September 2021
Elul 5781/Tishrei 5782
Click here to access the monthly calendar or call 206-567-9414 for event details.
September
- 4 Shabbat Meditation
- 6 Erev Rosh Hashana
- 7 Rosh Hashana
- 13 Kugelettes
- 15 Kol Nidre
- 16 Yom Kippur
- 16 Yizkor
- 16 Neilah
COMMUNITY
Mazel Tov to Paul Kerbrat and Rachel Kerbrat on their recent (Paul) and upcoming (Rachel) retirements. Best wishes for new adventures and plenty of time to enjoy them!
Our community’s would like to express our appreciation and gratitude to Jared Stahl for his work in Oregon in helping contain the forest fires there.
Siman Tov and Mazel Tov to Dan and Marilyn Gottlieb on the marriage of their daughter Bex to Dogu Erk. Bex is working for a UN agency in Cambridge, England.
TIKKUN OLAM
AFGHAN REFUGEE AID:
We should have our donations in for Afghanistan Refugee aid by September 3rd to Shir Hayam. Thanks for your generosity!–Contact Jane Greenberg for more information or questions.
CROPWALK:
CROPWALK will be going hybrid this year because of COVID-19. This year’s BI/NK CROP Hunger Walk is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 26, 2 pm, beginning and ending at Eagle Harbor Congregational in Winslow. We are encouraging Walkers to walk in person on Walk day, or walk on their own as they are comfortable.
The monies donated go to Church World Service (75%), Helpline House food bank (20%), and North Kitsap Fishline (5%). We have a matching donor who in past years has matched monies raised dollar for dollar. This year they have offered to double their match with a ceiling of $40,000. The Walk has historically raised $14-20,000 per Walk, so this generous offer gives us an opportunity to make providing $60,000 for hunger relief locally and around the globe a reachable goal.
Church World Services (CWS) has resettlement offices in numerous countries welcoming Afghan families as they arrive in their new communities. This is another way to offer assistance for Afghanis, if one chooses.
Anyone who wishes to participate can do so. Please contact Denise Brown if interested in walking, joining the Chavurat Shir Hayam CropWalk team, or wishing to donate.
You can donate or join the walk here. If anyone prefers to give a check, they can do so by mailing it to Chavurat Shir Hayam, PO Box 11142 Bainbridge Island WA 98110. Anyone can join our team and raise additional money; we tend to be one of the top donor groups for the BI/NK team.
HIGH HOLIDAYS
2021 / 5782
SHIR HAYAM HIGH HOLY DAYS SCHEDULE
It will be lovely to be together!
| Rabbi Lavey Derby will lead us through the Days of Awe (see below) This year’s theme – Moving Into Hope. Services are also available on the Shir Hayam ZOOM link for those who cannot attend. Masks are required for everyone 3 years of age and older. |
FINALLY! Shir Hayam is very excited to be returning to in-person High Holiday services this year! And, we are incredibly pleased to be welcoming Rabbi Lavey Derby (pronounced Darby) to lead us through these Days of Awe. In all of our exchanges with him, Rabbi Derby has been warm, delightful and very knowledgeable and approachable. Please go to Shirhayam.org to read, in his own words, about his personal journey as a rabbi and educator. And see below for Reb Lavey’s thoughts on this year’s theme: Moving Into Hope.
Questions? Call (206) 567-9414 or go to www.shirhayam.org
| SERVICE | DAY, DATE & TIME | SPECIAL NOTES |
| Erev Rosh Hashanah | Monday, 9/6 5:00 p.m. | We are starting early since we are meeting outside and want to embrace the daylight. NO DESSERT POTLUCK this year. Ruach will supply a challah and wine/juice for all of us to bless and enjoy. |
Rosh Hashanah Day Service Learning/discussion with Reb Lavey Tashlich | Tuesday, 9/7, 9:00 a.m. 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. | Bring your lunch if you are staying for the discussion. Led by Reb Lavey |
| Erev Yom Kippur/Kol Nidre | Wednesday, 9/15 5:30 p.m. | We are starting early to embrace the daylight. |
| Yom Kippur Day Service Yizhor Service Ne’ila Service Break-the-fast picnic | Thursday 9/16, 9:30 a.m. 2:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. | Led by Reb Lavey. Bring a chair or blanket to sit on. For Yizhor Service, to protect ourselves and each other from COVID-19, we ask that each person/family bring a break-the-fast meal for themselves and a blanket to sit on. |
| PLEASE BRING THE FOLLOWING TO SERVICES: |
We will be setting up one or more overhead tents at the Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church Labyrinth and chairs (with a minimum of six feet between each – feel free to move chairs closer for your family). And please bring the following:
- Arrive wearing a mask – everyone in your family 3 years of age and older.
- A coat, hat or other warm clothing for cool weather. Sunscreen for warm weather.
- Break-the-fast picnic: Food for you/your family, plates and utensils.
