Weekly Newsletter

Week of September 11, 2020 / 22 Elul 5780
Shabbat Nitzavim-Vayeilech

OUR SHUL IS OPENING!
JOIN US ON SHABBAT MORNING, SEPTEMBER 12th
Please join us to celebrate Shabbat Nitzavim-Vayelech with a Torah reading on September 12th. Services begin at 10:00 AM and will end at 11:45. Please enter the sanctuary through the main staircase by 10am. The Shul doors will be closed soon after services begin.

There will be no dvar torah and a minimum of announcements. We have secured a minyan for this service. Mordecai Silver, our baal koreh will open and close the ark and raise and tie the Torah, completing all required Torah related tasks. Aliyot will be given out, but brachot should be said from below the bimah.

Pre-registration is required. Those in attendance should wear a mask, sit in assigned seats that are socially-distanced, sing in moderate tones, and refrain from shaking hands and embracing others or congregating in the vestibule or aisles of the sanctuary. Hand sanitizer and masks will be available. After using the bathroom, please use the Clorox wipes to refresh the room. The beit medrash and the kitchen will be closed. If you are ill or feel vulnerable, please do not attend. 

Check your email and online for details on High Holidays programming and to register for In Shul Services.

Pre-Shabbat Kabbalat Shabbat
Fridays at 6:20pm (ends before candlelighting)

Come together for davening as we prepare to welcome Shabbat in our own homes.

Community Havdalah
Motzei Shabbat, 15 mins after Shabbat ends


​​​​​​​Gather post-Shabbat to connect and transition from Shabbat into the new week.

Parshat Nitzavim-Vayeilech
by Rabbi Joe Wolfson

אַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם רָאשֵׁיכֶ֣ם שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֗ם זִקְנֵיכֶם֙ וְשֹׁ֣טְרֵיכֶ֔ם כֹּ֖ל אִ֥ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ טַפְּכֶ֣ם נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם וְגֵ֣רְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּקֶ֣רֶב מַחֲנֶ֑יךָ מֵחֹטֵ֣ב עֵצֶ֔יךָ עַ֖ד שֹׁאֵ֥ב מֵימֶֽיךָ׃ לְעָבְרְךָ֗ בִּבְרִ֛ית יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּבְאָלָת֑וֹ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ כֹּרֵ֥ת עִמְּךָ֖ הַיּֽוֹם׃

You stand this day, all of you, before the LORD your God—your tribal heads, your elders and your officials, all the men of Israel, your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to water drawer— to enter into the covenant of the LORD your God, which the LORD your God is concluding with you this day, with its sanctions;

As Moshe draws to the close of Sefer Devarim - and the close of his time on earth - he addresses the people one last time. Yet something is different this time. Throughout the Torah Moshe has addressed the people without any distinction among them. The phrase וידבר משה אל העם - and Moshe spoke to the people appears many dozens of times. Yet at this juncture Moshe gives voice to the diversity of the Jewish people: the highest to the lowest, the oldest to the youngest, men and women, local and foreigner.

Why? Because Moshe knows that if the Jewish people are to survive after he is gone, there needs to be space made for everyone. Every Jew, no matter their age, economic station, or gender needs to feel that they have a home in their tradition.

The Sages (Shemot Rabba #21) give voice to a similar idea in a beautiful midrash about the nature of community prayer.

Rav Yehuda bar Shalom said in the name of R’ Elazar. A man of flesh and blood, if a poor man requests something of him it is unlikely that he will listen, yet if a wealthy one requests something, he will respond immediately and fulfill it. Yet Hashem is not like this, rather all are equal before him, women and slaves, poor and wealthy. Know that the same is written of Mosheh, the master of all the prophets, as is written of a pauper. Of Mosheh it is written (Tehillim 90), ‘A prayer of Mosheh the man of God’ and of a pauper it is written (Tehillim 102), ‘A prayer of a poor man, as he spills his words out before God.’ This one and that one are called prayer, that you should know that all are equal in prayer before the Almighty One.

