Happy New Year to you all!
Let me be among the first to wish you a happy and sweet new year! While I am not good about keeping up with the year based on our Jewish calendar, I believe we will be starting the year 5778 and I hope it is a good year for all of us!
An Afternoon with Mystery Author Debra H. Goldstein was a Hit!
Many thanks to Michelle Bernstein, Karen Goldstein and all of the Membership Committee for all the time and effort you put into arranging for Debra Goldstein’s visit this past Sunday. Many thanks, too, to everyone who brought refreshments to share during the event. Debra’s presentation was delightful and very well attended by our Temple members as well as others from the Shoals community. I think Debra was very pleased with the turnout and I know she sold quite a few books!
Thanks also to all that played host/hostess to Debra while she was here:
- Alvin Rosenbaum who gave Debra a tour of the Temple, the Rosenbaum house and various sights around Florence
- Buddy and Michelle Bernstein who hosted a dinner for Debra on Saturday evening
- Kerry and Sara Shapiro and Tim and Emily Kelley who hosted Debra for lunch on Sunday
Planning for the High Holidays
Howard Zeff is still looking for additional volunteers to help plan our Rosh Hashanah O’neg and our Yom Kippur Break-the-Fast. In addition, volunteers are needed to help set-up prior-to and to help clean-up following each event. AND, everyone is asked to please bring a sweet of some kind for the Erev Rosh Hashanah O’neg (on September 20) as well as a covered dish for the Break-the-Fast following Yom Kippur services (on September 30). Please reach out to Howard as soon as you can and let him know how you can help!
In addition, we will hold our Annual Food Drive during the holidays. As always, members are asked to bring in non-perishable food items to donate to the Help Center. The flyers and bags will be handed out before and after services on Rosh Hashanah.
High Holidays Schedule
Sorry about the incorrect dates I had for Yom Kippur services last week…these have been corrected (a few items have been added:
- Erev Rosh Hashanah – Wednesday, September 20th – 7:00pm
- Rosh Hashanah morning service – Thursday, September 21st – 10:00am.
- Cemetery memorial service – Sunday, September 24th– 11:00am (Oakwood Cemetery, Sheffield)
- Erev Yom Kippur – Friday, September 29nd – 7:00 pm
- Yom Kippur morning service – Saturday, September 30th – 10:00am
- Yom Kippur afternoon discussion – Saturday, September 30th – 3:00pm
- Yom Kippur memorial service – Saturday, September 30th – 4:00pm
- Yom Kippur concluding service – Saturday, September 30th – 5:00pm
- Yom Kippur break-the-fast – Saturday, September 30th – 6:00pm
- Sukkah – Friday, October 6th – specific times to be announced soon
Donations
In addition, please remember our Temple when you make your charitable donation choices! Celebrate a loved one, mark a simcha, commemorate a Yarhzeit or other lifecycle event in happiness or in sorrow, through a donation to Temple B’nai Israel. Also, please remember Temple B’nai Israel in your will and estate plans. Such donations are an important way to ensure that the Temple will continue to serve our Jewish community with weekly services, Torah study, Jewish programming and social events. The form for making donations is available in the foyer at the Temple and will soon be available via our website.
Service Schedule
The service schedule for September throught October is as follows:
- September 20-21 – Rabbi Nancy/Rosh Hashanah
- September 22 – Rabbi Nancy/Shabbat Shuvah
- September 29-30 – Rabbi Nancy/Yom Kippur
- October 6 – Robert Adler
- October 13 – Buddy Bernstein
- October 20 – Rabbi Nancy
- October 27 – Rabbi Nancy
As always, congregants and members of the Shoals community, at large, are invited to attend the weekly Torah Study session which is held each Saturday morning at 9:30, at the Temple.
Reminder items:
- Holiday services – see schedule and requests for volunteers, above
If you are aware of something in the community that you would like me to draw some attention to in my message, please let me know! And, as always, if you have any announcements you would like for me to share with our membership, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week and I look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday evening!
Shalom!
Traci Welch
