Sefirat Haomer
This Shabbat we observe the 27th day of the Omer counting.
Lag Baomer celebration
Bonfire, Music, and Food will be hosted in Susie and Pierre Lotzof's home 8274 Duck Pond ln, 92130. Please RSVP to eastmenashe@hotmail.com
Keep on Your Calendar
Yom Yerushalayim, Sunday night, June 1st; Tikkun Leil Shavuot meal and study session, Sunday night, June 8th.
KAY's Torah Study Opportunities
Talmud class
Talmud Class 7:30pm at the Academy, Room D105.
KAY Chavurot: Join an informal, social Chavurah study group this year. Meet once a month for social Torah meetings about whatever area of Jewish life you are interested in. Please contact Rav Menashe.
Community events
Yom Ha'atzmaut Festival
Join the Yom Ha'atzmaut Festival on Sunday May 18, 2008 from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. …celebrating Israel's 60th birthday. Over 6,000 members from the community will attend this FREE event and enjoy entertainment, a special Israel@60 performance, an Israel photo exhibition, Walk the Land Program, a visit from Mayor Jerry Sanders, delicious kosher food, children's activities and more! To learn more visit http://israelat60sandiego.com/event/31 or call 858-571-3444.
Walk the Land - Sunday, May 18, 2008 at the Lawrence Family JCC (4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla 92037)
Kick off the Yom Ha'atzmaut Independence Day Festival with a one-mile walk in support of Israel! Join local San Diegans as you pass by beautiful murals of Israeli cities in this first-time-ever global event! Each participant will receive a unique Israeli "passport" to be stamped along the path. The General Walk begins at 11:00 a.m. and an alternative Youth Walk begins at 2:00 p.m. departing from the JCC's baseball diamond. Register in advance: $5/person includes an official hat, water and original passport. Proceeds benefit the building of a new safe Regional High School in Sha'ar Ha'Negev, San Diego's partnership region in Israel. To register for "Walk the Land" go to http://israelat60sandiego.com/event/56
JCC Maccabi Games
The JCC Maccabi Games are coming to San Diego next summer, August 3-8, 2008. This Olympic-style event provides a unique combination of sports, cultural and social activities and will be the largest Jewish event in San Diego's history. The JCC Maccabi Games offer a transforming and powerful experience to Jewish teens by integrating sports with Jewish identity and values. The Games will welcome over 1,500 Jewish teen athletes, their families and friends, more than 1,000 volunteers and 650 host families.
The JCC MAccabi games website is now open for registration for all volunteers and/host families. Go to www.jccmacreg.org to register.
Kef Li San Diego
Connect to Israel from San Diego. Check out this website for Israel-inspired programs for the whole family, year round. www.keflisandiego.org Contact Jennie Starr for more
info 858-245-9375 or jennie@keflisandiego.org.
Refuah Sheleima
Please contact Rav Menashe to let him know of any family or friends who are ill.
Member news
Happy birthday to Susie Lotzof (May 9), Ruth Engel (May 11), Leor Weinberger (May 13), Tal Lotzof (May 14), Linda Oz (May 15), Michael Lurie (May 17), Sheree Meyerowitz (May 17), Brayden Aires (May 19), Guy Starr (May 19), Jonathan Burland (May 20) and Anna (Gillian) Sher (May 20)!
Wedding anniversaries - mazal tov to Isaac & Ruth Engel (May 9) and to Stan & Robyn Rapoport (May 21)!
Yahrzeits - we wish a long life to Avi Pomeranetz (for her father), to Shaya Fainman (for his father), to Gary Lewis (for his mother) and to Selwyn Lurie (for his sister).
Kiddush
Kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by Selwyn & Barbara Lurie to wish Michael a happy birthday, and in memory of Selwyn's late sister, Lil Cohen.
Please contact Barbara Lurie at 858/792-7942 if you would like to sponsor kiddush on Shabbat morning.
Membership registration
Your support is vital! Please complete and send in your membership form as soon as possible. To discuss your monthly contribution in strict confidence, please contact Geoff Patz at 858/733-3777. All donations are tax deductible and should be made payable to Kehillat Ahavat Yisrael and mailed to 13030 Brixton Place, San Diego CA 92130-1325. Thank you for your support!
Shabbat services
Friday night services: 6.15 pm. Shabbat morning: 9.30 am. Children's service 10.30 am. Services are held every week in the Bet Midrash of the San Diego Jewish Academy's Carmel Valley campus. Please see our web site for more information and directions.
Shabbat times
- Fri May 16: Candle lighting 7.23 PM
- Sat May 17: Shabbat ends 8.24 PM
Thought for the week
A Caring Community
"And when your kinsman comes under hardship…" This phrase recurs many times in this week's Torah reading, Behar. (Leviticus 25:25-46) We all go through hardship, we all struggle, we all suffer. How does the Jewish community respond to the struggles and the sufferings of our fellow Jew?
Though often sidelined by the more scholarly, more ritualistic or politically motivated subjects, our tradition has much to say about supporting the less fortunate. This Shabbat is a time for us to hear more loudly the call that the Torah makes to us and they duty we have to each other.
Caring for those in need comes in many forms. Vayikrah Rabba offers a number of models of how we can offer our care. Giving charity to the poor person; burying the dead; visiting the sick. And we can even give to ourselves by overcoming the negative qualities in our hearts. (34:1)
The Midrash relates an illustrative story: When he would see the child of wealthy parents who became destitute, but too proud to accept charity, Rabbi Yonah would offer the person an object and say ‘have this object and when you are reestablished you can return it to me'. And when he would give it over, he would say ‘here is a gift for you.' (ibid)
Jewish tradition wants us to give, to support, but it is not only giving that is our responsibility, it is how we give, how we care. Do we begrudgingly open our door to guests? Do we need to be prodded to visit a friend in the hospital? Do we truly listen to the pain of the mourner when she recounts the life of her loved one?
Maimonides interprets the obligation to care for the person in need as stemming directly from the command of ‘Love your fellow as yourself.'
We will respond and react with deep empathy and compassion, when we feel as though we are personally humiliated alongside the destitute who must ask for charity; when we feel frightened by the solitude of our friend's illness.
Shabbat Shalom Umevorach,
Rav Menashe
Kehillat Ahavat Yisrael (Love of Israel - the nation and the land) is a warm, caring Orthodox community welcoming Jews of all backgrounds to personal exploration and growth within Judaism. Our name symbolizes our passionate love for both fellow Jews and the State of Israel. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone who you think might be interested. Let us know at any time if you'd like to be removed from this email list.
Contact information:
Rabbi: Rav Menashe and Donna East 858/605-1111
Board:
- President: Michael Lurie 858/794-8278
- Marketing: Ian Aires 858/481-2706
- At large: Barbara Berkovich 858/353-1420
- Programs: Gary Lewis 858/538-2330
- Programs: Jeff Max 858/481-7627
- Finance: Selwyn Lurie 858/792-7942
- Ladies: Barbara Lurie 858/792-7942
- Membership: Geoff Patz 858/733-3777 |
