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From the President
My name is Jeffrey Schwartz and I am the newly elected president of Temple Shalom. I would like to thank all of you for entrusting me with this responsibility.
Temple Shalom has been my home and my support for many years, and I am honored by the opportunity to give back just a little of what I have received. I'll share a little of my history to help you understand why this place is so very special to me. When I joined the Temple in 1985, it was with a wife, Leslie, and two daughters, Samara and Joie. I quickly joined the Brotherhood, and then became a board member. In 1993, I joined the Ritual Committee and in 1998 became its chair. I was elected to the Executive Board in 2005.
My family has grown up here at Temple Shalom. All four of my children (I added another daughter, Marisa, and a son, Jacob along the way) have attended religious school beginning with Kindergarten through B'nai Mitzvah and Confirmation. They were active in junior congregation and youth groups and were here for services so often they began a Friday Night Oneg Club. Joie is past president of the Senior Youth Group. Their experiences here were instrumental in their development as active and committed Jews, carrying our faith into the next generation.
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Rabbi's Reflections...
Greening our Home
Our tradition has always been one filled with praise and blessing for the wonders which God has placed before us. This is no more true for anything, as it is for the almost incomprehensible gifts we find in nature. Consider how the following blessings describe our relationship with the world we live in:
Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech Ha-olam…. Blessed are You Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe…
On seeing the wonders of nature we say: Who gave us the gifts of creation.
On seeing the beauty of nature we say: Who has given us such as this in our world.
On seeing a tree blossom: who has withheld nothing from our world and has create within it beautiful creatures and goodly trees for our enjoyment.
There is even this one for an Electrical Storm: Whose might and power fill the world.
But what can one say upon seeing things in nature that deny and destroy her blessings: an oil stained beach, plumes of crude billowing in the gulf waters, ruined habitats, dying species and destroyed livelihoods?
Perhaps only, “Forgive us O God for the sin we have sinned against your works by the work of our own hands.” At the time this article was being written, oil from the BP disaster continued to billow into the Gulf of Mexico, destroying habitats that may take generations to recover, if ever.
We live in a world that is, sadly, of our own making. We and our parents and our parent's parents, and all who came before them have too often taken our world for granted and ignored the responsibilities given to us by God in the biblical story of Creation in which we were commanded to till and to tend, to not only make use of God’s gifts, but to care for them as a precious and divine treasure.
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Notes From the Cantor…
Shalom!
I am looking forward to some R & R. How about you? July is a slow month for cantors usually. We haven't yet begun our High Holy Day prep. Our students are mostly away at camp. It's a good time to take some much-needed vacation. So I shall.
If you are interested in singing with us for the High Holy Days, please do not hesitate to contact me now. I will be checking my e-mail regularly, (
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
) and can send out mp3's and have music ready for you for the first rehearsal that will take place on August 3rd at 8:00 pm. Many choir members know the music pretty well, so there is support from your fellow singers, and you do not have to be able to read music! Our High Holy Day choir enhances our services for the two evening services and the Standard (11:30) services on the first Day of Rosh HaShanah and the morning of Yom Kippur. Think about it - we'd love to have more singers join us.
Rosh HaShanah is early this year - Erev Rosh Hashanah is September 8th. I look forward to hearing from anyone who is interested in joining the High Holy Day choir.
Have a great summer!
Cantor Barr |
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Union for Reform Judaism and GreenFaith Launch Congregational Greening Pilot Program
NEW YORK, NY, June 3, 2010 | 21st Sivan 5770 – Today the Union for Reform Judaism, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and GreenFaith join together to launch the Greening Reform Judaism Pilot Program. Through the Pilot, eight Reform congregations in New Jersey will take part in the rigorous GreenFaith Certification Program, with the Union and GreenFaith underwriting the cost of their participation. The comprehensive Certification Program helps houses of worship across North America become environmental leaders through initiatives in facilities management, religious education and worship, and environmental justice. Upon completion, the synagogues will become certified as GreenFaith Sanctuaries and will be looked to as leaders in the Reform Movement’s greening efforts.
The eight congregations participating in the Pilot Program are Temple Shalom in Aberdeen, Temple Emanu-El in Edison, Barnert Temple in Franklin Lakes, Temple Shaari Emeth in Manalapan, Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick, Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange, Temple Shalom in Succasunna, and Temple Sinai of Bergen County in Tenafly. Although the Certification Program is national in scope, the Union chose New Jersey as the focus of its Pilot Program so that its New York-based staff can visit each of the participating congregations and see their efforts firsthand.
Click here to go to the Religious Action Center for Reform Judiasm to read the rest of this GreenFaith article. |
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