May / June Give Thought To... Christians Offer Prayers. Board of Trustees. Bimonthly Publication of Congregation Beth Israel, Meridian, MS

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1 May / June 2014 THE OICE Bimonthly Publication of Congregation Beth Israel, Meridian, MS Give Thought To......these comments which were offered following the heinous shoo ng in Overland, Ks by Mark J. Pelavin who is the Associate Director of the Religious Acon Center of Reform Judaism (RAC), a posi on he has held since May He is one of the Jewish community's leading legisla ve strategists, and having worked in Washington for over 15 years, one of its senior lobbyists. Board of Trustees Scott Strasser: PRESIDENT Jay Davidson: 1ST VICE PRES Linda Miller: 2NDVICE PRES Sheryl Davidson: SECRETARY Lewis Rosenfeld: TREASURER Marc Fisher: TRUSTEE Barbaree Heaster: TRUSTEE Helen Meyer: TRUSTEE David S. Goldstein: RABBI Christians Offer Prayers O ur friends from the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) offered their sympathy this week for those affected by Sunday s (April 13th) deadly shootings at two Jewish communities in a suburb of Kansas City, KS. As you surely know, three people were killed by gunfire, including a grandfather and his 14-year-old grandson. Overland Park police are investigating the crime as a hate crime and criminal act. The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, general minister and president of the UCC, and the Rev. Sharon E. Watkins, general minister and president of the Disciples of Christ, condemned the act, emphasizing that during these holy seasons for both Christians and Jews, every human is a child of God and is undeserving of harm carried out under religious pretense. The reverends called on Christian leaders to publicly decry any notion, even those from Christian traditions, which maligns people of Jewish faith and threatens their safety. Our hearts break for the families and friends of the three people murdered at a Jewish Community Center and senior home in Overland Park on Sunday. We lift them in prayer. We mourn with our Jewish brothers and sisters for this brutal assault on their community. We hold them in prayer. We stand in solidarity with them in this tragic, frightening moment, particularly coming at the holy seasons for both Christians and Jews.

2 Your Activities Calendar for May & June May 2014 Su M TuWThFr Sa May 9: 5:30 pm: Schmooze n Booze 6:00 pm: Shabbat Service w/rabbi Goldstein May 11: Mother s Day May 23: 6:00 pm: Shabbat Lay Service May 26: Memorial Day June 2014 Su M TuWThFrSa June 15: Father s Day June 27: 6:00 pm: Shabbat Lay Service

3 Words From Our President Dear Congregants, I hope everyone had a wonderful Seder. I was blessed to spend Passover with my family. While our Seder was abridged to accommodate the short attention spans of my young nieces and nephews, somehow we still got it done. The ten plagues were accompanied by a whaling baby, and all the food was eaten from the Seder plates long before we ever got to the proper blessing or order in the service. The adults tried to read louder than the cackling children. The laughter around the table was endless. The joy of the sixteen of us at one table in celebration of the Pesach holiday was palpable. One of my nephews said the word Da-yay -nu all night long, even when asked if he would like more carrots. Once again the flexibility of Judaism amazes me. It is not so much how it is done, but that it is done. In the end we fulfilled the basic tenets of the Passover Seder. As a family we sat together for a meal very different than any other meal this year simply because we were all together. Yes, we discussed that our ancestors were slaves in Egypt and Moses led the people to freedom. We spoke of the parting of the Red sea, and sang Chad-gad-Yah. But more important than any story or song, we were together. At the end of Seder we always say Next year in Jerusalem, but my brothers were saying Next year in Lauderdale County. I sure hope so, and I hope to see all of you at the next Shabbat service. Scott Strasser, President Reform Judaism Principles T hroughout history, Jews have remained firmly rooted in Jewish tradition, even as we learned much from our encounters with other cultures. Nevertheless, since its earliest days, Reform Judaism has asserted that a Judaism frozen in time is an heirloom, not a living fountain. The great contribution of Reform Judaism is that it has enabled the Jewish people to introduce innovation while preserving tradition, to embrace diversity while asserting commonality, to affirm beliefs without rejecting those who doubt, and to bring faith to sacred texts without sacrificing critical scholarship. Reform Judaism affirms the central tenets of Judaism - God, Torah and Israel - even as it acknowledges the diversity of Reform Jewish beliefs and practices. We believe that all human beings are created in the image of God, and that we are God s partners in improving the world. Tikkun olam repairing the world is a hallmark of Reform Judaism as we strive to bring peace, freedom, and justice to all people. More on p. 6 Reform

