A message from OVS President Michael Bouhadana

I hope that everyone enjoyed a Happy Hannukah, and had the opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. I am sure that you all enjoyed many delicious treats over the course of the 8 nights (perhaps along with all those burekas you purchased at the Bazaar), but if you have not sufficiently met your deliciousness quota, please join us for a one-of-a-kind feast, catered by our own Margot Alfie!
 
Our monthly Congregational...Read more...

This coming weekend is one of the most wonderful times of the year; it's the annual OVS Bazaar. As many of you know, we have activities for the whole family and lots of opportunities for shopping - and my favorite, eating. I also always enjoy finding interesting books in the book sale. Our Sisterhood has been working very hard to plan the event, while also baking Sephardic pastries
and other treats to sell.

Perhaps some of you...Read more...

Our congregation will be holding the 2018 Annual General Membership meeting on Sunday, December 9th, at 10:00 a.m. 

Please save the date on your calendars and make the effort to attend with your spouses, adult children and extended families. This meeting is critical for all members, as we present our plans and direction for the future. 

The Future of OVS committee will present its findings from the interviews...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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...