The Beamer. Newsletter of Congregation Ner Tamid August CNT ready to celebrate new beginning - join us! Rena Morano, David Jacobson, Ben

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1 Congregation Ner Tamid P.O. Box Bradenton, FL Join Ner Tamid twice a month for Shabbat Services & Sunday School. Jewish living and learning is happening at Congregation Ner Tamid! The Beamer Newsletter of Congregation Ner Tamid August 2011 CNT ready to celebrate new beginning - join us! Rena Morano, David Jacobson, Ben Durshimer, and Elaine Mittler carry the Torahs into our new home. Congregation Ner Tamid has relocated to a new building to accommodate renovations at Lakeside South. Beginning with our Birthday Service at 6 p.m. August 12, CNT will meet at the Lodge, off 26th Street West in Bradenton. Our rabbinical advisor, Rabbi Barbara Aiello, will dedicate the new building during a special ceremony that will include the installation of a mezuzah on the doorpost. A light supper will follow as part of our seventh birthday celebration, which will include a retrospective slideshow, Shabbat service, and of course, birthday cake. In the past seven years, CNT has grown from a chavurah to a recognized congregation with a membership of more than 80. We ve had 12 Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations and 30 students who ve studied in our Sunday School. We also have upward of 100 people at our High Holiday and Passover services. That s a lot to be proud of! Please RSVP at if you plan to attend. The Lodge 4802 B 26th Street West Bradenton Easy directions: From Cortez: Go south on 26th Street West. Turn right onto 48th Ave. Take the second driveway on the left into Parkwood Professional Park. From State Road 70 (53rd Ave. W.): Go north on 26th Street West. Turn left onto 48th Ave. Take the second driveway on the left into Parkwood Professional Park. High Holiday news and schedule of services, Page 4 The Beamer is published bi-monthly to bring news and information to members and friends of Congregation Ner Tamid; edited by Rena Morano, designed by Meg Durshimer Congregation Ner Tamid Steering Committee: Meg Durshimer, David Jacobson, Elaine Mittler, Rena Morano, Sandra Williams Service Leader and Education Director: Rena Morano Sunday School Teachers: Esta Snider, Rena Morano Rabbinic Advisor: Rabbi Barbara Aiello

2 The Beamer Page 2 A message from Rena Education Director and Service Leader What Do Stories In Torah Really Mean? Little David came home from Sunday School. As she gave him a snack of cheese and crackers, his mom asked David what he d learned that day. David said, It was an awesome story! The Israelites were at the Red Sea. They were scared cuz the water was deep in front of them, but behind them the Egyptian army was coming to kill them. In the nick of time the Israeli Engineer Corps arrived. They quickly built pontoon bridges so the Israelites could cross to the other side. The Egyptians tried to cross on the bridges, too, but luckily, the Israeli Air Force got there. They bombed the bridges, and the Egyptian army, too. The Israelites were safe! David s mom said skeptically, Are you sure that s the story your teacher told you? Well, no, David admitted, but you d never believe the story she did tell me! There have probably been times when you ve felt the same way David did. Those Torah stories... are we, as rational, modern people, supposed to believe them? Did Jacob see an actual stairway ascending from earth to heaven? Did Samson truly bring down a building with just the strength of his arms? Did Daniel really walk around in the fiery furnace? Did the earth open up to swallow the rebel Korach and his followers? Tzitzit are the fringes that are on the corners of the tallit, or prayer shawl. Some Jewish men wear an undershirt-like fringed garment beneath their shirts, and that is also called tzitzit. In the fourth book of the Torah, Bamidbar, we read the commandment about tzitzit. And God spoke unto Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them to make throughout their generations fringes in the corners of their garments, and that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue. And it shall be to you for a fringe, that you may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of God. There is a story about a rabbi who walked into a man s house and saw the tzitzit nailed prominently on the wall. Why, he asked the man, are your tzitzit hanging on the wall? Don t you know, Rabbi? the man answered. The Torah tells us that we have to look upon the tzitzit, so I hung them on the wall where I can be sure to look at them. This story is told as a reminder that the Torah is not meant to be taken literally. We don t have to hang the tzitzit on the wall. It is enough to wear them on our tallits when we pray. My son has a friend who has read a lot about Judaism, although she is not Jewish. A mashgiach (a person who supervises the production of Kosher food) came into her place of work to certify some of their products for kashrut. She asked him, Are you a Rabbi? and he said he was. Referring to a story