4 For Your THE VOICE Bulletin Board CBI 2014/2015 Prayer Schedules CBI 2014 Fall Prayer Schedule Friday, August 15: Shabbat Service Rabbi Goldstein Friday, August 29: Shabbat Service Lay Reader Wednesday, September 24: Erev Rosh Hashanah Service Rabbi Goldstein Thursday, September 25: Rosh Hashanah Morning Service Rabbi Goldstein Friday, October 3: Kol Nidre Service Rabbi Goldstein Saturday, October 4: Yom Kippur Service Rabbi Goldstein Friday, October 24: Shabbat Service Lay Reader Friday, November 7: Shabbat Service---Dylan Strasser Bar Mitzvah Saturday, November 8: Shabbat Service---Dylan Strasser Bar Mitzvah Friday, November 14: Shabbat Service Rabbi Goldstein Friday, December 12: Shabbat Service Rabbi Goldstein CBI 2015 Spring Prayer Schedule Friday, January 9: Shabbat Service Lay Reader Friday, January 23: Shabbat Service Rabbi Goldstein Friday, February 13: Shabbat Service Rabbi Goldstein Friday, February 27: Shabbat Service Lay Reader Friday, March 6: Shabbat Service Rabbi Goldstein Friday, March 27: Shabbat Service Lay Reader Friday, April 10: Shabbat Service Rabbi Goldstein Friday, April 24: Shabbat Service Lay Reader Friday, May 8: Shabbat Service Rabbi Goldstein Friday, May 22: Shabbat Service Lay Reader Friday, June 26: Shabbat Service Lay Reader Friday, July 24: Shabbat Service---Lay Reader Note: The Spring service schedule will be finalized not later than November 30, 2014

5 Yahrzeit Observances K addish is the most caring and respectful way we can manifest our everlasting love. Kaddish is the way we can actively demonstrate the Jewish soul is never forgotten. Kaddish recited Friday, May 9: Abe Schlomo Goldberg, Betty Tell Goldberg, Joe Meyer, Ike A. Rosenbaum, Annie Wigransky Rafkin, Edward E. Reisman III, Louis Turitz, Ollie D. Maith, Jack Ledner, Irving S. Rothenberg, Ralph Jonas Lischkoff, Amy Feibelman, Joseph Ades Kaddish recited Friday, May 23: Ike M. Rosenbush, Joseph Goldberger, Louis Herman Arky, Donna H. Rosenbaum, Minnie Kramer, Abraham Spritzer-Wilmen, Esther Dumont, David Bergauer, Albert Herzog, Ruth Davidson, Betty Ost Weinstein, Dorothy Lerner, Harry Ades, Oscar C. Strauss, William S. Adler, Isadore Dravin, Allan S. Jacobs, Harry C. Strauss, Sophie G. Meyer Kaddish recited Friday, June 27: Karleen Klein Rose, Jeffery Mark Mindlin, Mark Savage, Lynette Cohen Robinson, Sam M. Feltenstein, Sarah Leah Feinstein, Louis H. Threefoot, Harry Rice, Julia R. Threefoot, Pauline Zindler, Samuel Abramson, Janice Dveirin, Sollie Cohen, Eve Kramer Kogon, Leo Zindler, Ida Radzyeneska, Theresa Rosenbaum, Herman Weinstein, Rachel Weinstein, Lewis M. Rothenberg, Sidney Wigransky, Isaac Simon Ascher, Max O Mell, Anna Posner, Etta Kogon, Edward Maximullian Steele, Julius Jacobson, Aaron Moses Potasnic, Mildred Kaplan Simon, Pauline Klein, Margaret Loeb, Betty David Morlar, Kutcher T. Klein, Carrie Rosenbaum, Herbert L. Arky, Ida Mushlin, Abraham Lewis Simon, Max Harnick, William Lerner Jr. Chai Lights: Birth Days & Anniversaries T he Congregation takes great delight in wishing the celebrants the best of everything. Many happy returns of the day. BIRTH DAYS Bob Merson -May 1 Lewis Rosenfeld -May 4 Alex Loeb -May 18 Rhonda Loeb -May 19 Wyatt Davidson -May 22 Tammy Stewart -May 26 Len Maith -May 27 Rabbi David Goldstein -May 28 Morele Rosenfeld -June 16 ANNIVERSARIES Perry & Robin Goodman -June 8 Jay & Sheryl Davidson -June 12 Allan & Ann Stewart -June 17 Harry & Karen Kleinman -June 20 David & Shannie Goldstein -June 21 Harold & Barbaree Heaster -June 23

