February 11, 2005/Adar 12 5765, Volume 57, No. 24
Shabbat across AmericaLocal synagogues join other Jews across North America in special celebration
LEISAH NAMM
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 At Temple Beth Sholom in Chandler, Rabbi Bonnie Koppell reads "A Tree Full of Mitzvos" to Sabrina Newman, left, and Jeremy Millman. Behind them are Sabrina's grandmother, Sharon Kelty, and mother, Jennifer Newmark. The program is one of several special Shabbat programs in the Valley. Photo by Deborah Sussman Susser |
While there may not be a synagogue on every block, as there are in some neighborhoods around the country, Phoenicians have an opportunity for a Jewish experience every Shabbat.
This year, on Friday, March 4, the National Jewish Outreach Program (NJOP) holds its ninth annual Shabbat Across America. Local synagogues join congregations across North America and Canada in hosting a kosher Shabbat dinner and special service. According to the NJOP Web site, tens of thousands of North American Jews are expected to participate in this national Shabbat celebration. NJOP was founded in 1987 and is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a basic Jewish education for every Jew in America.
Local synagogues participating in Shabbat Across America on Friday, March 4, are:
- Beth El Congregation
1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix
The evening begins with a 5:45 p.m. interactive Shabbat service followed by a traditional kosher Shabbat dinner catered by Mazel Tov Catering. To attend, call 602-944-3359 by March 1.
- Congregation Gan Shalom
3916 E. Paradise Lane, Phoenix, 602-493-8301
6 p.m. kosher dinner, followed by a service.
$10 adults, $5 children.
- Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley
100 Meadowlark Drive, Sedona
Volunteers will prepare a festive Shabbat dinner prior to a Shabbat service led by Rabbi Albert Plotkin. Call Ellie Lyons, (928) 284-9156.
- Temple Beth Emeth of Scottsdale
7330 E. Earll Drive, Suite L, 480-941-4112
6 p.m. dinner followed by an 8 p.m. service. $12.
- Temple Beth Sholom
3400 N. Dobson Road, Chandler, 480-897-3636
Families with kosher homes will host a Shabbat dinner for guests and then attend an 8 p.m. Shabbat service. E-mail Phyllis Becker, beckerphyllis@hotmail.com.
- Temple Kol Ami
15030 N. 64th St. Scottsdale, 480-951-9660
A 30-minute service for young children and their families will be held 7-7:30 p.m., and a regular Shabbat service begins at 8 p.m. A special oneg Shabbat will follow each service.
Learn about kabbalah
Kabbalah is a popular subject lately, and over President's Day Weekend, three synagogues feature an in-depth look at Jewish mysticism.
Chabad of Scottsdale welcomes Rabbi Laibl Wolf, author of "Practical Kabbalah," Feb. 18-19.
Wolf's Friday night lecture, "Don't Bare Your Body, Bare Your Soul," follows a 6:30 p.m. Shabbat service and comes with dinner. Cost is $25.
He will lead a Jewish meditation session at 9 a.m. on Saturday, and his Kiddush lecture, "When the Soul Tricks the Mind," follows a 9:30 a.m. Shabbat service.
His culminating presentation, "Mind Yoga," touted as a journey through practical kabbalah, is at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19. Cost is $15 in advance, $18 at the door.
All programs are at Chabad of Scottsdale, 10215 N. Scottsdale Road. Next door, Scottsdale Kosher Deli will be open throughout the program.
Call 480-998-1410 or e-mail chabadofscottsdale@msn.com.
Across town in Chandler, Chabad of the East Valley welcomes Rabbi Shlomo Majeski, dean of the Machon Chana Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., and author of several books.
Majeski will lead a discussion on the "Kabbalah of Shabbat" during a 7:15 p.m. Shabbat dinner, following 6 p.m. services. Cost is $18 adults and $12 children. A children's program is available. To attend, call 480-855-4333.
Majeski will lead a discussion about the "Journey of the Soul" at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, before 9:30 a.m. services. At 11 a.m., he will talk about dealing with natural disasters and the Chasidic approach to joy.
Majeski's visit ends with a session about the niggun, a Chasidic melody.
Chabad of the East Valley is located at 3855 W. Ray Road, #6, Chandler. Call 480-855-4333 or e-mail rabbi@chabadcenter.com.
