Beth El
Congregation
Harrisonburg, VA
January 2005
From the
Rabbi’s Desk
My dear fellow Valley Jews and friends,
I hope that you had a wonderful Chanukah and winter break, filled with food, fun, and family — steeped in love, blessings, and lots of everything that is good. It is my hope that the festival of lights filled you and your world with the light of many blessings.
The Calendar
and Holidays: The
secular year has turned to 2005 C.E. (Common Era). Of course, for the Jewish
calendar, it remains 5765 until we reach Rosh Hashanah.
The month of Kislev has merged into Tevet. Rosh
Chodesh for the new month of Tevet began the evening of Dec. 12.
The most noteworthy date in Tevet is the Ta’anit
Asarah Be’Tevet, the Fast of the tenth of Tevet. This fast day commemorates the
imposition of the siege of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. We commemorated this sad
event in Jewish history this year on Dec. 22, and it leads in a few months up
to the commemoration of the destruction of the Temple, observed on Tisha Be’Av
(the ninth day of the month of Av), considered by many to be the saddest day of
the Jewish year.
Rosh Chodesh for the new month of Shevat will fall
this year on Jan. 11. You probably recall that the holiday of Tu Bi’Shevat (‘15
in Shevat’) falls on the fifteenth day of this month.
A word on ‘TU.’ In Jewish practice, we generally
count using letters as values and markers. The system is alef=1, bet=2,
gimel=3, daled=4, hay=5, vav=6,zion=7, chet=8, tet=9, yud=10, chof=20,
Adult
Education Discussion at Temple Beth El “The Religious Right In the Shenandoah Valley” Guest
Speaker Chris Robinson Sociologist,
James Madison University Advocate for
Human Rights
Sunday, January 30, at
7 p.m.
______________________________________________________________________
lamed=30,
mem=40, nun=50, samech=60, ayin=70, pay=80, tzadee=90, kuf=100, resh=200,
shin=300, tav=400. For those numbers between, we form them from largest to
smallest, so 11=yud-alef, 22=chof-bet, 135=kuf-lamed-hay, and so on.
To represent the year 5765, for example, we assume
you will know which millenium you are talking about (most of us will not live
long enough to be confused by dealing with spanning three thousand years!), so
we identify the current year as tav-shin-nun-hay (400+300+60+5=765). Some
pronounce the letters as a word, so this year is sometimes called ‘Tashnah.’
Others have the practice of finding phrases for which this is an acronym, which
leads into the ‘game’ of Gematria, or numerology, equating or relating words
with similar numerical values. Often there are many such phrases that can be
formed from an acronym, so one can select among them, depending on their
feelings and thoughts at the moment, or make a connection among them to seek a
message! This can sometimes be an interesting diversion in an idle moment.
For the holiday of Tu Bi’Shevat, “Tu” is denoted as
Tet-vav, or nine + six, for 15. You might ask, “why isn’t it yud-hay,” which is
more in keeping with what I said about how we form the numeric values. Good
question!
It turns out that the Yud-hay formulation is viewed
as a representation of a name for G-d. It is, after all, half of the
tetragrammaton (the four letter name of G-d, Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay), which we don’t
pronounce, and we use it in the phrase Halellu-Yah (Praise Yah!). In its stead
we substitute the term ‘Adonay,’ which means ‘my lord,’ ‘my sir,’ or ‘my
master.’ As a recollection of the commandment not to take the name of G-d in
vain, we do not use this shortened, familiar name to mark a day of the month,
and instead, substitute ‘tet-vav’ for ‘yud-hay’! So we have on the calendar the
holiday of ‘Tu Bi’Shevat,’ not ‘Yah Be’Shevat!’
So after all that, what is Tu Bi’Shevat? The easiest
way to describe it is to say it is the ‘Jewish arbor day,’ but of course, that
is not really true. It turns out that there are a series of mitzvot
(commandments) regarding the taking of produce of plants, such as the fruit of
trees. Among these mitzvot is the mitzvah concerning leaving the tree to grow
and become firmly established before harvesting the fruit. It seems to me to
make sense from both a practical standpoint and as an expression of respect for
all living things to allow the root system of the tree to become strong enough
to support the tree and to nourish it as it produces fruit. The rabbis felt
that it would take a tree at least four years to create a strong enough root
system to sustain a commercial harvest, so they ruled that one was not
permitted to sell the fruit of a tree until it had passed it’s fourth ‘birthday.’
