Shofar. Newsletter of Kehilat Shalom. January 2015 Vol. 44 No. 7 Tevet - Shevat

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1 Shofar Newsletter of Kehilat Shalom January 2015 Vol. 44 No. 7 Tevet - Shevat Check the What and When on page 6 for what is going on this month. Table of Contents From the Rabbi s Study 2 Kehilah Kurrents 2 President s Message 2 Cycle of Life Events 3 Youth 4 Membership Corner 5 What & When 6 Minyan Mitzvah Schedule 7 Yahrzeits 8 Auxiliaries 9/10 Library Corner 10 Learning & Growing 14 Havurah and Hanukkah 11/12 Life & Learning 14/15 Shabbat Dinner Offer 20 January 2015 Calendar (click here) MEN S CLUB OF KEHILAT SHALOM SPONSERS BATTLE OF THE SEXES (ADULT BOWLING & ICE CREAM SOCIAL) WHEN: Sat., January 17, 2015) WHERE: Bowl America; G-berg, MD TIME: 8:00 P.M. Attention District 39 Residents! Join us for an important discussion with The District 39 State Delegation and Rabbi Arian in support of Earned Paid Sick and Safe Leave for Maryland Workers Jan. 4, 2015 at Kehilat Shalom 10:30 am 12:30 pm RSVPs required lauragw@comcast.net Sponsored by Jews United for Justice and the Working Matters Coalition For details about the legislation and the campaign, please contact Laura Wallace at lauragw@comcast.net or visit Simcha Shabbat On Saturday morning, January 17, 2015 please join us for a special community celebration of birthdays, wedding anniversaries, graduations and other Simchas during the Celebration Simcha Shabbat. To participate in this special service and Kiddush, please return the Sign up form by January14, See page 10 for more information and sign up form. Advertise Your Business with Kehilat Shalom Kehilat Shalom is putting together our 2015 Membership Directory. We hope that you will consider placing an advertisement in this Directory. This is an excellent way to reach the members of our congregation and to show support for Kehilat Shalom. Ads need to be sent directly to Kehilat Shalom and all copy is due by January 15, If you need any additional information or have any questions, please contact Robert Goldberg ( ), r.n.goldberg@att,net or Bobbie Goldman ( ), bobbieandmike@erols.com. Please complete the bottom part of this form and mail your camera ready advertising copy and check to: Kehilat Shalom Membership Committee 9915 Apple Ridge Road Gaithersburg, Maryland (See Page 6 for flyer) Men's Club Super Bowl Party Sunday Feb. 1, 2015 Start time: 5 p.m. Cost: $10 per person WATCH ON THE BIG SCREEN! Featuring pizza, veggies, chips and sodas RSVP: Tuesday, Jan. 27 Name/ Company: Address: Telephone number, 1/3 page: $ 50 1/2 page: $ 65 Full page: $100 Inside cover: $150 Back Inside Cover $150

2 Rabbi Charles L. Arian From the Rabbi s Study Douglas Baum President@kehilatshalom.org President s Message Liberation: Then and Now Dear Friends: Year after year, I am struck by the confluence of our Torah reading about the Exodus from Egypt coinciding with the American celebration of Martin Luther King Day. In my previous congregation I would often discuss the Torah reading with our synagogue s custodian, Brother Joseph, who was an active lay leader in his AME Zion Church and an avid Bible student. When discussing Martin Luther King, he said to me, "you know, what Dr. King did, he didn't just do for the Black people." This is of course true. The genius of Dr, King lied in his ability to tap into the better angels of our nature, to remind us that if America was to be true to itself it needed to be a land of equal opportunity for all. What Dr. King did, he did for all of us. As Abraham Lincoln said so long ago, "as I would not be a slave, I would not be a slave master." It is not just that Black people needed to be liberated from the shackles of racism and oppression. White people needed to be liberated from their own oppression as well, because oppression is a product of fear. It is not just African Americans who are better off today because of Dr. King. All of us are better off, because we are working together for a society where we will be judged not by the color of our skin but by the content of our character. Dr. King's dream was not a Black dream or a white dream, it was an American dream, and a human dream. And it was a dream influenced by the Abrahamic covenants of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam... Continued on Page 3 Kehilah Kurrents Karian@kehilatshalom.org Hello out there folks! I pray that everyone had a joyous, miraculous, and meaningful Chanukah spent with family and friends. Now we are on to a secular new year that will undoubtedly bring us all a multitude of plans and wishes for the future. You good people know that I love snow because of the quiet calm it brings as it is falling and the magical nature of the fresh blanket of white. Snow makes for good cuddling up with a great book, or sitting with a loved one in front of a fire. Sometimes it is a good thing to slow down and enjoy doing not much of anything. Of course, I don t have to get out and drive in the bad weather, so my experience is much different than that of many of you. I still think it would be fun to have a synagogue family snow ball fight; just sayin. Continued on Page 5 2 YES..IT CAN HAPPEN As I was driving to work on December 16, trying to locate Radio Hanukkah on satellite channel 68, the first night of Hanukkah, I needed a little motivation to start the day and it came from a song from the progressive rock band YES off their 1983 album Here are just a few of the lyrics. You may want to go on YouTube and listen to the full version or if you are my age, you may still own the original album but have not way to play it unless your record player still works. You can fool yourself You can cheat until you're blind You can cut your heart It can happen You can mend the wires You can feed the soul apart You reach It can happen to you It can happen to me It can happen to everyone eventually It's a constant fight A constant fight You're pushing the needle to the red Black and white Who knows who's right No substitute you're born you're dead Fly by night Created out of fantasy Continued on Page 17 Cycle of Life Events HAPPY JANUARY BIRTHDAY WISHES TO THE CHILDREN: Jason Ascher, Jonathan Baum, Max Borchardt, Aleeza Harburger, Sarabeth Jaffe, Samuel Scheiner, Julienne Seldin, Gabriel Sternberg ADULTS: Marilynn Anton, Linda Azoff, Lawrence Beck, Karen Blomberg, Peris Cassorla, Lauri Friedman, Rebecca Hoffman, Dee Jolles, Allen Katz, Marjorie Loggie, Lloyd Nalaboff, Jay Scheiner, Amy Sheib, Gail Wertlieb, Pamela Zingeser HAPPY JANUARY ANNIVERSARY WISHES TO: Gail Lieberman & Bill Hanson, James & Martha Feldman, Barry & Thelma Cohen, Johnny & Susan Cahn

