Shul News & Notes
Oculus: Eye On Art
This month’s Oculus feature was inspired by Rabbi Gadi’s tour of the Magdala archaeological site in Israel, arranged by the rabbi as part of a Kristallnacht remembrance program and offered live on Zoom from the site. The photo and history were submitted to The Shofar by Saul Rosenstreich and Judith K. Weiner, members of the shul’s Judaism and Art group.
The Magdala Stone is a carved block unearthed by archaeologists from a synagogue in northern Israel on the Sea of Galilee, remarkably preserved from the year 70. The carvings show a seven-branched menorah, perhaps the oldest representation of a menorah in a synagogue. Based on its size and placement within the synagogue, it may have been used as a reading desk or a podium. The stone responds to important questions about synagogue observance during this period of Jewish history
Book Circle Nov 17 @4 PM
The Book Circle will meet Thursday, November 17 at 4 pm, at the shul, with this month’s selection:
“A Cold Red Sunrise” by Stuart Kaminsky.
If you wish to join the club, please email ctigreenport@gmail.com with a message for Susan Rosenstreich, the group coordinator.
Tikkun Olam Initiative Pledges $600 For Chickens In The Baskets
The Tikkun Olam Initiative, a shul organization that provides charitable donations throughout the year for CAST clients, recently pledged $600 to purchase chickens and to help fill Thanksgiving baskets for CAST, which has changed its name from Community Action Southold Town to Center for Advocacy, Support and Transformation.
In response to the pledge, Veronica Kaliski, one of the women who spearheads the TOI group, received the following thank-you letter from Karina Hayes, CAST’s food relief program manager:
Hi Veronica,
That is wonderful news, thank you so much! We have seen such an increase in
families needing assistance that I have been concerned about providing them all
with Thanksgiving baskets this year. We are signing on an average of 28 new
families a month, and have served over 274,000 meals so far this year. Your pledge
for chickens, and knowing that I can count on organizations such as yours makes me
feel much better. We honestly can’t thank you enough.
I will be in touch when the date draws closer.
Warmly, Karina
Congregation Tifereth Israel Celebrates The High Holidays 2022
As part of the Rosh Hashanah observance, many individuals and synagogue groups participate in the tashlich ritual. Here, shul members gathered at bodies of flowing water and, with bread in hand as symbols of misdeeds over the past year, tossed their sins into the water, beginning the new year afresh. Whether it’s two friends at an inlet or a group at Southold Bay, the ceremony is fun and uplifting. Photos by SMBloom, right, and JRakhman.
The seating was arranged, the flowers were in place, the Torahs were safely in the Ark. Rabbi Gadi and Cantor Phil provided the spirituality to a full house of worshippers. We built a Sukkah and decorated it, and thanks to Dave Berson and his glorious “Glory,” we motored out on the bay and enjoyed the sunshine. Photos by the participants
Oculus: Eye On Art
Images of 75 Holocaust Survivors Mark the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz
“Survivors: Faces of Life After the Holocaust” by renown portrait photographer Martin Schoeller is on view at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York through June 2023. The exhibit, a compelling and evocative installation of large images in a hexagonal configuration, presents a powerful message of shared human experience.
The exhibit, organized by Schoeller and Yad Vashem, capitalizes on the impact of Schoeller’s distinctive style of portraiture, characterized by extreme close-ups to the exclusion of all external markers — no visible background, no makeup, no posed expressions. The viewer considers an unadorned individual, each image exposing the trauma of a life, etched in demeanor and facial expression. The power of the 75 survivors is a haunting legacy.
Photos: Museum of Jewish Heritage
Text: Saul Rosenstreich and Judith K. Weiner
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