Dear Friends,Life seems to be moving at an accelerated pace these days. So it behooves us at this special time of the year to take a 
moment, take a breath, slow down, and re-connect to the values we hold dear in our lives.May this be a sweet year. We pray the prayer that has been uttered since the dawn of civilization - may this be a year of peace in the world. May there be peace in Israel, in our nation, in our communities, in our homes and our hearts. Ken yehi ratzon.Carole and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones L'Shanah Tovah.Shalom,Marty
Bio for Rabbi Mark S. Shapiro
Rabbi Mark Shapiro will be leading our 5770 (2009) High Holiday services.Mark Shapiro is a Chicago-born Reform rabbi who served Congregation BJBE in Glenview, Illinois, a congregation of 1,000 families, for 38 years until his retirement in 2000.He is a graduate of the University of Chicago, to which he has returned as an adult student for the past six years. He was ordained at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 1960.Rabbi Shapiro continues to mentor rabbinic students and has inspired some 25 young people from his congregation to become rabbis,
cantors, and Jewish educators. He has created “Searcher’s Groups,” an approach to study and community building within synagogues.He and his wife Hanna have led many groups to Israel and also to Eastern Europe, Turkey and Spain They also visited and brought Jewish supplies to refuseniks in the Soviet Union in ’82.Rabbi Shapiro loves teaching adults(and believes it is vice-versa too) and has served as faculty on Elder Hostels.He served as a part time hospice chaplain 2005-2008Rabbi Shapiro has served Congregation Kona Beth Shalom as their High Holyday rabbi on three occasions , and once returned for Purim. He also served the congregation in Juneau Alaska for two High Holydays . This makes him especially expert in states which have more recently joined the Union.The Shapiros have three sons, two daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren whose skills and good looks cannot be described in such a short document.
High Holiday Greetings from Rabbi Mark
When people hear that Hanna and I are going to Hawaii for the High Holydays, they chuckle with a shade of envy. “Boy, Rabbi, you fell into a great gig again" (we had a gig on the Big Island for three years).But when we had a gig in Juneau for two years, we got a different reaction. “Juneau? Why Juneau? Are you a masochist?”Nope, neither a hedonist nor a masochist. Just a retired rabbi and spouse, looking to find Jews in the newer states of the union with whom to celebrate the 5,770th birthday of the world . And the experience, no matter the weather, has been remarkably the same.Rosh Hashana is considered by our people to be the birthday of the world. Our logical side certainly agrees that this planet and the cosmos are much older than that, So 5770 stands for whatever the unknown beginning was.A midrash asks “So, was the first day of creation Rosh Hashana?” It seems like the simplest of questions. And it answers “No, the 6th day was Rosh Hashana,” And that confusing answer comes to teach us that the world didn’t really start until the creation of human beings. And that was on day six”So God didn’t just want a world. He wanted it with us, to care for it, nurture it, learn from it, and perfect ourselves. It’s OUR birthday—a time, like most birthdays to figure out what we could be and should be.Let’s celebrate with that in mind. But don’t try to blow out the candles without all the rest of us helping you.Hanna and I are looking forward to meeting many of you in the coming days.Sincerely,Rabbi Mark Shapiro
August/September Newsletter
High Holidays
We have posted our schedule of High Holiday services on the community events calendar. Please have a look at it.All services will take place at St. Michael's Church in Lihue, unless otherwise noted.This year, Rabbi Mark Shapiro will lead us in prayer and song. Please let us know if you would like to participate in a leadership role. Readers in English and Hebrew, opening and closing the ark, carrying the Torah, greeting visitors, and many other roles are available for honoring our traditions.Membership DuesPlease Commit to Action."Unless commitment is made, there are only promises but no plans." Peter Drucker"Great organizations demand a high level of commitment by the people involved." Bill Gates"Commitment turns a promise into reality with words that speak boldly of your intentions and actions that speak louder than words." Steve Brunkhorst.Have you made your commitment to our community? We need YOU in order to be able to continue our commitment to perpetuating Jewish traditions on Kaua'i.Dues are now due!