Join Us for Shabbat Services This Saturday, January 27, 2024

From Rabbi David, Wednesday, 24 January 2024

It’s great to be back home after a 11-day visit to Israel and the West Bank. Times are tough in the Holy Land right now. The October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the death and destruction in Gaza have caused trauma throughout the area. My short visit was aimed at supporting my family-by-marriage, showing solidarity with Israelis, and supporting Palestinian farmers. I look forward to sharing my experiences with my Nafshenu community.

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Please join your friends this Saturday morning for a Shabbat service and lunch. The Israelites’ freedom struggle reaches its climax in this week’s Torah portion (B’shalach, Exodus 13:17-17:16) with their escape across the sea and the drowning of Pharaoh’s army. We’ll have special blessings for those protecting our people today, for those recovering from injury and those still in captivity. It starts at 9:30am at our home in Prince of Peace church, 61 E. Route 70, Marlton, NJ. Please sign up below. We’ll also be on Zoom at the usual link: bit.ly/NafTorah. Please stay after services for a potluck lunch. We ask everyone to bring a dairy or vegetarian dish. 

Nafshenu cannot do these amazing programs without your support. Our recommended donation for services is $18 per person or $36 per family. Please know that if you cannot afford a donation, you are still more than welcome to join in the events. Please register below.

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Tomorrow (Thursday) is Tu B’Shvat, the Jewish New Year of the Trees. We’ll begin our Thursday evening Zoom Torah study with thoughts and blessings for the holiday. Supply your own wine or grape juice. The class runs 7-8pm at our regular link: bit.ly/NafTorah. I will raise questions about the role of tree-planting in connecting people to land, especially the Holy Land. 

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Nafshenu has two online programs coming up in the next 10 days: our regular Thursday Torah study (Feb. 1) and a special Israel program on Sunday, Feb. 4. I and Rabbi Fredi Cooper (one of my former teachers) will talk about what we saw during our recent visits there.  The program is part of a series from Philadelphia’s Germantown Jewish Centre, which is extending an invitation to the Nafshenu community to participate. It’s 7-8pm, and you can get a Zoom link by registering at bit.ly/NafGJC. Our Torah study is as usual at bit.ly/NafTorah.   

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Please reach out to me anytime: by text or phone (248-508-0874) or email (rebdovid@nafshenu.org). 

• Rabbi David Goodman