Virtual Services for the Week of May 25

Dear WJC Family,

This week we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot. The Yom Tov starts on Thursday night and continues through Saturday night. Shavuot commemorates the Revelation of Torah on Mt. Sinai and we prepare for the anniversary of that moment by learning Torah. This week is filled with great opportunities do just that, so please check out the offerings below and join us for one or more of these excellent learning opportunities leading up to the holiday. I am especially excited to attend the Tuesday evening offering from the Conservative Yeshiva just for our community, “Is God Listening” with master teacher Bex Stern Rosenblatt.

Additionally, we will hold our services for Shavuot as a Ta’am Tom Tov—Taste of Yom Tov service on Thursday evening—as the holiday will continue we will not have a service this Friday night. Please join us at 6:00pm for a service including many of the elements of the holiday including The Yizkor Memorial Prayers, the reading of the Ten Commandments from a Sefer Torah, the chanting of an excerpt from The Book of Ruth and highlights of the Hallel, and Yom Tov services. We will then reconvene on Saturday night.

See you online,

 

Virtual Services This Week

Tuesdays at 9:45am
Torah Talk with Rabbi Arnowitz
A deep dive into the weekly Torah portion Shavuot. This week’s theme: “Freewill, Presence and Accepting Torah.”
Join us: https://zoom.us/j/738077371

May 26, June 2, and June 9 at 7:45pm
“Is God Listening?”
Exploring Prayer today through the Prayers of the Bible
Join us: https://zoom.us/j/96612823745

Our partnership with the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem continues at a new time with teaching presented by another of the CY’s most popular teachers, Bex Stern Rosenblatt (bio here).

The destruction of the Temple and exile from Jerusalem in 586 BCE fundamentally changed our way of conceptualizing God. In the aftermath of the destruction, two modes of prayer battled for dominance as the correct way to restore the community, heal the rift with God, and bring a sense of normalcy back. In this course, we will examine both penitential prayer and lament as modes of prayer, diving deeply into Psalms 88, Ezra 9, and Lamentations 3. As we read these poems of destruction, we will look for what resonates with us as the inheritors of both traditions of prayer. 

Please note: There is no Rabbi Segelman’s “Saturday Morning Torah” this week. See “Ta’am Yom Tov” Shavuot service below.

Wednesday at 8:00pm
Tikkun Leyl (Erev) Shavuot
On the first night of Shavuot it is customary to stay up all night learning Torah. This year, since we cannot be physically together learning on the actual first night of Shavuot, we will have our Tikkun early. The schedule is as follows:

• 8:00pm: Cantor Ethan Goldberg – “In the Court of the King or Rocking Out with God?: Immanence and Transcendence in Jewish Music” (Taking advantage of this being on a weekday, we’ll listen to and talk about some music.)
• 8:35pm: Elizabth Ehrlich – “Jews in Quarantine”
• 9:10pm: Rabbi Jen Tobenstein – “Black Milk: Torah, Darkness, and Light”
• 9:45pm: Seth Schafler – “Kedusha in a Time of COVID”
• 10:20pm: Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman – “Under the Wings of the Shechinah – The Greatness of Conversion”
• 10:55pm: Rabbi Jeffrey Arnowitz – “The Miracle of Gathering in Covenant” – What makes synagogues a miracle – it’s right there in the beginning of the prayerbook.
• 11:30pm: Finish

Join us on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82263478311

Thursday at 6:00pm
Ta’am Tom Tov
Please join us for a service including many of the elements of the holiday including The Yizkor Memorial Prayers, the reading of the Ten Commandments from a Sefer Torah, the chanting of an excerpt from The Book of Ruth and highlights of the Hallel, and Yom Tov services.
Join us on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89720090473

Saturday at 9:15pm
Havdalah with the WJC Clergy
Join us as we say goodbye to the quiet of Shabbat with the beautiful symbols and music of havdalah!  
Join us via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/335351155

Prayer Services and Opportunities to say Kaddish

Weekdays and Sundays, 8:00am
Minyan
Please note: The minyan will be led by one of our clergy, and it is not the same as saying kaddish with a physical minyan. When this crisis passes, we will return to the requirement of a minyan with ten people physically in attendance together to make a minyan.
On Tuesday and Thursday Rabbi Segelman will teach his regular after-minyan study session for 30-45 minutes. Just stay on the Zoom after the service to participate
Join us: https://zoom.us/j/725228994

Sunday-Thursday, 7:00pm
WJC Evening Community Time
There was such an overwhelming appreciation for being together Friday and Saturday evenings that we are adding a regular evening gathering. It’s a 15-20 minute opportunity to be together with our community and clergy for a song, prayer, story or meditation. Appropriate for all ages.
Join us: https://zoom.us/j/445906724