From the Reb's Desk...
 
Reb Irwin Huberman
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March 12, 2010
Kosher Hypnotist
CTI has an amazing treat Saturday night for all congregants age 14 and older.
Ronnie Baras, known as the Kosher Hypnotist, will appear at our synagogue for one night only, Saturday at 7:30pm.
Ronnie wowed last year’s United Synagogue Youth convention with his hilarious hypnosis show. We had originally planned to have Ronnie perform only for teens, but the show has now been opened to the entire congregation.
Please don’t miss this performance. Everyone is welcome. Donations will be accepted.
Walk for Women
A meeting will be held Tuesday at 7:00pm to discuss an important partnership between CTI and the new Katz Women’s Hospital.
Roz Herbsman and Megan Stiles from the Katz Women’s Hospital-LIJ Medical Center will discuss details of a 5K walk that is planned for the morning of May 16 at the Jones Beach Boardwalk.
CTI will participate with a walking team to be captained by Helene Nagel.
Tuesday’s meeting will provide information about the walk and this new state of the art hospital.
We are especially proud that this new health facility was made possible by our own Iris and Saul Katz.
Walk on Water
Wednesday night is movie night at CTI. We will be showing the 2004 Israeli movie “Walk on Water.” The movie stars Lior Ashkenazi, Knut Berger, and Caroline Peters and was directed by New York-born Israeli director Eytan Fox.
Most of the dialogue takes place in English, although there is some Hebrew and German that is subtitled. Take a look at the movie's
trailer.
Programming Notes
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Scrabble night is set for Tuesday, March 23 at 7:00pm. Everyone is welcome.
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Please don’t forget to contact the office with your reservations for CTI’s second seder, to be held Tuesday, March 30 at 6:00pm. Come participate in our full seder with traditional readings, stories, and song.
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Rabbi Simcha Raphael returns to CTI on the evening of Saturday, March 20 with a kabalistic look at Passover. Rabbi Raphael, who is both an author and a great storyteller, will share new ideas for the Seder table in a program we will call “How will this Passover be different from all other Passovers?” A Melaveh Malkah coffee house will follow.
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Knit and Knosh will be held Monday, March 21 at the home of Fredda Klopfer. Please let Fredda know if you are coming or if you have any questions. Beginners through advanced welcome.
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Israel Trip
Tivka Levine, one of Israel’s foremost archeologists and tour guides, has agreed to lead our summer 2011 return tour to Israel.
Tikva will be working with our congregation to develop a trip that will inspire both first time visitors and returnees. The tour will include major sites along with some unique “insider” sites. Petra, Jordan will be included in the itinerary.
We are looking at the first 10 days of July as a tentative date.
If you have not done so already, please send me your e-mail address if you are interested in being added to our special Israel e-mail list.
Shabbat HaChodesh
Happy new year, everyone!!
This Shabbat is a special one as we officially welcome the month of Nisan, which our tradition identifies as Judaism’s new year. As Exodus 12:2 tells us, soon after Israel’s liberation from Egypt:
"This month (Nisan) shall be for you the beginning of the months, it shall be for you the first of the months of the year."
The idea freedom is so precious to our people that we mark it as the start of our yearly cycle. (Rosh Hashanah comes at the beginning of our seventh month, Tishrei, and celebrates the creation of the world.)
This is also the week that we complete the reading of the book of Exodus, the second book of the Torah.
It’s been an incredible journey that began ten weeks ago with our people enslaved in Egypt. At the ending of this week’s Parashah the Jewish people, now armed with the Torah, complete their journey from darkness to light.
It’s also a time to take stock.
Is there someone is our lives that we have left behind? Are there threads that need to be tied? Are we carrying too much “yeast” in our souls?
A dominant theme of this season is "inclusiveness."
Let all who are hungry—physically or spiritually—come and find sustenance. Let all who are distant come closer. Let us strive to welcome those who seek us, and let us not be afraid to take the first step in reaching out to them.
The Passover period is a precious time as we gather with family and friends to recount the story of Passover, to observe rituals, and to reinforce the bonds that unite us.
It is also a time to celebrate freedom, and to contemplate the plights of those enslaved by physical or spiritual conditions.
As we enter this new year, a year of freedom, may we have the courage to liberate our own stubbornness and pride, and to open our arms to those who are isolated and in pain. It is indeed by acts of lovingkindness, inclusiveness, and charity that we can make a difference in our own lives and the lives of others.
May Passover be a time for renewal, and let us begin now, on Shabbat HaChodesh, to consider the issue of freedom within its full context.
Let us use the time between now and Passover to focus our hearts on new beginnings.
Let us not only celebrate our own freedom, but help make it a reality for others.
More about this at services this Friday at 8:00pm and Saturday morning at 9:30am.
May this month be a meaningful one for us all.
Shabbat shalom, v’kol tuv,
Reb Irwin Huberman
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