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Rabbi's Corner

You Are Entitled to Your Opinion, but You’re Not Entitled to Your Own Facts

We are in a high school class in U.S. History, somewhere in Connecticut, 2007. A student says, “The slave trade of Africans to America never really happened.” Other students look at him with curiosity. “Yes,” he says, “this whole subject has been grossly exaggerated by American blacks to explain their difficult experience in this country and to win compassion. Africans really wanted to come to America, eagerly and voluntarily got on ships, and came over here, hiring themselves out on plantations for fair wages and good treatment and better lives.”
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Social Action

What we do…

Temple Beth Sholom's social action programs have focused on the needs of the hungry and of children in our community.We collect food during the year for the Hamden Food Bank.We serve meals at the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen one Sunday a month. We have adopted a social worker at the Department of Children and meet her requests for beds, clothing, household items, school supplies, and holiday gifts.We provide fruit for the women living at New Haven Home Recovery, Inc. We participate in the Walk Against Hunger to raise funds for the Connecticut Food Bank.We also send Hanukkah gifts to Jewish men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. This year we are planning additional projects.  We want to help teens at a children's home in Israel celebrate their bar or bat mitzvahs and prepare bag lunches to be distributed to the homeless in New Haven.  We'd also like to develop…

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President's Message

September 2007: Temple Beth Sholom…

Let me start by thanking Shira Rosenblatt for a lovely introduction, and for volunteering to serve as Installing Officer tonight & organizing the service.  While on the subject of Thank You’s, let me also thank each of the outgoing directors and trustees for their years of service to Temple Beth Sholom. (more…)

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Israel Matters!

IM Issue 6 – September 2007

QATAR OBJECTS TO UN VOTE TO FREE IDF RESERVISTS

  

Following objections from Qatar, the United Nations Security Council decided recently to delay the publication of a statement by the U.N. president calling for Hizbullah to release captive IDF reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev immediately and without preconditions, Israel Radio reported.

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Social Action

Food for the Hungry

The holidays remind us of our obligation to Tikum Olam, repairing the world, and in this spirit we ask each family to bring non-perishable food items to the Kol Nidre service on Friday evening, September 21st. Your donation will be given to the Hamden Food Bank, which is a community project our Temple supports year around.

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President's Message

February 2007 Hamden, Arkansas….

A few months ago, I wrote about the Etz Chaim synagogue in Bentonville, Arkansas.  More recently, I corresponded with Etz Chaim’s president, Betsy Rosen, because I was curious about how the synagogue has fared after receiving the publicity that accompanies a New York Times feature article.  I also asked Betsy to identify for me some of the biggest challenges facing this young synagogue, located in a much different part of the country. (more…)

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President's Message

December 2006 I Read the Announcements…

I read the announcements at the end of services most Friday nights and Saturday mornings.  People generally like hearing the announcements, because they know the end of the service is near.  I am often told that I read the announcements too quickly – perhaps my unconscious response to the congregation silently begging me to keep it short. (more…)

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