Newspaper Page Text
Page 18 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE November 28, 1986
Synagogue Directory
' Candle Lighting Time: 5:12 p.m.
Ahavath Achim (Conservative), 600 Peachtree Battle Ave.,
N.W., 355-5222. Arnold Goodman, rabbi; Dr. Harry H.
Epstein, rabbi emeritus; Marvin Richardson, asst, rabbi; Isaac
Goodfriend, cantor. Daily services, 7:15 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Fri
day, 6 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.; Saturday 8:35 a.m., Min ha, 7:30 p.m.
(followed by kiddush); Sunday, 8:30 a.m., 6 p.m.
Anshe S’Fard (Orthodox), 1324 North Highland Ave., N.E.,
874-4513. Label Merlin, president; Nathan Katz, rabbi. Satur
day, 9 a.m. (followed by kiddush).
Atlanta Hillel (Non-denominational), Drawer A, Emory Uni
versity, Atlanta 30322, 727-6490. Zvi Shapiro, rabbi; Dr.
Aaron Shatzman, program director. Friday, 6 p.m. (followed
by dinner, Oneg Shabbat).
Bet Haverim (Gay and Lesbian) Quaker House, 1384 Fairview
Road, 642-3467. Friday night services, first and third Friday of
the month.
Beth David (Reform), Meeting at 869 Cole Dr., Lilburn, But
ton Gwinnett United Church of Christ. Mailing address, P.O.
Box 865, Snellville 30278, 662-4373. Student Rabbi Daniel
Schiff. Harry Bloch, cantor. Friday, 8 p.m.; Call for Sun
day, Hebrew school hours; bar/bat mitzva classes available.
Beth Jacob (Orthodox), 1855 LaVista Rd., N.E., 633-0551.
Emanuel Feldman, rabbi; Ilan Daniel Feldman, asst, rabbi-
educational director. Daily morning minyan, Monday and
Thursday. 6:50 a.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 7 a.m.;
Daily evening minyan, 5:30 p.m. (Class in Halacha nightly
between Mincha and Ma’ariv); Friday 5:30 p.m.; Shabbat
morning, 8:30 a.m. (followed by kiddush); Shabbat evening,
5:10 p.m. (Talmud group one hour prior to Minha, followed by
Shalosh Seudot); Sunday. 8 a.m. (followed by breakfast).
Beth Shalom (Conservative), 3147 Chamblee Tucker Rd.. 458-
0489. Leonard H. Lifshen, rabbi, 451-9414 (h). Friday, 8 p.m.,
followed by Oneg; Saturday, 9:30 a.m., (followed by kiddush).
Beth Tefillah 5065 High Point Rd.. 843-2464. Rabbi Yossi
New. Friday, 6:15 p.m.; Saturday, Torah discussion, 9 a.m.,
service 9:30 a.m. Kiddush will follow.
B'nai Israel (Reform), P.O. Box 383, Riverdale, 30274, 471-
3586. Meeting at Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church, 2165
Hwy. 138, Riverdale. Student Rabbi Debbi Pipe-Mazo. Fri
day, 8 p.m.; Saturday. 10:30 a.m., services and religious school.
Hebrew school, Wednesday.
B'nai Torah (Traditional), 700 Mt. Vernon Hwy., Atlanta,
30328, 257-0537. Juda H. Mintz, rabbi. Morning services,
Monday and Thursday, 6:50 a.m.; Sunday, 9:30 a.m.; evening
services, Tuesday and Wednesday, 6 p.m.; Friday, 8 p.m.;
Saturday morning, 8:45 a.m. Kiddush follows Friday and Sat
urday services. Shabbat evening M in ha, Shalosh Seudot, Hav-
dalah begin at the candlelighting time of the week.
Etz Chaim (Conservative), I 190 Indian Hills Pky., Marietta.
30067, 973-0137. Shalom Lewis, Rabbi. Friday, 6:30 p.m.;
Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Torah study, 10:15 a.m.; Monday and
Thursday, 7 a.m.
Jewish Home 3150 Howell Mill Rd., N.W., 351-8410. Nathan
Becker, chairman. Religious Committee. Friday, 7:30 p.m.;
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. Relatives and friends of residents are
welcome.
Kehillat Chaim (Reform), Office: 141 W. Wieuca Rd., N.W.,
Suite 202-A, Atlanta, 30342, 252-4441. Harvey .1. Winokur,
rabbi. Friday, Northwest Unitarian Congregation, 1025 Mt.
Vernon Hwy., 8:15 p.m.
