SHARE:  

קישור שלום ~ Kishur Sholom

Staying Connected with the Temple Sholom Community

1 July 2024 ~ 25 Sivan 5784

Shabbat Korach

Chaverim y'karim - dear friends,


I've spent a lot of time in Israel this past year. 

Even before October 7th, Amy and I were planning to be in Israel for her sabbatical in March. Her goal: beach time and ulpan (intensive Hebrew study). 


Given the realities of Israel, our plans in the country shifted from ulpan to volunteering and from beach time to visiting family and even leading a solidarity mission. 


My attraction to being in Israel began at a young age as my older siblings took a summer trip after Confirmation at temple in the 10th Grade. 

My desire to be there has grown deeper and more intense and more meaningful over the years. Twice in my life, I have lived there for a year. I have learned that there is not any one Israel but rather there are multiple Israels. Some of the narratives I learned as a younger person have been debunked, reformatted, and newly understood and appreciated - based on historical, social, and political realities. All of that was long before October 7. 


Traveling to Israel currently is just different than it was before October 7. Traveling to Israel has to do with bearing witness, standing in solidarity and recognizing our brothers and sisters resilience and struggle. Traveling to Israel today is about the usual enjoyments of walking the streets of a Jewish-majority country in our ancestral land but for us as Diaspora Jews also about understanding the complexity of Israeli society and listening to the many perspectives and voices.  


It is with all of that backdrop that I am very excited to share that I - along with my wife, Rabbi Amy Wallk - are offering a solidarity mission for a six-day journey (December 3-10) in Israel with Haim Aronovitz who is a master tour educator and someone Amy has led over a dozen trips with in Europe and Israel. 


The following are just some of the questions guiding the nature of our upcoming trip:


  • How has October 7 impacted the country?
  • Where is there evidence of resilience and renewal?
  • How is the mourning and weight of the attack affecting Israeli society?
  • Who are the Haredi (ultra Orthodox Jews) and why does the vast majority object to serving in the military? Why is this issue particularly important now?
  • What of the Israeli Arabs? How did this community - and its variants - respond to October 7? 
  • What and where are the places where Israel is thriving and where not?


While we have no idea what will be in December, we know that there will be what to study and discuss. Click through to see the planned itinerary and pricing. As I always say before leading a trip to Israel: we will only know the definitive itinerary - let alone the most meaningful aspects - once we have returned. And the most impactful part of any trip are the people with whom we interact while on the ground. Some of those people will be on our itinerary and some will be chance encounters.


For those who are interested in visiting some of those places which were attacked on October 7, we invite you to extend your trip for a couple of days. We will happily suggest an expanded the itinerary. 


If you have questions about this trip, please email me (rabbicohn@tsholom.org) …. We will have an informational Zoom meeting on Thursday, July 25 at 7:30pm. 


Whether you are curious, ready to commit, or on the fence - please join an informational meeting, via Zoom, on Thursday, July 25th with Amy and me. So too, if you want to speak by phone or email and have questions, do be in touch. It is hard to believe, but December 3rd is only five months away!


Not every time and not every trip is the right time or trip to go to Israel for everyone. But most times and most trips offer important and significant opportunities to be in the land of our people. 


"Am Yisrael Chai - our people lives!" is a slogan we not only hold for moments of solidarity but it is one by which we live - through continued engagement and connection from our homes in Massachusetts, Connecticut or wherever! 


Looking forward to discussing further - l'shalom, 


Rabbi Mark Cohn


___________________

Opportunities in the larger community -


Let Freedom Ring - 6 July 2024 (5-8pm / 5:30pm 'Ring the Bell') on the New Milford Green at the Bandstand. Learn more here.


Civil Rights Trip to the South with Anshe Amunim of Pittsfield, MA - "Civil Rights Inside Out" 21-23 October 2024. Learn more here.

ARTICLES & PODCASTS -


"A letter on liberty" (26 June 2024) with Rabbi Dr. Stuart Halpern in The Jewish Journal


"Strangers in a once strange land: A July 4th reader," (2 July 2021) by Yehuda Fogel on 18forty.org.


"My Year at Harvard," (26 June 2024) by Rabbi David Wolpe in The Jewish Journal.



"Liberal Jews Deluded themselves on Palestine" (25 June 2024) by Hussein Aboubakr Mansour in Tablet Magazine.

UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE JCC IN SHERMAN


When Southbury said no to swastikas, with Melinda Elliot. Sunday, July 7 at 1 PM, JCC in Sherman. Learn more about the programs at the JCC here.


A special Kabbalat Shabbat at the JCC in Sherman!! Friday, July 19 at 6:30 PM, followed by the showing of We Will Dance Again at 7:30 PM. A discussion will follow with the film's Executive Producer, Terence Wrong. The film is a documentary examining the horrific Hamas terror attack of October 7th. Temple Sholom is holding its Kabbalat Shabbat service at the JCC in order to partner on this most important topic. All are welcome. 9 Route 39 South, Sherman.

The Destruction of Sanctity: Living with Brokenness and Building Hope


Tuesday, July 23 at Noon

Temple Library

Lunch & Learn with Rabbi Tamir Nir


Using slides and video, Rabbi Nir will talk about his community since October 7th, the situation in Israel these days, and how we, as a liberal Jewish community, and he, as a Reform rabbi, operate within this complex reality - mentally, religiously, politically, and more. To get to know him a little, have a look at this video, "Rabbi Tamir Nir."


Rabbi Nir is a friend of Rabbi Cohn and will be visiting CT and MA in July. Rabbi Nir serves as the congregational rabbi for Congregation Achva Bakerem, which he founded in 2007. He is an instructor of Jewish and Islamic thought in a high school for religious and secular Israelis. Rabbi Nir has served recently as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem where he bridged differences between the many diverse communities that make up the city, as the head of the BINA Secular Yeshiva, and as chair of the Heschel Center for Sustainability. While having been ordained as a Reform Rabbi, he also holds an MA in Jewish Education and a BA in Architecture and Urban Planning.

SHABBAT SERVICE SCHEDULE


FRIDAYS AT 6:30 PM


JULY 5, 19**

AUGUST 2, 16, 30



**July 19 will be at the JCC in Sherman. See panel above.


SATURDAYS AT 10:30 AM


JULY 6

AUGUST 3

SHABBAT TORAH STUDY

Led by CJ Kelly


SATURDAYS AT 9:30 AM



JULY 6*, 13, 20, 27

AUGUST 3*, 10, 17, 24, 31


*Led by Rabbi Cohn

Temple Sholom

122 Kent Road ~ P.O. Box 509

New Milford, CT 06776

(860) 354-0273

Temple Sholom Website (www.tsholom.org)

Temple Sholom Facebook