in the news, she asked him what he thought about someone who had met an untimely death. He said, Well, there is a story... (At that, my son s friend gave herself a mental high five. She d heard that rabbis answer questions with stories, and now she was going to experience it for herself!) He told this story: John Smith was in a bar when a stranger walked in. The stranger said he was looking for a man named John Smith, and he identified himself as Death. He said he d been trying to catch up with John Smith, but the man was clever about avoiding him. Smith shrugged and said he d never heard of the man, and the bartender agreed that he had no patron by that name. Smith said to Death, It s too bad you made the trip for nothing. Death replied to John Smith, I can t leave empty handed. I must take someone with me. I choose you! We know of course the rabbi did not mean for the story to be taken literally. Rather he meant to convey a message that no one can avoid the time of his death. If we think about Torah this way, we are opened up to a great many possibilities which have the effect of making Torah always timely, always relevant, and always meaningful. Think about the story of the Garden of Eden, for example. When I teach this story to the children in Sunday School, they sometimes get angry at God. It s just mean, they tell me. Why would God put a beautiful tree in the middle of the Garden and not even put a wall around it, and then tell Eve she can t touch it? My parents PLEASE SEE TORAH, PAGE 8

3 The Beamer Page 3 From the Rabbi by Rabbi Barbara Aiello Rabbinic advisor, Congregation Ner Tamid Making It Right For The New Year The Jewish people invented New Year s resolutions. Long before people started making them on January first, it was the Jewish people who invented New Year s resolutions. The reason may have to do with the theme of Rosh Hashanah and how important it is that we take the time to look at ourselves and figure out how we can change for the better. Rosh Hashanah is God s opportunity for us to spiritually re-program and upgrade our behavior, things few of us might consider doing if it weren t for Rosh Hashanah - which is why the following story is so important. Leslie Rosenbaum is in the fourth grade and she knows a lot of stuff. One thing Leslie knows is isn t right to tell lies. Every time she told one, she felt awful and sometimes that awful feeling lasted for days. But no matter how hard she tried, Leslie seemed to find herself, bending the truth, stretching the truth and sometimes, even breaking the truth into bits. There was that time with her school project. She made a giant volcano out of flour and salt. Leslie s dad showed how to rig up this tube so that purple smoke came out of the crater. Everybody loved it. But when the kids asked her how she came up with the purple smoke idea, Leslie said, Nobody helped me. It came into my head all by itself! And then there was the time when she knocked her mom s glass anniversary bell off the table and the ringy thing fell out. So Leslie just picked it up and laid the ringy thing inside the bell, making it look like it was still attached. Two days later, when her mom went to ring the bell, the ringer fell to the floor. Her mom asked, How did this happen? Leslie said, Somebody must have bumped it. But I don t know who. But one day, on a day between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Leslie made a decision -- enough is enough. From now on, it s going to be like Nancy Grace and Court TV the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Nothing more, nothing less. But it wasn t long afterwards when Leslie s New Year s resolution was put to the test. Leslie and her friend, Jason were sitting together in the school library doing research for their social studies project. There was almost no one else there and after a while they got restless. Let s take a break, Leslie said. One of the most interesting things about the Beekman School was right there in the library. It was a huge, antique-looking globe, donated by Mrs. Beekman herself, about a hundred years ago. The globe was one of the school s most precious possessions. A barrier made of chains surround the globe on all sides, and on each chain was a card that read, Do Not Touch! Leslie usually stuck to the rules, but for some reason, she reached over and gave the globe a soft, little push. Slowly the old globe began to spin. By now Jason had joined Leslie and this time she gave it another spin, and then another, and then another, and soon Africa, Asia and whole South Pacific were whirling around and around like some giant spinning top. Leslie giggled and started to sing, Look, Jason, I ve the whole world in my hands! Suddenly disaster struck. One of the old hinges on the ancient globe came loose. And the spinning globe hit the floor with a huge thud. Leslie didn t stick around to see if it was broken or not. She pulled Jason by the shirt and they darted across the library and slid back into their seats. The kids put their heads into their books, pretending as though the whole thing didn t happen. Maybe they were off the hook. But right then the librarian, Ms. Martinez, stopped by their table. Excuse me, she began. Do either of you know who was playing with the Beekman globe? Jason shrugged and Leslie was about to do the same. But then she remembered her mom s anniversary bell and her New Year s resolution. Leslie s mind was racing. How could I tell a lie? But how could I tell the truth? If I do, I ll get into to so much trouble. What if get suspended from school? Leslie took a deep breath and thought, A resolution is a resolution. Nothing but the truth. So Leslie spoke up and told Ms. Martinez that Jason didn t touch the globe. It was only me, Leslie said. Not Jason but only me. I m so sorry. I didn t mean to do it. I PLEASE SEE RABBI, PAGE 8