3 The Jewish people really became a people in Egypt. When Jacob and his family went down to Egypt, the entire nation consisted of one patriarch, his twelve sons and one daughter, the wives and children of the twelve sons and their household employees a band of seventy souls in all, perhaps. After four hundred years that number had grown somewhat. Six hundred thousand adult males left Egypt -- together with wives and children probably 2.5 to 3 million. The Jewish people, then, was forged in the crucible of slavery. Thirty seven times the Torah commands us to remember that we were strangers in the land of Egypt. Not so we should seek revenge. In fact, we are specifically commanded not to hate the Egyptians, because they provided us food when we faced starvation. No, the Torah reminds us of our origin as strangers in order to remind us that because we were strangers, we in turn have a special responsibility not to oppress the stranger but to love him. We are familiar with the many debates in the Talmud between the schools of Hillel and Shammai. Once there was a pagan who, for whatever reason, enjoyed making fun of rabbis. He went to Shammai, and said to him: I am willing to convert to Judaism if you can teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot. Shammai was a carpenter by profession and apparently brooked no nonsense. He took the yardstick that was in his hand and whacked the pagan over the head. So the pagan went to Hillel. And Hillel took him up on the challenge. He said to him what is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the entire Torah, all the rest is commentary. Now go and learn." For us Jews, there are two sources of values. One is the Bible, and the other is Jewish history. I believe that it is no accident that Jews have been in the forefront of every struggle for human freedom. Dr. King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel were close friends. The picture of them marching arm in arm during the March from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 is one of the great iconic images of the Civil Rights era. Dr. King and Rabbi Heschel first met in 1963 at a "Conference on Religion and Race" in Chicago. This is what Dr. Heschel said then: "At the first conference on religion and race, the main participants were Pharaoh and Moses... The outcome of that summit meeting has not come to an end. Pharaoh is not ready to capitulate. The exodus began, but is far from having been completed. In fact, it was easier for the children of Israel to cross the Red Sea than for a Negro to cross certain university campuses." From the Rabbi s Study (Continued from page 2) 3 Thus it is no accident that the two white volunteers killed by the Klan during Mississippi Freedom Summer in the United States fifty years ago alongside James Chaney were Jews named Schwerner and Goodman. It is no accident that in apartheid South Africa, for years and years the only anti-apartheid member of the allwhite legislature was Helen Suzman, the Jewish representative of a predominantly Jewish district in Johannesburg. It is no accident that the two demographic groups in the United States whose voting patterns are most alike are African Americans and Jewish Americans. It is no accident; it is a direct result of the Torah s repeated admonition to not oppress the stranger, but remember that you were a stranger in the Land of Egypt. What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah. All the rest is commentary. All the rest is commentary. But in our day Hillel s teaching is not enough. It is not enough because it is merely passive. And as both Blacks and Jews learned so painfully within the memory of many of us, it is not enough to merely personally refrain from doing evil. Rabbi Heschel said "The opposite of good is not evil, the opposite of good is indifference," while Dr. King said "To accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system." Not to act communicates "to the oppressor that his actions are morally right." And so I would add a corollary to Hillel s maxim: what has been done to you, do not let be done to another.... We are a people that learn from history. Because we were slaves and strangers in Egypt, we have tried to free the slave and honor the rights of the stranger. Because the world watched and did nothing while we were slaughtered, we were determined not to watch and do nothing as Bosnians and Rwandans were slaughtered. And because we are all of us people who learn from history -- whether as Jewish people, as Black people, or simply as American people -- we cannot sit idly by and watch as unarmed civilians are killed by police under questionable circumstances. Brother Joseph was right when he reminded me that what Dr. King did, he did for all of us. His dream was, as he himself said, "deeply rooted in the American dream." He called us, all of us, to be the kind of people that we know in our hearts that we ought to be. He called us to live lives of justice and of peace. He called us, finally, to join hands and build the kind of world that God wants us to have. He called us to hearken to God's voice. When will redemption come? Today, if we would hearken to God s voice. When will redemption come? When we bring it. Let s not wait to begin the task. L shalom, Rabbi Charles L. Arian

4 Youth Bowling in November Lazer Tag in December 4

5 Membership corner Kehilah Kurrents Continued from Page 2 Hurrah! We re finally in the process of producing an updated Membership Directory. Membership is helping the front office make this happen and we want to make certain that everyone s information is current so please Becky at (secretary@kehilatshlaom.org) with any changes. If you ve changed your address, moved, or have a new cell phone number, please let us know. Cell phone numbers can be included in the directory, too. So, you just might get a call from Membership checking on what information you want in the new directory. Advertise your business or service in the upcoming Membership Directory. Rates are very reasonable. If you are interested in placing an advertisement in our new Directory, contact Bob Goldberg ( or r.n.goldberg@att.net). Invite a prospective member to a Friday night Shabbat dinner and you and your spouse/partner and the prospective member (single or family) dine free. If they join Kehilat Shalom, both the new members and you and your spouse dine for free at the new member Shabbat dinner or at the Shabbat Across America dinner which is scheduled for Friday, March 13, New members are needed to make Kehilat Shalom grow but we can t do it without your help! Good & Welfare would like to say Thanks to everyone who has been helping Your financial contributions to Good & Welfare are also most welcome - they fund Shiva meals or a meal for a sick congregant. If you re sick, we can help organizing rides to physical therapy or doctor s appointments, too. If you know of a member in need, if you yourself are in need, or you d like to help us in this effort, please contact Bob Goldberg ( or r.n.goldberg@att.net), Bobbie Goldman ( or bobbieandmike@erols.com) or Kehilat Shalom at Volunteering is fun so please consider making a contribution of your skills and time. We need your help! Contact either of us (see paragraph above) if you would like to donate your time and skills to Kehilat Shalom. Bob and Bobbie With the end of the recent holiday break, we have students returning to classes and other family members returning home to their routines. We do have some good news to share: Our own lovely Danielle Strauss, a student at Salisbury University, has been named to the Dean s List for the Fall semester of Mazel tov on a job very well, done! Your parents, Charlotte and Terry Strauss, are rightfully proud of you as are the rest of your Kehilat Shalom family. Marjorie Loggie and her Key City Roller Derby team won the 2014 River Valley Riot Championship. Yea to Marji and her teammates! We are immensely proud of Josh Forgosh for deciding to continue his university studies with a second major in Jewish Studies. This past summer he studied at Yeshiva in Monsey, New York, and has enrolled at Yeshiva College of the Nation s Capital in Silver Spring to study Talmudic law. As a recent college graduate, he will now be entering his Master s program to become a teacher. Daniel Forgosh has been offered a 17,000 dollar annual scholarship to Hood College s Computer Science program. Way to go, Daniel!!!! Many of our high school seniors are starting to receive their acceptance notices to universities and we are excited for these young people. Mazel tov on the next thrilling adventure. I would like to personally wish our Kehilat Shalom Snow Birds a sunny and happy winter in Florida. You are already missed and I anxiously await your return in the spring. If you are in need of support from your Kehilat Shalom family please, let us know by calling the synagogue office. We can not help if we do not know. Your community wants to know about your sorrows as well as your joys, because that is what true family does for one another. Reach out to us with your good news as well as that lifts the spirits of all and reinforces the miracle that is Life. You may contact me at KArian@kehilatshalom.org. Be well and I ll see you in shul, Keleigh 5

6 SHABBAT - VAYECHI Friday, January 2 Shabbat Eve Service 6:30 pm Saturday, January 3 Shabbat Morning Service 9:15 am SHABBAT - SHEMOT Friday, January 9 Shabbat Eve Service 6:30 pm Saturday, January 10 Shabbat Morning Service 9:15 am SHABBAT - VAERA-BIRKAT HACHODESH Friday, January 16 Shabbat Eve Service 6:30 pm Saturday, January 17 Shabbat Morning Service 9:15 am SHABBAT - VAYIGASHBO 23 Shabbat Eve Service 6:30 pm Saturday, January 24 Shabbat Morning Service 9:15 am SHABBAT - BESHALACH-SHABBAT SHIRAH Friday, January 30 Shabbat Eve Service 6:30 pm Saturday, January 31 Shabbat Morning Service 9:15 am What & When Mitzvah Corner Food to Homeless Shelters Monthly delivery (4th Sun) of an entrée to the Interfaith Works women s shelter in Rockville has been ongoing for a number of years. The Kehilat Shalom members have exchanged one Sunday evening a month to help out. It is now time for you to choose a Sunday in of your choice! You may also help out by sending in financial donations that can be deposited to the Rabbi s Discretionary Fund, marked Shelter Meals to help cover costs. Sign up with Elise Garfinkel at egarfinkel@cpb.org or Billye Roberts at billye.roberts@gmail.com JAN. 2-4:39 JAN. 23-5:00 JAN. 9-4:46 JAN. 30-5:09 JAN. 16-4:53 At CSS we support people with developmental disabilities. HOW CAN YOU HELP?? We re seeking part-time JOB PLACEMENTS and VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES. Clerical, Custodial, Yard, and Stock Room tasks, and more! A CSS Staff member is always on site to supervise. Let s discuss. CALL SEATON TODAY!! 6

7 12/28/14-1/2/15 Bouer Brick Cabana/Rockman Cahn Cassorla Chidakel Cohen, Barry & Thelma Cohen, Irv & Arlene Costanzo Crausman Dymond Eckstein MINYAN MITZVAH SCHEDULE Sun through Thu 7:45 pm, Fri 6:30 pm and Sun 9:15 am 1/18/15-1/23/15 Jaffe, Richard & Tammy Jolles Joseph Kahan Kamph Kanner Katz, Allen & Arlene Katz, Michael & Ellie Kelly Kletz Laifsky Lerner We Appreciate Your Support Please consider coming in to support the daily Minyan whenever you can, even when it is not your week. We have been doing great at keeping the Minyan going, but our margin of safety is pretty thin. This is a mitzvah that each of us can perform so that Kaddish can be said by those in need. 1/4/15-1/9/15 Epstein, Stephen & Andrea Farrar Feldman Finch Forgosh Friedberg Friedman Froehlich Garfinkel Ginsberg Goldberg Goldgraben 1/25/15-1/30/15 Levin Levine Levinson, Bruce Levinson, Curtis & Wendy Lieberman Litwack Loggie, Marjorie Loggie, Thomas & Linda Lustig Mendoza Moskowitz Mostowski Todah Rabbah! 1/11/15-1/16/15 Goldman Goldstein-Smith Greenwald Gross Gruber Hankin Harburger Himelfarb Hoberman Hoffman Jaffe, Alana GREETERS WANTED The Kehilat Shalom Kabbalah Shabbat and Shabbat morning greeter program is looking for additional greeters. Greeters help build our spiritual community by welcoming old and new friends with a hearty Shabbat Shalom and warm handshake to our community. The mitzvah of welcoming guests is one of Judaism s spiritual imperatives. (See Genesis 18: 1-8.) Please contact Larry Beck at thebecks467@comcast.net with questions or to volunteer. 7

8 Yahrzeits Jan Tevet 1 10 Samuel Goldberg, Grandfather of Robert Goldberg 1 10 Richard Wertleib, Father of Aaron Wertlieb 2 11 Anna Goldberg, Grandmother of Robert Goldberg 2 11 Louise Kaplan, Mother of Marilynn Anton 2 11 Harold Rederer, Grandfather of Andrew Garfinkel 2 11 Richard Ross, Son of David Ross 3 12 Ruth Charnie, Grandmother of Sandra Ann Robin 4 13 Mark Woorman, Brother of Martin Woorman 5 14 *Maurice Hatwell 6 15 *Karl Gutman, Father of Shelli Froehlich 6 15 *Frank Weiner 7 16 *Morris Fineroff, Father of Roberta Roffe 7 16 *Florence Eisen 7 16 *Maurice Horowitz 8 17 *Elliot Forgosh, Father of Errol Forgosh 8 17 Abraham Schneider, Wendy Schneider-Levinson 8 17 George Silverman, Father of Marilyn Scheiner 8 17 *Bryan Kahn 8 17 *Herman Levine 9 18 Bessie Lawres, Mother of Thelma Cohen Arnold Laifsky, Husband of Leah Laifsky *Don Abramowitz Hanna Cohen, Mother of Barry Cohen Adolf Lustig, Grandfather of Joseph Lustig *Abraham Nalaboff, Father of Lloyd Nalaboff *Ben Rubinstein, Father of Leonard Rubinstein Martin Haberman, Father of Marylin Woorman Albert Young, Father of Shelly Schwartz *Sidney Aaron *Sylvia Fein Jean Cohen, Mother of Pamela Penner *Julius Solomon Frances Haberman, Mother of Marylin Woorman *Yetta Horowitz *Rita Klinger Josef Ende, Father of Rosalie Bouer Alyce Richter, Mother of Bonnie Richter Shevet 21 1 *Miriam Ershler 22 2 Norman Miller, Father of Jan Miller-Vogel 23 3 *Joseph Baum 24 4 Hy Aronow, Father of Lori Mendoza 24 4 *Jack Teichman 25 5 Shirley Keller, Mother of Lita Cassorla 25 5 Dinah Rubinstein, Mother of Leonard Rubinstein 25 5 *David Bruce Becker 26 6 *Doris Rabkin 26 6 *Sylvia Wallach 27 7 *Lenore Friedman 28 8 *Esther Gardner *Harvey Klafter, Father of Linda Loggie Isaac Block, Father in Law of Judith Block Freda Rostov, Mother of Barbara Ronis Linda Stern, Sister of Alan Levine * A memorial light will be lit in the sanctuary for those names marked with an asterisk Kehilat Shalom Donation Funds Kehilat Shalom has a variety of funds that you can support with your minimum donation of $10.00 or more (unless otherwise noted): Kehilat Shalom General Fund Larry Froehlich Junior Congregation Fund Library Fund Rabbi Arian s Discretionary Fund Youth Fund Kehilat Shalom Catering Fund Yahrzeit Donations Prayer Book Fund (Siddur Sim Shalom, $36.00 & Etz Hayim Chumash, $54.00) Simcha Board Donations ($180.00) Memorial Plaque Board Donations ($500.00) Memorial or Simcha Seat Donations ($ ) Barbara Peller Camp Fund Gayle Peck Fine Arts Fund A personalized card will be sent to acknowledge your donation & your contribution will be listed in the Shofar Newsletter (unless otherwise requested) Kehilat Shalom is a 501C (3)charitable organization and your donation is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Information regarding all of these funds is here in the Kehilat Shalom office. If you have any questions, please contact Todah Rabbah for supporting Kehilat Shalom. Yahrzeit REMINDERS As always immediate family are included in your reminders. If you have friends or other family member that you would like added to your list please contact the Office. Would you like to make a donation in honor or in memory of a loved one? You can purchase a Siddur Sim Shalom or an Etz Chayim Chumash with a special bookplate in the inside cover. The costs are $36.00 per Siddur and $54.00 per Chumash. If you would like to pay tribute to someone, send a check payable to Kehilat Shalom 8

