A Guide to Shabbat

 Yom Kippur has concluded and many Jewish people are breathing a sigh of relief. Just as I could not run a marathon, many Jewish people feel they cannot comfortably attend Shul services. Thankfully, and appreciatively, many of our people do attend the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe) and hopefully derive a sense of meaning and significance from this group worship.

     Even as we catch our breath, we can still remember that a primary Jewish practice, lighting candles on Shabbas, is not linked to Shul attendance and is easily performed in our own homes. Simply place 2 candles in candlesticks, light them, cover your eyes and say a blessing.

      Ordinary Friday comes every single week and has lost its uniqueness. Many of us have forgotten the significance of pausing for a moment, lighting two candles and welcoming Shabbat into our homes.

       Try carving a few minutes of meaningful time out of a hectic schedule. Kindle Shabbat candles. See these candles as spiritual bookends testifying to the importance of belief and action, love and faith, Tzedakah of time and money, remembering Shabbat and observing Shabbat; the list goes on. Make this fire your own by lighting candles, saying 14 ancient Hebrew words and remembering that nobody else in the world performs this act. Only we do so. Therefore, we are unique and the light which we bring into the world is unique. Here is the Blessing for Shabbat Candles

     We can also sanctify time and remember our sacred purpose – to free those enslaved and to testify to the sacred nature of freedom. Kiddush declares the holiness of time itself. Since it is so important we adorn Kiddush by offering a toast to God with wine (but wine itself is not Kiddush).If you feel rusty chanting Kiddush, drop by shul any Thursday between 11:00 and Noon for a 5 minute refresher of Kiddush to listen to a beautiful rendition on CD (not my voice) and work on the Hebrew with me. Or check out Kiddush and the other blessings on our website. Or drop by shul at 6:45 p.m. on Fridays for a refresher. Or ask me to come to your home or office and I will coach you a bit on making Kiddush.

So many options- will you join me in bringing a sense of Shabbat holiness into your home?

     I look forward to rekindling Shabbat with you on your own terms.

     May the upcoming Shabbats in the year 5776 be a day wherein we bless God for creating fire and sanctifying us to be the keepers of the flame of Holiness and Justice.

Shalom, Rabbi Steve Silberman

The World Around You

Think about your actions these past 24 hours!  Some of us have invested a great deal of time over the past day of Yom Kippur, attending synagogue services. Others fasted. Still others have done both. You have been motivated to change your behavior, your location and your diet because of your concern for others and for your desire to improve your spiritual life. Within Judaism, the care and the respect given to others equals the care and respect due to each one of us. The goal of this season is to heighten our sensitivity to each other. Congratulations on taking seriously such a significant human endeavor!

          This coming Shabbat we read the Torah portion named Ha-azinu, during which Moses calls out to the heavens and earth to be witnesses to human conduct. For us, this Torah reading can speak personally. Consider your behavior as reaching out beyond yourself and impinging upon the world all around you-from your daily life through your home, to other places including homes and workplaces of others in your life-and to heaven itself. Congratulations on your deep spiritual work this past day and on making such an impact upon our world.

Shabbat Shalom!

SUPER SUKKAH SUNDAY 

8 AM Sukkah Build     https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ahavas-Chesed-Synagogue/113466215353732

6 PM Sukkah Celebration   https://www.facebook.com/events/1674707629409420/

Dairy Pot Luck~Yehuda on Guitar~DJ DH

RSVP

Send song requests to David Ahavaschesedmobile@gmailcom

Shul Schedule

NEW! Ahavas Chesed Video Bencher

Shabbat Candle Lighting

Hamotzi

Kiddush

More on the way!

Offering Kiddush Clinicson Thursdays!

The Yom Kippur Connection

As I write this message to you, preparing for Yom Kippur, I hear the clock ticking away the last moments before you and I convene as one in Shul. The ticking reminds me of the eventual passage of time; inexorably we move into the future but we are born out of the past. This day takes us back to our earlier memories of Yom Kippur.

     As a child I used to play with my mother's special Yom Tov watch with a decorative clasp. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are marked by those memories. Some of us may have played with a relative’s tallis, twirling its tzitzit while others might have carefully examined a mother’s bracelet or necklace or run fingers up and down a scarf.

