Temple Talk. Shavuot and the Gift that Keeps Giving. By: Rabbi Tracy Nathan. Shavuot Schedule. Upcoming Events. Address TEMPLE BETH ISRAEL

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1 TEMPLE BETH ISRAEL Temple Talk Shavuot and the Gift that Keeps Giving The essence of each of our festivals is expressed within liturgical epithets. Sukkot is z man simkhateinu, the time of our joy; Pesach is z man heruteinu - the time of our freedom; Shavuot is z man matan toroteinu, the time of the giving of our Torah. Shavuot, which begins on the sixth of Sivan (this year, May 26-28th), marks the moment in which Torah is given and received at Sinai. And yet Shavuot, when mentioned in the Torah itself, does not reference the revelation at Sinai. While each festival has agricultural components and roots, in the Torah, Shavuot alone is solely an agricultural festival. The Torah also does not tell us directly the date of the festival. Instead, we are told to count from a moment in the agricultural cycle: Upcoming Events By: Rabbi Tracy Nathan Bat Mitzvah of Sabrina Rabins May 12th 9:00am Mother s Day Sisterhood Breakfast May 13th 10:00am Friday Night Dinner and Service May 18th 6:30pm Childrens Services May 19th 10:45am And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering the day after the sabbath you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the Lord...On that same day you shall hold a celebration; it shall be a sacred occasion for you; you shall not work at your occupations. (Vayikra 23:15-16; 21) Without an explicit day for observance of the festival, our sages derived the date through midrash - the rabbinic process of interpretation. First, the phrase the day after the sabbath was understood as meaning the day (Continued on page 5) National Yiddish Book Center Visit Sunday June 24th(details to follow) Shavuot Schedule Shavuot Day 1, Sunday, May 27: Tikkun "Yom" Shavuot 9:00 am Morning Service followed by kiddush brunch and learning sessions taught by Rabbi Tracy Nathan, Cantor Ellen Band, and others (check back on the website and check your s for further details). Shavuot Day 2, Monday May 28 (Memorial Day) 9:00 am Morning service with Yizkor (approximately10:30am) Rabbi: Cantor: President: Vice President: Secretary: Treasurer: Tracy Nathan Ellen Band Merrill Griff Jim Baron Genevieve Fosa Ed Kaufman Membership Co-Chairs: Editor: VOLUME 27 ISSUE 9 M AY 2012 I YAR SIVAN 5772 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Yahrzeits 2 Mark s Remarks 3 Calendar 4 Donations 5 Upcoming Programs 6 Candle Lighting Schedule 6 Program Fliers 7 Diana Korzenik and Ellen Macklin Andrea Baron Address 25 Harvard Street P. O. Box Waltham, MA office@tbiwaltham.org (781) Office Hours Monday - Friday 9:30am - 12:30pm

