February 1, 2017 (NO CLASS FEBRUARY 8, 2017) February 15, 2017 February 22, 2017 March 1, 2017 March 8, 2017

Transcription

1 JANUARY 2017 The following is an excerpt from Rabbi Kurtz-Lendner s report at BIC s semi-annual meeting. The full text of the report can be found on the Beth Israel Congregation Facebook page: Rabbi Jeffrey Kurtz-Lendner It has been a true pleasure to begin this past summer as your permanent rabbi. You made me feel right at home. I would like to thank Dana for all of the parlor meetings she set up. Everything has gone so well, and I truly feel like this is the place I was meant to end up. Your congregation truly has a blessing, and that blessing is all of you. This congregation thrives and it does so because of the volunteers who work so hard to take care of it. It s not a surprise that you remained strong during your period of having interim rabbis. You already know and feel that this congregation belongs to YOU and that YOU are responsible for it. I m delighted to be part of that team. INTRODUCING THE CRASH COURSE IN JEWISH HISTORY A six week class getting a brief overview of the entirety of Jewish history. Taught by Rabbi Kurtz-Lendner Wednesday nights at 7:30 in the Temple Library February 1, 2017 (NO CLASS FEBRUARY 8, 2017) February 15, 2017 February 22, 2017 March 1, 2017 March 8, 2017 Please RSVP to Rabbi Kurtz-Lendner at rabbijkl@bethisraelms.org

2 From the President... I m proud to say that as this goes to print, we are well on our way, but have not yet met our goal of increasing our pledges from 2016 to make the $10,000 match! If you have not yet returned your 2017 pledge form, please , mail or bring it to the temple asap. We need you - please help us meet our goal! Thank you all for your support. As I shared at the annual meeting last month, we want to make Beth Israel feel like a Michele Schipper President home away from home for all of us. If there are activities that you enjoy, classes that you are interested in or programs you would like to see offered at the temple, please let me know. Together, we enrich the lives of each other. Together, we create a strong and vibrant community. As we begin 2017, we mark the 50 th anniversary of our temple building and the annual bazaar. I reflect on the vision and commitment of those congregants and volunteers who came before us, and all of our members these last 50 years whose participation at Beth Israel and this community helped sustain us for these years. Let s celebrate this history in 2017 and let s be the membership that those, 50 years from now, will celebrate. Happy New Year! The Jackson Board of Rabbis held its first Hanukkah party for all the staff of Jewish organizations in the Jackson area. A big thank you to Peter & Tamar Sharp and Arty & Amy Finkelberg for helping to sponsor this event saying thank you to Jackson s Jewish professionals. REMINDER Article Deadline for the following: CHAILIGHTS 1st FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH FRIDAY NIGHT LEAFLET 1:30 P.M. Wednesday BETH ISRAEL OFFICE HOURS CELEBRATE SHABBAT We will have a special Shabbat Service, February 24, 2017, to celebrate and commemorate the 50th Anniversary of our synagogue building. Monday: CLOSED Tuesday: 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Wednesday: 10:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. Thursday: 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Friday: 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Closed for lunch: 12:30-1:30 p.m. Page 2

