In great anticipation of Hadassah, and Rosh Chodesh Heshvan 5773

Cheryl Temkin is from Tamarac, Florida and volunteering for Women of the Wall through Skilled Volunteers for Israel

Rosh Chodesh is always a significant time in our lives as modern Jewish women.  As the new month approaches we are reminded of our affiliation with the lunar calendar and our personal identification with the waxing and waning of the moon.

Rosh Chodesh Heshvan 5773 in Jerusalem promises to be an exceptional event.  This year Hadassah, the world’s largest organization of Jewish women, has chosen to hold its biennial convention here.  This coincides with the centennial of this amazing organization.  More than 1600 delegates are poised to come up to Jerusalem beginning this Monday and commemorate Hadassah’s 100th birthday.

On Tuesday evening Oct 16th the women of Hadassah will board buses and come to the Kotel, the Western Wall, to pray the aravit evening service and join together in song.  The next morning,  on Wednesday October 17th, women from all over Israel will congregate at the Wall, as they do every Rosh Chodesh, to pray the morning Shaharit service and then move to Robinson’s Arch to read the portion from the Sefer Torah. This coming Wednesday is exceptional since a film crews from several Israeli and international media outlets will be filming us praying at the Kotel and thereby affirming our identity with the Jewish people the world over.  This segment will be broadcast throughout Israel and abroad so that our brothers and sisters throughout the country can see firsthand our devotion to our faith.

I have traveled here from South Florida to join in this celebration. It is a joyous time for me personally to return to Jerusalem, where I just spent a wonderful summer of study at the Conservative Yeshiva.  It is an opportunity for me to meet up with my nephew who serves in the Israeli army.  And not least I await the arrival of my brother and sister-in-law since she will be here as a proud delegate of Hadassah.

So with great anticipation we look forward to celebrating a joyous Rosh Chodesh Heshvan 5773.  It is truly an opportunity not to be missed.

Cheryl Temkin
Tamarac, Florida