December 13th Beth Shalom Havdalah at the Beach Provides a Moonrise Bonus!

Havdalah is a brief ceremony that marks the end of the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest.
The Jewish Community of Flagler County will meet for the traditional Havdallah service on Saturday evening, December 13th at 6:30 p.m. 100 feet north of the Flagler Beach Pier in Flagler Beach. All are welcome to attend. All who wish to remain for a few minutes following the service will be treated to an unusual full moonrise over the Atlantic.

The name havdalah comes from the Hebrew word l'havdeel, which means to distinguish or separate. Havdalah is a ceremony that distinguishes between the holy Sabbath day and the secular work week.
Anyone looking to practice more Jewish rituals should consider havdalah. The ceremony is short, simple, sweet and spiritual. Havdalah is definitely one of my children's favorite ceremonies.
What is Needed?
Three things are needed for the havdalah ceremony:
glass of kosher wine or grape juice
some fragrant spices (cloves, cinnamon or bay leaves are commonly used)
a special Havdalah candle
The wine is used to symbolize the joy of the Sabbath.
The spices are smelled so that the sweetness of the Sabbath will be carried over into the work week.
The candle is braided and has at least two wicks. The braiding symbolizes the unity found at the end of the Sabbath. Since the blessing refers to "lights of the fire" in the plural, two wicks are used in one candle to enable one to extinguish them at the same time. If a havdalah candle is not available, one can hold two candles together so that their wicks burn together one flame.

Making home-made spice boxes and havdalah candles can be a fun, family craft project.

How To Do Havdalah?
The Havdalah service marks the end of the Sabbath, and therefore should be performed only after nightfall on Saturday night. Nightfall is the time when three stars can be seen in the sky.
The most pleasant way to perform the ceremony is to have all the participants stand close together in a circle and to dim the lights so candle light becomes the focus.

The Havdalah Service

The service begins with Biblical verses that praise God as our savior. Then blessings are recited over the wine, the spices and the candle. The service concludes with the Havdalah blessing.
Biblical Verses

The braided candle is lit and held by a child if one is present.
The leader raises a cup of wine and says:
Hinei eil y'shu'ati, evtach v'lo efchad, ki ozi v'zimrat Yah Adonai va'y'hi li lishua.
Behold, God is my savior, I will trust in God and will not be afraid, because my strong faith and song of praise for God will be my salvation.
(Isaiah 12:2)

Ush'avtem mayim b'sason mima'ay'nei ha-y'shua.
You shall joyfully draw water out of the wells of salvation.
(Isaiah 12:3)
La'Adonai ha-y'shua, al amcha virkhatecha, sela.
God is our savior, may God bless God's people.
(Psalms 3:9)

Adonai tzva'ot imanu, misgav lanu Elohei Ya'akov, sela.
God of the universe is with us, the God of Jacob is a fortress protecting us.
(Psalms 46:12)

Adonai tz'va'ot ashrei adam botei'ach bach.
God of the universe, happy is the person who trusts You.
(Psalms 84:13)
Adonai hoshiya ha-melech ya'aneinu v'yom koreinu.
God, redeem us. The King will answer on the day we call.
(Psalms 20:10)
All participants say together the joyous words that were spoken by the Jews when they were saved from the plot of Haman:
La'y'hudim hayta ora v'simcha v'sasonvikar, kein t'hiyeh lanu.
The Jewish People had light and joy and gladness and dignity, So may we be blessed.
(Esther 8:16)
The leader raises a cup of wine and says:
Kos y'shu'ot eisa u'v'sheim Adonai ekra.
I will lift the cup of salvation and call upon God's name.
(Psalms 116:13)
The Blessing over the Wine
The leader says:
Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, borei peri ha-gafen.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
The wine is put down without anyone drinking from it.
The Blessing over the Spices

The leader says:
Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, bo oerei minei v'samim.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, Creator of many kinds of spices.
The spices are passed around so that all participants can sniff them.

The Blessing over the Candle

The candle that was kindled at the beginning of the ceremony is raised high, and the leader says:
Baruch ata Adonai Eloheynu Melekh Ha'olam boray me'oray ha'esh.
Blessed are you, Oh L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe who has created the light of the fire.
All participants hold their hands, with half-clenched fingers, up to the light of the candle so that their fingernails catch the reflection of the light. Why? Some believe this creates shadows which, as the blessing says, makes a distinction between light and darkness. Others believe that we should make use of the light after blessing it.

