Parashat Korach (leader of the rebellion against Moses) Numbers 16:1 - 18:32
HafTorah Samuel I 11:14 - 12:22
Almond Blossoms - Vincent Van Gogh 1890
Dear friends,
The first day of summer has arrived and hopefully we're all doing well and into our summer activities. As you know, we are now well into the Book of Bamidbar (Numbers) and last week, read about reaching a turning point in the history of the exodus from Egypt and anticipation of entering the new land of hope. With the complaining and near insurrections, it is understood that the Hebrew nation was not ready to enter the promised land and only those who didn't know slavery would have that privilege and only after 39 more years in the wilderness.
This week's portion (Korach) contains a full-blown insurrection and one that is difficult to understand. On the one hand, we can sympathize with Korach and his followers for believing that all are equal, and we don't need dictatorial leadership. On the other hand, Korach's sin was that he was not truly trying to help the community by being collaborative but used this opportunity to shame Moses and his family in front of the entire nation and then take over himself.
How fitting is the portion of Korach to us in this day and age of marvelous technology which on the one hand enables us to reach so many people in helpful ways and to heal broken bodies and minds. The Internet and Zoom have enabled us to continue our services and educational activities during a major pandemic and beyond. However, that same technology allows us to rapidly spread gossip, lies, and slander i.e. Korach on steroids! We certainly have the right and indeed the obligation to disagree with others, but we must respectfully attack the ideas and not the people who hold them. We can criticize practices, but not shame those who practice them.
With this in mind, I look forward to gathering with you this evening at 7:30 pm and tomorrow morning at 9:30 am in-person and on Zoom for our Shabbat Services and Torah Study and Reading. Also please mark your calendars for these upcoming events:
. Thursday, July 27th at 9:30 am for the reading of the Book of Lamentations on Tisha B'Av morning
. Friday, August 4th for our Shabbat dinner and program
. Sunday, August 27th for Jewish Heritage Day at the Trop (Rays are playing the Yankees)
. Saturday evening, September 9th for our annual social hour and Selichot Services
. Sunday September 10th for our annual cemetery visitations to Beit Olam in Trinity, Grace Memorial in Hudson, and the National Cemetery in Bushnell
And please get your reservation forms and deposits to Galilee Travel ASAP for our upcoming inspirational trip to Israel, October 30-November 10 and renew your passports if necessary. The time is drawing near for this experience of a lifetime! Please see the note regarding the trip below the Zoom instructions.
Shabbat Shalom,
Ron
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FRIDAY:
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Shabbat Services, Friday 06/23/2023 7:30 pm
Time: Jun 23, 2023 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4979030958?pwd=YXJPT2FGVTdzVVV2bVQ3c1ZnS1lMZz09
Meeting ID: 497 903 0958
Passcode: 5QdVaA
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SATURDAY:
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Saturday Service, 06/24/2023 9:30 am
Time: Jun 24, 2023 09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4979030958?pwd=YXJPT2FGVTdzVVV2bVQ3c1ZnS1lMZz09
Meeting ID: 497 903 0958
Passcode: 5QdVaA
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As we are now just 4 months from embarking on a most exciting and inspirational journey, it is imperative that you get your reservation forms and deposits in right away so that Ofra Cohen at Galilee Travel can make the final arrangements. I have attached the itinerary, reservation form, and terms. We need to have 15 participants to finalize the trip and we will then be awarded two free trips. Whether you have been to Israel or not, this will be a trip-of-a-lifetime and a unique opportunity to share the experience with our synagogue family! And, although we are sponsoring it, we are not limited to synagogue members. Feel free to invited friends and family to join in. It is imperative that we send in our reservation forms and deposits as soon as possible so that arrangements with the hotels, tour guide, etc. can be finalized. If you want to travel with us but cannot afford it, we do anticipate being able to subsidize either partially or wholly those who need it. Please call me or Eileen confidentially if you need to take advantage of this. Finally, if you don't have a passport, or if your passport expires before the middle of 2024, please apply for it or renew it as soon as possible by visiting the Pasco County Government Center on 8731 Citizens Drive, Suite 220, just off of Little Road in New Port Richey. They can take care of everything on the spot (including filling out the forms and taking the photographs), but it takes a couple months to receive the new document.
https://www.pascoclerk.com/182/Passports
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me at rbecker@emeritus.rutgers.edu or Ofra at ofra@galileetravel.com
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