Shabbat is a time of joy. Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, is a weekly holiday that celebrates creation and offers a respite from the hectic pace of the rest of the week. Shabbat begins at sundown on Friday and ends with Havdalah – a short ceremony that separates Shabbat from the rest of the week – on Saturday evening.
Although each Shabbat worship service differs from the others (and every congregation does things its own way), there are some Shabbat customs, traditions, and practices observed in one form or another in synagogues and Jewish communities throughout the world.
The Jewish Remembrance Week team, TaMaR e.V., and the Jüdische Kultusgemeinde Dresden are excited to be hosting a shabbat service in the New Görlitz Synagogue, in what will be a historic, world-wide reunion of descendants from the original Jewish Community of Görlitz.
This event will be a private event by invitation only. If you are interested in attending, please contact: lauren@jrwgoerlitz.com
Rabbi Esther Jonas-Märtin Leader of the Shabbat Service
Rabbi Esther Jonas-Märtin, born in Leipzig in 1974, studied German language and literature, religious studies, Jewish studies and modern history at the universities of Leipzig and Potsdam. Her master’s thesis was devoted to “Israel” in the work of the Yiddish lyricist Malka Li. Initially, she worked as a research assistant in an interreligious DFG project on “Jewish Women in Germany after 1945 between Religion and Politics”. The work became seminal to her decision to become a rabbi. In 2017, she graduated from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles with a Master of Arts in Rabbinic Studies and received her smicha at the same time. The topic of her thesis was “Beyond Cain and Abel – The Individual Self and the Challenges of Community.” Her publications include: “‘Hear Israel as a water springs…’. The Imaginary Israel. Identity and Difference in the Poetry of Malka Li” (2006); “Jewish Women, Organizations and Movements in Germany after 1945,” in Handbook of Religions (2011).
Rabbi Jonas-Märtin is a member of the Rabbinical Assembly (Conservative/Masorti). She is the initiator and co-founder of “Beth Etz Chaim,” a Jewish teaching house in Leipzig that advocates the transmission of Jewish knowledge and values, pluralism, and the peaceful coexistence of religions and worldviews. – Website: www.etzchaim.de. She is also involved in interreligious dialogue, among other things as an educational consultant at the Eugen Biser Foundation, and is also a member of the board of trustees of the Leo Trepp Foundation. In October 2021, Esther Jonas-Märtin received the peace plaque “Swords to Plowshares”, which was awarded to honor Jewish awakenings in the celebration year 1700 years of Jewish history on German soil.
TaMaR Germany is a group which stands for a strong, open, warm, inspiring, modern Jewish community.
We want to grow together, reinforce each other and thereby experience our deep connection with Progressive Judaism. We see ourselves as the Progressive young Jewish voice in Germany.
We welcome everyone, from students, trainees to young parents. If you are between 18 and 35 years old, Jewish and are interested in a lively exchange and new experiences together, feel free to contact us using the link below the photo to the left.
We offer you a wide program, lots of exciting activities and events, the opportunity for self-determined participation and above all a young, creative and motivated community in and with which you can live your Judaism. You are welcome to shape TaMaR with your individual interests, because diversity is our strength. Together we can make progressive Jewish life in Germany more visible and heard. We are open for debate and learning so we can grow together.
The JKD is a Jewish community in Dresden founded in September 2021. It currently consists of around 200 members. The Jüdische Kultusgemeinde Dresden offers Jews and associated non-Jewish members a place of community and celebration of Jewish traditions. We are a young, vibrant and egalitarian community where diverse people interact. Our thriving congregation is a vibrant and spiritual community dedicated to celebrating our faith and traditions. Join us and begin your spiritual journey with us. Our ambition is to establish a vibrant Jewish life in Dresden that is open to the outside world and cooperates with global Jewish and non-Jewish partners.
We know that sometimes it doesn’t take much to change the world a little. Since our founding in 2021, we have been determined to advance Jewish life in Dresden for the better. Our vision is to establish a predominantly young, diverse, liberal Jewish community where everyone is welcome. We are in exchange with rabbis and actors from all over the world and create diverse projects on Jewish life in Germany.
Honoring the legacy. Mourning the loss. Finding hope in our history.
