Upcoming Events
Chisuk Emuna’s
Strength Through Action Team (STAT)
Presents Special Chat Event
with author, Connor Towne O'Neill
Sunday, March 7th, 10:00 am
When Connor Towne O’Neill, formerly of Lancaster, moved to Alabama in 2015, he stepped into a series of unexpected encounters with local controversy over monuments to the Confederate general (and first Grand Wizard of the KKK) Nathan Bedford Forrest. His new and fascinating book, Down Along With That Devil’s Bones, presents a thoughtful and personal account of coming face to face with people, history (current and many decades old), and the power attached to these monuments in Selma, Memphis, Nashville and elsewhere. In this reckoning with our Jim Crow past, he holds the mirror up to all of us-- including himself, a descendant of Massachusetts Puritans who hails from our own backyard and who now lives and works in Alabama. Please join us on Sunday, March 7 at 10 a.m. as Mr. O’Neill discusses his new book and engages with us to explore the issues of race in America.
In addition to teaching at Auburn University, Mr. O’Neill works as a producer on the NPR podcast White Lies (a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting), and works at Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project. Down Along With That Devil’s Bones: A Reckoning with Monuments, Memory, and the Legacy of White Supremacy, his first book, was published in September, 2020 by Algonquin Books.
How we got from
Appomattox to Charlottesville
—and where we might go next.
Strength
through Music
A Chisuk Emuna Concert Series
Music has the power to lift us up and give us strength. Join us over the next several months for a concert series designed to do just that.
Dec 24, 5:30pm
| Marcos Askenazi |
Jan 23, 7:00pm
| NEFESH MOUNTAIn |
Feb 20, 7:00pm
| Rabbi Micah |
Mar 13, 7:30pm
| Rena Branson |
May 9, 7:30pm
| The Match Twins |
Plus, yay! We added one more concert to our series!
March 13th, 7:30pm
Rena Branson is an educator, musician, and prayer leader. Through a labyrinth of circumstances, she met her Chassidish father for the first time in 2014 and discovered her love for singing traditional nigunim (sacred melodies) together. She now works to make Chassidish nigunim more widely accessible and share their healing power in progressive Jewish communities, teaching workshops and private lessons. She founded A Queer Nigun Project, which hosts monthly nigun singing at Jewish services in jails as well as events for LGBTQIA+ folks in New York and Philadelphia. She spent the past year studying Jewish music full-time with Joey Weisenberg in the Rising Song Residency and has facilitated programs at Let My People Sing! and Hadar’s Rising Song Intensive. Her recordings of traditional nigunim and original tunes for liturgy are available online.
This Week, Mar 1-7
Chisuk Emuna continues to meet virtually through the online video conferencing site, Zoom. Please see below or explore this homepage to join one of our many gatherings. Please contact the shul office for dial-in information.
Monday 1
7:15pm | Evening Learning Gathering
Tuesday 2
9:00am | Shacharit / Morning Service.
7:15pm | Evening Learning Gathering
Wednesday 3
4:45pm | Gesher School
11:00am - 12:15pm | Gesher Adult Education Pesach: A Love Story.
7:15pm | Evening Learning Gathering
Thursday 4
7:15pm | Evening Learning Gathering
7:45pm | Jewish Mindfulness and Meditation Practice led by Nitsa Kann
Friday 5
5:00pm | Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Candlighting 5:43pm
Saturday 6
10:00am | Shacharit / Morning Service
sponsored by Libby Urie and Daniel Urie in memory of their mother and grandmother, Mary Urie, of blessed memory.
7:00pm | Havdallah followed by learning with Nitsa Kann in observance of her father's first yahrtzeit.
Sunday 7
9:30am | Gesher School
10:00am | Chisuk Emuna Chat. Chisuk Emuna's Strength Through Action Team (STAT) present special chat event with Connor Towne O'Neill, author of Down Along With That Devil’s Bones.
7:15pm | Evening Learning Gathering and our “Monthly Chisuk Emuna Birthday Moment” to celebrate all March birthdays.
Weekday Gatherings of Prayer and Learning
Sunday - Thursday evenings
7:15pm via Zoom
Please join us as we continue the study of "The Path of the Upright", a classic ethical work by 18th century Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, which begins, "I have composed this work not to teach people what they do not know but to remind them of what they already know and which is very familiar to them." Note: Each evening class is self-contained. Join us; your voice makes a difference!
Will Watson,
of blessed memory
Video recording of the memorial program from Sunday, Feb 21.
The family requests donations in Will's memory to the University of Washington Foundation for their Merkel cell carcinoma research.
On Sunday, Feb 21, there were over 100 screens of people on Zoom honoring the life and mourning the death of our dear friend, Will Watson, of blessed memory. What a sad and beautiful gathering. Please know that Will's family really appreciates everyone's support.
To share your memories of Will with his family, please email them to Susan - info@chisukemuna.org. Two of Will's daughters are also open to being contacted directly by those who would like to extend condolences. If you would like to watch a video recording of the memorial program, please click here or button above.
To honor Will's memory with a contribution, his family has requested that donations be directed to Merkel cell carcinoma research led by the University of Washington Foundation. Please note that on the form there is a place to indicate that you are making the contribution in Will's memory. You can also share an email address of one of Will's daughters so they are notified of the good deeds that are being done in memory of their father.
Rabbi Ron Muroff
Nancy Simmons, President
Pesach: A Love Story
Wednesdays
11:00am - 12:15pm
March 3, 10, 17, and 24
Join Rabbi Ariana Capptauber and Rabbi Ron Muroff in exploring the Seder through the lens of the Song of Songs, the Biblical scroll associated with the holiday of Passover, utilizing materials created by Rabbi Aviva Richman of Hadar. Learn new ways of approaching the familiar rituals of this family-based holiday celebration. Please note that participants in this course are also encouraged to attend live online presentations with Rabbi Aviva Richman on March 1st and March 23rd.
The series will continue on March 10, 17, and 24. Register with Patty Brown at Beth El - Patty Brown - patty@bethelhbg.org, (717) 232-0556. Questions? Contact Rabbi Ron Muroff - rabbi@chisukemuna.org, (717) 329-9597.
Gesher Adult Education
Open to all adult learners.
Mindfulness Practice
New twice monthly offering at Chisuk Emuna
Next session:
Wednesday, March 4, 7:45pm
with Nitsa Kann
Have you wondered how you might better cope and even thrive in these challenging times? Jewish practices of mindfulness can help us build the inner muscles of resilience and peace in our lives. Join us as our member, Nitsa Kann, leads us this session.
Thanks to all for making our Mishloach Manot project a huge success!
Click the white arrow on the right to see dozens more pictures of our congregational deliveries.
Membership
We warmly invite you to any one of our numerous online events or services!
Interested in finding out more?
Email Rabbi Muroff at or call 717-232-4851.
