Rabbi Peggy Berman de Prophetis and Board of Directors

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1 340 N. Queen Street, Dover, Delaware Rabbi Peggy Berman de Prophetis and Board of Directors Index Rabbi s Message 2 President: Vice President for Administration: Vice President for Religious Affairs: Vice President for Education: Vice President for Building: Treasurer: Secretary: Trustees: Cindy Konowitz* Marianne Gellman Dan Marelli* Margaret Anne Parks Frank Zaback* *Past Presidents Caroline Schwartz* Herb Konowitz* Steven Schwartz* Barbara White Barry Brill Stu Handler* Gwen Stubbolo President s Message 3 Treasurer s Message 5 Donation Information Chesed and Misheberah 5 Jewish History Class 6 Break the Fast Collection 6 Choir Begins 6 October Calendar 7 October Yahrzeits 8 Sponsors/Advertisers 9-11 Please support our advertisers ********* PLEASE NOTE: AN UPDATE ON THE TOTAL DONATIONS AND PLEDGES RECEIVED IN SEPTEMBER FOR THE HIGH HOLY DAY FUND DRIVES WILL BE IN THE NOVEMBER BULLETIN 1

2 RABBI S COLUMN: Rabbi Peggy de Prophetis Following the Israeli custom, and in accordance with a ruling of Conservative Judaism s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, we will be combining the holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, celebrating them together on Sunday night, September 30 and Monday morning, October 1. Our rabbis offer several reasons for the holiday of Shemini Atzeret. Here are some: 1. The world is judged for the amount of water that would rain down in the coming year. In an agricultural society, the amount of water is of great concern. It still is in Israel where water is scarce. 2. It s a day that highlights the special relationship between the Jewish people and God. 3. It s a day to prolong the holiday-holy day season--rosh Hashanah, followed nine days later by Yom Kippur, then seven days of Sukkot. According to a midrash, on Shemini Atzeret, God tells the Jewish people that their departure from Him is difficult, to please stay with Him one more day. (For most of us today, Shemini Atzeret is a holiday to express the hope that there will be adequate rain for the crops in Israel and our own country, in the new Jewish Year.) On Simchat Torah, we celebrate the end of reading the Five Books of Moses by finishing the Book of Deuteronomy and we immediately begin reading the Book of Genesis. This dramatizes the fact that we can always learn more of what the Torah has to teach us. Simchat Torah is a particularly joyous holiday. On Sunday night we will take out all the Torahs and dance with them. There will be small plush Torahs for children to dance with. Children will have a group aliyah. They will also parade with flags, and sweets will be given out for the study of Torah is sweet. Children are our future. Please bring yours to this celebration. On Monday morning we will again read the end of Deuteronomy and the beginning of Genesis. Anyone who wants an aliyah to the Torah may have one. I encourage everyone to step up, singly or in groups, to show their love of Torah, the source of learning we can never exhaust. We will say Yizkor prayers as well. It is customary to read the book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet) on Shemini Atzeret during services. However, in order not to lengthen the service, we will be reading Kohelet later on and discussing it at the Saturday Tanach class after services on October 20. Those of you who may have been fans of The Byrds, a popular singing group of the late 60s and early 70s, probably already know some of the verses from Kohelet, for one of their hit records was based on this biblical book, the one which began: To everything - turn, turn, turn There is a season - turn, turn, turn And a time for every purpose under heaven A time to be born, a time to die A time to plant, a time to reap A time to kill, a time to heal A time to laugh, a time to weep Please join us Sunday night, September 30 and Monday morning, October 1 as we celebrate our way through the Jewish calendar. 2

3 President s Message: Caroline B. Schwartz The Board Wishes you L Shanah Tovah, a Good Year. May you be blessed for a good year with health and happiness and be inspired to join us as often as you can. This is a reprint of my speech delivered at Kol Nidre. My job here is to give you an update on the synagogue. This is the fourth year of my Presidency. Rabbi de Prophetis has been with us beginning her 13 th year. Before me, Cindy and Herb Konowitz also served as Presidents and have remained on the Board in other active capacities. What your Board has done along with Rabbi Peggy is nothing short of a wondrous miracle. Thirteen years ago before the search for a Rabbi, we carried the weight of a deteriorating synagogue by ourselves including major renovations that were needed to the main sanctuary, a new roof, a new heating system, and most recently the renovation of the small sanctuary. Major donations have been received and have helped with these expenses. We sold the parsonage and have wisely invested the bulk of the proceeds, while using the remainder to carry the annual deficit we unfortunately carry. We lowered our dues to match the moderate incomes of our retiring community, because we decided it was better to open up membership to all Jewish people at a very reasonable dues scale. We also included a separate category to encourage long distance families to join as associates. Most importantly we have determined a new path to Jewishness that emphasizes Living Jewishly. No longer do we remain steeped in liturgical and religious observances that many of us felt uncomfortable with. We are more open to incorporating modern approaches to our observances and prayers and services and establishing our personal paths to God through learning to pray and communicate individually and collectively. We are turning our focus on ourselves as actively finding our relationship with god and learning to include other inspirational text from our prayer books and other resources that enlighten and educate us along with the usual prayers and melodies. We emphasize personal connections through prayer. Rabbi Peggy has been so good to teach us and show us the way. The services are much more meaningful with her guidance and commentary, Table Torah. Her classes are enlightening and pertinent to our modern times and current needs. She enables us to improve our understandings of ourselves and our religion. Today, being a Jew is many things. Most of our people were born Jewish, but perhaps not religious. What is it to be a Jew? Rabbi has often led discussions about who is a Jew. While some people go through conversion, it is usually to become religiously Jewish. But some of those who are born Jewish don t always practice Judaism religiously. Our synagogue offers not only a path to religious understanding and practice, but today we are open to offering a place for learning more Jewish living and socializing than ever before. We intend to foster a 3

