September 2001 - אֱלוּל תשס״א .. תִּשְּׁרֵי תשס״ב Elul 5761..Tishrei 5762

L'shanah tovah tikateivu. May you be inscribed for a happy and healthy new year! Another new year is about to dawn upon us. It is hard to believe that this year will mark the fifth Yamim haNoraim, High Holy Days, that I will be here with you at Temple Beth Sholom. In the past four years I have been blessed with new friends, and together we continue to improve Jewish life in our community. I thank God and I thank you every day that you have helped me grow as a rabbi and a person, and that I have been able to serve you as your rabbi.

The coming year will present new challenges and concerns, but more importantly it will present new opportunities and continued growth. Dr. Gary Osias, our new president has strong leadership skills and clear vision for the future. Your Board of Directors are the most active that I have ever seen, as the synagogue is in more than capable hands. We will continue to call upon our collective wisdom, maturity and experience to forge ahead as leaders in learning and Yiddishkeit.

In the coming year we will move on from our successful experience with the Perek Yomi (the daily chapter of reading from the NaKh, books after the Torah in the Bible). After Simchat Torah our new study will be of the prayers in the Siddur. We will have a Tefilat haShavuah, a Prayer of the Week. In each Kol Sholom I intend to include the four or five prayers covered during the month. It will come on the middle page of the Bulletin so that you can remove the page and collect them. When next Simchat Torah comes around we shall have covered almost all of the prayers that we recite from the Siddur.

Each prayer will come in Hebrew and transliteration (Hebrew in English letters), along with my literal translation and a few key terms in Hebrew and translation. I recommend that each congregant take fifteen minutes each night to practice reading the prayer in Hebrew or transliteration. Also take a few minutes to become familiar with the key term vocabulary. One night each week could be taken to consider the thought provoking questions that will come with each prayer. I imagine that on Sunday evening one could read the prayer in English translation. Monday evening practice reading the prayer in Hebrew (or transliteration). Tuesday evening copy the key terms onto flash cards and try to learn their meanings. (Each week the collection of flash cards will grow. Review the key terms from the past weeks and add in the new ones for the current week.) Wednesday evening practice reading the prayer in Hebrew (or transliteration). Thursday answer the thought questions. And on Friday or Saturday come to the synagogue to practice reading or singing the prayer with the congregation.

Reading Hebrew is not required to participate in the Tefilat haShavuah, but it helps. Therefore, for the coming year beginning after Simchat Torah, every Friday evening for ten minutes before the service begins, I will conduct a beginning Hebrew lesson. We will simply learn the letters and practice reading aloud. We shall review the same lesson for the entire month before moving on to the next lesson. The more you attend and the more you practice, the more proficient you will become, but if you miss a lesson you can easily catch up by coming the next week. In the meantime, Erlda Parker and I will continue to teach adult Hebrew classes during the weekdays for anyone willing to attend.

The Dr. Sam and Martha Gersten Torah and Hebrew Schools will also participate in the Tefilat haShavuah. And as in the past two years with the Perek Yomi, I will give one d'rash (sermon) every Shabbat about the Prayer of the Week. Sometimes the d'rashot will be on the history of specific prayers and sometimes the d'rashot will be guided meditations to capture the essence of the tefilot. On occasion I am sure that there will be a d'rash on the political implications of a given prayer (but we shall limit them severely.) I am very excited about this project. I hope that it will bring meaning and joy to all of our prayers and services.

L'shanah tovah tikateivu,

—Rabbi Harry A. Manhoff, Ph.D.

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