Tisha B'av

     "How lonely sits the city that once was filled with people. She has become a widow. She cries alone at night, and tears scar her cheeks. None of her beloved are left to comfort her...The lips of the nursing child are parched with thirst; children ask for bread, but there is none to give them... Our possessions have been claimed by strangers, our homes by foreigners... We are orphaned." (Book of Lamentations)

     For a thousand years, the Temple was our protection, our refuge. Until its final destruction in 70 CE, the Temple in Jerusalem was the heart and soul of the Jewish people. It was in the Temple that the Jewish people gathered, bringing their gifts of grain, fruits, animals and wine to thank God for the land's bounty. At the Temple they sought comfort tin their mourning and healing for their sick, celebrated the birth of a child and even went to search for an object they had lost. It was from the Temple that the leaders of Israel ruled; where Jews sought the presence of God and one another's company.

      Much like Congregation Micah. How fortunate we are to have our beautiful synagogue and the community that fills it. It is at Micah that we come together to celebrate and to mourn, to learn and to grow, to seek the presence of God and one another's company. The holy day of Tisha B'av, which formerly begins this Saturday at sundown and lasts a full day, commemorates the destruction of our Temple in Jerusalem. It is most appropriate that we honor this day of memory with gratitude for all that we have in Congregation Micah. We come together weekly to share in our traditions and to be together as a family

     This Friday at 6pm, we welcome our member and mayoral candidate Linda Eskind Rebrovick as she speaks to us from the bima. Please join us!

Reference: first paragraph - excerpt from the Book of Lamentations; second paragraph - excerpt from "The Tapestry of Jewish Time: A Spiritual Guide to Holidays and Life-cycle Events" by Nina Beth Cardin; third and fourth paragraph written by Rabbi Laurie.

Change in Leadership

Wandering for 40 years meant the children of Israel experienced many a change in leadership during their time in the desert. This week in the Torah, we read about the moment that Aaron passes the role of high priest on to his son, Eleazar. The two ascend with Moses to the top of Mount Hor, and it is there that Aaron clothes Eleazar in the vestments of the priesthood.

     Imagine the emotion the three must have felt on that mountain peak. Aaron, so beloved by the community, so wise in steering the people of Israel through many trials, handing the physical manifestation of his leadership role over to his son. Eleazar, receiving that mantle, excited and frightened by the possibilities of his future. And Moses, guiding them both, facilitating the sacred moment of transfer between the generations, aware, too, that one day even he would merit a replacement. 

     Sometimes a change in leadership can break a community apart. Not so for the Israelites, whose journey together would eventually culminate in arrival in the land of Israel. And not so, too, for our community here at Congregation Micah. This Shabbat we will offer our gratitude to President Marjean Coddon and her board for their incredible leadership. We will welcome a new board, led by President Jeff Landman to help guide us into the future. All the while, we recognize the sacredness of our community which, like that of our ancestors, maintains the same spirit, warmth, and values from generation to generation.

- Student Rabbi Emily Langowitz

We Are All Undone

"We are undone, we are all undone," we hear the children of Israel cry in this week's Torah reading.
Sometimes there is no other response to loss than this: the acknowledgement of tragedy's power to dismantle the fabric of our lives. These words ring true for us this week as we reflect on the loss of nine members of the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC to violence and hatred. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We pray that our fellow faith community find some measure of comfort and peace in the difficult weeks ahead.

When the Israelites cry out, they cry out with one voice. No individual is alone. The people of Charleston are not alone. We are all undone by the violence of our world, but we are also all partners in healing that world. It is here at Congregation Micah that we come together to build a caring community and to engage in that sacred work.


-Student Rabbi Emily Langowitz

Annual Meeting - June 26

FRIDAY, JUNE 26
6:00 p.m. Non-Dairy Potluck Dinner
6:30 p.m. Business Meeting
7:30 p.m. Shabbat Service and Installation

We will provide the main course and drinks.
Please bring a non-dairy side dish that serves 8-10 people.

RSVP to Micah at office@congregationmicah.org or 615-377-9799 

by June 22 and let us know what you are bringing.

Your RSVP is important as we need to be certain a quorum will be present.

PROPOSED SLATE FOR 2015-2016

Pursuant to Article X, Section 10.3 of our By-laws, the Nominating Committee reported the following Nominees to our Board at our meeting on May 20th. 

