Soulful Shabbat Week 4: Blessing those we love

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Soulful Shabbat Week 4: Blessing those we love

Bnai Keshet

Soulful Shabbat Week 4: Blessing those we love

Dear Bnai Keshet,

We are almost at the end of our Soulful Shabbat series and we'd like to share just one more practice with you. [ Don't forget to register for dinner at 6:30pm on February 3rd and join us for musical services right after! Please bring a dessert to share after services!]

We started this series with a meditation on the word vayinafash, God was "re-souled" on the 7th day. How have you made a commitment to being "re-souled" this month? I (Rabbi Ariann) have spent time with children, have participated in MLK Day celebrations at the Newark Museum, have marched on Washington, and yes, I have celebrated Shabbat as well. I (Rabbi Elliott) have snowboarded in Idaho and refreshed my soul at a retreat with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and yes, I have also celebrated Shabbat.

This week we're going to focus on ways to re-soul others. The video describes the practice of blessing children around the Shabbat table, which is traditionally done after lighting candles and before kiddush.

It may be a radical idea to some of us that we even have the power of blessing. Judaism, from the earliest moments of the priesthood described in the Torah through today, has always emphasized a place for a personal blessing practice. Judaism teaches that humanity carries the godly power to be conduits of blessing. We share this belief with many faith traditions, although we may use different language to convey it.

In the video, you'll learn about new and old ways to bless your children at the Shabbat table. But if you are enjoying Shabbat alone or with friends, this blessing opportunity is still available to you. Please use the language of our tradition or the Buddhist metta blessing also taught in the video to bless yourself, to bless your friends, to bless your neighbors, and to bless those you're thinking about who aren't with you physically.

We hope to see you on Feburary 3rd for our special Soulful Shabbat, the culmination of this month of taking on new and old Shabbat practices.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Ariann and Rabbi Elliott

Bnai Keshet
99 South Fullerton Avenue
Montclair, NJ 07042

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Thu, April 18 2019
13 Nisan 5779

Upcoming at BK

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Saturday
Apr 20

informational discussion during kiddush regarding BK's upcoming (Nov. 8-10) trip to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL.
Shabbat, Apr 20th 12:15p to 1:00p

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Saturday
Apr 20

Community Seder
Shabbat, Apr 20th 6:00p to 8:30p

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Sunday
Apr 21

Israeli Dancing
Sunday, Apr 21st 7:00p to 9:30p
Israeli Dancing with Elyse Litt, professional instructor, $10 cash per person
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Wednesday
Apr 24

BK at Paterson Habitat for Humanity
Wednesday, Apr 24th 8:00a to 7:00p
Take off from work, get a babysitter for the kids, reschedule your yoga class… Join Bnai Keshet folks- rabbis included- for our annual date in Paterson as we help build a house! Together we will dig, kibbutz, spackle and schlep. Wednesday, April 24… We plan to meet at Bnai Keshet at 7:45am, recite some psalms for Passover and then carpool to Paterson (other meeting arrangements are possible) Bring friends and family (16 and older) and a bagged lunch Online registration is required for each participant RSVP Marian Golan for registration link marian.golan@gmail.com
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Wednesday
May 1

Erev Yom HaShoah
Wednesday, May 1st (All day)

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Wednesday
May 1

MICA Interfaith Yom Hashoah observance
Wednesday, May 1st 7:00p to 9:00p
at Union Congregational church in Montclair
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Saturday
May 4

Intro to Judaism
Shabbat, May 4th 9:15a to 10:30a

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Saturday
May 4

Havdalah Cafe at Java Love (on Church)
Shabbat, May 4th 7:00p to 9:30p
Readers include: Betsy Gitelle, Martin Golan, Margaret Saraco, Jessica de Koninck, and music by Paul Ruderman.
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Sunday
May 5

Havdalah Cafe (Part II): Feed the Body, Feed the Soul? A Writing Workshop for Human Animals
Sunday, May 5th 10:00a to 12:00p
Food ties us to place, to the season, to our cultures and histories. It’s at the center of family, identity, desire, and self-mortification. Sometimes it’s the best way to feed the soul, and other times the worst. And the stakes are high: too little food and we die; too much of it and, well, we also die. In other words, it’s fraught. And what could be better for writing than something so fraught? In this workshop we’ll write our way into our hungers, into the animal (and perhaps also sacred) nature of human experience. David Ebenbach is the author of seven books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, including the new poetry collection Some Unimaginable Animal, the novel Miss Portland, and a guide to the creative process called The Artist's Torah. Winner of such awards as the Drue Heinz Literature Prize, the Juniper Prize, and the Patricia Bibby Award, David lives with his family in Washington, DC, where he teaches at Georgetown University. You can find out more, if you like, at davidebenbach.com.
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Sunday
May 5

Israeli Dancing
Sunday, May 5th 7:00p to 9:30p
Israeli Dancing with Elyse Litt, professional instructor, $10 cash per person
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