A CORNUCOPIA OF FALL ACTIVITIES

At the time of my writing this column, we are in the process of wrapping up a very special month here at Tree of Life. We began October by welcoming the Festival of Sukkot. I want to thank everyone, especially our Religious School families and the Temple Brotherhood, who helped to set-up and decorate our Temple’s Sukkah. The Sukkah looked great. I love the size of our new Sukkah (this is year #2): 50 people gathered for dinner on the first night of Sukkot, followed by services and shaking the
lulav and etrog right there in the Sukkah. The Sukkah was well-used – it also hosted a Shabbat morning lunch, our entire Religious School on Sunday, a session of Chai School for our 11th and 12th graders, and a visit by USC Hillel students. I was pleased that a number of people stopped by for a picnic lunch or dinner throughout the week; that’s why it’s there.

A week later we concluded Sukkot and celebrated Simchat Torah. Thank you to Marvin Bienstock, Fred Davidson, and Bill Strauss who joined me and Sharon in providing the music for our jubilant hakafot, as we danced with our five Sifrei Torah (Torah scrolls) around the sanctuary. Afterwards, we read the end of Deuteronomy and the very beginning of Genesis in one of my favorite services of the year.

Other October highlights included celebrating with two of our families as Emily Kerner, Joshua Stombler, and Justin Stombler all became B’nei Mitzvah. I also had the opportunity to deliver an invocation at the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, and taught a class at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (off of St. Andrews). The church group then came to Temple the following week to participate in a Shabbat evening service. I was also thrilled that six of our young people traveled to Atlanta for the NFTY-SAR Fall Kallah. They had a wonderful time and enjoyed meeting other high-schoolers from across the region.

This month Morgan and I are looking forward to attending the Union for Reform Judaism’s Biennial Convention in Toronto, Ontario. The URJ Biennial is a gathering
of Reform Jews from all over North America that includes learning, prayer, the sharing of ideas and making decisions about the policies of the Reform Movement. We know
that we will be inspired: by the prayer services, guest speakers, workshops, entertainment, programming ideas, and company we will share for four days. We are pleased to represent the Tree of Life, and we hope that in two years we will be joined by more members of our congregation. It is truly an amazing experience. They are expecting over 3,000 lay leaders (present and future), professionals, rabbis and cantors, college students and youth representatives, vendors, musicians, and much more. It is the largest Jewish gathering in North America.

Two weeks later I will be traveling once again, as Bill Strauss and I lead our onfirmation Class to New York City. The trip is a wonderful experience for our tenth graders. Most have been to New York before – our goal is to show them“Jewish New York” and to share with them experiences that one might not be able to have anywhere else. That will include spending time in the Lower East Side, as well as seeing some of New York’s varied synagogues and Jewish life. Of course, this trip would be incomplete without dining at a famous NY deli or two. Bill is an outstanding tour guide and does an excellent job of getting us through and around the city.

I want to thank Rabbi Marcus who will be leading services on Friday, Nov. 6 and Risa Strauss who will lead on Friday, Nov. 20 in my absence.

Other November highlights include a special service on Friday, November 13 that will be led by the students of Kitah Hey (our fifth-year Hebrew class). The following morning, Kristi Bell will become a Bat Mitzvah. Mazal Tov to Kristi and her entire family!

I am also looking forward to our adult education offerings for this month. Risa is continuing her Hebrew classes (which I highly recommend). I will continue my Introduction to Judaism class, and, no, it is not too late to sign up. Even if you missed our first two classes in October. I am also beginning a new class: “Exploring the Classics of Rabbinic Literature.” We often talk about Mishnah, Talmud, and Midrash – I will explore each in separate sessions. The class will be for both beginners and those with previous knowledge, as I hope to explain what each of these classics is and provide a
taste of what’s inside.

Finally I want to remind everyone of our annual Forest Lakes Community Thanksgiving Service held on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving. This year it will be right down the street at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church. I hope we have a nice turnout from Tree of Life.

I wish you a wonderful November and a very happy Thanksgiving!

Rabbi Daniel Sherman