Philipstown Reform Synagogue

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A place of Jewish worship...learning...and assembly. Our focus is to cultivate a caring, inclusive community in the spirit of liberal Judaism.

We welcome individuals and families of varying Jewish lifestyles.

Our personal philosophies and practices may vary widely among us. However, we are united in a common commitment to Judaism, to furthering our spiritual growth individually and communally and to engage in charitable works in the community. We recognize that study of Torah is an ongoing lifelong process. Development of Jewish identity and knowledge of our traditions will encompass religious and educational programs for children, adults, and intergenerational groups.

We hope to encourage and support one another as we grow in our studies and in loving-kindness and social responsibility.

pr2.pdf

Kelzmer: Music from Brazil, Isreal & The U.S.

At 3:00 pm

Sunday, January 22, 2012

A concert featuring Nicole Borger and the duo

Isra-Alien along with special guest Ralph Rosen.

GloryHorse Design

MISSION MISSION STATEMENTThe purpose of the Synagogue shall be to maintain a congregation to perpetuate Judaism, to serve the Jewish people by providing a place where they may worship and where the teachings of Judaism may be made known, to promote Judaism in all aspects of life by means of public and private worship, by religious education, and through social welfare activities.

Mission

VALUES STATEMENTWe are coming together as a sacred community to provide a place of Jewish worship, learning and assembly. We hope to nurture the spiritual and educational welfare of the congregation and work together to fulfill our sacred obligations to those in need in the greater community.Our focus is to cultivate a caring, inclusive community in the spirit of liberal Judaism. We are committed to a participatory and democratic process both in congregational governance and in ritual. We welcome individuals and families of varying Jewish lifestyles. We dedicate ourselves to a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation and interfaith family structure in all aspects of congregational membership, leadership and ritual involvement. We will work together to develop meaningful Jewish worship that includes an English transliteration of Hebrew and an emphasis on spoken English to make all aspects of ritual observance accessible. Our personal philosophies and practices may vary widely among us. However, we are united in a common commitment to Judaism, to furthering our spiritual growth individually and communally and to engage in charitable works in the community.We recognize that study of Torah is an ongoing lifelong process. Development of Jewish identity and knowledge of our traditions will encompass religious and educational programs for children, adults and intergenerational groups.We hope to encourage and support one another as we grow in our studies and in loving-kindness and social responsibility.

CALENDAR

Calendar

MEMBERSHIP

Membership

Click here to read the latest PRS Bulletin

PRS MEMBERSHIP DUES STRUCTURE Family $950Single Parent Family $500Individual (Single) $500Senior (Couple) $800Senior (Single) $400First Time Member $250Second Synagogue $25050% discount if you are already a member of another synagoguePLEASE NOTE: The PRS fiscal year begins July 1st. Membership dues are requested to be paid in full within 60 days (by September 1st). We strive to be a spiritual community committed to a culture of kindness, trust and respect. We dont exclude anyone based on financial need. If you wish to make payment arrangements or have a confidential discussion about your financial circumstances, please contact PRS President James Thomashower at 845-424-4971 or jet_agohq.org. Payment plan options are available and used widely.

Membership Form 2010.pdf

OUR RABBI

A Word from

Rabbi Michael Rothbaum

Rabbi Michael Rothbaum

Rabbi Michael Rothbaum (Rabbi Mike) is PRS Rabbi, as well as Director of Congregational Learning at Kehillat Lev Shalem, the Woodstock Jewish Congregation. He received his degree in Public Policy and Economics from New College of Florida and rabbinic ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York City. Rabbi Mike says that it was his commitment to social justice that first drew him to serious Jewish study and his work has included extensiveexperience with community and religious social justice organizations, which include the New York Forum of Concerned Religious Leaders, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Rabbinical Students for a Just Peace and the Committee for the Human Rights of Immigrants. Rabbi Mike is an alumnus of Seminary Summer, a joint project ofthe AFL-CIO and Interfaith Worker Justice to bring labor organizers and clergy together, and is the co-chair of the Jewish Peace Fellowship, a Jewish nonviolence advocacy group.

