Israeli and Palestinian Youth at the Center of Peacebuilding

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1 T H E B E TH A M OCTOBER 2018 TISHREI/CHESHVAN 5779 IN THIS ISSUE: Beth Am Women Kickoff Evening PAGE 3 Israeli and Palestinian Youth at the Center of Peacebuilding Presentation by Amin Manna and Etai Freedman of MEET (Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow) FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 6:15 P.M., SANCTUARY* Extolled by President Obama as an example of how innovation is reshaping the Middle East, Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow (MEET) is a groundbreaking program that brings budding Palestinian and Israeli leaders of the future together through the common language of technology and entrepreneurship. Working in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) since 2004, MEET directly impacts 230 high school students and over 380 alumni, who are already taking first steps at creating positive social and political change in the Middle East. Rabbi Rachel Adler: Saxe Scholar-in-Residence PAGE 3 LifeMoves Family Volunteering PAGE 7 Numbering Our Days Reflections on Chayei Sarah, Why Leadership Matters and Birthdays FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 6:15 P.M., SANCTUARY* Beth Am is honored to welcome Daryl Messinger, Chair of the Board of the Union for Reform Judaism, the umbrella organization for all Reform synagogues in North America, comprising nearly 900 congregations in the United States and Canada. Before becoming URJ Chair, Daryl held several leadership roles within the Reform Movement, including Chair of the Reform Pension Board and Chair of the URJ Camp Newman Advisory Board. Over the last 30 years, Daryl has also played a leadership role in many facets of the Bay Area Jewish community, including serving as president of Congregation Beth Am from 1995 until Before retiring in 2009, Daryl helped to build a marketing/communications firm; earlier in her career she was a partner in an investment advisory firm. In 2015, she became the first woman to hold the top lay leadership position in the Reform movement. CONTACT US AT (650) *This service will be live video streamed. By entering the Sanctuary, you give Beth Am permission to record you.

2 Rabbi Janet Marder Did Reform Jews invent tikkun olam? Saving the World Can you be a good Jew without caring about social justice? Most of us would see that as a contradiction in terms. The 2013 Pew study found that 56% of American Jews called working for justice and equality essential to their Jewish identity. Reform Jews especially emphasize tikkun olam (repairing/healing the world); many regard it as their primary Jewish practice. We ve been criticized for this focus, especially in the Orthodox world. In one blistering attack, entitled The Fallacy, Delusion and Myth of Tikkun Olam, Rabbi Y.A. Korff wrote: It is not at all a centuries-old tradition and it is not a commandment. And to be clear, Tikkun Olam does not even mean repairing the world in the sense of social justice. We cannot, and are not instructed to, save the world, or even to repair it. Judaism teaches no such thing. Rather, we are instructed to conduct ourselves properly, to observe the Mitzvos, the Commandments and in that way to contribute to society and civilization Rabbi Korff is right about one thing: Reform Judaism transformed the original meaning of tikkun olam. While the Bible has much to say about justice, kindness and bringing goodness into the world, it does not mention tikkun olam. The term first appears in the Mishna, the Jewish law code edited about 200 C.E. There we learn that the Sages instituted a number of changes mipnei tikkun ha-olam for the sake of tikkun ha-olam. In context, this seems to mean for the sake of maintaining the social order. The Sages used this phrase to justify a series of relatively modest legislative tweaks, correcting flaws that would otherwise threaten the stability of the legal system as a whole. Writes Rabbi Jill Jacobs: Preserving the current social order might sound like a politically conservative move. It is worth noting, however, that the majority of these rabbinic cases involve the protection of a person or set of people who typically found themselves toward the bottom of the social order [ The History of Tikkun Olam, in Zeek: A Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture (June 2007) This is stage one in the strange history of tikkun olam a series of modest technical adjustments in rabbinic law, in which one might be able to detect a somewhat progressive slant. Stage two is found in a familiar prayer the Aleinu, chanted towards the end of every Jewish worship service. In the second paragraph, we find this: Therefore we hope in You, Adonai our God, soon to see the glory of Your might, sweeping idolatry away so that false gods will be utterly destroyed, to repair the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty [l takkein olam b malchut Shaddai] so that all human beings will call upon Your name, bringing all the wicked of the earth back to You... Aleinu looks toward a future in which there will be universal recognition of God; monotheism will encompass all the earth. It is