Last day of Pre-School and Synaplex Shabbat Alive
5:00 p.m. Pre-School Small World Program
5:45 p.m. Shabbat International Potluck Vegetarian Dinner (No nuts, please). Cost: $10 per person for those who don’t wish to bring a dish. RSVP to hkahn@universitysynagogue.org.
7:00 p.m. “Shabbat Alive” For All Ages. Shabbat Alive is our jazz and pop service with a combo of musicians led by Rabbi Rachlis and Cantor Braier. Our Young Cantors Group, which includes Blaze Bernstein, Jordan Elcott, Shayna Howlett, Erin Lubitz, Rose MacKenzie, Rachel Obstfeld, Raiah Rofsky and Jason Wong, will sing. All children and adults with birthdays this month will also be honored. Our Shabbat Alive musicians, Michael Bogolomny, Leo Chelyapov and Brian Sepel, are sponsored by David and Evelyn Simon.
8:15 p.m. Tel Aviv Mayor, Ron Huldai, will speak on the topic “The Centrality of Tel Aviv to Israel’s Future.” Please note that this is a change from last month’s HaMakor.
First elected in 1998 after a lengthy military career and recently nominated for the 2012 World Mayor Prize, Labor’s Ron Huldai has sought to continue Tel Aviv’s economic growth as well as promote its tolerance and diversity, often against the wishes of orthodox government ministers and the country’s religious leaders. Huldai leads a city which is a vibrant and affluent 24/7 destination, dubbed by the lifestyle magazine, Wallpaper, as the “Mediterranean’s new capital of cool.” Recently, Tel Aviv was ranked 42nd on Foreign Policy’s Global Cities Index and acts as the nation’s financial hub and the Middle East’s second richest city. This in itself leads to an uneasy array of cohesion issues, as seen in 2009, when the Mayor faced down a demand by the Israeli Interior Ministry to cancel the city’s longstanding annual Gay Pride event. The Wall Street Journal described Tel Aviv as Europe’s main technology hub, saying that Israel’s business and culture urban center eclipsed European competitors like Berlin and London. Sponsored by the Merage Foundation.
8:15 p.m. Children’s Fun Oneg Shabbat
8:45 p.m. Babysitting in Room 103
9:15 p.m. Oneg Shabbat for everyone
“A Town Hall Meeting On Israel” will be the theme of services led by Rabbi Rachlis and Cantor Braier. Israel is now 64 years old and it’s changed the lives of Jews around the world. Rabbi Rachlis will moderate a discussion with everyone who attends, raising such questions as: “Is Peace A Long Way Off,” “Are The Orthodox Helping Or Hurting Israel (especially in regard to women’s issues)”, “What Should The Proper Role Of American Jews Be In Helping Israel Solve Its Problems?”, “How Has Israel Changed Your Life?” and so many other questions. We will honor all those with wedding anniversaries in May and our Choir will sing.
