Whether your Thanksgiving was bustling or quiet, I hope it was a sweet one. As Chanukah approaches, I’m excited to share with you the music that’s putting me in the mood for brightening and re-dedication, even as the days continue to get darker and colder. It starts out with some dance tunes (turn off all the lights and turn your speakers up!), moves on to some weirder stuff (including Jack Black getting into it!), and ends with some truly beautiful, reflective melodies. Let me know what your favorites are on the playlist, and what you’ve been listening to you as you get ready!

This week, I’m moved by the faith and forbearance of Kevin Strickland, finally exonerated after forty-three years in prison for a crime he did not commit. You can read his story here, and join me in contributing to his Go Fund Me here. He, like most others in his position, won’t be receiving any reparations for the time he was wrongfully made to serve.

To learn more about these events (including how to register, which we require for almost all events), please visit our website calendar HERE. Also, we plan to livestream many of our in-person events. Information about how to stream can be found in the event descriptions on our website calendar.

For information about upcoming events not run by Hill Havurah that might be of interest to our community, you can click HERE.

A group of people came together over Zoom this past Sunday to begin to discuss potential community burial plans. A lot of different issues came up, and if you'd like to see what some of them were, click here. 

If you have thoughts to share, or would like to be kept up to date on this initiative, feel free to contact Howard Crystal at howard.m.crystal@gmail.com; and if you’d like to talk about your own burial plans or questions about end-of-life issues in general, reach out to Rabbi Hannah at rabbihannah@havurah.org.

1) Give money directly to the Hill Havurah link here to enable Little Lights to purchase gifts. Our goal is to raise $2,000 by Tuesday, December 14th.

2) Select a gift directly through the Little Lights Christmas Store (open until December 8th). Please mention mention Hill Havurah in the dedication portion of the donation if you use this option.

Please contact Joyce West (JWestDCA@gmail.com) of Hill Havurah's Tikkun Olam Committee with any questions. Thank you!

Please know that Hill Havurah staff members always appreciate offers of help with set-up or clean-up before or after our services or other events. If you reach out to Alan at alan.shusterman@hillhavurah.org in advance, all the better. Thank you!

If you've not entered yahrzeit information about your deceased loved ones in your hillhavurah.org account, you can at any time. If you need any help doing so, you can email Alan Shusterman for assistance.