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.  

Palm Coast Hadassah to mark Veteran’s Day with UF Dean Emeritus Lowenstein

The little-known but indispensable role of American Jews in the creation of Israel will be described at 1 p.m. Tuesday, November 11, by a University of Florida professor speaking to the Palm Coast Chapter of Hadassah at Temple Beth Shalom in Palm Coast. 
Ralph Lowenstein, dean emeritus of the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida in Gainesville, will speak on the topic “Anonymous Ally: The American Jewish role in Israel’s War of Independence.” The public is welcome to attend. There is no charge and no advance arrangements for the hour-long program are necessary. For directions to the synagogue at 40 Wellington Drive in Palm Coast, call 386-445-3006. Additional information is available through Palm Coast Hadassah at 386-446-9353. 

Veteran’s Day speaker Lowenstein is a native of Danville, Virginia and fought in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence after he volunteered for the Israeli Army at the age of 18, while a summer exchange student in Europe at the end of his freshman year at Columbia University. He lived in a Displaced Persons camp in Marseilles under an assumed name, then saw combat as a half-track driver with the 79th Armored Battalion, 7th Brigade, 10 days after being smuggled into Israel. He later served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Lowenstein holds two degrees from Columbia and the Ph.D. from the University of Missouri where he served as chairman of the News-Editorial Department of the University’s School of Journalism. An award-winning reporter, he was visiting professor and head of journalistic studies at Tel Aviv University from 1967 to 1968. He is author or co-author of five books, including "Bring my Sons from Far," (World, 1966), a novel about Israel's War of Independence
  
In 2005, Professor Lowenstein built the Museum of American and Canadian Volunteers in Israel’s War of Independence in the University of Florida’s new Hillel Jewish Student’s Organization building. Since 1982, he has been collecting extensive archives, including questionnaires, memoirs and photos, for the University of Florida Libraries on the 1,250 American and Canadian men and women who worked on American ships rescuing Holocaust survivors from Europe or who served in the Israeli armed forces during the War of Independence.

Palm Coast Hadassah Announces 5769 Calendar

Phyllis Meinsen, President of Palm Coast Hadassah, has released the chapter's calendar for the year 5768.  "We've a busy and active year ahead and need the support of each and every member of the Jewish Community of Flagler County," said Meinsen.  

The Palm Coast Chapter is part of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, a volunteer women's organization, whose members are motivated and inspired to strengthen their partnership with Israel, ensure Jewish continuity, and realize their potential as a dynamic force in American society.

Founded in 1912, Hadassah retains the passion and timeless values of its founder, Henrietta Szold, Jewish scholar and activist, who was dedicated to Judaism, Zionism, and the American ideal.

Committed to the centrality of Israel based on the renaissance of the Jewish people in its historic homeland, Hadassah promotes the unity of the Jewish people. In Israel, Hadassah initiates and supports pace-setting health care, education and youth institutions, and land development to meet the country's changing needs.

In the United States, Hadassah enhances the quality of American and Jewish life through its education and Zionist youth programs, promotes health awareness, and provides personal enrichment and growth for its members.

The schedule the Hadassah calendar for the coming year includes:

August 12, 2008 Hadassah Board Meeting 10:00am at Temple

Sept. 9, 2008 Hadassah General Meeting 12:30pm at Temple

Oct. 6, 2008 Hadassah Board Meeting 10:00am at Temple

Oct. 29, 2008 Mah Jongg/Card Party Pine Lakes

Nov. 6, 2008 New member orientation.

Nov. 11, 2008 Hadassah General Meeting 12:30pm at Temple. Program will be in honor of WWII veterans and will feature Dr. Ralph Lowenstein who joined the Israeli army in 1948 when Israel became a nation.

Dec. 9, 2008 Hadassah Board Meeting 10:00am at Temple

Jan. 13, 2009 Hadassah General Meeting 12:30pm Paid up membership luncheon at Temple.

Feb. 10, 2009 Hadassah Board Meeting 10:00am at Temple

Mar. 10, 2009 Purim, Hadassah General Meeting 12:30pm Hamantashen
included.

Mar. 12, 2009 Fashion show and luncheon at Pine Lakes

April ? Donor luncheon date to be determined


May ? Installation date to be determined