Orthodox Union Executive Vice President, Emeritus Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb will be scholar-in-residence at the building dedication of the Young Israel of Toco Hills from Friday, November 14 to Saturday, November 15 (Shabbat Parshat Chayei Sarah). The official dedication (Chanukat Beit Knesset) will take place Sunday, November 16.
The synagogue is located at 2056 Lavista Road.
The program is sponsored by Rafael Harpaz and Elizabeth Herman to honor Yosef ben Chaim, their father/father-in-law, on the occasion of this twelfth yahrtzeit. A true Zionist, he helped set the stage in Mandate Palestine for that other amazing Chanukat Bayit (of Israel’s establishment as a state) that took place on May 14, 1948 (5 Iyar 5708).
On Friday night, Rabbi Weinreb will be delivering his presentation on “Implications of Contemporary Psychological Research for Religious Behavior,” following Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv services at 5:20 p.m. On Shabbat morning, he will be giving his sermon on “The Hidden Depths of Psalm 30, Mizmor Shir Chanukat Habayit.” In the afternoon at 4:10 p.m., he will be giving a lecture on “Responses to Spiritual Crisis: Tehillim, Tea, and Talking Less.” During seudah shlishit, he will be giving a brief Chassidic “vort” (Yiddish for “few words of Torah”), plus an open question-and-answer session.
Rabbi Adam Starr of Young Israel of Toco Hills said, “It is such a great kavod (honor) for our congregation to welcome Rabbi Weinreb as our scholar-in-residence for the Shabbat preceding the dedication of our new Beit Knesset. We are grateful that the OU recognizes and supports the tremendous growth and success of Orthodoxy in Atlanta. The building of our new shul building is a tremendous source of pride and accomplishment for our congregation, and we are thrilled to share this with the OU community.”