Rabbi s Corner. by Rabbi David Finkelstein

Transcription

1 October 2016 Tishri 5777 Volume 32 Issue 2 Temple Talk Table of Contents In the weekday morning service, we read, "In strife and anger, remember compassion." We're talking to God, appealing to the divine attribute of mercy. May Hashem be merciful to us, treating us kindly, with forbearance. In the Babylonian Talmud, a rabbi asks about the divine prayer life. What does God pray for? The answer: May it be My will that My compassion should overwhelm My anger so that I may judge My people Israel with the attribute of compassion. The rabbis tell us that we are to imitate the divine attributes, but only to a point. The divine attribute of compassion is worthy of being imitated; not so the divine attribute of strict judgment. Hashem is the True Judge. Judgment is not for us. Compassion is our perpetual project. Increasing in compassion should be our goal every time we contemplate improving our lives. And yet, in this election season it seems ever more apparent that in their simple emphasis on compassion, these teachings call out implicitly for the articulation of another important value, and that is the value of establishing and upholding boundaries. "All of your breakers and great waves crash over me" (Psalm 42). This is not a wish; it is the inner experience of a calamity. "All the pious say this prayer to You at a favorable moment: only that the flood of great waters should not reach them" (Psalm 32). While we continue to pray for the ever-widening scope of our compassion, for softening of the heart, let us pray also that we might establish and maintain healthy boundaries. Good boundaries are essential to the work of holiness, communitybuilding, learning, and spiritual progress. May our boundaries be like a sukkah. Strong enough to stand up to the prevailing winds, but flexible enough to be dismantled quickly when the danger is passed, and light enough so that we can see the heavens through them. Wishing us all ever-widening compassion and healthy boundaries during these Days of Awe. L'shanah tovah umetukah! To a good and a sweet year! May we all be written and sealed in the book of life! G'mar tov! A good kvittel! Rabbi David Rabbi s Corner by Rabbi David Finkelstein The next bulletin will be for November. If you have an article that you would like to submit please get it in to the Temple office before October 15th. Rabbi s Corner 1 Coming Up 2 Yahrzeits 3 Donations 4 Mark s Remarks 5 Calendar 6-7 High Holy Days Info 8 Me ah Program 9 Events and Ads Rabbi: David Finkelstein Cantor: Ellen Band Hazzan: Yosi Weintraub President: Mark Frydenberg Vice Pres.: Lester Macklin Secretary: Susan Baron Treasurer: George Isaac Membership Secretary: Ellen Macklin Editor: Andrea Baron Address 25 Harvard Street Waltham, MA office@tbiwaltham.org Website: (781) Office Hours Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

2 Shabbat Evening and Dinner Friday, October 21st in the Sukkah menu: Vegetarian Lasagna and Garlic Bread, Salad and Dessert begin at 6:00 pm (NOTICE THE TIME CHANGE) Dinner begins after services, around 7:00 pm. Vegetarian option available on request. Please let us know if you have any other dietary requirements when you sign up by contacting the Temple office. $18 per adult, $40 per family if paid by the Weds. before the dinner $21 per adult, $45 per family for later reservations You can register online at or contact the Temple office to sign up. Future Shabbat Evening and Dinner Dates (Subject to Change) November 18th December 9th January 20th February 17th March 17th (Tisch with Hankus Netsky) New For Members Page on tbiwaltham.org Website Please visit the Temple Beth Israel website at and click the link "For Members" at the top right corner of the page. There you'll find useful information for members, including a directory of current Temple members (who opted in to be listed), who to call for various volunteer opportunities or situations, and the bylaws ratified at our annual meeting in August. The page is password protected, and members will receive the password in an message from the Temple office. 2

