Letter from Rabbi Ross

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Rabbi Michael RossDear TBS Friends and Family,

This Saturday, 9:30 am is our next Prayer Lab, and we will look at the Amidah prayer and we will experiment with tallit and kippah. Grab a bagel and join us for the discussion!

Purim is coming and TBS will have two wonderful celebrations. This Sunday morning, 3/5, at 10 am, our religious school will have a Purim Play, followed by a Purim Carnival at 11:00. We need volunteers to help set up, run and clean up these games. All volunteers will get hamantaschen to eat!

Next Friday, 3/10, at 7:30 pm is our Purim Shabbat & Megillah reading! Please wear a funny hat or a costume. Lechaims and hamantaschen will be served! Join us next Friday at 7:30!

PAINFUL NEWS FROM ISRAEL
This has been a terrible week in Israel:

  • The protests against the proposed judicial overhaul of the Supreme Court continued for the eighth straight week. Rabbi Rick Jacobs addressed the more than 180,000 protesters in Tel Aviv last Saturday.
  • Sunday, two Israeli settlers were killed by a Palestinian. Several hundred Israeli settlers rampaged through the Palestinian town of Huwara throughout the night in what is the worst Jewish pogrom in state’s history. Many homes and cars were burned, one died, scores were hospitalized.
  • Monday, another Israeli was killed in the West Bank – an American from Connecticut.
  • On Wednesday, the protesters held a national strike and demonstrated in Tel Aviv. Water cannons, stun grenades and rubber bullets were used to break up the protests.

Reconstructing Judaism released the following statement earlier this week decrying the violence:
https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/news/shootings-raids-killings-and-a-pogrom-responding-to-current-violence-in-israel-and-palestine/

Our hearts go out to the mourners and the victims of the senseless violence. These protests against the judicial reforms can be confusing and complicated. It is time for American Jews to get educated on these complex ideas and grapple with these moral dilemmas.

Prayer Lab – Saturday. 3/4  –  9:30 am
We will explore the Amidah – the pinnacle of the prayer experience. Each session is independent, so folks can come and go as they need to and do not need to attend each session. Join us for bagels, great discussion, and some Torah Study about this week’s section, Tetzaveh. These sessions will be multi-access: both in-person and via zoom. All are welcome!

SAVE THE DATE: March 10 – PURIM IS COMING
We will gather for a Purim Service, Megillah reading and lechaims on Friday 3/10. Find a silly hat or costume to wear!

Beyond Borders: The Art of Siona Benjamin
On Sunday March 5 at 1:30pm TBS members will meet at the Galleries at CSU, 1307 Euclid Ave, Cleveland (next to Playhouse Square) to receive a guided tour of the exhibit Beyond Borders: The Art of Siona Benjamin. The exhibit is free, but you will likely need to pay for parking.

Raised as a Jew and member of the Bene Israel community in a largely Hindu and Muslim Mumbai, Siona Benjamin attended Catholic and Zoroastrian schools before moving to the US. Benjamin’s transcultural view has been shaped by diverse, complex experiences and is inspired by history and mythology, as illustrated by the captivating characters and symbolism which populate her pieces. Our guide is the curator of the exhibit, Samantha Baskin Ph.D., Professor of Art History at Cleveland State with a specialty in Jewish art.

Below is a link to the CSU Galleries website for more information or if anyone wishes to also visit on their own.
The Galleries at CSU | Cleveland State University (csuohio.edu)

TBSBrotherhood meeting
Sun. 3/5, 9:00 am at TBS. We meet throughout the year in the spirit of friendship and good humor.

TBSSisterhood event
Our next outing is Tues. 3/14, Sisterhood Dinner Out at Oak and Embers Tavern, 7774 Darrow Rd, Hudson, OH 44236 – 7:15 pm (3/21 if bad weather). Please RSVP jeanrhodes16th@gmail.com.

Purim Oneg Help Request!
We are looking for someone to serve the Hamentaschen and the rest of the Purim Oneg, on Friday 3/10. Please consider taking that Oneg perhaps with a friend? It is relatively uncomplicated as the baking has been done! Please contact Jean Rhodes at jeanrhodes16th@gmail.com if you can help.  Other Oneg openings this year are 5/19 and 6/23.  A detailed how-to Oneg guide will be provided. Robin and I are out of town that Purim at a Sisterhood conference. Thank you!

UPCOMING TBS GATHERINGS

  • Sat. 3/4, Prayer Lab – 9:30 am – 11:30 am: Amidah, Part 2 – in-person and on zoom
  • Sun. 3/5, Brotherhood Meeting – 9:00 am at TBS
  • Sun. 3/5, Religious School Purim Carnival & Spiel – 10:00 am at TBS
  • Sun. 3/5, Beyond Borders: The Art of Siona Benjamin – 1:30 pm at the Galleries at CSU, Cleveland
  • Fri. 3/10, Purim Shabbat & Megillah Reading – 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm with Chuck Fink – in-person and on zoom
  • Tues. 3/14, Sisterhood Dinner Out – 7:15 pm at Oak and Embers Tavern, 7774 Darrow Rd, Hudson, OH 44236 (3/21 if bad weather)
  • Sat. 3/18, Prayer Lab – 9:30 am – 11:30 am: Amidah, part 3 – in-person and on zoom
  • Fri. 3/24, Musical Shabbat – 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm – in-person and on zoom