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A BIT ABOUT US
The Akron Jewish community has a rich history of involvement in the community from its members. We are a sacred community dedicated to growing Jewishly. We seek to provide a wide range of spiritual, cultural, social, and lifelong learning experiences to all who are looking for a vibrant and inclusive Jewish community.
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A note about Isolation
For some of us, being asked to quarantine, or self-isolate is a scary, anxious, or depressing thought. If you are feeling lonely,please reach out by email or phone.
The Beth El Caring Committee
Interested in volunteering for, or are in you in need of services from the Beth El Caring Committee?
Please contact us at:
bethelcares750@gmail.com
KIDDUSH
Click here for more
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Meet rabbi Lipton
Dear Friends,
Building community is at the center of what it means to be a synagogue family! We collectively thrive on our ability to interact Jewishly, learn from each other, worship together, support each other, and share in the richness of our individual and communal experiences. It’s been an exhausting two years, but we have managed to increasingly find ways to connect and thrive in spite of the challenges placed before us by the pandemic.
As recently as a few weeks ago, it was finally beginning to feel like we were on the brink of returning to some semblance of “normal” again. With multiple safeguards in place, some of us were cautiously interacting with each other for a variety of occasions—sharing meals, travel, shopping, and other necessary and optional activities. The same was true here at the synagogue, where we gathered in-person (always with synchronous virtual options) for school, classes, committee meetings, as well as Shabbat and Weekday services. Then, seemingly overnight, we were inundated with reports of the highly-transmissible Omicron variant, along with many break-through cases among those who have been vaccinated and boosted, including a number of children and adults from within our congregational family.
To preserve the health and safety of all of our members, the Beth El COVID Committee responded to the data quickly and decisively, recommending that we take a brief pause in all of our in-person gatherings, at least through the month of January. During this time, Religious School, Shabbat Services, Weekday Minyanim, and all Committee Meetings will all take place via Zoom.
I know how disappointing and frustrating this is, and hope that this is only a temporary setback on our road to a new normal. And, I want you to know that in spite of these challenges, Beth El is here for you! Please do not hesitate to reach out to me, to our staff, or to those among our lay leadership. We are just a phone call, an email, a text message, or a Zoom meeting away.
Kudos to the dedicated members of our COVID Committee for their remarkable commitment to our well-being, and for their thoughtful work on our behalf. As they continue to monitor the situation, they will advise us about when it might be favorable to resume in-person gatherings again. In the meantime, let’s continue to use every tool at our disposal to come together virtually in positive, productive, and supportive ways during the coming weeks.
Being in relationship with each other is what it means to be a synagogue family!
L’shalom,
Rabbi Jeremy Lipton
UPCOMING
Following a successful launch of ScholarStream 5781, we are excited to announce a full year of ScholarStream learning in 5782! Beginning in October 2021 and spanning all the way up to Shavuot, the Conservative Movement seminaries and institutions are partnering to offer eight (8) series that will bring our Beth El community face-to-face with the brightest and most engaging scholars our movement has to offer.
Any member of Beth El Congregation may register for one or any combination of these series of classes for FREE by clicking HERE, entering the Private Coupon Code* under “Event Fees,” and then clicking “Apply.”
(PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COUPON CODE IS CASE SENSITIVE [IN YOUR E-BLAST*] AND IS FOR THE USE OF BETH EL CONGREGATION MEMBERS ONLY.)
REGISTRATION LINK
Please be sure that to register for each series in which you plan to participate. Registrants will receive the ZOOM link for each series in a reminder email sent about a week before the start of each series, and again on the morning of each session. The deadline to register for a given session is 10 AM ET on the morning of the session.
THE FULL DESCRIPTIONS FOR THE SERIES CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE HERE
Series #4: The Other Within - Diversity, Inclusion, & Equity in a Pluralistic Movement
Wednesdays, January 26, February 2, & 9 @8:00pm
Status of the Heresh and of Sign Language with Pamela Barmash, Naomi Brunlehrmann, & Susan Cohen
Description: What is it like for a Deaf and Hard of Hearing member of a Conservative/Masorti synagogue to come on Shabbat or for a family simhah and not be able to avail themselves of a sign language interpreter, captioning service, or assistive listening devices? What is it like for a Deaf Jew to read in rabbinic literature that the deaf are placed in the same category as minors and the psychologically deranged, yet read in the Torah, “you shall not insult the deaf”? In 2011, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) of the Rabbinical Assembly approved two teshuvot on the deaf who use sign language that were hailed as landmarks in the Deaf Jewish community. Susan Cohen, president of the Jewish Deaf Resource Center, Naomi Brunnlehrman, hazzan of the Deaf and executive director of the Jewish Deaf Resource Center, join with Rabbi Pamela Barmash, author of those teshuvot and co-chair of the CJLS, for a discussion of the teshuvot and how you can make your home community more accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community.
Series #5: Halakha - The Process Moving Forward & the Forward-Moving Process
Wednesdays, February 16, 23 & March 2, 9 @8:00pm
Series #6: The Power of the Prophets
Tuesdays, March 22, 29 & April 5, 12 @8:00pm
Series #7: Liturgy of Miracles - Hanukkah, Purim, & Yom Ha’atzmaut
Tuesdays, May 3, 10, 17, 24 @8:00pm
Series #8: Israel - Models of Resilience
Wednesdays, May 11, 18, 25 & June 1 @1:00pm
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