Shalom WJC Family,
It was such a privilege to travel to Morocco with our WJC group. When I travel with the synagogue, I always try to “expand the circle” and make sure some of the experience and education the travelers get is available to the rest of the congregation. That’s the purpose of the travel blog. I hope you have enjoyed reading it and if you haven’t had the opportunity yet, you can access it here. I hope you enjoy it!
As nice as traveling is, I am looking forward to Shabbat back with our thriving and energetic WJC family. As I viewed the waning and/or lost Jewish communities around Morocco, I couldn’t help but kvell about WJC and all we have going on. So many of you are responsible for making it all happen and I am so appreciative of all of our amazing volunteers. Thank you. We sometimes take for granted that we are all contributing to a living, vibrant Jewish life in the Larchmont/Mamaroneck area, but seeing the remaining members of the Jewish community in Morocco overseeing its end, well, let’s just say I don’t take it for granted now.
We have a lovely weekend planned for our return. On Shabbat morning I will be speaking about our trip – the Torah portion is Beshalach, the story of the Parting of the Red Sea and the culmination of the Exodus story. I will be speaking about this concept of exodus, or at least of Jewish immigration from place to place, our complicated journey around the world through millennia. As you might expect, I will be focusing on the Moroccan story as a prime example.
Also, for our Saturday morning Torah Talk at 8:30am, we will have special guest teacher, Zalman Spivak. Zalman is an Israeli tour educator and all-around dynamic guy. He will be teaching about Shai Agnon’s “Kaddish” poem and the current situation in Israel. Zalman will also be our guest for World Wide Wrap, our annual celebration of the mitzvah of tefillin! Join us for a special minyan at 9am in the sanctuary to pray and put on tefillin. Don’t worry if you don’t have your own tefillin – we have plenty of extra pairs. Then Zalman will speak at a full brunch from 9:45-10:45 in another room. Come for one part or both – Zalman will be speaking about Israel, agriculture, and Tu B’Shvat, which comes on Thursday next week.
Unfortunately, I won’t have time to make a video between landing Thursday night and Shabbat, but I hope to be back with a weekly video Torah Talk next week.
See you in shul,
RJA