March Kabbalat Shabbat and Dinner + Upcoming Events

First off, anyone have pics from last Saturday night's party?? We'd love to see them!

Thank you to everyone who attended. We had a great turnout and it was a total blast! Free fresh baked goods + alcohol + awesome people = a little like heaven.

We hope you can join us this Friday night for our March Kabbalat Shabbat + potluck dinner at Raysh's place. There will be some birthday festivities as well, so come for the stories of fatal priestly mishaps*...stay for the birthday cake!

*(See http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Bible/Weekly_Torah_Portion/shemini_summary.shtml )

Also, please let us know if you're coming to our awesome Passover seder. Chaya and Jon are hosting the second night, Tuesday, April 19. More details forthcoming. The night Passover ends, we're also planning on having a Tap 'n Torah party involving--you guessed it--beer and learning (and other chametz-filled delights).


And stay tuned about the planning meeting where we'll brainstorm the May bike ride/picnic event.


For now, here's who's bringing what this Friday:

Food:

Pre-dinner snack food (we won't be eating dinner right away: this is important)_____(Monica's bringing fruits, veggies, and chocolates; Nathan's bringing hummus and pita)

Wine________(Madeline, Evan S. [later])

Challah (at least 2)___________(Emily)

Soup_________(Raysh)

Salad_________(Chaya and Jon)

Drinks (water, soda, juice etc.)________

Side dish_________(Meredith's making a quinoa dish; Katy's bringing cooked root veggies; Molly and Melissa S. are bringing noodle kugel; Yehonathan)

Main course___________(Emily, Deborah and Todd)

Dessert____________ (Raysh is making some sort of cake, the kosher sangria might make an appearance; Mike)

General stuff:

Plastic or Paper Cutlery__________(Melissa M.)

Plastic or Paper Cups___________(Melissa M.)

Plastic or Paper Plates__________(Melissa M.)

Napkins_______________(Melissa M.)

Tea-lights________(Raysh)

Transliterated Kabbalat Shabbat song sheets______ (Raysh)

Bencher with Kiddush: (Raysh)

Extra kippot:_____ (Raysh)

Happy New Month of Adar II!! Great weekend, and it only gets better!

Dear Friends,

Thank you to everyone who participated in this week's programming. It was wonderful learning, singing, eating, and schmoozing with y'all at Raysh's and just now at Common Roots Cafe. We've discussed everything from  the boundaries of communal obligation, a certain Rabbi Yossi and his controverial position on resource sharing, Biblical sources on employers' obligation towards workers, and what exactly is "glatt."


I want to take this opportunity to thank the Bronfman Foundation for their generous sponsorship at this Shabbat's Shalosh seudot.  Also, major thanks to Temple Israel for donating to us a truckload of amazing freshly-baked challah.

We were very fortunate to learn from Rabbi Morris Allen this morning, and we look forward to the exciting developments about to unfold with Magen Tzedek.  Once you see their symbol on food products, be sure to buy these products and show your support for the ethical treatment of workers in the food industry. Spread the word!


Looking ahead at our calendar, several of us will be attending the upcoming Shalom Hanoch Concert at the CCC (this Thursday night), and of course, be sure to join us for our crazy awesome Purim party at Meredith's late Saturday night of Purim (March 19th).

We are looking for a host for our March 25th Friday night gathering, so if you're in Uptown and have a place that will fit ~20ish awesome folk, please contact Raysh

May the new month of Adar II be filled with blessings for you and everyone important to you.


Be well!


b'virkat Shalom,
Raysh