Weekly Newsletter

Stanton Street Shul Weekly Newsletter Week of May 5, 2017 / Iyar 9, 5777

Parashat Achrei Mot-Kedoshim

Support the Stanton St. Shul We rely on your generosity to keep us going with weekly prayer services, kiddushes, classes, kids programming, women's tefilah, cultural programs and other events. Click here to make a donation to the Stanton Street Shul! (We need your moral support, too: Click here to "Like" us on Facebook!)

Upcoming Events Young Professionals Shabbat Dinner at Stanton: Friday, May 5 7:15pm-10:30pm StantonKIDS: Join us for morning learning programs on Shabbat and holidays for children ages 2-6! - Sunday, May 14 10:00am-12:00pm StantonTOTS: Join us for a morning of learning, for children up to 24 months old! - Sunday, May 21 10:00am-11:00am StantonKIDS: Join us for morning learning programs on Shabbat and holidays for children ages 2-6! - Wednesday, May 31 10:30am-12:00pm   This Week's Schedule Erev Shabbat, May 5 (Iyyar 9) 7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat / Ma'ariv 7:38p Candle Lighting Services will be followed by Young Professionals Shabbat Dinner at Stanton - SOLD OUT Tonight's Sefirah Count Is: היום חמשה ועשרים יום שהם שלשה שבועות וארבעה ימים לעמר Shabbat, May 6: Achrei Mot-Kedoshim (Iyyar 10) 9:30a Shacharit 12:00p Kiddush is sponsored by Margie Segal in honor of her new grandson, Elie Michael. 8:47p Havdalah Tonight's Sefirah Count Is: היום ששה ועשרים יום שהם שלשה שבועות וחמשה ימים לעמר Sunday, May 7 (Iyyar 11) Tonight's Sefirah Count Is: היום שבעה ועשרים יום שהם שלשה שבועות וששה ימים לעמר Monday, May 8 (Iyyar 12) 7:00p NEW MINI-CLASS: Megillah of Ruth, Part 1 Tonight's Sefirah Count Is: היום שמונה ועשרים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות לעמר

Women's Tefillah & Torah Reading For Parshat Emor on May 13 Our next women's tefilah, with Torah reading, is on Shabbat morning, May 13, for Parashat Emor. Join us for a warm and spirited davening led by and for women only!   Services will be held in the beit midrash and begin at 9:30am (same time as the traditional minyan).   If you'd like to layn, lead prayers, say a d'var Torah, be a gabbait, or otherwise get involved, or if you have questions, please email women@stantonstshul.com.

Honor Thy Parents! Celebrate Parents with a Kiddush at Stanton Join us for a very special Parents Day Kiddush, Stanton Style, on Saturday, May 13th! But first, we want to know if you ever thanked your parents for everything they did for you when you were small? Be honest, did you thank them:    - For that time you used permanent marker to color the cat purple? - Or when you gave your mom's diamond ring to your 6th grade girlfriend? - Or when your dad talked you into cutting your rat tail coiffure for that interview? - Or because they STILL do your laundry?    If the answer to any of these questions is no, it means that you should help sponsor Stanton's Parents Day kiddush to honor your parent, grandparent, spouse, or friend, or yourself! If you've ever washed Nutella out of someone's hair (or had it washed out of yours), this kiddush is for you. You deserve it!    We will be giving a yummy edible treat to thank parents and sponsored honorees. So become a sponsor in honor of parents - yours, your kids', friends, whomever for $150. And for those who do double chai, no matter what the cause, here's your golden opportunity to have a $36 shout out. ($36 is the approximate cost for one child to attend our free StantonKIDS Shabbat programming )   For more info, to find out about sponsorship opportunities, and to RSVP, email kids@stantonstshul.com.

Scholar-in-Residence: Prof. Shai Secunda on Shabbat, May 13, 12:30pm We are excited to welcome a Scholar-in-Residence next Shabbat morning, May 13.   Prof. Shai Secunda will be speaking after kiddush on the topic, "It's Alive! - Golems, the Power of Torah, and the Possibilities of Creation."  All are welcome to attend!   Shai Secunda is the Jacob Neusner Associate Professor of Judaism at Bard College, where he teaches in the Department of Religion. He earned his PhD at Yeshiva University, and then held posts at Yale and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research focuses on classical Judaism and its interactions with other traditions and on the Talmud's Iranian context. His book, The Iranian Talmud, has recently been released in paperback. Prof. Secunda writes regularly on Jewish scholarship and popular culture for the Jewish Review of Books.