the act of fixing/ repairing/perfecting the world that will accomplish the goal asserted at the end of the prayer, in the words of the prophet Zechariah [14:9]: On that day Adonai will be One and God s name one. Note two things. First, the fixing of the world described in this prayer will be accomplished not by us, but by God. Aleinu is not a summons to human action it s a plea for God to act. Second, the repair of the world described here bears little relationship to our contemporary social justice agenda. The prayer doesn t talk about eliminating poverty, bigotry, illness or war. We might imagine that those evils would not be present in a world in which the divine Presence was manifest to all people, but the prayer does not say that explicitly. The third stage in the evolution of tikkun olam comes from the work of the 16th century Kabbalist Isaac Luria. Luria taught his followers that fragments and sparks of the divine light were buried in even the darkest corners of the universe, and that when Jews perform the divinely-given commandments, they can lift up the sparks, restore them to their Source, and literally help to repair the broken world. But in Lurianic kabbalah, the task of rescuing sparks of light was not to be accomplished by what we d call the ethical mitzvot, such as feeding the hungry or caring for the sick. Instead the emphasis was on study, prayer and ritual. The idea of repairing the world in the way we now understand it a broad mandate to engage in acts of service and social justice was born very recently, just within the past 50 years or so. It seems to be an example of pouring new wine into an old vessel what we now call repurposing a term from antiquity and imbuing it with a dramatically different significance. In my view, this is something to celebrate. Before modernity, the Jewish world was narrow and circumscribed; Jewish notions of doing good were necessarily modest, focused inward, on one s immediate family and community, content with improving one s own small corner of the world. Tikkun olam as the Reform movement re-conceived it was bold and ambitious, outward-directed, forwardlooking, focused for the most part on societal concerns rather than specifically Jewish ones. It rested on the optimistic notion that Jews could participate fully in the broader culture, joining with like-minded others of all races, religions and cultures to heal the world. Today tikkun olam in its modern sense has been adopted by members of all streams of Judaism. So, for instance, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, exemplar of mainstream Orthodoxy, offers these impassioned words: There may be poverty in every age, but that does not make it God s will for the world. There may be injustice, but we may not be silent in the face of it Tikkun olam involves the recognition that the world does need repair, rather than Stoic acceptance or ascetic denial As long as there is hunger, poverty and treatable disease in the world, there is work for us to do. As long as nations fight, and men hate, and corruption stalks the corridors of power; as long as there is unemployment and homelessness, depression and despair, our task is not yet done... [To Heal a Fractured World, pp.81-82]. PAGE 2

3 BETH WOMEN Annual Kickoff Evening With Guest Speaker Rebecca Alexander WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 6:15 P.M., SOCIAL HALL Come be inspired by nationallyrenowned author Rebecca Alexander, who will speak about her book Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found an uplifting reflection on living with Usher Syndrome type III, dealing with adversity and appreciating each day for what it brings. Though slowly losing her sight and hearing, Ms. Alexander zestfully embraces life as a psychotherapist, disability rights advocate, extreme athlete, volunteer and Lululemon Ambassador. She has made numerous television and radio appearances, including the Today Show, The Meredith Vieira Show, PBS and ESPN. Her eyes and ears may be declining, but Rebecca s sense of self is sharply focused and profoundly tuned. By sharing her life, she has enriched mine and will yours, too. I love this woman. Meredith Vieira, The Meredith Vieira Show Preceding Ms. Alexander s talk, there will be a reception with wine and substantial hors d oeuvres. Following her talk, there will be a dessert reception. Meet and chat with friends, old and new! TICKET PRICE INFORMATION: Early Bird price through Sunday, October 7: $30 BAW members & $40 non-members; Regular price from Monday, October 8 to Wednesday, October 17: $40 BAW members & $50 non-members. Register online at betham.org/kickoff2018. PARKINSON S: WE RE IN THIS TOGETHER! Causes, Treatment, Current Research Presented By Carrolee Barlow, MD, PhD, CEO of the Parkinson s Institute and Clinical Center WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 7 P.M., BEIT KEHILLAH Carrolee Barlow, MD, PhD is a renowned expert in neuroscience and neurodegeneration. She is the Parkinson s Institute and Clinical Center s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). She joined the Parkinson s Institute in February 2014 and is one of only two CEOs who have run the organization since it was founded in 