December 23, 2011A Word About Chanukah ~ About 2200 years ago, a ragtag group known as the Maccabees defeated what was then the strongest military force in the known world, the Greek Empire. This is, of course, the story of the Jewish holiday Chanukah, which started this Tuesday at sundown. Its a story of defiance, perhaps the first war in recorded history waged in the name of religious freedom.Its also a story of memory, and who controls it. And how that memory is relived by generations to come.The stage for the rebellion is set when the Greeks expand their empire into what is today known as the Middle East. Many Jews of the day are captivated by Greek culture: drama, theater, and philosophy, Sophocles and Socrates, gymnasia and the Olympics. The problem is that some traditional Jews simply will not have it. The Hellenistic influence of foreign ideas, and – more importantly – foreign gods, is a threat of the highest order to these traditional Jews.Matters come to a head when the cruel king Antiochus IV takes power, prohibiting Jewish observance – under penalty of death. The temple in Jerusalem is defiled, and fitted with statues of Greek gods.Some Jews attempt to adjust to the new reality. But when a Jew in the town of Modiin complies with the command to offer sacrifice to a Greek god, the Maccabee rebels are incensed. They attack not the Greeks, but the Jew making the sacrifice.You heard right. The battle of Chanukah begins when one Jew kills another.Now if I saw an armed mob fueled by righteous rage, running wild in my neighborhood – Jewish or not – I know what Id do: Id call 9-1-1. And back in the day, 9-1-1 was the Greek army. But, as we now know, the Greeks were no match for the mighty Maccabees.Fast forward a few centuries, as our rabbis are assembling the Jewish canon. How will they recount this remarkable heroism?Well . . . funny story. They call for a rewrite.They just change it. The story of the Maccabees? Its found nowhere in Jewish bible. All that violence business? They take it out. In the Talmud, the rabbis include only the briefest of Chanukah narratives – not about war, but about a little jar of oil that lasts eight days. (A tale, incidentally, corroborated in no other historical source.)Why take the radical step of rewriting history? The rabbis refused to describe military victory as a miracle. With the benefit of hindsight, they saw that the Hasmonean dynasty – the Jewish kingdom that arose from the Maccabean insurgency – became brutal and cruel, the only Jewish regime in recorded history that practiced forced conversion. Born in violence, it became addicted to violence.The addict, of course, cant help himself. Needing a fix, the violence addict can always come up with a good reason – just one last time. And so the rabbis also instruct us to read the prophet Zachariah on Chanukah: Lo bkoach, vlo bchayil. Not by might, not by power, the prophet tells us, but by My Spirit, says G-d.And so a celebration of war is transformed into a celebration of God.Under Antiochus, both the Jews and their God were ordered, in essence, to go away. A tiny minority resisted, refusing to be extinguished. Jews are like that. Were inconvenient. Its annoying to some people. Even today, a lot of folks would just as soon not have Jews around.And so we display our Chanukah lights in a public window. So people can see them. So people can see us. Our light is a public-service announcement. We are still here. The continued existence of Jews suggests a Force more powerful than weapons. Miracles happen.The candles tell us as much. Each night. Another light. Another miracle.But those miracle flames beg the question: will we too shame our grandchildren into rewriting our history? Or will we live a history that they can be proud of? Will we lead a charge for safety and security, not just for us, but for all peoples? Will we – all of us – join together, share our flames, and light the way to peace?

PRS BULLETIN

PRS Bulletin

2011 Bulletins2010 Bulletins2009 Bulletins2008 Bulletins2005 Bulletins2004 Bulletins

Bulletin 1-13-12.pdf

GALLERY

Animal Blessing

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Sukkot 2010

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Chanukah

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Gallery

Animal Blessing

Sukkot 2010

Chanukah

CONTACT

CONTACT AND LOCATION

Board of TrusteesDiane Botnick (President)Cathy Duke (Vice President)Stephanie Rudolph (Recording Secretary)Barbara Mankes (Treasurer)Eliott DranoffMarvin NeedelmanHenry SternJane Silver TimmMarina YashinaJames E. Thomashower (Past President)-------Sharona Berken (Corresponding Secretary)

PHILIPSTOWN REFORM SYNAGOGUE

P.O. Box 94, Cold Spring, NY 10516

www.philipstownreformsynagogue.org

Telephone: 845.265.8011

philipstownreformsynagogue_gmail.com

Rabbi Michael Rothbaum

mikerothbaum_gmail.com

Services are held at various locations including:

St. Mary's Church Desmond Fish Library St. Philips Church

1 Chestnut St. Route 9D and Route 401 1101 Route 9D

Cold Spring, NY Garrison, NY Garrison, NY

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The Philipstown Reform Synagogue is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism.