CONGREGATION B NAI JESHURUN OF STATEN ISLAND

Transcription

1 CONGREGATION B NAI JESHURUN OF STATEN ISLAND B u l l e t i n A w a r d W i n n e r o f t h e U n i t e d S y n a g o g u e o f C o n s e r v a t i v e J u d a i s m Vol. XXXXII No.2 February 2015 Shevat-Adar 5775

2 Monthly Bulletin DIRECTORY Rabbi Samuel Kastel Cantor Mordechai Edry President Marvin Ben-Aron Chairperson of the Board Arlene Rachman V.P. Administration Susan Bender V.P. Finance Jeffrey Saltiel V.P. Ritual Roy Moskowitz V.P. Youth & Education Richard Goldstein Treasurer Sharon Brimmer Recording Secretary Sandra Conrad Corresponding Secretary Beth Abott Hebrew School Principal Jessica Bruschi PTA President Nicole Weonstein Youth Group Director Bruce MonteLeon Sisterhood Presidium Arleen Klapper Arlene Rachman Men s Club President Joel Brimmer brimmer911@aol.com Membership Committee Rochelle Maltz rochellemaltz@msn.com Ways and Means House & Beautification Adult Education Ronny Ben-Aron rbenaron@yahoo.com Ritual Committee Joyce Lieb mamalieb@aol.com Publicity Roy Moskowitz R2ceo@aol.com Cemetery Committee Arlene Rachman arlenerachman@gmail.com Editor CBJ Office Manager Charlene Diaz CBJShul@aol.com

3 Congregation B nai Jeshurun of S.I. Member of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Tel: (718) Fax: (718) CBJShul@aol.com Website: cbjsi.org S H A B B A T SYNAGOGUE SCHEDULE Shabbat Services: Friday Nights - Promptly at 8:15 pm Friday dinners-6:15 pm-services at 8:15 pm Saturday Mornings - Promptly at 9:15 am Daily Minyan: Sunday Mornings-9:00 am CBJ Rokhsar building Monday & Thursday Mornings - 7:20 am CBJ Rokhsar building Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday Mornings 7:20 am at Temple Emanu - EL S H A L O M We invite you to join us regularly for Shabbat Services Please Note: Please arrive promptly to insure a minyan for those who need to say Kaddish. Proper attire is necessary at all times in the Sanctuary. Kindly turn off cell phones before entering Sanctuary

4 President s Message Dear Friends and Fellow Congregants: I am honored to reassume the mantle of president of this wonderful congregation. As we go forward in the year 2015 we have many challenges but also many opportunities for growth. As most of you should know by now, our long time Exclusive Caterers, Mel and Stacie, elected to leave and we wish them luck in their future endeavors. The catering committee is actively working to fill the void; interviewing other caterers and exploring the respective advantages of either contracting with a new exclusive caterer or developing a panel of caterers that we will permit to make use of our premises. In the interim, several congregants have generously filled the void by ensuring that we provide a lovely Kiddush after our services and providing food for our constituent organization programming. We had a wonderful, albeit small, New Year s Eve party with kosher deli and kosher Chinese food; we had a wonderful Hanukkah Fair with latkes, bagels, and jelly donuts; and we have had several very nice Kiddushes, most notably sponsored by the Brimmer family and Sandra Conrad. Most recently we enjoyed a very delicious traditional Shabbat luncheon of cholent, prepared by our own Arlene Rachman and Sandra Conrad. Thanks to the efforts of Arlene, Sandy, Judy Salteil, and Joel Brimmer, to name a few, we have been able to cater our own events with delicious food.

5 Cont President s Message On February 1, 2015 we hope to continue to provide social programming for our congregation, of course with food, at our Super Bowl Party which will begin at 5:30pm. As an incentive to attract more people, and also because the officers and trustees of the congregation believe that we should provide community building programs for the synagogue, we are offering this program for free to members and at a very nominal cost for guests. Come join us even if you re not a football fan. The event will be catered by B & Y Catering. Also, on February 1, 2015 the Men s Club will be sponsoring the annual Worldwide Wrap, a time when Conservative Congregations the world over reconnect with the mitzvah of putting on tefillin. Most of the Sunday morning minyan attendees participate in the mitzvah on a weekly, if not daily, basis and they, along with Rabbi Sam, and members of the Men s Club will be there to assist anyone who is not familiar with the practice. The service will take place at 9am, will include our Hebrew School Students and will be followed by a study session with Rabbi Sam and a light breakfast. The various committees of the synagogue are planning many other wonderful activities in the months to come. Let s all work to enliven our congregation and make CBJ the bustling place that it should be. Of course, first and foremost are the religious services that we offer, and thankfully attendance recently has been quite good. The Friday night services in the Oneg room are particularly welcoming. I look forward to seeing more of you during the coming year and wish you all a healthy, happy, and successful Marvin Ben-Aron

6 Dear Families, Our Hebrew School students have excellent attendance throughout the cold winter months. I ve included some fun pictures of our Kabalat Shabbat service, Mitzvah prize winners and fun learning activities. Sincerely, Jessica Bruschi CBJ Principal

7 It s Time for Passover Candy!!! Funds earned from our Passover candy sale will support our Hebrew School. Credit card orders can be made at click online store and enter our school code: You can enter an online registered student s name or Nicole Weinstein. Please return cash or check payments to: CBJ at 275 Martling Avenue, Staten Island NY Attn: Hebrew School Checks should be made payable to CBJ Orders must be in by Sunday February 22 nd, (Sorry no late orders can be accepted)

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9 What does your meaningful Jewish life look like? Our tradition tells us that an integrated Jewish life involves study, ritual and social action. Explore all of these on your terms, with your personal interests through a new adult education initiative called Chai Mitzvah. You will participate in a monthly learning group with a specially designed curriculum that focuses on real life, relevant issues. You will also choose an individual study topic that is personally interesting to you, adopt a new ritual or deepen an existing practice, and engage in a social action activity in your community. Then, at the end of the nine-month program, you can celebrate your journey! To become a Chai Mitzvah, or for more information, contact our synagogue office. Go to the the Chai Mitzvah website ( to learn more.

10 Sisterhood s message A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting two of our congregants in Florida. For me, it was a wonderful experience in many ways. The three of us are ages apart, but for all of us there was a commonality... our community. Community can be described in many ways. I celebrated Shabbat there, first by having a traditional Friday night dinner, lighting candles, having great conversation, and then going to synagogue Saturday morning. That Shul was overwhelming with friendly spirit, performing the same service as every other synagogue in the country, and getting together after services for Kiddush. As we celebrate the holiday of TuB Shevat, with its customs of eating a new fruit (on the sunset of February 3 rd nightfall February 4 th ) or eating the seven traditional items as wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates, let us truly celebrate the positives of life and what we have and not dwell on the negatives. Help our community by being together on a Shabbat and truly celebrating by being a part of us, not just by name only. Let us hear from you and participate in any way you can. Together we can make a difference. Date to keep in mind Mother s Day Shabbat more details to follow. For Sisterhood Arlene Rachman and Arleen Klapper Co-Presidents

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12 We in the West often delude ourselves into believing that all cultures have exactly the same goals (peace, prosperity, freedom) and exactly the same values (human life, honesty, human rights). And although all of these goals and values are undoubtedly part of every human culture, not all cultures value them to the same degree that we do in the West. Learn more and join Botched! