For a description of how to login to Zoom, click here. For our calendar of events, click here.
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Annual Picnic
August 8, 2021, 12-2pm
Our Temple picnic will be held in the tent at the back of the JCC (near the tennis courts). It will be family friendly, with games for the kids and good food and conversation for all. We will supply sandwiches and drinks and are asking everyone to bring a dish to pass. It would be VERY helpful if you could contact Renate with your reservation (rliving5@rochester.rr.com, 585-721-8183) before August 4. Some of our members and guests have special health needs that we want to keep in mind. To help protect these individuals, please wear a mask if you are unvaccinated. Guests, visitors, and prospective members are warmly welcome to attend – we look forward to meeting you!
Books and Bagels
Next Books and Bagels: August 22, 10am
Join us as we discuss books of Jewish interest; bring a book to present or come to discuss the books that others bring. To login via Zoom, click here. To connect via phone, call 1-929-205-6099 and use meeting ID 853 0537 9410. For more information, contact Carl Wetzstein (585-266-6982 or carlwetzstein38@gmail.com).
Board of Trustees Meetings
3rd Tuesday of each month, 7pm – next meeting: Aug 17, 2021
Our Board meetings are open only to Temple Emanu-El members; any Temple Emanu-El member may attend. To join the meeting via Zoom, click here: Board. To login by phone, call 1-929-205-6099 and use meeting ID 848 0442 4414.
Chevre Torah Study
Saturdays, 9:30-11:30am
Chevre Torah provides an in-depth discussion of the weekly Torah portion and highlights from the other books of the Bible, combining traditional commentaries with contemporary perspectives and the wisdom of our own experience. For the Hebrew blessing for Torah study, click here: Blessing. If the meeting is online, click here to login via Zoom: Torah Study. To login by phone, call 1-929-205-6099 and use meeting ID 286 821 117.
July 31, 2021 – We will be online:
From 9:30 to 10:25am – II Samuel 8-9. David expanded Israelite territory from Egypt to the Euphrates (Iraq), and “executed true justice among all people.” Were these conquests necessary and good?
From 10:35 to 11:30am – Deuteronomy 9:4-10:11. Moses repudiates the idea that God gave Israel the land because of any innate superiority. What was God thinking when God chose Israel? Moses pleads, “Oh Adonai, do not annihilate Your very own people!” Why does God seem to repeatedly fail in achieving God’s goals?
Elul Classes Online
Mondays, Aug 9, 16, 23, 30, 7-8:30pm
Rabbi Setel will lead a series of classes during the month of Elul leading up to the High Holidays.
This Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish calendar begins a Shmita/Sabbatical year, a time when the Torah instructs us to let the land rest and lie fallow. Our Elul classes will give participants an opportunity to learn about the principles of Shmita and consider how they might apply to our lives today. The underlying value of the practice of Shmita is to create a sustainable and equitable economy. Each class session will address a specific concern related to Shmita:
August 9: The Sources of Shmita. What do the Torah and Talmud have to say about the practice of Shmita? What values are involved in these teachings?
August 16: Sabbatical Economy. How do the practice and principles of Shmita impact economic activity? What does this have to teach us about the nature of money, work, and property? Why does the release of debt play such an important role?
August 23: Sabbatical Food Systems, with Rochester City Council Member Mitch Gruber, Chief Strategy and Partnerships Officer at Foodlink. How do we create a society in which everyone has equal access to food? What obstacles to that vision exist in our local Rochester community and what might we do about it?
August 30: Reclaiming the Sabbatical Tradition. How do we incorporate the principles of Shmita into our personal and communal practice? How might Shmita be used today as a Jewish offering to support the global movement for sustainability?
To join via Zoom, click here: Elul. To login by phone, call 1-929-205-6099 and use meeting ID 867 3635 5404. Guests and visitors are warmly invited to join the class.
Hospitality Team Meeting Online
1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30pm – next meeting: August 3, 2021
All are welcome. Confirm the meeting with Brenda Mudd (bbbhd0929@gmail.com) To join via Zoom, click here: Hospitality. To login by phone, call 1-929-205-6099 and use meeting ID 869 2515 9460.
Men’s Club
2nd Tuesday of each month, 9am – next meeting: August 10, 2021
Open to all Temple Emanu-El men. Join us for coffee and pleasant conversation. For our August meeting, we will meet in Seneca Park. Call Michael Perlson (585-388-5211) if you need additional information.
Spiritual Practices Team Meeting Online
Tikkun Olam Team Meeting Online
Monthly on Sundays, 11:30am – next meeting: August 22, 2021
As Reform Jews, we participate actively in Tikkun Olam, “repair of the world.” Our social justice work is done in a variety of ways: education on the issues, advocacy for specific policies and legislation, and implementing our vision through direct action and service. Please join us to hear what we’re doing next – we’d love to have your input and help. To join the meeting via Zoom, click here. To login by phone, call 1-929-205-6099 and use meeting ID 814 1494 5259.