Worship
Prayer is a language that each of us speaks and hears in a different way. When we pray together, we try to find meaning within the chorus of diverse voices. With his engaging sermons and stimulating teachings, our Rabbi shows us how the lessons from the past are relevant to our lives today.
Our services are fully egalitarian (men and women participate equally). We believe we have found a healthy balance between the traditional and the creative. We use both traditional and contemporary melodies. People who attend vary from those with Orthodox backgrounds to Jews by choice.
Shabbat
When most people think of holidays, they think of annual celebrations, but in Judaism there is one holiday that occurs every week - the Sabbath. Known in Hebrew as Shabbat and in Yiddish as Shabbos, this holiday is central to Jewish Life. As the great Jewish writer, Adad Ha-Am has observed: "More than the Jewish people has kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept the Jewish people." The Sabbath truly has been a unifying force for Jews the world over.
At the Sandhills Jewish Congregation, we celebrate Shabbat together as a community on the third Friday of every month with Rabbi Ruth in the sanctuary which is also available via Zoom. Periodically, we also offer lay led services and potluck Shabbats. Visit our Event Calendar below.
Transportation for Seniors for High Holidays and Shabbat services is available thanks to a generous grant from the Carolina Foundation for Jewish Seniors (CFJS).
Security will be provided at all High Holidays services, Shabbat Services and during Religious School and any Temple event.
Shabbat Service Welcoming New Members
Holidays
Time is essential to all of us. Our lives depend on it. We wake up according to it. We fall asleep by it. We know when to work, when to rest, when to eat, when to play - all based on what time it is.
Shabbat Service
Shabbat Service
If you are not an active Member of the Congregation and wish to attend one of our services, you must reserve your attendance in advance. We welcome anyone visiting the area and potential temple members. Contact Amy Walters at (301) 229-9656 or aswalters101@gmail.com.
Celebrating Sukkot
Rabbi Ruth High Holiday
You would not think of time as having religion. But it does. The "outside" world operates according to a secular (or Roman) calendar. It is a system of non-Jewish time. All of which implies there must be Jewish time. Of course! Jews have always operated according to a sense of Jewish time. Thus, a Jewish day begins at sunset, not midnight. New Year's is not January I. it is 1 Tishri (Rosh Hashanah). It is not the weekend. It is the start of Shabbat. A significant aspect of this unique time clock is the Jewish holidays. The holidays power our sense of time. Shabbat means the end of a week. Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of a new year. Hanukah marks the dark days of winter. Sukkot tells us the fall harvest has arrived. In this sense, the holidays have played an important role in our communal lives.
However, there is another function of the holidays - one to which our continuance as a covenant community is indebted. For the Jewish people, holidays have been the frame within so much of family memories are made. Whether it is food (latkes on Hanukah or matzah on Passover) or festivities (Purim carnivals and Tu B’Shevat seders) or a combination (break-the-fast after Yom Kippur or building a sukkah and eating in it on Sukkot), holidays and their traditions play a significant role in developing and maintaining the Jewish psyche.
A wonderful beginning resource on the various Jewish holidays and their meanings can be found at reformjudaism.org. You may reach by clicking here.
The Sandhills Jewish Congregation at Beth Shalom observes all the major holidays of our tradition. For a schedule of holidays, as well as how our community observes them, please click on Event Calendar at the bottom of the Home Page.
Life Cycle Events
Community has the privilege of participating in one another’s lives. We welcome new lives through birth. We celebrate marriage. We confront illness and loss. We do these things together, and knowing that we are not alone instills that sense of family we cherish. We will assist members with all life cycle events, such as baby namings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, funerals, and unveilings. Each event is personalized to meet the needs of each family. If you would like to include a Life Cycle Event listed in our monthly newsletter, please send an email to Newsletter@sandhillsjewishcongregation.com.
Baby Naming
Yahrzeit
The word ‘Yahrzeit’ is Yiddish and is translated to mean “time of year.” In Judaism, there is a focus on carrying on the memory of those before us from generation to generation. Based on Jewish law, the Yahrzeit is the day one year following the death of a loved one as calculated in accordance with the Hebrew calendar. This remembrance is performed annually by reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish and burning a Yahrzeit candle for 24 hours. Traditionally, the observance begins on the anniversary of the Hebrew date of death and the candle is lit at sunset. When a death occurs after sunset, the following day is used to observe the Yahrzeit.
We send monthly reminders to members of our Congregation to remind them of an upcoming Yahrzeit. Members that make temple donations, typically in increments of $18, will have their Yahrzeit contribution listed in the temple newsletter. For a complete list of all the Yahrzeits, please click on the Yahrzeit link in the Member Portal.
You are invited and encouraged to let us know the name and Yahrzeit of your beloved ones who have departed from us. We will honor their memory by announcing their name at our synagogue during services. May you be comforted among all the mourners of Israel. Yahrzeit plaques are available with a donation of $250.00.
Cemetery
Pinelawn Memorial Park has established a designated garden for all members of Sandhills Jewish Congregation. Grave sites and columbarium niches are available at fixed prices negotiated by the Chevra Kadisha Committee of SJC. For further information, contact Karl Ecker at (910) 295-6988 or oneteebear@gmail.com.