Beit Tikvah

Kol Nidre / Erev Yom Kippur Service (virtual service)
2020-09-27 18:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York)
Kol Nidre / Erev Yom Kippur Service
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm on Zoom*
Service Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz
On the eve of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), we begin with the Kol Nidre prayer (“annulment of vows”) recited immediately prior to sunset. The Erev Yom Kippur Service that follows is the start of our journey of repentance and atonement, which will end at sunset the next day.

*This service is available BY RESERVATION ONLY.
You must send a Reservation Form to info@beittikvah.org by the day prior to this service if you would like to join us.
Please go to the High Holy Days 2020 page for forms and information.

Artistic Collage for Elul ('Collage Ha-nefesh') (virtual program)
2020-09-22 19:30 - 20:30
NOTE: This program is rescheduled from its original date (September 8).
Artistic Collage for Elul (‘Collage Ha-nefesh’)
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm on Zoom
Program Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz
This event will provide an opportunity to create a collage. Each person’s collage will represent their individual goals and journey. The hands-on creative process will deepen our reflections about our lives directions, past and future. A list of suggested materials will be provided, but many recycled household items can be used.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this free Zoom event. An art supplies list will be included with the Zoom link.

Rosh Hashanah Service (virtual service)
2020-09-19 10:00 - 11:30
Rosh Hashanah Service
10:00 am – 11:30 am on Zoom*
Service Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz

*This service is available BY RESERVATION ONLY.
You must send a Reservation Form to info@beittikvah.org by the day prior to this service if you would like to join us.
Please go to the High Holy Days 2020 page for forms and information.

Erev Rosh Hashanah Service (virtual service)
2020-09-18 19:30 - 20:30
Erev Rosh Hashanah Service
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm on Zoom*
Service Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz

*This service is available BY RESERVATION ONLY.
You must send a Reservation Form to info@beittikvah.org by the day prior to this service if you would like to join us.
Please go to the High Holy Days 2020 page for forms and information.

Selichot Service & Shofar Sounding (virtual service)
2020-09-13 11:00 - 12:00
Selichot Service & Shofar Sounding
11:00 am – 12:00 noon on Zoom
Service Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz
The Selichot service introduces and immerses us in some of the spiritual themes, traditional prayers and musical melodies of the season. It allows us to better feel and focus our yearnings and goals for personal growth and change. It is a traditional warm-up for the High Holy Day services themselves. We will end on the hopeful, traditional note of the shofar blast.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this free Zoom event.

Meditation/Reflection (virtual program)
2020-09-11 19:30 - 20:30
Meditation/Reflection
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm on Zoom
Program Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz
We will use guided meditation, brief chants, and periods of silence for this session. The activity is intended to deepen each person’s awareness of their own needs, goals, desires and fears, to better set goals for the new year ahead.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this free Zoom event.

The Shofar: Wake-Up Call for the Spirit (virtual program)
2020-09-04 19:30 - 20:30
The Shofar: Wake-Up Call for the Spirit
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm on Zoom
Service/Program Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz
Please join in for a short Friday evening service. It will include a study session and discussion about a variety of traditional and personal meanings for the shofar. The shofar is a key symbol for the High Holy Day season, and is said to awaken the soul to a sense of higher purpose. We will end this event with the blowing of the shofar.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this free Zoom event.

Music That Moves Your Soul (virtual program)
2020-09-01 19:30 - 20:30
Music That Moves Your Soul
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm on Zoom
Program Leaders: Ira May and Rabbi Doug Heifetz
Music provides a key entryway into the High Holy Day season for a great many Jews. Prayer melodies of the holidays can carry deep joy, yearning, trepidation and many other feelings and moods. Please join in for a session of listening and sharing of music, both secular and Judaic, that touches on the spirit and themes of the season.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this free Zoom event.

Study/Discussion: The Balanced Checkbook of the Soul (virtual program)
2020-08-28 19:30 - 20:30
Study/Discussion: The Balanced Checkbook of the Soul
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm on Zoom
Program Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz
The act of cheshbon hanefesh – balancing the checkbook of the soul – is the key spiritual work of the season. But it’s not easy. Confronting what we did, or didn’t do, over the past year can be hard. It can lead to feelings of hurt, guilt and self-judgment. But that is not the intention. The work should be liberating and self-affirming!
Please join us for a guided exercise within a supportive, affirmative environment. Participants will have the opportunity to share their thoughts or to keep them private, as desired.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this free Zoom event.

