The Florida Region FJMC dates on the Sefer Haftarah 5785 World Tour are official; the one and only FJMC Sefer Haftarah Scroll will travel to Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods throughout the State of Florida during February and March of 2025.
The Scroll will begin it’s visit to the Sunshine State with an action filled week at Temple Torat Emet (Boynton Beach). From there, the Scroll will travel to Congregation Kol Ami (Tampa), Temple Israel (Orlando), Temple Beth Sholom (Melbourne), Temple Beth Am (Margate), Congregation Ohev Shalom (Maitland), Congregation B’nai Torah (Ormond Beach) and Temple Beth El (West Palm Beach).
Alan Pransky, long time member of both the Temple Torat Emet Men’s Club as well as the Temple Ner Tamid Men’s Club (Peabody, Mass), reports he recently met with Torat Emet Rabbi Michael Klein and Rabbi Joyce Siegel (representing the religious school that has always been an important part of World Wide Wrap) to discuss how to maximize the opportunity presented by having the Sefer Haftarah at Torat Emet during the week of the 2025 World Wide Wrap.
“We expect the Sefer Haftorah to arrive at the Temple on or shortly after Wednesday February 5. Actually, our activity for these combined programs will begin even earlier in the week. Men’s Club will coordinate having about 20 pairs of Tefillin available on the Sunday morning of World Wide Wrap to be used by the 10 students in the Hebrew School having Bar and Bat Mitzvah in the next several months and any other participants in the program who do not have their own pair of Tefillin and wish to put them on Sunday Morning. Also we will help to put copies of daily prayer books onto a cart that can be rolled to the sanctuary for services accompanying World Wide Wrap. During this time frame both Rabbi Klein and Rabbi Joyce will begin to introduce the Sefer Haftorah to the Religious school and to the congregation. Rabbi Klein will put appropriate information into the various Temple congregational outreach such as in announcements at services and in the eblast. He will also publish a discussion about what a Haftorah is, why we have it each week and the special Haftorah that we have for that Shabbat that the scroll will be joining us. Also there will be a discussion with “ESARs” about the Sefer Haftorah during their class on 1/29.
Once the Sefer actually arrives on either Wednesday February 5 or Thursday February 6 it will immediately begin to be used where appropriate in ongoing religious school events to be determined by Rabbi Joyce and Rabbi Klein will join in where appropriate. For instance if the Sefer arrives in time the students preparing for Bar and Bat Mitzvah will be able to view that Haftarah that they will be chanting in the Sefer. On Friday night the Sefer will be on the Bimah and will be shown to the congregation. On Saturday morning we will use the Sefer to read the very special Haftarah for Shabbat Shirah which is a special Haftarah to reinforce the Shirat HaYam that is read in the Torah. We will place it in the Ark prior to services and take it out with the Torah during the Torah Service. It will be carried around the congregation by Men’s club officers We will assign a special Hagbah and Gelilah for the Sefer Haftarah to our co presidents Ira Brandell and Harry Saltzman. The Sefer will also parade around at the conclusion of the Torah Service and be placed into the Aron Kodesh along with the Torah. Following services the Sefer will be brought into the special enhanced Kiddush to allow the congregation to see it up close and view the weekly Haftorah and other Haftorahs. During the Kiddush Rabbi Klein will address the congregation about the Sefer Haftorah and about events that are planned for World Wide Wrap the following morning and will provide an appropriate connection etc.
Sunday morning (February 9) we will begin our World Wide Wrap program at 9:00 AM at which time Tefillin will be put on. The FJMC video on how to put on Tefillin will be playing on a television. There will be two tables outside of the Sanctuary in the foyer. They will have the 20 pairs of tefillin and multiple copies of the prayers said while putting on the tefillin. Members of the Men’s Club will be present to assist both the students attending, parents, and others to properly put on Tefillin. At 9:15 we will enter the Sanctuary and at about 9:20 hopefully we will be joined by our friends in the congregation led by Yehudah Kimani in Kenya. (Several years ago Alan Pransky and Rabbi Klein sent the congregation their first 4 pairs of Tefillin that we taught Yehudah, his father, and two other members of the congregation to put on as part of World Wide Wrap that year. For that reason Temple Torah Men’s Club won a special Quality Award from the Federation of Jewish Mens Clubs.) Yehudah will take several minutes to introduce us to his community and to tell us about all of their growth along with their challenges over the past few years. Our service will begin at 9:30 AM led by Rabbi Klein. At the conclusion of the service we will take a group picture. Then the Hebrew School students will perform their special presentation and we will then remove Tefillin and proceed to the Ballroom where we will be served assorted Wraps courtesy of the Men’s club. We will have two or three long tables in the back of the hall where we will open up the Sefer Haftarah in its entirety so that the students and others can look at special and meaningful Haftarahs. We plan to keep the Sefer through Wednesday February 12 so that it can be used and displayed to all of the Hebrew School classes in attendance that day with appropriate activities as determined by Rabbi Joyce and her staff.
Throughout the Sefer Haftarah’s stay in our congregation and as we prepare, we will document events with pictures, videos, etc. Hopefully we will be able to also obtain extemporaneous comments as well as published material by our clergy and religious school staff that we can include as part of a remembrance of this special event. This will also be used in our application for a chapter award for this awesome series of events that the Temple Torat Emet Men’s Clubs will share with our congregation.”
A hearty Kol HaKavod to Alan Pransky and the entire Temple Torat Emet Men’s Club for planning an epic week of Sefer Haftarah related programs and events.
The FJMC Sefer Haftarah Scroll contains a collection of every Haftarah read during the year, including those from holidays and Rosh Chodesh. The Haftarot are scripted by a sofer on a parchment scroll in the same manner as a Torah. In fact, when rolled up and covered by its mantle, the Haftarah scroll looks exactly like a Torah scroll but not as thick. But unlike a Torah, the Haftarah scroll contains vowels and the trop. In addition, there are dedications of the various Haftarot in English and Hebrew. Since it was first unveiled during the 2003 FJMC Biennial Convention in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the FJMC Sefer Haftarah scroll has travelled around North America to Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods, to regional retreats and to FJMC conventions., visiting synagogues from West Coast to East Coast, from Florida to Canada. At services, it is treated very much like a Torah. It is housed in the Ark, undressed and redressed like a Torah, and carried around the congregation in the Torah procession. For more information about the FJMC Sefer Haftarah project visit: https://fjmc.org/for-clubs/sefer-haftarah/.
The Temple Torat Emet Men’s Club is a proud member of the Florida Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC). We serve the needs of affiliated Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods throughout the State of Florida. Learn more about the FJMC Florida Region and our growing network of Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods at: www.floridaregionfjmc.org and please visit & LIKE our Facebook Group at: www.facebook.com/FloridaRegionFJMC.
The FJMC is 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 how YOUR Jewish Men’s Club or Brotherhood can affiliate with the FJMC at: https://fjmc.org/for-clubs/affiliating-with-the-fjmc/.
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