By Rabbi Alicia Magal
The JCSVV offers services and classes which are life-affirming and soul enriching. All are listed on the synagogue website, jcsvv.org. Visitors are welcome to attend services after a security check. People who cannot attend or who live far away can access the service through zoom.
Erev Shabbat services begin on Friday evening, August 16, 2024, beginning at 5:30 pm in person and on Zoom led by Joe Berger. Joe will chant a selection from the Torah portion of the week: Va’etchanan, Deuteronomy 3:23 – 7:11, and contains the central affirmation Shema Yisrael, Hear O Israel, God is One, as well as a repetition of the Ten Commandments, and the beautiful verses beginning, “You shall love God with all your heart, soul, and might.” Included in the service are also healing blessings for those who are ill, a mazal tov for Simchas (happy occasions), and Kaddish, mourner’s prayer, recited for loved ones who have passed away. This prayer is only one way we honor the memory of people who have impacted our lives and who continue to live on in our own hearts, teachings, and kind deeds. Jewish tradition offers many ways to honor the dead and comfort the mourner. Joe Berger and his family are sponsoring the Oneg refreshments following the service.
On Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. we offer a morning minyan on Zoom, with traditional prayers sung or read in Hebrew and English. Join through the website link to support each other needing a minyan to say Kaddish for a loved one.
Meditation class will meet on Wednesday, August 21, led by Rosalie Malter on zoom.
Torah study will be held on Thursday, August 22 at 4:00 pm on zoom, led by Anita Rosenfield. The Torah portion to be discussed is Ekev, Deuteronomy 7/12 – 11/25, a continuation of the second of Moses’ three farewell talks to Israel. He urges them to remember the lessons learned in their years in the wilderness. He emphasizes that nothing is required of Israel that is beyond the reach of every person; only they they love and serve God and live by the commandments which He revealed to them.
The Social Action Committee is continuing to collect food for the local Sedona food pantry. Please drop off cans or boxes of non-perishable foods in the bin provided for collections at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the synagogue sanctuary.
The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, located at 100 Meadow Lark 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. Office telephone: 928 204-1286. Synagogue website – www.jcsvv.org.