      Yom Kippur is a time for establishing connections with family. If you have a cherished heirloom that connects you to a loved one perhaps a watch, a bracelet, some jewelry or a scarf, bring that with you during the services. Or perhaps your family did not attend services but you might bring a photo, a shawl, a necktie, a ring or bracelet or handkerchief as a remembrance of someone important in your life. By so doing you connect yourself with your roots and you establish your roots as part of our community. Your bringing your loved ones into shul adds depth to our service and our community.

    Yom Kippur is a time for reaching into the past as we step forward into the future. Even as we step into the future we remember that there are people in our own community who are hungry. Please remember to bring a bag of grocery items to be donated to the Mobile Bay Area Food Bank. Our collection is puny at this point. It is my hope that as a Shul we will step up to the plate and feed more than a few families. As we turn inward during our worship and our Torah study may we contribute to the health of others; sealing each other and ourselves for a good and sweet year.

G’mar chatimah tovah (To be completely sealed for goodness),

Rabbi Steve Silberman

6 easy ways to prepare ourselves for Yom Kippur

(arriving Tuesday, Sep. 22 at sundown)

1-Plan to wear clean white clothing as a symbol of purity. This tradition equates each of us with the High Priest who wore white garments during the days of the TEMPLE! Purity of garments hopefully helps to foster a pure mental outlook.

2- Plan to 'unplug' from as many devices as possible for 25 hours. It's challenging but allows us to focus on true priorities. Check in with all of your loved ones in the upcoming days and wish them well and explain you'll be 'offline' for Yom Kippur. (Try to use text messages and phone calls only for health emergencies).

3- Mentally prepare yourself to eliminate food and beverages during the 25 hour long fast, from sundown until one hour after sundown. (Caffeine drinkers need to gradually decrease their consumption a few days in advance before going 'cold turkey'). Pregnant/nursing women are not allowed to fast. People required to eat in order to take medicine or due to health concerns may eat small quantities of food as directed by a doctor. (This does not allow dessert or seconds or large meals-see yourself as fasting between the required small portions).

4- Recognize the power of admitting mistakes. It takes a self-confident person to admit wrong-doing and to own up to mistakes.

5- Apologize wholeheartedly to someone whom you love for a wrong you have done. Do not make excuses. Accept responsibility. It will change you for the better!

6- Admit in your own mind a wrong done, that most probably nobody else knows, but haunts you. Admit your wrong before God and ask for the strength to overcome the tendency to repeat this deed. This is the essence of Teshuvah - repentance. (It's private! Only you and God know about it!).

P.S. We Jews do this soul-searching collectively so as not to point fingers. All of us have room for improvement. The entire public liturgy seeking forgiveness is written as "We have erred..." and "Our transgressions..." We are all one community trying to improve ourselves!

Blessings of forgiveness to us all! A sweet and fulfilling 5776 to all!

G’mar Chatimah Tovah- May you all be sealed for goodness!

Rabbi Steve Silberman

May I have your attention please!

What do you see when standing in line at the bank or grocery store, or when filling up the gas tank? People everywhere are texting, talking and emailing. The new posture is balancing a cell phone while standing in line or leaning against furniture, with a credit card in one hand and also talking to a clerk. We're trying to effectively cram as much stuff as possible into a confined span of time. And we lose the ability to patiently listen to the person immediately in front of us, next to us or on the phone with us.

       Rosh Hashanah is approaching and the Torah reading associated with Shabbat is Nitzaveem, which means "standing up. “Everyone is standing together! Children, adults, teens, spouses, parents and grandparents, elders and leaders, families and individuals; all are assembled and standing up together. The specific text describes Moses's call to everyone to be attentive to God as the community prepares to enter the Promised Land.  As we approach Rosh Hashanah this text has much to offer. In a few days we shall assemble in Shul to welcome the New Year and to stand in the presence of the Ultimate One. It is a time to focus our attention and to be patient with each other, both during services, and especially in the upcoming year.

     

May the upcoming year be a year of sweetness and health, patience, love and blessings!

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Steve Silberman

Sisterhood Reception

Shalom Y’all!

1)Looking forward to seeing you at the Sisterhood reception from 5:00-7:00 p.m. tomorrow evening (Tuesday). Enjoy some wine and cheese and get reacquainted. Hope you already RSVP’d.

