Weekly Newslinks

Announcement & Upcoming Events

Schedule for the Weekend

Erev Shabbat, September 29: Erev Sukkot (Tishrei 14)
6:45am Shacharit
8:15am Shacharit
6:28pm Candle Lighting
6:30pm Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Maariv

Shabbat, September 30: Sukkot (Tishrei 15)
8:00am 8AM Minyan
8:30am Sephardic Minyan
9:00am Main Sanctuary Minyan
10:00am Youth Groups
10:30am Tot Shabbat
3:30pm Community Sukkah Hop
6:15pm Mincha/Maariv
7:25pm Candle Lighting

Sunday, October 1: Sukkot (Tishrei 16)
8:00am 8AM Minyan
8:30am Sephardic Minyan
9:00am Main Sanctuary Minyan
10:00am Youth Groups
10:30am Candy Sukkah Building
6:25pm Mincha/Maariv
7:23pm Havdalah

Monday, October 2: Chol HaMoed Sukkot (Tishrei 17)
6:30am Shacharit
8:00am Shacharit
6:15pm Mincha/Maariv

I am very excited for the opportunity to share words of Torah with you. Each week, in this spot, I look to share an idea I've found that speaks to me and that I think will resonate with you as well. This week, I share with you an excerpt of an article by Rabbi Dovid Campbell entitled "Deep in the Weeds: Appreciating the Natural World" that gives us a beautiful perspective to think about for Sukkot and beyond.

[...] During Sukkot, there is a commandment to wave the four species that were meticulously selected. I say meticulously because the details of this commandment are surprisingly exacting. Everything from the color of the leaves to their arrangement on the stem is fair game here, and people will pay top-dollar for one of those elegant bumpy lemons. It’s a botanical beauty contest that might do well on HGTV. There is deep symbolism to the four species. [...] Medieval polymath Gersonides writes that the commandment to wave the four species has a surprisingly simple purpose: to get us to notice plants. That requires some unpacking. If I ever forgot about plants, I guess shaking foliage in my face for a week would probably jog my memory. But who forgets about plants?

Turns out, a lot of people. There is a strange phenomenon called “plant blindness.” A large and growing body of research has shown that people, particularly urban people, are becoming oblivious to the plant life in their surroundings. We just tune it out, like background noise, and in the process, we become increasingly alienated from the natural world. [...] Plant blindness is actually our key to understanding a much larger problem. As Emerson reminds us, even a weed is worthy of our attention. Its apparent irrelevance is just an indication that some untapped opportunity awaits us. But today, we seem to have lost this perspective. Anything that’s no longer useful or exciting to us, even if it once was, is reduced to a bothersome weed. And nowhere is this more apparent than in our relationship with the living world. [...]

Judaism is intimately connected to our awareness of nature. [...] The Jewish sages write that if the Israelites had never received the Torah at Mount Sinai, they would have sought moral inspiration from the natural world. Rabbi [Samson Raphael] Hirsch reminds us that even after receiving the Torah, our connection to nature remains essential. It is our experience of the “sublime and beautiful in Creation” that inspires us to wonder, to explore, and ultimately to find spiritual relevance in this world. [...] Sukkot brings this idea to center stage. Following the spiritual inner work that characterized Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Sukkot asks us to turn that work outward and see what happens. Whether it’s by camping in our own backyards or waving an assortment of bespoke flora, Sukkot is our chance to discover the virtues in every weed.

Have a Shabbat Shalom and a Chag Sameach,
Rabbi Davies
Rabbi@SOICherryHill.org

We are excited to be partnering with Mizrachi World Movement to provide their publication of HaMizrachi Parasha Weekly.

Hashavat Aveida
A black faux leather flat cap with the brand name "Major" was accidentally taken from the coat room after Neilah.  If you mistakenly took this cap and left your own behind, please contact David Raush at daraush@aol.com.

Thank you to Dan Malamud, Baila Silverman, Justin Kaufman, Gail Belfer & Oze Henig for helping with kiddush & thank you to Tamar Wiener for making cholent. 

Thank you to Malka Moskowitz, Yaakov & Aaron Zeffren, Yaakov Linder, Matti Rosenberg, Eric Klein & Jonathan Delman for helping with Seudah Shlishit last week.

Thank you to Duke McCarthy for sponsoring the Yom Kippur Break Fast.

In Shavuot 39a:22 we find that, “All of Israel is responsible for one another.”  We thank everyone who has so kindly volunteered to help provide safety and security for our shul and community during Shabbos and Yom Tov.

Shabbos/Yom Tov Combination Lock Reminder
The combination lock on the front door was designed to only be used on Shabbos and Yom Tov.  This lock cannot be used at any other time.    

Police
Thank you to the CHPD for providing enhanced patrols during Shabbos and Yom Tov.  A special thanks goes to Captain Jason Salvatore, CHPD Operations Division Commander for arranging the the enhanced patrols.
​​​​​​​

We regret to inform you of the passing of Mervyn S. Becker,
Moshe Simcha ben Shalom, 
​​​​​​​beloved husband of Deborah Becker & beloved father of Shana A"H & Cori Becker.

Shivah will be at the Becker Home
5209 Baker Avenue
Pennsauken, NJ 08109

Shivah Visiting Hours:
Thursday all day
Friday until 4pm

Mincha/Maariv
Thursday at 6:25pm

המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים
May the family be comforted among the mourners of Zion & Jerusalem​​​​​​​

Gavriel Yehuda ben Chaya Sarah 
David Partnow - David Avram ben Tilla Razel 
Aaron Moshe ben Ruth
Gaela bas Pinina
Chayim Gedalya haLevi ben Henya
Alan Friedman - Avraham Pinchas ben Hudda
Kayla Chaya bat Bayla
Simcha Avraham ben Datya Leba
Inga bat Bella
Shaindel bas Gruna Leah
Moshe Krumbein - Moshe ben Yehudit Sarah
Shmuel ben Ita Ettle
Esther bat Yehudit Nechamah
Yitzhak Dovid ben Gruna Leah
Reizel bas Yentel
Peretz Yirmiyahu ben Elka
Moshe Simcha ben Sarah
Ester Chavah Nachamah bat Rifka Miriam
Gershon Daniel ben Malka Chaya
Terry ben Helen
​​​​​​​Cohat Sivel ben Leah

Please help us keep this list up to date.  If you have names to add or would like to have a name removed from this list, please email memberhotline@soicherryhill.org.

 Click below for a link to the prayers for good health and healing that you can recite for our ailing members

​​​​There are many ways to support our Shul:

(check out our website for more oportunities)

Yartzeit Plaque ($400)

Shabbat Security ($180)

Siddur for the sanctuary ($50)

Chumash for the sanctuary ($75)

Newslink ($36)

Welcome Basket ($18)

Mr. Finklestein Bottle Club ($36)

Kiddush (starting at $180)

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Congregation Sons of Israel
720 Cooper Landing Road
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002