Discussion: The 'Divine Spark' (virtual program)
2020-08-25 19:30 - 20:30
Discussion: The ‘Divine Spark’
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm on Zoom
Program Leaders: Edna Garte and Rabbi Doug Heifetz
Many cultures have expressed a belief in the divine or universal in each person. In Judaism, that’s often called a ‘divine spark’. What does the idea of the ‘divine spark’ mean to you? Is it only at the ‘spiritual center’ of each person, or is it what we feel when we connect with each other and support each other’s insights? Or is it in nature itself?
Join us for a lively discussion and sharing of ideas. If there is a related poem, song, or visual image you’d like to share, you are welcome to bring it.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this free Zoom event.

Elul Service & Shofar Sounding (virtual service)
2020-08-21 19:30 - 20:30
Elul Service & Shofar Sounding
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm on Zoom
Service Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz
Join us for a Friday evening service celebrating the start of the month of Elul. Elul is the contemplative month which precedes Rosh Hashanah. During the service we will have a short guided meditation, aimed to help each of us start the process of soul searching and evaluating our lives’ directions. The service will also include the blowing of the shofar, the greatest symbol of the High Holy Day season ahead.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this free Zoom event.

National Refugee Shabbat (virtual service)
2020-08-07 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 pm National Refugee Shabbat
Service Leader: Debbie Badawi
Please join us for our National Refugee Shabbat. We will explore some history of refugees in the US and a few liturgical readings on being strangers in a strange land. Our discussion will touch on why this is a “Jewish” issue, what immigration means to us individually, and how we can take action to continue welcoming refugees.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this Zoom event.

Healing Service with Rabbi Doug Heifetz (virtual service)
2020-07-24 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 pm Shabbat Healing Service with Rabbi Doug Heifetz
Rabbi Doug leads a special Friday evening healing service dedicated to offering support and overcoming isolation during this time of pandemic. The service will fall during the week of Tisha B’Av, traditionally a mournful, commemorative holiday. The occasion calls us to notice the ways in which we may be feeling that our lives and our world are ‘broken’ and in need of healing.
For many of us, the feeling of brokenness right now comes from the conditions of the Coronavirus pandemic, from rampant racial inequality, and from other widespread societal ills. For others, the needs may be more personal. For all of us, though, the traditions of Tisha B’Av help to normalize the needs and isolation we’re likely feeling, and move us to find the opportunities of the moment.
We will be using our regular Shabbat prayerbook Shabbat Vehagim.pdf and a few additional prayers and chants. Rabbi Doug will share everything on the screen.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this Zoom event.

Unknown Worlds: Jews in Science Fiction & Fantasy (virtual discussion)
2020-07-14 19:00 - 20:00
7:00 pm Unknown Worlds: Jews in Science Fiction & Fantasy
D.H. Aire, guest speaker
Inspired by the stories of Jewish communities in places as varied as Ethiopia, Kaifeng in China, and the Bene Menasha of India, D.H. Aire sought out true, exaggerated, and invented stories with Jewish characters and themes — and not finding enough to his liking, began writing his own. He will talk of his own Jewish and Science Fiction & Fantasy (SF&F) journey, and about Jews in his favorite and not so favorite SF&F stories. We’ll end the Zoom meeting with questions and answers.
D.H. Aire is the author of the Highmage’s Plight and Terran Catalyst Series has published 19 books, with subtle or less than subtle Jewish themes and ideas. He is a member of SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) and has a degree in Judaic Studies. His most recent release is Nowhere to Go But Mars (a novella), a reverse Ellis Island immigrant experience tale. To learn more about him and his books visit his website at dhaire.net.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this Zoom event.