4 The Beamer Page 4 Make reservations now for Selichot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur The month of Elul is a time of repentance in preparation for the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Tradition teaches that the month of Elul is a particularly propitious time for repentance. The name of the month (spelled Alef-Lamed-Vav-Lamed) is said to be an acronym of "Ani l'dodi v'dodi li," "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine," a quote from Song of Songs 6:3, where the Beloved is God and the "I" is the Jewish people. In Aramaic (the vernacular of the Jewish people at the time that the month names were adopted), the word "Elul" means "search," which is appropriate, because this is a time of year when we search our hearts. According to tradition, the month of Elul is the time that Moses spent on Mount Sinai preparing the second set of tablets after the incident of the golden calf. He ascended on Rosh Chodesh Elul and descended on the 10th of Tishri, at the end of Yom Kippur, when repentance was complete. Other sources say that Elul is the beginning of a period of 40 days that Moses prayed for G-d to forgive the people after the Golden Calf incident, after which the commandment to prepare the second set of tablets was given. High Holiday services Selichot 2 p.m. Sunday, September 11 Rosh Hashanah 10 a.m. Thursday, September 29 with Tashlich to follow Kol Nidre 7 p.m. Friday, October 7 Yom Kippur 10 a.m. Saturday, October 8 Ne ilah Service 7 p.m. Saturday, October 8 with Break Fast to follow All services will be held at The Lodge, 4802B 26th St. W. Donations: $25 paid members, $48 non members Elul is a time to begin the process of asking forgiveness for wrongs done to other people. According to Jewish tradition, God cannot forgive us for sins committed against another person until we have first obtained forgiveness from the person we have wronged. This process of seeking forgiveness continues through the Days of Awe. Congregation Ner Tamid s annual Selichot service will be Sunday, September 11, from 2 to 3 p.m. We ll hear the sound of the Shofar, experience Jewish meditation, discuss psalms, and prepare the Torah scroll for the Days of Awe. Afterwards, we ll enjoy a dessert reception.. Call for more information and to make your reservations. Jewish musician Rosalie Leon to sing Kol Nidre at Ner Tamid Congregation Ner Tamid is honored to welcome Rosalie Leon to the bima for Kol Nidre services. Leon, who was originally served as Lay Cantor in Juneau, Alaska, has been performing Jewish music in the Sarasota area for the past 15 years. Many families will remember Leon s gorgeous voice and creative interpretations when she worked as Music Specialist for the students at Temple Beth Sholom. In addition, Leon has worked with Ner Tamid s rabbinic advisor, Rabbi Barbara Aiello, to plan and perform traditional and contemporary Jewish music for the residents of Kobernick House and Anchin Pavilion. Kol Nidre services are at 7 p.m. Friday, October 7, at The Lodge. For information and reservations, call Rosalie Leon

5 The Beamer Page 5 Jewish Living and Learning Sunday School ready to start a new year By Rena Morano Education Director Why do I teach Sunday School? I never met my great grandmother. She was killed in a pogrom in her native village, a place that is no longer on the map of Russia. My grandmother was sent to the Goldeneh Medina, the new land with gold in the streets, America, when she was 18 years old, married to a boy of the same age whom she d met only a few weeks earlier. She never saw her family again, but she told her grandchildren some stories about them. One that stays with me is about my great grandmother. The Jews in her village were forbidden to have Jewish schools; upon pain of death, no one was permitted to teach Torah, or even Hebrew. My great grandmother, however, defied this edict. She was well known as a skilled baker, and every day she gathered children in her home and she taught them Hebrew while pretending that she was just showing them how to bake. Why should we support the Jewish Living and Learning Sunday School? Today, in our religiously free society, we say that we want our children to be Jewish. We expect that they will be Bar or Bat Mitzvahed and that they will stay involved with the Jewish community. We