TEMPLE TIMES. Announcments. Shabbat Dinner. Men s Lunch. Lubbock, Texas. Congregation Shaareth Israel Oct Temple Times 1

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1 TEMPLE TIMES Lubbock, Texas Announcments Oct 5th we will be celebrating simhat torah, please join us! Dinner Oct 12th, 2018 at 6:45 pm at 6:15 pm RSVP Fela Shturman at by Wednesday Oct 10th, 2018 if you would like to attend! Men s Lunch The Men s lunch has been cancelled. If you would like to organize this event, please inform the president, Jonathan Marks. Dear CSI Family, As I write this message we are approaching the end of the High Holy Days (the end of Sukkot and Simhat Torah mark the end of our High Holy Days season). There is a tradition that teaches that the very last day of Sukkot, Hoshanah Rabbah, is a mini Yom Kippur, just in case some of us weren t able to get our last bit of prayers in through the gates. During these chaotic political times, and with Hoshanah Rabbah still ahead of me, I am still pondering the power of kindness and the power of forgiveness. I need to believe that being kind to the people I love and the strangers I encounter mean something. Tonight, I found my inspiration in an unlikely place. I found my inspiration in Shaka Senghor. Shaka Sengor went to jail when he was 19, spent 19 years in jail (7 of those years in solitary confinement). In an interview, his interviewer asks, You went to prison one person and came out of prison a different person. How did that metamorphosis take place? 1 Shaka Senghor responds, I received a letter from the victim s godmother, who actually raised him [the man he killed]. Her letter of forgiveness allowed me to begin to process what led to that moment. The victim s godmother did not have to write that letter of forgiveness. Our Jewish tradition doesn t demand us to forgive a man who kills another human being. And yet, how powerful to hear that her letter allowed Shaka Senghor to begin the process of selfreflection and complete teshuvah, repentance. Complete repentance comes with a change in behavior. Shaka Senghor is now the executive director of Anti-Recidivism Coallition (ARC), an organization that helps ex-prisioners re-enter life in society. He is doing very important work. 60% to 70% of people who come out of jail end up going right back to jail. Of the people who go through his program, less than 10% Continued on page 4 Temple Times 1

2 Donations Thank you to all of our donors for your continued support! October Yahrtzeits 1 Beatrice Wolfson 2 Daniel Joachim 4 Connie Luger 5 Channah Rachael Koppel 6 Joan Ruth Finkelstein Howard 9 Edward Fargotstein Elsie Saeks Sylvan Skibell 10 Harry J. Mitzen 13 Louis Feldman 14 Anna Kunze Schmeling 16 Barry Zarfas Eileen Goggin 17 Murray Kovnar 19 Lillian Richie Frieda Caplan Jack Shine 21 David Abraham 23 Pearl Bender Faverman Leib Rachman 24 Hindy Cohen 26 Albert Sitzer If any member would like to add a name to the monthly Yahrzeit list, please send the name, date of celebration and relationship to Leon Shturman (Shturman@sbcglobal.net). Thank you. General Fund Rabbi Goldmann Annette Rosen for the Yizcor book The Gelfonds The Blancas Family The Escalante Family The Building Fund The Nathans The Rabbi s Discretionary Fund Henry and Sellie Shine in memory of Frances Schneider and Ruth Shine Pemberton The Glassman Fund Sandy Lehman Announcement of annual Congregational meeting: Sunday Oct 21 at 1PM. All members in good standing are urged to attend. Election of officers and approval of budget and decision whether to renew Rabbi Deborah's contract will be on the agenda. Temple Times 2