4 community for Jewish living experiences that provide comaraderie with others of the backgrounds and experiences within a Jewish upbringing. We want you to become more familiar with the members and participants of our activities. We are trying to make your Judaism more meaningful for you. The two most significantly enjoyable events we had this past year and both were lauded with accolades of wanting More were the social get together at which we discussed family Judaica which we had in the display in the foyer for a few months, and the trip recently to Philadelphia to the American Jewish History Museum and the American Jewish Art Museum. These were very enlightening programs that got people meeting people, telling their histories, and how they came to Jewish living. It was very interesting to hear different stories and backgrounds, yet all of us were tied together by our Jewishness. We also enjoyed visiting the synagogues in Philadelphia and Wallingford to see what those congregations did to decorate their temples. And thus we have our Torah cover project. Our predecessors who built this building and formed Beth Sholom in the 1940 s had a vision. They were a tight community with the same ideals and goals--that of forming a permanent Jewish community, for themselves and for their future generations. We are realizing how much they put in together to begin this congregation as we are repairing and renovating. What a terrific undertaking for those few Jews who were tireless in their efforts. We have been fortunate to have been benefactors to some of their estates recently as those founders are passing on and remembering us in their wills. We hope to provide our current members with information to establish future benefits for this congregation. In the meantime, others who grew up here but relocated are remembering with nostalgia their belonging and pride of ownership in the Jewish life their parents had built in this building and in the smaller building that once was on Forrest Avenue. Picture in the foyer. Marlene Halpern Goldschmidt is one such person. Along with a generous donation, she writes I would like to share some of my memories with you. For years we walked to shul. Joel was so young he was in a stroller. I looked forward to walking down Loockerman Street and counting all the closed stores with my dad. Yes there were a lot of stores closed for the holidays. The old shul was all I knew. To me, it was like any other shul. I remember it like it was yesterday. Our car was parked in the parking lot before Kol Nidre and had snacks for us until we were old enough to fast. When I was in college, I spent the holidays with my grandparents in Philadelphia. By this time I had seen bigger synagogues and had been around Jewish college students, but I missed being in Dover for the holidays. Living in New York meant coming home for the holidays and yes, I looked forward to it. After marriage and living in Maryland, the First Rosh Hashana service was very emotional for me. I had never been with so many Jewish people in one place. My parents came one time but didn t know anyone. They missed Dover. 4

5 My first love is Beth Sholom. It was harder to be Jewish in Dover, it is as difficult now as it was many years ago. Most of my current friends take so much for granted because they grew up in large Jewish communities. All of you work to keep the synagogue vital, I know it is not easy but there is so much caring and love in all you do. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful memories..thanks again for keeping Beth Sholom a vital part of the community. Because of Beth Sholom, I think I have a greater respect and love of our religion than many. This is what I hope you can say after your many years of active membership in Beth Sholom. It is with your heart and mind that we wish for you to enjoy Beth Sholom and all our small Jewish community and synagogue leadership has to offer. We will continue to engage in more activities so that you can find community here among people like you and with your same interests and heritage. We need you to actively participate, wholeheartedly get involved to build our community. Read the bulletin, read our reminders Weekly Newsletter, follow us on Facebook. Come to the services on Fridays attend Saturday Bible classes and Parsha discussions with Rabbi Peggy, come make yourself part of the Congregation Beth Sholom of Dover Jewish community. Without your physical support these programs can t survive. Without your financial support, we have to dip into our reserves. We need everyone s full participation in our Annual Appeal. ******************************************************************* Treasurer s Message: Stu Handler By now you should have received your Commitment forms, so please continue to send those back to the office. Your continued support is necessary to sustain the day to day operations of the synagogue and the maintenance of our staff. The past response has been terrific and I expect that will be the case going forward this year. Please consider an additional pledge or extra amount for a specific cause or project. L Shanah Tova Stu Handler **************************************************************************** Chesed and Misheberah information: If you hear or have knowledge of anyone who is in need of r fuah sh leyma, please contact the office and leave a message for the Chesed Committee. We are trying to do more outreach and can only act when we are aware of the need. Names for the Misheberah list will be placed and read at services for two weeks unless we are notified differently. 5

