I hope this note finds you well and in good health and spirits. It’s hard to believe that this year has passed us by. I’m sure that for many of us this year has flown by far too fast, and yet for others, it has moved by in aggravating slow motion. We have arrived at the final Jewish celebration of the secular year 2020. Hanukkah is not an important holiday. This might feel strange to acknowledge, but it does not measure up to the metrics we use to evaluate our celebrations. It’s not in the Torah nor in the Bible. It’s not one of the ancient pilgrimage holidays and is not commemorated in the same way. Nevertheless, it is a holiday, and a good one at that.
What has plagued Hanukkah for ages is its proximity to the Christian celebration of Christmas. In the modern world today, we feel slighted and at odds with our non-Jewish friends. We talk at length about the “December Dilemma.” We demand parity for our celebration and claim it is necessary to say “happy holidays” in place of “Merry Christmas.” All of these things make Hanukkah diminished in its importance. As Hanukkah has become a “Jewish Christmas” we have damaged our celebration of our uniqueness. Hanukkah is not so much about oil and war with an external foe as it is about an eternal, and internal, battle.
The real origin of Hanukkah is that a civil war was fought between two groups of Jews. One group was in favor of a pure and unwavering orthodoxy of Jewish observance, and the other was in favor of a greatly watered-down form through radical assimilation. The battle that raged was not only one of philosophy. The war involved violence and other things that are a shameful part of our history. What happened was the assimilationists lost and the Temple was indeed rededicated. Hanukkah is not about oil. It’s about celebrating our commitment to us. It’s about reclaiming an unwavering dedication to our history, our culture, our people and our religion. What this means is that the “December Dilemma” is the antithesis of what Hanukkah is meant to be and needs to be.
Hanukkah is about being unwilling to change for other people. It’s about being unwilling to stop being unique. It’s about us celebrating a people that have managed to thrive for thousands of years. The light we shine each night as we light our menorahs is certainly about publicizing the miracle to the world. But it’s also about publicizing the miracle to our people. We need to see that we are the miracle. That our continued involvement and our continued existence is a miracle.
We need to see that jealousy is not good for us. In fact, I would argue that the point of Hanukkah is to take time to own our minority status. We take time to recognize that few around us are celebrating as we are celebrating. We take time to recognize that our kids often feel alienated in school and that we often feel marginalized in society. It’s when we recognize we are an alienated and marginalized minority that we are able to rejoice about what “WE ARE” instead of mourning what “WE ARE NOT.” It’s important to claim Hanukkah as a celebration of being unique and being a minority instead of celebrating our survival against an external foe. It’s important because that’s what will lead us to grow, to recapture our commitments to our families, to our community and to our Jewish world.
Hanukkah is a beautiful holiday. It’s fun and it’s a time to look backward and forward all at once. This year, as we light our candles (or oil lamps), let us look and see just how much of a gift it is to be us. Just how much of a treat it is to be unique and small. Let us all see that we need not fight against an external foe. We need to fight the internal instincts that want us to change rather than accentuate all that we are.
Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Hearshen
Help is Available During Covid-19 Please contact the office and speak with Rabbi Josh Hearshen or Executive Director Adam Kofinas for resources.
Hanukkah Candlelighting via Zoom TONIGHT - December 10 at 6:00 pm
We will be holding a communal candle lighting each night of Hanukkah on Zoom. A different OVS family will be leading each night.
A program to bring food and connection to senior members of our Keilah.
This week OVS provided latkes to 141 senior members of our Keilah to enhance their Hanukkah while socially distanced at home! Thank you to our volunteer chefs for making the laktes: Jonathan Arogeti Monique Arar Jason Benator Joey Galanti Megan Marks Carly Reisman
Thank you to our team of volunteer drivers for delivering the latkes: Amy Arogeti Beth Arogeti Roman Badalbayev Sam Durham Julie Gabbai Stephanie Ladden Sylvia Lavine Darryl Maslia Michelle Rich Hazel Segall Angie Weiland
To help with future Cooking with Papou opportunities in 2021, please contact Nicole Feldman in the OVS office.
Sisterhood Gift Card Drive
Sisterhood will be collecting Kroger or Publix Gift Cards (of any dollar amount) for the Older Adult Holiday Gift Card Drive at Jewish Family & Career Services. Please drop them off at OVS or mail to the synagogue office (Attn: Sisterhood) by tomorrow, December 11th.
Help OVS While You Shop!
You can make an impact while you shop for Hanukkah gifts and more! Simply shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/58-0899565 and AmazonSmile will donate to Congregation Or Veshalom, at no cost to you.
D'var Torah
Fridays on Facebook Rabbi Hearshen will be giving a D'var Torah each Friday on Facebook. Click here to visit our Facebook page.
Hanukkah Candlelighting & Erev Shabbat Services
Friday, December 11 at 4:45 pm 5:11 pm Candlelighting time
Join the Zoom Service as we light Hanukkah candles and welcome Shabbat. Passcode: Bureka1914
Shabbat Morning Services
Our tradition explains that we are to live by the mitzvot and not die by them. This means that our religion, and our expression of it, must be life giving and life sustaining. We are obligated to heed the guidance of our medical experts as they walk us through the pandemic today and hopefully into a healthy tomorrow.
