High Holidays 5786 L'Shanah Tovah ~ New Mexico Jewish Journal Holiday Newsletter with Events listings
Shanah Tovah! CLICK here to continue reading! Wishing you a Happy New Year for Rosh Hashanah, 5786. Sukkot is being celebrated now from the evening of October 6th through Oct. 13th.
Scroll down to see more than 20 community events. See Sukkot events Oct. 10th TBS Santa Fe; Oct. 12 B'nai Israel. The week of October 13th a number of special theatrical events will be taking place. Scroll down to see the event flyers from all our Community Supporters.
The week of Oct. 13th: "ETTY" a live performance is coming, and two Jewish films are Official Selections at the Santa Fe International Film Festival:
- "My Underground Mother" a feature film by Marisa Fox, Oct. 15th and 16th at Sky Cinemas 3. "Freedom fighter, double agent, femme fatale — Tamar said she was all three. Decades after her death, a page she wrote in a diary from a Nazi-run women’s camp reveals a hidden identity, leading her journalist daughter on a global reckoning with the secrets she took to her grave." https://santafe.film/filmguide for screening and tickets.
- Experimental Shorts on Oct. 17, at 10 AM, "Extinguished Lives" the world premiere short documentary by Roberta Grossman, tickets here, at the Kathyrn O'Keefe Theater at Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. "When a young bride and her husband escape the Nazi onslaught for the safety of her childhood home—a remote Jewish village in Lithuania—they discover that the most chilling threat may come not from the invaders, but from those they once called neighbors." Museum of Indian Arts & Culture Kathryn O'Keeffe Theater is located on Museum Hill off of Old Santa Fe Trail. 710 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe, NM.
- A live play, "Etty", "If I should not survive, how I die will show me who I really am." More information and details here. On Oct. 18th at 11 a.m. at HaMakom in Santa Fe, Oct. 19th at 2:30 at Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, and Oct. 21st at 3 p.m. at El Castillo, Santa Fe. To register for the Hamakom and El Castillo performances please write to RSVP@ettyproject.org.
To register for the Congregation Albert performance RSVP here: https://www.congregationalbert.org/theettyproject.
First, we share with you here a drash from Rabbi Min Kantrowitz, who led High Holy Day services this year at HaMakom in Santa Fe. Read all our Past Issues here, also, use the magnifying glass 🔍 Search icon, located above right on your screen, or click on highlighted authors' names to see all their published articles. If you are viewing this in the newsletter and do not see everything, such as the Search icon 🔍, click on VIEW IN BROWSER above!
Gemilut Chasadim ~ To Bestow Lovingkindness
by Rabbi Min Kantrowitz - Jewish Values #7
The Jewish value of “gemilut chasadim” literally means “to bestow loving kindnesses”. This core value encompasses the concept of benevolence, which involves giving of one’s person, for example, by a kindly word or a pat on the shoulder or by generally offering words of comfort and consolation. It involves the expression of goodwill to all, rich or poor, healthy or sick, to the successful as well as to those who fall short of success. In contrast to charity, benevolence comes from within, from the compassionate heart. As the old Jewish saying has it: “Charity awaits the cry of distress. Benevolence anticipates the cry of distress.”
Jewish sages say that the practice of loving kindness is one of the pillars of the world itself. In Pirkei Avot, a section of the Mishnah (a collection of early oral interpretations of the scriptures that was compiled about AD 200, and which form a part of the Talmud) we are taught: "The world stands upon three things: upon the Torah, upon the divine service, and upon the practice of loving kindness" (Avot 1:2) The entire Jewish value system and way of life thus depends on Torah (learning, wisdom, knowledge), Divine Service (recognizing and appreciating the sacred in our lives and expressing that appreciation through ritual or spiritual practice) and actions of lovingkindness. We recognize that just thinking about doing acts of generosity or kindness doesn’t count! The practice of gemilut chasadim requires a special kind of awareness, focusing on the situation of a person other than ourselves. First we must be aware of that person and their current circumstances, but then be sufficiently interested in that person to learn something about them and then decide that we want to intervene in some way to try to help. But until we take that final step, of actually acting, we are not contributing to building the world of compassion that Jewish tradition asks of us.
