November 26, 2008

                            Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving, Shabbat, AJG, school, F & M speaker, SSTY Prom, shelter volunteers, Chanukah Boutique, retreat, monthly meetings, Geneaology, Mitzvot, pink lids.

Please check your December Bulletin Calendar to see when regular meeting dates may be changed or canceled because of holiday schedules.

Our monthly Bulletin is now available online at http://www.shaarai.org/forms/bulletin.pdf., under the Contact Us/Participate With Us tab, or the Calendar tab in News/Events above.   We will continue to send the paper Bulletin every month, but for those who wish to see more details about items below, or who find online access more convenient, just click!

Please plan on joining your fellow congregants along with members of St. Peter’s UCC, the Unitarian Universalist Church, and the DUCC at St. Luke’s UCC, 719 Marietta Ave. (corner of Orange & Marietta) on Wed. evening, 7 p.m., for our annual Union Thanksgiving Service.  Light refreshments will follow.  A collection to benefit the Overflow Homeless Shelters will be taken.

Friday, Shabbat eve service 7:30 p.m.  Saturday, Torah study and brief Shabbat morning service 9:00.

On Monday, Dec 1, we begin a brand new discussion series, "Forget about Miriam, Maimonides and Heschel, I Want to Talk about My Feelings about God," a nine week discussion about our personal relationships with God.   Rabbi Paskoff’s home, 102 White Oak Dr., 7:30-9 p.m.

Talmud study, noon in the small social hall, has resumed every Tuesday.  Rabbi Paskoff leads a minyan at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday mornings. 

There is no school on Sun., Nov. 30th.

Author Mark Harman will be reading from his recently published translation of Franz Kafka's Amerika, the Missing Person on Tuesday 12/2/08, - 8:00 p.m. Klehr Center for Jewish Life, F&M College.  Free and open to the public.  Co-sponsored by Judaic Studies, The Klehr Center for Jewish Life, German and Russian Department and the Writers House.

On Saturday, Dec. 6 (NOT THE 7TH!), SSTY is holding its first ever Prom Night at Shaarai Shomayim.  This is a full-fledged formal affair with dinner, dancing, fancy dress, and fancy decorations.  To make the evening even more festive, a committee is asking for donations of elegant baked goods for a Viennese table for dessert.  Please contact Marilyn Apostolico at thegrouches@comcast.net or 560-1183 if you can help.

The overflow homeless shelter is still looking for volunteers to help on Dec. 18, 21, 22, & 23 during our two week period Dec. 15-29.  There will be a training session for all volunteers on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 7, at 12:30 at the Temple.  We are also looking for donations of cookies, brownies, fruit and/or veggie trays to serve our guests; and new, warm, knit caps, scarves, gloves, and socks that will be given as Christmas gifts to those staying with us on Dec. 25.  Bring new, unwrapped items to the Temple office any time between now and Dec. 24.

There has been a change in date for the Sisterhood annual Chanukah Boutique.  Please mark your calendar for Sunday, December 14, NOT the 7th, as announced in the latest Bulletin.

Please consider joining your fellow congregants at the Temple’s first congregational retreat, scheduled for March 27-29 at a wonderful facility in Waynesboro, PA.  Contact Linda Novosel for more information or to reserve a room.

Don’t forget our weekly/monthly meetings at the Temple for study and support.  TOPS meets every Wednesday, 6:15 p.m.; addiction support at the JCC on the fourth Tuesday, 7 p.m.; Women’s Torah Study, first and third Thursday of the month, 7 p.m.  The cancer support group has changed its meeting time back to the third Thursday of the month at the Temple, beginning at 7 p.m.

The Jewish Genealogy Center is open!   The Center will be open by appointment by contacting Alan Levine at 392-3509 or roots@shaarai.org.  All research will be done and materials will remain in the library.  Regular hours may be established in the future.

