Shabbat Tzav 5779

WEEKLY SHUL SCHEDULE 

Candle Lighting 6:24pm

Friday, March 22
6:00pm    led by Sam Shnider 

Saturday, March 23
 9:30am     led by Sam Shinder

From the President

Happy Tuesday. Thank you for sticking with this long post; I have much to share.

I know there is much happening in our little shul, and I want to keep everyone aware about what is happening. The board is thinking that we are doing a good job of getting information to the community, and clearly, we are not. If there is anything that you ever want to know, just ask. I’m sure if you have the question, so does someone else. Once you ask, I can address it personally, and consider putting it in the newsletter if it seems like something others would want to know as well. We have no secrets, we volunteer on behalf of the congregation, and we can tell you just about anything you want to know.

We are getting to the end of Rabbi Glickman’s contract, and there have been questions about his status. I am not in favor of discussing an employee’s medical situation and contract/mediation negotiations…the chatter in the shul and on social media has been ugly and mean-spirited, so I want to set a few things straight. Rabbi announced at the High Holidays in 2018 that it would be his last High Holidays as Rabbi. He had surgery in the beginning of October 2018, and he was out on a sort of medical leave while still getting paid full salary and benefits. In December, he was put on full medical leave while still getting paid his full salary and benefits. A volunteer committee was formed to work with the admin assistant to make sure his admin duties were taken care of while Sam Shnider and other volunteers stepped in to take care of spiritual and religious duties. In January, we received letters from his doctors letting us know that he could return to work with stipulations to aid in his ongoing recovery. We were not confidant that he would be able to do his duties with those stipulations. We continued to pay his full salary and benefits. We wrote an addendum in February so that Rabbi could attend to the end of life care and funeral of a beloved congregant. 

The Rabbi is continuing to be paid his full salary and benefits until the end of his contract April 30. We are currently in mediation with Rabbi Glickman over other issues relating to his contract that we both agree can be disclosed in more detail once we have a signed agreement. 

We are getting to the end of an era. Rabbi Glickman has been a tremendous asset to our community, and he has led us to this amazing time in our story. He has been our leader, our confidante, our friend, our rabbi, our moral compass, our spiritual guide, our teacher, and most of all, he has been our Rabbi. We need to acknowledge that there is an ending happening in our community. Not everyone will be happy about this ending, and not everything will go perfectly during this transition. We have been in a time of transition for many months, and it is going to continue. We all have the opportunity to decide how we want to deal with this transition and the upcoming changes. We hope you will stay with us and help us in this exciting and uncertain time. If you are having a hard time accepting the ending of this chapter, I understand, and I want you to stay with us. 

The board is working with a consultant from CLAL on the East Coast at no charge (for now anyway) on how to proceed forward. We will be working with Elan on conducting some interviews with members of our community to find out what our community wants and what we can provide. This is all a process, and successful change doesn’t happen overnight. Once we work through this time of transition, we will have a new beginning. 

Not everything will be different though. We will still be a JCM where all are welcome and prayer is open to everyone who wants to participate. We will be a fully kosher and Shomer Shabbos facility. We will hold community seders and holiday celebrations. We will remain unaffiliated so that all our needs will be met. 

Please know that the board will share whatever you want to know. If we don’t know the answer, we’ll find it for you. We have nothing to hide, we want to be transparent, and we don’t know how we’re doing unless we hear from you. 

I look forward to working together in this transition and celebrating our new beginning.

With much aloha,

Ellyn Mortimer

JCM Board President

Words of Wisdom

Purim is one of the happiest days in the Jewish calendar:

For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. In every province and every city, wherever the king's edict and decree reached, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating...

READ MORE

CELEBRATE PURIM ON MAUI

Kid's costume party 4:30pm-6:30pm with Magician and Mishoach Manot

Adult Megillah reading with improv by Helen Kritzler and Marc Levine starts at 7:00pm

Fresh authentic Israeli Felafel 4:30pm-7:00pm 

Thurs, March 21: Purim Party Kula

Monday March 25: Lecture at Beit Shalom by visiting scholar Holly Blue Hawkins

If you are interested in serving in the Chevra Kadisha (Holy Society),   please sign up HERE

Class schedule...now on our website

 No Jewish Cycle of the Year (Sam's class) this week

Jewish Cycle of the Year resumes March 27