As many of you know, Dick and I decamped to warmer places for the month of January.
We aren’t exactly snowbirds — one month is too long to be away. Nevertheless, we did enjoy our travels.
As in previous trips, we engaged in Jewish experiences in a variety of places on land and sea.
One of the most interesting places we visited was the Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
We recently began reading the Book of Exodus. Anyone who has seen The Prince of Egypt or The Ten Commandments can appreciate the impact of these beginning parshiot.
The plot of Exodus is so complex, with character introductions and development abounding as the narrative progresses. We are introduced to Moses, Miriam and Aaron, to Pharaoh and his daughter, to the freedom narrative and the process by which the Israelites become a nation with mitzvot to follow.
What I tend to find most meaningful about these early chapters of Exodus is Pharaoh’s behavior. When Moses first speaks to G-d, G-d tells him that G-d will harden Pharaoh’s heart so Pharaoh will not free the Israelites.
Temple Sisterhood is back meeting the second Tuesday of the month to socialize and plan projects in support of our congregation and community.
Most recently, we dined at the new Lucia’s Taqueria at Brown and Wabash avenues and Grand Traverse Pie Company, just south of the ISU campus.
The first community project we’re working on for 2023 is to provide support for newborns at Union Hospital. We welcome your donations!
United Hebrew Congregation will formally welcome its newest members on Friday, Jan. 20, when Patricia and Justin McCammon emerge from the mikveh and complete their conversions to Judaism.
Justin and Patricia, who have been together for 13 years and will celebrate their 11th wedding anniversary in June, entered formal study with Rabbi Jordana Chernow-Reader of Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation and appeared before a rabbinic court, known as a beit din, on January 5.
We present Patricia’s and Justin’s beit din essays here.