hope there will be Jewish continuity l dor v dor, throughout the generations, and that for each group of aging Jews, there will be a crop of young ones to take our places. Why should I send my children to Sunday school? If your children are anything like mine were, they d prefer to sleep late on Sunday mornings, or they d like to play tennis or soccer, watch television, play video games, or hang out with friends. It takes a determined parent to overcome these objections. But we do because we know some things that our children don t know. We know that what we learn when we are young stays with us. We know that children have issues that aren t dealt with in public school during the week, issues such as belief in God, prayer, responses to anti-semitism or other prejudices, death of loved ones, the meaning of ritual, personal values, and spiritual responses to life. And we know that our children and our grandchildren will not be Jewish, or Jewishly inclined, if we do not provide them with a Jewish background in a consistent manner. What s special about the Jewish Living and Learning Sunday School? We reach out to all faiths and to all members of the community with our Tikkun Olam activities. We provide hands-on activities, many of which mix age groups from the youngest to the oldest members of the congregation. Groups are small enough that the children are secure and confident and so that teachers provide a great deal of personal attention and encouragement. Interfaith families are comfortable. Students are actively involved in Shabbat and holiday services, and unlike in some other congregations, girls as well as boys are full participants on the bimah. We meet semimonthly so there are two or three weekends each month that children can have sleepovers or other activities. Thanks to the Sarasota-Manatee Jewish Federation, we are able to offer scholarships to families who need them. What s new this year? Ner Tamid s Jewish Living and Learning Sunday School has a fresh focus on: 1) Jewish values, which we will experience through stories and other activities; 2) Klal Yisroel connections with Jewish communities throughout the world, historically and in modern times. Sunday School resumes at 9 a.m. September 11.

6 The Beamer Page 6 Announcements SOCIAL GROUP AND BOOK CLUB We will have sign up lists at events and services for anyone wishing to be advised of what restaurants we will be visiting and also what books the Book Revue group will be reading. The groups will alternate, meeting every other month; one month will be for the book club and one month will be for the social group. For more information, contact Elaine at CNT DIRECTORY We are in the process of compiling a directory of CNT members. If you do not want to be included in the directory, please let us know. This directory will not be used for advertising or solicitation purposes; it is merely an address and phone number book for our members to use. If you would like the directory ed to you, please let us know that as well. If you do not have a computer, we are happy to put a copy of the directory in the mail. Please call Elaine at for more information. ADVERTISE IN BEAMER The Beamer will now be able to accommodate paid advertising. We will accept camera ready ads only. Ads are priced very reasonably as follows: Business card size - $15 One quarter page - $25 One half page - $50 Three quarter page - $75 Full page - $100 Each price is per one issue of The Beamer. BEAMER BY CNT has gone greeen. We would like to the Beamer, rather than mail it, to help cut down on costs and to do our part to save the environment. Please let us know your address so we can discontinue mailing the Beamer to you once you begin receiving it by . SPONSOR ONEG SHABBAT An enjoyable way to commemorate an occasion, or to honor the memory of a loved one, is by sponsoring an Oneg. If you would like to do this, call Volunteers needed to lead services at Anchin Anchin Pavilion needs an individual or couple to lead Kabbalat Shabbat services on Fridays at 4:30-5:15. The service is brief and modern. Volunteers may mix Hebrew with English as they feel comfortable. In fact, some volunteers do not do any Hebrew, which is perfectly acceptable. What is most important is a desire to serve our fragile Bubbies and Zaydes. The commitment is for once per month. We are in desperate need. Please call Rabbi Barbara at to schedule a time to observe a service and see the siddur. Donations desperately needed Congregation Ner Tamid will have two food collection barrels at all services and events for non-perishable food items. This will benefit the Manatee County Food Bank, which is facing a critical shortage of supplies. Sponsors needed The Radio Rabbi show has moved to Sarasota! You can now find Rabbi Barbara Aiello on your dial at WLSS AM 930, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Sunday mornings. Congregation Ner Tamid is looking for sponsors to help spread the word about our great congregation and all that we do. An advertisement is $30 per week, or $120 per month; all donations will be greatly appreciated!

