JOLIET JEWISH CONGREGATION The Jewish Bulletin

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1 JOLIET JEWISH CONGREGATION The Jewish Bulletin William T. Kaplan President Charles Rubovits Rabbi November 15, Cheshvan 5778 From the Rabbi s Study Candle Lighting Times November 17, :12pm November 24, :07pm December 1, :05pm Friday Evening Services November 17, :00pm November 24, 2017 NO SERVICES SCHEDULED December 1, :00pm Shabbat Morning Services - 9:00am November 18, 2017 Torah portion of the week..toledoth Genesis 25:19-38:9 Haftorah portion of the week..malachi 1:1-2:7 November 25, 2017 Torah portion of the week..vayyetze Genesis 28:10-32:3 Haftorah portion of the week..hosea 12:13-14:10 December 2, 2017 Torah portion of the week..vayyishlach Genesis 32:4-36:43 Haftorah portion of the week..obadiah 1:1-21 Contacts Main Phone...(815) jolietjewish@att.net Website.. Our address N. Midland, Joliet, IL Over the past six weeks, the United States has experienced a decided uptick in the number of mass shootings of innocent citizens. The bullet riddled mayhem at a Las Vegas outdoor concert venue, a Texas church in which 26 people lost their lives, and most recently at a California grade school the other day were horrors of unimaginable proportions and yet it seems that these recent murderous actions are now simply a footnote in our immediate history. The law enforcement agencies directly involved are working to deal with these terrible tragedies but the rest of us have somehow moved on. Activity on the shopping networks and on Amazon s order desks has hardly slowed. What is going on? Where is the concern for our fellow human beings? Are we simply too focused upon our own lives that we have shunted aside all feelings for others? Have we developed an inability to condemn hate? Religious leaders around the country are screaming from our pulpits but except for isolated pockets, our congregations seem to be stepping around the matter or are simply ignoring the pulpit messages all together. The famous Biblical story of the Tower of Babel comes to mind here. We must ignore the individual in our quest to build and complete the great tower. I suggest that this is a matter of misplaced focus. We seem to be concentrating upon ourselves and ignoring the larger matter of our human friends and neighbors. And a few feel it has become their mission to right various wrongs by picking up a large firearm and murdering whole swaths of our population. Gd did not create human beings to exist in a vacuum. We do best when we involve ourselves socially, morally, and ethically with others and within that context human contact is alive and well. Today, hatred and distrust can sprout and fester especially in someone who isolates themselves from society. Left unchecked, some of these afflicted can and do graduate into performing acts of social mayhem. The great leveler in all this is our belief in Gd and in the Jewish system of ob-

2 servance and obedience. By living within the precepts of Judaism, and because of the principles of community within our religion, we can get a quick jump on issues and help resolve them peacefully instead of resorting to armed aggression. No one can solve this social situation with 5 paragraphs of an article. My single hope is that my words will help provoke more thought and more discussion about what I see as a fast growing social cancer - solving problems with firearms. We are all very intelligent human beings. I know we can do much better. Let s talk. Rabbi Rubovits THE PRESIDENT S KORNER Year-End Gift Planning December 31 is fast approaching and while thoughts of the holidays will be upon us soon, this is also the time to consider making a charitable gift to the Joliet Jewish Synagogue. Although this article is aimed at those 70 ½ years of age or older, the younger members of the Synagogue and others reading this article have parents, aunts, uncles and others that may wish to make a particular contribution to the Synagogue. The focus of this article is on Tax-Free Charitable Gifts from Individual Retirement Accounts ( IRA ). The stock market has been quite favorable in 2017, and if your IRA has invested some percentage of your assets in stocks, your IRA has grown which means that your Required Minimum Distribution ( RMD ) is larger this year, and finally it is very possible that the amount of income taxes you have to pay for 2017 will increase more than you would like. We can (legally) help you avoid that nasty situation. Enter the Tax-Free Charitable IRS Gift. The mechanics or rules regarding a Tax-Free Charitable IRS Gift are quite simple: You must be at least 70 ½ years of age when the distribution is made; The transfer must go directly from your IRA to the Joliet Jewish Congregation (this means that the check is made payable to the Joliet Jewish Congregation and not to you individually); There is a limit as to the amount of tax free transfer that can be made from your IRA to the Joliet Jewish Congregation in a calendar year and that amount is $100,000.00; A charitable rollover gift from your IRA will count toward your RMD. The best news of all is that your contribution made from your IRA is not includible in your taxable income for the year 2017!!! Thus your contribution will reduce your taxable income for You may ask yourself the question do I also get a charitable deduction in 2017? Here Congress has drawn the line and the answer is no. The amount of the gift is in your discretion. If the amount of the gift would be $10, or above, if you desire, an Endowment could be established in your name or your family name, and only the