The Congregation is hereby notified of the following slate of nominations:

Executive Committee
President: Jeff Landman (no vote required)
Vice President: Marty Mulford
Secretary: Richard Morin
Treasurer: Richard Abelson (no vote required)
Immediate Past President: Marjean Coddon (no vote required)

Board of Trustees
3-Year Term: Wendy Kiepek, Bryan Benjamin, David Friedman
1-Year Term: Steve Rothenstein

Respectfully submitted by the Nominating Committee:
Chair - Jeff Landman, Marty Mulford, Rebecca Millman, Travis Curtis,
Melinda Hershkowitz, and Ron Heady.

Article X, Section 10.4: Nomination by Petition - Nomination for any elective office may be made by petition of thirty (30) members of the Congregation, with such nominations to be filed with the (current) Secretary at least fifteen (15) days before the election (June 11).

Article X, Section 10.5: Mailing of Petition - The Congregation shall be notified of said nominations by petition at least seven (07) days prior to the election (June 19).

We express our sincerest appreciation to our departing Officers and Board members:
Deborah McCormick, Karl Jahrling, Nick Ettinger, Michael Hershey, Melinda Hershkowitz, Josh Malkofsky-Berger, and Isabel Morin (MiTY President).

Shabbat Services for the Generations

Shabbat Services for the Generations

Kabbalat K'tan on Friday,

Nick Schaser on Saturday

     Join us this weekend for two exciting Shabbat Services! Tonight, beginning at 5:30 p.m., we will welcome our youngest members (and those young at heart) for a Kabbalat K'tan Shabbat Service. The service, created by Ms. Lisa Silver and Ms. Teri Simon (z'l), will feature the Kids' Choir as a vehicle used to capture the essence of our liturgy. The service will be simple enough for preschoolers to enjoy and sophisticated enough for thinking adults to experience with awe.  
     Micah member, Nick Schaser, will lead us for Bagels, Love, and Torah Study on Saturday morning. Schaser is a Ph.D. Candidate in History and Critical Theories of Religion and Jewish Studies Bibliographer at Vanderbilt University. He has taught several in-depth adult education classes at Micah and we are excited to welcome him back for Shabbat. We hope to see you on Saturday! 

Reform Jews For Israel

“If you will it, it is not a dream!’  -Theodore Herzl

There are many forms of Zionism: religious, political, etc.  At its core, Zionism is the belief, the movement that supports Jews and Jewish culture in the reestablished Jewish homeland called Israel. As part of the historical development of Zionism, an organization called the American Zionist Movement (AZM) was created.  Currently, it is holding elections to determine US Jewish representation to the World Zionist Congress (WZC), the highest legislative body of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). What this does is provides a forum for all the world’s Jews to come together and deliberate about issues affecting both Diaspora Jews and the state of affairs in Israel.

There are 145 seats in the Congress dedicated to the AZM. Its composition has both financial and policy implications in Israel, as resources are directed to recipients in Israel based on the power each party holds within the Congress, and the policy positions of those parties.

In short, these elections are the strongest way for American Reform Jews to promote and encourage the ideals of justice, equality and democracy in Israel itself and help build the kind of Jewish state we all know is possible.  What can you do? REGISTER & VOTE! RIGHT NOW!

It is in our power to create an Israel that values the Reform Jewish Movement as much as the Reform Jewish Movement values Israel.

This is the time. Tomorrow will be too late. Let’s make history.

http://www.reformjews4israel.org/vote

Modern State of Israel

"If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand wither.  

May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, 

if I do not raise you above my highest joy. " (Psalm 137:5-6)

     The modern State of Israel, unlike the vision of peace we pray for, is subject to the grit and grime of reality: living in a hazardous neighborhood, at times subjected to questionable ethics by some of its political leaders, with a unique challenge of existing as a Jewish nation and a working democracy. These should not repel us from its heart and soul. The birth of any nation comes at a price, and Israel's birth was no different. Yesterday, on Yom HaZikaron, and as Israel mourned its losses, we too held a service here in the Micah sanctuary in honor of the soldiers who paid the ultimate price in giving their lives for the country. The mood in Israel quickly shifts, as now the country and our community celebrates Yom Ha-Atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day. Please join Rabbi Laurie as we celebrate at the Gordon Jewish Community Center this evening marking the holiday with songs, speeches, torch lightings and more!!!