July and August 2003  •  Tamuz and Av-Elul 5763
 PROGRAM 


Katarina Seidler, president of the state board
of Jewish congregations, inducts Rabbi Shillor
as congregational rabbi for four congregations in northern Germany.

Dear members and friends,
     What a month! What a celebration! What a congregation!
     We had three good reasons to celebrate and celebrate we did! First, we celebrated Shavuot with over 200 members and guests, second we dedicated our new rooms and last but certainly not least, we inducted Rabbi Irit Shillor as congregational rabbi for our congregation and the congregations of Bad Pyrmont, Hannover and Gudensberg. Rabbi Shillor is the first Progressive (Reform / Liberal) rabbi in Lower Saxony! The city’s mayor along with other city representatives, political party dignitaries and church and civic leaders joined our state board of Progressive synagogue’s president, Ms. Seidler and Ken and Marilyn Teacher from the London-based “ Friends of Progressive Judaism in Israel and Europe” to welcome our honored guests-the former Jewish residents of Hameln to our service. The congregation felt honored by the enthusiastic show of support evidenced by the standing room only crowd….and that in 95° heat!
     Special thanks go out to all those who helped make the service and Shavuot buffet a so beautiful. We also thank our young cantor, Rebekka Dohme and our congregational music group “Shalom” for their program.

Rebekka Dohme and Rabbi Shillor

Rebekka Dohme leads the congregation in song as Rabbi Shillor looks on.

Summer Vacation
     July and August are quiet months for the congregation with many people away during the school holidays. All classes should check with their instructors concerning activities during the summer months. Religious school begins again in September. Our congregational office will be closed fJuly10–25. In emergencies, please call a board member.

House of Religion
     The House of Religion will hold a “Family Day” on August 30. Our congregation is part of what promises to be a great afternoon. Rachel will give a lecture on Jewish customs, information about our Synagogue building project will be presented, our music group, “Shalom” will give a concert and we’ll celebrate Havdallah together. Those interested in attending should ask in the office about car pooling.

Rabbi’s Table
     Starting this month, we’re offering something new! Once a month, Rabbi Shillor will hold open discussions on Jewish topics. Everything you always wanted to know about Judaism but never asked! The sky’s the limit…  What’s kosher and what’s not? How should I deal with missionaries? What’s Progressive Judaism? What’s Kabballah? Why is Torah important in my everyday life? How can I make services more meaningful? How can I believe in God after the Holocaust? How can my partner convert?
     Join us and let’s learn together. Private appointments with the Rabbi are, of course, also possible.

Summer Camp Summer camp for kids between 8 and 18 runs from July 31 to August 10 in Allgau. Registration forms are available in the office.

Todah Rabah — Thank You
     A great big thanks go out to all those who helped rennovate our new rooms. Almost everyone helped in one way or another. May God bless our house!

Music group Shalom

JGH’s music group “Shalom” performs
a program after services.

Mazel Tov
     Congratulations to Mrs. Kitty Hart-Moxon, mother of our member, Dr. David Hart. Mrs. Hart-Moxon was honored with the OBE (Order of the British Empire) in London for her work with the Holocaust Trust.
     Congratulations to our own Vladimir Pesok upon completion of this year’s studies at the Lauder Foundation in Berlin. Mr. Pesok is qualified as a religious educator and we look forward to his upcoming lecture series.

Contributions
      We have so much to be thankful for! May you be blessed for your generousity: Mrs. Aronson, Mr. Goldschmidt, Mr. & Mrs. Seidler, Mr. & Mrs. Wettberg, Mrs. Bach, Mr. & Mrs. Hainke, Mr. & Mrs. Scheunpflug, Dr. & Mrs. Dohme,Mr. Vogelhuber, Mr. Otto, Mr. Bomhoff, Mrs. Demuth, Mrs. Armbrecht, Mrs. Meyer and Mrs. Dittrich.

Tree of Life
     New leaves have been purchased by Mr.& Mrs. Grossman from Israel and Mr. Vogelhuber. Please use our secure server and order your leaf. Please see the Tree of Life page.

New Members
     We welcome new member Mr. S. Evseev to our congregation.

Friends of JGH
     It was wonderful seeing so many of our Friends at our Shavuot service! Contact Rachel Dohme if you would like to participate in the project, “Family to Family” and get to know a Russian Jewish family.

Birthdays in July and August
     In July: Milja Golberg, Boris Frid, Tamara Ovcharenko, Emma Kaplan, Elena Dmitrieva, Rimma Kopirovskaja, Valerij Friedman, Felix Gurevich, Moiseje Bilopolski, Natalja Zaychenko, Irina Koustanovitch, Leonid Berditschevskij, Benjamin Berry, Elizaveta Berlikova, Elena Zaroubkinskaia, Dieter Vogelhuber, Jaryna Kotschergina and Volodymr Zaslavsky.
     In August: Marjana Kleper, Selina-Lea Berry, Maria Lazer, Oleg Martsipi, Olga Alesin, Elena Gorbacheva and Christiane Brückner.

Refuah Schlama — Get Well Wishes
     Get well wishes to all who are ill at home or in the hospital. Please look after our older members who live in your neighborhood. Stop by for a visit and see if you can help. Remember-one Mitzvah leads to another!

Shalom!
     — Your board

Program for July and August 2003 / Tammuz and Av-Elul 5763

July 4   B'nei Mitzvah class  
         Friday night services-Alina Trejger 
July 5   Music seminar
July 15  Lecture series with V. Pesok, "Judaism" 
July 16  "Rabbi's Table" open discussion 
July 25  Friday night services, Rabbi Shillor 
Aug. 8   Friday night services, Vladimir Pesok
Aug. 19  Lecture series with V. Pesok, "Judaism"
Aug. 22  Friday night services, Rachel Dohme 
Aug. 25  Clean up day at our land: “Synagogenplatz 1”  
--------------------------------------------------- 
July 10–13
   9th annual conference of the Union of Progressive Jews of Germany in Berlin 
July 31–Aug. 10
   Summer Camp, Allgau
Aug. 8
   4:00-6:00  Outing to the Fischbeck convent with the women’s interreligious group 
Aug. 30
  3:00-?  “Family Day” at House of Religions in Rinten

Archived Newsletters: