EVENTS: Present, Future, and Past
Sunday, June
23rd
at the Collins Center we will have a:
10:30 - General Meeting for members only to review the year, hold
elections, and discuss some possible changes and events that will be coming up
for the next year.
11:30 - Bake Sale - We will be holding a bake sale after the meeting and just prior
to Game Day. We are asking that all members contribute either a home baked item
(cake, cookies, cupcakes, muffins, etc.) or donate $5 so to supplement our
sale. Please let Mary know what you want to do for this (861-2056).*
12:00 - Game Day - Come and join us for
a lovely light lunch (yes, prepared by our Shirley - who else?) followed by an
afternoon of fun enjoying games with our fellow congregants and your neighbors
and friends. Tickets are $10 each and will be available starting on the
evening of services next Friday night (May 24th) or you can contact Estelle at
861-2542 (after June 1st) or me. [We will
need bridge tables for game day – please let me know if you can loan us one or
two]
Please note - Our expenses this year are going up. If we wish to
continue with the quality of our services for Shabbat and High Holidays, we all
need to do our part to keep us fiscally secure. Therefore we are asking you to
participate in our fundraisers in whatever way you can in order to help us
reach our financial goals.
*If you choose to contribute $5 for the bake sale,
please mail it to Mary at 9800 SW 89 Loop, Ocala, FL 34481 by June 18.
Services for June
Rabbi Karen Allen will be conducting services for
this coming month on Friday night, June 28 at 8pm at the Collins Center.
Jewish Festival of Marion
County
November 10
2013 is the date for the Jewish Festival of Marion County which will be held at
Temple B’Nai Darom under the leadership of Jeff Helicher. With food,
entertainment, cultural and educational activities as well as contests – this
is going to be a great FUN event!!! But we will need your help! Sonia is in charge of our sponsorship committee,
Sonni heads our food committee, and Judi will be working on our tables for
education/culture committee and organizational merchandizing. Please reply to my email or speak to Mary
(861-2056) on our planning committee (and Secretary and head of the overall
Food Committee) if you would like to help. We also want any ideas or
suggestions you may have. What a
wonderful way for the people of Ocala
to get to know the Jewish people and what a
great fundraiser for our congregation!!!
Services for April
Another lovely service was led by our Rabbi Karen
Allen this month. She was delighted to
announce that Jewish women, according to law, now have the right to pray at the
Western Wall in Jerusalem.
As she explained, Judaism is not static, it is a religion that grows. And so,
we have this historic law in Israel
that gives equal rights in this regard. How appropriate as we celebrate
Mothers’ Day soon and Rabbi Allen explained how this holiday, originally pagan,
was introduced into our country by Julia Ward Howe to celebrate not only
mothers but also the hope for peace.
Shabbaton
A
weekend full of wonder and delight! From
the services, to the lunch ‘n’ learn, to the concert on Saturday night our
congregation was blessed to have student rabbi Hannah Spiro leading us in this
Jewish spiritual journey learning and thinking about the various aspects of
God, enhancing our knowledge of Reconstructionism, and enjoying the many forms
of Jewish music.
Hannah
Spiro brought with her, her youthful energy and enthusiasm and imbued in each
of us her liveliness, bringing us all closer to our own feelings of Judaism. Her
services were thoughtful and insightful and at the same time brought alive by her
own interpretation and experiences related to the words of the Torah.
And
what a creative way to learn about Mordecai Kaplan and Reconstructionism! Quotes
from people about various aspects of Judaism including Zionism, relation to
non-Jews, practice, prayer, peoplehood, and God were chosen and read by the
congregants and then talked about in a discussion led by Hannah. Although their
ideas may have differed in many ways, we realized there were many commonalities
.
Rounding
out the weekend was a terrific concert Saturday evening! Hannah sang some traditional, some
contemporary and some of her own folk music. And to our surprise and delight,
our own singing wonder, Judi Siegal, joined her for several selections!
Bravo!!!
And
let us not fail to mention another highlight of the weekend, a fabulous lunch
prepared by our own special caterer, Shirley Gottfried. Taking into account the special needs of our
student rabbi as well as our gluten free board member, me, Shirley prepared a meal
that we will all rave about for weeks to come! From her lovely salad, to a
special cold strawberry soup, to a scrumptious quiche, and a mouthwatering
dessert, this was a meal not to be missed!
Much
thanks goes to all who helped make this a wonderful weekend – Hannah, Judi,
Shirley, Janis, Estelle, Missy, Sonia, Mary and everyone else who contributed.
And let us not
forget Virginia Brissette and the Jewish Council of North Central Florida. We
so much appreciated having Virginia
join us on Friday night and are grateful for the grant from the council
allowing us to bring this event to our congregants and the many guests who
joined us.
Made possible by a grant from the
Jewish Council of North Central Florida
Watch for our press releases in the South Marion Citizen and the Citrus County Chronicle.