9 Co-Presidents Linda Loggie & Lauri Friedman Sisterhood News Lauri Friedman & Linda Loggie Co-Presidents Shalom Sisters! We know we will have a great time at the Annual Bowling and Chinese Dinner. 1st Tuesday 2nd Tuesday 3rd Tuesday 4th Tuesday Drop in Mah Jongg at 7pm Board Meeting at 7pm Sip n Schmooze at 7:30pm Bake n Babble at 7:30 pm at KS Kitchen Come join us on March 3rd for our Mah Jongg Drop in Night from 7:00 to 9:15 pm and our next Sip n Schmooze January 20th at the Wegman s in Germantown at 7:30 pm. Please watch this space for details regarding our Mah Jongg Tournament on Sunday, February 22, Shelter Quilts- Billye Roberts has set up a Quilting Day at Capital Quilts, Luanne Drive, Gaithersburg (near Shady Grove & Gaither Road) on March 1, 2015 to make quilts for the Rockville Women s Shelter. The hours will be 1PM to 4PM. You don t have to be able to sew to help out. You can cut out strips & foundations or iron blocks or help finish a quilt by tying. You don t have to stay all day, although you can. Come for an hour or for as much time as you have. All will be helpful. I am also taking donations of fabric or funds to purchase fabric. An RSVP would be appreciated, but even if you don t know what you ll be doing that day and can t RSVP, I ll be happy to have you show up. Contact Billye Roberts at billye.roberts@gmail.com, Join our special interest groups as follows: Bake and Babble: Enjoy the company of fellow Sisterhood members and make some tasty treats for Saturday Kiddish. Bake n Babble meets on January 27th, the 4th Tuesday of the Month in the Kehilat Shalom kitchen from 7:30 to 9:30. Contact: Linda Loggie for more information at lkloggie@gmail.com Dine Around Group: The next event will be Monday, Januarty 26 at Paladar. RSVP and more information: contact Bobbie Goldman at bobbieandmike@erols.com. Book Club: Book Club meets on a Sunday, January 18, we will meet at 2:00 pm at the home of Ethel Ginsberg to discuss The People of Forever Are not Afraid by Shani Boianjiu. Please RSVP to Etheljg@comcast.net or to Alyce Ross at asross@mycaringcenter.com for more information. Crafters Club: Do you knit, crochet, embroider, tat, scrapbook, needlepoint, make lace, or quilt? Would you enjoy some time with fellow crafters who share your passion? Join us to practice your skills or be exposed to some new ones. The next meeting of the Crafters Club will be January 11 at Kehilat Shalom. We ll meet from 11 am 2 pm so that folks can come when they are able. Feel free to drop in at any time, bring a project you re working on, or you can help with our quilt project! Contact: Any questions contact Lori Wasserman at rlwasserman@comcast.net or for more information. Food to Homeless Shelters: The 2015 Sign-Up Drive for the Interfaith Works Shelter is underway and we need your support to sign-up for a 4th Sunday of the month to help out. If you want to see what months are available and/or sign up to deliver a meal go online to Meal Train at id=m1rdcu84htxt. You have to sign-up for an account but it is really simple. Questions contact Billye Roberts at billye.roberts@gmail.com Manna: Please contact Lauri or Linda for further information. Auxiliaries 9 Come see the New Gary Rosenthal Collection at the Sisterhood Judaica Shop!! We now have a Gary Rosenthal Gift Gallery at our Judaica Shop. Come by and buy Gary s gorgeous pieces for your home or gifts at 10% off. Special prices, special orders and a current catalog, also available. Contact Bobbie Goldman at or bobbieandmike@erols.com. In addition the Judaica Shop is now featuring crafts from local artists. Stop by and see. Exciting gifts always arriving. Next Monthly Mah Jongg Nights at Kehilat Shalom 9915 Apple Ridge Road, Gaithersburg, MD Tuesday, March 3, :00 to 9:15 p.m. Games are open to beginner, intermediate or advanced players! Please bring your own Mah Jongg Card! If you own a Mah Jongg Set, please bring it! Please RSVP by Sunday, Mar. 1st to Charlotte Strauss (301) (h) or (202) (c) or StraussCha@aol.com Donations for refreshments will be accepted on the night of the game! Kehilat Shalom membership is not required! Torah Fund In choosing mishpachah as the theme for the 5774 Torah Fund pin, we are acknowledging both the sanctity that comes with being one big family and the complexity of our families and relationships. There is no one kind of Jewish family in the world today. Our families are diverse, and this pin is something to be worn proudly by women in all stages and kinds of family life: married, partnered, single, divorced, widowed, LGBT, straight, mothers, aunts, sisters, daughters. As we support the programs of The Jewish Theological Seminary, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, and the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, we proclaim that we as women in all walks of life are proudly shaping the future of the big, 3,000-year-old Jewish family.

