Traces To Remember goes to The State Capitol in Austin

Transcription

1 Traces To Remember goes to The State Capitol in Austin February 2015 Shevat - Adar 5775 Temple Beth-El 24 Coveway Drive Brownsville, Texas (956) temple.bethel@yahoo.com

2 about the cover Hundreds of people gathered at the State Capitol on January 26th to hear Holocaust Survivor Leon Horn as he read his testimony of human atrocities. Present were many family and friends to show support to Leon Horn. Tzedakah: Charity The obligation to perform tzedakah can be fulfilled by giving money to the poor, to health care institutions, to synagogues or to educational institutions. It can also be fulfilled by supporting your children beyond the age when you are legally required to, or supporting your parents in their old age. The obligation includes giving to both Jews and gentiles; contrary to popular belief, Jews do not just take care of our own. Contributions: We appreciate the thoughtfulness of those who remember and honor their friends and loved ones through their donations. Contributions to the General Fund Jane Engelsberg By: Eva Silberman Miriam Edelstein By: Bernice Edelstein In honor of Mr. Leon Horn being honored at the Texas State Capital: By: Karen & Bill Rubinsky Education Fund Albert Abramson, Roselle Abramson By: Denise Joseph Rosa Ziman & Bernard Levin By: Betty Levin In loving memory of Madeleine Mimi Wolf, Raymond Popi Wolf, Pauline & Albert Wolf, and Hennie & Erich Liebman. By: Parents, Grandparents, and great-grand parents of: Cynthia & Michael Wolf; Natalie & Brett Barth, Brian & Benjamin; Sallye Wolf, Truman and Ryan; Marc Wolf. In honor of the life of Leon Horn By: Cynthia & Michael Wolf Mr. Ralph Frapart and Mr. Ruben Edelstein By: Cynthia & Michael Wolf Yahrzeit Fund Isaac Pasol By: Carlos & Jovita Pasol Cantor s discretionary Fund: Grigori Chosid By: Larry & Lynn Victor Val Brown By: Fred & Tyre Brown Torah Fund: Raizl Kurlander By: Eva Silberman Flower Fund: Rosalie Steinberg By: Laurel Steinberg & Bill Berg COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE: As we all know we have an aging community who need assistance especially those who have no families near by. There have been some members who have been sick and they don t have any body to turn to and nobody knows that they are sick. Seniors need to let us know that you are sick or you need help taking you to the doctor or run some errands or simply bring you some Jewish penicillin. Please call Geoff Bogorad ( ) or Rossana Bogorad ( ).

3 Traces To Remember The Traces to Remember project is promoted and realized in more than 10 countries by the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace. It was hosted at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas., in coordination with Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr. and the Representative Eddie Lucio III, on January 26th, 2015 at the 1st Floor Rotunda. A Star of David shaped sculptural plaque with the palm prints of Holocaust Survivor Leon Horn and his family was presented. Serving as historical evidence for the prevalence of life over death and to reaffirm the existence of the inhumane Nazi Holocaust, one of the darkest period in history, in which more than 20 million people were exterminated. Dr. Bruno Cooper, Maribel Guerrero, Leon Horn, Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., Dr. William Soto-Global Embasador of Activist for Peace, Eddie Lucio III-Texas State Representative

4 Calendar of Events February Yahrzeits 06 **Sam Lizka David Hersh Alejandro Kirel Helen Koppel Miller *Herbert Paris *Isaac Joseph Kolmen *Jacob Englesberg *Frida Eibister Samuel Eichner 13 Sidney Furgatch Arthur Feinberg *Michael Riezenman *Edna Levin Gussie Moskowitz George Sherman 20 **Minfred Klug Eliott Safra **Nat Ander *Joe Weisberg *Rose Marie Weisfeld **Roslyn Janis Joseph Nemeth Stoler Arthur 27 Jules Knaster Melvin Menkin **Michael Sherman *Eva Kauffman Rosenberg Bertha Berg Sofie Robins Benjamin Schulwolf Hadassah will be hosting Friday Night Shabbat on February 20th, FRIDAY NIGHT HADASSAH SHABBAT Please come and join us for a night of food, fun, community, and services. 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. - Dinner will be served for the community, hosted by Temple Beth El Hadassah. 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. - Friday Night Shabbat Service with Harry, Larry, and Hadassah. 8:00 p.m. - Oneg Shabbat will be hosted by *Bobbi & Darrell Holland, Denise Joseph, Yacov Yaacobi and Larry Jokl. Please come to services and enjoy some Mishpachah time and goodies. Oneg Reminder Please make sure to check the Oneg list when you are in charge. The list is a follows: Challa, decaf coffee, cream, sugar, fruit, nuts, cheese & crackers, cookies, cakes, cold drinks, cups, plastic ware, napkins, plates. Also, please make sure to clean after the Oneg is finished and take the tablecloths to be washed. We are all responsible for leaving our kitchen organized and in the conditions it was found. Board Meeting: The Board of Directors meets every second Wednesday of the month in the Temple library. This month is going to be on the 11th. Everybody is welcome to attend the meetings. February Birthdays: 01 Barry Cohen 07 Adrienne Frapart 08 Hanna Weisberg 08 Peggy Paris 11 Bill Rubinsky 11 Larry Jokl 12 Sylvia Holzman 13 Jovita Pasol 14 Sylvia Weisberg 15 Mary Katz 16 Albert Rubinsky 20 Richard Jaross 20 Bill Berg 20 Mike Furgatch 28 Leon Weisberg February Anniversaries: 10 Leon & Sylvia Weisberg 12 Bob & Peggy Paris Our services begin every Friday at 6:30 PM. Board bimah assignment: 06 Riezenman Yitro 13 Blinder Mishpatim 20 Frapart Teruman 27 Furgatch Tetzaveh Saturday services begin at 9:30 AM with Torah study immediately following in the Temple Library.

