T he Temple Israel Connecti on Ap ril N isan / I yar Our Se ve nty -E ig ht h Ye ar! FROM RABBI SAM

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1 T he Temple Israel Connecti on Ap ril 2017 N isan / I yar 5777 KESHER Our Se ve nty -E ig ht h Ye ar! FROM RABBI SAM Reform Jewish Spirituality Part 20 In the Rabbi s Study articles #13 (September 2016) and #14 (October 2016) on the website, the interplay between the various pathways of human spirituality are explored. The Wheel of the Human Spirit model on page 2 of each of the articles is presented as a general model without regard for or mention of any specific religious or faith tradition. The model of Jewish Spirituality, found in the previous two months (Articles 18 and 19) and presented as page 2 in this month s article, refines this general picture into denominationally Jewish terms. The terms and structure derive from traditional Rabbinic views as developed from post- Temple times to the modern age. The upward pointing triangle which was discussed February parallels the external facets of the general model of the Wheel. The discussion in March focused on the downward (internal) view. This month will explore the interplay between the two as a model for a wholistic Jewish theology of spirituality. The two triangles are intertwined in order to offer the idea that a full sense of Jewish spirituality derives from a balance of internal and external pathways. In its full form, Judaism is both a personal and self-identification system and an external communal driven and supported process. Each point of the star can, thus be seen as a link and blending of the points on either side of it. Opposing points can be viewed as being in a special dynamic tension as was found in the model of the Wheel. The link between God and Torah is strongest through the Lev (heart or more functionally viewed in modern language as thought) the intellectual capacity for dialogue and study. Between God and Israel is Nefesh the soul or emotional self. And between Torah and Israel is the M od. The dynamic tension between God and M od can be found in the fact that both are both ultimately unknowable and undefinable and yet the most personal and subjectively experienced. Torah is called a tree of life and is thus the source of refreshment and nourishment for the Nefesh. Israel as a nation and as a concept pulls at our Lev. Next month Reform.

2 Page 2 Ap r il Nisan / I yar 5777 Temple Israel Board of Trustees Steve Brody, President Marc Sklar, Treasurer Ken Litvak, Vice President Cathi Cherry-Liston, Secretary Jessica Bolker, Melissa Brahms, Andy Diengott, Carole Krassner, Peter Pastor, Julie Serrano Stacey Segil & Karen Mott, Sisterhood Representatives Noah Albion & Nathan Pastor, COASTY Representatives KESHER Kesher, Connection, is the newsletter of Temple Israel Dover, NH. Ideas for submissions and/or letters to the editor may be submitted by members of the Temple Israel family and all others who would like to share news or information with the Temple community. All communication with the Editor should be by e- mail. Publication of any flyer or any other article or submission is limited by editorial and space considerations. The deadline for submission is the twentieth (20th) of the month for the following month s issue of Kesher. to: Rabbi Sam Seicol rabbisam@dovertemple.org Temple Israel Friday evening services 7:00 Dinners & Adult Ed 6:30 Saturday mornings 10:30 Please note special programs Saturday Apr 1 Friday Apr 7 Saturday Apr 8 Canceled due to snow 7:00 1st Friday Shabbat Service 10:30 Shabbat Torah Study 11:30 Adult Ed - Myths & Monsters Friday Apr 14 7:00 Shabbat Evening Service Saturday Apr 15 10:30 Full Shabbat/Passover Service Friday Apr 21 Saturday Apr 22 6:30 3rd Friday Adult Education 7:30 Shabbat Music & Meditation 10:30 Shabbat Torah Study 11:30 Adult Ed - Myths & Monsters Friday Apr 28 7:00 Shabbat Evening Service Saturday Apr 29 10:30 Shabbat Torah Study 11:30 Adult Ed - Myths & Monsters

