Parshat Re'eh
August 15, 2020 / 25 Av 5780
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What to Expect When You Are Zooming - Shabbat Morning
At this week’s Shabbat services, we will use a slightly different electronic format. Until now, we have used a Zoom webinar, in which only some participants can be seen and heard, while most attendees are not visible. This week, we will use a regular Zoom meeting, in which all participants can be seen in their own individual windows, for maximum communal togetherness.
This system has certain Jewish advantages and gives each of us a special role. At Mt. Sinai God called Israel “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Whether we have liturgical roles or not, each of us is a kohen/priest, or a shaliah tzibbur/prayer leader, shaping the experience of our fellow worshipers. How can we do that best?
It’s easier when we davven together in the synagogue, where we already know how to participate appropriately and helpfully. In this new virtual sacred space, it may take time to feel comfortable and learn the small things we can do to enhance our own experience and those of others.
You are a Leader: Please keep in mind that your fellow Zoom attendees can see you throughout the service either as one of the small windows in the “Gallery-View” or center-screen on “Spotlight-View.”
And People Follow: Please remember that the model we set on-screen shapes how your fellow attendees experience our services. So please smile, wave and davven with focus. That way you will inspire others to engage in the tefillah with similar enthusiasm. Of course, no one pays rapt attention at every minute. But please remember that when people look bored or distracted, that also affects how others engage.
Raise your voice: Yes, you will be muted during most of the service. But everyone watching notices when you sing along with the group or clap in time. Nothing communicates enthusiastic participation like singing.
Create a Holy Space: Physical surroundings affect how we experience tefillah. Please create a tidy space, against an attractive background, that stimulates spiritual and reverent feeling in yourself and those watching. Please front-light yourselves – no standing in front of windows! – so we can see your beautiful faces.
Dress for Success: Similarly, clothing and appearance shape the prayer experience for yourself and others. Dress as you would to attend Shabbat services in person. Please wear a kippah and tallit, if you can. Dressing for shul will help you feel ready to davven.
When will you sign in? We have set this up so that people can log in to the Zoom session as early as 7:15pm Friday, before Shabbat begins. Then, if you disable your computer's sleep function, the call will still be there the next morning. We will begin tefillah itself promptly at 9:45am.
This Shabbat morning, and in the weeks ahead, we will recite prayers for healing during our morning services. Since most participants will be muted, you won't get to call out the name of those you have in mind. If you'd like to give Rabbi Kalmanofsky the name of an ailing friend or loved one, please email the names to him at RJK@AnscheChesed.org and include your relationship to the person you are praying for. When/if the person you've been praying for is doing better, please let us know, so we can joyfully remove them from this list!
We are grateful to the Rabbinical Assembly (RA) for making Siddur Lev Shalem and Re'eh (Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17; Isaiah 54:11 - 55:5) from the Etz Hayim Chumash available to us as PDF's. During our Zoom services, we will typically read a smaller quantity of Torah than we do in person. At Ansche Chesed we usually read the Torah in an annual cycle, covering about 2 percent of the whole Torah each week. Many Conservative synagogues read a "triennial" cycle, completing the cycle every three years, reading one-third of each parasha each week. This shorter reading is not our first choice, but what is nowadays? To keep services shorter we will usually adopt the triennial division. The weekly announcement will inform you of just what we're reading.
If you prefer, you can buy your own hard copy of Siddur Lev Shalem through the RA website, linked here. We will also try to announce the pages from Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat which some of you may have at home. You can also follow along with the Torah reading from home with a Chumash or Tanakh, like the ones linked here.
If downloading the PDF's or buying your own siddur or Bible presents a difficulty for you, please email Rabbi Kalmanofsky and we will do our best to assist you.
We hope that everyone will be able to fully participate with us!
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Kabbalat Shabbat:Today, if You But Heed the Voice Friday, 6:30pm Via Zoom
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Sanctuary Services: Saturday, 9:45am Via Zoom
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TeleTefila Services: Saturday, 10am Via Zoom
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TeleTefila Havdallah: Service Saturday, 8:37pm Via Zoom
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Haftara: Isaiah 54:11 -55:5
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The Un-Distancing Hour: Thursday, 5:30pm Via Zoom
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Thank you to Tali Etra who picked up 500 free face masks and drove them back here for Ansche Chesed, supplied to us by New York City. |
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Join us in mourning the death of Manny Gold, a dear member of our larger community. |
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Monday-Friday at 7:30am
Sunday at 8:30am
or call: 929 205 6099
meeting ID: 933 006 171
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Kabbalat Shabbat: Today, if You But Heed the Voice
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One of the Kabbalat Shabbat Psalms is the trigger text for one of the most beloved and profound Midrashic tales, of how the Messianic era is close at hand - if only we are ready for it. Join us this week to learn the midrash and sing the Psalm.