The Havdalah Blessing

The leader says:
Baruch ata Adonai Eloheynu Melekh Ha'olam, ha'mavdil, bayn kodesh le'chol, bayn or le'choshech, bayn Yisra'el la'amim, bayn yom ha'shevi'i le'sheshet yemay ha ma'aseh.
Blessed are you, Oh L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe who created a distinction between the holy and the profane, between the light and darkness, between Isra'el and the nations, between the seventh day and the rest of the week.
Baruch ata Adonai, ha'mavdil bayn kodesh le'chol.
Blessed are You, Oh L-rd our G-d who made a distinction between the sacred and the profane.
All participants can now taste the wine. It is customary to spill some of the wine into a saucer, and then to extinguish the candle by dipping it into the wine in the saucer. This symbolizes the Sabbath influence spilling over into the work week
Songs

The Havdalah ceremony may be concluded by singing songs. Two traditional songs are Shavua Tov and Eliahu HaNavi.
Shavua Tov (A Good Week):
Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov, Shavua tov.
A good week, a week of peace, may gladness reign and joy increase.
Eliahu Ha'Navi:
Eliahu Ha'Navi, Eliahu Ha'Tishbi, Eliahu Ha'Giladi.
Bimheira, yavo aleinu, im mashiach ben David, im mashiach ben David.
Elijah the Prophet, Elijah the Tishbite, Elijah the Gileadite.
With speed, Come to us, With the Messiah, The son of David.
http://www.flaglerbeachpier.net/12_pier_011.jpg

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:9UjZ_sAn7rEDIM:http://www.debbierichmanart.com/P6020016_edited.JPG

Learners Service Meets at Beth Shalom on 4th Friday of the Month

I had been going to shul since I was a child, but that didn't mean I understood what was going on -- the Learners' Service made the Friday evening worship much more understandable and approachable. (from a congregant)

Do you feel lost during the Friday evening service?
Do you wish you could participate more?
If you answered yes, then the Learners Service is for you!

Deepen your personal connection to the Friday evening Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv Services!
Increase your ability to participate
Learn to develop spiritual mindfulness (kavanah)
Discover the liturgical, spiritual, and emotional structure of the service


The Learners Service Approach to Jewish Spiritual Practice

Many Jews describe the traditional service as a train roaring through the station, leaving them alone on the platform unable to board. There we stand with a ticket in our hand, suitcase at our feet, and wonder why the train didn't stop to let us on.
The traditional service is our heritage and expresses the values of our culture. It developed over hundreds of years and offers a deep and intricate path of spirituality. But the ancient origins and depth of its meanings can also make the service seem inaccessible and forbidding.
The goal of the Learners Service, meeting each 4th Friday of the month, is to help each worshipper find personal meaning and connection to the words of this ancient prayer text. While the spirit is innate in everyone, the ability to focus our attention, and to act with intention, is a learned process. As we learn to increase kavanah, and open ourselves to the experience of standing in the stream of Judaism's history and values, we move from being alienated audience to active participant in the community of prayer.
Each act of participation that we learn, the words that we say, the standing and bowing, the kissing of the Siddur, becomes part of the method for engaging our own spirituality.
To delve deeply into the traditional Jewish liturgy requires us to learn the methods of kavanah, the practice of movement and speech, and to struggle with the meaning of the words. Jewish spiritual practice is built incrementally as we apply each of these techniques to the service. The Learners Service offers worshippers the opportunity to learn and practice each of these steps of the path to Jewish spirituality.
Do you feel lost during the Friday evening service?
Do you wish you could participate more?
If you answered yes, then the Learners Service is for you!

Deepen your personal connection to the Friday evening Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv Services!
Increase your ability to participate
Learn to develop spiritual mindfulness (kavanah)
Discover the liturgical, spiritual, and emotional structure of the service

Rabbi Hayim Donin’s To Be a Jew, Becomes Adult Education Course at Beth Shalom

Rabbi Hayim Donin’s fundamental work in his classic guide To Be a Jew will become an adult education course at Temple Beth Shalom beginning November 12th. The class will meet regularly on Wednesdays from 1:45 until 2:30 p.m. and will be moderated by Merrill Shapiro, Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom. All are welcome, there is no charge, no advance arrangements need be made. Because of the nature of the course, no meeting is dependent on previous or future meetings. Thus, each session is stand-alone, participants need make no commitment to regular attendance.  