Artist Talk & Virtual Studio Visit - with Anna Fine Foer
2020-06-23 19:00 - 20:00
7:00 PM Artist Talk & Virtual Studio Visit – with Anna Fine Foer
Baltimore-based artist Anna Fine Foer constructs collage landscapes with scientific, political, meta-physical, and Jewish significance, depicting three or more dimensions on a two-dimensional plane.
With an academic background in fiber/crafts, she has worked as a textile conservator in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Washington, DC. Her work has been exhibited in the US and in Israel, including at the Maryland Governor’s Mansion as well as the Israeli Embassy. Anna’s artwork is in the permanent collection of the Haifa Museum of Art and the Beer-Sheva Biblical Museum.
Please join us for a virtual tour of Anna’s studio and a discussion with the artist.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this Zoom event.

Virtual discussion events are scheduled on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7pm. Please feel free to join over dinner, dessert, or drinks.

Shabbat Service for Juneteenth - "We're Still Here: Let's Eat!"
2020-06-19 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 PM Juneteenth Shabbat Service with Maria Markham Thompson
We’re Still Here: Let’s Eat!
Passover. August Monday. Juneteenth. How is emancipation remembered after the end of enslavement, even if the descendants are not “full-free”? Maria Markham Thompson will share her experiences celebrating emancipation in communities of Jews, West Indians, and African-Americans.
Join us for a special Shabbat service on Juneteenth, an annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth marks the date (June 19, 1865) following the end of the Civil War – and more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued – when the last enslaved people in Texas learned of their freedom.
We will be using a prayerbook in PDF format designed especially for this service. Please click here to open the prayerbook.

Please RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for this Shabbat service on Zoom.

Virtual Discussion Group: What Am I, Chopped Liver?: Jewish Food Folkways
2020-06-09 19:00 - 20:00
7:00 PM What Am I, Chopped Liver?: Jewish Food Folkways
These days, most of us are doing a lot of cooking at home. Are you cooking comfort food? Are you reaching back to the food of your ancestors? Using the free YIVO class: A Seat at the Table: A Journey Into Jewish Food as our starting point, we’ll discuss food memories, food folkways, and what you’re cooking and eating now. Please note: While this course has an emphasis on the Ashkenazi table, all food histories, memories, and current practices are welcomed.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org by Monday, June 8 if you’d like to join us for this discussion on Zoom.

Discussion Group meets virtually the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7pm. Please feel free to join over dinner, dessert, or drinks.

Shavuot Service with Rabbi Doug Heifetz - Online
2020-05-29 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 PM Shavuot Service with Rabbi Doug Heifetz
Shavuot – Guidance through the Wilderness
At Shavuot, we celebrate receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai. Our ancestors arrived at Mt. Sinai during their desert wandering, far from their familiar settings back in Egypt. As they journeyed through the unknown wilderness, Torah gave them a welcome new sense of direction. Most of us today, too, feel a similar sense of unfamiliarity as we wander through the ‘wilderness’ of life in a pandemic. Please join in on Zoom to seek and celebrate the voices of direction and discernment that can support and guide us during this critical time.
The online Shavuot service will include a brief Yizkor memorial.
Our Shavuot Digital Prayerbook, designed especially for this service, is available here to view or download in PDF format.

Please RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to join us for the Shavuot service on Zoom.

Virtual Discussion Group: It’s Unorthodox
2020-05-26 19:00 - 20:00
7:00 PM It’s Unorthodox
Did you view the four-episode Netflix series Unorthodox? Briefly, it centers on a young Satmar Hasidic woman in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who escapes the strict confines of her community and arranged marriage to find herself in Berlin. We’ll discuss our reactions to the series and explore how some others in the Jewish community have responded.

RSVP to info@beittikvah.org by Tuesday noon, May 26 if you’d like to join us for this discussion on Zoom.

Discussion Group meets virtually the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7pm. Please feel free to join over dinner, dessert, or drinks.

Virtual Discussion Group: The Jewish Stories of I.L. Peretz & A Related Folktale
2020-05-12 19:00 - 20:30
7:00 PM The Jewish Stories of I.L. Peretz & A Related Folktale
We’ll discuss three very short stories of I.L. Peretz, and, if time permits, a related folktale. The stories are charming and a bit profound. We’ll explore what thoughts and feelings these Yiddish stories evoke. We’ll send out the stories, background information, and a few questions to think about in an email. If you don’t have time to read these short stories, please join us anyway since we’ll share them in video and professional readings.

Email info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to attend this discussion, and we’ll send you the Zoom link.

Discussion Group meets virtually the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7pm. Please feel free to join over dinner, dessert, or drinks.

Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) Program - POSTPONED
2020-04-24 18:30 - 21:00
THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO A FUTURE DATE.

Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) Program
Our speaker is Uta Allers, who is a trainer, translator, and workshop leader in Germany and the U.S. She is a German gentile born during the Nazi era and the bombing raids during World War II. She describes her personal history in this way: “Since there was rubble all around her as a child, Uta had no reason to question the prevailing mindset that Germans were the victims of the war. When her family immigrated to Canada and she learned the truth about her country’s history of aggression and genocide, she spent decades struggling with shame and guilt. At some point, however, she realized she could be a bridge-builder across historical divides.” Join us for a fascinating presentation of her story and her work in building bridges of understanding and community.

Shabbat Service with Rabbi Doug Heifetz - CANCELLED
2020-04-11 10:00 - 13:00
10:00 AM Shabbat Service followed by Kiddush and a discussion
led by Rabbi Doug Heifetz — CANCELLED

National Refugee Shabbat - POSTPONED
2020-03-20 19:30 - 21:00
7:30 PM National Refugee Shabbat Service — POSTPONED

Shabbat Service with Rabbi Doug Heifetz
2020-03-07 10:00 - 13:00
10:00 AM Shabbat Service followed by Kiddush and discussion
led by Rabbi Doug Heifetz
The Purim – Yom Kippur Connection
The upcoming raucous, carnivalesque festival of Purim is said to be similar to Yom Kippur, the most somber holiday of the Jewish year. So says an ancient but persistent thread of Jewish commentary. Why are the two holidays compared? What do they have in common? We’ll explore the connection, and uncover one of the most stunning human insights from our tradition. We’ll discuss its relevance for society today, within and beyond the Jewish community.

Please bring a vegetarian or dairy dish to share at the Kiddush.

Kabbalat Shabbat Service
2020-02-21 19:30 - 21:00
7:30 PM Kabbalat Shabbat Service and discussion
Service leader: Miriam Winder Kelly
Parashat Mishpatim
This week’s parasha contains many laws and commandments given to the people of Israel in addition to the Ten Commandments in last week’s parasha. How relevant is the Torah’s system of checks and balances today? Can we govern ourselves so we can live life fully without infringing on others?

Oneg Shabbat following the service.
Please bring a vegetarian or dairy nosh to share.

Shabbat Service with Rabbi Doug Heifetz
2020-02-08 10:00 - 13:00
10:00 AM Shabbat Service followed by Kiddush and discussion
led by Rabbi Doug Heifetz
Tu Bishvat & The Wisdom of the Trees
Please join us for a study and discussion session about the meaning of the Tu Bishvat (New Year of the Trees) holiday. We will explore the importance of trees as a symbol of wisdom, growth, and balance. We will discuss how the celebration and its symbols inspire us to care for the environment and protect the inhabitants of the earth.

Please bring a vegetarian or dairy dish to share at the Kiddush.

Kabbalat Shabbat Service
2020-01-31 19:30 - 21:00
7:30 PM Musical Kabbalat Shabbat Service.
Service leader: Nina Storch

Oneg Shabbat following the service.
Please bring a vegetarian or dairy nosh to share.

The Jewish Book Thing
2020-01-28 17:00 - 18:30, 2020-01-27 19:45 - 21:45, 2020-01-26 16:30 - 18:00
The Jewish Book Thing at Congregation Beit Tikvah
Sunday January 26th, 4:30 – 6:00pm
Monday January 27th, 7:45 – 9:45pm
Tuesday January 28th, 5:00 – 6:30pm

When Hope Sigler, a lay Torah reader at Congregation Beit Tikvah, passed away at the age of 44, she donated her extensive collection of hundreds of Jewish books to the community she belonged to and loved. It was her desire that these books be read.
Unfortunately, due to a planned renovation at the Roland Park Community Center where Beit Tikvah is housed, we will be forced to eliminate our library. Whether you are a lifelong Jew, new to Judaism, or just exploring, this is an opportunity to take one book or several, with the understanding that they will be read and enjoyed.
Bring your own bags or boxes to carry out the treasures you find.
Financial contributions based on your ability to pay will be graciously accepted.
For more information or questions, email info@beittikvah.org.