3 Refuah Shleimah Bobby Skibell Terry Bennett Arnold Loewy Esof ben Moshe v Sura Yetta Jane Winer Leon Cohen Pete Berkowitz Our members are invited to reserve a date to host an Oneg! Please contact Jonathan Marks. October 5th 12th Bereishit - - Rabbi (Gen Gen 6.8) Noach - Service 6:15 pm Dinner 7:00 pm Thank You! To Leon Shturman for helping to coordinate High Holy Day honors. To all the Torah Readers: Anne Epstein, Dorothy Chansky, Leon Shturman, Stephanie Shine, Henry Shine, Monty Strauss, Jessica Kirschner, Alon Kvashny, and Christo Chaney. 19th 26th (Gen Gen 11.32) Lech-Lecha - - Rabbi (Gen Gen 41.16) Vayeira - (Gen Gen 22.24) To our Shofar blowers: Nathaniel Nokken and Nana Friedman. To Sandy Lehman for organizing the Rosh Hashanah oneg. To everyone else who participated in the services. Remember to check our CSI website for the updated calendar and for the dates the Rabbi will be here at csitemple.org Also, CSI s Facebook page is available at Congregation Shaareth Israel - Please Like Remember, in case of bad weather: In the event of poor weather conditions, and to be sure that the Temple is open, before you leave home please call the synagogue s answering machine at If services, religious school, or meetings are cancelled, we will put a message on the answering machine at least an hour before the scheduled time of the event. We will also send an notification, so keep an eye on your for cancellations. Temple Times 3

4 Continued from page 1 end up back in prison. There is no doubt that he is a valuable member of society. Yet, we would not be able to benefit from his experience and wisdom if the victim s godmother had not reached out to Shaka Senghor in the first place. Towards the end of his interview, Shaka Senghor shares: My central message is that people are redeemable. We should stop throwing people away as if they are disposable, and no one should be defined by their worst moment or their worst deed. We live in a world where the reality is we all have had a moment we are not proud of, and you shouldn t be held hostage to that moment. You should be given an opportunity to redeem yourself and atone for whatever it is you feel you ve done that was hurtful or harmful While the godmother s forgiveness is more than what Jewish tradition demands, Shaka Sengor s message, without intending to, is a Jewish response. Shaka Senghor lives his message as he has redeemed himself as much as he can (the man he killed is not here to forgive him which is why, according to Jewish tradition, he cannot be fully forgiven). When the opportunity presented itself for him to repent, he stepped up to the plate and changed. It is very difficult to look at every person and say, you are redeemable. Sometimes, that task is made even more difficult when we feel we are giving people a chance at redemption, and yet that person continues to fail to grasp the meaning of the opportunity. At some point, we have to let go. For now, I am going to hold on to the strength of the letter of the victim s godmother. Her kindness to Shaka Senghor went a long way and is now helping break the prison cycle. For now, I am going to remember that acts of kindness have tremendous power. May we feel inspired to be kind. May we find the courage to see the world through the other s eyes. May we use our imaginations to help us develop empathy for those we don t know. Shanah Tovah, Rabbi Religious School Corner Religious School is in session on Oct 7, 14, 21, 28 K'tanim will be meeting: Oct 14 and 28 9:45am to 12:15pm Temple Times 4

5 Congregation Shaareth Israel P.O. Box Lubbock, TX (806) csitemple.org Clergy Deborah Goldmann, Rabbi Vicki Hollander, Rabbi Emeritus Board Members Jonathan Marks, President Charles Skibell, Vice President Monty Strauss, Secretary June Wagner, Treasurer Neil Kurtzman, Past President Deborah Bahme, Religious School Delegate Andrew Friedman, Member Hannah Friedman, Member Leon Shturman, Member Contact info for members: Rabbi Goldmann - Call her or text her at (310) or her at dygoldmann@gmail.com please. Urgent Matters - Please contact Jonathan Marks at (806) or at markj958@gmail.com or contact Rabbi Goldmann Bulletin Submissions - News, reports, information, etc. can be submitted to the bulletin editor at csi_bulletin@hotmail.com Deadline for submissions is the 20th of the month! October 2018 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday RSVP Fela for Dinner! Service 6:15 pm Dinner 6:45 pm Board Meeting Congregation Meeting 1:00 pm Nov 1 Nov 2 Nov 3 Nov 4 Temple Times 5