Rabbi Malka Drucker
Weekly Readers 2008
March 25, 2008
Dear Friends,
If you see members of our community walking around with blue rubber bands, do not be concerned and don't feel left out. We started wearing them after last week's mussar class that invited us to become intimate with our evil inclination. Each of us knows what the rubber band is to remind us of. Mine connects me to anger and patience this week. I have a long list already. We're spending a week on one of thirteen traits we'd like to do better with. Therefore, we'll have four opportunities in the coming year to track our trait of the week.
This Wednesday, we're going to look at how we feel about fearing God. The sages teach, "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God." Despite our desire to be oh so wise, who wants to give up our path to loving God, whom we may imagine as sitting home with a fresh-baked batch of chocolate chip cookies? Please join us this week for the Hour of Power and let us know how you feel about quaking and trembling before God. You'll get a blue rubber band—Woody Allen may have had communal prayer in mind when he said that 80 percent of life is showing up.
Last week, at our Purim party, none of us were facing in this direction. We were too busy singing rock and roll and dancing to "My God! Talkin' about my-y God!" Thanks to all–Atma and Joy for the warmth of your home, Ellie, Ellen, Claire, and Gay for the hamantaschen, and everyone who sacrificed usual dignified appearance to become a motown or Jewish queen. Click this link to see the wild and crazy time. Sometimes it's really really fun to be a Jew!
Now that the noisemakers and hamantaschen are memory until next year, it's time to think of tambourines and matzah brittle. I've ordered 12 boxes and you'll be sorry if you don't try a box. Warning: it's a little addictive.
Peace and Love,
R. Malka
HAMAKOM FIRST NIGHT PESACH SEDER
SATURDAY, APRIL 19 AT MUSEUM HILL CAFE
LIMITED SEATING AVAILABLE
Volunteers are needed to help with set up at the seder and to assist with checking people in at the door. Please contact Linda Kastner at puppause@yahoo.com
MATZA BRITTLE, MATZA BRITTLE, MATZA BRITTLE COMING SOON!!!!!!!!! HaMakom will be having a Matza Brittle Fundraiser. Everyone is invited to gather and prepare the Matza Brittle on Sunday, April 6 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm at the home of Rabbi Drucker and Gay Block. We'll also gather to prepare on Wednesday, April 9 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. We need volunteers who want to have fun and assist in the easy preparation of Matza Brittle. No experience necessary! The sales will support the financial needs of HaMakom. Please contact Erica at twinklintoes@msn.com 471-9278 and let her know that you'd like to assist.
PLEASE BRING BAKING SHEETS
Wednesday Minyan at 5:30 pm
A weekly weekday minyan takes place each Wednesday at 5:30 pm at St. Bede's. The brief maa'riv (evening) service provides a minyan for those who are saying mourners Kaddish. The service is followed by a short teaching by Rabbi Malka Drucker. A soothing midweek prayer break between the workday and the evening is comforting and healing for us all. Many have inquired about the books that have been referenced in Rabbi Drucker's teachings. Climbing Jacob's Ladder: One Man's Rediscovery of a Jewish Spiritual Tradition by Alan Morinis and Book of Jewish Values: A Day-By-Day Guide to Ethical Living by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin.
Shabbat Morning Service at 9:45 am
Each week we celebrate the joy of Shabbat with prayers of gratitude and we delve into the weeks Torah parashah. March 29, we read Sh'mini. Please join us and help assure the presence of a minyan.
OUR COMMUNITY
Sharon Woods is featured in the latest edition of Santa Fean magazine. As CEO of Woods Architects Builders, Sharon has been creating, building, and restoring homes in Santa Fe for more than 30 years. The home featured in the article earned the 2007 Parade of Homes People's Choice Award.
Consuelo Luz will be the guest musician for a Shabbaton in Sedona, Arizona with Rabbi Alicia Magal April 4-6.
Mazel Tov to Susan and Lee Berk on the birth of twin granddaughters in Switzerland.
The Torah: A Women's Commentary a new Torah translation with commentary and interpretation focusing on women has just been published. Rabbi Malka Drucker is one of the contributors. A number of copies are available for sale at the wholesale price. Please e-mail Rabbi Drucker if you'd like to purchase a copy. malka@malkadrucker.com Copies will be available at the Wednesday evening minyans.