Kol Emeth (Reform), P.O. Box 71031, Marietta, 30007-1301,
3822 Roswell Rd., Suite 6, Marietta, 30062. Steven Lebow,
rabbi. Friday, 8 p.m.. Chestnut Ridge Christian Church, 2663
Johnson Ferry Road. For information, call Marsha Friedberg,
973-3533.
Or VeShalom (Sephardic), 1681 North Druid Hills Rd., N.E.,
633-1737. S. Robert Ichay, rabbi. Friday, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday,
8:45 a.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m.
Reform Jewish Students Committee, Drawer A, Emory Uni
versity 30322, 727-6496. Beth Fleet, director. Shabbat service, 6
p.m. Nov. 21 and Dec. 5, Turman.
Shearith Israel (Traditional), 1 180 University Dr., N.E., Atlanta,
30306, 873-1743. Judah Kogen, rabbi Weekday Minha,
Sunday, Thursday, 5:40 p.m.; Weekday mornings, Monday,
Thursday, 6:50 a.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 7 a.m.;
Friday night, 5:15 p.m., Saturday, 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
(followed by Minha and Havdalah); Sunday, 9 a.m.
Temple Emanu-El (Reform), 1580 Spalding Dr., Dunwoody
30338, 395-1340. Barry R. Friedman, rabbi. Friday, 8 p.m.;
Saturday, 10 a.m.
Temple Sinai (Reform), 5645 Dupree Dr., N.W., 252-3073.
Philip N. Kranz, rabbi; Sid Gottler, Cantor. Friday, 8:15 p.m.
(except November-May, when first Friday of the month is at
7:30 p.m.); Saturday, 10:30 a.m.
The Temple (Reform), 1589 Peachtree Rd., 873-1731. Alvin
Sugarman, rabbi; Samuel Weinstein, assoc, rabbi. Friday, 8:15
p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 a.m.
Yeshiva High (Orthodox), 1745 Peachtree Rd., N.W., 873-
1492. Rabbi Herbert Cohen, dean. Weekday services, 8 a.m. at
the AJCC: Minha, 2:10 p.m. Community Beit Midrash meets at
Beth Jacob Synagogue Sunday-Thursday, 8 p.m.
United Jewish Congregation of Rockdale-Newton (Tradition
al); Services at 7 p.m. Friday evenings, at Oxford College
Chapel. *• '• • “ •'
SIILOMO RISKIN'
Shabbat shalom
EFR AT, Israel—Although the
Jewish wedding is the butt of
jokes from comics and hard hit
ting satirists, it isn’t all miniature
franks, egg rolls and a sushi bar
right next to the old-fashioned
white fish platters. Nor is it even
the klezmer band that interrupts
the cocktail music with a sudden
shift into the minor mode and a
heavy Hassidic beat.
Every part of the actual cere
mony is replete with associations.
The wedding canopy, the wine,
the witnesses, the contract, the
broken plate, the broken glass.
Most of these are quite familiar
to us, but there is one custom
which, unless you’re already
married, it’s unlikely you've ever
seen, or to put it more accurately,
that you’ve ever heard.
At your next wedding keep
your eyes on the door where the
groom emerges escorted by young
men who are clapping their hands
in an upward motion and singing
at the top of their lungs. There’s
electricity in the air. The couple
hasn't seen each other in seven
days. The bride is waiting in her
white wicker throne surrounded
by other women who now turn
expectantly to the arrival of the
groom's party. The last steps are
the slowest. As he reaches her he
is flanked on one arm by his
father and the other arm by his
father-in-law to be. Probably he
is both excited and bashful at the
same time as he takes the veil
from the bride’s forehead and
covers her eyes. This is the moment
he's waited for his entire life,
but if you get caught up in
the clapping and dancing, or even
if you’re just watching it, chances
are you might miss the moment
when he bends over to whisper
something in her ear. In fact, you
may see it, and pay it no mind,
but after the next six or seven
weddings, where you see the same
motion, the lips near the ear,
you’ll start wondering if this is a
new erogenous zone, or what
secret could all these grooms be
whispering about?
Actually it’s no secret. The
words he whispers come from
this week’s Torah reading, “O
sister! May you grow into thou
sand of myriads; May your off
spring seize the gates of their
foes,” addressed to Rebecca by
her brother Laban when she ac
cepts Eliezer’s proposal to become
engaged to the son of his master
Abraham. This ancient formula
reveals one of the purposes of
marriage in Jewish life, and that’s
why it’s become a custom for the
groom to speak these words.
Who is Rebecca? We know
that it isn't just her beauty that
attracts the eye of the “match
maker” Eliezer. He wants to return
with a wife who has the same
qualities as his Abraham’s wife,
Sarah, the mother of Isaac.
