Orahavah.org Rabbi Debrah Shenefelt https://orahavah.org A Jewish Renewal Community Wed, 20 Aug 2025 14:28:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=3.7.41 Rosh Chodesh Elul https://orahavah.org/rosh-chodesh-elul https://orahavah.org/rosh-chodesh-elul#comments Wed, 20 Aug 2025 14:27:44 +0000 https://orahavah.org/?p=1300 Sunday, August 24th, 4:30-6:00 PM

We will continue learning about the Four Worlds in Elul and use this as a way to focus on our work in preparing for the High Holidays.

]]> https://orahavah.org/rosh-chodesh-elul/feed 0 Or Ahavah High Holidays, 2025 https://orahavah.org/or-ahavah-high-holidays-2025 https://orahavah.org/or-ahavah-high-holidays-2025#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2025 18:40:29 +0000 https://orahavah.org/?p=1276 Join Or Ahavah for the high holidays. Holiday Fee is $360.00 per person regardless of how many services you attend. Payment must be received by September 1, 2025.  Please click the “more” link to go to the form.

If you are going to miss services for Rosh Hashanah or the Yom Kippur Evening or Day services, you might consider giving the service as a gift to someone else who may be looking for a community to join for the holidays. Just include their name (s) on the form below.

Rosh Hashanah 2025

  • September 22nd, 6:30 P.M., Home of Inga Nasi and on Zoom, Blessing Seder and Dinner
  • September 23rd, 10:30 A.M., on Zoom, Shofar Blowing
  • September 24th, 10:30 A.M. on Zoom, Shofar Blowing

Yom Kippur 2025

  • October 1st, 5:00 P.M. on Zoom, Mikvah Meditation
  • October 1st, 6:15 P.M., Shenefelt Home and on Zoom, Kol Nidre begins
  • October 2nd, 10:00 A.M., Home of Inga Nasi, Day Services for Yom Kippur
     7:15 P.M. Havdallah followed by Break Fast

 

Please contact Phil at p.shenefelt@att.net if you have any questions.

 

]]> https://orahavah.org/or-ahavah-high-holidays-2025/feed 0 Or Ahavah Fundraiser https://orahavah.org/or-ahavah-fundraiser https://orahavah.org/or-ahavah-fundraiser#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2025 18:36:08 +0000 https://orahavah.org/?p=1292 Or Ahavah Fundraiser Concert posterA Concert for Rosh Chodesh Av
Saturday, July 26, 2025, at 7:30 PM on Zoom.

Reserve at https://orahavah.org/fundraiser-donation

]]> https://orahavah.org/or-ahavah-fundraiser/feed 0 Upcoming Events — July – Sept 2025 https://orahavah.org/upcoming-events https://orahavah.org/upcoming-events#comments Mon, 30 Jun 2025 14:35:45 +0000 https://orahavah.org/?p=1248 Sunday, July 20th at 6 p.m., Board meeting via Zoom. The agenda and link will go out Sunday morning.
Please contact Phil at p.shenefelt@att.net if you have anything that you would like included in the agenda. This is a time of transition and we would love your input!

Saturday, July 26th at 7:30 Joy will be offering a fund-raising concert for Or Ahavah on Zoom. Stay tuned for details.

Please Note – Date change from the 9th to the 16th
Saturday, August 16th, at 7:30 PM.. at the Shenefelt home, Shma in the Four Worlds, review, additional study and meditation. Dessert will follow.

September 22nd, Rosh Hashanah Blessing Seder and Dinner at Inga’s home. Stay tuned for details.

]]> https://orahavah.org/upcoming-events/feed 0 Upcoming Events — July – October 2024 https://orahavah.org/1241 https://orahavah.org/1241#comments Mon, 08 Jul 2024 21:38:47 +0000 https://orahavah.org/?p=1241 Saturday, July 13, 10:30 a.m., Torah Study, Parshat Chukat, Numbers 19:1-22:1, led by Barry Shalinsky.

The Torah Portion is attached. Zoom link will be sent out on Friday before Shabbat.

 

Monday, August 12, 7:00 P.M., Tishe B=E2=80=99Av

Materials will be sent out with zoom link, led by Rabbi Deb

 

Elul Gathering To Be Announced

 

Wednesday, October 2, Rosh HaShanah, Time to Be Announced, dinner and New Year

Meditation, home of Inga Nasi, Zoom will be available

 

Thursday, October 3 and Friday, October 4, Shofar Blowing at 11:00 a.m. and Awakening Meditation, on Zoom

 

Friday night October 11 and Saturday October 12, Yom Kippur Essential Silence

 

Retreat, times to be announced, home of Phil and Rabbi Deb, we will have breakfast here.

More information to be announced.

 

Sukkot, To Be Announced

 

]]> https://orahavah.org/1241/feed 0 Gatherings for Or Ahavah – Aug 2023 — Oct 2023 https://orahavah.org/gatherings-for-or-ahavah-aug-2023-oct-2023 https://orahavah.org/gatherings-for-or-ahavah-aug-2023-oct-2023#comments Tue, 08 Aug 2023 13:48:37 +0000 https://orahavah.org/?p=1228 Below is a list of gatherings for Or Ahavah. Please mark your calendars and rsvp if you think you will be at the gathering. Contact me if you have any questions!