6 From Our Rabbi s Desk Pesach Memories T his is written on the first day of Passover, with the sweetness of the Seder still fresh in my heart and mind. Last night around our table gathered young and old, dear friends and new friends, Tulane students and faculty. We used the Baskin Haggadah with its magnificent illustrations and less magnificent and very painful prose. We skirted the problems of prose with substitute expressions of our own understandings and most importantly with music. Shannie always has her guitar at the ready; this year was no less wonderful than countless past years. We sang, and laughed, told stories and sang more, and closed with Yerushaliyim shel Zahav, and finally Hatikvah. I asked the guests present if they would wish to share memories of Sedarim in their own lives, maybe even from their childhoods. The scholar, Nathan Glazer, says in his wellknown book, American Judaism, that in the USA Passover is the most universally celebrated of all the Jewish holidays, including the High Holy Days and Hanukah. Almost every Jew participates in some way, whether it is as a seder host or guest or simply as a matzah nasher. There is a feel to Passover that can be replicated in no other way. My own powerful memories are of my parents and the special care they gave to every Pesach element, to every detail. We had six sets of dishes in my childhood home: Regular milk and meat; good milk and meat; Pesach milk and meat. The Seder meal was my Mother s masterpiece, often duck; once actually goose. My Dad liked an occasional drink, but on Pesach, when fermented alcohol is forbidden, he drank Eastern European manufactured brandies that I have not seen since, Shlivovitz and Vishniak. Were I to simply smell either today, I know it would bring back the most loving memories. I think Nathen Glazer has an excellent point. Pesach is not only the most universally celebrated of our holidays, but perhaps also the most universally cherished. Rabbi David Goldstein Reform, concluded from pg. 3 Reform Jews accept the Torah as the foundation of Jewish life containing God s ongoing revelation to our people and the record of our people s ongoing relationship with God. We see the Torah as God inspired, a living document that enables us to confront the timeless and timely challenges of our everyday lives.

7 Sisterhood Spring 14 Meeting T he spring meeting of the CBI Sisterhood convened at Weidman's Restaurant April 2, 2014 under the leadership of Morele Rosenfeld, who opened the event with a light yet insightful story from the Taste of Torah publication. Minutes of the October meeting were read and approved. Dorothy Dveirin gave the Treasurer's report, noting charitable contributions and services to the both city organizations and the Temple. Ann Stewart reported that handrails had been ordered for placement in one stall each of the men's and women's facilities. She expressed satisfaction with the person from Spic and Span hired to clean in the kitchen after special events. When the floors need burnishing, usually at High Holiday time, she will have found a man who could provide the machine, as well as the labor. Ann was highly complementary of the Davidson family for providing extra attention to the grounds at the time of Jake Davidson's bar mitzvah. Everyone agreed. Dorothy Dveirin asked if anyone would like her to order art calendars. Most thought that the calendars have become too small and not as useful as the previous ones. If anyone who did not attend the meeting would like to order one, she may call Dorothy. Sisterhood contributions to the Temple or other causes will be considered as they arise. Because we have seen a decline in attendance at the spring meeting, Morele Rosenfeld suggested that we move it from April to March so there will be no conflict with Spring Break. Emily Strasser noted the first Wednesday in March would be less likely to interfere with any school's break. Diane Key moved that we use that date in 2015 and Ann Stewart seconded. The motion passed. Announcements: Emily Strasser announced that Dylan's Bar Mitzvah has been set for November 7 and 8. Ann Stewart moved that we order the traditional Kiddush cup for him now. Jan Maith seconded and the motion passed. Ann Stewart asked if any members knew of a deserving high school graduate who might be interested in the Rosenbaum Scholarship to Vanderbilt. An effort will be made to contact those students. Linda Miller disclosed that she has put her house up for sale and will be moving out of state at some point. Until then, she will remain as secretary. The meeting was adjourned. Lunch was ordered. Linda Miller, Secretary

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