Upcoming Events:

Friday, December 3, 7:30pm-9:30pm  Adult Kabbalat Shabbat.  Join Reb Ezra and your friends at Mishkan Ha'am as we welcome Shabbat as a community.  Since it is also Hanukkah, bring your menorah and we will light the holiday candles together before we light the Shabbat candles.

Friday, December 3, 7pm – Sat, December 4, 1am  Midnight Run.  We will be continuing our participation in Midnight Run with the Unitarian Society of Westchester bringing food and clothing to people living on the streets in Manhattan.  The need is for 2-4 teens and at least one adult. If you are interested, please contact Joyce Bluestone at joyceblue@optonline.net.

Saturday, December 4, 10:00am - noon,  She'arim Shabbat.  Join us for a communal Shabbat morning service of learning and celebration, for all ages. The learning component for this year’s series will focus on exploring how and why we connect to Judaism through the three B’s of Reconstructionism: Belonging, Behaving, and Believing. While the kids break out for study sessions with their teachers, adults and teens remain with Reb Ezra for a stimulating discussion. Please bring a vegetarian dish to share for the potluck oneg that follows the service. The services are hosted by She'arim/Gateways, Mishkan Ha'am's innovative approach to Hebrew school. For further information about She’arim, please contact our rabbi and education director, Rabbi Ezra Weinberg at rebezramh@gmail.com.

Sunday, December 5,  4pm – 7pm  Mishkan Ha'am's Annual Family Chanukah Party at the Yonkers home of our member, Debbie Swiderski, (map)  Members and non-members of all ages are invited. This vegetarian pot luck event is a highlight of our year. We'll have a special Chanukah activity and we'll be singing, lighting candles, spinning dreidels, and eating latkes and other goodies. Please bring your own menorah and candles, and dinner is POT LUCK. There is a small fee to pay for the catered latkes; Member adults are $5, and kids are $2. Non-member adults are $8, and kids are $5. Contact Debbie for directions at dswiders@montefiore.org. If you play a musical instrument, please bring it to the party. Looking forward to a wonderful holiday!

Monday, December 6, 7:30pm – 9:30pm Steering Committee Meeting.  Everyone is welcome, whether you come regulary, or would like to come once to see what it is.  We discuss upcoming programs and any current issues or inspirations at MH.  Location:  Harriet's house.  If you need directions, email her at hpstein1@aol.com

Friday, December 10, 6pm – 8pm Family Potluck Shabbat.  Join Reb Ezra at this special gathering for families to welcome Shabbat with stories, song, and dinner at Sarah and Dan Rubin's house in Hastings.  Please bring a vegetarian dish to share.  RSVP to Sarah at sarahjrubin@yahoo.com for more information and directions.

Saturday, December 11 10am--noon "Traditional Shabbat Service"  Reb Ezra Weinberg will offer a prepared D'var Torah, and the service will also include an exploration of a more traditional, though still Reconstructionist, liturgy. Appropriate for ages b'nei mitzvah through adult.

Saturday December 11,  7:30pm – 9:30pm  Havdallah Program: Exploring Jewish Community Online - A Guided Tour.  The Internet is affecting all parts of society, including how American Jews get information, interact and come together. Following havdallah, Mishkan member Micah Sifry will give us an overview of Jewish community online, drawing on work he has been doing for the Avi Chai Foundation, looking at the most popular websites, blogs and individual voices and exploring how all this new interactivity is changing the American Jewish experience. Program will be held at the church.

Sunday, December 12,  10am – 12pm.  Knitting Circle.  Our knitting circle resumes to work on a social action project. Multiple generations come together for this relaxed and cozy activity. Seasoned knitters will help novices get started. If interested, Contact Monica Rickenberg atmonicaian@aol.com.

Sunday, December 12, Serving at the Sharing Community, 11:30am-2pm.  We are continuing our monthly commitment to serve lunch at the Yonkers Sharing Community, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen. On the second Sunday of each month, 4 MH volunteers (any combination of teens and adults as long as one adult is present) serve lunch to up to 200 hungry people. If you are an individual, or group of 2, 3 or 4 and are interested in participating, contact Joyce Bluestone at joyceblue@optonline.net.

Thursday, December  16, 7:30pm – 9:30pm.  The Jewish Calendar Explained.  If there is a time for every season under heaven, then why is Rosh Hashanah early one year, and late the next, but never “on time?” Join Reb Ezra as he sheds light on how the Jewish calendar waxes and wanes along with the moon, and how the calendar cycle has evolved through history into the one that guides Jewish practice today.  Program held at the church.