income earned from the principle of the gift would be given to the Synagogue each year. Stop The Presses; The Headline Reads The Synagogue Awarded A Mini Grant As President, I receive notices from JUF of Metropolitan Chicago whereby Synagogues in the southern suburbs were awarded grants for a number of different projects, and over time, frustration and competitive juices developed because the Joliet Jewish Congregation was not in the hunt for these grants. Prior to the October Board meeting, I received a Request for Proposal regarding the South Suburban Mini Grant Kehillah Program. At the very end of the October Board meeting, I expressed my frustration to the Board that other south suburban synagogues receive grants but the Joliet Jewish Congregation is not in the hunt. At that moment Mrs. Robin English spoke up suggesting a grant to enrich the Congregation s musical experience. Great idea and it was strongly encouraged. Mrs. English wrote the grant and it was timely submitted. On Tuesday, November 14, 2017, Robin and I were informed that indeed the Synagogue s proposal was approved in the amount of $1, The grant period begins December 1, 2017 and runs through June 30, Mrs. Robin English and Mrs. Karen Luksa will be Co- Chairs of the grant project. Because the grant was just awarded, Mrs. English and Mrs. Luksa are creating the Grant details. All information will be published in the Bulletin as well as in Facebook and the Synagogue s website. The Grant comes with a number of obligations. The grant program must be offered free to the community, and no profit is to be made from the program. We are required to acknowledge that the program is fully

3 funded by JUF of Metropolitan Chicago. All publications should contain the tag line of A Partner with the Jewish United Fund in serving our community. My frustration is now ended as the Joliet Jewish Synagogue is part of the grant community. Hopefully, more Grants in the future. The Shopping Season The holidays are approaching and rarely do you think of the Sisterhood s gift shop in the Synagogue. The gift shop is a real hidden gem that is somehow forgotten when entering the Synagogue. The gift shop has gifts for children and adults which are all relatively inexpensive. Parking is expansive and free. We guarantee that there will be no crowds to fight. If you are looking for gifts of a Jewish nature, the gift shop is your first stop. Hours are between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday. If those days or times are inconvenient, please contact Mrs. Randi McCauley, and I am certain that she will make arrangements to meet with you and show her extensive collection of gifts. Continuing to echo the words of the Co-Chairpersons, Dianne and Randi, we cannot thank you enough for the contributions made, whether physical, monetary or both, to the event. Next year is an election year I believe, so let us march onward to higher mountains. Bill Kaplan NOTES We need your eyes and ears. If you know a congregant is ill, in the hospital, or nursing home, please let the office know. Join us on Thursdays at Noon for 90 minutes of lunch & Torah study. Rabbi will review and discuss the upcoming Torah portion of the week so come prepared to learn something new and exciting! Cost $5 per week. The Spaghetti Dinner 2017 Style At the Annual Dinner Meeting, Mrs. Dianne Parker and Mrs. Randi McCauley, Co-Chairpersons of the 2017 Spaghetti Dinner, reported on the financial results of the dinner. Before reporting on the financial results, allow me to echo what the Co-Chairpersons said at the Annual Meeting: they thanked all of the workers who put in long hours, some as long as twelve (12) hour days. The Spaghetti Dinner is the most labor intensive event held by the Synagogue, and without the help of all the congregants, the Spaghetti Dinner would not be as profitable as it was. If the Synagogue was a publicly held company, the Synagogue would be a growth stock in the category of Apple, Google and Facebook, all based on the Spaghetti Dinner report. Gross income was the highest realized since 2008 (as far back as my records go) and expenses were less than in The profit realized was the highest since The Synagogue served 782 meals (this is a combination of carry outs and sit down dinners) and that number is almost ten (10%) percent higher than in This shows you that the revenue from the sale of that one extra ticket flows right to the bottom line. Just as important were the sponsorships. Sponsorship dollars increased by 23.5% over These sponsorships offset the expenses of the dinner, which in turn increases the profits realized from the dinner. Plan to attend a Community Thanksgiving Service to be held on Tuesday, November 21st at 6:30 PM at St. John Missionary Baptist Church, 104 E. Zarley Blvd., Joliet. Joliet Jewish Congregation is one of the area congregations participating in the service. Non-perishable food items and cash donations will be accepted and donated to local food pantries. Please be generous to those in need. Please join us on Friday, November 17th for Services at 6:00 PM followed by Dairy Pot Luck at 7:00 PM. Please RSVP to the office. The Hadassah Book Club s next selection is Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. This novel set in the tranquil beachfront town of Monterey, California is a darkly comedic tale of murder and mischief, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive. It is available at the library, in paperback and as an e-book and audio book. The Book Club will meet on Thursday, December 14th at 7:00 PM. Location to be announced at a later date.

