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News items about United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute.

STAND brings Rwandan genocide survivor Emmanuel Habimana to speak April 7 at UHC

By Terry Fear
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UHC will once again welcome the community to its sanctuary when the Terre Haute South Vigo High School STAND club presents guest speaker and Rwandan genocide survivor Emmanuel Habimana, from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, April 7, at the Temple.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, when members of the Hutu majority murdered some 800,000 people, mostly of the Tutsi minority.

The event is part of #TogetherWeRemember, an “annual international campaign to transform remembrance into action to end identity-based violence for all humanity.”

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Jolliff family honors late UHC member Dr. Jack Weinbaum

By Norma Collins
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Recently, Cathy and Steve Jolliff sent a contribution in memory of Dr. Jack Weinbaum.

I sent the notice to Bobbie Weinbaum and she was curious as to who the Jolliffs were. I told Bobbie I knew the Jolliffs as very nice people who attended services on special occasions and were friends of Louise and Walter Sommers.

I emailed Cathy for further details to pass along to Bobbie. When Bobbie received this information, it warmed her heart to know how Dr. Weinbaum had touched the Jolliffs’ lives and still remembered him after all these years.

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UHC religious school students greet the holiday by reviewing a new Hanukkah book

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UHC religious school students may be few in number, but they’re always game for a holiday challenge. When the call goes out, the class is on the scene to build a sukkah, set the Pesach table or, when a new Hanukkah book arrives over the transom, step in as literary reviewers.

Race Up Mount Ram: A Hanukkah Story (48 pages) from Eclectic Ivri Press, by Melissa Berg, tells the story of Chayim, a resolute underdog who calls upon all his resources to climb Mount Ramon in Israel’s Negev Desert and become Champion of the Maccabees.

Chayim’s opponent is the popular favorite Rimon, who, needless to say in this tortoise-vs.-hare story, learns to regret his lackadaisical approach to training.

Sunday school elementary school instructor Jennifer read Race Up Mount Ram to religious school students Sophie and Garrett on the morning of Hanukkah eve and patiently moderated the thoughtful discussion that followed.

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Community gathers at UHC in response to Tree of Life attack: ‘We, too, will never yield to evil’

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Student Rabbi Jonathan Falco stood at the sanctuary bimah and read the names of the 11 Pittsburgh dead, then invited the congregation to rise for El Ma’alei Racham’im, the prayer for the souls of the departed.

“The victims of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue were robbed of their opportunity to fulfill the commandment to keep and remember and celebrate the Sabbath. Tonight, we move forward with doing just that — continuing our Shabbat service and celebrating in their memory,” Jonathan said.

Some 100 people attended Shabbat services Friday, Nov. 2, at United Hebrew Congregation’s historic Temple Israel, six days after the fatal attack on Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

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