Community Mitzvot
You can support HaMakom all year round by making a donation to one of our funds in honor or in memory of a loved one, or for a special occasion. Donations to HaMakom are greatly appreciated. Please designate which of our funds is to receive your contribution. Thank you to the following for their donations:
Rabbi's Discretionary Fund
Rachel Rosen in memory of Barbara Zusman
Cantorial Education Fund
Ongoing Donation
MISHEBERACH
We continue to send healing prayers to Irving Warhaftig, Laura Glicken, Robin Silverman and Bill Treiber – Rabbi Malka Drucker's father.
HAMAKOM EVENTS
Wednesdays at 5:30 pm Evening Minyan at St. Bede's. Approximately 45 minutes.
Sunday, April 6, 3:00-5:30 pm and Monday, April 7, 5:00-7:30 pm
Workshop to create Miriam's Cup and Seder Plate. At the Painted Dish, 839 Paseo de Peralta. Enjoy a social evening or day with your mother, daughter, or granddaughter. Contact Sue Breslauer, 474-0922.
Sunday, April 13, noon-7:00 pm Women's Mikveh , Ojo Caliente Hot Springs
Mik'dash. Contact keren@ritualartist.net 505-349-4009
April 19, 2008, Saturday, Hamakom First Night Pesach Seder at Museum Hill Café, details soon. Mark Your Calendars Now-click the online purchase button on the left to reserve by credit card.
Thursday, April 24, 5:30 pm, MIRIAM'S SONG, A Woman's Interfaith and Intergenerational Community Seder on the sixth night of Passover. Sponsored by several Santa Fe communities including HaMakom, Hadassah, Chabad, Congegation Beit Tikveh, Temple Beth Shalom and many individuals, artists, and galleries. Music provided by Cindy Freedman, Meredith Brown and Ruth Singer. All proceeds will go to local organizations which assist women and girls. 982-1376 for reservations.
March 6, 2008
Dear Friends,
Last night we continued our Open Heart Surgery, the new name for the hour of power on Wednesdays at 5:30. Our singing prayers begin the softening of the heart, believe it or not, our default, and then we have our gentle, probing investigation of what layers cover it.
In the last several weeks, we've learned to wear rubber bands as reminders each time we grow impatient or angry to stop and consider what we are and what we are doing. We've talked about removing the unique foreskin of the heart we each carry by looking deeply into ourselves. We are born with all traits of character in different measure. What makes us who we are is how we choose to shift our natural calibrations.
Are we fearful? Doubtful? Judgmental? Envious? Depending upon which traits we want to shift, we are looking for words or phrases that will remind us throughout the day of who we wish to be. For example, if we forget the miracle of our lives, we might say, "Every living thing shall praise You, Beloved." If we lack faith in ourselves, "You return my soul to me with faith and abundant compassion" can help. If we have the bad habit of gossip, we might try "Do not go as a tale-bearer." And for fear, nothing is as good as "You shall not fear the face of anyone." These pesukim, verses from Scripture, are more than mantras or slogans. They are the rock upon which our feet gratefully find when we find the water reaching our noses.
Joining us on Wednesdays does radically amazing good. You'll help to make a minyan for those of us who need to say Kaddish. You'll help yourself to uncover your true heart, and finally, by accomplishing the above two, you'll participate in repairing the world. Please join us!
This Shabbat at 9:45 a.m., in the library at St. Bede's, I'll be leading services while Cindy goes to Houston to be medicine for her father. Once again your presence will be of profound help. If you're looking to find your way to heaven on earth and above, this is a wonderful way.
The new moon will appear in our starry sky this Friday. It will bring the laughter and joy of Purim. For me this year, each communal and personal celebration is different from any other in my life. Your presence consoles and supports me. I thank each of you who have stood with me in prayer as I learn the new place of living without a mother.
Shabbat Shalom!
Peace and Love,
Rabbi Malka DruckerHAMAKOM PURIM CELEBRATION! THURSDAY, MARCH 20 at 6:00 pm AT THE HOME OF ATMA WISEMAN and JOY SILVER COME DRESSED IN YOUR FAVORITE COSTUME VEGETARIAN POTLUCK, BYOB BRING HAMENTASHEN! MEGILLAH WILL BE READ IN HEBREW AND ENGLISH AND OUR PURIM SHPIEL WILL BE. A MOTOWN OPERETTA! GET DOWN.
