April 11, 2024 - Weekly News From The Chatham Synagogue / Netivot Torah | |
4/11/24 TCS/NT Update Table of Contents | |
|
1. Shabbat Services
2. TCS/NT Kid's Programs
3. Save the Date: Yom HaShoah Program
4. Reading Jeremiah - Reading and Discussion Group
5. Volunteers need for Spring Landscape Cleaning at the Cemetery
6. Zoom Sit/Stand/Breathe/Balance Exercise
7. Zoom Yoga
8. Jewish Women's Group
9. Recent Donations
10. Out & About
11. Visit our Website
12. Become a Member
| |
1. Shabbat Services - April 13, 2024 | |
|
Save the Date:
Rabbi Pam Wax will lead Shabbat Services on May 4th
| |
|
2. TCS/NT Kid's Programs
All programs will be held at the Synagogue
Kid's Passover Program: Let's Make Matzo!
Sunday, April 21
11am - 12pm
For Kids ages 3 - 11
Get ready for Passover with some homemade Matzo! Educator Arielle Derby will create a Kid's Matzo Factory - kids will learn how matzo is made and then bake the matzo on our backyard fire pit. Matzo baking will be followed by an outdoor afikoman hunt.
Yom Haatzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) Program
Sunday, May 19th
Join us for a special Israeli Independence Day Program, featuring children's musician Bracha Louz.
| |
|
3. Yom HaShoah Program: Kaytek The Wizard - a Multimedia Tale Inspired by Holocaust Hero Janusz Korczak
Sunday, May 5th at 3pm
at the Synagogue
Emmy Award winner Brian Hull and his BriAnimation Puppetry Storytelling group are bringing their acclaimed production of Kaytek The Wizard to The Chatham Synagogue. Kaytek is based on a book by Janusz Korczak, a Polish Jewish pediatrician and author who is remembered for refusing to abandon the children and staff of his Warsaw orphanage when they were deported to Treblinka, despite offers of refuge. The show utilizes a European style of puppetry where the puppeteers remain visible throughout the piece and play several roles in addition to giving voice and movement to the many puppets on stage.
Incorporating puppetry and projected animated backgrounds, with music by Sarah Hart, the play tells the story of a boy who, facing relentless and cruel school bullies, discovers that he can perform magic spells and escape, only to realize that the real world, despite its injustices, is where he belongs. Based on the notion that power is not without responsibility, the story speaks to every child's dream of asserting their independence and shaping the world
▶︎ Click here for for a video preview
|  | |
|
4. Reading Jeremiah: Discussion Group
Saturdays: Feb. 17, March 2, March 30, April 13, May 18, June 1, June 22
1pm - 2:30pm
at the Synagogue
In 587, the prophet Jeremiah witnessed Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian army lay waste to Jerusalem and destroy Solomon's Temple. This stunning loss ended the monarchy that began with King David, and resulted in the exile of large numbers of Judeans to Babylon. While Jeremiah's descriptions of politics and social conditions make the ancient world seem familiar, his theology tells a different story. He understood these events as God's punishment of Israel's sins. He rages at God and also at governmental and religious leadership. His letter to the deported community in Babylon, which includes advice for living in exile, is a model for how Jews have lived in all of our diasporas.
This informal discussion group, led by TCS/NT member Fran Snyder, is meant to provide an opportunity to further knowledge of the Bible and rabbinic writings and to experience the pleasure of reading our sacred canon.
All are welcome to attend and participate. Prior to upcoming classes, check back here at The Update for links to recommended translations, commentaries, podcasts, and historical and literary backgound.
*image: "The Flight of the Prisoners" by James Tissot, depicts the Jewish exile to Babylon
| |
|
5. Need Volunteers for Spring Cleaning at the Cemetery
This Sunday, April 14th, 9am - Noon
at the Jewish Section of The Chatham Rural Cemetery
Spring has sprung and it's time to continue our clean-up of the cemetery perimeter. We're looking for volunteers to help us remove invasives, cutting down vines that are strangling trees, and cleaning up brush and debris. All level of help is important, no matter your age, strength, or abilities.