Contributing to our Mitzvah closet/crib and filling your family Tzedakah can are two ways of fulfilling the commandment to perform Mitzvot. Our crib collects new or gently used infant and toddler toys, clothes, furniture, and baby toiletries for Milagro House. PLEASE DO NOT BRING LARGE ITEMS SUCH AS FURNITURE TO THE TEMPLE; CONTACT MILAGRO HOUSE DIRECTLY TO ARRANGE FOR DELIVERY TO THEM. The closet collects items for Ross Elementary School uniforms, and school items, grown-up toiletries, and non-perishable food for the county food bank. 

Don’t forget our collections of food labels from Campbells, Swanson, Pepperidge Farm and other General Foods items and Box Tops for Education; and aluminum pop-top rings for Ronald McDonald House in Hershey. We are also collecting lids from all Turkey Hill milk products.

It's that time of year for collecting pink Yoplait Yogurt lids.  Please bring pink only, and clean, please!, lids to the Temple; we will send them all to Yoplait the end of December.

The ARZA website http://arza.org keeps you up-to-date on all the latest news in the Reform movement.

For news about The Pluralist Weekly Highlights of Religion State in Israel, click here: Visit IRAC on the RAC website!

TIKKUN OLAM E-MAIL ALERT

MARCH 3, 2008

JEWISH WAR VETERANS

Background

          On Wednesday and Thursday, March 5th and 6th, the Jewish War Veterans are having their Capitol Action Days in Washington.  They have several key legislative goals, which meet the Jewish mandate of justice, justice you shall pursue.  They include:

        O Expand outreach and intervention programs directed at homeless veterans.  Veterans make up a disproportionate share of homeless people, representing roughly 26% of the homeless.  This is on the rise, including homeless female veterans; 

        O  A major overhaul of the disability ratings process to provide wounded service members comprehensive and fair disability ratings and benefits prior to their medical separation or retirement from active duty;

         O  A Total Force Approach to the Montgomery GI Bill.  There have been no significant upgrades to the Montgomery GI Bill since prior to 9/11.  A weak GI Bill harms recruiting, hurts transition to civilian life, and denies the nation the time-tested benefits of a better educated, higher-paid workforce with military experience.

       O  Disabled Veterans Tax fairness – For thousands, even tens of thousands of disabled veterans, VA decisions on their appealed claims can take years to resolve.  Jewish War Veterans (JWV) is asking Congress to enact “look back” legislation to remove the three-year statute of limitations for filing amended tax returns for veterans who have not received timely disability determinations from the VA;

        O  Mandatory Funding for VA health care system, plus an upgrade to polytrauma and specialty care services for vets with multiple trauma injuries, traumatic brain injury, and eye injuries;

Jewish Values and Welfare

        Since the earliest days of our nation’s history, Jews have served in the armed forces. While these measures are brought to our attention by Jewish War Veterans, they will better the lives of all of those who have fought for our country. As a movement, the Union for Reform Judaism has expressed profound concern about the current use of our military, but we have always affirmed our nation’s obligation to adequately provide for those who have served.

Action Needed  

       While you probably are not able to go to Washington on March 5th and 6th, you can contact  Senators Casey and Specter and Representative Pitts supporting some or all of the above positions.  We do not have specific bills to state but a general comment about your support for fair and increased support of our veterans can be made.  Contact information follows. 

          In addition, for more information go to www.jwv.org. 

  Contact Information:

          Sen. Robert P. Casey

          B-40 Dirksen Senate Building

          Washington, D.C. 20510

          202-224-6324, Fax: 202-228-0604

or      Harrisburg Office

         555 Walnut Street, First Floor

         Harrisburg, PA 17101

         717-231-7540

         Sen. Arlen Spector

         711 Hart Senate Office Building

         Washington, DC 20510

         202/224-4254

         Rep. Joe Pitts

         420 Cannon House Office Building

         Washington, DC 20515

         202 225-2411, 202 225-2013 (fax),

or      Lancaster County Court House

         50 North Duke Street

         Lancaster, PA 17602

         393-0667, 393-0924 (fax)