Beit Tikvah

Virtual Discussion Group: What Am I, Chopped Liver?: Jewish Food Folkways
2020-06-09 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York)
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Kol Nidre / Erev Yom Kippur Service (virtual service)
2020-09-27 18:30 - 19:30
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.

Yom Kippur Morning & Yizkor Service (virtual service)
2020-09-28 10:00 - 12:00
Yom Kippur Morning & Yizkor Service
10:00 am – 12:00 noon on Zoom*
Service Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz
Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Please join us for our Morning (Shacharit) Service followed by our Yizkor Service. During the Yizkor Service, we will read aloud the names of those being remembered in this year’s Yizkor (Memorial) Book.

*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.

Yom Kippur Ne'ilah Service & Shofar Sounding (virtual service)
2020-09-28 18:00 - 19:00
Yom Kippur Ne’ilah Service & Shofar Sounding
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm on Zoom*
Service Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz
Ne’ilah is the concluding service of Yom Kippur. It is the time when final prayers of repentance are recited as the sun begins to set. At the end of the service, we hear the sound of the final shofar blast.

*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.

Shemini Atzeret / Simchat Torah Service (virtual service)
2020-10-09 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 pm Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah Service with Rabbi Doug Heifetz

Find Joy in Vulnerability – Many of our seasonal holiday traditions emphasize vulnerability. The sukkah is a permeable, feeble structure, reminding us of our vulnerability to the elements and our dependence on the natural environment, on other people and on the universe in general. At Shemini Atzeret, Jews pray for rain – again marking our dependency on our natural environment and our vulnerability to forces beyond ourselves. How does this theme strengthen the emotion of joy (simcha) which is so essential at Simchat Torah? How can we find joy during a time of widespread vulnerability? Come discuss and celebrate.

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

Fantasy & Science Fiction Shabbat -- Service and Discussion (virtual program)
2020-10-23 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 pm Fantasy & Science Fiction Shabbat Program — Service followed by a Discussion
Service Leader: Miriam Winder Kelly
Discussion Leader: D.H. Aire
Come for an abbreviated Friday evening Shabbat Service, and stay for a discussion of a Fantasy & Science Fiction story.
The story is by James Morrow, a novelist and short story writer, who has won several awards for his fiction, including a Nebula Award for Best Short Story. Tonight we’ll discuss his “Bible Stories for Adults #37: The Jawbone” which is a very VIOLENT retelling of the Samson story from an unusual perspective.
Click here for the story, made available with the permission of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. (Note: Please read the story before the discussion or you will not understand the context.)
The discussion will be led by D.H. Aire, a member of Science Fiction Writers of America and an author of twenty books, many of which are in his Highmage’s Plight series. Mr. Aire has a degree in Judaic Studies and has conducted Shabbat services and Torah Studies at Balticon over the last ten years.

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

Kabbalat Shabbat Service and Post-Election Self-Care (virtual service)
2020-11-13 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service and Post-Election Self-Care
Service Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz
Guest Leader: Arlene J.M. Grant, Esq.
Join us for a “special edition” of our traditional service. This service will include a post-election introduction to Self-Care: Cleanse Your Cache™ led by Arlene J.M. Grant, who is an activist, artist, and attorney in the Baltimore area. The Self-Care experience will include a video meditation, guided meditation, and creative expression (you can choose to journal, sketch, etc.). Self-Care helps you to manage your reaction to stress; maintain health and wellness; and realize success in personal and professional commitments.

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

Kabbalat Shabbat Human Rights Service (virtual program)
2020-12-04 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Human Rights Service
Service Leader: Rabbi Doug Heifetz
Guest Speaker: Philip Leaf, Ph.D.
Please join our annual Human Rights Shabbat honoring International Human Rights Day 2020. We will focus on “Health Care is a Human Right.” In addition to our Shabbat prayers, our service includes: a Special Report on Local Community Healing and Hunger Relief from Philip Leaf, Ph.D., who is our local activist involved in providing hunger relief; a brief text study on health care in Jewish sources; and related comments on Self-Care as Health Care from our Avodah/Worship Team Leader, Arlene J.M. Grant, Esq.