And he prays:
“O Lord...here I stand by the
spring as the daughters of the
townsmen come out to draw water;
let the maiden to whom I say,
‘Please lower yourJar that I may
drink,’ and who replies, ‘drink,
and 1 will also water your cam
els’—let her be the one whom
You have decreed for Your ser
vant Isaac.”
And lo and behold, the Bible
relates that when Eliezer asked
the shepherdess to sip water from
her jar, she didn’t hesitate.
“Drink, my lord,” she said...
When she had let him drink his
fill, she said, “I will also draw for
your camels, until they finish
drinking.” Quickly emptying her
jar into the trough, she ran back
to the well to draw, and she drew
for all his camels.
That’s the story we’re supposed
to remember at the badecking,
that the kind of bride a bride
groom should be looking for is a
Rebecca, a woman who under
stands that kindness means to do
more than you’re asked. To give
of yourself wholeheartedly and
spontaneously.
But the nuances and innuen
dos in the badecking reveal not
only something about what is
desirable in a marriage partner,
but what is desired out of mar
riage itself, which is seen as not
Congregations
The Temple
Special Shabbat
The Temple will hold a special
Shabbat at 8:15 p.m. Friday,
Dec. 5.
Rabbi Alvin Sugarman and
Maxwell Schwartz, chairman of
The Temple’s S.S. St. Louis pro
ject, will speak about the refugee
program and the progress that
has been made with The Tem
ple’s adopted Laotian families.
The adopted families and the
volunteer committee will greet
the congregation during the Oneg
Shabbat following the service.
Hanuka Bazaar
The Temple will hold its 120th
Hanuka Bazaar and Book Fair
from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sun
day, Dec. 7 at The Temple.
Gifts, food and books will be
sold. For more information, call
Linda Lincoln, program direc-
tolr, at 873-J 731
Ahavath Achim
Ahavath Achim children will
participate in the synagogue’s
celebration of the receiving of a
new Torah.
Children from the Epstein
school, religious school, Shabbat
morning program, Kadima, USY,
Junior Kadima, Cub Scouts, Girl
Scouts and Tiger Cubs will join
the congregation at 10:30 a.m.
Sunday, Dec. 7, in marchingwith
the Torah to its new home in the
sanctuary.
Beth Jacob
Rabbi Emanuel Feldman will
conduct a seminar on “The M usar
Movement: A discussion of this
great historical movement in
Torah Judaism” at 8:15 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 8 and 15.
Rabbi Feldman will focus on
only a personal commitment be
tween two people but a commit
ment of both toward their peo
ple, their nation and their world.
In fact, look at the third and
fourth of the seven marriage
blessings under the canopy.
“Blessed are Thou, O Lord our
God, King of the Universe, Who
created the human personality.”
“Blessed are Thou. O Lord our
God, King of the Universe, Who
created the human personality in
His image, and with the shape of
the Divine image has created the
human being as an eternal build
ing. Blessed are Thou, O Lord
our God, who created the human
personality.”
The first blessing acknowledges
who we are in the flesh, our egos
running amok, our individuali
ties living the lives of business,
acquisitions, buying and selling,
the achievements and failures of
the self...but it’s the second bless
ing that extends who we are as
pure ego to the part of us created
in the Divine image, or Divine
ego, if you will. The creation of
this “eternal building" in the
blessing has its foundations in
Eden and extends into the Mes
sianic age, and so in Judaism,
when a man and a woman stand
together—building a building—
the marriage vows are linked to
Creation then and the continuing
Creation now.
In bedecking the bride only
minutes before, the groom is re
minding the bride, as well as
himself, of their responsibility to
be fruitful and multiply and to
vanquish the enemy, creating a
world so that God and his ethical
monotheism are paramount in
the hearts and souls of everyone.
Maybe on a wedding night it’s
strange to admit there are foes in
the world hut this wedding night
utterance is, in the end, a blessing
of peace, and the ceremony itself
is a victory against those who
would prefer that we abandon
the Jewish wedding ritual for
w hatever may come into fashion.
the major ideas, central personal
ities and selected classic texts of
the Musar Movement.
The series is sponsored by the
Beth Jacob Sisterhood. For more
information, call the svnagogue
at 633-0551.
B’nai Torah
B’nai Torah will holds its
annual Hanuka Bazaar from 11:30
a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, in
the social hall.
There will be games and prizes
for the children.
Hanuka decorations and gifts
will be sold, as well as works of
local artists and artisans, books,
jewelry and clothes.
Lunch will be served.
The community is invited. For
more information, call the school
office at 257-0537.