10 Libby Chandros Lunch and learn We invite all interested parties to lunch and learn featuring our own Rabbi Arian. Bring a dairy lunch, coffee and cake will served. Various topics that will surely intrigue you. The presentations starts in the Sisterhood Hall at 11AM and finishes at noon, in time to have lunch with your friends and fellow congregants. Everyone is welcome. The next Lunch and Learn is To Be Determined. For further information contact Joe Kamph, (301) Auxiliaries Joe Lustig jlustig29@gmail.com Men s Club News Involving Jewish Men in Jewish Life Men's Club members chowed down on delicious breakfast food at the Woodside Deli in Rockville for our regular monthly breakfast in December. Proving that once a New Yorker always a New Yorker, we spent a good deal of the time talking about delis in New York City. We had a great time and thanks go to Ed Chidakel for organizing this program. And as we were sitting around brainstorming, we came up with another great idea: Let's Have a Super Bowl party! So come watch the Super Bowl with the Men's Club at Kehilat Shalom on Sunday evening Feb. 1. We'll set up the big screen and go from there. We'll provide chips, pizza and soda for a mere $10 per person. Now, I ask you, where else can you party so well with your friends for so little cost? The morning of the Super Bowl is the annual World Wide Wrap during which Jews across the globe put on tefillin in observance of this mitzvah. Please join us for morning services at 9:15 to participate in this vital program. On Saturday night Jan. 17, please join us for Men's Club sponsored Battle of the Sexes at Bowl America at 8 p.m. Look for the flyer containing more details in this Shofar. And don't forget that on Saturday night Feb. 14 we will be honoring our own Robert Goldberg as Blue Yarmulke Man of the Year as part of the regional seaboard's dinner extravaganza. To make your dinner reservations, go to this link, sessid=4871&id=2926. Shannah Tovah 2015 everybody, Simcha Shabbat To participate in this special service and Kiddush, please return the form below by Jan. 14, I/we will will not attend on Jan. 17. Shalom, Joe Name # Attending Phone Simcha I/we would like to help sponsor Kiddush $ 36 $ 10

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12 Hanukkah party 12

13 Learning & Growing Youth Director, Becky Rutchik, YOUTH NEWS In December, our youth group went to Shadowland and played laser tag. The kids, and adults who played, had so much fun! Check out page 4 for pictures from bowling in November and Laser Tag in December! On January 11, we will be going to Rockville Towne Center and ice skating! Please RSVP to me by January 7th. Seaboard Kadima (Grades 6-8) has a really awesome event called Kadima Saturday Night Live on January 10 at B nai Israel. Kadima Saturday Night Live is a fun night full of music, inflatables, laser tag, video games, gaga, arts & crafts, snacks, ice cream sundaes, and more!! Last year, there were over 250 Kadimaniks there! Please contact me to RSVP. You will save $5 if you RSVP in advance! Happy 2015! RELIGIOUS SCHOOL News In December our entire Religious School, K-7, participated in a fun and educational Hanukkah Havurah activity. The Rabbi will be inviting 7-12th graders and their parents to a planning meeting to form a Post b nai Mitzvah learning group to keep our young adults engaged in continuing their Jewish learning. The next Junior Congregation will be on January 10. School Board Members: Lauri Friedman, Rebecca Hoffman, Janet Ballonoff, David Joseph, Suzi Pomerantz Look out for information for the next few exciting events coming up! Stay Warm! B Shalom, Becky Rutchik Youth Director 13

14 Life & Learning 14

15 KABBALAH CLASSES WITH GUEST RABBI, TZVI TUCHMAN "Mystical Mitzvah Medley " is the program taught by Rabbi Tzvi Tuchman once a month on Sunday morning. In each session Rabbi T will share with us a fascinating story of a mitzvah that we all may know and love with an exciting twist of something fabulous and interesting from the world of Kaballah. Please join us.and feel free to bring friends. Any prior Kaballah knowledge is not necessary. Sunday 10:15 am to 12 noon January 25 February 22 March 29 April 26 May 17 Life & Learning KIDDUSH KONVERSATIONS Approximately once every three weeks, Rabbi Arian will lead a Saturday Shabbat early afternoon study session on various topics of interest. Suggestions for topics will be gratefully received. The next Kiddush Konversations will be January 17, We will meet on Shabbat after the Kiddush at approximately 12:30 pm for an hour or so, and you are cordially invited to participate whether or not you were at Shabbat morning services. Ideas or comments, contact Rabbi Arian at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org or at the office

