Yesod (or Foundation) is built upon the knowledge and skills a leader needs to be effective.

The Minneapolis Jewish Federation, in partnership with the Harry Kay Center for Leadership Excellence, is hosting a fall leadership development program—Yesod—for 20 Jewish professionals in the Twin Cities community, which will be taught by Sally Abrams.

As we approach the end of our third year of the Giving Circle, we would like to celebrate our victories and spread the word about the Giving Circle so that we can do even more next year.

Since the Giving Circle’s inception 3 years ago, we have significantly increased the amount of help we have been able to give our 3 partner food shelves, PRISM, ICA and STEP, as well as our partner organizations Our Saviour’s Shelter and Loaves & Fishes. Just this past year, our Giving Circle members donated enough funds to provide generous checks to all 3 food shelves in March, for MN Food Share month, and we will be able to do that again in November. We also provided funding for Loaves & Fishes and, with the help of the congregation, monthly dinners to Our Saviour’s Shelter. Our congregants have donated 160 bags of clothing and household items to PRISM’s Shop for Change. So many people have benefited from your help.

Adath Jeshurun is privileged to welcome the President of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel to Minneapolis from November 14 to November 18. In addition to his leadership role in the Masorti movement, Rabbi Mikie Goldstein is also the congregational rabbi at Kehillat Adat Shalom-Emanuel in Rehovot. Rabbi Goldstein will be hosted for Shabbat by Beth El Congregation, where he will speak from the bimah on Shabbat morning, November 17.  Rabbi Goldstein, who speaks English and Hebrew, is a sought-after guest on Israeli television and radio, addressing the concerns of the Masorti movement.

Rabbi Goldstein will meet the Adath Jeshurun community at 7:30 p.m. Thursday evening, November 15 in the Social Hall. His topic is: “Pluralism & Pride: Judaism of Tradition and Change.”  Rabbi Goldstein will discuss LGBT, marriage, and Jewish conversion issues in Israel.  All are invited to attend this event.

D'var Torah by Rabbi Harold Kravitz
Yom Kippur—September 19, 2018

One of the difficult things we have been confronting the last few years, in almost daily revelations, have been public accusations against powerful men accused of crossing boundaries of sexual propriety. Though not a new development, these aggressions are finally receiving the attention they deserve in the Movement that has been named (hashtag) #MeToo. I want us to take time to reflect on this disturbing phenomenon for the lessons it teaches that are central to the theme of Yom Kippur. The principles of repentance, forgiveness, and atonement can guides us here, whether applied on the grand scale of #MeToo, or to less dramatic, but still important instances of how we relate to each other.