7 The Beamer Page 7 A tribute to Miriam Goolsby By Meg Durshimer Steering Committee Member The world is an infinitely better place because of Miriam s life and we are fortunate to have known her. I do know this heaven is a much more orderly and organized place this morning. If you knew Miriam and most of you did I m sure those words from my husband, Art, put a smile on your face, just as they did mine. The Durshimers didn t call her The General for nothing! My family loved Miriam dearly and each one of us had a very special and unique relationship with her. We all think she favored Ben because he was the youngest and because she had a brother named Ben. But then, she seemed to enjoy Jake s sense of humor and helpfulness. She could never thank either one of them enough for being good kids. That was Miriam s way of saying she appreciated their contributions to the congregation, spiritual and otherwise. Of course, Art likes to think he was her favorite because they often bonded over the military. Though Art has not served in the military, he has a lot of respect for those who served (if you don t know, he is a World War II and Vietnam living historian) and enjoyed listening to Miriam talk about her time in the service. As for me, Miriam was my Jewish anchor. I took it for granted that if I was going to a congregational function, be it services or something else, the first thing I would do when I walked in would be to kiss Miriam on the cheek. We d kibbitz a bit and then she d go to the kitchen and I would do whatever I needed to do. She was part of my very comfortable routine. I m sure many of you feel the same way that Miriam was our anchor. The congregation meant so much to her and she did everything in her power to make sure that things ran smoothly, from setting up the Onegs to building the ark that houses our Torah. At Miriam and Ben during Jake and Ben s bar mitzvah. We will forever treasure this photograph and our memories of Miriam. times, she could be rather rigid with her organizational demands, but that s just who she was. You don t spend years in the military and make a success out of it if you aren t detail oriented! Despite all that hard work, Miriam did not want recognition for her accomplishments. In fact, when we did recognize her with the congregational award, she was quite humble. For Miriam, any work she did was a labor of love. And that again was just who she was. While we will never stop missing Miriam s physical presence (and what a strong presence it was!), her spirit is still very much with us. As much as it pains me to come to services and not see her, I feel her presence every time we light the candles, read from the Torah, and enjoy a nosh after services. She is happy that we are soldiering on and she wouldn t want it any other way. May Miriam s memory be a source of blessing and comfort to all of us. Rabbi Barbara Aiello is THE RADIO RABBI Sunday Mornings 8:30-9:30 a.m. WLSS AM 930. Or listen on your computer any time at

8 The Beamer Page 8 Chinese Dinner set for August 26 The date of our annual Chinese Dinner, created by our beloved Steering Committee member Miriam Goolsby, has moved. Please join us for a delicious catered meal at 6 p.m. Friday, August 26 th, prior to our Shabbat service. The menu will include a beef dish, chicken dish, vegetable dish, fried and white rice, and egg roll, and a fortune cookie. Cost is $10. Reservations must be made by August 18 th. The Steering Committee also asks that you bring a donation of non-perishable food to the dinner. Our local food bank is in desperate need of donations. We hope to fill a barrel from the Manatee County Food Bank at the dinner. TORAH, FROM PAGE 2 wouldn t do something like that to me. If they don t want me to touch something, they put it somewhere I can t get to it! The children have a point. Mark Twain commented on that story, too. Eve ate the apple, Twain said, specifically because God had forbidden it. God should have forbidden the serpent, Twain added, and then Eve would have eaten the serpent and the history of the world would have been different! What other