Aug 17, 7 PM – Or Ahavah Sacred Sharing (monthly check-in)

Or Ahavah members only

 

August 20, 4 PM – Elul prep for the High Holidays

Free for members, $35 for guests

 

September 15, 7:30 PM – Erev Rosh Hashanah

Join Or Ahavah for a creative gathering.

 

September 16, 11 AM – Blowing of the Shofar

 

October 4, 6 PM – Candle lighting and Kol Nidre for Yom Kippur

 

October 5, 9:30 AM -7:15 PM- Yom Kippur day, continual services

Please stay tuned for more info because we are still waiting for fee amounts for some of the events.

]]> https://orahavah.org/gatherings-for-or-ahavah-aug-2023-oct-2023/feed 0 Parshat Trumah, A Bissel Torah from Reb Devorah https://orahavah.org/parshat-trumah-a-bissel-torah-from-reb-devorah https://orahavah.org/parshat-trumah-a-bissel-torah-from-reb-devorah#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2023 17:25:38 +0000 https://orahavah.org/?p=1225

Trumah refers to gifts. Specifically to this parsha, it refers to the people bringing offerings that would be converted to materials to make the Mishkan, a dwelling place for G!D, that the Israelites would carry throughout their trek in the desert. Elaborate instructions are given by the Torah for the construction of a place on earth, a portable place on earth, in which G!D would be readily accessible and from which the protective power of G!D would emanate.

The instructions are many, very detailed and exacting. Yet the size of the Mishkan was small, it was a “Little Mishkan” that the Israelites could carry. Rabbis talk about the people in the desert needing the Mishkan and underscore their belief that G!D did not need the Mishkan. Okay, in some ultimate sense, this rings true. But, let’s look at the reason G!D gives for instructing the people to build the Mishkan:

And let them make me a sanctuary

And let them make me a sanctuary; so that I may dwell among them (Ex. 25:8).

G!D, specifically Y-H-V-H, wants to dwell among the people. G!D wants to be known and in relationship with the people.

So here is what we know about the sacred story of the long ago and faraway of ancient Israel. The Torah tells us to build a Mishkan so that G!D can dwell among the people, so that G!D can be our G!D and be in relationship with the people. I have seen the Mishkan described in the literature as “small” or “little.”

Our community, Or Ahavah, is little compared to a synagogue. But Or Ahavah is not a synagogue And the Mishkan or Ohel Mo’ed can not be compared to a synagogue either. The Mishkan was not a house of worship, not a place of communal prayer. The Mishkan was a home for the Divine and off-limits to everyone except the upper echelons of the priesthood. It was a place from which G!D could be in relationship with the people in very specific and structured ways.

Each time we meet, I feel that Or Ahavah manifests a Mishkan. We make holy space in which the Presence of G!D may dwell. Though it is not an exact replica, Or Ahavah manifests our capacity to make a Mishkan with our hearts and our souls. We have a dues structure, but people join Or Ahavah because they are moved to do so and the dues are invitations for gifts so that our physical presence, as minimal as it is, can be sustained. We are not a little shul, we are a little Mishkan that manifests in time rather than space.

]]> https://orahavah.org/parshat-trumah-a-bissel-torah-from-reb-devorah/feed 0 Annual Mystical Tu B’Shvat Seder https://orahavah.org/annual-mystical-tu-bshvat-seder https://orahavah.org/annual-mystical-tu-bshvat-seder#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2023 14:33:00 +0000 https://orahavah.org/?p=1223 Everyone Shalom!
Our annual Mystical Tu B’Shvat Seder is a gathering brimming with learning, singing, prayer and meditations. 
 
 This will be a hybrid gathering- weather permitting, outside on the Shenefelt lanai and on zoom. We will gather on Sunday, February 5 at 4 p.m. The seder will go for about 1,5-2 hours.
 
If you are not vaccinated and plan to attend in person, please take a covid test before you come here. Everyone, please bring a mask.
 
I will be setting up tables and chairs in a way that we can practice some social distancing while eating. I also will provide all of the ritual fruits and other foods.  I will wear sterile gloves when preparing the platters. 
 
For those joining by zoom, information about what you will need for the seder will be sent to you upon receipt of your RSVP.  RSVP to OrahavahTampa@gmail.com by January 30, 2023 
 
 The seder is free for Or Ahavah members. We request a minimum donation of $18 from our friends. 
 
 RSVP to OrahavahTampa@gmail.com by January 30, 2023
 
Loving Blessings,
Rabbi Deb
]]> https://orahavah.org/annual-mystical-tu-bshvat-seder/feed 0 Gatherings for Or Ahavah https://orahavah.org/gatherings-for-or-ahavah https://orahavah.org/gatherings-for-or-ahavah#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2022 14:50:37 +0000 https://orahavah.org/?p=1205

Below is an updated list of gatherings for Or Ahavah. Please mark your calendars and rsvp if you think you will be at the gathering. I am hoping that we can have our mystical Tu B’Shvat Seder outside on our linai. Please let me know if you are uncomfortable with this and if you are not vaccinated (if I do not already know). And of course, contact me if you have any questions!