1988 by Dr. J. W. Langston. Dr. Barlow s career has focused on clinical care, laboratory and clinical research, academia and industry. She is the founder and former Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Medical Officer of BrainCells, Inc. in San Diego, California, a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of small molecules that stimulate adult hippocampal neurogenesis for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disease using human neural stem cell technology. Dr. Barlow s goal is to find solutions and treatments for Parkinson s disease in the same way she has done with other diseases. Working with the FDA and others, she is finding ways to transform clinical studies for neurodegenerative diseases by evaluating the science and designing studies in a way that turns research into new treatments. This program is presented by Beth Am s Health Initiative, which helps our congregation fulfill the Jewish mandate to care for our physical and emotional health. BETH WELCOMES Rabbi Rachel Adler, PhD Saxe Family Scholar-in-Residence Weekend FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16 TO SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17 In keeping with this year s adult education theme, Sex and Gender in Judaism, we are delighted to welcome Rabbi Rachel Adler, PhD, as our Saxe Family scholar-in-residence. Dr. Adler is the Professor of Modern Jewish Thought and Feminist Studies at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and was one of the first theologians to integrate feminist perspectives and concerns into the interpretation of Jewish texts and the renewal of Jewish law and ethics. Her essay, The Jew Who Wasn t There, first published in 1971, is generally considered the first piece of Jewish feminist theology. She is the author of Engendering Judaism, which won the National Jewish Book Award for Jewish Thought. She is the first female theologian to win this award. A schedule of the weekend will be available soon. Jewish Film Series Presents Itzhak A Portrait of Musical Virtuoso Itzhak Perlman SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 3:30 P.M. BEIT KEHILLAH This enchanting documentary looks beyond the sublime musician, to see the polio survivor whose parents emigrated from Poland to Israel, and the young man who struggled to be taken seriously as a music student when schools saw only his disability. Itzhak himself is funny, irreverent and self-deprecating, and here his life story unspools in conversations with masterful musicians, family and friends, most endearingly his devoted wife of 50 years, Toby. This film is free and refreshments will be served. This film will not have closed captioning available. Thank you to congregant Phil Spiegel, who is graciously sponsoring the screening of this film. PAGE 3

4 Calendar SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY For a more detailed calendar visit SIMCHAT TORAH 9:30 Shemini Atzeret Festival / Yizkor Service and Brunch :00 B Sukkah Take Down 1:00 BAW Book Club 7:00 BAW Book Club 8:00 Thursday Morning 6:00 Adult Hebrew Level E 7:00 BAW Board Meeting 7:30 Building Blocks of Judaism 6:15 Tizmoret Shabbat Service With Speaker Josh Block 7:30 Poltava Dinner 8:00 Jewish Meditation 8:30 Bagels and Coffee 10:00 Good Book Café 10:15 Torah 10:30 B not Mitzvah Service: Hausman/Lowenthal 9:00 Beit Midrash 11:30 Kindergarten Lunch 11:30 Zimriyah Junior Choir 11:45 Civil Rights 11/12 Begins 11:45 Lunch & Learn 9:15 Parents Circle 10:30 Health Professionals Meeting 11:30 Zimriyah Jr. Choir 11:45 Lunch & Learn 3:00 Pros and Cons on the CA State Ballot Measures NFTY CNR 8:00 Family Volunteer Opportunity with LifeMoves 9:00 Beit Midrash 11:30 Zimriyah Jr. Choir 11:45 K-1 Family Education 11:45 Lunch & Learn 9:00 Beit Midrash 10:00 Chicken Soupers 11:30 Zimriyah Jr. Choir 11:45 Camp Beth Am :00 Thursday Morning :00 Jewish Meditation 13 6:00 B Guys Night Out 6:00 Confirmation 7:00 Palo Alto City Council Candidates Forum (offsite) 7:30 BAW Rosh Chodesh 6:15 Beit R fuah 7:30 Mussar for Men 6:00 Adult Hebrew Level E 7:00 Board Meeting 5:15 Tot Shabbat 6:15 Shabbat Service 7:30 Oneg Shabbat to Honor :00 Thursday Morning NFTY CNR :15 BAW Kickoff Dinner 6:15 Adult Hebrew Level E 7:30 Building Blocks of Judaism :00 B Breakfast :00 Thursday Morning :00 Jewish Meditation 27 6:00 Confirmation 7:30 Adult Confirmation 5:30 Development Committee 6:00 FS2S Cabinet Meeting 7:00 BAW Mah Jongg 7:30 JBN Board Meeting 7:30 Mussar for Men 6:15 Adult Hebrew Level E 7:30 Building Blocks of Judaism 7:30 Executive Committee Dean Oja 6:15 Shabbat Service in the Round 7:30 Oneg Shabbat Sponsored by Don & Susan Allen 8:00 20 s/30 s Shabbat 6:15 Shabbat Service With Guest Speakers from MEET 7:30 Oneg Shabbat Sponsored by David Gaskill & Peg Krome 9:00 Bagels and Coffee 10:15 Torah 10:30 Beit Midrash 10:30 Bar Mitzvah Service: Spain 7:00 INCLUDE Committee Meeting 8:00 Jewish Meditation 9:00 Bagels and Coffee 10:15 Torah 10:30 B nei Mitzvah Service: Speiser / Solomon 3:30 Jewish Film Series: Itzhak 8:30 Bagels and Coffee 10:15 Torah 10:30 B not Mitzvah Service: Hudacek / Stellenberg 7:30 Adult Confirmation Begins :30 Adult Confirmation CONGREGATION BETH OCTOBER 2018

