Friday, October 25

• 6:30 pm - Shabbat Worship/Simchat Torah Celebration. To join services on Zoom, click here to join.

SIMCHAT TORAH

Featuring Ida Mae Specker on Fiddle with guest Rabbi Lee Moore

Israel Congregation Hebrew School

Wednesday, October 23

Simchat Torah

in person and via Zoom!

5:30 pm Celebrate Simchat Torah- Get ready to dance, sing, and celebratel Join us for a lively

Simchat Torah celebration featuring the incredible Ida Mae Specker, a masterful fiddle player whose music is sure to fill the room with joy. Bring your dancing shoes, your friends, and your family, as we come together to celebrate the completion of the Torah reading cycle and the beginning of a new one. Our Hebrew School students will be participating in the service.

Immediately following Sukkot, we observe Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, a fun-filled day during which we celebrate the completion of the annual reading of the Torah and affirm Torah as one of the pillars on which we build our lives.

As part of the celebration, the Torah scrolls are taken from the ark and carried or danced around the synagogue seven times. during the Torah service, the concluding section of the fifth book of the Torah D'varm (Deuteronomy), is read, and immediately following, the opening section of Genesis, or B'reishit, is read. This practice represents the cyclical nature of the relationship between the Jewish people and the reading of the Torah.

Admission is free, however, donations are greatly appreciated. Donations can be made ahead of time using this link or at the door during the event.

Joe Alpar, well-known musician and Bennington College professor*, along with his ensemble, will treat you to lively Jewish music from the Middle East, Balkans, Eastern Europe and more. Their music will lift your spirits, gladden your heart, and coax you out of your seat and onto the dance floor!

Come and celebrate Saturday night of Sukkot with Havdalah, food and dancing.

This event is a collaboration between Brattleboro Area Jewish Community and Congregation Beth El of Bennington, supported by a Covenant Grant from Jewish Communities of Vermont.

* More information on Joe Alpar.

Tisha be'Av Gathering
Tuesday, August 13  
10:00 am

Tisha be’Av (9 Av) is a somber commemoration that recalls the two times in Jewish history (586 BCE and 70 CE) when our holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed (first by Babylonian, then by Roman armies) and Jews sent into exile.  The occasion is marked by a 25-hour fast (this year starting at sunset on Monday, August 12 and lasting till nightfall on Tuesday, August 13), liturgical passages of lamentation, the recitation of the Biblical book of Eichah/Lamentations, and further expressions of grief.  Tradition tells us to refrain – the way we do on Yom Kippur – from finery and festivity.  The date is also associated with many other tragedies:  the start of the Crusades, Jews’ expulsion from several European nations during the Middle Ages, the start of World War I and of the Holocaust, and later attacks on Jews.
 
This year our Tisha be'Av gathering will occur against the backdrop of present, ongoing sorrow for the Jewish people as, after ten months of warfare with rising military and civilian casualties, Israelis remain hostage in Gaza.  The occasion will provide an opening for discussion of and reflection on parallels between those tragic events from ancient Jewish history and what is happening in Israel and the Jewish world today.  The session, also including readings and prayers, will take place in our sanctuary.

Tisha B’Av- click for virtual

8:00 pm Tisha B'av is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, commomorating the destruction of the Ancient Temples of Jerusalem and other tragic events. It is a day of reflection, mourning and learning. A significant highlight of our service will be the reading of Eicha, the Book of Lamentations. The haunting melody of Eicha is moving and beautiful even as it evokes the deep sorrow of this fast day. We will offer prayers and reflections drawing upon the lessons of a Jewish commemoration which still speaks to challenges we face in our own time.

RSVP to attend Tisha B'av Services in Person

Or click here to join via Zoom! 

Live Shavuot Service with Rabbi Ilene Haigh Blessing new babies & 12th graders

Tuesday, June 11 6 pm

Join us as we celebrate the blessing of the "first Fruits" and bless all of our children. Please bring the first cuttings from your garden and a dairy treat for oneg.

In the Sanctuary and on Zoom. Click here to join.

6:45 PM, Session 1, Patti Frankel: The Story of Ruth: What can we learn from this story about the tension between longing and belonging, and being outside vs inside?

1. 7:45 PM, Session 2, Heather Brubaker: Exploring the Book of Ruth Through Modern Poetry

2. 8:30 PM, Maariv (evening prayer service) for Shavuot

1. 30-9:15 PM, Session 3, Rabbi Amita: Revelation: What Happened at Mount Sinai? We will look at the source text (Torah) and some commentaries, followed by a meditation in which we will imagine (remember!) ourselves there, in that timeless moment.

2. 30-10 PM, Meditative Gonging Session with Stephan Brandstatter

Please bring a dairy dish or dessert to share.

Yom Ha'Atzma'ut (Israeli Independence Day) Program
Friday, May 17, 6:00 pm
Service—Live and Virtual
Potluck Dinner and Discussion—Live Only

Join Yom Ha'Atzma'ut Shabbat Service

Second Seder 2024

Tues., April 23 at 6 pm

Thanks to a high level of interest in celebrating Passover together, we are pleased to offer "matchmaking" for the first Seder at individual homes on April 22 and a community-led second Seder at the Roth Center on April 23.

And please remember that for the community Seder,

your check is your reservation!

Havurah of Addison County annual Passover Seder

email for details sarit@havurahofaddisoncounty.ccsend.com