Hello everyone.
If you have been anything like me, you have been glued to your TV watching the news about hurricane Harvey and the impact it had – and continues to have – all along the TX coast. Of course, I might be a bit more sensitive to it all in that I grew up in Corpus Christi and I still have friends and family in the area as well as in and around Houston, but I know all of you are praying for those impacted as well. In addition, I have been asked about what we might be able to do to help and, while there are a variety of ways that have been shared on TV, if you want to provide support through a Jewish agency, I am including some information on that, below. Thanks to Marty Abroms for forwarding this information to me!
Despite all the devastation going on there, our lives do continue here and there are a number of things I want to be sure and share with you about upcoming events.
An Afternoon with Mystery Author Debra H. Goldstein
You are invited to a book talk and signing by Jewish author Debra Goldstein from Birmingham, Alabama, hosted jointly by Temple B’nai Israel and the Florence Public Library. The event will be held on Sunday, September 17, 2017 at 2 pm at the Library. The Temple will host light refreshments following the book talk at the Library. Please plan to attend!
Debra Goldstein is a former judge and litigator turned author, and she travels all over the country and throughout the South to speak at venues including Temples, Sisterhoods and other Jewish organizations about her deeply rooted connection to Judaism and how her faith and social issues find their way into her books because of her background as a civic volunteer, Holocaust survivor’s daughter and judge. She makes regular appearances at book festivals and conferences throughout the U.S.
Please help to support this event by both attending AND volunteering to bring or provide a covered tray of cookies, cheese and crackers, fruit and/or other light snacks for the refreshments following the book talk. A case of bottled water would also be very helpful! Contact Michelle Bernstein to volunteer for refreshments. Please share this invitation with anyone who might be interested!
High Holidays Are Almost Here
…and your help is needed! Howard Zeff is looking for 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! (See the full holiday schedule, below.)
In addition, we will hold our Annual Food Drive during the holidays. I will share more details on this next week but please plan to donate!
Historic Plaque
Many thanks to all of you who have made donations to support the installation of a historic plaque outside the Temple! It is evident, through your donations, that the plaque is something the congregation strongly supports, so we will be moving forward with getting that in place as soon as possible. The next big step is getting the proper message developed and that will likely take a few rounds of editing to get it just right. So, be patient with us, just know we are moving forward. If you have not made a donation and would still like to do so, please send it along to the Temple P.O. Box (Temple B’nai Israel, P.O. Box 632 Florence, AL 35631) and clearly mark your check as “historic plaque donation.”
Helping Out in Areas Impacted by Harvey
A message from Richard Sandler, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Jerry Silverman, President and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America:
JFNA has opened an emergency relief fund to support communities and individuals in Houston, San Antonio, Galveston, Corpus Christi and other areas that have been hammered by Hurricane Harvey.
Lee Wunsch, CEO of the Houston Federation, reports that the amount of rain and resulting flooding has surpassed that of the massive storm two years ago. Bayous and tributaries are flooding beyond their banks and roads are impassable. People whose homes are flooding are being advised to go up to their roofs so they can be evacuated; emergency workers were evacuating stranded residents through the night.
We know that several Jewish communal institutions that flooded two years ago have flooded again, but communities in the affected areas won’t be able to start assessing the scope of damage to institutions and members of their communities until the rain stops and roads become passable.
Please alert your community members to the mounting toll of this storm and encourage donations to the emergency relief fund that has now been established.
You can access the relief fund link by clicking on this link: https://secure3.convio.net/jfna/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app363b?df_id=3860&mfc_pref=T&3860.donation=form1&NONCE_TOKEN=E4E34DFA15C605D5D8243221A66F97C7
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 1 – Buddy Bernstein
- September 8 – Ken Wolf
- September 15 – Rabbi Nancy
- 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:
- Debra Goldstein at the FLPL – Sunday, September 17, 2:00 – please contact Michelle Bernstein for volunteer opportunities
- Erwin’s book is available for purchase – see Howard Zeff to purchase your copy now!
- Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur 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 you all have a wonderful week! Don and I have a conflict again this Friday so I will not be attending services – if you were at the Ritz on Thursday, August 24, you know what I mean. Hope to see you next Friday!
Shalom!
Traci Welch