2 TEMPLE TALK P AGE 2 May Yahrzeits Plaque Loc. Name Yahrzeit Date 3-3 Judith Kaplan 1-May Iyar Charles S. Slatrow 1-May Iyar 09 Anne Itzkowitz 2-May Iyar Samuel Louis Griff 2-May Iyar Herman Greene 3-May Iyar Edith Rose Wolf Friedlander 3-May Iyar Morris Canter 3-May Iyar Simon Hoffman 3-May Iyar Robert Liberman 4-May Iyar Aaron Soltes 6-May Iyar Samuel Schwartz 6-May Iyar 14 Anna Goldstein 7-May Iyar Sophie Messer 7-May Iyar Fannie Kennen 7-May Iyar Eliot Tanner 7-May Iyar Etta Liberman 7-May Iyar Anna Resh - Channa bas Zelig 8-May Iyar Freda Griff 9-May Iyar Simon Kniznik 9-May Iyar Chiam Crevoshay 9-May Iyar Louis Berman 9-May Iyar Ilene Joyce Nathanson 9-May Iyar Hyman Weinstein 10-May Iyar Jacob Fine 10-May Iyar Louis Dubin 10-May Iyar 18 Morris Fischer 10-May Iyar Frances Rose Kaplan 12-May Iyar H. L. Berman 12-May Iyar Joseph Kurtzman 12-May Iyar Barbara Hoffman 13-May Iyar Zelda Pokat 13-May Iyar Harry Sheinhite 13-May Iyar Charles Leavy 14-May Iyar Laura Kurtzman 14-May Iyar Richard Rosenburg 14-May Iyar Harry Dubin 15-May Iyar Samuel Goodman 16-May Iyar Fritz Benedick 16-May Iyar 24 Plaque Loc. Name Yahrzeit Date 4-1 Sara Bloomenthal 17-May Iyar Lena Norman 19-May Iyar Barnett Sacks 19-May Iyar Jacob Cohn 20-May Iyar Charles Tankel 21-May Iyar Fannie Tatelman 21-May Iyar John Hoffman 22-May Sivan Dr. Samuel Berstein 22-May Sivan Polly Freedman 23-May Sivan Sarah Eisenberg 23-May Sivan Morris Gordon 23-May Sivan 02 Rose Endelman 24-May Sivan Max Berman 24-May Sivan Joseph Kaufman 26-May Sivan Albert Michelson 27-May Sivan Molly Smith 27-May Sivan Ethel Wigod 28-May Sivan Morris Alpert 28-May Sivan Betty Tushin 28-May Sivan Carl Goldstein 29-May Sivan Barnett Messer 30-May Sivan Samuel Bloom 31-May Sivan Jacob Pernakoff 1-Jun Sivan 11 Minnie Zeramby 2-Jun Sivan Abraham Josephson 2-Jun Sivan Barnard Wolf 3-Jun Sivan Max Backer 3-Jun Sivan Irving Forbes 4-Jun Sivan Abraham Harris 4-Jun Sivan 14 Louis Zuckerman 4-Jun Sivan Rebecca Cohen 5-Jun Sivan Lillian Goldstein 6-Jun Sivan Lillian Levine 7-Jun Sivan Miriam Beecher 8-Jun Sivan Frieda Simmons 9-Jun Sivan 19 If you would like to make a donation in memory of a loved one listed above please send it along with a brief note of who you would like remembered to the Temple Office.

3 P AGE 3 V OLUME 27 I SSUE 9 Mark s Remarks: Ancient Words, New Voices By: Mark Frydenberg Rabbi Nathan and the Ritual Committee have made it a goal this year to encourage many people to take part by chanting from the Torah at our services on Shabbat mornings, Mondays, and Thursdays, when the Torah is read, or encourage them to give a D'var torah at services. Cantor Ellen Band taught a Torah reading class in the fall. Since then, several graduates of the Torah reading class and people new to our community have taken their place alongside our community's few regular Torah readers, and offered to read an aliyah or two (or more) from time to time. Many thanks to Yaron Shragai, Sue Kane, Merrill Griff, Genevieve Fosa, Joseph Weintraub, Cantor Ellen Band, Morris Hollender, Susan Holbert, Caroline Nudelman, and Rabbi Nathan, who are among those who have volunteered to read Torah or Haftarah during the past year. That s fantastic. It s great to be able to build up such a cadre of readers. A special thank you to Morris Hollender who has been our Torah reader for over 30 years. It means so much to him not only to continue to read the Torah, but also to see others carry on this sacred obligation. In addition to building up our Torah reading team, we welcome members to share a short D var Torah at services on weeks when Rabbi Nathan and Cantor Band are both away. Thanks to Susan Holbert, Merrill Griff, Genevieve Fosa, Arthur Marion, Caroline Nudelman, Joseph Weintraub, Dina Moeller, Diana Korzenik, and Esther Keeney who are among those who have prepared a Dvar Torah during the past year. Everyone has something to say about the Torah portion. Don t worry if you don t think you ll have enough to say. Rabbi Dick Israel (z l) wrote: There is almost no such thing as too short a d'var Torah. Don't even be afraid of one liners or quick insights into two or three verses of the parashah [weekly Torah portion]. If you can hang them all together, so much the better, but if you can't it is not serious. If you can make three points or give three examples, your d'var Torah will feel complete regardless of how brief it is. If the material you have been presenting is sufficiently suggestive, there is nothing wrong with letting people finish what you are saying inside their heads. More plants have died of over-watering than from thirst, and more Jews have been turned off by talks that are too long than by those that have been too short or too evocative. On behalf of the Ritual Committee, I want to thank everyone who has volunteered this year at our services, and thank everyone in advance who has yet to do so! (If you read from the Torah, or Haftarah, or gave a D'var Torah, and we omitted your name, thank you, please let us know! We ll give you another opportunity!) We invite you to read Torah or give a drash, chant Haftarah, or lead a part of the service as you are able. (Or let us know if you would like to learn how.) Contact me or Rabbi Nathan for access to the sign-up sheet online. Membership Booklet Temple Beth Israel is about to publish an updated membership book. It will include all members names, childrens names, address, telephone and . If you are already a Temple member, please make sure that we have your most up-to-date information. If you have changed your address or have moved in the past 6 months, please contact the Temple office to let us know.. You must be a Temple member to be listed in the book. The book will be free, included with your membership. Remember: Join before June 1 to be included in this years Membership Book. Diana Korzenik and Ellen Macklin Membership Co-Chairs