4 SPAGHETTI DINNER RECAP An elderly gentleman came in to the office to pick up the items he bid on at the silent auction. In talking to Beth, he said it was his first time at our dinner and what a great time he had. He really told her it s the best spaghetti dinner in town! Everyone was so friendly and hospitable. He said he was telling all his friends to be sure to mark their calendar for next year. And when he opened his wallet to pay, he said he had an extra $5 and wanted to know if it was OK to give an extra $5. That s what it s all about! The dinner is such a great PR event for the synagogue. We served nearly 800 dinners. Non-members walk through our synagogue and comment how beautiful it is, how wonderful the spaghetti tasted, and how welcoming everyone is! Rabbi greeted everyone at the door with a smile! Those of you working took the time to smile and talk to our patrons and the hospitality just continued after that. YOU make the dinner the great event it is! You do it!!! And to top it off, we get to make money doing this! It was wonderful again this year. Thanks to Beth who really does so much to make it happen! Thank you to Louise Freeman and Ashley Freeman who could almost have had a bake sale on their own with all the baking they did. The bake sale took in $1,726. Thank you to Amanda-Rose Hicks-Barnhardt, who put in endless hours procuring the items, setting up and marking everything. The auction took in around $1300. Thank you to Robin, Lea, and George and all of those who bought tickets for the Raffle. The raffle took in $1094. Thank you, Mark Turk who quietly sends out the letters to obtain ads for the placemats, has them printed, and delivers them into our hands and makes $2100. Thank you to Jim Hillman who organizes the carryouts. Thank you to Allen, Ron, Bill, Steve, Fran, Mark, Jim, Lou and all the men who stand over the hot pots. Thank you to Karen, Roz, Harriet, Michelle, Tom, Wendy, Cathy, Janet, Linda, Gary, Bea, Joyce, Jeannie, Fred, Mark, Candy, Celeste, Glen, Ken, Krisanne, Toby, Scott, Carol and everyone who worked so hard! And a special thank you to our Treasurer Jim Kaplan. After the dinner, we get to go home and rest. Jim goes home and counts and counts and counts again, this year over $18,000 worth of counting and depositing. To everyone who worked, thank you! To everyone who bought tickets, baked, bought raffle tickets, bought auction items, Thank you. Without all our volunteers, donors and friends, we could not continue to be JJC. We appreciated all your hard work, dedication, and passion. The cost of food increases; yet, our expenses become less because our members cover the costs of the dinner,. A special Thank you to Mark Brown and Associates who was a major sponsor of the dinner. And Than You to: Harriet Barnett, Judy & Mike Block, Louise & Bob Freeman, Ashley & Ben Freeman, Stacie Freeman, Nancy & Marc Freeman, Bonnie & Mike Freeman, Roselyn & Mark Horwitz, Bill Kaplan, Jim Kaplan, Helen Ordman, Joyce Orloff, Fran Parker, Bea Scholar, and Celeste & Mark Turk. This year we worked especially hard serving almost 100 more than last! We could have used 4-5 more individuals helping. Many of us are getting a little older and moving a little slower. If you were unable to help this year, please mark your calendar to help next year! If you haven t sent your money in yet, please do so we can close our books. I know Jim can t wait to count more money! To those who missed it, we had a lot of fun and great food. Hope you plan on joining us next year! We need everyone s help! Dianne Parker and Randi McCauley Chairmen SPAGHETTI DINNER SILENT AUCTION Thank you to everyone who donated and solicited items for the silent auction held during the annual spaghetti dinner! With your assistance, we raised over $ for Joliet Jewish Congregation. Thank you to the Sunday school moms, dads & children who helped set up Sunday morning, Amy Cohen who helped during the auction, & our administrative assistant, Beth, who helped prepare for this event. I always appreciate everyone's work & generosity. ~Amanda Rose GIFT SHOP The Gift Shop will be open on Sunday mornings from 10:00 AM-Noon. Chanukah is only a few weeks away so stop by and see the items available for purchase. Please contact Randi McCauley if you have any questions.

