by Rabbi Ari Sunshine
​One of the most oft-cited passages from the Talmud is the text from Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5 which focuses on the significance of God creating all humanity from Adam, a single human being.  According to the text, this teaches us that all people have a common ancestor, that no one can claim “my ancestor was greater than yours,” and that destroying a single life is akin to destroying the entire world, while saving even one single life is as if we have saved a whole world. This profound message, that every person matters equally, is one that, even today, close to 2000 years after the Mishnah was compiled, we still often struggle with putting into practice.

David just reached a huge milestone -- he paid all his rent and utility bills himself for the month of January! It's a big step forward, and we congratulate him. He's a bit nervous about his ability to keep this going, but we assured him we are here to help. On January 8, The Ladder Project executive committee met with David (on his day off from work!) at the synagogue to review his monthly income and expenses. Laura Miller's daughter, Lily Wolens, created an easy budget template for David to use each month to record his living expenses. Additionally, we gave David several tips on how to save money, including: bring your lunch to work at least four days a week, and don't buy any clothing -- let our congregants help with that!

David loves all the garments he has received to date, both donated and new items. When we pressed him for another wish list, he asked if it would be possible to get two pairs of his favorite jeans, Levi 505s, and some white undershirts. Please click on the link below if you'd like to purchase one of those items for him from an Amazon registry we have set up. Everyone did so well on the apartment items that he needs for NOTHING in that respect. Thank you everyone! 

UPDATE! EVERYTHING ON DAVID'S AMAZON LIST HAS BEEN PURCHASED! THANK YOU!

My heart sank as I read the headline of an article from the Forward on my Facebook feed this week: “Even Proud Zionists Think This Hillel Is Way Too Focused On Israel.”
 
Before I even clicked on the link to see the details, I knew what the story would, essentially, be about—young Jews, whose disagreements about Israel were polarizing a Jewish community. 

by Laura Miller

​We encourage every congregant to do an easy mitzvah this Christmas Day by doing what you do best on this holiday: Go to the movies!
 
David Corn is working at Studio Movie Grill now (thanks to congregant Joe Harberg), and his shift on Christmas Day starts at 10 am. Since the only family he will see that day is US, we are asking congregants to go see a film at Studio Movie Grill, 13933 N. Central Expwy. (at Spring Valley) to show support for David.
 
Please ask for the manager and tell him you only came to Studio Movie Grill because David Corn works there. This will be a big help to David since he is working hard to show SMG that he is an invaluable addition to the team. If you see David (he is currently one of the food servers in the theaters) be sure to tell him you are from Shearith Israel and came to support him.
 
It's hard for people who celebrate Christmas to be alone on that day. The holiday blues are a real thing, as we all know. You can personally make a HUGE difference -- in David's spirits and how he can be perceived as a rainmaker at work -- if we go to his theater that day to support him. This is such an easy way to show we care.
 
One more bit of good news for The Ladder Project: Congregant Arnie Stokol got in touch this past week to offer his free optometrist services to David. Thank you Arnie for your generosity! (And thank you for, coincidentally, officing just down the street from our other doctor donors: David's dentist, Dr. Rowan Buskin, and David's internist, Dr. Lawrie Friedman!) David will make an appointment soon.

​This past Sunday, I joined a dozen of our community members outside Literacy Achieves in West Dallas for the dedication of a Little Free Library, constructed by our social action committee. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept (and before they began this project, I wasn’t either!) a Little Free Library is a 6-foot, public space bookshelf.  It’s placed outside, in residential neighborhoods, where residents can freely borrow from and continue to stock a collection of books for all ages.  Our member, Mindy Fagin, who volunteers at Literacy Achieves, helped oversee the project from start to finish—building, painting, and installing the library in front of Literacy Achieves—as well as the collection of more than 200 books (so many, they couldn’t all fit!)

by Rabbi Shira Wallach
On Monday night, I participated in the Faith and Grief Ministries Multi-Faith Service of Comfort at Klyde Warren Park, an annual gathering of people who wish to pay homage to loved ones around the holiday season. The organizers of the service asked me to reflect on the aftermath of the Pittsburgh shooting and how we keep our faith intact after tragedy. I wanted to share my remarks with you:

​by Rabbi Adam Roffman
While driving around Dallas this week, I listened to an interview on NPR with Dr. Duane Bidwell, a professor at the Claremont School of Divinity.  The topic of the interview was his new book, When One Religion Isn’t Enough: The Lives of Spiritual Fluidity. His argument, essentially, was that there are a growing number of Americans who don’t identify themselves as being solely Christian, or Muslim, or Jewish but rather a combination of different religions.  While much of this 21st century phenomenon is the result of intermarriage (he cites marriage between Jews and Christians as a primary example,) he argues that in today’s society it is becoming more and more acceptable to take on a much less dogmatic, more flexible religious identity. 

Good evening, and welcome to Congregation Shearith Israel! It is a great honor and privilege to be hosting all of you here at our congregation for this first of what we hope will be an annual Community Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, rotating in venue from year to year amongst different local houses of faith.  I’m also honored to have been asked by my friends and colleagues on the planning committee for this service to present some remarks this evening on our theme of “Diverse in Faith, United in Gratitude”.

Last night we had a beautiful evening here at Shearith as we hosted the 1st Annual Greater Dallas Interfaith Thanksgiving Service.  Beck Family Sanctuary was filled with 400 people from Jewish, Christian and Muslim congregations all over the area who came for a celebration of community and to reflect on the evening’s theme of “Diverse in Faith, United in Gratitude”.

by Rabbi Ari  Sunshine

​This past weekend was an incredible high for our family as we celebrated our daughter Elana’s Bat Mitzvah.  We were so proud of Elana, the wonderful job she did, the poise she displayed, and her warmth that shone through.  Moreover, we were so delighted and honored to be able to share this simcha with so many of you in addition to our out of town family and friends.  Your presence and the outpouring of your love and support for Elana and for our family added so much to this experience and elevated our Shabbat and our weekend.