interpretations of that story could there be? The Kabbalists point out that the full name of the tree in the middle of the Garden was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. If we think of the story metaphorically, then we can imagine Adam and Eve in a state of innocence where they were always in the presence of God, not aware that evil could exist in the world. Then they ate the fruit, meaning that they did or they experienced something that destroyed their innocence. (Exactly what that was will make another interesting discussion.) If the Garden is a metaphor for innocence, then we can understand their banishment from the Garden metaphorically, also. With the loss of innocence, none of us is in the Garden anymore, and this, too, is the heartbreak of every parent who witnesses this as their children grow. Let s revisit little David who retells the story of the Exodus in a way that is more believable. Perhaps we can help David understand the symbols in the story: the deep river; dry land miraculously appearing; a threatening army chasing us. As with the tzitzit, what can we learn if we do NOT take the story literally? What messages are waiting for our understanding? RABBI, FROM PAGE 3 sort of like got carried away. Then Ms. Martinez said this. I want you to know that when you and Jason were standing at the globe, I was watching from my office. I saw you give it a little spin and I was about to speak to you but the phone rang. And then, I heard the globe hit the floor. Leslie cringed. So I thought I d ask you first. If you had denied it, I was taking you straight to the principal s office. But since you were honest enough to tell the truth. I don t think you meant to hurt the globe. And fortunately it didn t break, so this time, I ll just let it go. The literal translation of Rosh Hashanah is head of the year and there is an old Jewish saying, The body follows after the head. It s not just a new day on the calendar, but a spiritual reality that begins a new cycle of time. What we decide for ourselves on this day becomes part of our head, our brain and our heart and those decisions can influence and guide our actions for the coming year. Think for a moment about the kind of year you ve had. Did anything go wrong? Was any of it your fault? Do you want to feel better about who you are? It s possible if you re willing to make some changes and put some new thoughts into your head. After all, that s what Rosh Hashanah is for. A time to listen to the sounds of the shofar, and think about the changes we want to make. Leslie Rosenbaum was stunned when the librarian let her off the hook but it happened because she made a resolution to be honest and when the time came, Leslie told the truth. If we use our heads to think of the changes we need to make and then make them, like Leslie Rosenbaum, it will be a good year for us, too. Rabbi Barbara Aiello is rabbinic advisor for Congregation Ner Tamid and resident rabbi for the Kobernick House and Anchin Pavilion, the Sarasota Manatee Jewish Housing Council.

9 The Beamer Page 9 Upcoming Yahrzeits Please remember to attend services to observe your loved one s yahrzeit Barbara Allen remembers father Morris Abramson, August 1 Elaine and Rhonda Mittler remember uncle Ted Amerman, August 16 Elaine and Rhonda Mittler remember mother/grandmother Lena Teiger, August 17 Rosalind Kosoff and Florence Shulman remember nephew Lee Schwartz, August 28 Dorothy Blair remembers mother-inlaw Jennie Gelmen, September 6 Norman and Linda Sage remember father Samuel Resnikoff, September 6 Rosalind Kosoff and Florence Shulman remember brother-in-law Morris Schwartz, September 8, Jocelyn Posner remembers daughter Tanya Port, September 12 Carolyn Keller remembers husband Irwin Keller, September 14 Meg, Art, Jake, and Ben Durshimer remember father/grandfather Stanley Gilbert, September 24 Dorothy Blair remembers father Samuel Aronson, September 28 Adele Kaplan remembers father Harry Laguna, September 28 Linda Sherman remembers mother Shirley Reitberg, September 28 Gene Allen remembers brother Thomas Allen, October 3 Jay and Linda