4 P AGE 4 May 2012 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Acharei-Mot Kedoshim Member Led Emor 6 7 Rabbi Tracy Nathan Religious Committee Meeting 6:30pm Bat Mitzvah of Sabrina Rabins Board Meeting 7:40pm Friday Night Dinner and Service 6:30pm 13 Behar-Bekukotai Mother s Day Breakfast Rabbi Tracy Nathan 10:00am Children s Service 10: Bamidbar Rabbi Tracy Nathan Save the Date June 24th Visit to the National Yiddish Book Center in 28Shavuot Day 2 27Shavuot Day 1 Rabbi Tracy Nathan Rabbi Nathan & Ellen Band 9:00am services 9:00am services Amherst, MA Tikkun Yom Shavuot If not specified, Minyan Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday is at 7:00am and on Saturday and Sunday at 9:00am.

5 P AGE 5 Donations V OLUME 27 I SSUE 9 Saturday Kiddush Sponsors Owen and Anne Turner, in honor of Morris Hollender. Ben and Caroline Nudelman, in memory of her father Gerald Woolf. Gaye Hilsenrath, in memory of Steven Cantrell. Lillian Etkind, in memory of her mother, Anne Itzkowitz. Thank You To Al Bloom for donating the beautiful flowers, and to Al Bloom and Catherine Cantrell for planting the flowers in front of the Temple. May 12th Rabins Family in honor of Sabrina s Bat Mitzvah May 19th David Freedman Frank Orovitz and Susan Kane Shavuot and the Gift that Keeps Giving By: Rabbi Tracy Nathan (Continued from page 1) after the first day of Pesach (a day in which we do not work, like Shabbat). Fifty days after the first day of Pesach (15th of Nisan) is the sixth of Sivan. Janet Moses Get Well Soon The Rabbis engaged in a second level of debate in determining the question of when the Torah was given at Mount Sinai, and eventually agreed that the sixth of Sivan was both Shavuot (the completion of the seven weeks from Pesach) and the date of the giving of the Torah at Sinai (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 86-88). Condolences To Ellen, David, Lila, and Gabe Kiron on the loss of Ellen's mother, Claire Lewis Powell. Guest Chef Do you have an old family recipe you would like to share with the Temple community? Or, is there something special you would like to make? Come join us in the Temple kitchen for Friday night dinner preparations. It would be a chance to get to know your Temple family and it would help make our Friday night dinners a pleasant and memorable experience for everyone who comes. Here are our upcoming dates: May 18, June 15, July 20 and August 17 Why wasn t this relationship between Shavuot and the giving of Torah revealed directly in the Torah? Perhaps this teaches us something about the nature of Torah itself. The festival s true meaning is revealed through our own efforts of interpretation and understanding, much like Torah itself. At Sinai and today, we are called to partner with the Holy One of Blessing in revealing Torah. Just as the sages engaged in a process of interpretation to reveal the date of the Sinai revelation and the essence of Shavuot, we are to engage in exegesis in continuing to illuminate the content of revelation. And so, especially on Shavuot, we are to spend some time with the Torah, learning, interpreting, and exploring its many mysteries and deep wells of wisdom. This year, we will come together for daytime learning on Sunday, May 27, the first day of Shavuot, after our morning service. Whether you are a newcomer to Torah study or a Torah scholar - all are welcome to learn and be givers of Torah.

