Shaarey Tphiloh Prayers, by Caryl Herzfeld

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Congregation Shaarey Tphiloh

Please join us in our new location

Saturday morning services
9:30 a.m. Room 4A
400 Deering Avenue
Portland, Maine

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January 14, 2017 – 16 Tevet 5777

Shabbat Vayehi

Genesis 47:28-50:26
Haftarah: I Kings 2:1-12

Candle lighting 4:10

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Kiddush generously supported by Hilde Jaffe
in memory of her beloved husband, Wallace Jaffe

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Parashat Miketz

“When I was a little girl, one of the things I looked forward to on Friday night was my father giving each of us a berakhah. I come from a large family; I am the oldest of eight children and berakhot on Friday night were quite a production as each one of us stepped up in age order to receive our berakhah. My father is an interesting blend. He is a graduate of Torah V’Daas and a research scientist, and he is both a traditionalist as well as an innovator. This was reflected in the berakhot he gave to his children.

The traditional formula of this parental blessing comes, in part, from this week’s parshah. Yaakov blesses Yosef’s two sons, Menasheh and Efraim saying: “Through you shall Israel bless; may God make you as Efraim and Menasheh.” (48:20) For girls, Yaakov’s blessing to Efraim and Menasheh has been altered (my father is not the only innovator): “May God make you like our foremothers, Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel and Leah.” My father had his own additions to the traditional berakhot. For each of my four brothers, in addition to invoking Efraim and Menasheh, he would add the Biblical namesake of the child. So, my brother Yehoshua received a berakhah of “May God make you like Efraim and Menasheh and like Yehoshua, student of Moshe. …”

“But for the girls, four of us, he went all out. Esther was told not only to be like our mothers, Sarah, Rivkah, Rahel and Leah but she should also save her people like Queen Esther…” What was my father doing? He was giving us a message. While we are all actually named for family members, we should also see ourselves as connected to our Biblical forebears. They should be our models and as they accomplished great things in the world in birthing the Jewish nation, we too, in our own ways should set our sights high¾ we too should strive to accomplish great things and live a life of meaning, not just for ourselves, but for Am Yisrael as well. Blessings are not just blessings; they are dreams, visions of the future…
Devorah Zlochower

To read more, see YCTorah Library
www.YCTorah.org

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Condolences

Congregation Shaarey Tphiloh extends its condolences to the family of Miki Romanow.  She is survived by her children Josh and Jennifer Romanow and their children Benjamin and Lilah, of Arlington, Va.; Jason and Kara Romanow and their children, Carly and Jake, of Sharon, Mass.; sister Cele Axelrod; brother-in-law Harold and his wife Florence Romanow; several nieces, nephews and cousins;

 http://obituaries.pressherald.com/obituaries/mainetoday

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Ner Lamaore

Roz Siegel, in memory of Ruby Laskoff, Peter Lewis, Esther Goldberg,Jack Cinamon, Gloria Bass, Richard Mack, Carl Richman, Ernest Sturman

Jeffrey Langholtz

Larry and Donna Geller, in memory of grandfather, Harry Geller

Harry Krigman, in memory of brother, Michael Krigman

Lelansky Family

Michael Glick

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Congregation Shaarey Tphiloh

Board of Directors Meeting
Thursday, January 12, 2017
6:30 p.m.
400 Deering Avenue

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Martin Luther King Day Observance
January 16, 2017

The (day of) Observance ends with a dinner celebration from 6 – 8 p.m. that includes live music; guest speaker Sherri Mitchell; an award presentation; and performance. It is a ticketed program suitable for those 14 years and older. Please note that a reception with cash bar will precede dinner.

Tickets for this program are available at www.mlkportlandmaine.eventbrite.com

Child care will be available at no charge.

Our theme for the holiday observance is A True Revolution of Values. It is taken from a speech given by Dr. King on April 4, 1967, exactly one year prior to his assassination, at the Riverside Church in New York City. Considered by many as his most controversial speech, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” details his opposition to the war and is built around three major points: the increase of militarism, escalating poverty and the issue of racism.
For more information see www.naacp.me/

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Grades 11-12 Community High School Program

Avis Smith

A community monthly class for students in grades 11 and 12 will be offered on Sundays from 5:00-6:30 PM. Registration is now under way.

Everything You Never Knew about Judaism!
(All the things you would not have learned in Religious School…)

We are excited to offer once again a Jewish studies program that is open to all high school juniors and seniors in Southern Maine. Our hope is that this program will provide an opportunity to get to know other Jewish high school students from the region, and to study and learn in an informal but stimulating environment. Teacher: Avis Smith

The classes will meet once a month, for a total of nine sessions, on Sundays, from 5:00 – 6:30 PM (no dinner, only snacks). This year’s dates are: September 25, October 30, November 20, December 18, January 22, February 12, March 25, April 30, and May 14.

The cost is $100. for the year. Classes will meet at Congregation Bet Ha’am in South Portland. For more information and to register call Louise at 879-0028.

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Art and Resolution: 1900 to Today

“Art and Resolution: 1900 to Today” includes work by Israeli photographer Adi Nes, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick.
Call 207 | 725 | 3275 for more information or see
http://www.bowdoin.edu/art-museum/

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Holocaust Studies with Anna Wrobel

~ Holocaust Cinema: rare and esoteric films, some from the direct postwar period, most of European origin.
Classes will meet from 6:00 to 9:00 pm on Wednesdays – 10/26; 11/30; 12/21; 1/25; 3/1. Films are listed at the JCA link below
$100.
~ Primo Levi ‘book club’: one book per month (not provided). Books and ordering information are listed at the JCA link below.
Classes will meet from 6:00-8:00pm on Wednesdays – 11/2; 12/7; 1/4; 2/1; 3/8 $100.
All classes held will be at JCA – 57 Ashmont Street, Portland, Maine

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Yahrzeits This Week

17 Tevet Adeline Fleischer, Samuel Hoffman, Solomon Slotsky

18 Tevet Esther Bookbinder, Ida Goffin, Arthur Levine, Rachel Lourie

19 Tevet Molly Frager, Ilene Krouse, Minnie Lewis, Thelma Punsky

20 Tevet Bessie Barron, Mamie Berenson, Israel Bernstein, Dora Gravitsky, Louis Helfont, Annie Slosberg

21 Tevet Sam Goldstein, Gertrude Moscowitz, Freida Richman, Samuel Seavey

22 Tevet Morris Kallus

23 Tevet Ruth Baer, Abraham Moscowitz, Jennie Young

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Shaarey Tphiloh is now celebrating 112 years as a traditional Jewish spiritual home in Maine!