3 Name October Yahrzeits Date Herman Bootin Elul 28 1-Oct Doris Resnikoff Elul 28 1-Oct Max Russell Elul 29 2-Oct Marion Cohen Elul 29 2-Oct Annie Meilman Tishri 02 4-Oct Janet Greenblott Tishri 02 4-Oct Noah Goldberg Tishri 02 4-Oct Tsippa Shapiro Tishri 03 5-Oct Jack Victor Itzkowitz Tishri 04 6-Oct Rose Bronfman Tishri 04 6-Oct Rose Sheer Wolk Tishri 05 7-Oct Mary Hoffman Tishri 05 7-Oct Louis Sheer Tishri 05 7-Oct Ethel Shriberg Tishri 06 8-Oct Stefanie Claire Handel Tishri 06 8-Oct Ida Pedell Tishri 07 9-Oct Abraham Larks Tishri Oct Barnett Goldstein Tishri Oct Florence Milesky Tishri Oct Herbert Larks Tishri Oct Minnie Krinsky Tishri Oct Louis Baron Tishri Oct Sarah Sheinhait Tishri Oct Louis Harris Tishri Oct Rose Talent Tishri Oct Sadie Sherman Tishri Oct Samuel Chansky Tishri Oct Gertrude F. Zuckerman Tishri Oct Florence Furman Tishri Oct Isaac Goldberg Tishri Oct Sylvia Pinstein Tishri Oct Samuel Nussinow Tishri Oct Adolf Stux Tishri Oct Joseph Canter Tishri Oct Abraham Geller Tishri Oct Lena Merowitz Tishri Oct 3 Name Date Morris Weinstein Tishri Oct William Riseberg Tishri Oct Jacob Hoffman Tishri Oct Sophie Tuchfeld Tishri Oct Ida Dubin Tishri Oct Sarah Benjaminson Tishri Oct Ruth Shapiro Tishri Oct Helen Talvy Tishri Oct Lillian Berman Tishri Oct Memorial Wall Update What a wonderful addition this is to our sanctuary. We have worked hard to complete our wall before the holidays. All the plaques have been installed. Please stop by, or join us for services and take a look. We are still looking for donors. Also, if you would like to order or reserve a plaque, the cost is $275. Please contact the Temple office for details.

4 Donations General Fund Donations Thelma and Yukee Kennen, in memory of Anna Esther Katz Morris Hollender Torah Reading Fund Arnold and Polly Slavet Adult Education Fund George and Judith Isaac Family Table Donations A wooden collection box has been placed in the Temple lobby so that members can donate Kosher food items to the Family Table. We have been asked to provide 25 cans of salmon every month to help support their growing list of families. Thanks in advance for your much needed contributions. Saturday Kiddush Sponsors Oct 15 - Sisterhood Refuah Shlema Merrill and Carol Griff, wish a speedy recovery to Michael Laufer. Genevieve Fosa Oct 22 - Alan Zinn and Family in honor of the Baby Naming of his Granddaughter Oct 29 - Alan Corman Welcome New Members Jill Carni Amy Rothman, Encie and Nathan Samantha Halem and David Himelfarb, Maya and Jacob Thanks to those who read Torah, Haftarah, or gave a D'var Torah in September Mark Frydenberg Rabbi David Finkelstein Susan Kane Rabbi Sara Meirowitz Alan Levine Genevieve Fosa Caroline Nudelman Susan Holbert Merrill Griff Please contact readtorah@tbiwaltham.org to volunteer to read from the Torah or chant a Haftarah, or contact susan@theindexpros.com if you would like to give a d'var torah in the 4

5 MARK'S REMARKS: O N T H E M E N U F O R R O S H H A S H A N A H : L E E K S, G O U R D S, A N D A F I S H H E A D By: MARK FRYDENBERG There's a not-so-widely known custom to have a Seder on Rosh Hashanah. On the menu are foods mentioned in the Talmud, including dates, black-eyed peas, leeks, beets, pomegranates, a fish head, and a gourd. Each of these foods have become symbolic for Rosh Hashanah because their Hebrew words are related to other Hebrew words which are found in blessings for prosperity of some kind during the year ahead. The Rosh Hashanah Seder has become a Sephardic custom, and the machzor (High Holy Day prayer book) that best includes the Rosh Hashanah Seder was edited by Rabbi David De Sola Pool. He offers English puns to complement the Hebrew ones as well. The first special food to be eaten at a Rosh Hashanah seder is the date. The Hebrew word for data, tamar, reminds us of a Hebrew word that means to cease to exist which is what a traditional prayer for the new year says we want to happen to our enemies. Rabbi De Sola Pool's English translation cleverly reads: As we eat this date, may we date the New Year that is beginning as one of happiness and blessing and peace for all humankind. The Talmud mentions three fruits of the earth whose Hebrew words sound like words that are associated with destruction: Kra (pumpkin or gourd) which sounds like the Hebrew word "to rip up" in which we wish that the evil decree is ripped up; kartei (leek) which is similar to the Hebrew word for cut off (there's a blessing that we wish for our enemies to be cut off), and silka (beets), which is like a Hebrew word for "to banish" that appears in a blessing that all who wish us evil are banished. The De Sola Pool Machzor offers clever English blessings to recite when eating these foods: * May the coming year grow as a gourd in fullness of blessing. In the year to come, if enemies gird at us, may You guard us as we eat of this gourd. * Like as we eat this leek, may our luck never lack in the year to come. * As we bite this beet, may those who in the past have beaten us or sought our harm beat to cover in the coming year. * And for the fish head, "May we be at the head of things, and not at the tail." As for dipping apples and honey to symbolize a sweet year, that custom wasn't introduced until the Middle Ages. Maybe this is the year to spice up your Rosh Hashanah meal with some leek soup, pumpkin pie, and a fish head (or with culinary license, coleslaw from a head of cabbage.) Let this be a creative, tasty, and sweet year for all of us. 5

6 TBI EVENTS CALENDAR October 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Parashat Nitzavim 7:06 pm Havdalah (42 min) 2 Erev Rosh Hashana 6:05 pmcandle lighting 7:30 pm Evening 9 11:45 am Sukkah Building 3 Rosh Hashana 8:30 am Begin 5:00 pm Tashlich at Charles River 7:03 pm Candle lighting 10 Columbus Day (regional holiday) 8:00 am Morning Minyan 4 Rosh Hashana II 8:30 am Begin 7:01 pm Havdalah (42 min) 11 Erev Yom Kippur 5:49 pm Candle lighting 5:45 pm Kol Nidre Servies 5 Tzom Gedaliah 6 12 Yom Kippur 8:30 am Begin Yizkor 2:45 pm Afternoon Discussion 6:48 pm Havdalah :56 pm Candle lighting 14 5:45 pm Candle lighting 8 Parashat Vayeilech Shabbat Shuva 6:54 pm Havdalah (42 min) 15 Parashat Ha'Azinu 4:00 pm Himelfarb Bat Mitzvah 6:43 pm Havdalah (42 min) 16 Erev Sukkot 4:30 pm Decorate the Sukkah 5:30 pm Dinner in the Sukkah 5:41 pm Candle lighting 17 Sukkot I Sukkot I 8:00 am Sukkot Morning Service 6:40 pm Candle lighting 18 Sukkot II Sukkot II 8:00 am Sukkot Morning Service 6:38 pm Havdalah (42 min) 19 Sukkot III (CH''M) Sukkot III 20 Sukkot IV (CH''M) Sukkot IV 21 Sukkot V (CH''M) Sukkot V 5:34 pm Candle lighting 6:00 pm and Dinnre in the Sukkah 22 Sukkot VI (CH''M) Sukkot VI 6:32 pm Havdalah (42 min) 23 Sukkot VII (Hoshana Raba) 9:00 am Hoshana Raba 5:31 pm Candle lighting 30 Breakfast program 10:00am See page 15 for details 24 Shmini Atzeret Simchat Torah 8:00 am Shmini Atzeret/Yizkor /Geshem 6:00 pm Snack and Torah Tour 6:29 pm Candle lighting 6:30 pm Simchat Torah Evening Service and Dance with the Torah 31 Halloween 7:15 pm MEAH Class 25 Simchat Torah 6:28 pm Havdalah (42 min) :24 pm Candle lighting 29 Parashat Bereshit 6:22 pm Havdalah (42 min) 6

7 TBI EVENTS CALENDAR November Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan 2 Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan 7:00 pm Board Meeting 3 4 5:15 pm Candle lighting 6:30 pm Shabbat Evening Service (no dinner) 5 Parashat Noach 6:14 pm Havdalah (42 min) 6 Daylight Saving Time ends 7 8 Election Day Yom HaAliyah Veterans Day 4:07 pm Candle lighting 12 Parashat Lech- Lecha 5:06 pm Havdalah (42 min) 13 tentative: Concert with Hankus Netsky and Eden McAdam- Somer :01 pm Candle lighting 6:30 pm Shabbat Service and Dinner 19 Parashat Vayera 5:00 pm Havdalah (42 min) Thanksgiving Day 8:00 am Morning Minyan 25 3:57 pm Candle lighting 26 Parashat Chayei Sara 4:56 pm Havdalah (42 min)

