April Bulletin & Pesach Guide
Agudas Achim’s April Bulletin is now ready! Also check out our 2019 Pesach Guide, a special mini-bulletin, that has Passover resources and details about our events.
Friday Evening Service
Reform
Sep. 21, 7:30 p.m.
Shabbat Service
Conservative
Sep. 22, 9:30 a.m.
Upcoming Holiday
Yom Kippur
Sep. 18 – Sep. 19
What’s Happening
Rabbi Hugenholtz’s Vigil Remarks
Between the fire and thunder of Sinai, a moral voice rang out clearly with a principle that would be echoed in our tradition time and again: You shall love the stranger for you were strangers in Egypt.
Permission to Stop
We are intimately familiar with such rabbinic practices such as lighting candles, Kiddush and singing zemirot, Sabbath songs, at the table. We have ingrained the notion of the home as a mishkan me’at, a small sanctuary, and the table at which we eat as the mizbe’ach, the altar. In our individual lives, we may or may not make decisions about what we do or do not observe. Be what may: in our tradition, Shabbat is a presence we cannot deny.
Check out our March Bulletin!
Our March 2019 News Bulletin has now 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.
“Rising Antisemitism” – Ethical Perspectives on the News
TV interview on Rising Antisemitism in “Ethical Perspectives on the News” by the Inter-Religious Council of Linn County. Featuring Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz and Lisa Heineman, Professor of the University of Iowa.
The Torah of Trauma
Brokenness is a universal human experience: everyone has encountered brokenness in their lives, their world or in themselves. Of course, while brokenness is the great leveler, our experience of brokenness is not a level playing field. Some of us are subjected to greater trauma than others; some of us may have more access or resources to heal from or repair the brokenness we face. Nonetheless, I’d wager to say that as I give this sermon, there will a number of you who are encouraged to reflect on what is broken in your lives. It seems as inevitable as death.
Sunday School Cancelled
On account of a snow warning for tomorrow, we cancelled Sunday School.
Seeking Out The Greys
Engaging with difference should not be mistaken with accepting a doctrine of moral equivalency or finding ‘common ground.’ We do not need to paper over our differences. We can be strong in our moral convictions. Yet there is a distinction between moral courage and moral absolutism. We must invite shades of grey.
Don’t Miss Out. Browse the Latest Bulletin
Our February 2019 News Bulletin has been published. 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.
My Relationship with My Tallit and Tefillin
I started wearing a tallit (prayer shawl) and laying tefillin (phylacteries) 15 years ago. It has taken me years to get over my internalized judgment as a woman wearing these items that are “traditionally” worn only by men. Even on the best of days, tefillin are a strange and uncomfortable feature of Jewish practice. I’ve had to consciously push myself beyond my own discomfort to own this mitzvah (commandment) that has come to mean so much to me.
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
Congregation Website!
Learn More
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
Hebrew School meets on October 8 through December 5, resuming January 14.
Sunday School meets on August 26 through December 2, resuming January 20.
ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS
The Talmud study group resumes Sunday morning, September 9 at 9:30 a.m.