By Rabbi Alicia Magal
Sedona, AZ –All are invited to Erev Shabbat service on Friday, October 9 at 5:30 pm led by Rabbi Magal. Join in singing songs to usher in the Sabbath, prayers of healing for loved ones, congratulations for those celebrating a birthday or anniversary, and Kaddish, the Mourner’s prayer in memory of those who have passed away recently or around this date in past years. A selection will be read from the very first chapters of the Bible, Bereishit (Genesis 1:1 – 6:8) in which God creates the world. After Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit, they are banished from the Garden of Eden. Using the ancient formula of blessing, we will announce the coming of the new moon of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan. Stay to enjoy Kiddush and Motzi (wine or juice and challah), refreshments, and socializing after the service.
Egalitarian, participatory Morning Minyan meets on zoom Wednesdays at 8:30 am with traditional morning blessings, healing prayers, and Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer. Come be counted in our minyan! Link on the website.
Meditation class will meet on Wednesday afternoon, October 14, at 4:00 pm, led by Rabbi Magal and Rosalie Malter on zoom. A focus on the breath and diving more deeply into phrases from sacred texts offer another gateway into Jewish tradition.
Torah study led by Rabbi Magal will be held on Thursday, October 15, at 4:00 pm on zoom, focusing on Noach (Genesis 6:9 – 11:32), telling the story of Noah, the great flood, and the Tower of Babel. A new approach this year will use the lens of Mussar, a practice of self-refinement, taking lessons from the Torah narratives as a tool for balancing one’s soul traits or qualities, called Middot, such as humility, responsibility, honoring the dignity of others, soul accounting, and many other qualities.
The Social Action Committee is collecting non-perishable foods, as well as infant formula and personal care products, for the local Sedona food pantry. Please drop off your donations in the bin provided for collections located at the bottom of the stairs in the parking lot. People continue to need sustenance. Let’s keep them in mind.
The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, located at 100 Meadowlark Drive off Route 179 in Sedona, is a welcoming, egalitarian, inclusive congregation dedicated to building a link from the past to the future by providing religious, educational, social and cultural experiences. Visitors are welcome to attend services after a security check. Those who cannot attend in person can access the service through zoom. The JCSVV offers soul-enriching services, programs, concerts, and classes, all listed on the synagogue website, jcsvv.org. Office telephone: 928 204-1286.
Rabbi Alicia Magal
Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, Arizona, USA
www.jcsvv.org
Office: 928 204-1286
“A Jewel of a Shul”
Mission Statement:
The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley is a welcoming, egalitarian, inclusive congregation dedicated to building a link from the past to the future by providing religious, educational, social and cultural experiences. We choose to remain unaffiliated in order to respect and serve the rich diversity of our members and visitors.
2 Comments
They eat the fruit, but what do they eat?
We lift the veil for a wary peek.
Through a forest of mystery hiding it all,
We see a body, naked and weak.
This BODY is the Garden in whose center grow
The two famous trees, but nowhere a weevil.
Here is the tree of life and the one
Of knowledge of good and knowledge of evil.
Because the two trees are right next to each other
Care must be taken to avoid the one bad.
For the fruit of both trees is pleasure,
So the pleasure is there to be had.
To be fruitful and multiply eat from the first.
But eat from the second and no one conceives.
So here we go now: one, two, three–
Pleasure, shame, fig tree leaves.
If you have interest in moon worship you might consider learning (if you’ve not already)-
TRADITIONAL TEACHING
MOONTIME AND GRANDMOTHER MOON
“Native Teachings are about a Way of Life”
https://mushkiki.com/programs-services/moontime-and-grandmother-moon/
Quite insightful how their culture doesn’t revere everything as being male. Their views of their queer community is that they’re all dual spirited and therefore considered valued tribal members. Many of their sacred spirits are and have always been female. Many tribes are led by women or have women within their tribal councils. A handful of Indigenous women have made it into State and Federal Government helping to tip the scales away from decades of racial and sexual discrimination and oppression.
Maybe next we could discuss the differences between saxons and pagans-
• Saxon: A distinct ethnic and cultural group of Germanic peoples (including the Anglo-Saxons in Britain and the Continental Saxons in modern-day Germany) who shared a common language, homeland, and social structure.
• Pagan: A broad religious category describing polytheistic belief systems outside of Abrahamic faiths like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Many different ancient groups—such as the Norse, Celts, Romans, and Greeks—were also pagan without having any relation to the Saxons.