Events

At Bnai Keshet.

Taught by Itzhak Benatar.

Please join us for a community service of witness in remembrance of the Holocaust. In this service we join together as a community of faith to remember the victims of the Holocaust and to recommit ourselves to taking action against genocide. We will listen to the story of a survivor, a living witness. We will also read from Bnai Keshet's Czech Torah, rescued from the Holocaust, a silent witness to its lost community. There will be a Community Choir – All are welcome to participate. Rehearsal is Tuesday 4/29, 7:30 PM at Bnai Keshet.

1st Friday of each month at 7:45 PM, September through June. Kabbalat Keshet means receiving the rainbow. The Rainbow is a symbol of the covenant between God and humanity. Our joyous Friday evening services to welcome Shabbat are called "Kabbalat Keshet" services, and include music and song. Join us and refresh your spirit.

Please join us for a discussion of "hitbodedut" (literally "self-seclusion"), an unstructured, spontaneous and individualized form of prayer and meditation taught by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. The goal of hitbodedut is to establish a close, personal relationship with God and a clearer understanding of one's personal motives and goals. (Wikipedia.org) One text we'll discuss is, Where Earth and Heaven Kiss: A Guide to Rebbe Nachman’s Path of Meditation, Ozer Bergman pp.27-28, 38-44 (available at the BK office).

We gather in our beautiful sanctuary every Saturday at 10:00 a.m. for Shabbat Morning Services which include prayers, songs, and discussion of the weekly Torah portion. After services there is a kiddush for meeting and greeting - and, of course, eating.

Please join us this week as we celebrate a Bar Mitzvah.

Believe it or not, many of us go to Shul on Saturday morning and do things we don't agree with, in a language we don't understand, and say things we don't believe. A large number of us love the experience in spite of these seemingly contradictory factors. There are some, however, who object because they find the experience offends their sense of reason. At our first Latter Day Kaplanian discussion session we'll explore the roots of this conflicted view of Jewish ritual practice.

Taught by Itzhak Benatar

(21 and over only) Featuring the best Israeli and American Music with DJ Van Jee, celebrities from Radio City Music Hall, and many other surprises! JRF NY-NJ is a partner organization for this wonderful event, organized by Dor Chadash USA and their Program Coordinator, Rebecca Meyer, who grew up at Bnai Keshet. Regular Admission - $25 in advance and $35 at the door. VIP Admission - $75 in advance and $100 at the door (includes two drinks, dessert buffet, separate VIP room, VIP entrance and other surprises). Proceeds go to Israeli charities. For more information: http://dorchadash.ujcweb.org/page.html?ArticleID=170752. (The concert  at Radio City Music Hall is sold out.)

2nd Friday of each month at 5:30 PM, October through June. Join us for a special interactive service for children and their families.

Beginning with buffet dinner featuring Israeli delicacies and a delicious birthday cake, we'll fill the synagogue with sounds, smells and sights, for a joyous celebration of Israel's 60th birthday!  There will be folk dancing, Israel Jeopardy hosted by Jordan Sklar, delicious food and of course time to schmooze and sing. We celebrate the blessing of Israel's existence, of its accomplishments, at the same time with hopes for successful efforts to bring justice and peace closer. The
BK Israel Committee looks forward to dancing with all of you! For more information, contact Dorothy Schattner or Lauren Meyer.

Poetry has the potential to reach us in a way that colloquial language often does not. Yehuda Amichai, referred to as the “National Poet” of Israel left a corpus of work that is deeply moving, provocative, and often touches on theological issues. Since one of the hallmarks of Reconstructionist ideology is that Judaism is a civilization, we are aware that our Jewish lives are informed by art, language and culture as well as by religious ideology and religious practice.

It seems particularly fitting on the historic occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern day state of Israel that we have an opportunity to engage with our Reconstructionist roots and its emphasis on the revitalization of Jewish art, language and culture.

We gather in our beautiful sanctuary every Saturday at 10:00 a.m. for Shabbat Morning Services which include prayers, songs, and discussion of the weekly Torah portion. After services there is a kiddush for meeting and greeting - and, of course, eating.

Please join us this week as we celebrate a Bar Mitzvah.

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Tot Shabbat (0-4 years)
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM Simchat Shabbat (K-2nd grade)
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Junior Congregation (3rd-6th grade)

The Israel Committee Program this month will focus on Birthright Israel, which has now taken 160,000 young people from 52 nations on a ten-day trip to Israel. Just to give some perspective on this statistic, more people go on Birthright each year than have a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.

This month, Al Steiner will discuss reading the Bible. We will attempt to place the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) in an understandable context for a 21st century Jew. In dealing with English translations of this ancient set of books we can, by trying to project back to its origins, deal with the many contradictions, mistranslations of the colloquial language and word usage that differ from today's language. It's as though

3rd Friday of each month at 7:45 PM, October through June. Come and experience a relaxing, quiet way to let go of the week and deeply enter the peace of Shabbat. This Kabbalat Keshet service will incorporate contemplative niggunim, traditional prayers, short meditations, and silence.

