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Rabbi Joshua Rabin Cantor Emeritus George Lindenblatt
Judaism With Open Arms |
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Friday Flyer |
April 19, 2024 • 11 Nisan, 5784 |
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Hebrew School Model Seder |
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On Tuesday afternoon, ACI's Hebrew School students were treated to a lively and interactive Model Seder! Read "This Week in Hebrew School" towards the end of this email for more details. |
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Shabbat Services |
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Saturday, April 20 at 10am
Tot Shabbat From 11am-12pm Doors open at 9:45; come early to schmooze! Please join us afterwards for a light Kiddush. |
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Upcoming Children’s Programs |
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Tot Shabbat Every Week 11:00am-12:00pm For preschool children
Junior Congregation With Morah Audrey 10:30-11:30am For school-aged children
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Candle Lighting |
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Tonight's candle lighting time is 7:22 pm. Havdalah will be Saturday at 8:22 pm. The weekly Torah portion is Metzora.
Passover Candle Lighting
Monday, April 22: Light holiday candles at 7:25 pm.
Tuesday, April 23: Light holiday candles at 8:28 pm from a pre-existing flame.
Wednesday, April 24: Holiday ends at 8:29 pm. |
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Get Ready for Passover at ACI |
Passover Services |
Tot Shabbat will be held as usual on April 20 and April 27!
ACI's office will be closed on Tuesday, April 23. |
Sell Your Chametz |
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Rabbi Josh is proud to share that this year we will be selling our hametz to Rana Abdelhamid, who lives in Astoria and has been instrumental in connecting him with leaders of other faith communities during this challenging time.
If you wish to sell hametz, please complete this form by Monday, April 22, 2024, at 10:00 am ET. |
We Need Your Matzoh Boxes! |
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Save your matzoh boxes this Passover and bring them to ACI so that we can use them for a future craft project! Please leave your clean matzoh boxes in the office outside the chapel. |
Are You Looking for a Seder? |
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If anyone is looking for a seder to join this Pesach, please contact [email protected] for assistance. |
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Passover Food Drive |
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It's time for our annual City Harvest Passover food drive! From Now through April 30, please bring your non-perishable kosher food items to ACI. Look for the box in the lobby, and donate whatever you can to support our fellow New Yorkers in need.
Of particular need are shelf-stable, non-perishable kosher sources of protein, such as: beans, nuts, sardines, salmon, tuna, and peanut butter. (But don't forget the matzoh!) |
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Celebrate Susan Mickel in Our 2024 Anniversary Journal |
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Join us in honoring Susan Mickel, our dedicated Ritual Committee Chair, for her outstanding contributions to ACI. From reading the Torah on Shabbat to organizing our most sacred services, Susan's efforts are at the heart of our community.
Support Our Cause: Our Anniversary Journal is a crucial fundraiser that helps sustain our beloved synagogue and its diverse programs. This is your chance to support us while honoring Susan!
Design and pay for your ad at astoriacenter.org/journal-order.
Ad Deadline: May 31, 2024. For more info or to view sample ads, visit the Journal website. |
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Come and celebrate Shabbat with the ACI community during May's Kabbalat Shabbat service. Join us for a service in the sanctuary, followed by a Yom Ha'atzmaut-themed Oneg and a social gathering in ACI's lobby. Whether you're coming alone, with friends, or with the whole family, this evening promises to be a great way to celebrate Shabbat and spend time together.
ACI Tot Shabbat, Junior Congregation, and Hebrew School families are highly encouraged to attend - we'd love to see you there!
May 17th, 2024 - 6:30 PM
RSVPs not required, but feel free to let us know you're coming by writing to [email protected].
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Save the Date: Movie Night at ACI |
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By popular demand!
Adam Sandler Movie Night - May 24th, 2024 - 6 PM Join the ACI community for a film night perfect for the entire family! Perfectly timed with several B'nai Mitzvot at the center - we'll be screening the film You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah, starring Adam Sandler and Idina Menzel.
Join us for the movie and snacks at 6 PM and Shabbat candle lighting immediately following the film.
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Open Door Shabbat |
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Shabbat morning is the best time for Jews to come together, and the WORST time to feel out of place in synagogue.
Join the ACI once a month for a no-experience-necessary Shabbat service, where we will explore the:
Don't know Hebrew? No problem! Skeptical about religion? We'd love to have you!
Haven't gone to synagogue since your Bar/Bat Mitzvah? You're perfect!
Join us from 10:30 am until noon on May 11, and June 22. At 10:00, there will be a brief meditation service, and at 10:30 we will start the learning service.
If you have any questions, contact Rabbi Josh at [email protected]. Attendance at all sessions is not required; sign up at the link below.
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This Week In Hebrew School |
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Many thanks to our teachers, Morot Esther and Omry, as well as our volunteers, Ariane and Willow, for facilitating at each table during our multi-sensory, interactive Model Seder. They helped serve items from the Seder plate and showered our students with blood, frogs, lice, hail, and boils (ask your children). Special thanks are due to our resident wild beast, Kivi, for “attacking” the students during for the 4th plague.
Thanks also to Morah Shanah for leading us expertly through the Seder using the PJ Library Hagaddah, choosing Kitah Bet students to narrate parts of the story, designating Kitah Gimmel students to recite some of the blessings, and leading Kitah Aleph as they performed the Mah Nishtanah.
Morah Esther kicked things off with the blessings on the Yom Tov candles followed by Moreh Omry’s Kiddush. Then each of the 4 groups competed with another table to either sequence the Seder steps correctly, or arrange the 10 plagues in the order in which they occurred. Morah Shana then led us through the Haggadah, asking students what each of the objects on the Seder plate represent, why we use 3 matzot, and how and why the number “4” occurs as a common theme throughout the Haggadah. Rabbi Josh then explained the connection of the number “4” with the four words that God used in the book of Exodus when promising to take the Jews out of Egypt. Kitah Bet led us in a discussion about the 4 children and the importance of imagining ourselves as liberated slaves.
Students were then treated to 4 cups of grape juice as well as potatoes and parsley dipped in saltwater, romaine lettuce filled with home-made charoset, and matzah, (plenty of matzah).
Then students were ushered into the social hall and broken up into 12 groups of 2 or 3. Each group had 5 minutes to correctly sequence a storyboard depicting a different section of the Haggadah using graphic tiles that told a portion of the story of the Exodus from Egypt. We all then crowded around each group as they read their portion of the sequence to the entire school.
Students then had a “meal” of matzah and charoset, at which point it was time to find the Afikoman (which was surreptitiously hidden in the social hall during the Seder). The students scattered into the hall like a swarm of locusts until they recovered all 4 hidden Afikoman.
As students ate the Afiloman, then they watched excerpts from some entertaining “Dayenu” videos before collecting the Afikoman bags they decorated last week. |
Messages |
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In memory of cherished father James Epstein, from Lou Epstein
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Mi Sheiberachs |
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Please keep the following people in your hearts and prayers for the blessing of r'fua sh'leima:
Dodie Knebl Harold Lefkowitz Dov Meir Ben Avraham V’ Dvora אלונה בת שרה Sherwin Liff
To add (or remove) a name, please contact Lizanne Fluxmon. |
Yahrzeits |
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This week (12-18 Nisan 5784), we observe the yahrzeits of the following ACI members, family and friends. May their memories always be a blessing.
Samuel Hammer |
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