You may find Jews anywhere on earth...
CONGREGATION ETZ CHAIM
...in Ramona you'll find a small warmhearted group who will welcome your family with open arms.
In 1980 a few Jewish families got together to form a congregation. Like many others, we had moved to Ramona seeking clean air, an excellent school district, and a rural atmosphere. Here in Ramona, we found good neighborhoods and a small-town friendliness. Still it wasn't enough. We wanted to hold on to our Jewish traditions and values, and pass on our heritage to our children.
So - we established Congregation Etz Chaim, a tree of life, which embodied our desire for the future.
We hold Shabbat services monthly on Friday evenings where we read from the Torah, sing and socialize. We meet in each other's homes for an informal gathering. We hold High Holiday services, special celebrations for Sukkot, Chanukkah, Tu B'Shvat, Purim and Lag B'Omer as well as a community Seder for Passover.
We invite you to join with us at any of these occasions and help nourish the Jewish community within Ramona.
You can learn a bit more about the congregation from an article that appeared about us.
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Message from Rabii Leslie:
The narrative of the children of Israel in the wilderness, portrayed in the books of Exodus and Numbers, are interrupted by the book of Leviticus, which gives us the details of the rituals of the Tabernacle – the types of sacrifices and how they are to be offered, the garb of the priests, and, as we saw last week, how the people were to purify themselves after childbirth or illness. This week’s Torah portion is another double one, Acharei Mot (Lev. 16:1-18:30) and Kedoshim, (Lev. 19:1 – 20:27). Kedoshim lies in the exact middle of the book of Leviticus. It also lies in the exact center of a Torah scroll – when Kedoshim is read in synagogue, it is easy to see that. I do not think this is coincidence. The wisdom contained in parashah Kedoshim is, I believe, the central precepts of the Torah.
“You shall be holy,” God says to the Israelites, “for I, the Lord your God am holy.” Then follows a list of ways in which we can be holy and emulate God: Honor your parents. Keep the Sabbath. Do not worship idols. Don’t pick your fields bare; leave some for the poor and hungry. Judge fairly. Pay your workers on time. Don’t take vengeance or bear a grudge. Don’t be a gossipmonger. And every few verses, the admonition is repeated, “I am the Lord your God”.
In short, the way that we may find holiness in our human lives, the way that we are best able to be God-like, is in very ordinary ways. Our holiness is measured by the fairness, honesty and kindness with which we treat one another.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Leslie
Etz Chaim 2012 Financial Statements
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by Michele Gelman and Sheila Gold Michele Gelman is a native of New Orleans. By comparison, Sheila Gold is a relative “newcomer,” having been actively involved with her congregation for only 23 years. Despite this difference, these two women share many things: friendship, commitment to their respective synagogues, devotion to the Jewish community, and a love of pedicures. Michele: We met nearly seven years ago. We were both enrolled in a two-year leadership development program through the New Orleans Federation and a mutual friend, before we enrolled in the Federation program, invited us to dinner at the Chef’s Table at [...]
The Union for Reform Judaism is accepting donations to assist in the wake of the deadly tornado in Oklahoma. The URJ will allocate funding received to agencies on the ground that are best equipped to respond to this disaster. We’re also working closely with our congregations in the affected region to assure the safety of their congregants, their neighbors, and their structures and to determine next steps in relief work. URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs said in a statement released today, “We are numb with grief, and yet inspired by the heroic resilience of the people of Oklahoma. Our thoughts [...]
by Sharon Mann Editor’s Note: This post is the first of two about Congregation Emet VeShalom. The complementary post will appear tomorrow. Reform Judaism and religious pluralism, which are taken for granted in the United States, are not axiomatic in Israel. As a member of Emet VeShalom—a Reform congregation in Nahariya, a peripheral area of Israel eight miles from Lebanon’s border—I know maintaining a non-Orthodox congregation is fraught with challenges. At present, one major challenge facing ours is that we do not have a rabbi serving as spiritual leader of our community. Our members are facing this challenge by stepping [...]
“Camp Newman helps us feel closer to God”. This is how I opened my dialogue with our 2013 leadership staff at our annual Spring retreat. You could have imagined the response. Even some of our Rabbinic students felt uneasy about this language and its timing (opening conversation). “God” talk is scary for many of us.
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