Please join the Ansche Chesed clergy for a shortened Kabbalat Shabbat to reconnect with our community as well as find nourishment and inspiration in the music and words of our tradition.
Please click in at 6:15pm for some time to schmooze and greet each other first, the ritual gathering will start at 6:30pm.
or call
929 205 6099,
Meeting ID: 963 5239 9155
Passcode: 716912
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WE ARE YOUR PEOPLE / Ki Anu Amecha Project
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We hope that you will take part in creating a virtual tefilah recording, so when we join together online during the High Holidays, from wherever we find ourselves, we will still be able to see and hear each other sing with a full heart, and join with a full voice.
We ask you to record a video of yourself (or your whole family!) singing one of our beloved High Holiday melodies, Ki Anu Amecha, from the comfort and safety of your own home. You'll be singing along with Natasha's voice on the guide track. (You'll notice that the guide track has a piano accompaniment. That is just to help us stay together during the recording process; it won't be heard on the final video).
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Join us at 3pm for virtual mindfulness meditation and contemplative practices to help us keep centered in these unpredictable times. A number of our fellow congregants are experienced meditation leaders and will act as facilitators. Through the wonders of technology, we can enjoy the power of meditating together as a community.
No prior meditation experience is necessary.
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To Schmooze or not to Schmooze: The Un-Distancing Hour
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We'd like to announce the rebranding and re-imagining of the Thursday afternoon Kiddush cocktail hour, which has been a lovely way for people to connect during this crazy time. But we thought it needed a transformation into something a bit more specific.
Before the pandemic, Kiddush has traditionally been a way for people at Ansche Chesed to connect with one another, to share milestones, to kvetch and moan a bit, to express support to friends who are going through one of life's many struggles, or even to share a joke. It's informal, unstructured, and enables people to check in and out as they please. The Pre-Shabbat Un-Distancing Hour is a way to enable people to get together and continue doing that with one another, for one another.
So join us with your paper cup of seltzer or beverage of your choice. Looking forward to schmoozing.
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Were you hoping to join us for a program, but life just got in the way? Did you attend a program, but feel like if you are every really going to be able to make challah, you need to see it again?
Don't worry, throughout these strange times, we have recorded a variety of our classes, and they are all available for you to enjoy and share. Visit our website to see which classes are available.
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We hope you will renew your membership with Congregation Ansche Chesed.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, we will not be mailing out membership renewal forms this year and prefer that you renew your membership online. Please click HERE to renew your membership and security fees.
If you wish to pay by check, please email Martin and request a paper application be emailed to you. On the paper application, please remember to mark your membership dues pledge and security fee and mail the application and check to Congregation Ansche Chesed.
We are so grateful that over 300 members have already rejoined, and affirmed their commitment to our community.
While there are no seats for the High Holidays this year, if you renew by August 31st this year, and renew on time next year, we promise to save your seats for next year!
Please see the list of those who have already renewed in our Tuesday email, and follow their lead so that you too can be included next week.
Congregation Ansche Chesed
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SOCIAL ACTION/COMMUNITY SERVICE |
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Your Response Matters
Parts of NYC have less than 60% of households filling out the questionnaire.
Health clinics. Fire departments. Schools. Even roads and highways. The census can shape many different aspects of your community.
Census results help determine how billions of dollars in federal funding flow into the states and communities each year.
The results determine how many seats in Congress each state gets.
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The COVID Rent Relief Program |
The COVID Rent Relief Program will provide eligible households with a one-time rental subsidy that will be sent directly to the household’s landlord. Applicants will not need to repay this assistance. The Covid Rent Relief Program is not first come, first served. Applications will be accepted throughout the two-week application period. HCR will prioritize eligible households with “greatest economic and social need” accounting for income, rent burden, percent of income lost and risk of homelessness.