MATZA BRITTLE, MATZA BRITTLE, MATZA BRITTLE COMING SOON!!!!!!!!! HaMakom will be having a Matza Brittle Fundraiser. We need volunteers who want to have fun and assist in the easy preparation and sales of Matza Brittle while supporting the financial needs of HaMakom. Erica Zvaifler will chair the project. Please contact Erica at twinklintoes@msn.com 471-9278 and let her know that you'd like to assist.
Wednesday Minyan at 5:30 pm
A weekly weekday minyan takes place each Wednesday at 5:30 pm at St. Bede's. The brief maa'riv (evening) service provides a minyan for those who are saying mourners Kaddish. The service is followed by a short teaching by Rabbi Malka Drucker. A soothing midweek prayer break between the workday and the evening is comforting and healing for us all. Many have inquired about the books that have been referenced in Rabbi Drucker's teachings. Climbing Jacob's Ladder: One Man's Rediscovery of a Jewish Spiritual Tradition by Alan Morinis and Book of Jewish Values: A Day-By-Day Guide to Ethical Living by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin.
Shabbat Morning Service at 9:45 am
Each week we celebrate the joy of Shabbat with prayers of gratitude and we delve into the weeks Torah parashah. This week, March 8, we read Pikudei. Rabbi Malka Drucker will lead the service this week.
OUR COMMUNITY
The Torah: A Women's Commentary a new Torah translation with commentary and interpretation focusing on women has just been published. Rabbi Malka Drucker is one of the contributors. A number of copies are available for sale at the wholesale price. Please e-mail Rabbi Drucker if you'd like to purchase a copy. malka@malkadrucker.com Copies will be available at the Wednesday evening minyans.
Rima Miller is performing in the production Duet: A Rivalry for the Ages, a play about Sarah Bernhardt and Eleanora Duse who were the first megastars of modern theatre. Performances at El Museo Cultural February 22-March 9. Call 455-2340 to reserve tickets.
Community Mitzvot
You can support HaMakom all year round by making a donation to one of our funds in honor or in memory of a loved one, or for a special occasion. Donations to HaMakom are greatly appreciated. Please designate which of our funds is to receive your contribution. Thank you to the following for their donations:
Ruth Anne and Halley Faust extend an ongoing invitation to all who would like to join them in their home on Friday evenings for Kabbalat Shabbat and dinner. They begin gathering at 6:00 pm with Kabbalat Shabbat and dinner begins after that, usually by 7:00 pm. You're welcome to join in for either or both! Please e-mail Ruth Anne by Wednesday of any week, ruthannef@comcast.net, or call on Thursday or Friday, as she's often not checking her computer at the end of the week, to make sure they're in town and to let them know you're coming and what you'd like to bring if you're staying for dinner. They'll be in Santa Fe through March and they hope you'll plan to join them.
MISHEBERACH
We continue to send healing prayers to Irving Warhaftig, Laura Glicken, Robin Silverman and Bill Treiber – Rabbi Malka Drucker's father.
Robin Silverman has returned to Santa Fe following cancer surgery in Houston. She is in need of assistance with meals, visits and errands. Carol is coordinating the schedule for Robin's needs and can be contacted at 471-0007, carkat05@yahoo.com
HAMAKOM EVENTS
Wednesdays at 5:30 pm Evening Minyan at St. Bede's. Approximately 45 minutes.
March 17, 2008, Monday at 6:00 pm Continuing Education class presented by Dr. Stanley Hordes. The Sephardic Legacy in New mexico: A History of the Crypto-Jews.
Location: Rainbow Vision
March 20, 2008, Thursday at 6:00 pm HaMakom Purim Celebration!!
Come dressed in your favorite costume and bring hamentaschen for a festive event at the home of Atma Wiseman and Joy Silver.
April 19, 2008, Saturday, Hamakom First Night Pesach Seder at Museum Hill Café, details soon. Mark Your Calendars Now-click the online purchase button on the left to reserve by credit card.
Other Jewish Events Around New Mexico
Thursday, April 24, 5:30 pm, Interfaith Community Women's Seder on the sixth night of Passover. Sponsored by several Santa Fe communities including HaMakom.
Details soon.