Friday Evening Service
Reform
Sep. 21, 7:30 p.m.
Shabbat Service
Conservative
Sep. 22, 9:30 a.m.
Upcoming Holiday
Sukkot
Sep. 23 – Oct. 1
What’s Happening
“New Testament for Jews” – Lecture Series by Prof. Cargill
Join Dr. Robert Cargill, Asst. Professor of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Iowa, as he offers a six-lecture series beginning September 30 titled “The New Testament for Jews,” and introduces the Christian scriptures in their Jewish context for a Jewish audience.
This Is Our New Website
The Agudas Achim Congregation website has been moved to the WordPress platform. We took the opportunity to introduce to you a new design. It is still work in progress until the end of this year.
To A Land That I Will Show You
Perhaps our Jewish future is like Schroedinger’s Cat: whether we live or die, thrive or decline, is a matter of perception. Abraham had to journey into the great Unknown: ‘el ha’aretz asher ar’echa’ – ‘to a land that I will show you’. He was called to draw on all his inner resources and vision in order to heed that vision.
Our Father’s House
This High Holiday cycle, we are exploring this verse as we try to understand and answer the charge of ‘veheyeh b’rachah’, of how we can be a blessing. Our previous sermonic journeys have forayed into the territory of the soul. ‘Lech lecha’ – we have ventured into ourselves, and reached for our deepest purpose because, as I said during my sermon for Shabbat Shuvah: we cannot live Jewish lives by instinct alone: we are called to make Judaism our own and ascribe to it a higher mission. When we discover how we want to shape our lives and take ownership of our Judaism, we can act with generosity, with confidence and hope, with love, with joy—and be a blessing.
Not All Who Wander Are Lost
What does it mean to go ‘from yourself, from your homeland, the place of your birth and your father’s house?’ Surely, the Torah could have sufficed in saying ‘lech m’artz’cha el ha’aretz asher ar’echa’ – ‘go from your land to the land that I will show you.’ We normally assume that the Torah’s language is efficient and focused, so if the Torah uses a more expanded syntax, it means we are called to read the text very closely. In fact, we are going to read it so closely that we are going to only look at ‘lech lecha’.
That’s right: this is a sermon about two words. Two words.
A Gift for Our Future Generations
As we enter Agudas Achim’s second century, we want to do everything possible to ensure the long-term stability and vitality of an organized Jewish Community in the greater Iowa City area. To do so, we need to develop something that this congregation has never had before: a financial safety net in the form of a substantial endowment: the Second Century Fund.
From The Rabbi
By Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz The hubbub of High Holidays preparations is in full swing – from polishing silver to formatting the schedule, practicing liturgy, checking the sound system to sermon writing. All my rabbinic friends and colleagues are bunkering down during this feverish month of Elul to create the most meaningful, beautiful and spiritual experience […]
Our September News Bulletin is Available
Our September News Bulletin has been released. Read more about what’s going on in our congregation and community. Our Bulletin is published every month. Contact the office if you would like to be on the mailing list.
Are You Ready for the Holidays 5779?
These Holidays, we will explore the charge to Abraham to be “a blessing”: to ourselves, our communities and our world. Please join us. Attendence is free.
Remember the Scattergood Hostel Refugees from Nazism
Scattergood Hostel Rescued 185 Refugees from Nazism: A Visit and a Remembrance. Saturday September 29, 2018, 8:30- 9:30 p.m. Scattergood School, 1951 Delta Ave., West Branch, IA 52358
GROWING & FOSTERING OUR JEWISH WORLD
Calendar
View the calendar for upcoming events.
New to the Area
Check out the Iowa City/ Coralvillle Guide to Jewish Life
WELCOME FROM OUR RABBI
A Personal Invitation
Welcome to the
Agudas Achim
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RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS
The Talmud study group resumes Sunday morning, September 9 at 9:30 a.m.
