Before leaving for Israel with 27 of our Temple Emanu-El teens (TE’s inaugural, post-Confirmation class, Schiffer Teen Israel trip), more than a few people good-naturedly questioned my sanity.
“Are you sure that you want to do this?” they would ask. And when I assured them that I did, they would (half-seriously) follow up with a very frank, “Why”?
The short answer is that I am absolutely sure that the single best thing to deepen, cement, and connect to a tremendously positive Jewish identity is this type of trip. It is the type of experience that begins to define who a person is at their core.
7:30pm - Shabbat Servicewith Rabbi Spike and Rabbi Rachael in the Diamond Family Chapel Join us in person! Facebook Live | Youtube Live
July 1 - Saturday
8:30am - Kaddish Minyan service with Rabbi Spike in the Diamond Family Chapel Join us in person! Click here to join over Zoom
9:00am - Chevrah Torah - Torah Study with Rabbi Spike in the Diamond Family Chapel Join us in person! Click here to join over Zoom July 4 - Tuesday- Independence Day
**Please register for all classes & events through your My Emanu-El portal to ensure you receive all email notifications. Contact the office for help.**
Your Temple Emanu-El Antisemitism committee thought it important for you to see both Brendan Murphy’s, and Archbishop Hartmayer’s, words of Catholic support for the Jewish community following last weekend’s antisemitic demonstrations.
My Dear Friends:
The Catholic community of the Archdiocese of Atlanta extend to you our thoughts and prayers in the wake of this latest wave of antisemitism.
Click here to read Archbishop Hartmayer's statement issued today. Shalom! - Fr. Paul Burke
A response from Brendan Murphy, Educator at the Marist School and our partner in education on antisemitism
Dear Father Burke and Archbishop Hartmayer,
As a Catholic I find encouragement in our leadership’s prompt and clear response. Unsurprising to anyone on this email list I believe education is one of the most effective ways of combating antisemitism. To that end I want to thank you again for your support and endorsement of my wish to tell the story throughout the Archdiocese of Atlanta of “Synagoga and Ecclesia in Our Time,” the extraordinary statue installed on our campus at Marist School. A reflection of decades of tireless work done by Jewish and Catholic leaders throughout the world, one cannot appreciate the honest hope the work inspires without understanding the long and tragic history of antisemitism. Since our meeting with the Archbishop last winter I have been in contact with the archdiocese about next steps and have been welcomed onto the agenda for August’s upcoming meeting with pastors throughout the archdiocese at the chancery. With that opportunity to explain the subject of my lecture, its resonance and meaning for the archdiocese, and the myriad logistics, I can begin to schedule the adult education opportunity with parishes for the remainder of 2023 and well into 2024.
I look forward to seeing you again in early August.
Sincerely, Brendan Murphy
JF&CS: Family Estranement Support Group
Being estranged from loved ones brings mixed and complicated emotions. This virtual group is intended for those experiencing longstanding estrangements from family members. Group meetings will focus on processing and supporting one another.
There are two mitzvot pertaining to the Shabbat meal. One is oneg, the mitzvah to delight in Shabbat, as it is written: “Call Shabbat ‘delight’ (oneg)” (Isaiah 58:13). Oneg is fulfilled primarily through the meals, but snacks and a Shabbat nap are parts of it as well." (Peninei Halakhah, Shabbat 7:2:2) Providing the Oneg is performing a Mitzvah for our community.
Hosting an Oneg is not only a Mitzvah, but it can also be a way to celebrate a family event and share the good news with the congregation.
Commemorate birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, awards, graduations, B’nai Mitzvah and other happy occasions. Sponsor an Oneg today!
I will give them, in My House And within My walls, A monument and a name Better than sons or daughters. I will give them an everlasting name That shall not perish. (Isaiah 56:5)
We are commanded not merely to grieve but also to remember and to observe.
Temple Emanu-El’s Yahrzeit plaques both perpetuate the cherished memory of the loved ones we have lost and create a permanent family legacy.
Memorializing our loved ones in this way fulfills the commandment to give tzedakah in their honor.
To order your yahrzeit plaque(s) or to reserve a space, please click on the image or emailMarina.
