We heartily welcome our NEW MEMBERS to our Shabbat morning service on December 7, 2019. As we have done for several years, we are participating in HUMAN RIGHTS SHABBAT, scheduled annually by T’RUAH: THE RABBINIC CALL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS to recognize, as closely as possible, the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of International Human Rights on December 10, 1948. It highlights the intersection of Jewish values and universal human rights.

This year Human Rights Shabbat weekend coincides with PARSHAHT VAYETZEY, in which the biblical patriarch Jacob dreams of angels reaching to the heavens. Like Jacob, who goes on to dream a wrestling match with a mysterious figure, we strive to reach beyond and within ourselves, to wrestle with the hard questions of who we are in the world and how we want to treat people in our sacred space.

This year’s Human Rights Shabbat mandate from T’RUAH invites congregations to embark on a year-long engagement with issues around Racial Justice, Inclusivity, Diversity and Welcoming. Let’s see if we can become a congregation of WRESTLERS with how to be audaciously and inclusively welcoming; EXPLORERS of our unconscious biases about who belongs; SEEKERS of new pathways and partners as we delve into the issues we discover at work in our midst, and in the world.