5 Sunday School News Tu B Shevat, the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat, is a holiday also known as the New Year for Trees. The word Tu is not really a word; it is the number 15 in Hebrew, as if you were to call the Fourth of July Iv July (IV being 4 in Roman numerals). See Hebrew Alphabet for more information about using letters as numbers and why the number 15 is written this way. Tu B Shevat 2015 begins in the evening of Tuesday, February 3 and ends in the evening of Wednesday, February 4 As I mentioned in Rosh Hashanah, Judaism has several different new years. This is not as strange a concept as it sounds at first blush; in America, we have the calendar year (January-December), the school year (September-June), and many businesses have fiscal years. It s basically the same idea with the various Jewish new years. Tu B Shevat is the new year for the purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing. See Lev. 19:23-25, which states that fruit from trees may not be eaten during the first three years; the fourth year s fruit is for G-d, and after that, you can eat the fruit. Each tree is considered to have aged one year as of Tu B Shevat, so if you planted a tree on Shevat 14, it begins its second year the next day, but if you plant a tree two days later, on Shevat 16, it does not reach its second year until the next Tu B Shevat. Tu B Shevat is not mentioned in the Torah. I have found only one reference to it in the Mishnah, and the only thing said there is that it is the new year for trees, and there is a dispute as to the proper date for the holiday (Beit Shammai said the proper day was the first of Shevat; Beit Hillel said the proper day was the 15th of Shevat. As usual, we follow Beit Hillel. For more on Hillel and Shammai, see Sages and Scholars). Customs There are few customs or observances related to this holiday. One custom is to eat a new fruit on this day, or to eat from the Seven Species (shivat haminim) described in the Bible as being abundant in the land of Israel. The Shivat Haminim are: wheat, barley, grapes (vines), figs, pomegranates, olives and dates (honey) (Deut. 8:8). You can make a nice vegetarian pilaf from the shivat haminim: a bed of cooked bulgar wheat or wheat berries and barley, topped with figs, dates, raisins (grapes), and pomegranate seeds, served with a dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar (grapes) and pomegranate juice. Some people plant trees on this day. In my childhood, Jewish children commonly went around collecting money to plant trees in Israel at this time of year. In the 16th century, kabbalists, developed a seder ritual conceptually similar to the Pesach (Passover) seder, discussing the spiritual significance of fruits and of the shivat haminim. This custom spread primarily in Sephardic communities, but in recent years it has been getting more attention among Ashkenazim. Aish.com provides a traditional text for this seder. The Jewish college student organization Hillel also provides materials for a Tu B Shevat seder.

6 Mazel Tov to Hannah Weisberg for celebrating her Bat-Mitzvah Hannah Weisberg for celebrating her Bat-Mitzvah on January 23 and 24. She did an excellent job reciting her Parsha Bo (Let my people go). The Oneg Shabbat, the luncheon and dinner party were just beautiful and the food was delicious! Proud Parents Proud Aunt and Uncle Proud Grand Parents

7 4 Hannahs

8 Hadassah Hadassah Book Club Hi, Readers: We will continue to read The Rebel of Savanah by Tawil and Weisman with Mizrahi. Come ready to discuss the second part, , on Sunday, February 8, at 10:00 in the Temple Library. See you then. Harriet Light PLEASE BE PART OF HADASSAH THIS YEAR 2015 AND JOIN US The last Check It Out session is done. I have previously thanked those members who came and helped. I would like to express my gratitude to Rossana, Laverne, Alicia, Peggy, Bobbie and Liz. It is through the efforts of all of you that we are able to provide this life-saving information to the girls. Thank you so much! PS.- A special hug to Harriet and Jere light who schlepped the supplies back and forth and coordinated everything. Emily J. Alpert Ongoing Fundraisers Temple Beth-El sells HEB cards. Please pick up one or a few here at the office. A percentage of the sales go to Hadassah and the temple but this is only possible if we all buy a card. HEB cards can be used for purchasing of groceries, gas and medicines.