- A blanket for the picnic, unless you want to sit in chairs.
| Reb Lavey on this year’s theme: MOVING INTO HOPE |
These Days of Awe offer the invitation to contemplate and be intentional about re-emerging into the world during a long period of a world pandemic. Where have we been and where are we now? What middot – soul qualities – must we cultivate to help us on the journey? What hindrances will we encounter on the way? What wisdom can we draw upon from the experiences of our ancestors and from Jewish teaching?
The journey to hope begins by acknowledging our true feelings. As we look to the future, we also acknowledge that we don’t know what will happen. And then this thought arises: I do not have control. The more we struggle with uncertainty and lack of control, the greater our fear grows.
The challenge to all of us becomes: Can we accept this moment as it is? When we can sit without judgment of our experience, and watch it change, day-by-day, week-by-week, news-story-by-news-story, we can open to what is true. At that moment we can access powerful tools to help us. The mind becomes clearer, and our deepest wisdom guides us. The heart opens with compassion for ourselves and others. We see all those we hold dear and know that we will find our way together. Perhaps we may even find a deep faith that even here, in this difficult situation, there is something to learn and that we are being guided.
At the conclusion of Yom Kippur, we pray Ne’ila, which means “closing.” The image we are offered is that we are standing at the gate of heaven and the gate is closing and we have only a few more minutes to plead our case. I see it differently. The gate is not closing, it is wide open, waiting, beckoning us. On the other side, all possibility is found. The gate will take us anywhere, but we need to consciously step through it. And the question is, what gate will we walk through? We can walk through the gate of hope or the gate of anxiety. We can walk through the gate of anger or the gate of compassion. We can walk through the gate of fear and paralysis or the gate of agency and growth. We can walk through the gate of love or we can turn our backs and walk away. The gate is open and waiting for us, and we must choose.
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Simchat Torah/Sukkot Celebration details * To be Determined
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Spiritual Counseling
Reb Lavey is available for spiritual counseling while he is here.
Please contact him directly to arrange a time and place to meet: reblavey@gmail.com
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SPECIAL SHABBAT MORNING MEDITATION
Linda and Dick Golden will host a Shabbat Morning Meditation on Saturday, Sept 4, 9:00 – 9:30 AM at the Shir Hayam Zoom Room. All are invited.
Request for Set-Up and Take Down for Services:
To everyone who attends HH services:
Please Sign Up for the set up/take down crew
(your Chavurah will love you for it)
We are putting together an important crew to set up/take down chairs,a few tables, lights, overhead tents, the Torah and Ark
Specifics for crew jobs will be coming soon. Set up times slots are listed below. Take down times are at the conclusion of each service.
- Set up– Erev Rosh Hashana: Monday, 10:00 AM. (services begin at 5 p.m.).
- Set up – Rosh Hashana Day: Tuesday, 9/7 around 8:30 a.m. (services begin at 9:30 a.m.).
- Set up – Erev Yom Kippur: Wednesday, 9/15 10:00 AM (services begin at 5:30 p.m.).
- Set up – Yom Kippur Day: Thursday, 9/16 around 8:30 (services begin at 9:30).
- Set up – Neila/Break the Fast: Thursday 9/16, 4:00 pm (services begin
at 5 p.m.).
Please email or call Nina Rogozen or Steven Soltar to sign up for this mitzvah. (For as many set up/take downs as you can).
Your Ruach Committee thanks you in advance!
COORDINATING COMMITTE:
New Coordinating Committee named: 27 Jun 2021 Annual Meeting – Jon Garfunkel, Jane Greenberg, Jessica Lang, Sharon Rutzick, Paul Travis, Cay Vandervelde
First CC Meeting held: 14 Aug 2021 – Review of prior year accomplishments
Next CC Meeting (tentative): 26 Sept 2021 – Select officers, Prioritize open action items, Plan completion of Governance Doc revisions
THANK YOU To Rachel Kerbrat!
Our community newsletter is one of the most important ways we build and sustain our chavurah. This newsletter has been produced and distributed for two decades by Rachel Kerbrat, whose leadership and commitment to it has been so important in keeping us connected, informed, and sustained. Please join me in recognizing Rachel’s contributions over these many years, and thanking her immensely, as she moves into a well-deserved new chapter of her life.
I take over the reins in full acknowledgment that it will take me awhile to master the skills that Rachel brought to each issue, but I will attempt to follow the example she set. On behalf of the chavurah, I thank Rachel for all the years of dedication, creativity, and commitment that she brought to this newsletter.
Jeff Brown
SPECIAL EVENT:
The Suquamish Tribe and the Kitsap Dispute Resolution Center are sponsoring a free 4-part lecture series in webcast format. History and present day issues of the tribe and its place in our community. Info and Registration at:
https://www.kitsapgov.com/BOC_p/Pages/Port-Madison-Dialogues.aspx —