Our religious history is as much of our present as it is our past. As you know, the Torah scroll is the center of our religious beliefs. The most important fact about our Torah scrolls is that every one is identical in that they all have 304,805 letters in 79,976 words in 5,844 verses. (more…)
Click for January 2022 Bulletin Will open with Adobe Reader or equal.
The New Jersey-Israel Commission (https://nj.gov/state/njic.shtml) was established to foster a spirit of cooperation between the State of Israel and the State of New Jersey. New Jersey is not the only American state with such an office, but here at Israel Matters we have discovered that New Jersey and Israel do in fact have a lot in common. For starters, Israel and New Jersey take up roughly the same amount of space on a map, that is, they are about the same size! But how do people get around? (more…)
(Sermon given on the 75th Anniversary Shabbat)
It’s a famous story in the Torah. There are two brothers, twins, Esau and Jacob.
Esau goes out hunting and he doesn’t kill anything,
and he’s really tired, and really hungry, and when he comes back to the camp,
he sees his brother Jacob cooking something. He wants what’s in the pot,
and Jacob offers to give it to him in exchange for the birthright. (more…)
Well, we are finally into winter. The first small snowfall of the season was not difficult and it has not been bitter cold yet, like it gets up here. But unfortunately, the Pandemic continues to be a big part of our lives. Those safety measures put in place, will continue in the synagogue. Being totally vaccinated, social distancing, mask-wearing, hand sanitizer in several places around the shul are all things to which we still need to adhere. New Air Purifiers are in place in the Sanctuary and Social Hall. They are moved to the classrooms for Sunday school. More will be coming for the classrooms, etc. Keeping everyone SAFE is a priority. (more…)
Click for December 2021 Bulletin Will open with Adobe Reader or equal.
HAPPY CHANUKAH to you and your families. Chanukah is the celebration commemorating the rededication of the second Temple over 2,000 years ago. As a small piece of that continuum, we are in the process of celebrating and rededicating Temple Beth Sholom after 75 years. (more…)
The New Jersey-Israel Commission (https://nj.gov/state/njic.shtml) was established to foster a spirit of cooperation between the State of Israel and the State of New Jersey. New Jersey is not the only American state with such an office, but here at Israel Matters we have discovered that New Jersey and Israel do in fact have a lot in common. For starters, Israel and New Jersey take up roughly the same amount of space on a map, that is, they are about the same size! But how do people get around? (more…)
After the failure of the Bill Clinton-moderated 2000 Camp David peace talks between Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Palestinians launched the Second Intifada, a violent uprising against Israel that regularly featured terror attacks targeting Israeli civilians. The initial terror tactics involved shootings into outlying buildings in Israeli towns or on Israelis driving along roads. (more…)
Click for November 2021 Bulletin Will open with Adobe Reader or equal.