Unfortunately, most trees don’t come with birth certificates! To establish a
way to count, the rabbis decided that it would make sense to set a marker day
to count. They picked the fifteenth of Shevat because in Israel that is when
the sap is thought to begin to rise in the Almond trees (the first to blossom),
and the rabbis established the holiday of Tu Bi’Shevat, the fifteenth day of
Shevat, as the ‘birthday’ or ‘new year’ of the trees. It is the latter that
leads us to call the day Rosh Hashanah L’Ilanot (New Year for the Trees).
The Kabbalists of Tsefat (the mystics of Safed)
viewed this holiday as both a practical agricultural marker date and as a
mystical event, with the tree symbolizing Torah (tree of life), the connection
of heaven and earth, and recalling the garden of Eden. Today, as the Kabbalists
did, we celebrate the bounty and beauty of trees on that day with the Tu
Bi’Shevat seder (order, the ritual meal similar to that at Passover) at which
we partake for the first time in that year of the fruits of trees such as
carobs, nuts, apples, and many other delicious and wonderful products.
This year Tu Bi’Shevat falls on Jan. 25. We will
celebrate it at Beth El, at THOI, and also in the Religious School. I hope you
will join me at one of these times in celebrating this delicious and meaningful
acknowledgement of the bounty of trees and the deeper significance of our
reliance on the wonders of nature for sustenance and survival.
Rabbi
Joe Blair
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Beth El Congregation January 2005
|
Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
|
2 Winter Break, No Religious School. |
3 Rabbi's
office day, 11 to 7. |
4 |
5 |
6 Sisterhood
meeting and “Learn to Knit,” 6
p.m. |
7 Adult Ed Torah
Study, 6 p.m. Rabbi
Service, 7:30. Rabbi's
office day, 10 to 5. |
8 |
|
9 Religious School, 9:30-12:30. Bagel Bar, 9-11:30. Book Club, Stolen Lives, 9 a.m. |
10 Rabbi's
office day, 11 to 7. Board Meeting, Temple, 7:30. |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 Lay
Service, 7:30
p.m. Rabbi's
office day, 10 to 5. |
15 |
|
16 Religious School, 9:30-12:30. Bagel Bar, 9-11:30. Lecture
Series, Life After Death, 7
p.m. |
17 Rabbi's
office day, 11 to 7. |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 Youth Group Service, 7:30
p.m. Ski
Weekend. Rabbi's
office day, 10 to 5. |
22 |
|
23 Religious School, 9:30-12:30. Bagel Bar, 9-11:30. |
24 Rabbi's
office day, 11 to 7. |
25 Tu b’Shvat Seder, 6 p.m. |
26 |
27 |
28 Lay
Service, 7:30
p.m. Rabbi's
office day, 10 to 5. |
29 |
|
30 Religious School, 9:30-12:30. Bagel Bar, 9-11:30. Adult Ed, Religious Right…, 7 p.m. |
31 Rabbi's
office day, 11 to 7. |
|
|
|
|
|
Rabbi
Joe’s office hours in Harrisonburg are Mondays, 11 to 7, and Fridays, 10 to 5.
Please
call ahead (434-2744) or email for an appointment: RabbiJoeB@hotmail.com.
Come and join the Men's Club at Dave's Downtown Taverna, on
Tuesday, Jan. 11. We'll be there from 6:30 to about 8 p.m.
Enjoy some great food and learn about opportunities to get
involved with us in 2005. If you have never been to a Men's Club meeting before
we'd love to meet you!
Also, we are seeking volunteers to help prepare a spaghetti dinner
for the youth on Jan. 21.
Book Club
Come join the Book Club Sunday, Jan. 9, at 9 a.m., when we will be
reviewing Stolen Lives, by Malika
Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi. This is a true story, written by a woman
imprisoned along with her mother and five siblings in a desert jail for two
decades after her father was killed. The book is an incredible documentation of
survival.
Please Pick Up
Your ‘Stuff’
When the spirit moves you to put “stuff” down on the display cases
in the social hall — please resist the impulse. It’s unsightly, and someone has
to try to figure out to whom things belong and what should be trashed.
Horizontal surfaces are very tempting, but please don’t cover them up. — Thanks, Janet.