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

Chanukah Yarning Circle (virtual program)
2020-12-13 17:00 - 18:00
5:00 pm Chanukah Yarning Circle
Led by Miriam Winder Kelly and Arlene J.M. Grant
Please join our first Chanukah Yarning Circle. Our service opens with simultaneous menorah candle lighting, blessings, singing Ma’oz Tzur, and prayers for healing. We continue with our participants sharing personal stories of inspiration (1 to 3 minutes in length) using songs, poems, recipes, and fun memories to offer light in the midst of darkness. Our program ends with a self-care healing reflection. Come share your story, ignite your flame, and “Let There Be Light!”

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

Kabbalat Shabbat Service with Rabbi Doug Heifetz (virtual service)
2021-01-15 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service with Rabbi Doug Heifetz
“My Legs Were Praying”
(quote from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel)
This Shabbat, just before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, provides a great opportunity to reflect on the legacy of the civil rights struggle, the progress, and the many steps that remain incomplete. We will read and discuss some select writings of Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of the most visible Jewish religious participants with Dr. King in the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery. To what extent do Heschel’s thoughts resonate with us? What do you think he might add today, were he still alive?

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

Tu B'Shvat Seder - New Year for the Trees (virtual program)
2021-01-29 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 pm Tu B’Shvat Seder – New Year for the Trees
Leader: Miriam Winder Kelly
Co-Leader: Arlene JM Grant
Please join us for a special participatory Tu B’Shvat Seder to celebrate the New Year for the Trees. Tu B’Shvat symbolizes redemption of the land and environmental awareness. Let’s celebrate our place in nature and the birthday of our companions, the trees. We will virtually enjoy eating fruits (including nuts) that grow on trees. Fruit can be both hard and soft – like people. It takes all of us to make a world.
RSVP to info@beittikvah.org if you’d like to attend. We’ll send you a grocery list of the food and drink we suggest you get for the seder. Then we’ll eat together on Zoom!

Virtual Field Trip to NYC (virtual service)
2021-02-12 18:30 - 19:30
6:30 pm Virtual Field Trip to NYC!
Kabbalat Shabbat Service at West End Synagogue
Come with us to New York City – virtually, of course – for a Kabbalat Shabbat Service hosted by a Reconstructionist congregation on the Upper West Side, the West End Synagogue. WES has invited our Beit Tikvah community to join them for this service led by their rabbi and cantor.
Note the start time is 6:30 pm!
If you wish to attend this service, you MUST send an RSVP to info@beittikvah.org by Thursday, February 11 to get the Zoom link.

Reflecting on Purim with Rabbi Doug Heifetz (virtual service)
2021-02-26 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 pm Reflecting on Purim
Kabbalat Shabbat Service with Rabbi Doug Heifetz
A Tale of Two Queens
Join us for this end-of-Purim service. The biblical Book of Esther, read by Jews on the Purim holiday, mentions two queens – Esther and Vashti. Both of them confront oppressive conditions, in very different ways. We will explore the contrast between Esther and Vashti, and we’ll discuss the lessons of each one for our lives and society today.

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

National Refugee Shabbat (virtual program)
2021-03-12 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 pm National Refugee Shabbat Program
Speaker: Arlene J.M. Grant, Esq.
Please join us for our National Refugee Shabbat program, “We Shall Do Strangers No Wrong.” We will discuss the significance of Tikkun Olam to reunite families separated due to unjust immigration laws. We will explore ways to support reunification and families through established advocacy efforts. Our Shabbat program closes with a self-care meditation to replenish ourselves as we help others.

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

Passover: Embracing Matzah with Rabbi Doug Heifetz (virtual service)
2021-03-26 19:30 - 20:30
7:30 pm Passover: Embracing Matzah
Kabbalat Shabbat Service with Rabbi Doug Heifetz
No Room for Fluff – The Inner Meaning of Matzah
During our service on this night before Passover, we explore the spiritual meaning of matzah and the avoidance of leavened products during Passover. Beyond the most obvious dietary meanings, Jewish tradition has often associated leavening with puffed-up ego and the nonessential trappings of our lives that needlessly limit us. By turning away from leavening, and by embracing matzah, we can get rid of the clutter – both spiritually and physically – and return to our essence. The holiday opens the door for a Jewish ‘Feng Shui’ (traditional Chinese practice of physical arrangement of space).

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