Moshe Rabbeinu - the greatest prophet who ever lived - prays. And so does a simple poor man. Both are prayer. And both are equal before God. 

This is an idea that the Stanton Street Community understands very well. ‘All are welcome. All will feel welcome.’ 

NEW Israel Awareness Committee
Support of Israel is embedded in the Shul’s Mission Statement, but scant attention has been paid to developing stronger ties to the Jewish State.
We recognize an ever increasing campaign to attack Israel politically, economically and physically, and simultaneously we are witnessing an unprecedented increase in anti-Semitism locally, nationally and internationally.
At this time we are gauging community interest in forming a new committee that will address these issues, and at the same time celebrate as a community the culturally rich, ethnically diverse and miraculous Jewish State.
If you are interested in meeting (via ZOOM) to discuss these issues and define future goals and objectives, please write to jeff.katz48@gmail.com.

Stanton Street Shul Book Club
First Meeting: September 24, 2020, 7:00-8:00 PM
Discussion of Chapters 1-4 of  The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race, and American Identity, by Eric L. Goldstein. A zoom link will be sent out two days before the meeting. (The second half of the book will be discussed on October 22. After that, the book club will meet regularly on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM unless chaggim interfere.)

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE BOOK CLUB! ​​​​​​​

SPONSOR A CLASS
Remarkably, one of the benefits of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the expansion of The Stanton Street Shul’s educational programming. Please consider sponsoring a class in honor of oneself, the Shul, a yahrzeit, an anniversary, a birthday, or in the name of a friend or someone who sustains the Shul with their hard work.  

Sponsorships begin at $36, but there is no maximum. Give as your heart desires.  
All sponsorships benefit the Shul and are very much appreciated. 

Rabbi Joe Wolfson, Rabbi of The Bronfman Center at NYU, is The Stanton Street Shul's Virtual Rabbi through September. 

Rabbi Joe offers a weekly shiur and dvar torah included in each newsletter and leads a weekly Tuesday night shiur via ZOOM at 5:30pm. To participate by phone, call 1-929-205-6099 and enter Meeting ID: 869 1718 3883

Polish Expression Since the 17th Century 
A 4-class series taught by David Deutsch
Mondays, 7pm through September 21
via ZOOM or to join by phone, call 1-929-205-6099 and enter Meeting ID: 898 4464 9960

It is probably fair to say that in the modern Ashkenazi nomenclature of 'How Good or Bad Societies Are for the Jews,' few have a worse reputation than Polish society.  But as the above expression suggests, there may be more to the story than most Jews imagine. In four classes, I will review Polish-Jewish relations since the 17th century, and how that reputation--deserved or otherwise--developed. Particular focus will be given to relationships shaped by larger trends or events.

September 14th: Poles, Jews and Others during WWII, will look at the complicated interaction between rival ethnic groups and authoritarian regimes in what had been Poland.

September 21st: Jews in Poland since WWII, will look at the vicissitudes of Jewish life in two new Polands--one, a communist Poland in the decades after WWII, the other a non-communist Poland in the decades since the Iron Curtain came down.

For important resources during this COVID-19 era, please  CLICK HERE.

We Appreciate Your Support! 

Although our doors are closed, our spirits, minds and hearts remain open during these difficult times. We are davening together on Zoom, supporting congregants with chesed needs, and hosting classes and events online.

Please consider sponsoring a virtual program. Now more than ever, we rely on your generosity to keep us going. We know this is a tough time and appreciate whatever you are able to give. 

Click here to donate.

REMINDER: Time to RENEW MEMBERSHIP or join the Stanton Street Shul for the first time! 

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Contact Us:
Mailing address: P.O. Box 1008, New York, NY 10002
Visit our website:  www.stantonstshul.com
Send us an email:  info@stantonstshul.com
To submit an announcement email:  announcements@stantonstshul.com