Union Temple School of Religion E-letter

December 2003

Contents

Important December dates • Chanukah activities • Chorus holiday rehearsals

Important December dates

Friday, December 5: Early family service, 6:30 p.m., followed by a potluck dinner. The 4^th grade will not be participating at this service as originally scheduled, but will assist at a future date.

Sunday, December 7: Toy Drive ends. If you haven’t done so already, please bring new, unwrapped toys for distribution to various local hospital pediatric departments.

Sunday, December 7: Confirmation class trip to the Yeshiva University Museum at the Center for Jewish History, 12 – 5 p.m. Meet Rabbi Goodman for a quick bagel at the temple, before heading into the city for a hands-on workshop focused on the exhibition, "Visions of Harmony: The Sculpture of Oded Halahmi." Halahmi is an Iraqi-born Israeli artist. Bring $8 for the exhibit, plus extra money for a bite out afterward.

Saturday, December 13: Shabbat Service, 10:30 a.m. Fifth grade assists and their parents provide the kiddush/luncheon to follow. All other grades are encouraged to come and provide support and camaraderie.

Sunday, December 14: Family Education Day on the theme of Chanukah. Rabbi Goodman and psychologist Dr. Jonathan Kurfirst will conduct a seminar on Talking to Our Kids About Miracles, with particular attention to the Chanukah "story." Family activities in preparation for Chanukah will follow, with latkes for snack.

Friday, December 19: Early service – Shabbat/Chanukah celebration, 6:15 p.m. (note earlier time), followed by a festive dinner. Bring a potluck dish to accompany the latkes, applesauce, wine & dessert provided by the temple. (To defray the costs: $10/adults, $5/kids 6 and up.). The Junior Choir will sing at the service. Choir members, please be at the temple by 5:45 p.m.

Sunday, December 21: Religious school as usual. The day ends with Chanukah festivities, including candle lighting, dreidel games, doughnuts and a gift exchange. Choir will NOT meet.

Monday, December 22: Union Temple is helping out at the Hebrew Union College soup kitchen, 1 West 4th Street (at Mercer) in Manhattan, from 4:15 – 7:30 p.m. Confirmation kids and bar/bat mitzvah candidates are especially encouraged to participate. Sixth graders are also welcome. Sixth and seventh graders must be accompanied by an adult. Please arrive between 4:15 and 5 p.m. Wear comfortable shoes!

Sunday, December 28: Winter vacation, no religious school.

Chanukah activities at the temple

• Join your children in preparing for the festival of lights at the next family education day on Sunday, December 14. From 10-11:30, Rabbi Goodman and psychologist Dr. Jonathan Kurfirst (who is also a Religious School parent) will lead a seminar for parents on "Talking to Our Kids About Miracles," with an emphasis on the miracle of lights. Afterwards, parents and children will make Chanukah decorations, sing songs, and share a holiday snack of latkes and applesauce.

• Celebrate the first night of Chanukah with the Union temple family at the early Shabbat service on Friday night, December 19. The service starts at 6:15 p.m., and is followed by a festive Chanukah dinner, with members’ potluck specialties as well as latkes, applesauce, wine and dessert provided by the temple. (To cover the cost: $10 for adults, $5 for kids ages 6 and up.)

• On December 21, the Sunday school day will end with a Chanukah party for the kids, including candle lighting, dreidel games, and doughnuts. Each student will bring a small gift for one other child - instructions will come home next week.

Attention chorus members: holiday rehearsals

The chorus will be singing at the December 19 service for Shabbat/Chanukah. There are a couple of new songs to learn, so it is very important for all chorus members to attend the next two rehearsals, on December 7 and 14 after Sunday school.

To parents of choir members: Please send your email address to Cantor Kipnis (Kipwin@aol.com) so that he can communicate directly with you regarding schedules and content. (An additional request from the Rabbi: Let’s "regroup" regarding contact procedures for this year if you are delayed in picking up your child after choir. Once we have all the e-mail addresses, perhaps we can work it out in cyberspace.)