Newslink for Shabbat Sukkot (September 29 - October 1)
09/28/2023 05:24:13 PM
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Announcement & Upcoming Events
Kol Nidre Campaign: Thank you to our many community members who have supported our Kol Nidre Campaign. There is still time to participate before the end of the High Holiday season. Submit your pledge through this form. If you submitted a card on Kol Nidre night, your pledge is now available to be paid on your ShulCloud account. Please submit your payment via ShulCloud or at the office at your earliest convenience. With your support, we know that Sons of Israel will continue to thrive and grow. Thank you!
Sukkah Decorating: Friday, September 29th from 11:00am-12:30pm. Come join B'nei Akiva for exciting Sukkot themed activities outdoors at the SOI Sukkah.
West Side Community Sukkah Hop: Saturday, September 30th 3:30-5:30pm (rain date is sunday, October 1st) See the list of homes to visit in the flyer below.
Candy Sukkah Building Competition: Sunday, October 1st Groups begin at 10am & activity begins at 10:30am outside the sukkah for K-8th grade
SOI Pre-Simchat Torah Auction! Wednesday, October 4th starting at 7:30pm. Join from your own home over Zoom or experience the auction at one of several intimate outdoor "block parties" happening around the community. A wonderful opportunity to support SOI and have lots of fun with food, drink, and good friends. Signup for block party here. Vintage Sukkah Progressive Dinner: Wednesday, October 4th beginning at 5:00pm. Visit and enjoy 3 different sukkahs for 3 different courses. The third course will also host the Pre-Simchat Torah Auctiont Torah Auction (see above). Registration is closed for progressive dinner.
Kids Sukkot Party at SOI! Friday, October 6th 10am-12pm. Geared for ages 7 and under. Games, crafts, trampoline, obstacle course, snacks, prizes and more. Additional details to follow. For more information contact Maetal Henig at maetal2r@gmail.com.
Tot Hakafot: Saturday, October 7th from 5:45-6:45pm. Geared for children 0-5 years old. Spaghetti dinner will be served.
Simchat Torah Evening Hakafot: Saturday, October 7th beginning with Maariv at 7:00pm. Dancing, candy, shtick, ruah and more. Dinner will be provided. Come join in the fun.
Simchat Torah Lunch: Sunday, October 8th from 1:30pm-3:30pm. Join us for a community lunch catered by Star of David. Pre-registration is required by Oct. 2nd.Register Here.
Semichas Chaver Program with Rabbi Davies: Wednesday evenings at 8pm. Stay tuned for review session information. The new Zman/semester begins in mid-October. For more information or to sign up please contact rabbi@soicherryhill.org.
Boscov's Department Store is sponsoring Friends Helping Friends: Wednesday, October 18, 2023 from 8:00am - 11:00pm. Amazingly you will get a 25% discount on most items in the store. All you have to do is donate $5.00 to SOI's Bikur Cholim Organization! Get your discount shopping pass now. Call the shul office or Janet Miller at 856-667-0860 to receive your pass. Why buy a pass? For early Hanukkah presents, birthday presents, fall and winter clothes and any household needs. Happy Shopping!
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.
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
https://www.kosherwine.com/?rfsn=5940204.12e2a2 SOI members and affiliates can click the link to go to the JCommerce websites and purchase their products. You can support SOI through the commission we earn.
Shoprite Scrip Now Available SOI Office Monday-Friday 10-2 Yaeli Sokolic at ycsgraphix@gmail.com Flo Shulman at florence.shulman@gmail.com
All submissions for the Newslink are due by noon on Wednesday
Reminder: If your mailing information has been changed, please update it on our website by logging on at soicherryhill.org If you know someone who is not receiving our weekly email, please let the office know Office hours next week are Monday - Friday 10am - 2pm
Congregation Sons of Israel 720 Cooper Landing Road Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
