On the Road with the Confirmation Class trip!
The Confirmation class trip was held on Sunday, Feb. 16 and Monday Feb. 17 with three of our Confirmation class students: Chloe Dollins, Ezra Kamras and Emma Wallach. Rabbi Salston, Ramona Brand and teacher Nophar Yarden chaperoned the trip.
This was an inaugural weekend event for our Confirmands and the first Confirmation class trip for several years. The trip included numerous locations of Jewish interest and experience. We visited the Lillian and Albert Small Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., toured the University of Maryland campus, enjoyed ice cream at Maryland Dairy, a campus creamery that serves Kosher ice-cream.
The group dined with college students at the UMD Hillel on that evening. Home hospitality was provided by Rabbi Marc and Abby Israel of Congregation Tikvah Israel in Rockville and a congregant family. The next morning, we attended minyan at Tikvat Israel.
Each of the three students participated in the service, Emma had an Aliyah, Ezra did the Hagbah and Chloe dressed the Torah. Then we visited Sunflower Bakery, a Jewish-owned business that employs/trains persons with disabilities.
After that we visited the Josiah Henson Museum in Rockville – a former plantation from which Josiah Henson escaped. In his later years he wrote his memoir that prompted the writing of the book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
We also visited Kugler’s Home Goods and wrapped up our trip with a delicious lunch at a Kosher Israeli restaurant. Adults and students alike had a wonderful time. But don’t just take my word for it, here is some of what two of our Confirmands had to say.
Chloe: This was my first time leaving home on my own, and I can say now that I’m so glad I decided to go on this trip. I am thankful for having been given the opportunity to learn about the experiences of other Jews, and for getting to see a glimpse of the past through the exhibits of the museums we visited.
Having ice cream and a small tour at the University of Maryland was not only enjoyable, but also informative, and the students of the college that I met at Hillel were very kind. I was able to meet a computer science major, a field that I, myself am interested in, and was given advice for the future; something I appreciate a lot. Though windy weather posed a slight inconvenience, the host family was extremely welcoming, and I had a lot of fun playing games and petting their dog.
The morning temple service was sweet; I’m glad to have been a part of it, and the bakery visit afterward was even sweeter with their delicious kosher pastries. During the trip, we also visited a store where a mikvah could be found, and it was very neat getting to see Rabbi wash her new knife in the waters to welcome it into her home.
Our final stop at a kosher restaurant for lunch was also fun, as the chefs were not only upbeat and made amazing authentic foods, but they were also very generous and kind, giving free samples to those waiting in line, and even drawing pictures of some people just to make their day. Overall, the trip was interactive, educational, and fun, and I would definitely go again.
Ezra: I really enjoyed my confirmation trip because I got to see a whole different side of the Jewish Community than I had previously experienced.
For example, we were able to go to a Middle Eastern food spot where the employees were actively speaking Hebrew, a hardware store with a Mikvah and an active and extremely gracious Hillel at the University of Maryland.
I grew up in D.C. being an active part of the Jewish community, but I moved at eight. I was able to truly learn about the Jewish community of the Washington, D.C., due to visiting the Capital Jewish Museum. Overall, the experience was great and really showed how much of the Jewish community I have yet to see and the incredible hospitality of Jews all around America.
A Better Together Shabbat
On Saturday, March 1, teens and elders from our Better Together program gathered in our sanctuary to participate in our Better Together Shabbat. There was an air of anticipation as the morning began.
The group had been preparing for this service during the previous Better Together Sunday programs, studying the weekly Parsha, Terumah and writing the D’var that they would give during the service.
Additionally, the group sponsored the weekly Kiddush, even baking two delicious Kugels that were devoured during lunch. Terumah was the perfect parsha for the group to be collectively writing as all the participants brought their best gifts forward in creating this commentary together.
Better Together is a program developed by a well-respected national foundation and we gratefully acknowledge their support.
Better Together D’var: Parshat Terumah
March 1, 2025
Good morning and Shabbat Shalom. This week we read Parshat Terumah. The word Terumah means ‘gifts’. In Parshat Terumah, G-d instructs Moses to collect gifts from the Israelites in order to build a Tabernacle so that G-d can dwell among the people. Two things struck our class as significant: the gifts, and G-d’s dwelling.
Why does G-d tell us to build a tabernacle “so that G-d may dwell among them,” as if G-d is limited to one space? We all know from our prayers that the whole Earth is filled with G-d’s glory. G-d even says through the prophet Isaiah (66:1), “the heavens are my throne, the earth is my footstool; what kind of house can you build for me?” And yet, here G-d is, telling us in great detail exactly what kind of house we can build for G-d, down to the type of wood to use and how many cubits wide it should be! So why, if G-d is everywhere, do we need to build a super fancy tabernacle for G-d to dwell among us?
