With approximately forty-five other Shomrei members, Bruce and I attended the Musical Taste of Shabbat hosted by Ken Bannerman and Judy Wildman last Friday evening at their beautiful home.
The Service was glorious and memorable. Judy led the service, while Ken played the bass and Merrill Silver played the piano. We all sang the wonderful Kabbalat Shabbat songs, led by Judy, including Mizmor Shir, Lechu Neranina, etc. The music was so very wonderful! (more…)
Utilizing a microgrant provided by the Jewish Federation of Greater Metrowest NJ, CSE hosted an “Addressing Antisemitism Today” program on Thursday, June 8.
With antisemitism alarmingly on the rise, it is essential to foster dialogue within and between communities of faith, specifically in this program — the Jewish community and the Christian community. Participants gathered for dinner and a program presented by Rabbi Julie and Pastor Nancy Truscott, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Nutley. (more…)
A new social group called Boomers has been formed at Shomrei Emunah whose purpose is to encourage social, supportive and informational opportunities for Shomrei Community Boomer members and their friends. Activities will be aimed at the Baby Boomer generation, and, while membership is intended for fellow Baby Boomers, participation in activities will be fluid and open to all. Subgroups and activities might consist of groups for hiking, lectures, meet-and-greets, theater, and widows/widowers, as well as opportunities to connect/reconnect with people and events at Shomrei. Activities will be determined by the group. (more…)
We welcome Rabbi Julie Roth as Rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Emunah! She will begin to be at the shul on August 15. (more…)
Last week, synagogues across America marked the 100-year anniversary of the first official bat mitzvah. The ceremony occurred on March 18, 1922 and was created by Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, to welcome his12-year-old daughter, Ruth, into the family of Jewish adults. While that sounds like a long history, it pales alongside the roughly 1,000-year longevity of the bar mitzvah. Moreover, it took almost 60 years for the bat mitzvah ceremony to attain equal stature with the bar mitzvah at synagogues in the U.S.
To explore this evolution — and what it says about the role of women and girls in Judaism — assistant JLC education director Lily Lucey invited Shomrei women of several generations on Sunday, March 19 to recount for the b’nai mitzvah classes what the bat mitzvah represented when they were 12 or 13. (more…)
