This Week at Adas Emuno

March 5,
Dear Friends,
 So here's the Purim countdown:
 1. Purim Quiz- at our Shabbat evening service (7:30 PM).
  2. Purim Carnival- Sunday during religious school.
  3. Purim Pizza Dinner, Monday (6:00 PM)- free!
  4. Purim Service and Spiel, Monday (7:00 PM)- for all ages!

   Our spiel is a new "improv" style performance- don't miss it!
                                                
  Our regular Shabbat Morning Torah study takes place as well (10:00 AM), on the rise of the Hasidic movement.

   And don't forget to "spring ahead" one hour with your clocks on Saturday night.

Shabbat shalom and Happy Purim,
Rabbi Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno

Feb. 27, 2020
Dear Friends,
   It's been a pleasure to have a variety of guest cantors at Shabbat services, and we invite you to experience this for yourself.
   We welcome guest student cantor Robyn Streitman at our Shabbat evening service (7:30 PM). 

   I plan on talking about The Other Election. I'm referring to the World Zionist Election (voting closes in two weeks), and why it is very important for every Reform Jew to cast a vote. If you can't hear my remarks, just go to www.arza.org to find out everything you need to know.

     A great many of us are Jews of Eastern European descent who trace our roots to Poland. At our Shabbat morning Torah study (10:00AM) we'll look at the golden age of Polish Jewry, and how that too came crashing down.

     As prelude to our next holiday, our Tot Purim program takes place this Sunday (9:30 AM).
    Keep in mind that our big Purim celebration on Monday evening Mar. 9 is for all ages. With free pizza and salad, a megillah reading and a new spiel- what's not to like?!

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz
    

This Week at Adas Emuno

Feb. 20, 2020
Dear Friends,
     We welcome Grade 3-4 at our Shabbat Evening Family Service (7:30 PM), who will be musically accompanied by Reina Stern and with Torah reading by Judy Aaronson.
     
     You've heard about the Spanish Inquisition and the Expulsion of the Jews in 1492. Why do the repercussions of this event reverberate to this day? We take a look during our Shabbat morning Torah study (10:00 AM).

     Mark your calendar for all things Purim: Tot-Purim on Sun. Mar. 1 (9:30 AM), Purim Carnival on Sun. Mar. 8 (11:00AM), Free Purim Pizza dinner, Mon., Mar. 9 (6:00PM), Purim Service and Spiel (7:00 PM).
 
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno

Feb. 13, 2020
Dear Friends,
  We welcome guest student cantor Ilana Goldman to our Shabbat evening service (7:30 PM).

  The Torah portion is a big one- the Ten Commandments, and we'll explore the meaning of the fifth, honoring parents.
 
  Our oneg is being sponsored by two other guests, well-known to our congregation: Virginia Gitter, in honor of her son Cary's play opening off-Broadway, and my mother, Barbara Schwartz, at the first yarzheit for my father.

  Ever hear of kabbalah- Jewish mysticism? At our Shabbat morning Torah study (10:00 AM) we'll look at the rise of this phenomena in medieval Europe.

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

PS- It's Presidents Day Weekend, and school is on break.
       Purim is coming- Mon. eve Mar.9- mark your calendar!

Guest Cantorial Schedule

Feb. 4, 2020
Dear Friends,
  We are very pleased to announce that four cantorial guests will be singing at select Shabbat evening services over the next four months.
   Cantor Kathy Barr will sing this week (Tu Bishvat) as well as on Mar. 6, Apr.3, Apr.24 (Yom HaShoah) and May 29 (Shavuot).
   Student Cantor Ilana Goldman will sing on Feb. 14, Mar.13 and Apr. 17.
   Student Cantor Robyn Streitman will sing on Feb. 28, Mar. 27 and May 8.
   Reina Stern will sing on Feb.21, Mar.20 (family services), May 1 and May 15 (Confirmation). 
   
    We encourage you to meet our guests and enjoy this wonderful musical diversity.
    
Shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

Our annual Purim Spiel will take place Monday, March 9. We will be singing four songs taken from Lance’s previous spiels.

This year there will be no heavy, cumbersome script books to lug. All the dialogue will be improvised! We will have 4-6 rehearsals on Tuesdays nights beginning Feb. 11. Michael Fishbein will be directing the show, unless someone competent wants to.

The story of Purim will inspire the spiel, but the dialogue in each scene will be improvised. You can be as quirky or nutty or heroic as you want to be and we will all work together to bring off a great show. No long rehearsals if things go according to plan. Perhaps one rehearsal the Sunday before the spiel.

Be brave! Be silly! Be beautiful! Be evil! Be heroic! It’s Purim!!

If you are interested in participating in this once-and-never-again spiel, please email michaelrfishbein@gmail.com.

This Week at Adas Emuno Jan. 30, 2020 Dear Friends,    This past week marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and in Israel there was an unprecedented gathering of world leaders to mark the occasion.What lessons are we to learn from this? I 'd like to share a provocative piece in this regard at our Shabbat evening service (7:30 PM).      Much has been made of the "Golden Age" of Spanish Jewry. That's the next subject of our year-long Turning Points in Jewish History at our Shabbat morning Torah study (10:00 AM).      For those who enjoy community learning the annual Sweet Tastes of Torah evening takes place at Temple Israel of Ridgewood this Saturday night (6:30 PM).      And please mark you calendar: our annual Seder Tu Bishvat follows our service next week on the 7th, as does a special Tot program for the holiday on the 9th. Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Schwartz

This Week at Adas Emuno

Jan. 16, 2020
Dear Friends,
  As we enter the Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, and begin the book of Exodus in our annual Torah reading cycle, we'll look at the connection between the two at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).

   Our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM) begins its second semester of Turning Points in Jewish History with the epic event that transformed the Jews and Judaism- the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple.

    At our Sunday school service (and Confirmation) we will also celebrate the legacy of Dr. King and the Exodus.

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Schwartz

Lance will be filling in for the Rabbi the next two weeks. Lance will lead services this Friday and next week. His d’var torah will focus on the poet Emma Lazarus. Lance writes:

We all know the lines, "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," which are engraved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, but how much do you know about the greatest Jewish-American writer of the 19th century, native New Yorker Emma Lazarus? This week's d'var torah will be devoted to the story of the woman whose words helped to shape and define our national character and gave voice to the aspirations of the Jewish people, and will include readings of her poetry.

This Week at Adas Emuno

Dec. 28, 2019
Dear Friends,
  Our celebration of Hanukkah continues at our Shabbat- Hanukkah Evening Service (7:00PM), when we first light our outdoor menorah and then our 119 year-old congregational menorah.
  Since this is the last service of the secular year, its also time for my annual The Rabbi's Top-Ten Jewish News Stories of the Year.

  The next morning we finish the first semester of Turning Points in Jewish History at our Shabbat morning Torah study (10:00 AM). 

     On Saturday evening join us for lighting, latkes, dreidels, and song at our Community Hanukkah Party (7:00 PM). Bring your menorah and latkes (if they are better than Trader Joe's!).

Shabbat shalom and Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year,
Rabbi Schwartz

PS Please note that religious school resumes on Jan. 5, Torah study on Jan. 18 and Lance Strate will graciously fill in for me with the cantor at services on Jan. 3 and 10.