16 The Jewish Theological Seminary expresses its deep sorrow at the recent deaths of African American members of our communities in encounters with law enforcement officers. Their deaths have unleashed protests and widely shared concern. Important questions are being raised regarding race and equal justice in America with the unfortunate result that battle lines are being drawn with precious little self-reflection or constructive dialogue. With so many lives lost or irreparably damaged, it is time to remind ourselves that each and every individual is created in the image of God. Systemic problems need to be addressed, but we must not obscure the sacred humanity of those people who have been (and continue to be) impacted by these events including those who have died, family members, members of minority communities, and law enforcement officers by referring to them only in terms of categories or constructs. We reduce individuals to caricatures at our own peril. As we celebrate Hanukkah, we are reminded of the rabbinic instruction to increase the light over the course of the holiday. So too we need to increase the light in our communal lives so that we can see clearly the faces of our neighbors and public servants. Our country needs to have some difficult conversations, and we need to listen to one another better. Religion is not about making us comfortable; it s about challenging everyone from all perspectives to make the world a more compassionate and just place. As JTS professor Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel reminded America during the civil rights struggles of the 1960s: To meet a human being is an opportunity to sense the image of God, the presence of God. And according to a rabbinical interpretation, God said to Moses, Wherever you see human beings, there I stand before you. We at JTS are proud of our heritage of taking our religious teachings outside the walls of JTS and outside our synagogues and institutions into the public realm. We challenge our students and teachers to take the truths of our Torah and live them in the world. This is an immense responsibility in any time, but it is all the more true in this one. As Rabbi Heschel said, The hour calls for high moral grandeur and spiritual audacity. We all have to commit ourselves to the difficult but critical work of listening, healing, and repair, and resolve to see the real people in front of us, with real fears and concerns, and all created in the image of God. 16

17 Why do you attend Minyan.. As a result of a few meetings recently, I would like to reinforce a policy that I believe has always been in place that if you are in the building for a meeting, that at 7:45pm during the week, before, during, or after you meeting, that everyone in your group take a break and attend the daily Minyan. Our biggest challenge is Friday night, and Sunday morning is also a challenge, so if you can help out that would be greatly appreciated. For me, there s something satisfying about knowing I helped make the Minyan, especially when I m number ten. A few other reasons I enjoy attending Minyan is that the Siddur reminds me what really counts in life and the things for which I m thankful. I m always happy to bring a little comfort to someone saying Kaddish for a loved one. Minyan reminds me that I m not alone in the world, that I m part of a community and part of the Jewish people. The people who attend and our Rabbi and lay leaders who lead Minyan are my friends. Lastly, why do I attend Minyan? It s a Mitzvah! Blinded by the lights If you think Hanukkah is about a Song originally written by Bruce Springsteen, you could miss the true meaning of Hanukkah. Even though we may have our share of madman drummers bummers, and Indians in the summer, the original miracle of Hanukkah was that a committed band of people led a successful uprising against a much larger force, paving the way for Jewish independence and perhaps keeping Judaism itself from disappearing. It s an amazing story that offers powerful lessons about standing up for one s convictions and challenging those in power. Pretty relevant with America and Israel s own founding, as well as what is currently going on in many places throughout the world today. Join the Kiddish Club Make a Donation as Proof of your Membership President s Message (Continued from Page 2) 17 Our destinations call Look up - Look down Look out - Look around Look up - Look down There's a crazy world outside We're not about to lose our pride It can happen to you It can happen to me It can happen to everyone eventually To me, this is a song about possibility. Yes it is possible. You have the same chances as anyone else. Everyone has the opportunity to achieve their dreams. When something so major and life changing comes along that changes your whole outlook of the world, this song makes me see the good in everything around me. Like a light has been shined into a cave you are trapped in. You instantly are hit with a wave of love for everyone and everything. It could be finding religion, taking up a new hobby, changing jobs, running or working out, going back to school, losing weight, you just suddenly realize "Everything is awesome." It s Not the End of the World After the start of my 20 th year with The Gazette, Post Community Media, I will be leaving on my terms at the end of the year. My first reaction was that all the years of hard work that I had put in and the success that I had achieved we re meaningless. But, that is not the way I see it. I am so grateful for the so many successes I have had over the years, the countless amount of managers, and people that I mentored and mentored me, and the clients that I have helped grow their businesses and developed lifelong friendships with. To me, leaving a job doesn t have to be the end of the world, just the end of one phase of my life and the beginning of another, possibly a better one. I have not had a break from the workforce and my industry in over 35 years, so I am going to take some time to take care of my family and myself. I joined Golds Gym in Germantown about a month ago to get back in shape. Hope to give Tom Loggie and the office staff some time off and volunteer some of my time there. I have always wanted to help those less fortunate so I will try and donate some time at local nursing homes, hospitals, and organizations. I also have a Big Honey Do list at home so Home Depot will be my best friend. Happy Healthy New Year May love and light fill your home and especially your heart this year and every year. May you and yours have good health, much success and happiness in the coming year. Welcome Home Doug Baum

