January 2026

Welcome 2026! Another flip of the calendar with lots of things going on here at Temple Emanu-El! Here are two that are extra special to me: the choir singing and Cabaret.

Cabaret Night is around the corner! If you are interested in participating on Saturday, February 7, please come on Sunday, January 11, from 12:30 – 3:00 to stop by and present your act.  It doesn’t need to be perfect. It does help us to place your act.  You’ll have 5 minutes from the time you step up on the stage to the end of  your song, dance, poetry reading, comedy act,skit, etc.  Please send an email to Armi Rowe or me, or call me at Temple Emanu-El, and let us know you’ll be there.  Looking forward to seeing you there.

Rosh Chodesh will be on January 15, at 1:00 in the Sanctuary.

On Friday, January 30, the Temple Emanu-El Choir will be singing for our Kabbalat Shabbat Service.  This will be Shabbat Shirah, the “Sabbath of Song”.  Jeff Elkin and I will be chanting  Shirat Hayam, the Song of the Sea, Mose’s song, which tells the story of the splitting of the Reed Sea. It is found in the Torah portion, B’shallach, Exodus, chapter 15.  After fleeing Egypt, the Israelites come to the shore of the Yam Suf, the Reed Sea, as the Egyptian Charioteers are coming up behind them ready to take the Israelites back to Egypt.  G*d tells Moses to raise his arms and the sea parts!  The Israelites are able to cross to the other side before the Egyptian Charioteers catch them. I remember watching the movie The 10 Commandments on TV when I was a kid. I loved when the Reed Sea parted and we were saved! The 18 verses of the story are not only written differently in the Torah Scroll, to reflect the Israelites walking through the Reed Sea, but they are chanted in an interesting way. The parts of the story where G*d’s name appears are chanted with a different melody than the rest of the story, which is read with traditional Torah Cantillation. We add verses 19-22, which includes Miriam picking up her timbrel and leading the people in song and dance.  I hope you will join us for that very Special Shabbat.

May the Divine Source help us to work towards  turning fear into love, love into Social Action, and Social Action into peace.

B’shir,

Hazzan Sherry