Tag Archives: Rabbi David Greenstein
Immigrant Demonstration in Newark
On Thursday August 29, several individuals from Essex County joined clergy from several towns to support Faith in Essex, a multifaith group, for a peaceful demonstration in front of the Hall of Records in Newark – where the Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo and the Essex County Freeholders maintain offices. We delivered letters requesting that there be a Civilian Oversight Board and a Detainee Advocate for the Essex County Correctional Facility. Recently, there have been several incidents of abuse of detainees and most especially, immigrants that violate human rights.
Rabbi Greenstein from Shomrei Emunah, along with several clergy from various faiths around Essex County participated. Letters need to continue to be written to support this effort.
What you can do: Please contact Essex County Executive and Freeholders, Below is a suggested message as well as the emails for our Essex County Executive and Freeholders. Continue reading
Immigrant Action Update: A Call to Action
On a recent Wednesday morning, Rabbi Greenstein, Audrey Levitin and I joined the Montclair Sanctuary Alliance (MSA) in a meeting with Representative Mikie Sherrill, who represents the 11th Congressional District including part of Montclair. The overall message was that people in her state are eager to welcome immigrants as we have been doing for decades. MSA members discussed several issues with Representative Sherrill about refugee resettlement, asylum seekers, and conditions in the detention centers.
The Wednesday Night Monthly Minyan??
Andy and I would like to express our gratitude to everyone who has supported THE LITTLE MINYAN THAT COULD all year, and in years past.?? We all lead such busy and complicated lives, but when we make the effort to support someone saying Kaddish, or to simply support our community, our lives are elevated just a little bit. I know the word “mitzvah” means a commandment; I’d like to suggest we add a feeling of elevation or being uplifted to the definition.
An Amazing Start to the Year
It’s been quite a start to the 2019 calendar year at Shomrei and I find myself enveloped by experiences spiritual, educational and social within our community. From learning about the Dead Sea Scrolls from a world-renowned expert to celebrating Nick Levitin at a very special honor night to a transformative experience last Shabbat with our musical scholar-in-residence. (How great was it to see all the kids playing together after Havdalah!)
I look forward to this week’s Art Mazel soiree and auction; I’m hearing great things about the Purim shpiel (the Lion King!); I can’t wait for the next holiday hikes with Lily; and I’m excitedly watching our new playground go up.
And, throughout all of this, we have members who continue to open their homes for services, who are so very committed to our social action programs, and who share their experiences and expertise as @nourish speakers. All this and much more at our “little” synagogue. Our collective experiences continue to be driven by our dedicated professional staff and so many members of our community who feel a passion, dedication and commitment to making Shomrei the place we all want it to be. Thank you!
See you at shul!
Fondly,
Sara Ann Erichson
Plans for the Rabbi’s Sabbatical
As you know, Rabbi Greenstein will be away from Shomrei from January 1st through May 31st of this upcoming year. He has been awarded the Daniel Jeremy Silver Fellowship at the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University.
For much of this year, a Rabbi Sabbatical Committee, led by Shomrei members Geoff Sadow and Dan Winter, have been working to ensure that our congregation will operate smoothly during our rabbi’s absence. This includes the hiring of guest rabbis to join us for many Shabbatot and to provide rabbinic coverage. This also includes the scheduling of academic and musical scholars-in-residence who will bring to Shomrei some exciting programs.
Bountiful Brass – A Fitting Tribute (video and photo gallery)
About 250 people gathered at Shomrei for the second annual “Concert for Eric” a tribute to Eric Singer z”l. This year’s concert entitled “Bountiful Brass – From Bach to Bernstein” featured Montclair Chamber Brass: Don Batchelder,
Chuck Bumcrot,
Anthony Mazzocchi,
Jeff Scott and
Kyle Turner.
Continue reading
Vigil
Rabbis Ariann Weitzman, David Greenstein, Marc Katz, and Elliott Tepperman lead 200 members of the religious, political and social Montclair community at B’nai Keshet to mourn the victims of the Tree of Life massacre at a vigil of prayers, song and support, Sat. night, Oct. 27. Photo © Adam Anik
This past Shabbat the worst attack on Jews in American history took place. Many of us were stunned, horrified, angered and grief stricken. What does one do in such a circumstance?
One answer was provided by our rabbi and our community: Congregation Shomrei Emunah co-sponsored a vigil along with congregations Bnai Keshet and Temple Ner Tamid.
Unfortunately, due to the late hour of the email notice that went out to the congregation about the vigil (it could not be sent out earlier because of Shabbat) there were few Shomrei members in attendance. How I wished our congregants could have been there for this special evening – a chance to come together to share our pain and find comfort in one another’s embrace. Having spoken to a number of our congregants, I know many wished they could have attended.
Security at Shomrei – A Message from President, Sara Ann Erichson
As Rabbi Greenstein so eloquently stated in his recent email, we are devastated by the tragedy in Pittsburgh. As a follow up, I am writing to share with you information and plans regarding security at our synagogue
We are grateful to the Montclair Police Department (MPD) who arrived at Shomrei last Saturday morning as soon as events unfolded in Pittsburgh. They returned to our synagogue on Sunday. We are actively engaged with the MPD and are requesting, for an interim period of time, extra patrols while we have people in the building.
A Day of Sunshine: Syrian Lunch in the Sukkah
On a beautiful day of sunshine, our synagogue hosted a luncheon in our Sukkah. We invited as our guests Pastor David Noble and his congregation at the Central Presbyterian Church to thank them for hosting us during our time of need when our synagogue was flooded. Approximately 20 of his congregation family joined 50 of ours sharing a heartfelt afternoon of prayers, singing, food, and friendship. Continue reading