Did you know that one in three people will need blood sometime during their lives?; close to 2,000 men, women and children in our community, including cancer, transplant and surgery patients, trauma victims, newborn babies and many others need blood transfusion each day? that blood lasts only 42 days?

Why fast on Yom Kippur?

Spiritual elevation is a pre-requisite for true repentance. One way to achieve spiritual elevation is to abstain from the physical. Five physical activities are forbidden on Yom Kippur:

1. eating and drinking
2. marital relations
3. washing
4. wearing leather shoes
5. applying lotions

What are the best ways to prepare for the Yom Kippur fast?

While feeling hunger pains is an acceptable part of the fast experience, one need not dehydrate, faint or get sick while fasting. There are several ways to prepare oneself physically for a healthy fast.

• Days before the fast, caffeine intake should be minimized.
• The day before the fast, eat something small every two hours, avoid caffeine and salt, and drink as much water as possible.
• Plan the final meal before the fast early enough in the afternoon to avoid rushing to finish before the fast begins.
• Plan the menu of this final meal so that it contains high carbohydrate and low salt foods.
• Do not eat too much in the meal before the fast, but drink plenty of water.
• Leave time after the meal to drink warm water with sugar and brush teeth.

for more information visit About.com

A year which will bring you good health
and joy the whole year through.

Let us know what you think…

from the URJ Website
S’lichot, a Hebrew word meaning “forgiveness,” refers to the special penitential prayers recited by Jews throughout the High Holy Days. Jews recite S’lichot beginning late at night on the Saturday before Rosh HaShanah and continue each morning on the days between the New Year and Yom Kippur.

URJ Website S’lichot Page

As I sit and enjoy the beautiful sunshine after the small rainshower that was Hurricane Earl, I thought what better time could there be to organize all of  my projects and tasks lists. It just happens to also be Labor Day weekend, so I have an extra day to do this! One of those projects is to post more information on this blog regarding upcoming events and “happenings” at the Temple. What else would you like to see in this blog?

Post a comment, be the first…start a trend

Most of us are familiar with some of the traditional rituals of our
religion.  Some of them are very close to my heart and others seem
foreign.  For example, I love the ritual Seder of Passover.  I always
find a new sense of community every time I join Rabbi and our
congregation at the temple Seder.  I am not as familiar with rituals
such as keeping kosher in my home. There are less formal rituals that
I practice every day that help me to feel close to G-d.  When I wake
up, I thank G-d for the morning, and when I leave my house, I pray for
my loved ones to have a safe and happy day.  I greet the sun, rain, or
snow with a warm thank you to G-d as well.  By repeating these same
actions every day, I have created a ritual.  As we begin to create a
ritual committee, I would like to know what some of your rituals are.
Are there things that your family does on Shabbat that have become
ritual?  Do you have special rituals for any of the holidays?  Do you
perform a daily ritual that renews your a special connection with G-d?
By sharing our personal rituals, perhaps we could each find a new way
to connect with G-d!