3 Sisterhood Spotlight: A Message from the Sisterhood Co-Presidents "It's amazing what we can accomplish when we're in it together." ~Anonymous We have had such a delightful time being Beth Israel Congregation's Sisterhood Co-Presidents since our term started in May 2016, and we look forward to our upcoming events we have planned for the rest of the year. We are thrilled to announce that we currently have 64 Sisterhood members, and this TEAM is what helps to make BIC Sisterhood so wonderful! If you know of any new potential members, please let us know, and we will welcome them to our community with a Sisterhood introduction. We'd love to expand our membership. Our Meals on Wheels and Stewpot Programs are running along smoothly. As always, if you can help in any way either by purchasing items for cooking, helping with the cooking, delivering meals, etc., please let us know. Please be sure to participate in the Beth Israel Congregation's 50th Bazaar on March 29, 2017! Sisterhood plays a key role in making sure the Bazaar runs smoothly, from behind the scenes planning, cooking, organizing, scheduling of shifts to work the day of the Bazaar, and so much more. Special thanks to Jo Ann Gordon for chairing this important event, and to all of the BIC members enthusiastically helping out ~ it really is a lot of work to make this a success for our congregation and the community. THANK YOU!! We really appreciate everything! We are looking forward to everything, and we hope that you will join us in BIC Sisterhood celebrations! Respectfully yours, Suzanne Freedman & Frankie Springer Co-Presidents of BIC Sisterhood Our next Sisterhood Book Club meeting will be held at the Temple on Sunday, February 19, at 11:00 a.m. Our February selection is God Knows by Joseph Heller, the author of Catch-22. After a lively discussion of The Secret Chord, we decided to read/re-read Heller s God Knows for another perspective on the life of the Biblical King David. Please plan to join us. See the brief Barnes and Noble review below. Joseph Heller's powerful, wonderfully funny, deeply moving novel is the story of David yes, King David but as you've never seen him before. You already know David as the legendary warrior king of Israel, husband of Bathsheba, and father of Solomon; now meet David as he really was: the cocky Jewish kid, the plagiarized poet, and the Jewish father. Listen as David tells his own story, a story both relentlessly ancient and surprisingly modern, about growing up and growing old, about men and women, and about man and God. It is quintessential Heller. Page 3

4 Welcome to 50 years of the Beth Israel Congregation Bazaar, formerly known as the Sisterhood Bazaar! We are excited for another year to share a taste of our tradition with our community and showcase our incredibly dedicated congregational family. This year, as we celebrate 50 years, we are especially grateful for those hardworking individuals who first wanted to share our culture with the wider Jackson community, and look forward to honoring them this year. Please submit the years you've given to the bazaar to either Jo Ann Gordon [jagcanton@comcast.net] or Hannah Orlansky [hannah.orlansky@gmail.com] so you can receive your due accolades! 50th Annual Beth Israel Bazaar March 29, 2017 We've had a truly wonderful beginning to We are grateful for past chairs that have committed to leadership roles again, and we are thrilled for our new chairs that have also said yes! We couldn't be more appreciative. With the Bazaar now a congregational event, we want to formally extend an invitation for EVERYONE to volunteer and commit just a few hours toward this day. It is your time that we humbly request, and ask you to formally join the team and say YES when asked. If you would like to join us on this exciting day, please call Shirley Eriksen or Jo Ann Gordon to sign up. Our "yes!" team will participate in cooking, baking, soliciting silent auction items, and contributing to white elephant and books, and they need your help. Join your fellow congregants and become part of the Garden Rooms, take out, raffle, and kitchen teams. They all need hardworking individuals with great smiles. A big thank you to Paula Erlich who has agreed to take on several roles, including to chair and coordinate our cooking teams. Paula will be calling to organize your date, time, and needs for Please do not hesitate to call her for assistance. Along those lines, one of our cooks has a need for a smoker that could be brought to her home. Should you have a small smoker that is easily transportable, please call Jo Ann Gordon at Thank you in advance for your support and commitment. We look forward to sharing more updates as we speed toward March! Page 4 WE NEED YOUR HELP FOR THE 50TH We need pictures of Temple events and our members - both past and present. We also need lots of pictures from past Bazaars. Please contact Debra Jacobs, Tamar Sharp, Susan Fijman or Jo Ann Gordon if you have pictures we can use. Thank You to everyone who contributed blankets for Stewpot Homeless Shelters. Having new blankets has meant a lot to the Stewpot patrons who depend on Stewpot's services. It was a wonderful way to share Beth Israel's warmth with others in need. Many, many thanks to Dana Larkin for organizing the blanket drive!

