Tree of Souls

Before you sit down for Friday night chicken soup, why not come and sing your hearts out at Shira?

This Friday evening, we're launching a new part of the tefilla: a five minute drasha to be given by different people engaged in Tikkun Olam — activities that fulfil the Jewish command to heal the world. Come and hear Sibella Stern tell us how her holiday took her to Indonesia, where she did her part to improve the local residents' circumstances in the aftermath of two earthquakes. Tefilla begins promptly at 6:30 pm.

This Shabbat we celebrate Tu Bishvat, the Festival of Trees, and we'll hear a special drasha by Nathan Wolski on the topic we've all been waiting for: The Theology of Avatar and the Tree of Souls. Services begin at 9:30 am.

Pandora’s Tree of Souls

Bring your kids to the new children’s fun-minyan run by enthusiastic Israel returnees, Helen Lewitan and Rachel Tamir (starts 10:30 am).

The kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by Lindy Tamir in honour of her Bat Mitzvah anniversary. Mazal tov!

Mazal tov also to Steven Prawer and Bella Hiler on their birthdays this week.

Last but not least, we'd like to welcome back Yaakov and Marion Gorr who have just returned from India, where they partnered with low-income villagers to produce profitable fair-trade embroidery.

Shabbat shalom

Kids at Shira

Don’t hesitate to bring your children with you on Saturdays, as we have a new and improved kids’ program run by Helen Lewitan and Rachel Tamir. See you there!

Jewish Response to Haiti Earthquake

While we are still on holidays, Shira encourages members to support Jewish Aid’s appeal for the devastation unleashed by the earthquake in Haiti.
 

To all concerned Jewish community members:

In Haiti, tens of thousands of people are reported dead and the death toll continues to rise after the most devastating earthquake to shake the region in two hundred years (for more info click here). Schools, hospitals and thousands of homes have been destroyed and over three million people have been left without adequate food, shelter, healthcare and basic infrastructure.

All proceeds from this appeal will be distributed to CARE Australia, which is a non-religious and non-political Australian charity, who are conducting a large scale relief and rescue operation:

"CARE is deploying additional emergency team members to the devastated city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti, where the worst earthquake in 200 years destroyed houses and left thousands homeless. While the exact death toll from the 7.0-magnitude quake is not yet known, it is expected to be catastrophic.

"It is just morning here now," describes CARE's Country Director in Haiti Sophie Perez on January 13, less than a day after the quake. "I can hear helicopters working on the search and rescue. The immediate need is to rescue people trapped in the rubble, then to get people food and water. We're particularly worried about the children, because so many schools seem to have collapsed. Children were still in school in the afternoon when the earthquake hit, so there are many children trapped. It's horrifying."

The Australian Jewish community is being mobilised to support Haitians in their time of need. Please consider a generous contribution to JAA's Haiti Appeal, to enable CARE to assist communities in Haiti to respond, recover and rebuild in the wake of this enormous disaster.

Donations can be made by credit card over here or direct debit online (see below). All donations are tax deductible. (Please allow one month for your receipt to arrive.)

Thank you for your generous support.

Sincerely,

Gary Samowitz

CEO, Jewish Aid Australia

ph: (03) 9500 2206

m: 0413 525 592

e: gary@jewishaid.org.au

For more information about Jewish Aid Australia click here. 

For a direct deposit, Jewish Aid’s account details are as follows. (Please email us after you have transferred your donation.)

Bank: Bendigo
Account: Jewish Aid Australia
BSB: 633000
Account Number: 123798688

Mazal Tov!

Mazal Tov to Nitty Rapke and Marty Page on the birth of their baby girl, Ruby Alma.

Summer break

Shira will be closed for the next two weeks while many of our members are away.

We marked the last Shabbat before our annual summer break with the Shira Lunch 'n' Shmooze, which was a great success! Thank you all for coming and shmoozing, and we hope to see you all when we reopen on Friday, January 22.

In the meantime, for those of us staying in town, the next few weeks are an opportunity to visit other shuls and return to Shira refreshed.

Travel safely, and enjoy the break!