The Talmudic Sages said we should celebrate Purim with a public reading of the Megillah, by giving gifts of food to friends, having a festive meal and, by giving charity to the poor. The Purim Basket began as a way to ensure that each person had food for the festive meal. It has developed into a tradition of sending baskets to friends and relatives as a sign of friendship. (more…)

The Religious School is thrilled to welcome Grace (Chana) Millis and her family! Grace is a great addition to our 3rd-4th grade class. Grace had a spark from within that she wanted to study Judaism when she grew up and her zeyde Rick Millis told her there’s no need to wait! She’s a great student and we look forward to teaching and learning with her in the years to come.

It’s never to early to start planning fun for next summer. I encourage all our religious school parents to consider sending our students to one of the URJ summer camps in our area. For many of us who attended Jewish summer camps as children, camp was the stand-out Jewish experience that taught us songs, built life-long friendships, and made us realize how fun being Jewish can be! For more information on URJ camps in our area visit www.urjcamps.org.

Sha’are Shalom Religious School is held Sundays at 9 am. There is a family service, open to the congregation, which lasts from 9-10am and then 2 class sessions which cover prayer based Hebrew and Jewish Studies. Classes are available for students grades K-7. New students are welcome any time throughout the year.

Shalom,
Jasha Levenson
Religious School Principal
shaareshalom@gmail.com, 301-645-4606

Please Help Make The 2012 Congregation Directory A Big Success!
We are beginning to update and publish the annual Congregational Directory. Our Directory is not only a very useful address book that most of us keep by the phone but is also a major fund raiser for our building and furnishings fund. Your support is essential for the continued success of this valuable publication. You can support the Congregation’s effort in two ways. One is to place a personal greeting in the Directory — a great way to wish everyone a happy New Year or to remember a loved one. (more…)

Dear Sha’are Shalom Congregants:

In addition to our monthly Saturday morning Shabbat services led by Rabbi Saltzman, we continue to provide two Friday evening Shabbat services each month. These services are led by congregation members, and we hope you will take one or more turns this year.

To lead the service, you don’t need to have had formal training, or even know Hebrew. You just have to be familiar with one or more of the services in our siddur, Gates of Prayer; to spend a little time choosing which passages and songs you’d like to include, and to prepare a brief d’var Torah, a comment on that week’s Torah portion and how it might relate to our lives today.

Many of you attended our meeting last year in which we went over basic guidelines and tips. If you weren’t there, I or another congregant can show you what to do. We also have some handouts. If you would rather not sing, someone else can help out with the music.

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We mourn the passing of a member and friend to many, Alice Lebowitz who passed away December 21, 2011. Alice, as many of you know, was a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. After the war, returned to her native Czechoslovakia which had become part of the Soviet Union. Later she immigrated to the United States. She is survived by her two daughters, Sylvia Yotko and Judy Marmer; her grandchildren Bella Dean and Jason Yorko; and her great-grandson Sebastian.

A plaque for our Memorial Board is being purchased in her memory. Anyone so inclined may contribute to this memorial plaque by sending a contribution to Lee Weinberger at 4826 Bryantown Rd., Waldorf, MD 20601-4240.

Noah Kanter, age 8, led Sunday School services on Dec 11,2011. He is the youngest member of our Sunday School to lead services and give a D’var Torah.

Jacob realized he’s close to where Esau lives. He thinks Esau is still angry with him. Jacob sends his men to give Esau a message saying he was sorry for all he had done to him. The men returned and told Jacob that Esau was coming with an army of 400 men.

Fearing for his family’s lives, he sends servants to Esau with gifts. These gifts included all different types of cattle.

During the night, Jacob wrestled with an angel that represented Esau. He won the fight, and G-d gave Jacob a new name: Israel. Israel means “he who wins over the divine.”

In the morning, Jacob could see Esau’s army. When the brothers met, Jacob learned Esau was not angry with him anymore. Jacob still insisted Esau take the gifts. That was when they stopped fighting.
When Isaac, their father, died, Jacob and Esau buried him – together.

This portion teaches us that although my brother and I don’t always get along and sometimes fight, we will forgive each other and make up with one another. We do not need gifts to do it, either!

Happy new year! I’m proud to report that Congregation Sha’are Shalom has a vibrant group of religious school students that are active at the Synagogue as well as their schools and in the local community. In addition to arts, crafts, Bible stories, Hebrew studies, and music sessions, our students took part in the fall food drive, the walk to end homelessness in Charles County, volunteered for the Safe Nights Program, and contributed winter clothing for the Children’s Aid Society here in Southern Maryland. More to come in 2012!
Thanks to all our families and especially our volunteer teachers. Thanks also to Pam Green and those who organized and hosted the Chanukah party.

A special Mazel Tov! to Noah Kanter who at age 8 did an outstanding job leading our family service in December and preparing a meaningful d’var Torah. His motivation, hard work and thoughtful commentary is commended.

Religious School is held Sundays at 9am. There is a family service open to the congregation which lasts from 9-10am and then 2 class sessions which cover prayer based Hebrew and Jewish Studies. New students are welcome any time throughout the year.

Shalom,
Jasha Levenson
Religious School Principal
shaareshalom@gmail.com, 301-645-4606

I want to wish everyone a Happy and Safe New Year. As we start 2012 there is a lot that Sha’are Shalom needs to do and I hope you will join me in the work that we have ahead of us.

The saying “It takes a village to raise a child”, well it takes members to build a synagogue. The Outreach Committee has been doing a great job working to show what Sha’are Shalom has to offer. Show your support by coming to all the events. Now it is our turn to WELCOME new visitors to our synagogue. When you come to services or events and you see a face that you don’t know, please walk up to that person and introduce yourself. We need to show our visitors that we have a lot to offer a nd friendship is one of them.

I have another article about the Biennial that was held on December 14-17, 2011. If you want to listen to some of the speakers you can go to www.urj.org/biennial

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Our treasurer received a certificate of completion from the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) for the Accounting Fundamentals course. Mr. Berens reports that the course was very informative and successful achievement required several hours beyond the 24 hours (Continuing Education) with detailed exercises, quizzes and a final exam. The course was syndicated to several small colleges via a national online arrangement with CSM, but included daily commentary on student questions from the instructor.

The course stressed understanding basic bookkeeping practices using simple exercises and traditional formats and so was is very helpful at understanding the capabilities, constraints and limitations of the popular bookkeeping software packages. Mr. Berens plans to take further courses available at CSM, focusing on non-profit organizational accounting using automated tools.

The Men’s Club held their first breakfast of the Jewish New Year and started planning for their Mother’s Day extravaganza. Suz Darby was nearby and had some very good pointers for us. Thanks Suz, and thanks to the guys that showed up.

Marv Cohen
301-843-1627 (H)
301-385-7364 (C)