In Sedona, Rabbi Rami Shapiro leads a "Hands-on encounter with kabbalah - Jewish mysticism and meditation" workshop. The workshop is 3-6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, at the synagogue, 100 Meadowlark Drive, Sedona. Cost is $18. Shapiro has written over a dozen works of poetry, liturgy, short stories and nonfiction. He was a congregational rabbi for 20 years and now is director of the One River Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization promoting peace and personal spiritual awakening.
Shapiro will also speak at the synagogue's Shabbat service 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18, and at an 11 a.m. Torah study session and a noon Shabbat service on Saturday. Call (928) 204-1286.
Special guests
What better way to follow a Saturday Shabbat service than with lunch and learning with special guests and fellow community members?
At Beth El Congregation on Saturday, Feb. 26, Dr. Steven Carol, history professor and author, will speak about how Israel became a nuclear power and about the future of a nuclearized Middle East. Carol is a frequent guest on "The Middle East Radio Forum," which airs Sundays on KKNT 960 AM radio, and speaks often about the war on terrorism and the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Lunch is $8 and reservations are due by Feb. 23. Call 602-944-3359.
Beth Emeth Congregation in Sun City welcomes Cantor Vladimir Dubinsky of New York for Shabbat services Friday, Feb. 25, and Saturday, Feb. 26. Dubinsky will also present a mini-concert 4 p.m. on Saturday and a light meal will be served. Call 623-584-7210.
Ruach Hamidbar - Spirit of the Desert welcomes cantorial singer Pinna Joseph, who will lead a "Kabbalistic Kirtan" Shabbat service with Rabbi Ayla Grafstein and musicians Mark Broder and Gil Quintanilla 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18, at Palo Cristi, 3535 E. Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley. Kabbalistic Kirtan is an intense devotional chanting of Hebrew texts and the names of God found in the Jewish tradition. A kiddush follows the service.
Led by lay-leaders
Not every congregation has a rabbi. Some congregations, like Beth Ami Temple in Paradise Valley and Temple Beth Emeth of Scottsdale, have lay-led services.
At Beth Ami Temple, Rabbi Martin Scharf, chaplain of Kivel Campus of Care, leads about six services a year, but the rest of the year members step up to the bimah to lead the service and deliver a d'var Torah about the week's Torah portion, says Adrianne Selbst, who edits the synagogue's newsletter. "It's a very interactive congregation," she says. "Everybody has a chance to participate."
An average of 40 people attend the Friday night services twice a month, Selbst says. Cantor Shelle Witten is also at each service. Call 602-956-0805.
Members at Temple Beth Shalom in Sun City fill in for Rabbi Arthur J. Abrams if he is away, says volunteer Carol Singer. Abe Meth usually recites the Torah portion and "he makes it come alive when he reads it," Singer says. Lay members conduct the service and read the Torah blessings. The Reform congregation also holds a lay-led Conservative service 9-11 a.m. Saturdays. The temple's Sisterhood and Brotherhood groups also conduct a special Shabbat service where new members are honored and during the summer, different members of the synagogue conduct Shabbat services.
Singles visit synagogues
Since many people think of synagogues as a family setting, singles may be uncomfortable attending services alone. However, one singles group has launched group visits to various synagogues.
Since September 2004, Scottsdale Jewish Singles has arranged for a group of singles to attend services at different Valley synagogues on the first Friday of each month. So far, they've visited Temple Chai, Har Zion Congregation, Temple Kol Ami and Temple Beth Israel.
"We're just trying to come up with different things to do every month," says Karyn Jesser, who co-founded the group with Sheryl Weinberger in September. Ten to 14 singles, ages 35-65, have attended each service, Jesser says, and the group meets for dinner at a local restaurant after the service; up to 20 have attended the dinner. During the Feb. 4 service, at Har Zion, Rabbi Mark Bisman invited Jesser and Weinberger to do a reading. He also started a discussion about how the community can help support Jewish singles, Jesser says. "I wish there was a way to pull all the rabbis together to discuss this and gain more community support."
The group, which has about 300 names on its mailing list, will visit Temple Kol Ami in Scottsdale on March 4. Call 480-488-7755 or visit Scottsdalejewishsingles.com.
For more information about Shabbat programs, see the Jewish News calendar on Pages 27-28 or call the synagogues listed on Page 26.