Shavua tov – looking forward to Shabbat Shoftim – CBI Berkshires Reform Jewish Synagogue

Shavua tov – a good new week to you!

Zoom Offerings

This week our Zoom offerings include Rabbinic Drop-In Hour (1pm Mondays), Reverse Omer Group with Jen Burt (5pm Tuesdays) and Shabbat Morning services (9:30am Saturday) led this week by R’ Pam Wax, all in the CBI Zoom room with the usual password. (Our Friday morning meditation minyan is on hiatus and will return in the fall.)

Links and password will go out out in the CBI Announcements email (and are the same as previous weeks) but if you don’t have them, contact the office.

Meanwhile, speaking of Zoom…

Help With Zoom: Do You Need It? Can You Offer It?
Need a hand? Are you unfamiliar with Zoom and uncertain how to join our online programs (Shabbat and festival services, book group meetings, and more)? Let the office know and we’ll match you with someone who can walk you through installing the software and learning how to use it. Lend a hand! Are you familiar with Zoom and willing to teach someone else how to use it? Let the office know and we’ll match you with someone who wants to learn.
Seeking “Zoom Angels” For High Holidays:
Are you comfortable with Zoom (or are you willing to learn)? We’re looking for (at least) one person to be a “Zoom Angel” for each of our seven High Holiday services. (Erev Rosh Hashanah, Rosh Hashanah morning 1 and 2, Kol Nidre, Yom Kippur morning, Y”K afternoon, and Ne’ilah / Yom Kippur’s closing service.) Each Zoom Angel will be made “co-host” of the Zoom room for the service(s) when they sign up to help. They will manage the virtual door / waiting room (letting people in as they arrive) and will be asked to mute and unmute the room from time to time. Does this sound feasible to you, or would you be willing to learn some Zoom tips in order to lend a hand in this way? Please let Rabbi Rachel know!

Runway to the Days of Awe

We’re on the spiritual runway to Rosh Hashanah, and Rabbi Rachel is sending weekly emails to help us prepare for this unprecedented holiday season. Here are the first three: Seven Weeks Until Rosh Hashanah (don’t forget to sign up for a high holiday box — details at that link!) and Creating Sacred Space at Home (video and text at that link), and Music (there are two videos in that post, introducing our high holiday anthem / musical theme for this year.) Here’s one of them, a recording of Ahavat Olam (with the traditional words) as sung by the Platt brothers to a melody by Gabe Mann and Piper Rutman:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yhk_obX7CQ]

If you can’t see the embedded YouTube video, here’s a direct link to the Platt brothers’ version. Click through to our Music post to see / hear the other video, which is a recording of Rabbi Rachel singing new words written for that melody for this year’s Days of Awe.

And tuned for the fourth post in the series, coming on Wednesday.

Torah and commentaries for this week

This week we’re reading from parashat Shoftim in the book of Deuteronomy. If you’d like to read some commentaries on this week’s parsha, here are a few: