..as of August 1, 2020 we ALL are now members of Bnai Shalom. We are now a legally merged congregation.
Marc Abo and Harvey Cartine, Co-Presidents Bnai Shalom
Services may be in-person, live streaming, or via Zoom due to fewer Covid cases in our community.
Call in number is the same for all zoom events – 1–646–558–8656 unless otherwise stated. Call the office to register for Zoom credentials. To watch livestream go to
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfZItTXHDeWVl4t0XQtMRkg
Shabbat Services are 7:30 P.M. on September 1st, 8th, 22nd and 29th
Saturday morning Shabbat Service is 10:00 A.M. on September 2nd in person and streaming.
First day of Sukkot Services on Saturday, September 30th Service at 10:00 A.M.
Fri., Sept. 1 at 7:14 P.M.
Fri., Sept. 8 at 7:03 P.M.
Fri., Sept. 15 at 6:51 P.M.
Fri., Sept. 22 at 6:40 P.M.
Fri., Sept. 29 at 6:28 P.M.
Please make plans to join us at Bnai Shalom as we are blessed to have Cantors Jill Pakman and Dr. Bob Weiner leading our High Holy Day worship services this year. May we all we be written in book of life for a sweet, healthy, and prosperous New Year 5783.
Please make plans to join us at Bnai Shalom as we are blessed to have Cantors Jill Pakman and Dr. Bob Weiner leading our High Holy Day worship services this year. May we all we be written in book of life for a sweet, healthy, and prosperous New Year 5783.
1) You must present your ticket at the door for entry, and will be asked to show photo identification before being allowed to enter for services.
2) All in attendance must wear their name tag. This is a security mandate to help ensure everyone has been identified including friends and guests.
NOTE: Please be sure to return your name tag to the table by the entrance before you leave services.
1) If you have Covid or any other virus, do not attend services in person. The services will be streamed on the Bnai Shalom Easton PA YouTube channel.
2) Due to the rise of Covid cases, it is strongly recommended mask be worn while inside the building.
3) Some rows in the sanctuary will be designated as mask-mandatory rows. Masks must be worn in these rows.
This year at Congregation Bnai Shalom, we will be starting a beautiful new tradition during our Yom Kippur Yizkor service. There is a tradition when visiting our departed at in the cemetery to place stones on their headstones. While the origin for this is uncertain, there are a few explanations of why this is done. It is said these stones demonstrate the departed are not forgotten and remain in our hearts and minds. They are an expression of collective honor, care, and responsibility for those who have gone before. It is often said that a society can be best judged by what it does for those who can do the least for themselves. What better measure than how we care for our departed?
During Yom Kippur, we will be starting a new tradition where we will remember our departed through photos and stones. If you choose to participate, during the time between Rosh Hashanah and Kol Nidre, please bring in photo(s) of all family members and friends that you will be honoring during this service. Tables will be set up in Founders Hall to display these photos.
On Yom Kippur, each participant will be provided small river stones to represent each person being remembered. During the Yizkor service, each participant will be able to come up to the front of the bema with their stone(s) in hand to be dropped into a glass jar. The stones will ring out and let all present know our family and friends will always be with us in our hearts, our minds, and our souls for the coming year.
If you choose to bring in photo(s), please label the back with your name to ensure they are returned to you afterwards. Please contact Nancy Ebert (610-217-6798) if you have questions regarding this new tradition.
Break-The-Fast Dinner to follow immediately following the close of the last Yom Kippur service around 7:33 P.M. Save money and time by making plans now to please join Bnai Shalom Jewish community members as we break our Yom Kippur fast with a delicious meal following the end of services at 7:33 P.M. Reservations required by contacting the office by the posted deadline. Admission prices for Break-The-Fast dinner and more information will be posted soon.
Tickets available by calling the Bnai Shalom Office at (610) 258-5343
Friday, October 6 at 6:15 P.M. If you would like to join us for Shabbat dinner, please RSVP to Irene at 610-258-5343. We can host up to 14 people for dinner which takes place prior to Friday night services. Cost is $10 per person. This event is by reservation only. No walk-ins please.
MONTHLY CASH BINGO ON SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2023. Doors open at 12:15 P.M. Bingo starts at 1 P.M. 15 games and $400 Jackpot (NOT INCLUDED IN PACKAGE)- PLUS TWO SPECIALS PAYOUT 50/50 + TICKET GAME. Refreshments available, no outside food allowed. 2023 Bingo dates: 11/12; 12/10 (no game in October). Please call Howard Nathanson at 484-242-5840 before purchasing your items.
Thank you to dedicated set of volunteers each month. I ask you to consider helping to ensure we have enough people each month to run a successful game. Contact Howard N. if you can help or have questions.
Please join us Sunday, October 15th for a bus trip to the Leo Baeck Institute in New York City to experience the exhibit entitled “Unpacking Exile.” The Leo Baeck institute (LBI) is named for Rabbi Leo Baeck, the last leader of a once vibrant Jewish community under the Nazi regime to survive Theresienstadt. LBI was founded in 1955 by leading German Jewish emigre intellectuals determined to preserve the vibrant cultural heritage of German speaking Jewry that was nearly destroyed by the Holocaust.
