1) Pre-order by calling, texting, or emailing Michele at the office, 248.477.1410, or info@birminghamtemple.com;

2) Your order will be confirmed and a time slot arranged for pickup on Saturday, December 12th;

3) Soups will be available in quart containers. Suggested price: $5 - $10 each. All proceeds will go to help feed the hungry, our annual Winter Mitzvah;

4) Payment will be made by exact-change - cash or check payable to Birmingham Temple (with SOUP in the memo line) and placed in a closed envelope with SOUP written on it.

5) Deadline for orders is Tuesday, December 1. A delivery option is possible for people without transportation to the temple if order is in by the deadline.

Currently available soups (supplies are limited; first come, first serve so you might want to order soon. There may also be additions which will be publicized: stay tuned)

(v = vegetarian, vv = vegan)

African Peanut Stew

Borscht v

Cabbage vv

Carrot with Dill Pesto v

Chicken

Chili (vegetarian) vv

Cream of Tomato v

Crushed Lentil vv

Lobster Bisque

Minestrone vv

Mixed Vegetable with Quinoa vv

Mushroom Barley vv

Potato Leek v

Ribollita (Tuscan vegetable) vv

Split Pea (low salt) vv

Taco Soup v

Tomato Basil vv

Vegetable Potpourri with Sausage

White Chicken Chili

T

1. The Quandary: Who, What & Why is a Jew: CATCH UP AT THIS LINK

2. The Textline: Origin Stories & Texts: CATCH UP AT THIS LINK

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86271805679

Password was sent under separate cover. Please contact rabbi@birminghamtemple.org if you need it.

"Everything is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer

You can purchase it AT THIS LINK for Kindle or Amazon delivery ... or support independent bookstores by shopping at BOOKSHOP.ORG.

SOUPER SUPPER IS ON! SEE DETAILS ABOVE!

SEE ABOVE FOR DETAILS! Contact Audrey Pleasant (audreypleasant@gmail.com) to volunteer or learn more!

BT has installed a "Little Food Pantry" for those in need. We will need donations of non-perishables to keep it filled.

WE NEED FOOD DONATIONS! canned tuna / chicken / proteins * pasta / grains * canned fruits & vegetables * soups / sauces / condiments * cereal / breakfast items * paper products * personal care / hygiene items * snacks

Contact Audrey (audreypleasant@gmail.com) for more details.

Sign up for the Social Justice Committee email list for information about what's happening at BT and beyond. Meeting agenda and copy of the monthly report to the board is emailed to all list members. Send your request to audreypleasant@gmail.com.

The password was sent under separate cover. Please contact rabbi@birminghamtemple.org if you need it.

ONLINE @ 10AM, SATURDAYS (NO CLASS NOV. 21 OR 28)

A weekly discussion of Jewish (and Humanistic-related) current events with Rabbi Falick

ONLINE @ NOON, MONDAYS (NO CLASS NOV. 23)

Dial-in Meeting ID: 214 102 965

Dial-in Meeting ID: 840 703 07256

With the Thanksgiving-Chrismukkah season upon us and very few safe activities to occupy us, it’s time to turn to some good books. What better time to make my recommendations than November which is Jewish Book Month?

We, the People of the Book, have produced an impressive list of masterpieces and less-than-masterpieces over the years. So while we’re waiting for Pfizer and Moderna to do their magic, here’s my personal list (in author alphabetical order) of six works of Jewish fiction. The titles are links to that big company that sells books.

Ostensibly about the origin of the American comic book industry, this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is really about how Jewish immigrants transformed popular culture in their adopted land. Along the way, they draw upon European Jewish traditions, American Jewish icons, and their own imaginations, putting their creation to work fighting fascism at home and abroad.

Dr. Goldstein, a philosopher and Spinoza expert, put her story telling skills to good use with this story of an American Jewish atheist professor of psychology whose own book on religion becomes a hit. As we explore his life story we also encounter the influences, from the academic to the Hasidic, that lead his admirers to call him “an atheist with a soul.” The book also has an index with the actual 36 arguments which are a lot of fun to read.

A recent selection of our BT Book Group (and also winner of a National Jewish Book Award) this is a beautiful historical novel about the incipient Jewish community of 17th century London. The Spanish and Portuguese Jews, recently of Holland, are forced to navigate a strange land from which Jews have been absent since the 13th century expulsion. Written as a dual narrative, Kadish also tells the story of two modern London academics whose discovery of a trove of letters reveals a young woman from that earlier time, a skeptic who corresponds with none other than Benedict Spinoza.

This renowned coming-of-age story of New York Jewish immigrants on the Lower East Side was little noticed when it was released. It took decades before it was regarded as a towering work of American literature. The New Yorker called it “… arguably the most distinguished work of fiction ever written about immigrant life.” Irving Howe for The New York Times Book Review called it “… one of the few genuinely distinguished novels written by a twentieth-century American.” The book is amazing.

One of the greatest Jewish role models for skepticism is called by the Talmud “the Other.” But Rabbi Elisha Ben Avuya did have a name and Rabbi Steinberg brought his story renewed life with this historical novel of Roman-era Palestine. It remains one of the best Jewish books of the modern age, salvaging the story of a rabbi who continues to inspire this Humanistic Jew two millennia after his death.

Released in time for our own millennium, Israeli author Yehoshua tells the story of a Sephardic Jewish merchant’s encounter with the nascent Ashkenazi community of France and the Rhineland. Yehoshua explores conflicts that would disturb Sephardic – Ashkenazi relations for centuries, many that were influenced by the values of their host countries, including the battle over Ashkenazic insistence upon monogamy.

Best Wishes for a Speedy Recovery to:

*THIS WEEK'S CARTOON

*BT COMMUNITY SHARING

Ezra writes: "Students between the ages of 8-12 usually do very well with piano in my experience, and older and younger students and adults are welcome as well."

You can contact Ezra at pianist4486@yahoo.com.