______________________________________________________________________
I am preparing this report on the 2004 MAC
Biennial for two reasons. First, I feel the moral obligation to do so as one of
the congregation’s official delegates. Second, Rabbi Lynne Landsberg told me to
do so! So, here’s a précis of what happened during an all-too-short weekend in
Norfolk in late October.
The theme of the convention was “Opening Doors,
Opening Minds,” a minor paraphrase of one of the major URJ initiatives deriving
from the inspirational sermon by Rabbi Yoffie at the URJ biennial in
Minneapolis in 2003. In addition to renewing
old acquaintances and friendship, making new friendships, worshipping with
hundreds of other Jews on Shabbat, we heard stirring addresses by eminent
clergy and lay leaders of our movement. The list of these people is far too
long to include here, and I’ll happily share
with anyone who asks the program
brochure containing all of their names. Suffice it to say that all of them
helped open the doors of my mind to new ideas and new endeavors that we in
Harrisonburg can pursue in helping to advance the noble goals of Reform
Judaism. However, without question, the most motivating one was Rabbi
Landsberg’s Shabbat morning sermon in which she recounted part of her personal
journey since the tragic accident that has left her brain-injured and during
which she has come to attribute new, even deeper meaning to the word “Hineini.” (This is not why she urged me to prepare this
missive!) Because I hope to share the full text of this sermon with you in the
near future, I’ll not go beyond what I’ve just said except to note that there
was not a dry eye in the congregation during its delivery.
Among the several signal experiences that I had
(some shared with Janet) was attending several sessions devoted to the
functioning of congregations like ours, i.e., small ones. Some were
nuts-and-bolts meetings and others were more “imagination” sessions. Coincident
with this I have been serving on the regional committee to plan a spring
kallah, devoted exclusively to small congregation concerns. [Our Board has
offered Harrisonburg as a site for this gathering, but no decision has been
made as of this writing]. Underlying all of this is an attempt by the
Mid-Atlantic Council to serve better its small congregations, partly taking
over services to us that the national URJ will no longer provide, due to financial exigency.
So as to keep this to readable length, I’ll
finish by telling you that my instincts for social activism were re-inspired by
many things at the convention. I have eagerly joined the MAC Committee on
Social Action under the able leadership of Liz Dunst and the active involvement
of Rabbi Landsberg. A breakfast meeting of the three of us leads me to be very
optimistic about re-energizing this committee and bringing its good work to the
Valley. To coordinate it with whatever the Beth El Social Action committee has
in mind, I’ve officially joined our committee too. The potential agenda extends
from supporting the URJ Poverty initiative (as we did for Ner Shel Tzedakah by
our donations to First Step at the Chanukah dinner) to the crisis in the Sudan
to accentuating our dialogue with local non-Jewish congregations and to
advocacy on behalf of minority groups whose rights are often in jeopardy right
here at home.
I close with two items that I urge you to put on
your calendar. The first is the Consultation on Conscience in D.C., March
13-15, 2005. The second is the next MAC Biennial in late October, 2006.
L'shalom, Andy
Because of the tremendous cost of printing, postage and paper,
we have been experimenting with sending the Bridge by email to
Beth El members who have Internet access. We have also been mailing printed
copies to everyone. The Beth El Board has decided that, beginning in February, we
will mail printed copies only to
those who do not have email, and
to those who specifically request them. The electronic Bridge
will be emailed both as Word and PDF attachments, to make downloading as
easy as possible. We hope that members will elect to use our email approach, and
print out the Bridge yourselves. However, those who want a printed copy
should let us know by email
reply. We also request that non-members
with Internet access send your email address to neckowax@jmu.edu so we can send you the electronic version of the Bridge.
The Bridge by Email
______________________________________________________________________
Sisterhood
Meeting, and ‘Learn to Knit’
Thank you to
everyone who helped with our annual Chanukah dinner and entertainment. I was
unable to attend, but I heard it was a huge success!
Our next meeting
will be Thursday, Jan. 6, at 6 p.m., at the Temple. We’ll have lox and bagels
for dinner.
FUN — We’ll finish the meeting about 8
p.m., and then all are welcome to join us for hot tea and cocoa and "learn to knit.” What could be
more relaxing then hanging out on a cold night drinking tea and learning to
knit a warm scarf? Lisa will be our guest instructor. Here is what you need to
bring to join us — 2 balls of fluffy or ribbon yarn (the package should say 100
gm., which is about 3-1/2 oz). The wrapper should suggest a needle size — 11,
12, or 13, or 8-9 mm. needles. You can buy the yarn and a pair of needles at
Michaels or Walmart. If you have any questions, call Lisa at 34-6515.