The rental assistance payment will cover the difference between the household’s rent burden on March 1, 2020 and the increase in rent burden for the months the household is applying for assistance. Households can apply for up to four months in rental assistance.
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Join The Sanctuary Service Committee |
Our Sanctuary Steering Committee is composed of lay leaders who help recruit our members to take on various roles in the services along with our clergy. The roles within the SSC may be different in the time of online services, but its members' contributions are as important and appreciated as ever. We want to thank Naomi Marcus for completing her two year service as the Leyning Coordinator. If you would like to be considered for a position on the SSC, please let us know at SSCNominate@Anschechesed.org
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In these times, many members are reaching out to contact other members. Ansche Chesed does have an online directory for members. You will need your password to access the directory or to update your own information. You may click on the membership directory here.
On the membership directory page, click on "edit my account info" to setup your directory listing.
Members need to voluntarily opt-in to the membership directory as we want to protect everyone's privacy. Those that do not wish to be placed in the directory will not be.
If you never setup or can't remember your password, email Martin Sivorinovsky and he will email you a link to setup a new password.
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AC Professional Skills Directory |
Our members possess a multitude of different skills and areas of expertise. With that in mind, we have compiled a directory of congregants who are willing and able to help each other with issues that have arisen because of the pandemic. It is available here.
Our directory is being update on a rolling basis, so if you have a useful service you would like to offer (such as landlord/tenant law, financial advice, IT support, etc) , please contact AC member Nicole Grunfeld at nicole.grunfeld@gmail.com with your name, contact info, a short description of the service you can provide, and a note about your fees (including whether you can offer any complimentary support and/or an AC discount).
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We Want To Meet Your Needs |
A community like ours is often closely linked through prayer and study, and by celebrating Shabbat, holidays and weekdays. In these terribly difficult times, we can feel cut off from the resources that keep us going.
We at Ansche Chesed want to provide our members with sources of strength, hope, and resilience. Please let us know what you need: What will help you? What is AC doing now that is a valuable resource for you, connecting you to others and to faith? What is missing for you? What can we do to help you meet this challenge?
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Payments to Ansche Chesed |
As our offices are closed during the Covid19 epidemic please make all payments and donate via our website rather than write checks.
If you must write a check, please wait until you hear from us that the offices are open again.
Thanks,
Ansche Chesed
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Programming Ideas
We are working hard to create program and connection during these complicated times. We hope to increase our programming options, and would love to hear from you with ideas for programming.
Do you have an idea for something that you would like to learn, or something you could teach, or a resource that might be great for our community? If you do, please email druskay@anschechesed.org to share your idea.
Share What You've Found
If you are like us, you have seen lots of exciting programs online these days. Some of them may be Jewish, some cultural, and some just for fun. Please visit our facebook page and share what you have found with us and our community.
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AC Kavod 2020
During this difficult time, there may be members of our community who could use some extra support -- someone to help buy groceries, or even just someone to talk to. If you need anything, please send an email to ackavod2020@gmail.com and one of our Ansche Chesed volunteers will get in touch with you. If you are interested in joining our volunteer force, please email ackavod2020@gmail.com
Bikkur Cholim
As we are all concerned over the coronavirus, the Ansche Chesed community is here for you. If you feel you might be getting sick -- especially if you are older or alone, or you know people who are -- please let Rabbi Kalmanofsky and Rabbi Hammerman know. They, and other members of the bikkur cholim committee will be in touch, and make sure you are not alone.
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Ansche Chesed is pleased to announce it has joined with other New York synagogues and communal organizations in an initiative called What Matters: Caring Conversations About End of Life. This effort aims to heighten awareness around the importance of completing advance care directives, and enable individuals to thoughtfully consider and document their end of life preferences, with opportunities to engage Jewish values as part of the process. Confidential conversations are conducted by trained and certified Ansche Chesed facilitators, who are available to answer important questions and help walk you through the process, clarifying your goals and wishes for future healthcare and related choices in case you are unable to speak for yourself.
We look forward to working with you on this important initiative. Should you wish to schedule a conversation, please eMail, whatmatters@anschechesed.org, or leave a message at (212)865.0600 x201, and we will be in touch with you as soon as possible.