If you're around and would like to help us, we'd love for you to join us. Wear sturdy, gardening-appropriate clothes, garden gloves, and bring you favorite implements - rakes, loppers, digging tools, etc. Also, make sure you're protected from ticks and poison ivy.
▶︎ If you have any questions, please contact Janina Deppe.
| |
|
6. Zoom Sit/Stand/Breathe/Balance Exercise
Every Monday - 10am - 11am
TCS/NT member, and dancer, choreographer, physician-assistant Jamie Stiller is teaching a sit/stand exercise group. The group will meet every Monday, via Zoom, from 11am - 12pm. The focus of these classes will be on building strength in your core and extremities, learning to breathe mindfully to fuel your entire body, and having fun!
There is a $10 donation per class. Click here email Jamie and arrange payment (Venmo, checks, etc.).
ZOOM LOG-IN LINK & INFO:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89863170484?pwd=V2VuYm80T1g3L3RBTTRDcnF4bisrUT09
Meeting ID: 898 6317 0484
Password: 953995
| |
|
7. Zoom Yoga
Every Friday at 9:30am
Our weekly Yoga classes are on Zoom. TCS/NT member, and dancer, choreographer, physician-assistant, Jamie Stiller, will be leading the classes. There is a $10 donation per class. Click here email Jamie and arrange payment (Venmo, checks, etc.).
ZOOM LOG-IN LINK & INFO:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82558600433?pwd=RE55b1NzSFV2QUhsWUVJa2hYb2JyQT09
Meeting ID: 825 5860 0433
Password: 953995
| |
|
8. Jewish Women's Group
Friday, May 3rd, 12-1:30pm
at the Synagogue
Please RSVP
Based on the success and popularity of last year's Women's Hanukkah party, TCS/NT member Brenda Gevertz is organizing a women's group to strengthen relationships among the women of our Synagogue. The group will meet on a monthly basis to get to know each other, share stories and information, and organized activities.
A light lunch will be provided so please RSVP by April 26th.
▶︎ Click here to RSVP
| |
|
9. Donations
(Note: Donations can be made online on our website. Click here to donate.)
Alice Swersey - IMO of Burt Swersey, dedicated to the Cemetery Fund
Tovah Nahman - In Loving Memory of Allan Lee Nahman
Bruce Altman & Darcy Altman (McGraw) - IMO Zelda Altman and her Passover Seders
Maggie Kaplen & Leon Sokol - General Donation
Linda & David Ziskind - IMO Edith Meininger
Lucile & SHeldon Lichtblau - IMO Edith Meininger
Susan R. Golub - IMO Edith Meininger
| |
|
10. Out & About
Entertainment / Education / Social Action
| |
|
National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Live Streaming
Streaming For Free on Vimeo (link below)
Experience Yiddish Culture from home by visiting Folksbiene! Live - an on-demand video library of virtual events. There you can stream more than 100 free concerts, readings, conversations, and more. Featuring unforgettable musical performances, exclusive interviews, instructive lessons, including their very entertaining 15 Minute Yiddish class with Motl Didner.
Always free, always available for all your Yiddish theatre needs.
▶︎ Click here for more info and for tickets
| |
|
"New Terrain: 21st-Century Landscape Photography" at the Worcester Art Museum
Exhibition runs through July 7
Worcester Art Museum
55 Salisbury Street, Worcester, MA
New Terrain: 21st-Century Landscape Photography comprises approximately 30 artworks created over the past 20 years that together highlight a wide range of techniques—including 3-D printing, weaving, embroidery, collage, and the use of nontraditional materials like rusted cans and lake water—that reinterpret the traditional practice of photography.