5 Religious School Message from Rabbi Kassoff We are so proud of our students for the wonderful job they did helping to lead services on December 9 th, and proud of our teachers for preparing them so well. Huge thanks to Erica Abeles and her team of volunteers for making the dinner after the service such a pleasant and joyful gathering. Thank you to our teachers, our madrikhim, and our ISJL fellow Shira Muroff for all you do to make BIC Religious School a place our students want to be, and a special thanks for a terrific pre-hanukkah program on December 11 th. It was a wonderful way to end the first half of our school year. I can t wait to see you all again on the 11 th. Religious School Calendar: January 15 th BITY meeting in the BITY lounge, noon pizza will be served January 28 th It s SHAM and Jewish Cinema Mississippi all rolled into one! 5pm meet at Sarah Thomas s house for Havdallah, then out for Sushi! 7pm, Malco, for the featured film at JCM, Moos. Contact Sarah at (phone or text) or spthomas416@gmail.com for more information. Sunday, January 15, 22, 29 Wednesday, January 11, 18, 25 Grade 3-4 Family Education, January 29th, 9:30-noon Family Education B nai Mitzah Mandalas Front Row (left to right) Maya Freedman, Rachel Lehman, Efrem Lehman, Sylvia Kassoff Back Row (left to right) Jimmy Freedman, Michael Lehman, Alec Kassoff Tot Shabbat January 13 th 5:30 p.m. A prayer, a story, a Torah parade The whole family is welcome for a sweet and early start to Shabbat siblings, parents, and friends with their infants, toddlers, and lower elementary-aged children. Page 5

6 Please join our family in celebration as Parker Randal Lowe is called to the Torah for his Bar-Mitzvah Saturday, February 11, :00 AM Lunch immediately following services Please join our family in celebration as Gabriel Ben Freedman is called to the Torah for his Bar-Mitzvah Saturday, February 18, :00 AM Kiddush Oneg immediately following services Page 6

7 WE APPRECIATE THE THOUGHTFULNESS OF THOSE WHO SUPPORT BETH ISRAEL BY REMEMBERING AND HONORING THEIR FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES THROUGH THEIR GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS Donations may be applied to the following funds, per your request: GENERAL FUND MEMBERSHIP & ENGAGEMENT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND TIKKUN OLAM FUND ENDOWMENT FUND ONEG FUND LIBRARY/PRAYER BOOK FUND WEBSITE FUND RABBI S DISCRETIONARY FUND SATURDAY MORNING FUND MUSIC FUND CEMETERY FUND CARING FUND (SISTERHOOD) ART FUND PROGRAM FUND JEWISH CINEMA MISSISSIPP BITY RELIGIOUS SCHOOL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND Donation Morgan & Aaron Samuels In memory of A. J. Orkin, Sr. Donna & Ted Orkin Donation Don Sawyer Donation Amy & Arty Finkelberg GENERAL FUND In Memory of Albert Wahba Rosemary Maxey & Elizabeth Smith In Memory of Albert Wahba Katherine & Stephen Eck RABBI S DISCRETION FUND Donation Sammy Waxman SATURDAY MORNING FUND In Memory of Ira Rubin Rose Mary Foncree CEMETERY FUND In Memory of Laurence, Myron, Jill and Lorrayne Gavant Richard Gavant Donation Morgan & Aaron Samuels In Memory of T. S. Orkin, Sr. Donna & Ted Orkin Donation Sandor & Deborah Feldman In Memory of Jack Harris Joe Harris Donation Don Sawyer Donation Amy & Arty Finkelberg In Memory of Sue Jacobs & Evy Halle Levy Nafie & Gilbert Sollek In Memory of Lona Freedman Cohen & Jack Freedman Dana & Jonathan Larkin In Memory of Frances and Oscar Larkin Dana & Jonathan Larkin In Memory of Sarah Golod Dana & Jonathan Larkin In Memory of Beatrice and John Fischer Dana & Jonathan Larkin In Memory of Mae and Benjamin Freedman Dana & Jonathan Larkin In Memory of Bennett Freedman Dana & Jonathan Larkin January Birthdays 3 Greg Pollack 3 Drew Harris 4 Joy Roffwarg 5 Peter Sharp 6 Arty Finkelberg 7 Eric Schipper 7 Sophie Sharp 9 Francis Springer 11 Bernard Blumenthal 12 Jackalyn Schwartz 13 Shelley Crunk 14 Katy Barham 16 Kimberly Schneider 16 Michael Balfour 17 Caroline Metz 19 Mikaela Phillips 22 Bob Lazarus 22 Andrew Johnson 23 Alachua Haskins 25 Ellen Alexander 25 Jennifer Rosenberg 26 Daniel Kolodney 26 Sheryl Davidson 27 Gabriel Freedman 28 Asher Katz 28 Dov Liverman 28 Marla Harbor 28 Marcy Nessel 29 Helene Johnson 29 Laura Ginsberg 29 Nina Humphrey 31 Izabella Ivshin 31 Stuart Rockoff January Anniversaries 3 Macy and Susan Hart 4 Mike Lehman and Lique Coolen 4 Peter and Tamar Sharp 10 Gilbert and Nafie Sollek 17 Arty and Amy Finkelberg 17 Gary and Shirley Eriksen 18 Kenneth and Michele Schipper 19 Peter and Jarmila Zapletal 26 Robbie and Marcia Barron By 1926, the members of Beth Israel began to discuss building a new synagogue. Many of them had moved away from the South State Street neighborhood, where the Jewish community had been concentrated when the temple had been built over 50 years earlier. It took the congregation several years to be in the financial position to build a new synagogue and to sell the building. After it sold the State Street temple in 1940, the congregation was homeless waiting for its new synagogue to be completed. In the interim, the congregation met at the Shrine Temple and Galloway Methodist Church. Beth Israel s new home on Woodrow Wilson was ready in time for the high holidays in Page 7