Hope to see
everyone there!!!
Sherri
_____________________________________________________________________
Donations
Beth
El Congregation gratefully acknowledges the following generous donations,
received during December:
In honor of the birth of Leah Ruth Greenfield: Arnie Kahn, Ron and
Michelle Ornstein.
In honor of the birth of Russell Joseph Kramer: Ron and Michelle
Ornstein.
In memory of Oscar Rodbell, Herb’s brother: Milton Perlman, Ron
and Michelle Ornstein.
Beth El also received a donation for a memorial plaque for her
father, Oscar Rodbell, from Karen Jackson and family.
In memory of Jack Stein: Roberta and Gary Stein, with thanks to
everyone who made donations in memory of Gary’s father; Ron and Michelle
Ornstein.
Best wishes and good health for Harry Clayman: Dave and Shirley
Merlin, Jerry and Esther Minskoff.
Congratulations to Maureen Goldberger on receiving her doctorate:
Jerry and Esther Minskoff.
In honor of Joel and Naomi Ornstein: Margene Ward.
In memory of Oscar Rodbell, Herb’s brother: Franklin Blatt.
In honor of the birth of Leah Ruth Greenfield: Jerry and Esther
Minskoff, Bo and Sandi Rose.
In memory of Oscar Rodbell: Bary and Ruth Berger.
In honor of the birth of Russell Joseph Kramer: Bary and Ruth
Berger.
In honor of the installation of Elissa Kohen as associate rabbi at
Baltimore Hebrew Congregation: Bary and Ruth Berger.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
YAHRZEITS FOR JANUARY
1 Bertha Hammer
Margaret Stein
Isadore Pfeffer
2 Bertha Wise
Samuel R. Clayman
3 Lester Kahn
4 Mary Helbraun
5 Emma Hirsch Isaacs
6 Leopold Wise
Max Hirsch
Elsie K. Cohn
8 Leonard Hirsch
Rosa Isaacs
Lillian Hamburg
10 Paul
Miller
Anna
Weiss
11 Pearl
Loewner Gravely
Isadore
Iseman
13 Bruno
Stein
Gerald
Greenfield
14 Rose
Levine
15 Hulda
Iseman
Sam
Weiss
17 Beatrice
Winoker
Marjorie
Lichtenstein
19 Harry
Weiss
23 Beulah
(Bootie) Klingstein
24 Fannie
Wise
Nathan
Gelman
26 Leroy
Loewner
27 Henry
Robinson
28 Abe
B. Zindler, Sr.
Jay
Funston
29 William
Stein
Minnie
Zindler Finger
30 Vera
Levine
31 Lessie
Hirsch Baum
Shirley Saletan Goodman
From Rabbi Joe: We tried something new
Nov. 12 at Beth El: we held a Torah study for adults before services on Friday
evening, starting at 6 p.m. Those in attendance brought their own meal (drinks
were provided) and ate while we discussed the Torah portion for the week. Those
who came seemed to enjoy it, so we are planning to repeat it on Jan. 7, and
tentatively on Feb. 4, March 18, April 15, and May 9. Mark your calendars!
Hebrew -
Intermediate/Advanced classes will be held in January from 7 to 8:30 pm:
Mondays at Beth El, Jan. 17, 24, 31; and Thursdays at THOI, Jan. 6, 13, 20.
The Jewish Lecture
Series continues on Sunday evenings from 7 to 8:30, the third Sunday of the
month. Come to any or all, and if you have suggestions for topics, please feel
free to tell me.
Here is a list of the topics currently planned (subject to change):
Jan. 16, at Beth El Jewish views on Life after
Death.
Feb. 20, at THOI Jewish Ethics: End of Life Issues.
March 20, at Beth El Jewish Lifecycle: Liturgy and
Practice.
April 17, at THOI Passover:
Ritual and Rules.
______________________________________________________________________
A
Message from our President
Greetings to you all in the secular new
year of 2005!