Over The Rainbow: Lag B'Omer For Kids We’re shooting for Over the Rainbow with a great Lag B'Omer holiday themed family program that also celebrates Mothers Day and Lower East Side History Month. So, come one, come all on Sunday, May 14, 10:00am-12:00pm!    We’ll be going outside to our neighbors the Siempre Verde Community Garden. Our extraordinary art and music teachers will help children decorate pots and place seeds in them to create Mothers Day presents. There will be marshmallow roasting and other fun activities.   Lag B’Omer is an outdoors Jewish holiday that joyously marks the halfway point of counting the days between two important festivals: Passover (Pesach), which is associated with the barley harvest, and Shavuot, the wheat harvest. The bow and rainbow are symbols associated with Lag B’Omer and with the promise, or covenant of a green world   Bad weather: No problem; we'll be indoors at the Shul, and bring nature in with us.   We work hard to provide the highest quality StantonKIDS programming for our youngest members. We completely rely on donations to provide this programming, and every bit counts. So please consider giving to StantonKIDS! Click here to donate now.

SAVE THE DATE: Annual Membership Meeting on Sunday, June 4, 9:30am Membership Drive Starts NOW! All Stanton Street Shul members are encouraged to attend our Annual Membership Meeting on Sunday morning, June 4. The annual meeting is your chance to hear about all that is going on in the shul, ask questions, share suggestions, and elect shul board members.    The meeting is open only to shul members in good standing. Our new membership cycle begins on June 1. If you are not yet a shul member, now's the time to become one! Click here to sign up by June 1!   If you are a current shul member, now is the time to renew your membership by paying your annual dues! Click here to pay your membership dues online, or send a check to Stanton Street Shul, P.O. Box 1008, New York, NY 10002.   Please note: the rates for membership dues have changed. Please see below for current rates.   If you are not sure if you are a member, or have other questions about membership, email board@stantonstshul.com.

Membership Rates for 2017-18 In order to offset increased operating costs, the board has voted to implement a small, stagggered increase in dues over the next two membership cycles.   The rates for the coming membership year, 2017-18, which begins on June 1, will be: Patron Membership: $1800 Family Membership: $600 Individual Membership: $300 Out-of-Town Membership (does not include voting rights): $180   The rates for the 2018-19 Membership Year will be: Patron Membership: $2000 Family Membership: $700 Individual Membership: $350 Out-of-Town Membership (does not include voting rights): $180   The increase in dues is meant to maintain the fiscal health of the shul and not to be a barrier to membership. If these rates present a financial hardship to you, please speak to Rabbi Bodner or to a member of the board to work out an individual arrangement.

RECAP: Israeli Soldiers Mourned, Israeli Independence Celebrated at Stanton This past week we held back-to-back programs at the shul for Israel's Memorial Day and Israel's Independence Day.   On Sunday night, for Yom HaZikaron, we memorialized Israel's fallen soldiers. The program, conducted entirely in Hebrew, was attended by Stanton members as well as many Israelis who came from all over New York City to join us. Click here for pictures from the beautiful and moving service.   On Monday night, we came together with our friends from the Sixth Street Shul to celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut! The event included a musical and festive prayer service led by Meir Shapiro and Sixth Street's Rabbi Gavriel Bellino.  Click here for pictures from the event.Click here for pictures from the event.   Thank you to Rabbi Bodner, Rabbi Bellino and the Sixth Street Shul, to Meir Shapiro, and to all who spoke and attended these events honoring Israel and bringing us together as a community.

Volunteering at Stanton One of the many strengths of our shul is the variety and multiple talents and abilities of our congregants. It takes a lot to run our shul and our programming, and we can probably use your help. Are you a tech guru, web design aficionado, or social media wiz? A master event planner, fundraiser, or program coordinator? An accountant, lawyer, or investment professional? A trained carpenter, electrician, or contractor? If you have any of these or other skills, professional or amateur, that you'd like to contribute to Stanton, speak to Rabbi Bodner, Rivky Friedman, or another member of the board and let's think about how we can help make Stanton flourish together.

Planned Giving at Stanton Looking for a way to give back to Stanton, not right now, but maybe at some point in the future? Consider planning a long-term gift to the shul. We encourage anyone interested in discussing various ways to plan a gift now that will be given in the future to contact Board members Michael Gordon or Rivky Friedman, or Rabbi Bodner. There are many ways to go about planned giving and we are happy to discuss the various options that might work for you.

The Stanton Street Shul is proud to be a member synagogue of The Downtown Va'ad! The Downtown Va'ad is an Orthodox rabbinic network, intended to advance the welfare and flourishing of the Downtown community. Check out the Va'ad on Facebook for more information.

Get in Touch! The Stanton Street Shul is located at 180 Stanton St., New York, NY 10002   Our mailing address is: 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 for our newsletter email announcements@stantonstshul.com