6 JEWISH HISTORY CLASSES OCTOBER 28 The Jewish History class is resuming and meeting on the fourth Sunday of each month at 10:00 am. The next topics will be based on the following texts which were distributed some months ago. Contact Burt Brenman if you wish to obtain copies. One text offering is titled A long Jewish Road Map. The second offering is titled From Farmers to Merchants: A Human Capital Perpetration of Jewish Economy History. A series of questions which are designed as a guide to a deep and not fully understood, nor for that matter, not accepted, will form the bases of our discussion. HOWEVER, it may present to us a different outlook on Jewish history from a perspective rarely discussed. Your questions should create a series of thoughts about the interplay between Arab and Jew, which we rarely delve into. 1-Relationship between Arab and Jew in the years before 1920? 2-The statement by the early Zonists in an effort to sway the population in their favor for a homeland in Palestine "People without a land, in a land without people." True or false and why? 3-Concerning the safety and security of Jerusalem, who provides the most effective work? ******************************************************************************************************************* Break the Fast Update Congregation Beth Sholom will be presenting a check to the Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing in the amount of $300. This was the total raised with the generosity of the participants of the Break the Fast. Thank you for your support. Next year, there will be a committee formed to organize and plan the preparation and serving of the Break the Fast meal. We will be planning this in August and your help is needed. It is an enormous mitzvah to provide and put on a community meal. In the future we would like to have more of these kinds of activities. If you would like to do a small part to contribute your time and energy, please contact the office. CHOIR TO BEGIN OCTOBER 9 at 6:00 pm The choir calendar is being set up. Practices will begin October 9 with the first service scheduled for October 26. There are 25 practices and 5 performances at Services throughout the year. Please plan to attend this organizational meeting October 9 to discuss the plans and goals for the year. We are always happy to have new members come with the hope that you will join us. The choir has a superb director Erin Grier. Welcome back to all current members and a Special Welcome to newcomers. We will have a great year. 6

7 OCTOBER 2018 SUN MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT 7:00 PM SIMCHAT TORAH Services 7 pm Leader: 1 8 am Shimini Atzeret Yizkor Service Choir 6 pm 26 Tishrei Services 7 pm Leader: Choir 6 pm 3 Cheshvan Rabbi Services 7 pm 20 Rabbi Services 9:45 am 21Rabbi Morning Minyan 9:30 am Class 10:30 am Choir 6 pm 10 Cheshvan Services 7 pm w/ CHOIR and George and Carole Mason :00 am Jewish History with Burt Brenman Cheshvan 7

8 New Yahrzeit Plaques We shall be dedicating some permanent memorial plaques on the boards at the back of the main sanctuary during these upcoming High Holy Days at the Yiskor services. If you would like to remember a loved one with a permanent memorial plaque, please contact Steve Schwartz. These take a few weeks to arrive. Please order soon so they can be mounted in time for Yom Kippur. The cost is $ In case you are unaware if there is a plaque in memory of a relative, the board (Bd) and row (R) number has been listed for your convenience. No pl means there is no plaque. *************** YAHRZEITS TISHREI 26 Tishrei Herb Kurlander No Pl 27 Tishrei Abraham Cohen No Pl 29 Tishrei Gerald Green No Pl 30 Tishrei Irvin J. Goldman No Pl CHESHVAN 1 Cheshvan Florence Abraham No Pl 1 Cheshvan Sydney Davidoff Bd 2 R1 2 Cheshvan Elaine Dumoch No Pl 3 Cheshvan Joseph Nathan Pikus Bd 2 R3 5 Cheshvan Ruth Eskenazi Bd 3 R5 5 Cheshvan Samuel Wolfe No Pl 6 Cheshvan Harry Borish No Pl 7 Cheshvan Max Borish No Pl 8 Cheshvan Herman Faber No Pl 8 Cheshvan Stanley Wolin Bd 3 R5 9 Cheshvan Rose Barros Bd 1 R1 12 Cheshvan Martin Golden Bd 3 R5 12 Cheshvan Bessie Nurock Bd 1 R1 12 Cheshvan Abraham Schuman Bd 1 R1 13 Cheshvan Sigmund Samuel Bd 2 R4 13 Cheshvan Arthur Tollin Bd 3 R4 13 Cheshvan David Martin Bd 2 R1 16 Cheshvan Janice Winter No Pl 17 Cheshvan Irwin Meyer Zuckerman No Pl 18 Cheshvan Isadore Barmash No Pl 18 Cheshvan George Rosenhaus No Pl 19 Cheshvan Lester B. Lustfield No Pl 21 Cheshvan Raphael Katz Bd 1 R2 22 Cheshvan Michael Leschetsko No Pl 8

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