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Shabbat, Parshat Beshalach 🌊🧑‍🤝‍🧑🧑‍🤝‍🧑🧑‍🤝‍🧑🌊, 1/14-1/15

Friday Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Maariv: 5:35 pm
...with a Dvar Torah from Rabbi Mark Dratch.

🕯️🕯️ Candle Lighting: 5:32 pm

Shabbat Morning:

Shacharit: 9:00 am

...followed by pre-kiddush Drasha from
Mrs. Rachel Levitt Dratch on "Waiting to Exhale"

...followed by Kiddush sponsored by Tzvi and Devorah Caplan
to commemorate the yahrzeit of Liba Raizel bat Chaim Alter a"h.

...followed by post-kiddush Radical Judaism with
Mrs. Rachel Levitt Dratch on "Intentionally Misreading Texts"

Shabbat Afternoon:

Pre-Mincha Shiur: 4:45 pm with
Rabbi Mark Dratch on "Understanding Bentching: It's Not Just About Food"

Mincha: 5:15 pm
...Followed by Seuda Shelishit*
...with a Dvar Torah from Mrs. Rachel Levitt Dratch

*Seuda shelishit is outside on our back porch. All are welcome!
Please dress as needed per the weather.

Motzei Shabbat Maariv: 6:20 pm
🔥 Havdalah: 6:32 pm

Week of Sunday, 1/16

Sunday Shacharit: 8:30 am
Vatikin Shacharit (Monday-Friday): 7:20 am
Mincha/Maariv (Sunday-Thursday): 5:35 pm

SIR SPONSORSHIPS

Thank you to our Pillar Donors:
Marc Goldin, Ali and Jordan Feit Mann, Julie and Bernie Fogelson, and Don Seeman and Debra Shaffer Seeman

...and to ALL our sponsors:
Josh & Jodi Wittenberg, Eli & Adi Feen, Scott Forbus, Elliot Royston, Yoni & Davida Graber, Rebecca & Matthew Schmerer, Reuven Travis & Laura Kahn!

Mazel Tov to Caroline and Omer Shemtov on the bar mitzvah of their son Yonatan!

Seuda Shelishit for the entire month of January is sponsored by Chuck and Devorah Diener!

Seuda Shelishit for the month of March is still open for sponsors, so think ahead and get you sponsorship in early!

Refuah Shelemah and prayers for a speedy recovery to Janet Bellovin and Lee Caplan!

Please note: For anyone who is not comfortable coming to shul, if you have a yahrzeit coming up and would like a "Kel Maleh" said for your loved one, or if you would like someone to say Kaddish on your behalf, please reach out to Scott Forbus at sforbus@gmail.com to arrange.

Dear Friends,

This shabbat I am honored and delighted to receive Rabbi Mark Dratch and Mrs. Rachel Klein Levitt Dratch as scholars in residence!

We will have Torah from both of them all shabbat long, Friday night, shabbat morning (before and after a special cholent kiddush), and shabbat afternoon (before and after mincha). Torah flourishes in a multitude of voices, and these are both scholars you’ll want to hear.

In addition, I want to call your attention to two other very special events, Friday night and motzei Shabbat.On Friday night, for the first time in our little shul’s history, we will be hosting two different Onegs, one for teens (1253 Arborvista) and one for adults (1478 Lachona Court). There will be an opportunity to socialize and enjoy good refreshments (especially at the teen Oneg!) but these are also set up as opportunities for us to talk about things we sometimes shy away from.

◈ The adult oneg will include an informal discussion with Rabbi Dratch (who was the founding CEO of J-Safe) about the Orthodox community’s response to abuse allegations, including consideration of whether or not we should still use the books written by people who later face allegations of abuse, such as the recent case of a children’s author that has rocked much of the Orthodox world.

◈ The teen oneg (complete with chocolate bar!) will include a discussion led by Rachel Dratch, the Director of Educational Innovation at Prizmah, the day school organization that serves schools like AJA. This is a chance for teens to ask a master educator some of the questions they may not always be comfortable asking in school or in shul. Rachel is funny, knowledgeable and utterly non-judgmental. We are doing this event because I have been told by some teens that they need a space to ask difficult questions and learn more about authentic Jewish responses to some of the issues they increasingly deal with in their lives. I am proud that NTS is in a position to help respond to this need.

◈ After Shabbat at 8:00 PM on Saturday night, we will host a conversation with our scholars in residence about the Orthodox community’s response to changes in the larger conversation about gender (such as LGBTQ issues) in our society. I can tell you that Orthodox synagogues and schools are dealing with these issues more frequently today than ever before, and that this requires both careful psak by experts and thoughtful reflection by our community as a whole.

I will be honest with you that our leadership discussed whether, as our synagogue is preparing to grow and expand, we wanted to host any conversations that might prove controversial. But, as we did two years ago on the topic of the Orthodox community and race, we want to be the shul where things that need to be discussed can be discussed, in a spirit of friendship, honesty, and commitment to Torah. We also could not pass up the opportunity to draw on the expertise of two scholars who have contributed so much in different ways to the Orthodox community’s conversation about these matters at the national level.

With that introduction, I hope I will see many of you over the course of this exciting weekend. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of our donors and sponsors, and to the Dratch’s for agreeing to spend their shabbat with us.

Very best wishes,

Don Seeman
Rabbi NTS