To Be a Jew is Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin's classic guide to Jewish life, philosophy, and law has guided generations of Americans, Europeans, and Israelis to discover the treasures of their own religious traditions. First published in 1972, the book still stands as a reliable, practical and versatile resource for everyone from young girls preparing for bat mitzvah to old men returning to their spiritual roots. The book begins with an overview of Judaism's basic credo (including chapters on Israel's people, land, God, and Torah), moves on to describe the laws governing Jews' daily lives, the Jewish calendar, and "The Special Occasions of Life" from birth to death and mourning. One great strength of To Be a Jew is its blending of folk wisdom and scholarly learning. Rabbi Donin not only describes what right belief and righteous action look like but provides a rationale for these observances that engages and embraces the basic conditions of modern life.  

The initial course calendar and subjects to be discussed include:
 
 
November 12 Israel –The People
 
November 19 Israel –Its Land
 
November 26 Israel-Its God
 
December 3 Israel- Its Torah
 
December 10 Halakha: The Jewish Way
 
December 17 The Reasons for the Commandments
 
January 7th Kindness: A Means to an End
 
January 14 acts of Kindness
 
January 21 Laws of Charity
 
January 28 Laws Relating to Slander, Revenge and Deceit

Hebrew Reading Course Offered at Beth Shalom

Jews with littleor no background in the Hebrew language can learn basic Hebrew reading skills, allowing them to connect with their Jewish heritage, follow along in a prayer book at services, and help their children with Hebrew school homework with enrollment in a course offered at Palm Coast’s Temple Beth Shalom. The class meets Wednesday afternoons from 2:30 until 3:00 p.m. and the initial schedule calls for meetings on November 12th, 19th and 26th, December 3rd, 10th and 17th and January 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. There is a $10 charge for materials, the text “Kriah u’Tefillah L’Matchilim” A Reading and Prayer Primer recently updated by the New York publisher Ktav and author Zvi Scharfstein. Details and further information are available from instructor Merrill Shapiro, Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom.  

The results of the recent National Jewish Population Survey show a decline in the American Jewish population, making clear the need to offer American Jews access to engaging educational programming that will inspire them to integrate Judaism into their lives. Experience has demonstrated that they beginning Hebrew Reading courses are a fantastic way to get people to take their first steps into Jewish life and to generate interest in Jewish traditions and culture.

Beth Shalom and Hadassah Offer Modern Spoken Hebrew Classes

Temple Beth Shalom and Palm Coast Hadassah have partnered to offer classes in modern spoken Hebrew through a course called Ivrit L'Hadassah, Hebrew of Hadassah. The classes meet Wednesday afternoons at Temple Beth Shalom  The beginngers course is offered from 3:00 until 3:45 p.m. while a course for intermediate level students is is offered from 1:00 untill 1:45 p.m.  The courses are open to all and there is no charge. Further details are available from the course instructor Merrill Shapiro, the Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom who can be reached in the synagogue office at 386-445-3006.

The initial course calendar plans meetings on Wednesdays November 12th, 19th and 26th, December 3rd, 10th and 17th and January 7th, 14th 21st and 28th.   

Learning Hebrew is not as hard as one might think. Anyone can learn to read, speak, and understand the language of the Bible, prayers, and of daily life in Israel. Even for those who can't read a single Hebrew letter, or those who already have a background in the language, Ivrit la Hadassah – Hadassah's National Hebrew Studies program – can provide anyone and everyone with the basic building blocks of Hebrew to help build or increase Hebrew Language proficiency. 

Ivrit la Hadassah offers a four-level program that teaches the Hebrew alphabet in segments, integrates grammar sequentially, and introduces conversational Hebrew. Peer-led classes use an exciting, low-pressure, results-oriented approach that emphasizes basic skills and conversational fluency.Participants have fun learning, and make friends who share a  Jewish consciousness and love of Israel.

The gift of Jewish and Hebrew literacy is now available to Flagler County residents.