Read the Portion on Sefaria.org - you can click a verse for commentary

PDF of the reading in Etz Hayim (Page 214)

And Timna was a concubine to Eliphaz, Esau's son, and she bore to Eliphaz, Amalek (36:12) וְתִמְנַע הָיְתָה פִילֶגֶשׁ לֶאֱלִיפַז בֶּן־עֵשָׂו וַתֵּלֶד לֶאֱלִיפַז אֶת־עֲמָלֵק

  … and Lotan’s sister was Timna…(36:22) וַאֲחוֹת לוֹטָן תִּמְנָע

This year, in the third triennial (when we read the last third of each Torah portion), we are treated to a full 43 verses detailing the lineage of Jacob’s boorish brother Esau. The most dramatic detail in this section is the birth of Amalek, the namesake of Israel’s paradigmatic enemy.  Amalek achieves this status of enemy par excellence by attacking the weakest of the Israelites as they first enter the desert after the exodus from Egypt. The conflict with Amalek continues throughout the biblical text, and is the basis of the Purim story. Blotting out the memory of Amalek is a commandment in the Torah, hence the custom on Purim of making noise to blot out the name “Haman,” a descendent of Amalek, during the reading of the Megillah [Scroll of Esther].

What is the purpose of [writing], ‘And Lotan's sister was Timna (Gen. 36:22)’? It is because Timna was a royal princess, as it is written, ‘alluf Lotan’ (Gen. 36:28) and ‘alluf Timna’ (Gen. 36:40). 'Alluf' (אלוף) means an uncrowned ruler. Desiring to become a convert, Timna went to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but they did not accept her. So she went and became a concubine to Eliphaz the son of Esau, saying, 'I would rather be a servant to this people than a mistress of another nation.' From her Amalek was descended who afflicted Israel. Why so? — Because they should not have rejected her. (Talmud, Sanhedrin 99b)

To mark his father's first yahrzeit, Rabbi Lewis will offer a teaching in his honor as part of the Torah service. Following the service, those attending in person are invited to a short outdoor Kiddush (cookies by Janet Cline).

The TAA Food Drive for the Open Door was a wonderful success! 

Did you grow up in Gloucester or summer on Cape Ann as a child? Do you have a story or an experience you would like to share?

How was the Gloucester of the mid-to-late 20th-century different from what we know today? Can you talk about the time when many of the Main Street merchants were Jewish? What were services like in the old Temple building? What were the big social activities? What was your Hebrew School like, down in the basement? How did you celebrate your bar or bat mitzvah? What was it like to go to the local schools?

We are planning a round table, either in person or on zoom, depending on when this event takes place. It will have a Story Corps format. This will be fascinating for the whole congregation.

If you have a story to share, please click here and fill out the attached sheet. If you have any questions, get in touch with any of us. We are happy to help you.

Ruth Budelmann, Cynthia Kaplan & Miriam Weinstein

“A values-based conversation, which focuses on Jewish identity, moral values, and principles of Jewish peoplehood, rather than on policy debates.”

See an overview of the curriculum, including an introductory video.

We will be rehearsing for Chanukah and our December 17th Kabbalat Shabbat performances. Come to Play, to Sing, to Sit in and listen. (We appreciate your participation even if you can't stay for the whole time). Please let us know if you can join us by clicking the link below.

PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU'D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE! 

The book is Einstein and the Rabbi-Searching for the Soul by Naomi Levy.

Contact Barbara to join. All are welcome!

Saturday, Dec. 4 (post Shabbat)

If your family would like to participate by lighting your candles for the group, or if you would like to share a a reflection on light or the season, please sign up here by November 20th.

 Everyone who would like to join should register here for the zoom link.

Tuesday, November 30, 5:30-6 pm

Please physically join us in front of Temple Ahavat Achim for music, songs, the lighting of the Lobster Trap Menorah, and enjoy latkes and hot apple cider. Chanukah gelt for kids and more!!

Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport,

Co-Sponsored by TAA

A five-piece acoustic band that merges old time Appalachia and bluegrass with Jewish spirituality. They make their Rockport debut with a festive Hanukkah-themed concert that will also include tunes from their acclaimed album, Songs for the Sparrows, featuring bluegrass icons Jerry Douglas and Sam Bush.

TAA has Chanukah candles for sale for $5. Send a check to TAA or make a donation online and include "Candles" in the payment notes, then email Jasmine to arrange pick up.

Stories, songs, snacks and a special art project around Jewish holidays with Expert Bubbies, Zaydes, Imas and Abbas from our community! Children under 5 and their caregivers welcome.

Congratulations to Larry Constantine whose fifteenth novel, Always Beginning, is out November 30, which makes fifteen novels in just under fifteen years. (The poem he shared during the High Holidays figures in the story.) It’s available for pre-order now, with paperback and hardcover editions to follow. It’s the sequel to Always Me, which will be on discount for just 99 cents from November 24 to December 1.