3 Kesh er Page 3 From the Board I signed up to write From the Board this month so I could write about Passover, which is my favorite holiday. I love the gathering of friends and family, the celebration of freedom and of the coming of spring, and the food (I didn t realize until adulthood that one could have chicken soup and matzah balls at other times of the year as well!). And while Passover is deeply rooted in tradition, it also engages each of us in thinking about what those traditions mean, now, and how we build on them and carry them forward. My parents hosted a big seder, and we all had set roles. My dad negotiated with his mother-in-law about the preparation of the turkey; my mom and I stole a quiet moment to work out the seating plan. My brother and I made place cards, ironed napkins, fetched and carried and illustrated the Haggadah, which my parents had cut and pasted together from multiple sources. (This was back in the day when cutting and pasting meant scissors and glue.) We d attended seders that followed a very traditional ritual (remember the blue Maxwell House Coffee Haggadah?), and others that used a modern Haggadah with gorgeous illustrations and many choices of alternative texts (that took hours to get through) - but none of them quite suited. So my parents set out to assemble their own, combining ancient and modern, tradition and politics, and the parts we liked the best: my mathematician father has always been partial to the rabbis arguments about the proper way to calculate the number of plagues. The Haggadah we ll use at our house this year is built on the one my parents wrote, with revisions. Each revision is literally that: looking again at what is in the tradition, what it means, and what we want to add often text that friends have brought to past seders. By now there is more in my files than we can get through in one sitting: my mother s poem about the Egyptian midwives, a friend s essay telling the story from the perspective of one of Pharaoh s soldiers, someone else s collection of Civil War texts about freedom and slavery, a colleague s Passover songbook, and (always included) an MIT rabbi s exhortation to graduates whom he compared to Pharaoh s magicians to make no more frogs. Rewriting the Haggadah is where I learned to think of Judaism as a sort of do-it-yourself project which is a big part of what I most value and enjoy about being Jewish. Tradition matters not only for its own sake, but because as we reenact it, we reflect, recreate, and rethink. The part of the Haggadah where we call down G-d s wrath on our enemies is deeply troubling, and reminds us that we need to keep wrestling with difficult parts of our tradition as well as cherishing the parts we love. Celebrating our own freedom from Egyptian slavery means recognizing the many forms of oppression that still exist, and committing ourselves to fight against them. Figuring out how to engage everyone around the table, whether they re 2 or 82, Jewish or not, first-time or longstanding guests, is part of the challenge and part of the fun. Reenvisioning what it means to be Jewish, and how to act on that meaning, is itself part of the tradition. It s right there in the directions about educating the four children: Together you may write and live a new Haggadah from year to year. Chag Pesach sameach! Jessica

4 Page 4 Ap r il Nisan / I yar 5777 T H A N K Y O U T O O U R April 7 Cathi Cherry-Liston / Carole Krassner 14 Jill & Bill Schoonmaker 21 Carol & Francis Birch Lessa Brill & John Wallace 28 Pot-Luck - Spring Vacation Week May 5 Religious School families 12 Ruth & Larry Gray Steve Goren 19 Lauren & Jonathan Harris 26 Pot-Luck - Memorial Day Weekend ONEG SHABBAT HOSTS If you are unable to host the Oneg Shabbat on the night assigned to you, please find a substitute by trading with another family from the membership directory. If you need to change your assigned date, please notify Cathi Cherry-Liston , , ccherryliston@yahoo.com Please consider marking special occasions and milestones along the path of life for you or your family by purchasing a leaf, stone, or acorn on the Tree of Life. Plaques in the Sanctuary honor the memory of a loved one. For more information, contact: the Temple office. templeoffice@ dovertemple.org to our Mazal Tov members who are celebrating birthdays in March Join us at 1st Friday Shabbat Services April 7 at 7:00 PM In honor of your special day. Birthdays Eric Miller (1), Ken Grossman (8), Lisa Wolff (9), Evan Saltman (14), Elizabeth Lieberman (20), Alan Nasberg (25), Patricia Diengott (28), John Wallace (29), Jonathon Venne (30) Anniversaries Anne & Marc Saunders (2) Naomi Kornhauser & Michael Behrendt (8) Lauren & Jonathan Harris (24) Susan & David Richman (24)

5 Kesh er Page Bar Mitzvah celebration November 11 Jeremy Giguere Religious School Sponsored Events Religious School Classes All are WELCOME at all events April 02 9:30 Cancelled due to snow 09 9:30 Religious School classes 11 5:30 Community Seder - 2nd night of Passover 16 9:30 Religious School classes 23 No Religious School Classes - Spring Vacation 30 No Religious School Classes - Spring Vacation May 07 9:30 Religious School classes 14 No Religious School Classes - Mothers Day 21 9:30 Final Religious School classes for 5777

6 Page 6 Ap r il Nisan / I yar 5777 ADULT EDUCATION SERIES Saturdays 11:30-12:30AM Adult Jewish Studies April 8, 22, 29, and May 6 Myths & Monsters in Genesis From the Torah and Midrash Check the Temple Calendar at for all services and events All are WELCOME at no charge to all Adult Education Classes at Temple Israel Dover for more information rabbisam@dovertemple.org Join us for Passover Educational/Experiential Seder Tuesday April 11 5:30 PM 2nd Night Passover Community Seder All arewelcome to attend

7 K e sh er P age 7 M ONTHLY M EDITATION For Passover Remember, retell, relive; a time to share as if we were there. A celebration of liberation and freedom; As we bind ourselves to the storied past, We accept the challenge to build for the future. Each year offers a new beginning A challenge for a renewed commitment Families open to community; communities welcoming all; The first among months becomes the revival of hope.

