You are invited to attend an adults-only Purim megillah reading at Bridgeport on Shabbat evening February 27 beginning at 7.30pm. Please bring your favorite alcohol and/or cheese, crackers, or other favorite nosh (vegetarian please!). Also bring your own copy of the Book of Esther if you have it (we will provide whatever photocopies we have). Please RSVP to rabbi@shir-tikvah.net.

PURIM IS COMING! There are four mitzvot associated with Purim: hearing the reading of the Megillah, celebrating raucously, matanot l’evyonim, and mishloakh manot. You can fulfill all four with us on Shabbat afternoon, February 27 2010, 4.30-7.30 pm at Bridgeport.

At Shir Tikvah we observe a fifth mitzvah on Purim, the mitzvah of the ANNUAL HAMANTASCHEN CONTEST. Once again this year we invite you to bake your own 3-sided Purim cookies (also known as hamantaschen) and bring them for the contest; they will be displayed at the Shabbaton and admired, and after we judge them we will eat them (the edible ones!).

Contest rules:
1. you have to bake them yourself; no Costco hamantaschen!
2. bring them downstairs for display when you arrive to be judged
3. the hiring of former or current Presidential campaign aides to lobby the judges is not allowed!
4. the winners will be announced after the Purimshpiel

Prizes will include:
1. MOST UNUSUAL FILLING, 2. BEST ISOSCELES SHAPE, 3. BEST RIGHT ANGLE TRIANGLE SHAPE 4. BEST NON-TRIANGULAR, 5. BIGGEST, 6. MOST TRADITIONALLY OLD-FASHIONED, 7. SMALLEST, 8. MOST PRONOUNCED PERSIAN INFLUENCE, and 9. MOST DR. SEUSS-LIKE.

We will have stations for Purim games, grogger-making, and mishloach manot for friends and family. We will also sing Purim songs, perform a Purim Shpiel, and have a potluck dinner! Come in costume with a vegetarian-friendly dish or drink for the potluck, a new pot or pan to donate to the Community Warehouse, and home-baked hamentashen for our bake-off. You can make a grogger during the party or bring your own small, lidded glass or plastic container for tzedakah. At the end of the celebration this money will also be donated to the Community Warehouse.

This year’s shpiel will be performed by YOU ! We need 9 volunteers to act out the story while a narrator reads it aloud. These are non-speaking roles unless you choose otherwise–no rehearsal necessary. We will provide the costumes, but if you have some hats, scarves, or mustaches to lend us, that would be great. Please contact the office if you are interested in participating.

This is an all-ages event: here’s your chance to be silly, have fun, laugh, and BE HAPPY, it’s Adar!

For the potluck, please bring:
Last name A-F = dessert
Last name G-L = side dish and beverage
Last name M-R = salad
Last name S-Z = main dish

Join us from 4:30-7pm at the Bridgeport Building.

Shalom my Shir Tikvah community,
 
Over the past few months I have had a chance to reflect on what a real community can mean to the individuals who commit themselves to it. For me it has driven home, once again, the idea that we receive what we are willing to give, or, as you may have heard it, “what goes around comes around.”
 
Consider what the commitment of good people has meant for our congregational community:

1.    an idealistic group of 15 people who committed themselves to an idea created this congregation
2.    a generous group of 67 people who committed themselves to a barely birthed congregation brought a Rabbi to serve and guide it
3.    an enthusiastic group of unnumbered people – because some choose to remain anonymous – committed to a young, small congregation’s existence gave generously and freely of their volunteer time to do everything that had to be done
4.    a devoted group of committee chairs and members committed (is there a connection between those words?) themselves to the creation of all the policies that guide our functioning: ethically, legally, and logistically
5.    a caring group of people commits themselves to reaching out to their fellow congregants in sickness and in need
6.    a fascinating group of people commits to keeping the study of Torah vibrant at the heart of our learning community
7.    an inspiring group of people continues to commit to doing all the things that need doing so that Shir Tikvah can function, and continue to find joy in that service
8.    a dedicated group of leaders commits to giving of their time to step up and help Shir Tikvah function by making the decisions and taking the responsibility
9.    a devoted group of people commits to being our agent in joyfully fulfilling the mitzvah of teaching our children
10.  a thoughtful group of people quietly supports the growth of good in the world by doing mitzvot inside and outside our congregational community.
 
Jewish tradition teaches that a holy congregation is made up of at least ten Jews. We are creating a kehillah kedoshah made up of many more than ten lights of holiness illuminated by the giving, sharing, committed members of Shir Tikvah.

Shir Tikvah will focus upon the ongoing struggle for equal marriage rights of our LGBTQ sisters and brothers in our American society on Shabbat Terumah during our erev Shabbat Tefilah, at the end of Torah study on Shabbat morning, and at our Nashira Project gathering with parents on Sunday February 21 as well. Emily Saxton of Basic Rights Oregon will be with us at all three times to offer you the opportunity not only to learn about the current status of marriage rights issues, but also to invite you to take part in the struggle by joining your fellow Shir Tikvah members who have recorded one of the hundreds of mini-interviews she is taping as a project now of some months.