Dear Friends,

Shabbat Shalom!

1. Our parasha "Matot" this week teaches us that we should keep our promises, since the words that come out of our mouths must be sincere. "If a man makes a vow….he must carry out all that has crossed his lips" (Numbers 30:3).
For the past two years we prayed for the return of our captive reservists, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. Finally, last week the bodies of Goldwasser and Regev were returned to Israel in an Israeli-Hezbollah prisoner swap. Israel was sincere and kept our side of the agreement. On the other hand Hizbolah deceived us until the last minute. Although these are days of ice cream and pool celebrations at the Neil and Diane Exter Summer Camp, the children still had many questions about the soldiers. The adults sent letters of condolences to the families of the deceased soldiers and made greeting cards for soldiers currently serving, as a morale boost.

2. The following is what some of our children wrote to the IDF soldiers:
"I want to thank you for protecting our country and thanks to you, the soldiers, we have a country of our own. I have an uncle in the IDF and I know that sometimes he works very hard." From Mor
"My name is Shai and I participate in the Or Hadash Summer Camp program. I am happy to write to you and I hope that you beat all of our enemies."
"My name is Reut and I am 7 years old. I hope that you return home safely."
"I hope you succeed in your missions, that you enjoy, that you return home with a smile and that you don't get hurt." From Sapir
"My name is Amit and I hope that you return home soon."
"My name is Nevo and I hope that you will return home safely."
Our thanks go to Neil and Diane Exter who made our summer camp possible. It includes 52 children ages 6 to 8, all children of working mothers and some of them single mothers.

3. On Tuesday, July 22, Cantor Jeff Klepper (whose first year as cantor was in Haifa in 1984), from our sister congregation Temple Sinai in Sharon, MA came to perform for our summer camp children. It was wonderful and our children had a
nice time. Previously, in February this year, members of Temple Sinai with Rabbi Joseph Meszler visited Or Hadash, and we are delighted that this week their cantor made our children happy with his lovely music. Thank you Jeff! (see picture attached).

4. This week we started our annual summer workshop for bnei and bnot mitzvah who will celebrate their ceremonies during the summer. We invited a total of 35 bnei and bnot mitzvah and their parents to a full week of Jewish studies. During the school year, our students come to weekly classes for a one-hour study session. Many of our staff members also joined the workshop to expand their knowledge about Judaism. Unfortunately, many Secular Jews in Israel do not know some of the most basic traditions and concepts in Judaism, so we think that it would be important for as many people as possible to participate in this workshop.

5. On Tuesday, July 15, the annual elections for our Board were held. The new Or Hadash Board members are: Dr. Yuri Kligerman, Mirjam Jurmann, Shlomit Berger, Reuven Adler, Dr. Yishai Lachter, Fanny Timor, Jacqueline Zohar, Benny Firer and Pnina Sohetzky. During the meeting, we mentioned the great achievement of forming the Or Hadash Sisterhood (the first sisterhood in the Israeli Reform Movement history) that showed everyone how congregants could turn into leaders. Members of the Sisterhood lead projects that until now were performed by the Or Hadash staff. This led us to initiate more volunteer projects in the year to come.

6. Rabbi Craig Marantz and a lovely group from Temple Kol Chaverim of Glastonbury, CT visited Or Hadash on Wednesday, July 16. We all enjoyed meeting them. Rabbi Marantz's Hebrew was quite good. On the same day a group of nine educators from Pittsburgh visited Or Hadash for the first time, among them our good friend, Rabbi Sarah Perman. Thank you for coming!!

7. We started working on a new project of recording a new CD incorporating new songs. There is also a possibility of recording an interfaith CD as part of our initiatives to promote coexistence between different denominations in Haifa.

8. We mourn this week the death of our dear member, Eliezer Goren, z"l, who was one of the first soldiers in the IDF navy and previously fought with the Jewish Brigade against the Nazis in the British Army. He is a good friend, a kind member and a hero of our nation. May his memory be blessed.

8. On Thursday, July 17, a group of 20 directors from the Jewish Agency came to Or Hadash to explore the possibility of American Jews making aliyah to Haifa. Earl Shugerman and Gershom Lichtenberg, two Or Hadash congregants who recently made aliyah from the US spoke about the process they went through after reaching the decision to make aliyah. Earl said that although most of his family lives in Jerusalem and it would have made sense for him to live there, he chose to live in Haifa because he thinks that it is the most beautiful city in the world. And that Or Hadash is his family now. He says that he can think of no other city that has a beach, a forest and such nice people.
If you or any of your relatives is thinking of making aliyah to Haifa, Or Hadash would be glad to assist you and support you here. Also if you want to visit us again, you can count on us. We are part of your family in Israel and you are always welcome.

From Haifa

B'Shalom,
Edgar