Sherman remember brother-in-law Gerald Strassman, October 13 Leslie Hall remembers mother Marquita Sire and godmother Berenice Easton, October 20 Judy Goldstein remembers mother Muriel Hall, October 21 Steven and Barbara Rothman remember father Sidney Rothman, October 27 Donations In memory of Miriam Goolsby: Congregation Ner Tamid Judie Littell Shirley and Jerry Solomon Sheila Dorff Marsha Latterman Bobbi Berkan Elaine Mittler Arlene and Dan Kates Gene and Barb Allen Norm and Linda Sage Barbara and Stephen Rothman Carol and Bill Karr A. Arai Carla Edwards Blair family: Donna, Dottie, Barrie and Patty Janet Drummey Carolyn Weinberger Nancy Buzard Marlene Eichhorn Richard Elkins Yahrzeit: Dottie Blair for Helene Graver Dottie Blair for Ada Goodman Donation Tribute Cards Barbara and Gene Allen in memory of R. Allen Marcia Shepard in memory of father Harry Sachs Linda and Norm Sage for yahrzeit Linda and Jay Sherman in memory of Isadore Sherman Jo Powsner in memory of Samson Powsner Judith Shapiro in memory of Phil Shapiro Florence Shulman in memory of May and David Shur, mother and father Florence Shulman in memory of Harold Kosoff, brother in law Florence Shulman in memory of Pearl Schwartz, sister Linda and Jay Sherman for Sam Reitberg Frank Samson in memory of Art Samson Carol Karr for mother General: Sheila Dorff in honor of great niece Arianna Joy Yelin in honor of Vajra's graduation Donor cards offer the opportunity to honor family, friends, and loved ones while providing financial support for the congregation s programs and services. People use donation cards to: Celebrate simchas and milestones; Thank a host or hostess Send a message in honor of Offer a message in memory of Express your appreciation to Wish a speedy recovery to To send a card, contact Bobbi Berkan at

10 The Beamer Page 10 Calendar of Events ** Shabbat Services begin 7 p.m. * Sunday School begins 9 a.m. August 12 Ner Tamid 7th Birthday Party & Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. 26 Chinese Dinner & Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. 28 Synagogue Open House September 11 First Day of Sunday School* 11 Selichot, 2 p.m. 16 Shabbat Service** 25 Sunday School* 29 Rosh Hashanah & Tashlich, 10 a.m. October 7 Yom Kippur, Kol Nidrei, 7 p.m. 8 Yom Kippur & Yizkor, 10 a.m. N ilah & Break the Fast, 7 p.m. 14 Sukkot, 7 p.m. 16 Sunday School* 21 Simchat Torah & Shabbat Service, 7 p.m. 30 Sunday School* JFCS seeks donations for programs Jewish Family and Children s Services is collecting supplies for a variety of programs. Please bring any of the items on this wish list to services and we will make sure they are delivered to JFCS. Back to School Back Pack Drive: This year we plan to distribute approximately 100 back packs to at-risk students participating in our homelessness prevention program. Items needed: back packs, wide ruled paper, pencils, pens, crayons, markers, rulers, erasers, glue sticks, and hand sanitizer. Family Reunification Program: JFCS provides care packages to female inmates being released from Sarasota County Jail as they enter our substance abuse/family reunification program. Items needed: hygiene products, such as shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash (alcohol free), deodorant sticks, comb, brush, tissues, dental floss, sanitary pads, tampons; pain medication, such as Tylenol, Advil or Midol; laundry detergent and laundry softener, bath towel, hand towels and wash cloths; writing paper, stamps, and pens. Healthy Family/Healthy Children Program: Targets low-income at-risk pregnant women and families with children under 3 months of age. Items needed: diapers and baby wipes. Senior Outreach Program: For the High Holy Days, Rosh Hashanah gift bags for area seniors. Items needed: apple chips, sugar free hard candies, signed New Year cards. Enrollment is Open for the School Year! Call shalom@nertamidflorida.org Congregation Ner Tamid Join us twice a month for Shabbat Services & Sunday School Rena Morano, Education Director & Service Leader Rabbi Barbara Aiello, Advisor JEWISH LEARNING IS HAPPENING AT CONGREGATION NER TAMID!