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Do you know someone who is ill or in need of temporary support? The Bikkur Cholim Committee is here to help. |
If you know someone who is ill and in need of a visit or a meal, or other assistance, please contact the Bikkur Cholim committee. The Bikkur Cholim committee helps care for Ansche Chesed members who are ill or have been hospitalized. We visit them; telephone and send cards; provide meals, especially for Shabbat; shop for them; and escort them to doctors' appointments.
Click here for more information on life cycle support at Ansche Chesed.
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AC is Collecting Eyeglasses |
More than two billion people globally need glasses but lack access due to income, distance, or disaster. Seeing clearly provides the opportunity for adults and children to succeed at school or work, and care for their families. Eye Make A Difference, a VSP Global Eyes of Hope program, is a no-cost way for companies, individuals, and organizations to donate glasses to help those in need. Please drop off your eyeglasses to the office! |
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If you or anyone you know may be at risk of deportation, please review these Know Your Rights flyers provided by Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights and Immigrant Defense Project.
Click here to view, download, and share all the information you need.
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Student Poll Worker Program |
The NYC Board of Elections (BOE) is preparing for the upcoming elections in September and November of this year. The BOE is accepting applications for the 17 year old Student Poll Worker Program, which is the a program that allows students to become civically involved in the community and also prepares them to learn about politics, current issues facing the community, and educates them about the election process while they serve as a poll worker on Election Day.
Requirements for Student Poll Workers:
- Be 17 years old by Election Day with permission from school officials and parents/guardians
- Be a US citizen
- Bilingual students fluent in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Hindi, and Bengali
Spaces are limited so apply early! You can call 718-797-8800 to get an application.
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Weekly Pandemic Support Group
Mondays at 7pm
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COVID19 has led to a significant amount of stress, and many people need a space of connection and support. The Jewish Board of Family and Children Services (JBFCS) is sponsoring a special support group to help those who are struggling, to get through the current pandemic. These Zoom sessions will be facilitated by Jessica Cohen, LMSW.
Please contact Jessica with any additional questions, concerns or to receive information about joining by email or at 347-735-0583.
JOIN VIA ZOOM
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Before COVID-19, The New York Blood Center came to you. Now we need you to come to us! Congregation Ansche Chesed invites you to donate blood at an NYBC donor center or local community blood drive near you! Visit nybc.org/donate to find a location near you or Contact Elaine Peralta 646.300.5051 or eperalta@nybc.org for an appointment.
Donate between now and August 31. Use group code 10122 to be a part of this special lifesaving “virtual” event.
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The Ansche Chesed CSA WILL be continuing this year, with socially distanced weekly pick-ups on Wednesdays from 12-1pm on the sidewalk outside of Ansche Chesed.
Please visit their website for information on how to register to get farm fresh fruits and veggies.
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DOROT Onsite at Home (previously On-site programs) |
Dorot has made changes and moved all of our on-site programs onto a digital platform - these are now Zoom-based classes.
To register and receive a weekly email of the upcoming classes, please send an email that includes your name and phone number to dorotprograms@dorotusa.org. For those seniors who don't have computers or technology (smartphone/tablet/cell) with cameras, you are welcome to participate in the Zoom programming by dialing in over the phone.
If someone would like to participate in DOROT programs but doesn't know how to use Zoom, please email technologyhelp@dorotusa.org. They will be happy to connect them to one of DOROT's volunteer Tech Coaches by phone, who will be able to assist.
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Chef's Table Kosher Catering has prepared gourmet foods, delivered to customers in New York City. These are be pre-cooked, delicious kosher meals delivered right to your door.
Contact Bruce at (917)-868-7964 or his website for more information.
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If you are a member, you may send "shuk" postings to shuk@anschechesed.org. All postings must have a member's contact info, and received by Tuesday at 3pm.
Postings run for only two weeks.
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Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky
ext. 21
Rabbi Yael Hammerman
Associate Rabbi
ext. 208
Mark Paul
President
Martin Sivorinovsky
Administrative Director
ext. 216
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Hazzan Natasha Hirschhorn
Music Director
ext. 242
Joshua Hanft
Executive Director
ext. 209
Darone Ruskay
Programming Director
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Despite our best efforts and extensive proof-reading, we apologize for any errors or omissions. Please note: If you wish to be included in the Community or Shuk sections of the Weekly Newsletter (which is sent out on Thursday), please email druskay@anschechesed.org with a Word or plain text version of your title, date/time, brief blurb, and relevant link/contact info by end of business on Tuesday.
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