The FJMC Sefer Haftarah World Tour is live and coming to a Florida Region FJMC Men’s Club or Brotherhood near you. The FJMC Sefer Haftarah scroll will tentatively be available to Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods within FJMC Florida Region during the first quarter of 2025. This is the time for your you to think about how your Men’s Club or Brotherhood can best utilize the FJMC Sefer Haftarah Scroll during its visit to YOUR synagogue. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Enhance Your Shabbat Services: Encourage your members to take turns reciting from the FJMC Sefer Haftarah scroll during Shabbat service and discuss the commentary from that week’s Sefer Haftarah reading to provide a richer understanding of the weekly Torah portion.
2. Sefer Haftarah Study: Organize a Shabbat afternoon Sefer Haftarah scroll study session. Invite a knowledgeable member or guest speaker to lead the discussion, using the commentary and insights provided to explore deeper meanings in the text and connections to current events.
3. Community Outreach: Make a positive impact on your local community by organizing a community outreach project inspired by one of the many themes and teachings within the Sefer Haftarah scroll.
4. Start an Interfaith Dialogue: Utilize the FJMC Sefer Haftarah scroll as a starting point for an interfaith dialogue by inviting members of other faith communities to take park in a discussion of a selected Haftarah reading and share their perspectives.
5. Promote Jewish Education: Host a Sefer Haftarah Workshop for your synagogue to allow everyone to get up close and personal with the scroll, or start a “Sefer Haftarah Book Club” focused on a discussion of the weekly Sefer Haftarah and related texts as a fun and engaging way to learn more about Jewish thought.
6. Foster Social Connections: Organize a series of Sefer Haftarah themed social events centered around the Sefer Haftarah scroll. This could include Shabbat dinners, lectures, or cultural outings. Consider a Sefer Haftarah-inspired hands-on Art Project by encouraging members and their children to create art projects inspired by the themes and imagery from the Sefer Haftarah as a creative and meaningful way to connect with the text.
7. Fundraising Potential: Many synagogues have organized successful fundraising campaigns centered on the commission of their own Sefer Haftarah scroll. Like a Torah scroll, it is handwritten on parchment by a scribe in Israel. However, The Sefer Haftarah scroll is different from a Torah scroll in that it has spaces for handwritten dedications and the vowels and trope are included in the text which will allow members of your Temple community to read from it with the same ease as reading directly from a Chumash. The Sefer Haftarah scroll provides a wonderful gifting opportunities for your Congregation; Sponsor Donors have an opportunity to sponsor a crown, breast plate and mantle cover(s). You can ask congregants, friends, and family to sponsor an individual Haftarah or an entire Book of Haftarot, such as the book of B’reishit. Anyone who sponsors a Haftarah portion can have an opportunity to have a personalized dedication written in the Sefer Haftarah scroll. The dedication can mark a special occasion, such as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, wedding, anniversary, birthday or in remembrance of a loved one. The proceeds from dedicating a Sefer Haftarah can help your Synagogue maintain its existing Sefrei Torah and support your Temple Religious School, Early Childhood and Adult Education Programs.
For more information about the FJMC Sefer Haftarah scroll, please visit https://fjmc.org/for-clubs/sefer-haftarah/. FJMC Florida Region wants every affiliated Men’s Club and Brotherhood to have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the FJMC Sefer Haftarah Scroll as it makes it way through the Sunshine State during the first quarter of 2025. Please contact FJMC Florida Region Sefer Haftarah Chair Rich Nebb at RichNebb@gmail.com for more information.
This message is brought to you by the Florida Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC). We are part of a confederation of over 200 Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods representing over 20,000 members across the United States, Canada, Latin America, and beyond. Learn more about how your Jewish Men’s Club or Brotherhood can affiliate with the FJMC at: https://fjmc.org/for-clubs/affiliating-with-the-fjmc/.
The Florida Region of FJMC serves the needs of affiliated Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods throughout the State of Florida. Get to know more about the FJMC Florida Region and our growing network of Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods at www.floridaregionfjmc.org and please visit and LIKE our Florida Region FJMC Facebook Group at www.facebook.com/FloridaRegionFJMC.
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