5 Yahrzeits (Week of November 12-18) Bea Scholar 23 Cheshvan November 12 Robert Freeman 23 Cheshvan November 12 William Kaplan 23 Cheshvan November 12 Howard Pollock 24 Cheshvan November 13 Bernard Pollock 24 Cheshvan November 13 Scott Stewart 26 Cheshvan November 15 Rose Delrose 27 Cheshvan November 16 Nancy Malmfeldt 27 Cheshvan November 16 Ronda Lebold 27 Cheshvan November 16 Bettie Berest 27 Cheshvan November 16 Scott Stewart 27 Cheshvan November 16 Harriet Barnett 28 Cheshvan November 17 Mark Turk 28 Cheshvan November 17 (Week of November 19-25) Myles Jacobs 1 Kislev November 19 Harriet Barnett 1 Kislev November 19 Steve Orloff 2 Kislev November 20 Roselyn Horwitz 3 Kislev November 21 (Week of November 26-December 2) Rose Delrose 9 Kislev November 27 Nancy Malmfeldt 9 Kislev November 27 Dr. Gary Trager 11 Kislev November 29 Bea Scholar 11 Kislev November 29 Adeline Ordman 14 Kislev December 2 The Yahrzeit light is lot on the evening before the date noted above. Yahrzeit lights will be lit on our Memorial Tablets in memory of: Week of November 12-18: Edward S. Sanders, Alison Debra Kaplan, Mrs. Florence Freeman, Albert Rudman, Norman Scholar, Philip German, Irwin Pollock, Fannie Goldsmith, Albert A. Rubnitz, Rev. Bernard Lewis, Mrs. Freda Sanders, Miriam Rosenberg Olken, Mrs. Dorothy Freeman, Harry Brown, Adolph Bernstein, Louis Schreibman, Samuel Lehman, Charles Edward Wollak Week of November 19-25: Jacob Melcher, Mrs. Juell Delrose, Mrs. Frieda Jacobs, Benjamin H. Orloff, Ruth Hirsch, Albert M. Cohn, Mildred Kristal, Mrs. Celia Klein, Mrs. Sue Lewis Week of November 26-December 2: Elaine Markle, Esther Solomon, Mrs. Celia Grossman, Mrs. Sylvia Jaffe, L.M. Rubens, Mrs. Kathryn (Kay) Fisher, Russell Hyman, Morris Wiener, Sidney Maddis, Mrs. Helen Lipman, Joe Starkman Hattie & Harry Brown Happy Day Fund In Honor of Mr. & Mrs. Mark Turk on their anniversary Mrs. Harriet Barnett None Hattie & Harry Brown Memorial Fund ONGOING FUNDRAISERS Joliet Jewish Congregation collects inkjet/laser cartridges & cell phones to recycle. Drop them off at the office. We have a newspaper/ magazine recycling container at the Campbell Street entrance. Thanks to all who help support these recycling efforts. SCRIP PROGRAM An order form will be included in the next newsletter. Any questions about the program call Beth at Thanks to all who participate in the program. HELP THE JOLIET NOON LIONS Please bring in pop top tabs, old keys, glasses and hearing aids and leave in the office. Help the Lions help those in need. REMINDER: No Services are scheduled for Friday, November 24th.

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8 Joliet Jewish Congregation 250 N. Midland Avenue Joliet, IL (815) Please support the following advertisers For more information please call (815) Kipco Restaurants Robert Freeman 4010 West 211th Street Ben Freeman Matteson, IL Owner/Operator Office Fax