We
have just recently concluded the celebration of Chanukah, and I am reminded of
a well-known Talmudic argument between two scholars. Hillel and Shammai
disagreed about how to light the Chanukah candles. Shammai proposed that we
begin lighting all eight candles and reduce one per night. Hillel countered
that we should begin with one candle and increase each night, thus adding to
holiness, rather than diminishing it. Hillel’s practice was accepted, and so we
begin the holiday lighting one candle, and increase by one candle for each of
the eight nights. Why, you might ask, is this pertinent now, when Chanukah is
over. The question that follows from this argument could be, “How do we
increase light and holiness in our lives all during the year — not just on
Chanukah?”
The
answer, I think, will be somewhat different for each of us. I hope, however,
that one common theme in our individual answers will lie in our little
community. As we come together on Shabbat, holidays, and study sessions, our
combined kavannah (intent) becomes
more spiritual (however we may define spirituality). Just by being together in
these endeavors we pool our love and caring for Judaism and for each other. In
this way we increase the warmth and holiness of our lives. We are together with
God, doing God’s holy work.
We
have many occasions for worship, study, and camaraderie planned for the coming
year. Please help us increase our communal light, warmth, and holiness and join
us for as many of these occasions as you can. May you all continue to be
blessed with health and sweetness in this new year.
Janet
______________________________________________________________________
Youth Group Report
We are busy
preparing for our annual ski youth service weekend — Jan. 21. We will again be
hosting youth groups from Virginia Beach, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke,
and Charlottesville. Last year we hosted 82 youth and are certainly preparing
for close to the same.
I will be
making phone calls begging for help with housing kids — Friday night only. If
you know you can help, please give me a call before I call you!!! Our youth
group is planning a great service and program — they are really the best.
On Jan. 7
we are all planning to meet at Beth El to attend services together. We are then
going to go Cosmic bowling, followed by a lock-in at the temple. We will work
on our service and music and program that night. In the morning we’ll have
bagels, and leave for home about 10 a.m. If you have questions call Sherri at
249-5463.
The
National Biennial NFTY Convention is this year, Feb. 18 for five days in Los
Angeles. We have three youth groupers and myself, planning to attend. The last
two conventions in Los Angeles we had teens attend as well.
There will
be about 1,500 Jewish teenagers there, and I’ll be attending the Youth Workers
Program, which runs concurrent with the teens, The cost per teen is close to
$1,000, including airfare.
The youth
group will be doing its spaghetti dinner fundraisers this year, as well as
other projects to raise money. The teens would gladly accept any donations
toward sponsoring them for this fantastic Jewish opportunity.
Thank you
to everyone for all of your support to our youth year after year — they are our
future!
Sherri Alt, Youth Advisor
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
From Our
Religious School
Religious
school continues to bound along.
Our
students were treated to a wonderful Chanukah party, put together by all of the
parents from Lexington. At the Beth El Chanukah dinner, a number of the
students provided the music for a fun Chanukah skit (complete with puppets).
The skit was written and staged by Roberta Stein. Roberta, with able assistance
from Jon Meyers, had spent several previous Sunday music sessions teaching students
the songs, and rehearsing. We all kvelled, along with the parents of these great students.
Report from
the Board
There will be an Adult Ed Torah Study Jan. 7 at 6 p.m.
Participants should bring their own brown bag dinner.
Beth El welcomes our new members Dara and Michael Hall, and their
children Madeline and Danielle. The Halls' address is 635 Sugar Maple Lane,
Harrisonburg, 22801. Phone: 433-5596. Email address: mddmhhall@verizon.net.
Get
well wishes from the Congregation to Harry Clayman, as he recovers from his
recent surgery.
Congratulations
to Leslie Ney, who recently received an award for “Outstanding Contribution to
EMS by a Nurse.” Leslie, a registered nurse in the Emergency Department at RMH,
has been a member of the Harrisonburg Rescue Squad since 1975. She is a
Nationally Certified Paramedic, teaches Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and
serves as a training officer and hospital liaison for the squad.
Summer
Learning
Union for Reform Judaism — If you’re inter-ested in spending five
unforgettable days learning and studying among a vibrant community of committed
worshipers, why not investigate the 2005 Summer Kallah?
Scheduled for July 19-24, 2005 at Franklin Pierce College, in
Rindge, New Hampshire, the
theme of this
year’s Kallah will be Aiyekah — Where are we now? Where are we as Reform Jews
and where are we headed? Join us for a unique combination of Jewish learning
and spiritual renewal.
For more information, visit the URJ website at www.urj.org/educate/kallah, or contact Joan Glazer Farber at 212-650-4087,
educate@urj.org.
Consultation
on Conscience