As the numbers have continued to climb, we have made the difficult decision to continue to suspend in-person services through the remainder of the year and the first Shabbat of 2021. That means OVS will not be offering in-person services through at least January 2, 2021. We plan to meet the first week of January to determine if it's safe to reopen our services to our community. We will continue to offer our Zoom Friday night service and our Zoom Havdalahservice each Saturday night. We also have Zoom candle lighting for Hanukkah and Zoom classes each week. We will continue to look for new and innovative opportunities for you to connect with us, and with each other, in the days and weeks and months ahead.
Thank you for your understanding and your continued support of our Keilah.
Rabbi Hearshen Adam Kofinas Semon Akbashev Rabbi Executive Director President
Havdalah & Hanukkah LIGHT UP THE NIGHT
Saturday, December 12 at 6:30 pm Havdalah Service followed by Hanukkah Candlelighting ON ZOOM or IN PERSON
Join us here on Zoom Passcode: Bureka1914 Please note this is the Hanukkah link and not the regular Havdalah Zoom
Register to join us in person Join OVS and the OVS Sisterhood outsideto celebrate Hanukkah and Havdalah, sit around the bonfire, sing, roast marshmallows, do children's activities and more. Adults and children are welcome.
Advanced registration is required. Masks required and social distancing will be observed.
Annual General Membership Meeting
Sunday, December 13 at 10:00 am Meeting will be held via Zoom.
We will be voting on proposed changes to the constitution and the proposed slate of officers. We need to achieve a 60-member quorum in order to call for the votes and we hope you will make every effort to attend.
Please click here on Sunday, December 13th to join the Zoom meeting.
Hanukkah Candlelighting via Zoom December 13-17 at 6:00 pm
Communal candle lighting featuring a different OVS family each night. Join us on Zoom Passcode is Bureka1914
Sisterhood Cooking Demo Rabbi Hearshen's Latkes!
Interested in the latkes we distributed as part of Cooking with Papou? Now's your chance to learn Rabbi Hearshen's special latke recipe!
Wednesdays at 7:00 pm Join us on Zoom Password is Bureka1914.
No prior knowledge or Hebrew skill necessary. Feel free to join in anytime! Recordings of previous classes are available hereif you'd like to learn what's already been covered or if you want to review.
We are using L'Shon ha-Kodesh - A Beginning Hebrew Book for Adults. Books can be purchased though the publisher, Torah Aura Productions. Click here for ebook Click here for hard copy
Shabbat Rosemary Levy Zumwalt Sunday Eric Galanti Monday Albert Cohen Bryan Firestone Josh Hearshen Victor M. Hanan
Tuesday Craig Albert Chyatte Pescha Penso
Friday Wladimiro Pieniek
Anniversaries
Monday Robert M. and Sara Franco
Meldados
Shabbat Leon Capouano for Father Morris Capouano Sylvia Benator for Brother Eli David Levy Victor Levy for Brother Eli David Levy
Sunday Ilya Yakubov for Father Boris Yakubov Lyudmila Pinkhasova for Step-father Boris Yakubov Zehava Eichenbaum for Mother Rachel Vikus
Monday Richard Berkowitz for Father Morton Berkowitz
Tuesday Clare Habif for Grandmother Malka Profis Leonid Birman for Friend Vadim Zinkovsky Stanford Firestone for Father Marcus Firestone Yashal Ilyayev for Father Hayim Unatayev
Friday Barry Shemaria for Grandfather Bennie Shemaria Bob Israel for Grandmother Sarah Israel Howard Goldstein for Sister Leslie Weintraub Hymie Shemaria for Father Bennie Shemaria Louie Shemaria for Father Bennie Shemaria Maxine Barrocas for Mother Bess Handmacher Merrill Shemaria for Grandfather Bennie Shemaria Michael Silver for Mother Nelda Silver
Community Events
Click hereto find out about Jewish community events in our area.
Help is Available by Phone or Text 24 hours a day/7 days a week
Plant OVS for Tu B'shvat Sunday, Jan 24th 2:00p to 4:00p Celebrate Tu B'Shvat - the birthday of the trees and beautify our Kehila.
Activities for all ages. We'll be gardening, planting, painting flower pots and more.
Advanced registration required.
Masks are required and social distancing will be observed.
Sisterhood Book Club February 4, 2021 Thursday, Feb 4th 8:00p Join us for our next Sisterhood Book Club. The book will be The Yellow Bird Sings by Jennifer Rosner. Discussion on Zoom will be lead by Rubisa Carrie Hearshen. Join Zoom Meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83261925390?pwd=eFBKVjQ2ZWVhTVVVcU9XK3NkTmNydz09.
Passcode: bureka1914
Meeting ID: 886 0316 7121
Kosher Super Bowl Sunday Takeout Sunday, Feb 7th (All day) Order Kosher Take Out for Super Bowl Sunday. Prepared by Chef Alex in the Congregation Or VeShalom kitchen.
Orders will be available for pickup at OVS on February 7 from noon - 2:00 pm.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit Backpack Buddies, a program to supply economically disadvantaged elementary school children with food for the weekend.
Order deadline is Monday, February 1.
