News from the Institute

The Institute for Judaic Services and Studies announces that Shabbat Services will be held on Friday evening, February 26, 2016, at 7:00 p.m. in the Mariposa Room of the DesertView Country Club. The service is led by Rabbi Sanford Seltzer and Cantorial Soloist Sarah Boltt, accompanied by Carolyn Cochrane.

Please mark your calendar for future Shabbat services on Friday evenings March 26 (West Ballroom, MountainView Country Club) and April 29 (West Ballroom, MountainView Country Club). All services begin at 7:00 p.m.

A pre-Shabbat optional dinner will be held on Friday, February 26 in the East Room of the MountainView Country Club at 5:00 p.m. Dinner orders will be from a limited menu. Please RSVP to Ellie Edelman (818-3064 or [email protected]) by Wednesday, February 24.

Shabbat Services are followed by a festive Oneg Shabbat reception. The February Oneg Shabbat is being sponsored “in honor of Lorraine Stillman’s thirty-ninth birthday—again,” by her husband Larry and good friend Mark Schwartz. Mazal Tov, Lorraine!

Please consider sponsoring an Oneg Shabbat. It is a meaningful way to mark a milestone in the family or to honor a loved one. The Institute is seeking sponsors for Shabbat services in 2016-17. For further information about being a sponsor, please contact Kim Halper at 825-7135.

Rabbi Seltzer is presenting a four session adult education course this winter in SaddleBrooke. The community has greatly enjoyed these classes in previous years.

The 2016 course topic is, Are We the Chosen People? – among the most controversial and misunderstood concepts in Judaism. The course will examine how and why it became a basic concept in Judaism, the views of various Jewish thinkers past and present and implications not only for Jews, but for Christians and Muslims as well.

Session I will discuss Are We the Chosen People? – Biblical, Rabbinic, Mystical Origins: Reactions and Responses (Thursday, January 28, Mesquite Grill, MountainView Complex).

Session II will discuss Being Chosen and Divine Justice – Reconciling the Holocaust and other Tragedies of Jewish History with Divine Election (Wednesday, February 3 Ballroom West, MountainView Country Club).

Session III will discuss The Theology of being Chosen, Secular Zionism and the State of Israel: Compatibility and Contradictions (Wednesday, February 10, Mesquite Grill, MountainView Complex).

Session IV will discuss Who Are the Chosen People? Comparing and Contrasting the Claims of Christianity and Islam (Wednesday, February 17, Ballroom West, MountainView Country Club).

The entire community is invited to attend. All sessions begin at 7:00 p.m.

For further information about the Institute for Judaic Services and Studies, please contact Joel Wyner at 825-8175, Sandy McNabb at 825-4122 or Sam Horowitz at 468-6994.