Love and Light in this Season of Light,
Rabbi Deb

December 25, 2022 beginning at 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Zoom

Candle lighting for Chanukah and meditation on Light; if you want, please have your Chanukkah menorah with candles on your table and we do the candle lighting together. If you do not have a menorah, please have nine tea lights to light. You can use either for the meditation.

Free to community members and also free to our friends as a Chanukah gift! RSVP to OrAhavahTampa@gmail.com by December 23, 2022

January 22, 2023 at 1 p.m.; Zoom

OrAhavah_1.22.23_Concert_JoyKatzenGuthrie

Who puts the Fun in Fundraiser? Joy Katzen-Guthrie and her joyful music! This will be a varied concert celebration for the year ahead and include music for the New Year, Gratitude, Israel, Tu B’Shvat, Rosh Chodesh and a smattering of Jewish Feminist Music. Requested donation is $18, $36, $54, $72, $90, or $108. A flyer will more information will be out soon.

February 5, 2023 from 4pm – 6ish p.m.

Annual Mystical Tu B’Shvat Seder: A gathering brimming with learning, singing, prayer and meditations.

This will be a hybrid gathering. You can join us for our first in person gathering outside on the Shenefelt Lanai or you can join by Zoom. Bring a mask if you are going to join in person.

For those joining by zoom, information about what you will need for the seder will be sent to you upon receipt of your RSVP.

The seder is free for Or Ahavah members. We request a minimum donation of $18 from our friends.

RSVP to OrahavahTampa@gmail.com by January 30, 2023

March 26, 2023 from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.; Zoom

Food and Fitness from a Jewish Perspective presented by our very own Nutritionist Barbara Freedland. RSVP by March 20 to orahavahtampa@gmail.com

This gathering is free for members and friends.

April 5, 2023

1st night Passover Seder. Information will follow soon.

May 25, 2023

Tikkun Leil Shavuot, Special study for the first evening of Shavuot dedicated to healing the world. Information will follow.

 

I am in conversation with Cathy Lesser Mansfield, the writer and producer of the fabulous play “The Sparks Fly Upward.” She is hoping to do a presentation for Or Ahavah in May or June of 2023 about the development of Nazi Laws as Germany was slipping into fascism from a Democracy. I will keep you posted!

Information about our monthly “Meditation and Check-In” for members only is sent out from Naraiyah. I believe our next meeting is on January 15, 2023 from 4:00 – 5:30 on Zoom. For those who have not been joining in, I want to share with you how awesome, deep and connecting this gathering is for those who attend. It also allows each of us to continue our spiritual practice of compassionate listening.

]]> https://orahavah.org/gatherings-for-or-ahavah/feed 0 High Holidays 2022 on Zoom https://orahavah.org/high-holidays-2022-on-zoom https://orahavah.org/high-holidays-2022-on-zoom#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2022 16:07:31 +0000 https://orahavah.org/?p=1194 Preparing Spiritually for the Holidays
  • 08.28 at 5
  • 09.04 at 5
  • 09.11 at 5:30
  • 09.18 at 5:00

Rosh Hashanah:

Evening service: 09.25.2022
7:00 PM- Candle-lighting, Blessings and New Year Meditation

Day service: 09.26.2022
10:00 AM- Includes Torah Reading and Meditative Musaf Experience

Yom Kippur:

Evening: 10.04.2022
4:30 PM- Mikvah Meditation until 5:00 PM
6:30 PM- Kol Nidre Service including Meditation on the Sh’ma.

Day: 10.05.2022
9:00 AM- Wake up with body and release work through Qi Gong
10:00 AM- Morning service begins followed by services throughout the day. Services include special meditations developed for Yom Kippur and a moving Yizkor service
7:20 PM Havdallah, please have challah bread and wine available.

All of the services are virtual on Zoom. There will be several breaks given throughout the day. The cost for all of the holiday services is $350 and reduced rates are available for new-comers. No one is turned away because of financial constraints. Please contact Phil at p.shenefelt@att.net to arrange for reduced rate, financial aid, or a payment plan.

RSVP to Orahavahtampa@gmail.com. Payment is due by Thursday, 09.22.2022. Please make your check payable to Or Ahavah, and mail to Philip Shenefelt 15919 Nottinghill Drive Lutz, FL 33548. If you prefer to pay online through our orahavah.org PayPal donate button, please add 3 percent additional for processing and also e-mail Phil that you have paid. You will receive a link for the services upon receipt of payment. Or Ahavah is a non-profit organization.

Contact Rabbi Deb if you have any questions about the holidays or preparing for them. She can be reached at d.shenefelt@att.net or at 813.728.3194

We hope that you will be able to join us!

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