June 10, 2022–Volume 18 Number 50
Pride!

June is Pride month. I am excited to celebrate alongside my friends and family who are members of the LGBTQ+ community. While Pride is a month for love, celebration, and liberation, as a country we are far from where we ought to be. According to Human Rights Campaign, 2021 was “the worst year in recent history for anti-LGBTQ+ state legislative attacks”; less than halfway through 2022, nearly 240 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been filed so far, most of which target transgender individuals.
 
Pride Month honors and commemorates the Stonewall riots, which were initiated by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in June of 1969 in response to a brutal police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. It's important to acknowledge that while many advances have been made in LGBTQ+ rights, trans women of color particularly experience violence and discrimination at disproportionate rates and were key members of the Stonewall protests 53 years ago. This movement would be nowhere without them, and we must not leave them behind. Let us remember the powerful words of activist Lilla Watson, who taught us that none of us are free until all of us are free: “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
 
Sadly, there are those who would use the words of Torah to bolster prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community. But more importantly, let us remember the powerful words of redemption, freedom, and peace that anchor our Torah: “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” "Do not wrong nor oppress the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” And finally, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Let us continue to work together to transform ourselves and our world, increasing justice, dignity, and love for all.
 
Shabbat Shalom,

Cantor Randall M. Schloss
Service Times for Shabbat
Friday, June 10th

6:00 pm Shabbat Evening Services in person, on LivestreamFacebook Live, and ZOOM (Meeting ID: 885 5732 2368, Passcode: 7wW055) 
Saturday, June 11th

9:00 am Shabbat Morning Blessings/Torah Study in person and via ZOOM (Meeting ID: 853 3548 4859, Passcode: 58QLMa); Baby Naming of Augustin Weinstein.
Save these Dates!
TEMPLE ISRAEL ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
Tuesday, June 21st • 7:00 PM

Join with fellow congregants, clergy, and leadership to talk about the achievements of the past year and goals and vision for the year ahead. Come at 7 pm for a nosh and a schmooze, stay for the news and information beginning at 7:45 pm

For the comfort and safety of all congregants, masks will be required except when eating and addressing questions to our leadership. 
Welcome Breakfast for the New Clergy
"Meet, Greet, and Eat"
Sunday, July 10th • 10 AM

Come and meet, in person and up close, the new Clergy, whose first day will be Friday, July 1st: Rabbi Jesse Gallop and Cantor Rita Glassman. You can ask questions, and have conversations, amid breakfast noshing.

Also, please attend the Rabbi and Cantor's first service together on Friday, July 1st!

This Breakfast was made possible through the generosity of Temple Israel's Brotherhood!
Camp Pinebrook | We're Hiring!
Apply at Camp Pinebrook TODAY! ... and spend the Summer with us!
Community
Temple Library | Let's Read Together!
Middle Grade Winner!

The Sun Will Come Out, by Joanne Levy.

This is an endearing coming-of-age story about a shy girl’s first summer away from home at a sleep-away camp. 

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