Simchat Torah Celebration

October 10

The combined service to celebrate Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, and Shabbat will be led by Rabbi Audrey on Saturday, October 10, beginning at 9:45am. This is both a solemn ceremony that includes the annual prayer for rain and a joyous celebration of the completion of the Torah and the beginning of next year's cycle of readings. We will have singing and dancing to the music of our Klezmer band, Shir Madness. The services end with Yizkor. Plan to stay for a Kiddush luncheon.

Caring for Survivors of the Holocaust

Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

We will review the history of the Holocaust and the clinical importance of the varied experiences Jews suffered from being in the Ghettos, Concentration Camps, Labor Camps, Life in Hiding, Resistors and Partisans. We will explore the survivors post war experiences in Displaced Person camps and their reception in the US and Israel. We will then discuss the "reestablishment" of families and the problems of mourning and loss with aging. Existential problems of post Holocaust theology will also be explored. Finally we will address the inter-generational transmission of trauma as experienced by children and grandchildren of survivors. I will provide information about opportunities to visit isolated and lonely aging survivors living in the Boston area through a program sponsored by Jewish Family Services.

Michael A. Grodin, M.D. is Senior Faculty, Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies; Director, Program on Medicine and the Holocaust; Professor of Bioethics, Human Rights, Philosophy, and Psychiatry Boston University

For more information contact Joyce Hollman, 617-527-3030 or Eileen Schwartz, Shir Hadash Adult Ed Committee.

From the President

Rosh HaShanah Remarks

Highlights of Past Year

With Rabbi Audrey’s help Shir Hadash joined this past year with our 2 sister Reconstructionist congregations, Dorshei Tzedek and Hillel Bnai Torah, to celebrate Selichot and erev Shavout services. These experiences proved to be so enriching that we are adding a 3rd joint service in the coming year. In addition, we had joint services with the Sunday School for Jewish Studies and the Harvard Hillel Worship and Study Minyan and expect to continue these relationships.

Rabbi Audrey also introduced to us Mayyim Hayyim, a new facility that offers a modern version of ritual cleansing. Another benefit we continued receiving from her is her lovely voice. Not only did we derive a lot of pleasure listening to her chant the prayers but also she continued teaching us the melodies so we can share in the joy of singing.

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