Dear Friends:
Once again this morning I want to share with you some national and regional opportunities to increase your Jewish learning.
-- This Sunday at 1 pm, the Jewish Community Relations Council is sponsoring its annual Holocaust Remembrance Service. The service will be held on Zoom and will feature a talk by Holocaust survivor Josie Traum. For more information or to participate, please visit this link.
-- On Sunday afternoon and evening May 15, the eighth annual JTS Evening of Learning will take place at Kol Shalom in Rockville. The topic is “Expanding the Canon: Transforming Judaism in the 21st Century.” The program will feature a keynote address by JTS’ new Chancellor Dr. Shuly Rubin Schwartz and study sessions led by JTS faculty, fellows, and board members. For more information and to register go to this link.
Please note that this is an in-person only event. The keynote and closing sessions will be video recorded and made available after the program but there will be no opportunity to join the program by Zoom or other video program in real time. The decision to offer the program only in person was made by JTS and not the co-sponsoring synagogues.
-- If you would like to increase your ritual skills and learn how to lead minyan, run a Shabbat service, or assist with lifecycle events, the Imun Program from July 11- 17 may be for you. This is an online-only program which meets for 3 to 4 hours a day except Shabbat to give its participants the necessary skills to lead these ritual activities. Applicants must belong to a small USCJ Congregation such as Kehilat Shalom, know how to read Hebrew, and be recommended by their rabbi or synagogue president. For more information contact Aimee Close at close@uscj.org. Space is limited and registration closes on May 1.
As I mentioned on Monday, tomorrow night during my “Contemporary Jewish Controversies” class I will be discussing the “Great American Rabbi Shortage.” For more information on the shortage of Conservative rabbis, see this article. For the closing of the rabbinic ordination program at the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College, see here. Last week, the Shalom Hartman Institute’s “Identity/Crisis” podcast interviewed HUC President Andrew Rehfeld on the closing of the Cincinnati program, a possible shared space arrangement in New York between HUC and JTS, and the future of the American rabbinate. The podcast can be accessed here and a transcript of the interview is available here.
Please note that starting this Sunday, May 1, evening minyan will include both Minchah and Ma’ariv. Please plan on minyan lasting until about 8:10 rather than 8 pm.
As a reminder, The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington has established a Ukraine Emergency Fund to meet emergency humanitarian needs. You can find out more and donate here.
As always, if I can do anything for you or you need to talk, please contact me at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org or 301-977-0768 rather than through the synagogue office. Although I am working primarily from home, I am happy to meet you at the synagogue by appointment.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Charles L. Arian