, and Confirmation Class is also in session.

A reminder to all those who borrowed High Holiday books- please return them to the blue bin on the school porch. And here are links, as requested, to my Holiday sermons (with thanks, as always, to Lance Strate for this and all his website work):
RH: https://adasemuno.org/page-18091/12950318
KN: https://adasemuno.org/page-18091/12950337
YK: https://adasemuno.org/page-18091/12950396

Shabbat shalom and Hag Sameach,
Barry