G-d clearly doesn’t need the tabernacle for G-d’s own sake. So it must be that, like all of the directions G-d gives us, the tabernacle is really for our sake, as an important part of upholding our Jewishness. The tabernacle is for us, the Jewish people, to remind us about G-d’s holiness. G-d is always holy, but people have to work hard to be holy. When we’re at school, or at home, or hanging out with our friends, it’s easier to focus on what is directly in front of us than it is to constantly remember G-d’s law. But when going to a specific place dedicated to prayer or holiness, like synagogue, or for the ancient Israelites, the Tabernacle and then the Temple, it is much easier to enter that mindset, to think about G-d’s word, to work towards holiness. The tabernacle gives us space to separate the mundane from the holy. Worshipping at the tabernacle, or synagogue, is like worshipping on Shabbat. During Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday night we welcome Shabbat with the song L’cha Dodi. The first line of the first verse says: שָׁמוֹר וְזָכוֹר בְּדִבּוּר אֶחָד, Shamor v’zachor b’dibur echad,” meaning “Guard and Remember in a single Command”.
Shamor means to guard Shabbat in all the ways we observe it, and the extension of this command is the idea that we ‘build a fence around the Torah”. G-d’s instruction to Moses, for the Israelites to build the Mishkan surrounded by the fence of fine wood and linen is the physical embodiment and a visual reminder to guard the Torah and Shabbat. Shabbat ceremonies give us a container to separate the holy day from the regular week – the tabernacle gave us a holy space to separate from everywhere else. During the rest of the week, in all the other spaces we move through, we are not less Jewish or less obligated to follow G-d’s law. But having a holy day and a holy space gives us the opportunity to let go of the things that occupy our brains on other days and in other spaces, and really focus on our spirituality. When G-d commands the Israelites to build the tabernacle so that G-d may dwell among “them”, meaning among us, G-d is not referring to G-d’s own ability to move on Earth, but our ability to let G-d dwell in our minds and our lives.
Okay, so we have figured out why G-d wants us to build a tabernacle, but why does G-d want us to build it in such a specific way? First, G-d asks the Israelites to bring gifts “of any kind from any person whose heart moves them in a giving way.” This implies that donations should not simply be the “most” one can give, but a meaningful gift from the heart. The prerogative is not rooted in quantity, but quality; one should not expect the poor man or woman to donate as much or as comfortably as the rich man or woman, they can donate what can be spared, and that is what is significant; the heart of the mitzvah is in the meaning of the donations. But then, in a conflicting sentiment, G-d asks for very specific, ornate decorations for the Ark from precious metals and luxurious wood. How can G-d demand gifts tied to wealth, when G_d just asked for meaningful gifts of any kind? Doesn’t that contradict the idea that and giving itself is what’s important? G-d gives us free will, like in making donations of our choosing that feel important to us, but also demands reverence and respect of G-d’s law, shown by asking for precious and specific gifts.
The tenses in which this is written feel important here as well. G-d asks for gifts of any kind from “any person,” but when giving specific instructions for ornate building materials, is asking the Israelite people as a whole. The implication here is that G-d does not want individuals to give beyond their means; it is more important that the community as a whole be able to follow G-d’s instruction. We can’t always all individually live up to all expectations, but with the support of a community, we can all build great and beautiful things together. Shabbat Shalom
Young Family Shabbat: Friday, Saturday, April 5:
Enjoy a musical Shabbat with Rabbi Rachel Salston and Ramona Brand.
Songs, stories, movement and more engage the littles and parents alike. A Family friendly breakfast or dinner is served directly after services with time for socializing with friends. A fun-filled service designed for the wiggles.
Date: Saturday, April 5/ Monthly Theme: Freedom! – Mi Chamocha! Let’s cross the Red Sea Together
Enjoy a lively 30-minute service followed by family friendly dinner or muffin breakfast.
Location: Temple Beth-El, 3330 Grove Ave. / Okun Chapel
Breakfast is complimentary but kindly RSVP for dinner to Ramona at r.brand@bethelrichmond.org
Young Family Shabbat alternates between Friday nights and Saturday mornings.
See the remaining 2025 schedule below:
Saturday, April 5 / Friday, May 3 / Saturday, June 7
April/ May Religious School Calendar
April:
Sundays: April 6 & 27 / 9 a.m. – noon/ grades Pre-K through 10
Wednesdays: April 23, 30 / 4:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m./ grades 3-7
May:
Sunday, May 4
Pre-K meets April 6, April 27 & May 4
Better Together meets April 6, April 27 & May 4
6th Grade Family Learning meets April 27
A few more photos from Purim Celebration at Religious School