8 P age 8 Ap r il N is an / I y ar Temple Israel in the Community The Dover Food Pantry Items can be donated to the Food Pantry any time. Drop off may done at the Temple. The Food Pantry is open Tuesdays 3-5PM and Thursdays 9-11AM In addition to donations of food and/or personal items volunteers are always welcome to help work at the Dover Food Pantry. Please contact Karen Robichaud at (603) or blrklr2@aol.com The Dover SHARE Fund directly assists local residents with needs that are not met through other helping agencies, providing them with shelter and support for utilities and medical care. Your support is appreciated! Dover Friendly Kitchen MORE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!! PLEASE JOIN THE COMMUNITY!!! Temple Members help serve dinner at the Dover Friendly Kitchen on the first Tuesday of each month at St. Thomas Church Parish Hall on Locust Street. Temple Israel s time slot needs people to help cook, serve, and clean. We are there from 3:45 until around 6:15. Volunteers do not need to come for the whole time. For more information or to let me know if you plan to attend, please contact me. We welcome everyone's help! Thank you! Andra Welch, Coordinator abbwelch@yahoo.com or

9 K e sh er P a ge 9 MARCH DON ATI ON S All are encouraged to honor the memory of loved ones and/or to offer tributes to friends, relatives and members of the community through a donation Temple funds. We express appreciation to: General Fund Laurie Smith In memory of her mother Ethylene Golub AP R I L Y AH RZ E I T S NOTE: Yahrzeits are recorded according to the Hebrew date, so the English date will vary from year to year. Kaddish in the Synagogue may be recited on the Shabbat following the date of remembrance. It is traditional to make a donation in memory of the Yahrzeit of a love one. To make a donation, please contact the Temple Office. Week of April 8: Mary Mars(2), Allen Scheff(4), Herbert Fox(4), Irving Sternberg (5), Esther Issokson (5), Harry Pastor(6), Gil Victor Ornelas(6), Millicent Goodstein(8), Haskel Kram (8) Week of April 15: Jean Willens(9), Christine L. Kennon(9), Rose B. Kates(12), Irving Oshman(15), Reuben Weinstein(15) All other donations for March and April will be acknowledged in the May Kesher. Thank you to all who donate. Week of April 22: Sam Ollar (16), Sidney Goren (16), Morris A. Fox (16), Richard F. Morse (17), Sarah Mendelovtiz (18), Marcia J. Feinberg(18), Bess Issokson(20), Judith Kramer(20), Lillian Lane (20), Ruth L. Issokson (20), Samuel Abeles (214), Sylvia Allen (21), Frieda Osman (22) Hospital Visits: Week of April 29: ), Morris Rotman (24), Francis Brown(25), Dorothy Pearlman (25), George James White (25), Morris S. Rosen (25), Leah Ossman (25), Rose Esther Weinsten (27), Louis Baumstein (29), Morris Siegel (29), Jules Philips (29) Please keep us informed! If you or someone you know will be or is in the hospital please call the Temple office. You can also ask a nurse to see the hospital chaplain, who can call the Temple to let us know that you are there. Rabbi Sam and the Temple Israel community would like to be able to offer support and comfort to you and your family if you desire. rabbisam@dovertemple.org Week of May 6: Ruth Kram (30), Bessie Kemler (30), Lee Gunst (30), James Dieterisch (3), Grace Turner (3)Lloyd Amann Gage(3), Ursula Muller Gage(3), Douglas Hamilton(4), Jackson Pastor (4), Herbert Turner (5), Sara Fisher (5), Louis Weinstein (5), Lillian Hirsch (5) Memorial Wall Members may add the name of a loved one or reserve a space on the Memorial Wall with a minimum contribution of $300. Please contact the Temple Office for more information.

10 P age 1 0 Apr il Temple Israel of Dover 36 Olive Meadow lane P. O. Box 254 Dover, N. H (603) templeoffice@ dovertemple.org Temple Israel is a vibrant Reform Jewish congregation. We welcome all who wish to participate in Jewish study, worship, and fellowship. Our mission is to be a center for Jewish tradition, Shabbat and holiday services and programs, sharing of lifecycle events, opportunities for Jewish education for all ages, connection to Israel, and involvement in the wider Jewish world and support for all who are in need. Temple Israel is a proud member of the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) We join with more than 800 congregations in the Reform synagogue movement. President: Steve Brody president@dovertemple.org Rabbi: Sam Seicol rabbisam@dovertemple.org Office manager: Angela Odess TempleOffice@ dovertemple.org N is a n / Iy a r April :30 11:30 Shabbat Morning Torah Study Adult Education Myths & Monsters 02 9:30 Religious School Classes :00 First Friday Shabbat Service :30 11:30 9:30 Shabbat Torah Study Adult Education Myths & Monsters Religious School Classes 5:30 Community 2nd Night Seder Passover :00 10:30 Shabbat Service Shabbat/Passover Morning Service 9:30 Religious School Classes 21 6:30 7:30 3rd Friday Adult Education 3rd Shabbat Music & Meditation 22 10:30 11:30 1:00 23 No Religious School Spring Vacation Shabbat Torah Study Adult Education Myths & Monsters Chevre Kaddisha Meeting 28 1:00 7: :30 11:30 30 No Religious School Spring Vacation Attend Services at the Mosque Shabbat Service Shabbat Torah Study Adult Education Myths & Monsters