A message from OVS President Michael Bouhadana

It’s impossible to understand the reasons for such killings at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. We want to act and make things better, but we’re not sure how. I want to highlight below the Jewish Federation email (10/29, 5:00PM) to the Atlanta Jewish Community to “Rise up in ATL to Stand with Pittsburgh.” https://jewishatlanta.org/unitedwestand/
 
"…In the face of terror, we cannot hide. Two days ago there...Read more...

While I always look forward to Shabbat, I’m especially excited this week for the opportunity to welcome the Shabbat with the congregation at our
monthly Congregational Dinner.  

These dinners offer terrific food, great company and interesting conversation-
and of course, thoughtful insights from Rabbi Kassorla.  Last month, I learned some new-to-me information about Sukkot, and I can’t wait to hear what...Read more...

I am always so encouraged when I see children attending, participating in- and enjoying - Shabbat services. I am not alone; many people have commented on how wonderful it is to see children so welcomed in our sanctuary. Children are the future of our community, and we need to make sure that they feel at home
in our congregation.
 
Please continue to bring your children to Shabbat services and community events. Rabbi always...Read more...

Our 2018/5778 board has made tremendous progress this year on multiple initiatives including education, promotion, high holidays and congregational survey.

Our nominating committee is reviewing the slate of Or VeShalom board members for 2019/5779. The committee consists of Richard Maslia, Diane Benatar, Scott Galanti, Guy Harari, Bryan Lavine,  and Zina Aaron. Please call the office before October 28 if you would like...Read more...

I am looking forward to joining with all those who made a reservation for our Friday night dinner and conversation with Rabbi Kassorla under the sukkah tomorrow night. I encourage everyone to join us for future Shabbat dinners and please do bring your children.
 
We are a family and have so much to offer each other.  However, our community cannot be sustained by the Rabbi alone, or the board or any one of us...Read more...

Thank you to Rabbi Kassorla for leading us through an inspirational High Holiday service; our visiting chazzan Rabbi Sultan for increasing our Kavanah (intention and concentration) through melodies in prayer; our high holiday committee led by David Franco and all our ushers; our sisterhood led by Sisterhood President Elise Meyer; the synagogue board; and to our office staff led by our Executive Director Adam Kofinas; Publications...Read more...

Thank you to Rabbi Kassorla, Rabbi Sultan, the High HolyDay Committee led by David Franco, our ushers, our volunteers and the OVS office for bringing everyone together for such a spiritual Rosh Hashana service. Please read all our announcements for Yom Kippur service times and details.
Yom Kippur starts Tuesday evening, September 18.
 
Our hopes and prayers are with those in the path of Hurricane Florence. If anyone in the...Read more...

We had more than 20 people join our Friday night Shabbat congregational dinner. Thank you to Rabbi Kassorla for a spiritual evening and to Margot Alfie for preparing a beautiful dinner. Our next Shabbat dinner is Sept. 28th.
 
I hope everyone benefitted from attending the town hall meetings last Sunday and Monday. We had positive and focused discussions about how we increase participation of our members and...Read more...

 We will be holding another Friday Night Dinner, “Conversations with Rabbi Kassorla,” tomorrow night, Friday, August 24, 2018.  Based on the current RSVP count, we're expecting another really well attended event.
 
As you may be aware, the Future of OVS Committee has distributed the OVS Community Survey. Please make sure to complete and return the survey as soon as possible: we want to ensure that we have a clear...Read more...

Why do we label unwanted emails as “SPAM”? I recently checked my SPAM folder and filtered through useless emails about how to invest in gold, earn credit towards my power bill, and obtain a free quote for home solar financing. 
 
A couple of months ago, I wrote that our congregation’s leadership has launched a formal initiative to better understand the needs of our Kehila - the “Future of OVS Committee.” It is our...Read more...

We’re grateful to host the scouts of Troop 73 at Congregation Or VeShalom. Thank you again to Nathan Holden of Troop 73 for including our congregation in your Eagle Scout project. Nathan set up two benches with landscaping, creating another natural setting where our community can sit and socialize.  I bet you’ll find me, and many others resting there during the break on Yom Kippur.  We appreciate the entire troop and their...Read more...

Please come join the Or VeShalom community for services on Friday night and Saturday. We might find ourselves very busy at work and with our stress levels building up during the week; or perhaps our World Cup team did not make the finals. Whatever might be your source of stress, consider taking time for personal reflection, socializing with others, and honoring the Shabbat at OVS. 

"If I am not for myself, who will...Read more...

“To help other people at all times” is a basic tenet of one of the largest youth organizations in the USA. Please join me in saying thank you to Nathan Holden. As part of his process to become an Eagle Scout, Nathan is creating an outdoor natural space for our community to enjoy; including building two benches, planting trees and bushes. Our community is proud to host the Atlanta Boy Scouts Troop 73. Hearing about Nathan’s project...Read more...