Among acts of benevolence especially singled out in the Jewish tradition are: visiting the sick, arranging for burial, attending funerals, and comforting mourners, since there its no expectation of reward. However, gemilut chasadim finds expression in all efforts of goodwill and personal acts of kindness. Thanking the overworked clerk at the supermarket, sending a birthday card (through the mail, with a stamp!), appreciating a child’s drawing, and remembering a yartzeit can magnify the impact of small acts and inspire others to do the same. . Anyone who goes through a day with sensitivity and a desire to care about others will find multiple opportunities to practice gemilut chasadim!
Rabbi Min Kantrowitz is a Rabbi, educator and author. A 2004 graduate of the transdenominational Academy for Jewish Religion, California, she is the author of “Counting the Omer: A Kabbalistic Meditation Guide” (Gaon Press) and co-author of “One God: Three Paths” a prayerbook written by a Christian and a Moslem and a Jew. Rabbi Kantrowitz is a Rabbis Without Borders Fellow who served as Rabbinic Advisor to Congregation Nahalat Shalom and served on the Board of Directors of Hopeworks, and the Steering Committee of Hillel at UNM and as a founding member of the New Mexico Jewish Journal. Rabbi Kantrowitz is a former psychologist, a former architect/planner, a wife, mother and the proud Bubbie of three grandsons.
Diane Joy Schmidt, pastel drawing Apples for Rosh HaShanah. Publisher and editor of the New Mexico Jewish Journal and internationally award-winning storyteller and imagist, she is anchored by her memories of the fireflies at Union Institute summer camp and the Big Dipper over Lake Michigan, and is an admirer of all things spiritually resonant. Former Chicago Tribune regular contributor and columnist, she was senior correspondent for the discontinued New Mexico Jewish Link. MFA, Antioch University, 2020, MA, UNM, 2002. Her books include the best-selling art monograph The Chicago Exhibition (Melrose), and she has published hundreds of articles, commentaries, literary stories, photojournalism and drawings. Most recently she wrote an award-winning screenplay and a graphic novel. View more at www.dianejoyschmidt.com.
To catch up on all the news around the world here are:
View the contents of the Fall and ALL Past Issues!
VIEW MORE THAN 20 COMMUNITY EVENTS
Be a Community Supporter Advertiser! Contact editor@nmjewishjournal.com
REGISTER NOW!!:
New Mexico Jewish Journal
And after the debate, the exhibit opening at the J:
SHABBAT WITH FRIENDS FALL RETREAT
DON'T MISS OUR FALL RETREAT! DETAILS: https://www.shabbatwithfriends.org/event-details/swf-fall-shabbat-retreat-in-truchas-nm-oct-24-26-2025
ON OCTOBER 16th in Santa Fe:
New Mexico Jewish Journal
OCTOBER 17th a short documentary at the Santa Fe International Film Festival:
New Mexico Jewish Journal
New Mexico Jewish Journal
LOOKING FOR MORE PAST ISSUES? Hit the Past Issues tab above or peruse:
New Mexico Jewish Journal
https://www.nmjewishjournal.com/ https://www.nmjewishjournal.com/
Community Supporters of the NM Jewish Journal include:
Jewish Community Foundation of New Mexico
Congregation Albert
Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque
The Institute for Tolerance Studies
Jewish Federation of El Paso and Las Cruces
Temple Beth Shalom
Congregation B'nai Israel
Shabbat with Friends: Recapturing Together the Joy of Shabbat
New Mexico Jewish Historical Society
Where the North Ends, A Novel by Hugo Moreno
Policy Statement Acceptance of advertisements does not constitute an endorsement of the advertisers’ products, services or opinions. Likewise, while an advertiser or community supporter's ad may indicate their support for the publication's mission, that does not constitute their endorsement of the publication's content.
Copyright © 2025 New Mexico Jewish Journal LLC. All rights reserved.
