Shmoozeletter February 2004

Do you realize what would happen if Moses were alive today? He'd come down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments and spend the next five years trying to get them published.

The Havurat Olam Shmoozeletter

Friday Night Services - Á la Ladino

Mix Spanish and Hebrew, and you've got the Ladino, the language of the Sephardic Jewish community. And what a combination: passion and devotion. Since this month's services are scheduled for Friday, February 13, a traditional time for noting our human capacity to love and be loved, we'll include one or two samples of the music of the Sephardic, Ladino-speaking community in our service. Please join us, and we'll make some beautiful religious music together. Havurat Olam welcomes you and your Jewish and Interfaith families at our Friday night services. Services are followed by an Oneg Shabbat. Please bring a little something to nosh and the time it takes to shmooze a little. We will meet at the centrally located and fully accessible St. James Lutheran Church in Concord, which is situated on the corner of Corban and Union. Enter the parking lot from Corban, and come in through the back entrance. Walk down the short hall and turn left. We will meet in the classroom on the left.

Please arrive by 6:45 p.m. Services begin at 7:00 p.m. and last one hour or less.

Until such time as we have a budget and have collected dues, we are charging $3 per person (children included) to cover basic costs of the facilities. We have a few extra prayer books on hand for guests, but those who plan to attend regularly should purchase one or more. Please contact our Religious Services Coordinator, Brian Cutler, if you are in need of a copy of our beautiful siddur, Likrat Shabbat.

And folks, it would help us so much if you could RSVP and let us know if you plan to attend!

And Haman was a wicked, wicked man...

PLEASE NOTE: Our Purim Party has been scheduled for March 7, at 5:30. We plan on dinner and a dramatic reading of the whole Megillat Esther. Want to join in on the fun? Here's what's required:

Event:	Purim Party
Date:	March 07, 2004
Time:	5:30 p.m.
Location:	Central United Methodist Church in Concord. (30 Union Street N, Concord, one block north of downtown, and directly across from the Cannon Public Library.)

Shalom from the Olamettes!

The Olamettes have scheduled their next monthly meeting for March 21st. Here's a new twist, ladies (literally). Each meeting from here on out includes half-an-hour to one hour of ethnic dance lessons from our genuinely Middle Eastern roots. And, according to historical traditions, women are learning and dancing for and with one another. No menfolk over the age of ten allowed! (Sorry, guys.)

But before we dance, we'll discuss. Our main concern next meeting will be making sure everyone has a place for a seder at Passover. Please join us, ladies.

For any questions, contributions, or suggestions please email our Olamettes Guru, Maxine Fairchild.

Speaking of Sinai

Please start thinking about what Havurat Olam can do for you and what you can do for Havurat Olam at Pesach. If you are willing to host guests at your seder table, please let us know. If you need a place to go, please let us know.

The sooner the better, of course, although we will send out a separate email as Passover gets closer to us.

Passover is a beloved holiday. Let us please make certain we all have guests at our table or a place at someone else's, shall we?

The First Cabarrus County Jewish Film Festival Begins this Month

Folks, let's all bless our adult programming coordinator, Joel Nachmann, who has arranged for our film festival to open on February 28 at the Harrisburg Town Hall. We'll start with a comedy: The Frisco Kid, with Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks. No need to bring munchies; Havurat Olam will get out to the right places and provide coffee, cake, and such for our post-film shmooze time and discussion. We will ask for a $5 per couple donation to cover costs. (That's $2.50 per adult being.)

Kids at - or over - bar mitzvah age are welcome to join us to see this particular film, though some future offerings may be limited to our adult population. A taste of what's in store? Possibilities include Focus, a dramatic film that deals with anti-Semitism in Brooklyn during World War II, and The Quarrel, which portrays the discussion of two Holocaust survivors. We won't forget a little Woody Allen, so no worries are to be indulged in on that score.

Time to stop reading and start typing: RSVP. We’d like to find out when we can expect to see your smiling faces.

Event:	Friday Night Services
Date:	February 13, 2004
Time:	7:00 p.m. (arrive 6:45)
Location:	St. James Lutheran Church 104 Union St. S, Concord NC

Event:	Jewish Film Festival
Date:	February 28, 2004
Time:	7:30 p.m.
Location:	Harrisburg Town Hall: located in the town hall shopping center off Highway 49 South.