5 Annual Campaign Have You Gone Above and Beyond Yet? Thank you very much to all our early donors this fall, who have gone above and beyond their dues with a gift to the Annual Campaign! YOU sustain our community s rich array of programs and services for members of all ages, all year long. While our congregation enjoys wonderful support through dues, it s a fact of life for synagogues that dues do not cover the entire cost of sustaining the congregation. We rely on contributions to fill the gap with Annual Campaign gifts going straight to vital staff, programs and subsidies for membership and education programs. Did you know that youth education tuition only covers about 2/3 of the cost of the programs? And that adult education programs (classes, lectures, retreats) are either partially subsidized or totally free of charge? Remember that our outstanding clergy team is here for you at any point you need them not only providing the services and programs you see on campus, but also offering private counseling and pastoral care for members in need throughout their lives. The Annual Campaign makes all of this and much more possible. Please consider going above and beyond your dues with a tax-deductible gift of any size to the Annual Campaign. Pledges can be paid out over the rest of this fiscal year, before June 30, To make a gift, please visit betham.org/annualcampaign or contact Director of Development Mandy Eisner at meisner@ betham.org, (650) , x211. A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT MY FAVORITE PRAYER October is the month of my mother s yahrzeit and I look forward to going to Beth Am to say the Mourner s Kaddish in her memory. Doing so brings me comfort then, but I find myself drawn to this prayer whenever we recite it at services. Perhaps it s the cadence of the Aramaic text, or perhaps it s the meaning of the words themselves a message of affirmation and hope at a time of pain and loss. Yet, I think the power of saying Kaddish goes beyond the prayer itself to how we say it at Beth Am. As mourners stand when the names of their loved ones are read, there is a deep connection to those whose memories live on in our hearts. As the congregation rises to join the mourners, another set of connections is built across the congregation we rise as a community to support one another. Beyond these connections to the past and the present, I suspect there may also be a connection to the future, to a time when those we love will stand to say Kaddish for us and their community will rise with them. In all these ways, a prayer of memory becomes a powerful source of comfort, affirmation and connection. Saying Kaddish brings a sense of peace the same peace that we ask for as we say the words of Oseh Shalom to conclude the prayer and let us say, Amen. L Shalom, Bruce Ives President@betham.org Pledge to Vote in 2018! Beth Am Joins the National RAC Voter Engagement Campaign of 2018 Beth Am is joining other Reform congregations in the United States in an effort to register 100% of their congregants in 2018 with the goal of making certain EVERYONE VOTES! This is part of the exciting non-partisan campaign spearheaded by our movement s Religious Action Center (RAC) to promote civic engagement throughout the Reform Jewish community. The RAC encourages Beth Am members to sign pledge cards, pledging to vote in the upcoming mid-term election, and encourages us to remind our friends and relatives to vote, as well. After they are signed and submitted, the pledge cards will stay at Beth Am; they ll be mailed back to you before Election Day. Beth Am members will have the opportunity to register to vote before and after the Rosh Hashanah morning service on September 10. After that, registration will occur before and after the following: Erev Shabbat Services: Fridays, October 5 & 12 Torah Study: Saturdays, October 6 & 13 Sunday Program: Sundays, October 7 & 14 Beth Am will also be co-sponsoring two forums to promote civic engagement: Candidates Forum Tuesday, October 9, 7 9 P.M., First Congregational Church, Palo Alto: Beth Am will cosponsor, with the Palo Alto League of Women Voters, a candidates forum for the Palo Alto City Council. Pros and Cons on the CA State Ballot Measures Sunday, October 14, 3 4:30 P.M., Beit Kehillah: The League of Women Voters will present the Pros and Cons on the CA State Ballot Measures that will be on the November ballot. PAGE 6

6 BUILDERS CIRCLE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Adrienne and Neil Tuch Volunteer With LifeMoves Preparing Sunday Breakfast for Those in Need The Tuch Family: Lexi, Neil, Skylar, Adrienne and Bayley Beth Am members Adrienne and Neil seek to affect change not only with their hands-on work, but also with their financial resources, supporting the organizations that their family cares about and is involved with. We decided to make a legacy gift because we think synagogues should always be a central part of the Jewish community. We have gotten so much out of our Beth Am experience an incredibly welcoming home and if we can help someone in the future feel that same way, that s what we want to do! Read more about the Tuch family at betham.org/tuchfamily. The Beth Am Builders Circle is the