Parashat - V'Zot HaBerachah - Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12
HafTorah - Joshua 1:1-18
Dear friends,
Beginning tomorrow (Friday) morning, we will be celebrating Hoshana Rabbah, Shemini Atzeret (including Yizkor), and Simchat Torah during this very special Shabbat/Yom Tov weekend. Here is the lineup of our services and activities both on Zoom and in person.
Friday, October 9th 9:30 am--Hoshana Rabbah service.
This holiday marks the end of Sukkot and essentially the end of the High Holy Day season on reflection and repentance. We take the lulav and etrog for the last time and at the end of the service, we remove the willow branches from the lulav set and strike them against a hard surface until the leaves fall out. This completes the cycle of symbolically casting out our sins that we began at the Cotee River on Rosh Hashanah. It is said that divine judgment is sealed during Yom Kippur, but delivered on high on Hoshana Rabbah. Thus, much of the service is chanted in High Holy Day melodies. The Zoom link for this service is:
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Hoshanah Rabbah
Time: Oct 9, 2020 09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 497 903 0958
Passcode: 5QdVaA
Friday, October 9th 7:30 pm--Shemini Atzeret/Shabbat service.
Shemini Atzeret is the "8th Day of Assembly" immediately following Sukkot. We will have our regular Shabbat service supplemented with special readings for the Yom Tov, saving the most distinctive rituals (prayer for rain and Yizkor) for Saturday morning. The Zoom link for this service is:
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Shabbat Service
Time: Oct 9, 2020 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 497 903 0958
Passcode: 5QdVaA
Saturday, October 10th 9:30 am--Shemini Atzeret/Shabbat/Yizkor service.
On this very special Shabbat/Yom Tov morning, we chant the traditional prayer for rain (Mashiv Ha'ruach u Morid Ha'Geshem) pleading for the life-giving sustenance that rain provides throughout the world. This prayer is then chanted each day as part of the Amidah until Passover. Also, we complete the practice of Remembrance (Zichronot) begun during the preparation for the High Holy Days by chanting the Yizkor service. This is the last time to participate in this service to remember our loved ones who came before us until the end of Passover. The Zoom link for this service is:
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Shemini Atzeret
Time: Oct 9, 2020 09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 497 903 0958
Passcode: 5QdVaA
Saturday October 10th 6:30 pm--Simchat Torah service.
As we bid farewell to Shabbat with Havdalah, we begin the celebration of completing the Torah and beginning the next cycle. We read the last portion of Deuteronomy and the first portion of Genesis with much joy and fanfare. We will have to temper our usual celebration and forego the annual ice cream, etc. party, but will sing and dance as we thank God for reaching the end of another Torah cycle and commit to a deeper understanding of the Torah and the mitzvot as we re-read it in 5781!
The Zoom link for this service is:
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Simchat Torah
Time: Oct 10, 2020 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 497 903 0958
Passcode: 5QdVaA
I wish all of you a wonderful Tom Tov weekend and very much look forward to seeing you either in person or on Zoom
Chag Sameach!
Ron Becker,
Spiritual Leader