The exhibit is based on the podcast, Exile, narrated by Mandy Patinkin. I encourage you to listen to the podcast prior to the trip in order to enrich your experience at the Institute. The exhibit tells the story of individuals forced to deal with the loss of home, culture, language, security, and family as the result of Nazi persecution. The exhibition presents eight stories through artifacts and documents, inviting us to touch and read all documents. We will sift through Florence Mendheim’s report as she infiltrated American Nazi groups, glimpse into Albert Einstein's life “drifting in the breeze with his lover,” view the photograph Kurt Kleinmann sent to a perfect stranger in New York and how their letters sparked a love affair, (my personal favorite) meet Eva Kellisch and learn how she became a radical. These intimate stories and more are available for us to enjoy and to reflect upon.
We will leave from Bnai Shalom at 8:45 a.m. on October 15, returning at 7:00 p.m. The cost of the trip is $36.00 per person including snacks. After our private docent tour of LBI, we will have lunch on our own and have time to enjoy the city. The Leo Baeck Institute is located at 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011, U.S.A. (212) 744-6400 or (212) 294-8340. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time. My number is 610–217–6798. Cordially, Nancy Ebert
Congregation Bnai Shalom is now interviewing for a settled (a permanent position) Rabbi.
If you would like to apply for this permanent position, please reach out to the Rabbi Search Committee to submit your full CV with qualifications, work history, along with references.
While the search continues, we find ourselves without a Rabbi or Cantorial coverage for July and August 2023. At a special executive session, the Board of Directors voted unanimously to hire Professor Robert Weiner to temporarily assist us with some day-to-day rabbinic responsibilities necessary to keep our congregation vibrant and thriving.
Bob, a Torah scholar, will conduct services July and August, as well as classes such as Torah on Tuesdays and Judaism for our Time. He will make hospital visits, congregant visits, assist Cantor Jill with Friday night Shabbat services, conduct Saturday morning Shabbat services, work with candidates interested in conversion classes, and will be available for congregant counseling. Bob and Cantor Jill will work as a team to provide meaningful High Holy Day services.
Bob will perform these responsibilities from July 1 through December 31, 2023. Should we be successful in contracting with a Rabbi prior to December 31st, the new Rabbi will assume all rabbinic responsibilities upon hire.
Please join me in welcoming Bob in this position.
Marc Abo
President
Join us for a fun night of baseball at the IronPigs Stadium in Allentown on Sunday, July 2nd - First pitch is 6:35 P.M. Tickets are $15 per person – no food included. If you are interested in attending, please contact the office to make your reservation by June 15th. We will sit together in the General Seating area. If you are in need of handicapped seating, please contact Nancy Ebert at 610-217-6798. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE! Photo by Frank Mitman.
Make your own kind of music, sing your own special song…
CBS Choir and Band
Music Rehearsal 7:00 P.M. on Tuesdays. ALL ages welcome. Please bring your instruments too!
Congregation Bnai Shalom will continue helping those in need by making the mitzvah of Tzedakah a regular feature. We will highlight charities each month in addition to helping Bnai Shalom. This form of social justice is a commitment that will continue to enrich those needing support and, in turn, enrich those who donate. Please send it to the attention of our secretary, Irene Kurpen at Bnai Shalom. She in turn will place the sealed donations into the Tzedakah Box. Under the auspices of Rabbi Melody and our accountant, there will be regular accounting and distribution of the funds. You, in turn, will receive a receipt of your donation. Since the beginnings of our previous congregations, we have been an integral part of the Easton community. Our logical focus will be to serve needy recipients in our community. If you have suggestions for our upcoming Tzedakah spotlight, please send them to Herb Woolf at: herbwoolf13@gmail.com.
Charity ptions for monthly donations:
1. The Easton Jewish community in support of Jewish Family Service’s 50 Acts of Kindness is collecting new children’s books to donate to ProJeCt of Easton. The books can be dropped off at Bnai Shalom from now until June 10th. Any questions please call Ellen Hof at 610-252-2131 or Susan Sosnow at 610-866-9941.
2. PRoJeCT of Easton's mission is to build a better community by helping people help themselves. 320 Ferry St, Easton, PA 18042
Visit PRoJeCT of Easton's website.
3. Safe Harbor’s mission is to foster lifelong success and stability in homeless men and women by addressing the root causes of their homelessness.
536 Bushkill Drive Easton, PA 180424. Tzedakah Box - Bnai Shalom (attention Irene Kurpen) 1545 Bushkill Street, PA 18042.
Congregation Bnai Shalom has served the Easton Jewish Community since 1839.
Congregation Bnai Shalom is a creative, inclusive congregation inviting ALL people to deepen their bonds to Judaism and to thrive in their personal journeys.
About our historyBoard Meeting 7:00 P.M. Wednesday, September 20, 2023 in person
Bnai's own Danny Cohen, Esquire (long term member and Eastonian community member) received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from Lafayette College on May 20, 2023. Mazel Tov to Danny Cohen and his family for this special honor and recognition from the historic college.
Michael Eiron received a Community Service Award from the United Federation of Teachers. Mazel Tov to Michael Eiron and his family for his special award in the service of education.
Make a one time and/or automatic monthly donation to Bnai Shalom with any major credit card. If you prefer the donation be allocated to a specific fund please contact the office. Unless specified, all donations will be deposited into the General Operating fund.
SERVING THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF EASTON SINCE 1839