January 23, 2025

Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),

This has been quite a week. Martin Luther King Jr. Day coincided with Inauguration Day this past Monday for a rare overlap amid brutally cold temperatures. Here in South Palm Beach County, it has been unusually wet, gray, and chilly. So chilly, in fact, that I just bought four more bales of wood for my fireplace – rarely used here in Boca, but truly appreciated this week! Of course, the most significant moment of the week took place on Sunday with the safe return of three Israeli hostages from Gaza. They are finally back where they belong: home with their loved ones. We pray for the continued safe releases of hostages during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement and for the eventual return of all 91 remaining hostages.

Here at the Adolph & Rose Levis JCC, we continue to be a hub of activity. On Wednesday, the Phyllis & Harvey Sandler Center’s Nina & Martin Rosenzweig West Boca Theatre Company’s third production wrapped up, and our incredible team is preparing for the next production, My Name is Asher Lev, which opens Sunday, February 2nd. We also concluded the Judi & Allan Schuman Museum Gallery’s exhibition Hues, Optics & Texture: An Exploration in Fiber and Glass, featuring the works of talented artists Andrea Huffman, Leslie J. Klein, and Adrienne Geffen. Andrea Huffman will return to the Levis JCC tomorrow for a hands-on collage workshop, giving participants the opportunity to join the Mosaic Project exhibition and become gallery artists themselves. Our Sandler Center is at the height of its incredible season, and I hope you’ll join us for one (or more!) of the many wonderful programs we offer.

This week’s Torah portion holds a very dear place in my heart as it was my Bar Mitzvah portion. It is Va’era (And I Appeared), the second portion in the book of Exodus, the second in the five books of Moses. In it, G-d reveals Himself to Moses and promises to free the Israelites from slavery, introducing us to the “four expressions of redemption.” (1) Take the Children of Israel from Egypt, (2) deliver them from their enslavement, (3) redeem them with miracles, and (4) welcome them as His own chosen people at Mount Sinai. Only after these events will G-d bring the Israelites to the land He promised to the Patriarchs as their eternal heritage.

The Torah portion feels especially relevant this week, as we celebrate the return of three members of “our family” to that very land after a year and half in captivity in Gaza. Their return brings both joy and pain as we remember their captivity and the profound losses we endured during Hamas attacks and the ensuing war. May we all know only happiness from this day forward.

Light candles Friday night at 5:39 pm
Shabbat ends on Saturday night at 6:34 pm

Shabbat Shalom
Am Yisrael Chai!

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Marty