group of members who have prepared a legacy gift such as a bequest to Beth Am. For more information about making a bequest or other planned gift to Beth Am, please contact Director of Development Mandy Eisner at meisner@betham.org or call (650) For sample bequest language, please visit betham.org/legacygiving. Tax Talk Making Sense of the New Law and Its Impact on You SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 3:30 P.M., BEIT KEHILLAH A sweeping new tax bill was signed into law in December 2017, leaving many of us with questions about its effect on our bottom line. Join Beth Am member and CPA Jerry Spector for a talk that will help you decipher the new law, including discussions on personal tax implications, business taxes and how to make charitable contributions in the most advantageous way possible. This presentation is for people who may have missed Jerry s talk back in March, or for those who attended but could use a review and/or have more questions. The content will be similar to the March presentation. Bring your questions! This program is sponsored by the Legacy Giving Committee of Beth Am. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 8 TO 11 A.M., FIRST STEP FOR FILIES, 325 VILLA TERRACE, SAN MATEO Beth Am families serve a monthly breakfast at First Step for Families, a temporary shelter for families in San Mateo. The shelter is run by LifeMoves, one of the area s leading nonprofits fighting homelessness and poverty. In order for this new program to succeed, we need the volunteer strength of many Beth Am families. Please sign up online at bit.ly/ LifeMovesVolunteer. We encourage families in particular to volunteer together, but all are welcome! Celebrate Kids Birthdays With the Beth Am Library Visiting the Beth Am Library to hear stories and choose books from the impressive children s collection is a highlight for Beth Am kids. The library s new Birthday Books program provides an opportunity to honor a child s special day by contributing $18 (the Hebrew numerical equivalent of chai, life ) for the purchase of an age-appropriate book in the child s name. The library will place an acknowledgement plate in the book celebrating the child, and send the family a thank you note with the name of the author and title of the book. Check it out next time you re in the Beth Am Library! The library welcomes contributions in tribute to adults as well. Thank you for participating in this very special Beth Am Library program. To purchase a library book in honor of a special child, please visit betham.org/happybirthday! For more information, please contact library@betham.org. PAGE 7

7 50% Recycled Chlorine Free Printing CONGREGATION BETH Arastradero Road Los Altos Hills, CA NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #121 CONGREGATION BETH LOS ALTOS HILLS, CA ADULT CONFIRMATION: Jewish Spiritual Paths Taught by Rabbis Janet Marder & Sarah Weissman TUESDAY EVENINGS, OCTOBER 16 DECEMBER 18 7:30 TO 8:45 P.M., ROOM ALEPH Would you like to get to know other parents of teens at Beth Am and feel more connected to the community? Do you have questions about Jewish identity, finding meaning in today s tumultuous times, God or Jewish spirituality? Would you like to share a powerful lifecycle ritual with a supportive community of peers? Could you use a break from work and family responsibilities to cultivate your mind, heart and spirit? This new class, especially for parents whose children have celebrated Bar/Bat Mitzvah or Confirmation in recent years, is for you! Participants will celebrate the culmination of their learning at the Shabbat evening service on January 25, Cost: Free to Beth Am members; $36 for non-members. To sign up or to learn more, please contact Rabbi Weissman at rabbi_weissman@betham.org, (650) Shabbat Is for Families, Too Beth Am Now Offers Kid-Friendly Dinner and Supervised Play During Every Friday Night Service FRIDAYS, 6:15 TO 7:30 Those who celebrate Shabbat on a regular basis know just how meaningful it can be. In today s non-stop, high-pressure world, it s important to make time each week to rest and re-charge. This is true for people of all ages carving out time for Shabbat can be a positive, healthy choice for the whole family. Beth Am is committed to creating a family-friendly environment every Shabbat. Children are always welcome to join the congregation at Friday night services, but we know that kids will be kids! That s why every week Beth Am now offers children a kid-friendly dinner as well as supervision with engaging, age-appropriate activities (think Jewish stories, crafts, lawn games, playground time). We ve also added opportunities for young members of our congregation to participate in Shabbat services. Every Friday night at Beth Am, you ll find inspiring musical services, a welcoming intergenerational community, and a chance to connect with friends, both old and new. Often our services will include our teen musicians or Zimriyah, our junior choir. Today s families live busy and hectic lives; their days are packed with work, school and kids extracurricular activities. Shabbat offers an opportunity for rest, inspiration and building true community. Hope to see you and your family soon at Beth Am!