6 TEMPLE TALK P AGE 6 Shavuot Schedule Shavuot Day 1, Sunday, May 27: Tikkun "Yom" Shavuot 9:00 am Morning Service followed by kiddush brunch and learning sessions taught by Rabbi Tracy Nathan, Cantor Ellen Band, and others (check back on the website and check your s for further details). Shavuot Day 2, Monday May 28 (Memorial Day) 9:00 am Morning service with Yizkor (approximately10:30am) Sisterhood - Mother s Day Breakfast Sunday May 13th at 10:00am Our guest speaker will be Mel Simons. He is sure to enchant, entertain and amuse us with his unique brand of music and comedy. This promises to be a very entertaining breakfast. Please make every effort to attend. Spouses/significant others are invited. As usual, breakfast is free to Sisterhood members* and one guest. Non-members of the Sisterhood are welcome for a small fee of $10.00 per person. Make checks payable to: Temple Beth Israel Sisterhood and mail, before May 7th to Temple Beth Israel, PO Box , Waltham, MA No money will be accepted at the door. * If you are not a member of the Sisterhood and would like to be, please send the $10 annual membership fee to Temple Beth Israel Sisterhood, PO Box , Waltham, MA Beth Israel Memorial Park - Waltham, MA For the past six years the individual graves at Beth Israel Cemetery have been priced at $1700 for Temple members and $1950 for non-members. Two abutting graves are considered to be a lot. Each lot, therefore, was priced at $3400 for Temple members and $3900 for non-members. Due to rising maintenance and other related costs, the price of graves and lots will increase as of September 1, The new amount for each grave will be $2000 for Temple members and $2300 for non-members. Lots will cost $4000 for Temple members and $4600 for non-members. If you are possibly considering the purchase of pre-need graves or lots, it would be prudent to purchase them before the price rises on September 1, Please contact the Jewish Cemetery Association at for more information. Candle Lighting Times May 4 7:29pm May 11 7:36pm May 18 7:44pm May 25 7:50pm May 26 8:51pm May 27 8:52pm June 1 7:56pm We Need Minyanaires Services are held at 7:00am on weekdays (except Tuesday) and at 9:00am on weekends & 9:00am on Civic Holidays. ****************************************** Kaddish We are not able to guarantee a minyan at each morning service, so if you need a minyan on a particular day to recite Kaddish, please let the Temple know at least 2 days prior.

7 Welcome Shabbat with Services and Community Dinner at Temple Beth Israel Services: 6:30 pm Dinner: 7:30 pm Friday Evenings, $12 per adult, $30 per family Welcome Shabbat with a spirited Kabbalat Shabbat Service at 6:30 pm, led by Rabbi Tracy Nathan, followed by a homecooked dinner at 7:30 pm, singing, and good conversation. Reserve now! Payment must be received by Thursday morning, the day before the dinner you are attending. We cannot accept payment at the door, and will not send bills afterward. Sign up for all three dinners and save! May 18 June 15 July 20 Names of Adults and Children Attending: Contact Phone: Date May 18 June 15 July 20 Number Adults Children Adults Children Adults Children Sign up for all three dinners now and save! Mail to: Temple Beth Israel, P O Box , Waltham, MA Payment in full due at time of reservation. Amount $12 per adult or $30 per family $12 per adult or $30 per family $12 per adult or $30 per family Discount: $5 per adult or $15 per family Payment Enclosed:

8 Temple Beth Israel stamp 25 Harvard Street P.O. Box Waltham, MA Phone: Website: May 2012 Bulletin It is never too late to donate. Use the form below and mail it to the Temple. Thank you in advance. Donate on the web at Kol Nidre Pledge High Holiday Donation General Fund Rabbi s Discretionary Fund Morris Hollender Music Appreciation Fund Carl Goldstein Memorial Fund Other, please specify: Temple Beth Israel Donation Form For your convenience, please use this form to make your donations and send to: Temple Beth Israel, P O Box , Waltham, MA I have chosen the fund indicated at the right: (Please use a separate form for each fund. Minimum donation: $10) Attached is my check in the amount of: $ The donation is being made In Honor Of In Memory Of Other This donation is made by: Name: Address: City/State/Zip Please send acknowledgement to: Name: Address: City/State/Zip