9 Another Successful Hadassah Deli Luncheon World famous, Always Craved, Can t Get Enough of LaVerne s Cheese Cake!!!...successful only because we all work together. full parking lot...always

10 Cemetery News Hebrew Cemetery Report: Joseph Weisberg ( ) was born in Poland and immigrated to the United States through Canada. Bertha Weisberg ( ) was born in Lithuania and immigrated through Ellis Island. Joseph and Bertha met each other and married in Boston. Joseph went into the furniture manufacturing business in New York and later moved to the Rio Grande Valley because close friends were living here and recommended the growing valley as the land of opportunity and a good place for business. Joseph and Bertha and their two sons, Leon and Gilbert, settled in the upper valley but Bertha did not enjoy the hot temperatures of south Texas. She convinced Joseph to move the family back to New York. That winter in New York suffered a bitter cold wave which lingered over the Northeast causing record low temperatures. By next spring the Weisberg family had moved back to Weslaco and then to Brownsville. In Brownsville, Joseph opened a fabric store on Elizabeth Street. At home, only Yiddish was spoken. Joseph and Bertha were very involved with Temple Beth-El. On a trip to San Antonio to buy merchandise, Joseph went into a small grocery store. The owner of the grocery store greeted Joseph and asked him if he recognized him. He was a long lost friend from Poland. They had been friends in the Polish army together where there was a great deal of Anti-Semitism. Jewish soldiers did not survive long. Joseph had been injured and went home to recover. After recovering, he and his friend decided to leave the army, Poland and their families. They spent 2 years together traveling from Poland through Germany and Holland until they were able to immigrate to Canada. Their meeting in San Antonio was the first time in 25 years that they found out that both of them had made it to the United States and coincidentally both of them settled in Texas. Their son, Leon and his wife Silvia are members of Temple Beth-el and Leon is a former member of the Board of Directors. Gilbert and his wife Susy live in McAllen. Joseph and Bertha are buried in the Hebrew Cemetery. by Larry Holtzman

11 Good Recipes... Ingredients 1 tablespoon Soy Vay Island Teriyaki or Wasabi Teriyaki sauce, plus more for dipping 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 teaspoon garlic salt 4 fillets salmon, about 5-6 ounce each Lemon wedges, for serving Slow-broiled Teriyaki Salmon Directions Preheat oven to broil. Place an oven rack on the very bottom shelf of the oven. In a small boil, mix together the Island Teriyaki (or Wasabi Teriyaki) and the mayonnaise. Spread a thin layer of the sauce over each fillet of salmon, and sprinkle each piece with a quarter of the garlic salt. Place salmon on a foil-lined baking sheet, and put in the oven on the bottom rack. Cook for minutes. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing and extra sauce for dipping, if desired. The fish is best consumed when an internal temperature of 140º F has been reached. Esther & Abraham Moszkowicz proudly announce that their granddaughter KATHERINE SHER received her degree on Physical Therapist DPT. Mazel Tov to Katherine and all of her family!

12 other stuff... If you have any events or pictures, please submit them for the Shofar and or website. LIVE Vist us at: Donations may be made to Temple Beth-El in memory, in honor, in appreciation, etc. for the following funds: General, Yahrzeit, Yizkor, Education, Building & Grounds, Flower, Torah, Cantor s Discretionary Funds. You may use this form: Donations form Please find enclosed a donation to the Fund, given in Honor Memory Appreciation Speedy recovery of Please send acknowledgment to: Name: Address: Donor information: Name: Address: Please note that any contribution submitted without a designated fund will be placed in the General Fund. Make checks payable to Temple Beth-El and mail to: 24 Coveway Brownsville, TX Thank you! Committees & Chairs Budget Committee: Chair, Mike Furgatch/Irwin Riezenman Building/Ground Committee: Javier Huerta Dues Committee & Membership Committee: Mike Furgatch Fundraising Committee: Alex Blinder/Morris Edelstein House Committee/Welcome Committee: Sara Kenigstein/Barry Goldsmith Library Committee: Harriet Light Religious School Committee: Patricia Edelstein/Leon Weisberg Ritual Committee: Sara Kenigstein Scholarship Committee: Larry Holtzman Temple Beth-El 24 Coveway Drive Brownsville, Texas (956) temple.bethel@yahoo.com