Hanukkah party, "Erev Christmas" dinner, and more! This week at Yavneh

In this week's update:

• Year-end donations
  
• Lots of latkes - Yavneh Hanukkah celebration
  
• Hanukkah 101
  
• Upcoming worship services
  
• On the Yavneh calendar
  
• In the community
  

 
Year-end donations
Please remember Yavneh when it comes time to make your end-of-the year donations. Send checks to Yavneh at 4030 Wake Forest Road, Suite 300, Raleigh, NC 27609 or donate online here. 

Lots of latkes - Yavneh Hanukkah celebration
Shabbat/Hanukkah Congregational Pot-luck Dinner and party (with Jewish trivia!), Friday, December 19, 6:30 pm in the Community Life Center at St. Mark's. Please bring a dish based on your last initial: A – D, dessert (donuts supplied); E – O, main dish; P - Z, side dish.  Yavneh will provide apple sauce, sour cream, wine, challah, donuts, and LOTS OF LATKES! RSVP via email or through Yavneh's new MEET-UP group. As we will be celebrating the fourth night of Hanukkah, please bring your menorah and 5 candles to light up the night.

Upcoming worship services

• Shabbat morning worship, Saturday, December 13, 10:30 am:
  “Human Rights Shabbat: It’s What Jews Do.”
  

Please remember to bring donations for the Food Basket or school supplies for Wilburn Elementary when you attend services.  NOTE - Wilburn is currently well-stocked with clothing supplies and does not need any more at this time. THANK YOU!

Hanukkah 101
Yavneh has prepared a "Hanukkah 101" booklet with a short explanation of the Hanukkah story and holiday customs, blessings and songs, and more. You can download the PDF here. Contact Lewis Copulsky to request printed copies, or pick up on the literature table outside services.

On the Yavneh calendar

• Mitzvah Study Group meets Wednesday evening, December 17, 7:30 - 9:00 pm. Contact Lewis Copulsky for information/RSVP.
  
• Yavneh “Erev Christmas” Dinner Social, Peking Garden (Colony Shopping Center, corner of Millbrook and Six Forks), Wednesday, December 24, 6:30 pm.  A delicious meal in a private room with lively conversation – what’s not to like?  Also, two-screen movies theater in the shopping center.  RSVP by 5:00 pm, Tuesday, December 23 to Reb Raachel.
  
• Reb Raachel to offer OLLI course at NCSU: “How Judaism Reads Scripture.”  If you’re interested in how sacred text is read and understood within the Jewish tradition, these sessions will provide you with an appreciation of Hebrew scripture on its own terms, rather than through the lens of largely Christian Western culture.  Questions addressed include: What is Jewish scripture? How do Jews read and interpret biblical text? What is the range of interpretive freedom?  Who has authority to determine meaning? What are some of the principles governing how ethical and imaginative lessons are drawn from the text? How do we continue the tradition of wrestling with the words begun thousands of years ago? We will explore these questions in an informal, no-prerequisite, interactive learning environment. Course #: LLI-1-048-001; six sessions: 3:00 - 4:30 pm; Jan. 21, 28, Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25; Limit: 58 Room: 11/12 Fee: $50. Registration information here.

Learn more about these and other Yavneh programs here.

In the community

• The Handmade Hanukkah Market will be taking place on Sunday, December 14, 9 am to 2 pm at Temple Beth Or, 5315 Creedmoor Rd, Raleigh. Yavneh members are included among the artists who will have work for sale.
  
• The musical group Mishpacha (including Yavneh's own Bonnie Nichols) will be performing Chanukah and other songs at Quail Ridge Book Store in Ridgewood Shopping Center on Wade Ave. on Sunday, Dec. 14th, from 2 to 4 pm. They'd love Yavneh members to join them, and help by singing along. 
  
• Jewish Cultural Festival - presented by The Jewish Federation of Raleigh-Cary, Beth Shalom, Chabad of Cary & The Town of Cary, Monday, December 22 4:30-8:00 pm at Cary Arts Center. Join us to celebrate Jewish culture! Come out to Cary and enjoy traditional Jewish and Kosher foods, Jewish crafts and family friendly entertainment including a Camp JCC style sing-a-long, a Klezmer band, performances by the Beth Shalom choir and puppet shows.  The festival will be kicked off by the lighting of the a 9 foot menorah!   We will also be a collecting hats and gloves to be donated to Note in the Pocket. For more information contact The Jewish Federation of Raleigh-Cary at 919-676-2200.