2) Reminder- Cantor Adinah Ackerman will be here for Shabbas services on Friday and Saturday, Sep.11-12 as a BONUS before Rosh Hashanah! Come and enjoy her beautiful voice during the services!

For those not on Facebook (where I have been posting) you might enjoy a meditation to be pondered during the week ahead. Check out our Facebook page.

Ahavas Chesed Synagogue. (https://www.facebook.com/AhavasChesedSynagoge?ref=py_c )

    Meditation 1)    Do we just expect to walk into a New Year as if nothing has changed in our lives in the previous year? If we Jews want Rosh Hashanah to mean something we need to prepare for the season. One traditional method is to meditate upon Psalm 27 from now forward; from today until the end of Sukkot. Perhaps ponder the phrase "God is my light and my help." Each of us experiences darkness differently. How does light describe your connection with God?
With wishes for you to have a morning filled with light and light which continues onward into your moments of darkness-Rabbi Steve Silberman

  

   Meditation 2)   Another phrase calls out to me - "One thing I seek -to dwell in the House of God''. What's the prescribed course of action for you and me to enter God's house? Is the method the same for people of different religions? I would say yes.

     God does not discriminate against people. Living a life marked by love, respect, self-respect, honesty, tenderness, Tzedakah and integrity includes some of the necessary ingredients for us to arrive at this truly awesome destination. Just imagine being welcomed into God's own living room! Wow! Talk about 'rocking the house down!' By the way- I do not think this refers to death; rather profound spiritual clarity and connectedness. May we all do what we need to make it there! Let's start our spiritual engines!
Lila tov- Have a good night! Rabbi Steve Silberman

Meditation 3)     One week to go until Rosh Hashanah. Tonight I am drawn to a phrase from Psalm 27, which is read twice daily at this season. “God will hide me in the Divine shelter in a time of fear and conceal me within God’s own tent.” If I am in God’s own tent why do I need to hide? I would be utterly protected in God’s own place! Perhaps it is because when I fear, I feel like running away. The Psalm recognizes this. Even if I make it into God’s own place it’s difficult to change old patterns. The Psalm reassures us that God is on our sides and will help us to overcome fear even as we are crippled by old habits. As a New Year dawns let us commit ourselves to fearing less and not needing to hide. L’shanah Tovah- Rabbi Steve Silberman

Most of us are very busy. It seems that we are running from point A to point B with work, charitable work, social obligations, shopping, errands, pet care, household maintenance; the list grows ever longer and we feel that we are becoming ever more busy. Perhaps that’s why in this era of ‘labor–saving devices’ we all feel ever more tired and in need of a break. Labor Day approaches and offers one more chance to catch an important breath. Just beyond Labor Day is Rosh Hashanah which serves to remind us that we are part of the world. Time and the universe were created on Rosh Hashanah and this holiday is to reawaken our individual connections to God and the universe’s own rhythm.

       But it’s not easy to jump into Rosh Hashanah without any preparation.

     Join us Saturday evening Sep. 5 at 8:00 p.m. for an enjoyable cooking seminar ( we are learning how to make a popular Israeli dish- shakshuka) and then remain to adorn our sanctuary. Each of us has a role to play in preparing the Shul itself for Rosh Hashanah. The cost for the food is $3 per person.

        A 30 minute Selichot preparatory service will be conducted after the dressing of the Torah scrolls in their special white covers. It is an opportunity for us to enter the New Year as individuals who choose to be part of a larger group. Will you join us to dress the Torah scrolls?

       This Shabbat morning we read the Parsha which is named Ki Tavo which means ‘when you enter’. It refers to the Israelites who are anticipating their entry into the Promised Land. They worked hard -travelling through the wilderness, seeking water, caring for their families, tending their animals. They must have longed for a vacation weekend too. But, their Labor Day was just beginning. They were about to cross over the Jordan River in order to build a society. Talk about work never stopping!

       Their labor paid off! Israel became a reality and we are the descendants. Will we live up to the holy work, beginning with Rosh Hashanah, of making our lives matter? The choice is ours. Please choose to belong.

 Here’s to resting from too much work! 

 Shabbat Shalom,

 Rabbi Steve Silberman