18 Yasher koach to our torah and haftorah readers and sh lichei tzibbur Kehilat Shalom is blessed with many congregants who participate regularly in our Daily Minyan and our Shabbat services throughout the year and whose efforts and contributions are very much greatly appreciated. A hearty Yasher Koach to the following persons: Joe Lustig Lori Wasserman Michael Goldman Stuart Rutchik Jedd Moskowitz Errol Forgosh Gail Lieberman Lloyd Nalaboff Shelli Froehlich Tamara Jaffe Murray Penner Stan Ginsberg Wendy Schneider-Levinson We Gratefully Acknowledge THESE DONATIONS... To the Good & Welfare Fund in memory of Laurie Dorsey, z l, by David Ross Wine & Tea, by Michael Sheib To the General Fund in appreciation of High Holiday honors, by Leah Laifsky To the General Fund, by Marvin & Roslyn Arluk To the Rabbi s Discretionary Fund in memory of Jean Sloan, z l, by Bruce & Curtis Levinson To the Youth Fund in honor of Veda Robin s Bat Mitzvah, by Toby Friedberg To the Rabbi s Discretionary Fund in memory of Lauri Dorsey, z l, by Toby Friedberg Kitchen supplies, lawn mower, ladders, and tools, by Michael Katz To the Catering Fund, in memory of Abraham Kamph, z l, by Joseph Kamph SIMCHA SHABBAT Robert Goldberg Robert & Lori Wasserman Alyce Ross SPONSOR A KIDDUSH Sponsoring a Kiddush is a great way to make a donation to Kehilat Shalom, while honoring a milestone in someone s life, such as a birthday or anniversary. It s also a nice way to honor someone s memory. If you would like to sponsor a Kiddush, please contact Tom Loggie at or at administrator@kehilatshalom.org DONATIONS IN LOVING MEMORY OF: Julius Kessler; Nancy Shenk Sadye Yospa; Toby Friedberg Paul Dymond, Dymond Family Harold Beck; Lawrence & Carol Beck Irene Gruber Noonan; Gruber Family Bella Goldstein Gelb; Goldstein-Smith Family Marjorie Schiff; Finch Family Anne Cohen; Dan Kahan Marion Schecter; Sharon Beitler SIMCHA BOARD A wonderful way to honor an individual, a family, or a Simcha, such as a Wedding, Birth, Bar/ Bat Mitzvah, Graduation, Birthday... Your thoughtfulness will be on permanent display in the Sanctuary for all to see. Donation: $180 Contact the office to make a donation today! 18

19 They will be remembered One generation passes away, and another generation comes; And the earth abides forever, Ecclesiastes Garden of Remembrance Memorial Estates Kehilat Shalom has two sections of cemetery plots at the Gan Zikaron Memorial Park in Comus, MD. The Garden of Remembrance (Gan Zikaron) Memorial Park has been established by Washington Hebrew Congregation as a service to the entire Jewish community of the Greater Washington area. Developed and managed as a non-profit organization, it is the only cemetery in the region that is Jewish owned and operated, and open to members of all congregations and those who are unaffiliated with a congregation. In a tranquil, beautifully landscaped setting amid gently rolling hills in northern Montgomery County, the Garden of Remembrance is on 152 acres of meadows and woodlands at the foot of the majestic Sugarloaf Mountain. It is just off Interstate 270, convenient to reach from everywhere in the Greater Washington area. The Garden of Remembrance provides comprehensive services in accordance with all branches of Judaism, reflecting the full range of Jewish practices and honoring personal preferences. Reasonably priced plots for families and individuals are available. Professional counselors are available 24 hours a day. Think of the future. Think of your family. Then make the right decision. Make a memorial estate in the Garden of Remembrance part of your legacy. Individual plots are available for $ , payment schedule negotiable. For more information, please call the synagogue office at From Montgomery County, Maryland Take the Capital Beltway (I-495) to I-270N. Travel I-270N to Ext 18N (Rte 121N). Go North 1/2 mile to Rte 355. Turn left on Rte 355, drive one mile, then turn left on Comus Rd. The Memorial Park entrance is on the right just over the I-270 bridge. MEMORIAL PLAQUES Honor your loved ones by memorializing them on our Yahrzeit Boards that are located in the sanctuary. These plaques are lit during the Yahrzeit of your loved one s death and when Yizkor is said at various times throughout the year. Donation: $500 19

20 Tutoring The Shofar is available in full color on our website, Jennifer Joseph Cell Reading Comprehension Writing Skills / Study Skills Time Management Verbal SAT / ACT Preparation 14 years tutoring experience You can also view previous editions. Follow Us on Facebook You don t have to join Facebook to follow us on Facebook. Visit our Kehilat Shalom Home Page at kehilatshalom.org to learn about upcoming programs, events and important information about the synagogue, our Rabbi; Charles L. Arian, our Hazzan; Kimberly Komrad and all the great things we have going on! If you are on Facebook, Like our page! 20

21 21 THE SHOFAR Rabbi... Charles L. Arian Hazzan... Kim Komrad Cantor Emeritus... Saul Finn, z l Administrator... Thomas G. F. Loggie President... Douglas Baum Senior Vice President... Mike Goldman Vice President for House... Thomas G. F. Loggie Vice President for Development... Stuart Rutchik Vice President for Membership...Robert Goldberg Treasurer... Terry Strauss Financial Secretary... Richard Jaffe Board Secretary... Janet Rutchik Youth Director... Becky Rutchik Men s Club... Joe Lustig Sisterhood... Linda Loggie, Lauri Friedman Shofar Layout... Linda Loggie, Lauri Friedman Website Administrator... Billye Roberts