Included in the exhibition are several pieces by TCS/NT members Yael Eban and Matt Gamber
Through these artworks, New Terrain serves as an entry point into deeper narratives about technology, identity, political activism, and history through the concept of the landscape. The exhibition is organized by Nancy Kathryn Burns, the Museum’s Stoddard Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs.
| |
|
My Neighbor's Faith: Exploring Narratives of Encounter, Challenge, and Growth Across Differences
6 Thursdays: 4/11, 4/18, 5/2, 5/16, 5/23, & 5/30
7-9pm
In-person at Hebrew College or online via ZOOM
Course fee: $270, financial aid is available
Based on the 2012 award-winning collection by the same name (and including materials from the 2023 follow-up volume, With the Best of Intentions), this course, led by Rabbi Or Rose, offers students the opportunity to explore narratives of transformative encounter across lines of difference. With wisdom, wit, courage, and humility, the writers—Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, etc.—share their experience of border-crossing and the lessons learned from their interreligious and cross-cultural adventures. We live in one of the most religiously diverse society in the history of humankind. Every day, people of different beliefs, ideals, and practices encounter one another in a myriad of settings. How has this new situation of widespread diversity impacted the way we understand the religious other, ourselves, and God (or ultimacy)? Can we learn to live together with mutual respect, working together for the creation of a more compassionate, just, and sustainable world?
▶︎ Click here to register
| |
|
Alicia Jo Rabins & the Camas High School Choir - I Was a Desert: Songs of the Matriarchs
Thursday, May 23 at 6:30pm
Tickets $18
Museum of Jewish Heritage
36 Battery Place, New York, NY
Don't miss this dynamic East Coast premiere of choral songs about Biblical women! Alicia Jo Rabins joins sonic forces with 95 singers from the award-winning Camas High School Choir (Washington State), plus a top-tier rock musicians and a string trio, in a powerful concert integrating Biblical women's stories with song.
I Was a Desert: Songs of the Matriarchs is a gorgeous, richly textured multimedia performance that builds upon Rabins' long-running Girls in Trouble song cycle to celebrate the stories of women in Jewish myth and the hidden places where their lives overlap with ours today.
With a colossal musical scale matching the power of these stories, this intergenerational, intercultural, and interdisciplinary supergroup draws from a rich kaleidoscope of musical traditions including orchestral indie rock, bluegrass, klezmer, and classical.
Throughout, Rabins explores the meaning of spiritual texts in a secular world, centers women’s experience in historically patriarchal traditions, and interweaves the choir's own anonymous contributions of how these stories relate to their own lives.
▶︎ Click here for more info and for tickets
| |
|
"Like Swimming in Air" - Tai Chi for Beginners at TCS/NT
Taught by TCS/NT Member Fran Snyder, NY School of Tai Chi Chuan
Thursdays, January 25 - April 25 / 1 - 2pm
Fee: $240
at the Synagogue
Tai chi's fluid and controlled movements are notable for their graceful and rhythmic flow, promoting a harmonious blend of strength, flexibility, and mindfulness. With regular practice, tai chi helps us regain balance, build endurance, and cultivate relaxation
Anyone can participate. The class proceeds at a slow and tranquil pace. Demonstrations are clear and easy to follow. Class is capped at twelve persons, allowing individual attention for each student.
Fran Snyder is on the faculty and is president of the board of directors of the New York School of Tai Chi Chuan. She is a Tai Chi Foundation certified tai chi instructor teaching in New York City and in Chatham.
▶︎ To register, please contact Fran at: uws.upstate.taichi@gmail.com
| |
|
11. Visit Our Website
Have you checked out our website at: www.thechathamsynagogue.org? On it you can find a current listing of events, links to services, information about who we are, and a growing library of photos.
For members there is also a member portal. You should have received an email with a link inviting you to access the portal, instructions on how to log-in, and an explanation of some of the information that you will find there. Check it out and let us know what you think. If you have any questions or need help accessing the member portal, please email: tcsntmembers@gmail.com.
| |
|
12. Become a Member
We welcome members from diverse Jewish backgrounds and perspectives. Our members are people who were born into Judaism as well as those who chose Judaism. We recognize patrilineal as well as matrilineal descent, and we welcome interfaith families and LGBTQ Members.
You can download a membership application here.
| |
TCS/NT Mailing & Email Addresses: The Chatham Synagogue / P.O. Box 51 / Chatham, NY 12037
| | | | |
