Adath Jeshurun

Men­tor­ing

“… the Tal­mud describes Abra­ham and Sarah as exem­plars of hos­pi­tal­ity. One midrash (rab­binic inter­pre­ta­tion) teaches that Abraham’s tent was open on all four sides so that he could wel­come trav­el­ers approach­ing from all direc­tions. Another tells us: “All the years that Sarah was alive … the doors of the tent were wide open.… There was bless­ing in the dough of the bread.… There was a light burn­ing from one Shab­bat eve to the next Shab­bat eve.”

–From Hope, Not Fear: A Path to Jew­ish Renais­sance by Edgar Bronf­man and Beth Zasloff

We are rais­ing the tent flaps!

Here at AJ, our new Keruv com­mit­tee (Hebrew for “to bring closer”), is reach­ing out to wel­come everyone…newcomers, inter­faith, returnees, the curious…whatever direc­tion you’re com­ing from, come take our hand and be wel­comed into our tent. Keruv rep­re­sents a group of ini­tia­tives designed by the Con­ser­v­a­tive Move­ment, for which our own Rabbi Slos­berg is chair of the Rab­bini­cal Assembly’s Com­mit­tee on Keruv, and is work­ing with other lead­ers nation­ally to coor­di­nate Keruv pro­gram­ming, sup­port and resources. You’ll soon find a new face on AJ’s brochures, pub­li­ca­tions, classes and web­site, as we weave the vibrant threads of Keruv into the social fab­ric of our con­gre­ga­tion. Gen­uine hos­pi­tal­ity begins with per­sonal con­nec­tions and these will be the heart of the Keruv men­tor­ing pro­gram. Our men­tors are here for you…whether you’re con­sid­er­ing or prepar­ing for con­ver­sion, are a new­comer to our com­mu­nity or if you’re an A. J. mem­ber who would like a warm, wel­com­ing hand.

We can help answer your Jew­ish “why’s, guide you through a ser­vice, share a Shab­bat meal, or be a buddy for a shul pro­gram. Our goal is to con­nect you with sin­gles, cou­ples and fam­i­lies with sim­i­lar ages and inter­ests. If you would like the hand of a men­tor, or per­haps you would like to lend your men­tor­ing hand, please con­tact one of the Keruv men­tors listed below.

Keruv Men­tor­ing Mavens

• Steve Evans — SSCPA@LTRoth.com 802‑8866
• Craig Fried­man — cjfriedman@insightbb.com 640‑4228
• Janet Hodes — JWHodes@aol.com 386‑4920
• Michelle Jones — Michellej@gmail.com 292‑9105
• Jacque­line Klein — Jklein@ParkerandKlein.com 802‑6752

Next time you’re at ser­vices or a shul pro­gram, look around to warmly wel­come others…we’re all part of the Keruv at Adath Jeshurun!

Rabbi Yehuda, in the name of the Rav, learns from the Gen­e­sis text that “[w]elcoming guests is greater than receiv­ing the Divine Pres­ence.” A later text by a medieval com­men­ta­tor, the Maharal, Rabbi Yehuda Loew of Prague, draws on the idea that all human beings are cre­ated in the image of God to con­clude that “[w]hen you wel­come a guest it is tan­ta­mount to hon­or­ing God.”

From Hope, Not Fear: A Path to Jew­ish Renais­sance by Edgar Bronf­man and Beth Zasloff