ICE CREAM SOCIAL

Ice Cream Social / Open House - Sunday, September 14th, 7 pm-9 pm, Agudas Achim Congregation will hold an open house.  Especially that evening, we want to warmly welcome prospective members, members who have joined in the past few years, and members looking for stronger connections to fellow-congregants and to our synagogue's activities.  The event is a chance for everyone to talk informally with our professional staff and lay leaders.  Have questions?  Go to the source and ask.  Hear about this year's varied activities and programs - from lifelong learning and Sisterhood to religious school and musical events.  Please encourage friends who are not members to drop by, have some ice cream or sip some wine, schmooze, and learn about our shul.  Don't be a stranger - you should drop by, too!

SELICHOT -
SEPTEMBER 20, 2008

On Saturday evening, September 20th, we will begin to prepare ourselves for the High Holy Day season. Our Selichot program will begin at 8:30 p.m. in the Flax Family Chapel. We will begin by viewing the movie The Quarrel. Ruth Wisse, Chair in Yiddish Literature, Harvard University, wrote, “The Quarrel brings to the screen one of the most powerful works of modern literature – a haunting story by Yiddish writer Chaim Grade that was written shortly after the Second World War. Two survivors of the Holocaust, accidentally reunited in a park in Montreal in 1948, take up their argument just where they left it nine years earlier: one of the men is a pious Hasid who runs a yeshiva for Jewish orphans, the other a secular writer who has long since lost his religious faith. The war deprived them of everything, including all the members of their families; yet, instead of deadening their appetite for life, the losses they suffered and the brutalities they witnessed have only reinforced the Orthodox Jew’s trust in God and the secular skeptic’s trust in himself. As they spend the day together, the two men alternately cling together to recall their common past and lock horns in debate over their opposing views of God and the world.  For them and for the audience, the concentrated drama of their encounter passes too quickly.”
 
After we watch the movie, we will be led in a discussion on how the topics raised in the movie relate to us as we prepare for the season at hand. This will be followed by refreshments and a little time to visit. The Selichot service will begin at 11:15 p.m.

RABBI JACK MOLINE NAMED
IN THE TOP 3 PULPIT RABBIS OF THE U.S.

As members of Agudas Achim, we are honored to have Jack Moline as our Rabbi. We are touched by his sensitivity in times of grief, by his counsel when we face challenges in our lives, and by his dedication to interfaith and social justice issues. We have also been highly entertained by his wit. I am delighted to share with everyone that Rabbi Moline has now received national recognition as one of the top 25 pulpit Rabbis in the United States. In fact, he is third on the list of 25 published by Newsweek. In addition to the recognition that Rabbi Moline receives, the publicity brings wonderful visibility to Agudas Achim Congregation. Mazel Tov to our Rabbi !