Shabbat Gathering: It was another simcha!

Gud Shabbos Khaveyrim, as is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p ct to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:

Zoom
Meeting ID: 883 8469 4181
Password: 822665
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

(To unsubscribe from the newsletter, click the link at the very bottom of this email.)

Special Thanks to Reid for stepping in to lead last week's Shabbat Gathering as I was puzzling over technical difficulties.

Happy birthday to Jeanne!

Here we go.

We were blessed with another simcha this past Shabbat. The synagogue received a “new” Sefer Torah (Torah scroll). New is in quotes because we don’t know how old it is but it’s probably from at least a few generations back. The synagogue has Donald Folberg to thank for the Torah. Donald, a past member of the congregation, owned the Torah and decided to give it a new home, our home.

During last Shabbat’s service, Donald related the story about how he was in Israel many years back and spotted a sofer (Torah scribe) working in a corner of a gift shop. Donald struck up a conversation with him and learned that the store had sefer Torahs for sale and he heard that there was a Torah for sale that had been rescued during the Shoah. Donald decided to buy it.

Donald’s Torah was used in various ways over the years and then it was stored in his garage. It stayed there until he decided he needed to give it a better home and placed a call to Rabbi Laurie.

And now the synagogue has three Sefer Torahs. Thank you, Donald, for your generosity.

And may it be for all of us a blessing.

See you tonight!
Mit vareme grusn,
(With warm regards,)

All my love,
brian.

PS

George Washington’s Letter to Newport | My Jewish Learning

Washington promises no sanction to bigotry, and no assistance to persecution.

My Jewish LearningMichael Feldberg

Debbie Friedman: Singing Unto God | My Jewish Learning

Debbie Friedman. American Jewish Music. Jewish Music in America. Jewish Music.

My Jewish LearningHank Bordowitz

The Real Reason Anne Frank Became a Global Symbol

Everyone knows Anne Frank: her face, her diary, her voice. But this video asks an uncomfortable question: did she become the world’s Holocaust symbol

UnpackedUnpacked Staff

American synagogues are being forced into a terrible choice: Collaborate with ICE or risk our own safety - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Jewish federations should fund security so synagogues don’t have to accept the federal government’s conditions, a Philadelphia rabbi urges.

Jewish Telegraphic AgencyRabbi Ari Lev Fornari, Jon Argaman

What To Know About ‘Shul Runnings,’ the Bobsled Team Representing Israel in the Winter Olympics – Kveller

It all started when Adam “A.J.” Edelman slid into some DMs. The Israeli athlete, who in 2018 made history as the first Orthodox person to compete in the Winter Olympics, was putting together a bobsled team. And the skeleton racer was recruiting in quite the unorthodox way: sending messages and making cold calls to find […]

KvellerLior Zaltzman

Anne Frank and ‘Night’ may soon be required reading in Texas public schools. Is that good for the Jews? - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

A first-of-its-kind list recognizes the importance of Holocaust education amid continuing tensions over who controls what students read and how those stories are taught.

Jewish Telegraphic AgencyAndrew Lapin

The Truth About Kosher Food That No One Ever Explains

Kosher isn’t just a blessing, a health trend, or an outdated rulebook — it’s one of the world’s oldest systems for eating with intention. From Oreos to

UnpackedUnpacked Staff

DuoYid

-30-