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Congregation Adath Israel

Middletown, CT
Heavenly Cheesecake PDF Print Email

“HEAVEN”LY CHEESECAKE 

by Rabbi Haaz
 

 

As a rabbi, I feel very blessed to be part of such an inquisitive community. A number  

of questions arise during the year that I do not get the opportunity to address through
a class or series of discussions. Many of these questions deal with Jewish

perspectives on the end of life and on what our experience will be in olam haba,  

the world to come.

 

These questions have only intensified throughout the past year in which Adath Israel
has discussed the possibility of multifaith burial. Our discussion about the ritual

aspects of multifaith burial will conclude at the congregational meeting on June 12.

Shavuot, the holiday on which we celebrate receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai,

presents a wonderful opportunity to address the questions asked by our members

with thebackdrop of our decision about the ritual possibility of multifaith burial in the  

Adath Israel Cemetery.

 

On June 7, the first evening of Shavuot, Adath Israel will observe the traditional  

evening of study that prepares us for and excites us about receiving Torah anew.

We will discuss several of the big questions that have been asked about the  

process of aging, death, and dying, such as conceptions of an afterlife,

Jewish medical directives, treatment of the elderly, and our response to the

question of multifaith burial. And, of course, being a community immersed in

Jewish tradition, we will conduct  our Shavuot study over cheesecake.

Please join us for therse discussions that will strengthen yourgrounding

on these central issues and build our learning community.

 

Shavuot Schedule, June 7

5:30-7:45 PM Family education and activities (includes dinner.

7:45-8:00 PM Evening service

8:00 - midnight Adult study

 

*All young people are welcome to stay for the audit study, but they will have the

option to play games in the Nester Center. In addition, there will be a deignated

space for sleeping bags for those who would like to rest while their parents

participate in the study sessions. I look forward top learning and growing together

this Shavuot. 
 
Welcome Rabbi Seth Haaz PDF Print Email

Rabbi-Haaz

Rabbi Haaz formerly served as the rabbi of Congregation Sons of Israel in Amsterdam, NY and as the rabbinic intern at Town and Village Synagogue in New York, NY.  He also helped strengthen future Jewish communities through his commitment to Camp Ramah and to Tribeca Hebrew in New York, NY.

 

Rabbi Haaz was the only student in his class at the Seminary to pursue both hospital and military chaplaincy training.  Rabbi Haaz completed 800 hours of Clinical Pastoral Education at Abington Memorial Hospital and at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, where his speech from the closing invocation was published in a national pastoral care publication.  Rabbi Haaz is also a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, where he received his training in the Chaplain Candidate Program and served in Italy and Spain. 

 

Prior to beginning his studies at the Seminary, Rabbi Haaz worked in the Office of Survivor Affairs in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, where he conducted research on Jewish Rescue efforts. 

 

In addition to his rabbinical ordination, Rabbi Haaz received an MA in Interdepartmental Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City and a BA in Economics from Tufts University in Medford, MA.  Rabbi Haaz is the recipient of the Dr. Michael Higger Prize in Talmud, the S. Gershon Feffer Memorial Prize, the Edward Feder Peace Prize, and the Lillian M. Lowenfeld Prize in Practical Theology.