Shalom All,
I know it seems odd that the month of September is almost over and we have yet to celebrate Rosh Hashanah (September 29, Erev Rosh Hashanah Day; September 30, Rosh Hashanah Day and 2nd day of Rosh Hashanah, October 1), but that’s our calendar for this new year. What this means is the month of October is going to be an even busier month than usual. Besides Shabbat Shuva services on October 4th, there is also Yom Kippur on October 8th and 9th.
On October 13th, we will prepare for our week of Sukkot, by building the Temple’s Sukkah, starting at 10:00 in the morning. The following Sunday, October 20th, we will celebrate Simchat Torah. The Shir Yehudah band and singers always joins us for this service and we dance and parade with the Torah scrolls. We then read the last verses of Deuteronomy, detailing the death of Moses, then the first verses of Genesis, detailing the birth of the world.
Religious School and Mid-Week Hebrew are now in full swing for our school age members, and we have the third class in our Shalom Hartman Video Lecture series, Israel’s Milestones and Their Meanings, on October 17th. This month’s class in on the 6 Day War. The first two have proven to be very interesting. It’s not too late to join us if you’d like.
Finally, I’m participating in two Inter-Faith panel discussions. The first is October 15th at 6:30 PM at Coe College. The topic is “What is Religion?” I’ll be presenting along with other faith leaders in the community. In a similar vein, I was invited by the US Attorney’s General office of Northern Iowa to participate in a discussion titled, “Protecting Places of Worship”, at the Cedar Rapids Public Library on October 22nd, starting at 5:30 PM.
As you can see, there are plenty of opportunities to be involved with your community this month. I hope you’re all able to take advantage of them.
Shanah Tovah U’metukah,
A Good and Sweet year to you all.
Rabbi Todd