PRE-ORDER ALWAYS BEGINNING

Torah Study, Thursdays, 11 am REGISTER TO JOIN ON ZOOM

Shabbat Service, Saturdays, 9 am REGISTER TO JOIN ON ZOOM

Sunday Morning Minyan, Sundays, 9 am REGISTER TO JOIN ON ZOOM

ACCESS ELECTRONIC SIDDURIM / Contact Jasmine for hard copies

The TAA Kitchen Crew is looking for community members to join our terrific team. You choose when, how often and the amount of time in the kitchen. If you have any questions or ideas please email Janet

TAA’s Everyone Eats! Team provides lunch supplies each Sunday at Gloucester's Action Shelter. To join the team or find out more, email Martha

"Chesed" is loving care in Hebrew, and the Chesed Committee provides support to families in our community.

Email Audrey Fraser to join the Chesed Committee or find out more

Join the Caregivers Support Group for their Tuesday 10:30 am meetings

Know Someone Interested in Joining our Community?

Refer prospective members to Richard Huttner and Elaine Byrne

Look for the words "[Message clipped]  View entire message" at the bottom of the page, then click on "View entire message" to open the full newsletter in a new tab.

Volunteers are needed to secure housing, furnishings, transportation, employment, education, legal counsel, medical coordination, and acclimation to our region. You are invited to an informational meeting at the First Congregational Church of Rockport (12 School St.). Masks and social distancing are required at the in-person gathering. To stream the meeting, go to Rockport UCC on Facebook or to the Old Sloop YouTube channel. Please consider donating to this resettlement effort. All monies received will be used to meet the Afghan families’ basic needs (no administrative costs). Two options for giving: Go to GoFundMe.com and search for Allies of our Afghan Allies, or send a check to WGTCC, ATTN: Treasurer, 488 Essex Ave., Gloucester, MA 01930. PLEASE note in the memo line “AAA” or “Refugee Resettlement.”

Directed by Lilia Levitina

You Will Not Play Wagner takes place in New York City and Tel Aviv as the characters Zoom across the COVID-19 plagued world. Ya’akov, a young Israeli upstart, provokes an uproar when he chooses to perform Wagner in the finals of an international competition for conductors. He comes into conflict with Esther, a Holocaust survivor and competition patron who has her own tragic connection with Wagner’s music. South African playwright Victor Gordon adapted his play for Zoom just before he passed away from COVID-19. This film is in his memory.

Wednesday, November 17th, 6:30 pm, West Gloucester Trinitarian Congregational Church

Join CJP and Salem State University's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies as we welcome culinary historian Michael Twitty for a conversation with award-winning historian Bethany Jay, and Dr. Sarah Abramson, CJP's Senior Vice President of Strategy and Impact.

Backroom at the Boston Synagogue or Online

Join us for the second concert of the Boston Festival of New Jewish Music, a free monthly concert series presenting original music that draws from the Jewish cultural experience. All concerts will be performed live at the Boston Synagogue and live-streamed. Violinist Yaeko Miranda Elmaleh is a member of the Klezmer Conservatory band and is the founder of her own ensemble, a group that plays a blend of Latin, Jewish, and Klezmer/Roma inspired music with an edge.

Known and loved as the Challah Guru on Instagram, Mandylicious’s Mandy Silverman shares the secrets of her creative and exceptional challah-baking, which to date includes over 300 Kosher recipes— several of which have been enjoyed at the JArts marquee food celebration, Beyond Bubbie’s Kitchen.

Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation will host our annual Symposium on Refugees and Immigration – a New Era. It will concentrate on what is happening in our communities and around the country. At our last Summer Series Congressman Seth Moulton talked about our responsibility for the safety and resettlement of people from Afghanistan in New England. The Symposium will seek the perspective of members of organizations who have assisted new arrivals for a long time and from people who have been through the immigration or refugee experience.

Join Temple Emunah, CJP, and the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies for a conversation with Israeli civil and human rights activist and educator, Shula Mola, Ph.D. Learn about the struggle of Ethiopian Jews in Israel for “normality” and ways to deal with exclusion and racism.

Celebrate the Hanukkah season with eight nights of exclusive, award-winning new films. Tickets provide limited-time access to 11 films, exclusive filmmaker discussions and more, with new content added each night of Hanukkah.

Join Sefaria to uncover the core values of Shemitah — the Jewish Sabbatical year for the land happening this year — and how it can speak to today's most pressing issues. Lesson 1: A Year of Food Justice; Lesson 2: A Year of Economic Justice; Lesson 3: Giving Up Ownership; Lesson 4: A Year of Rest.

Perfect for learners of all experience levels and backgrounds, each email will include texts from the Sefaria library, additional resources to deepen your learning, and "food for thought" to take home with you and turn into action.

This year’s online festival delivers an eclectic lineup of 38 films and documentaries from around the world.

Jordan Rich, "ON AIR, My 50-Year Love Affair with Radio"

Myron Geller, Rabbi Emeritus

Amy Farber, President

Phoebe Potts, Director of the Sylvia Cohen Family Learning Project

Laurie Williamson, Bookkeeper 

Jasmine Epstein, Office Coordinator