WORKING TO PRESERVE JEWISH TRADITION
The mission of this congregation is to cultivate the tenets of Reform Judaism through prayer, worship, study, fellowship and good works. In pursuit of this, we commit ourselves to ongoing innovation, seeking new challenges and continually evaluating our progress and results while building and sustaining an environment necessary to realize our mission.
WELCOME RABBI BENJAMIN SHULL
EXCITING NEWS FROM TEMPLE B’NAI SHOLEM
Dear friends,
We are thrilled to report that Temple B’nai Sholem has engaged a part-time rabbi to lead us monthly on Shabbat and for the High Holidays. Rabbi Benjamin Shull will begin on Friday evening, March 3, 2023. We hope you will be there to welcome him as he leads us in Shabbat services. Usually, we will also have programming on Saturday led by Rabbi Shull, but we are not yet sure of the full schedule for his first visit. (In general, we will plan some combination of: Torah Study, Adult Education, Lunch ‘n Learn, discussion with children in our Religious School, or just general “schmoozing” in and around the temple to get to know each other.)
Rabbi Shull and his wife recently moved to the Wilmington, NC area from Florida to be closer to family in Raleigh. He has been a congregational rabbi for many years and has training and experience in social work. He will be working full-time as a chaplain in the Wilmington area but contacted us to see if we would be interested in having a part-time rabbi. We had been starting to think of that possibility, since we have been grappling with easing the load of our dedicated group of lay leaders. At the same time, our dear Rabbi Whiman and Cantorial Soloist, Sherry Cohen, who have been leading us in High Holiday Services for several years, informed us that they had the opportunity to lead another congregation, but hesitated to leave us without a rabbi.
So, when our Search Committee met Rabbi Shull — and was impressed with his manner, experience, and ideas — and when he indicated he would be available and interested in leading High Holiday services as well as Shabbat services, we felt this was “bashert” (i.e., “meant to be”).
I want to thank the Search Committee (Chair Irv Joffee, Howard Neviser, Maxine Weisman, Marsha Luhrs and Carla Byrnes) who helped enormously with this important task. The Board of Directors unanimously approved their recommendation to engage Rabbi Shull through 2023.
Shalom,
Howard Neviser, President
SHABBAT SERVICES – April 26-27, 2024
This week, on April 26th, services will take place Friday evening at 7:30. The services will begin at 7:30 pm and will be led by Rabbi Shull. On Saturday, April 27th; Rabbi Shull will lead our service titled “Lessons from the Splitting of the Sea – Jewish Tradition and the Meaning of a Miracle.” beginning at 10:30 am.
Please continue to check the Shofar each week for the current schedule as services will take place at 7:30 p.m. on the weeks when Rabbi Shull is here. Services will take place at 7:00 p.m. on the other weeks when the Rabbi is not here.
This service will be streamed on Zoom. We are discontinuing streaming services on Zoom with the exceptions of the Rabbi visiting and special events.
NEWS – See Our New Temple Brochure
Our annual Passover Seder is coming on Monday, April 22nd @ 5:30pm at The Flame in New Bern. Please RSVP with Marsha ASAP.
Our Religious School has created a new Haggadah, the Young Person’s Guide to Passover. Those are $15 each and are available from Elga, ejoffee@gmail.com or (631) 375-3144
Temple B’nai Sholem will be hosting an online auction beginning April 25th to raise funds for the Temple. If you have anything that you would like to donate for the auction, please contact Maxine Weisman at maxjoyw@gmail.com or Johanna Schaefer at johannaschaefer@gmail.com. The deadline to collect items is April 10th.
INTERVIEW WITH RABBI SHULL – Rabbi Shull was interviewed by Bill Hand for New Bern Live. Click here to read the article about Israel and the war with Hamas.
5784 IS OFF TO A GREAT START!
The new year is off to a great start. The year 5784 began with wonderfully warm Rosh Hashanah services in our Temple. This the first time in many years that we have had a Rabbi to be with our congregation all year long and not only to lead High Holiday services. The services were led by Rabbi Benjamin Shull, who has been with us now each month since March. This helped to enhance the mood of the holiday and made the Temple feel even more like home.
The services were further enhanced by talented people in our Temple family. Steve Rosen, a concert violist, opened up services on Rosh Hashanah by playing Bloch’s “From Jewish Life” on the viola. On Yom Kippur he played Bloch’s Kol Nidrei. Melodie Salley is studying to be a cantor and sang as a vocalist. Joanne Friedman accompanied Melodie in several songs on her guitar. After each of the Rosh Hashanah services there was a delicious spread provided by Jody Sherman and Maxine Weisman. Everyone agreed that the warmth of the Temple and the warmth of the community made this feel like a true holiday.
The holiday services were well attended. This year we welcomed many new members and friends. It was a time for friends to celebrate the New Year together, a time for people who participate only occasionally to renew ties with old friends and with their community, and it was a time to meet new people and make new friends. It was encouraging to see new faces, new families and new children entering into our Temple family.
We wish everyone a sweet, prosperous, and healthy New Year.
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