Do you find the words in the prayerbook inspiring? Do they speak to you and help you open your heart? Or perhaps they are alienating, confusing, and results in your feeling closed down? Join Daria for an exploration of some of the tefillot (prayers) that we use every Shabbat. Through text study, discussion, and song we will unpack some of the layers imbedded in these tefillot as well as learn new ways to possibly connect to them. No Hebrew skills are required. Please bring a willingness to open and a desire to learn.

We gather in our beautiful sanctuary every Saturday at 10:00 a.m. for Shabbat Morning Services which include prayers, songs, and discussion of the weekly Torah portion. After services there is a kiddush for meeting and greeting - and, of course, eating.

Please join us this week as we celebrate a Bat Mitzvah.

Immediately following Shabbat services. Manless in Montclair: How a Happily Married Woman Became a Widow Looking for Love in the Wilds of Suburbia is a story of love, loss, and finding your place in the world, even when you find yourself in the last place you thought you'd ever be. Once upon a time, Isabel, a woman of short stature and big dreams, was desperately searching for her niche. Enter Michael, divorced, 15 years her senior, a recovering alcoholic, and the last person Isabel

Enjoy our now-famous martini bar, followed by a full dinner catered by The Cooking Company. Desserts by Bobby Polton and Jen Zinman. Entertainment by Marty Fogel and his band, Thread of Blue. Songs by Betty, Tom and Howard! (Prior RSVP required.)

BBQ begins at 12:00 noon with food, fun and entertainment. At 2:45 PM, the shofar will be heard at BK, declaring the start of the Siyum HaTorah - the completion of the first ever BK Torah Scroll. Promptly at 3:00 PM, we'll gather with our sofer, Rabbi Kevin Hale, as everyone present participates in the writing of the last 18 letters. When Rabbi Elliott completes the final letter, he will declare our Torah ready for use and we will dance the biggest Hora BK has ever seen. Come be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. This is a NOT TO BE MISSED EVENT!

Congregational vote on Board recommendation to enter into negotiations with Darby Leigh for the position of Assistant Rabbi, and agree on a contract. Proxies have been mailed to members. If you have not received your proxy, please contact the BK office at bnaikeshet@bnaikeshet.org.

Rev. David K. Brawley, Pastor Successor of St. Paul Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn, speaks Thursday 5/22, 7:30 - 9:30 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation - Fletcher Hall, 67 Church Street, Montclair. St. Paul Community Baptist Church has been working with the IAF since 1978. Rev. David K. Brawley's organizing efforts play a dynamic role in the church's community development activities. Questions? Contact Daria Jacobs-Velde.

Join us for a weekend of fun, community, learning, singing, dancing, celebration and nature at camp JRF in the Poconos. Families, couples and singles of all ages are invited to come together to creatively explore the value of Hidur Mitzvah, the beautification of mitzvah (good deeds). For details about the retreat and the registration form, please see the attached brochure.  We welcome all synagogue members to attend the retreat if possible. If cost is a deterrent, please talk to Rabbi Elliott, Carol Rotman or Betsy Tessler. No one will be turned away!

Join us for a weekend of fun, community, learning, singing, dancing, celebration and nature at camp JRF in the Poconos. Families, couples and singles of all ages are invited to come together to creatively explore the value of Hidur Mitzvah, the beautification of mitzvah (good deeds). For details about the retreat and the registration form, please see the attached brochure.  We welcome all synagogue members to attend the retreat if possible. If cost is a deterrent, please talk to Rabbi Elliott, Carol Rotman or Betsy Tessler. No one will be turned away!

We gather in our beautiful sanctuary every Saturday at 10:00 a.m. for Shabbat Morning Services which include prayers, songs, and discussion of the weekly Torah portion. After services there is a kiddush for meeting and greeting - and, of course, eating.

Join us for a weekend of fun, community, learning, singing, dancing, celebration and nature at camp JRF in the Poconos. Families, couples and singles of all ages are invited to come together to creatively explore the value of Hidur Mitzvah, the beautification of mitzvah (good deeds). For details about the retreat and the registration form, please see the attached brochure.  We welcome all synagogue members to attend the retreat if possible. If cost is a deterrent, please talk to Rabbi Elliott, Carol Rotman or Betsy Tessler. No one will be turned away!

At The Gebroe & Hammer Families Conference Center, 901 Route 10 East, Whippany. Join us for a dynamic, cutting-edge workshop that will empower participants to build a Jewish community for all ages. Who should attend?

Rabbi Elliott will speak more specifically about the work and influence of the two 20th century Rabbis Mordachai Kaplan and Abraham Joshua Heschel. These two are arguably the most influential, non-orthodox, Rabbis in contemporary America. All are welcome. For more information, contact the BK office.

The Tikkun Olam Committee has invited Don Spector and Myrna Marcarian Mincey of the Conversations on Race program to join us at our May meeting. About 10 years ago, in an effort to foster community racial harmony,