Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on July 24, 2017

Kudos to Congregation Bnai Israel in Northampton for broadening its membership to include family members who may not be Jewish but share a commitment to the synagogues journey of faith.

Allowing non-Jewish members of the conservative synagogues families to vote on certain issues and serve on some committees would have been unthinkable a generation ago, say supporters of the change approved at the annual meeting in June.

Rabbi Justin David says, Over the years weve done many things to try to welcome all people to our community. But if we really wanted to be inclusive, we needed a structural change.

Naomi Tannen, membership chairwoman of the synagogue, began working on the change two years ago and an 11-person task force studied the issue. My daughter is married to a non-Jewish man, and he is very interested in Judaism, Tannen says. I worried that under the current regulations, he wouldnt be welcomed, and I was unhappy about that.

Her family is hardly alone. According to a Pew Research Center study, 58 percent of Jewish people who married between 2000 and 2013 have a non-Jewish spouse.

Among the issues discussed were the concerns of some synagogue members that certain Jewish traditions and rituals such as reading from the Torah at services would be threatened. Ron Ackerman says, Its a very special honor to be called up to read from the scroll. It would be like if I went up to receive communion at a Catholic service, and as a non-Catholic, thats clearly inappropriate for me to take part in.

Compromises were made so the ritual life of the congregation will remain unchanged, says David. Certain synagogue leadership positions and committee memberships are reserved for Jewish members.

The change at Congregation Bnai Israel is possible only because its governing body the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism voted in March to allow individual congregations to make that choice.

USCJ, as a valued and trusted partner, is committed to assisting welcoming, vibrant and caring Jewish communities to fully engage the spiritual gifts of all community members, reads the resolution approved overwhelmingly by its general assembly. We call on all of our kehillot (congregations) to open their doors wide to all who want to enter.

We are glad the Northampton synagogue accepted that invitation.

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Chances are good that if you spot a donkey in Granby, its spent some time with Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue.

In response to widespread abandonment of those animals in the West, Dan and Marianne Lemelin use their farm on Aldrich Street as one of about 20 satellite adoption centers for the rescue agency based in San Angelo, Texas.

Donkeys have always had a special place in my heart, says Marianne Lemelin. There are five donkeys on the familys farm.

In June, Peaceful Valley delivered 10 more donkeys for adoption. I had a waiting list, actually, this year for them, Lemelin says. Within a week I had them all placed.

Like dogs, they act as companion animals in their new homes.

However, in the drought-stricken West, they are often abandoned by financially overwhelmed owners.

Many of those animals have been fortunate to find new homes with compassionate people like the Lemelins.

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The Northampton Post 28 American Legion baseball team is a winner this summer, earning its first trip to the state tournament since 1996.

After completing a 17-1 regular season, Northampton won three games in the first round of the playoffs and advanced to the best-of-three western Massachusetts championship series last week against East Springfield. After dropping the first game, Northampton rallied with 8-7 and 19-3 wins. It was one of eight teams that began play during the weekend in Milford to compete for the state championship.

This is really satisfying, Northampton coach Chuck Holt told Gazette sports writer Adam Hargraves. It means a lot because of this group of kids all the experience and camaraderie. This is a family.

Under Holts guidance, the Northampton team of players in their late teens continued its long tradition of outstanding play for dozens of fans who turn out with their lawn chairs on summer evenings to enjoy the games at Arcanum Field in Florence.

Original post:

Editorial: Monday mix on Congregation B'nai Israel; rescued donkeys; and Legion baseball - GazetteNET

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