Come celebrate Israel's springtime

Celebrate the New Year for fruit trees in Israel at our Tu B'Shevat seder and dinner, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10.

 

As is customary, we will eat of the seven species: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates, and drink four glasses of wine.

 

The dinner menu includes challah, a winter salad, wild mushroom barley risotto, glazed carrots, brussel sprouts with mustard butter and caraway, and a winter jewel upside-down cake with a pomegranate compote and whipped orange flavored cream. Cost is $10. Please call the office to make your reservation by Tuesday, Feb. 7.

 

We hope to see you there!

Fridays in February

Every Shabbat Friday evening service this February is special. So come and celebrate with us:

Shabbat family service, 5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4

Congregational Tu B'Shevat seder, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10.

Life Lessons from Our Elders, featuring Hommey Kanter, 7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 17.

Aliyah for congregants celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24.

Advocate for social justice

Brian Rushe, executive director of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, will speak during Shabbat evening services, which begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27. He will be accompanied by Alison Killeen, a state-wider organizer for the JRLC, and members from various Duluth congregations.

The JRLC is the largest interfaith public advocacy group in the state of Minnesota. Its members advocate at the state Capitol, research and write papers on urgent social issues, and organize interfaith congregations for social justice.

The JRLC's annual lobbying trip to the state Legislature, Day on the Hill, will take place on March 20. Mark your calendars.

To learn more about the JRLC, click here. 

Life lessons shared

Temple Israel's on-going series  "Life Lessons from our Elders"  this month features long-time member Helen Goldsmith.

Please join us Friday, Jan. 20 for a community dinner and a Shabbat evening service where Helen will share her life stories and the lessons she has learned over the years.

Dinner of baked salmon, various side dishes and dessert begins at 6 p.m. Shabbat evening service begins at 7:30 p.m.

Please call the Temple office to make reservations. Cost for the dinner is $10 for adults, $5 for children 6-13, and free for children 5 and under.

Friday service changes

Start times and tenor of some Friday evening services are changing as of Jan. 13.

The first Friday of the month will continue to be a family service, starting at 5:30 p.m. and using the Reconstructionist children’s siddur “Kol Hano’ar.”  It will be followed by a dairy potluck dinner.

All other Fridays, services will begin at 7:30 p.m., unless changed to accommodate a congregational dinner or special event and specifically noted.

The second and fourth Fridays of the month will be a “mostly-English” service using the Reform siddur “Mishkan Tefillah” and including a Torah service with one aliyah. Rather than chanting in Torah trope, the rabbi will read from the scroll, interspersing the Hebrew with English translation. It also will include a short dvar torah or guest speaker.

The third Friday of the month will be a "mixed Hebrew-English" service out of “Mishkan Tefillah” without a Torah service but with a dvar torah or guest speaker.

Any fifth Friday of the month will be a “learning" service with study, practice and focus in Hebrew and English on particular components of the Friday night liturgy.