8 High Holy Day and Schedule 5777 Erev Rosh HaShanah Sunday, Oct. 2 7:30pm Evening Service Rosh HaShanah Day 1 Monday, Oct. 3 Rosh HaShanah Day 2 Tuesday, Oct. 4 8:30am Morning Service 10:30am Children s Service (until 11:30 am) 5:00pm Tashlich at Charles River Moody St. 8:30am Morning Service 10:30am Children s Service (until 11:30 am) Shabbat Shuva Saturday, Oct. 8 9:00am Shabbat morning service Sunday Minyan followed by Cemetery Memorial Service Sunday, Oct. 9 9:00am Morning Minyan (at TBI) 10:00am Service at Beth Israel Memorial Park, Begin Building Sukkah Sunday, Oct. 9 11:45am Please come and give us a hand! Erev Yom Kippur Tuesday, Oct. 11 5:30pm Kol Nidre Service Yom Kippur Wednesday, Oct. 12 8:30 am Morning Service 11:30am Yizkor (approximate time) 10:45am Children s Service (until 11:45 am) 2:45 pm Discussion Led By Susan Holbert 4:00pm Mincha, Neila, Ma ariv, Havdalah Build the Sukkah Sunday, Oct :00am Put up Sukkah (Rain Date!) Erev Sukkot Sunday, Oct. 16 4:30pm Family Event: Decorate the Sukkah 5:30pm Potluck Dinner in the Sukkah Sukkot Yom Tov Day 1 Monday, Oct. 17 8:00am Morning Service/Kiddush in Sukkah Sukkot Yom Tov Day 2 Tuesday, Oct. 18 8:00am Morning Service/Kiddush in Sukkah Hol HaMoed Sukkot Shabbat Evening Hol HaMoed Sukkot Shabbat Morning Friday, Oct. 21 Saturday, Oct. 22 6:00pm Shabbat Evening Service 7:00pm Dinner in the Sukkah 9:00am Shabbat morning service/kohelet Lunch in the Sukkah Hoshanah Rabbah Sunday, Oct. 23 9:00am Morning Service Shemini Atzeret Monday, Oct. 24 8:00am Morning Service (with Yizkor) Simchat Torah Evening Monday, Oct. 24 Simchat Torah Morning Tuesday, Oct. 25 6:00pm FamilyEvent: Snack and Torah Tour 6:20pm Evening Service/Dancing with Torah 8:00am Morning Service: Complete Torah Cycle and Begin Bereishit/Genesis Shabbat Bereshit Saturday, Oct. 29 9:00am Shabbat Morning 8

9 No Chometz but plenty of Schmutz As head of the building committee I'd like to thank all those who volunteered to help clear the temple of excess possessions, broken items and just plain junk. Dina and Brad Baker Catherine Cantrell Rustin Shenkman Todah Rabah, Merrill Griff Andrea Baron Susan Holbert Alan Levine Resource Development I m looking for a team of people willing to assist in identifying potential resources to support Temple Beth Israel s future activities. If you are enthusiastic about Temple Beth Israel, or feel connected in the greater Jewish community or the local Waltham community, that s a great start. If you have experience with writing grants, raising funds, or a willingness to learn, I d like to speak with you! P l e a s e c o n t a c t m e at mark@tbiwaltham.org or call me through the Temple office. Thank you. Mark Frydenberg, President 9

10 FROM CHESED / CARING COMMITTEE If you are saying kaddish and would like us to notify congregants to attend a Monday or Thursday minyan, please contact Susan Holbert at susan@theindexpros.com or at least one week ahead of time. While we can't guarantee a minyan of ten will be present, we can work together spread the word! Breakfast and Book Reading with N.S. Dolkart Sunday, October 30, 2016 at 10 am $10 in Advance, $12 at the Door, Free for Children Send your check, payable to Temple Beth Israel, to: Ed Brown, 35 Lyme Road, West Newton, MA Please join for Morning Minyan before breakfast, at 9 am. The Rabbi s Classes will continue in November Watch for dates in the next bulletin Support Our Advertisers 10

11 SAVE THE DATES ~ MARK YOUR CALENDAR The Program Committee has scheduled three dates for presentations by interesting authors, and you really don t want to miss them. So, plan to attend and feel free to invite others to join you. On October 30, 2016 TBI member, Noah Beit-Aharon, will present his epic fantasy, Silent Hall after breakfast. If you want to preview the book, his web page is nsdolkart.com (Noah s pen name). He has performed readings at several local book stores with much success. As Spring arrives, so does the baseball season, and to celebrate this time of the year, Larry Ruttman will join us for breakfast on April 2, 2017 and then discuss his book, American Jews and America s Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball. His book was chosen as the #1 baseball book in America for the year 2013, among many, by Sports Collectors Digest, and now adapted into a musical play. This is an event not to be missed! On Yom Hashoah eve, April 23, 2017, Dr. Rita Goldberg will present her book, Survivor and Rescuer: My Mother, the Frank Family and the Holocaust. This is an evening event of interest to the entire community, so invite your neighbors to join us. The holocaust was a systematic murder of Jews and non-jews alike. We expect books to be on sale at all three events. Please make reservations to help us prepare. Other events will be advertised at a later date. Lester Macklin THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I want to thank Mark for organizing the Shabbat Kiddush in honor of my 20th work-iversary. I have come to call Temple Beth Israel my second home and all the people here are my family. Thanks to those who contributed, shopped, prepared and set up the Kiddush lunch. It was delicious right down to the cake that I picked out myself. Thank you all for the plant that brightens my new desk in the office. I look forward to seeing everyone over the holidays. I hope to be here for many years to come Andrea. 11

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