8 Non-Profit Org U. S. POSTAGE PAID Permit #123 JACKSON, MS P.O. Box Old Canton Rd. Jackson, MS Phone: (601) Fax: (601) bethisraelms.org We Remember Yahrzeits for January /1/2017-1/7/2017 *John Fischer Samuel Friedman Jacques Wahba Phillip Needle Rose Kirby Jacobo Fijman Anna Kuerschner *Leo Phillip Gradinger Pauline Samuels *Greer Beth Pollack *Adolph Orkin, Sr. Toby Grossman *Bertha Helen Geiger Rose Bennett Simon Rubinsky Betty Shapero Samuel Steeg Margaret Guenther *Rosa Schwartz Max Turteltaub Dorene Bowley Joseph Sawyer *Morris Priebatsch *Moody Grishman Maurice Joseph 1/8/2017-1/14/2017 Edward Byous *Julian Wiener Beatrice Binder *Frances Berman Shalom Kaminsky Samuel Fermon Sadie Jacobs Florence Sandler Michael Giranda Milton Cherkasky Helen Petersen Lester Lasky *Anne Goldberg Ida Stein Leah Kantor Ada Berman Daniel *Ann Plotkin *Pearl Hesdorffer *Shirley Klateman Maurice Luxenberg Rona Libglid Joseph Rosen Dora S. Orlansky 1/15/2017-1/21/2017 Raymond Docter Heyena Gorelik Sol A. Lind David Taub Marshall Nirenberg Tom Underwood Bernard Stein Ephram Cohen *Cecille Shornick Shirley Balkin Bernard Stein Ethel Emmich Leon Schipper Rose Seligman Fayga Millstein Francis Weaver Lottie Botnick Eisman Fannie Wallick Phillip Patton *Rhea Shindell *Norman Muskin Estelle Pollack Sally Spiegel Jerry Paukin Abe Rones Myrtle Byous Anita Kaminsky 1/22/2017-1/28/2017 Hassiba Ifrah Elfassy Florine Abrams Pam Mintz Irving Sollek *Erna Ascher Shirley Miller Natalie Gordon Vera Miller *Mae Freedman Charles Shapero, Sr. Hattie Mitchell Dorman Marilyn Sherwood Ralph Davis Shepherd Tucker *Thelma Mitchell Nathan Ostrov *Alfred Sternberg *Abby Hesdorffer *Adolph Schwartz Gertrude Garshman 1/29/2017-2/4/2017 Eva Marmel Shirley Goodman Lottie Brady Bruno Marcus *Lee Gotthelf William Friedman Abram Hyman Orlansky Phoebe Cleve Spencer Viola Lucus Edward Hulick Harry Magidson Joen Mykoff Jimmy Gordon James Lucien Loeb *B. Garshman Jennie Rosenzweig *Judy Feldman *Memorial Alcove