Can you recall the name of Atlanta’s mayor in 1988? If not, those who volunteered with our OVS history committee this past Sunday have the answer. Our volunteers sorted through the decades-old archives of Congregation Or VeShalom. Among the many discoveries, they found an oil painting of Rabbi Cohen, a number of Egyptian issues of the magazine, “La Vara,” published between 1905 and 1908, as well as French magazines in Ladino from 1901,...Read more...

Please join our community volunteers this Sunday, June 24, 10 AM to 3PM to rummage and sort through the decades-old archives of Congregation Or Veshalom. I would like to express my gratitude to Mariana Montiel for leading the effort as chair of our history committee. Your work as a volunteer on Sunday will be to open archived boxes and determine what value the contents might have to our community. If you enjoy opening...Read more...

As a child, I complained every time my father, of blessed memory, brought me to the synagogue. I would rather sleep late and spend my Saturday mornings
outside with friends.
 
Happy Father’s Day! Please bring your dad to Congregation Or Veshalom; ask him to join you and our community this Shabbat for a Father’s Day Shabbat - Friday night and Saturday morning. He’s guaranteed to know you’re honoring him on this special...Read more...

On a recent business trip to Rhode Island (not to be confused with the Island of Rhodes), I thought I might attend a local Minyan service at a local synagogue in Providence. How do I find a synagogue suitable for me? I logged into my laptop and browsed through synagogue websites. I launched Facebook where I scrolled through synagogue pages for events. I wondered what sort of vibe comes through their Facebook presence. In 2018, individuals...Read more...

We are grateful to the Akbashev family for sharing their wonderful Simcha with the entire community. Last Shabbat, Dr. Mikhail Akbashev and his wife Michelle celebrated the baby naming of their daughter Emily Leah. The sanctuary was filled with loving family and many friends to honor this special event. Later in the morning, Dr. Akbashev did a beautiful job leading the congregation in the Musaf...Read more...

What would you do with your money if you received $86,000 every day for the rest of your life? The one condition is you cannot save your cash; you must spend the full amount each day or lose it. Rabbi Kassorla posed this thought question to everyone at our all-night Shavuot study session this past Saturday night. $86,000 is an analogy on the number of seconds we have each day.  The Rabbi led us into a thoughtful discussion and...Read more...

While our congregation does its best to maintain a regular Monday and Thursday minyan, we're not consistent. 
 
How do other synagogues maintain a regular Minyan? We learned that a conservative/reform shul here in Atlanta, has successfully conducted an Orthodox weekday Minyan for many years. With that in mind, we re-invite everyone to our weekday orthodox minyanim (Mondays/Thursdays): both for the benefit of our members, and...Read more...

During Shabbat services last week, Rabbi Kassorla taught us that ‘honoring our parents’ is one of three mitzvahs, the Talmud...Read more...

While our congregation does its best to maintain a regular Monday and Thursday minyan, we're not consistent. Our members often have to attend other synagogues on weekdays, if they want to say Kaddish, celebrate festivals that land on the weekday (such as Lag Ba Omer this week), or take out the Torah. 
 
How do other synagogues maintain a regular Minyan? We learned that a conservative/reform shul here in Atlanta, has...Read more...

Do you know that Spain has a passed a law to grant citizenship to descendants of Sephardim expelled in 1492? This is an incredible benefit for many in our community.  If you have roots dating back to Spain, Congregation Or VeShalom is one of a few synagogues in the United States that can guide you through the Spanish citizenship process. Thank you to Dr. Mariana Montiel for all her efforts in bringing Mr. Luis Portero to speak to our...Read more...

We hope everyone enjoyed a fulfilling Passover Seder with family and friends. Congregation Or VeShalom hosted a well-attended community Seder on the second night, led by our Rabbi Kassorla. If you missed it this year, please make plans to attend next year. Rabbi Kassorla always does a wonderful job leading the Seder. According to Rabbi, we had more than 10 countries represented, and at the end of the evening, attendees were singing their...Read more...

We hope everyone enjoys the upcoming Friday night Passover Seder. Please contact the office, if you know someone is alone and looking to join a family for Seder.
 
Anyone can provide me with feedback on your synagogue experience. Your comments will be sent to me directly and will not be made public.
Here's the link.
 
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,
Michael

Earlier in the year, I visited the Atlanta Mercedes Benz stadium for a business related event. It's a remarkable structure; but what I found most intriguing was the lack of signs and sponsor banners. Stadium promotions are completely digital. The stadium changes its banners digitally depending on the sporting event of the day. It's safe to say, one could miss out on valuable stadium promotions without a mobile phone or general access to the...Read more...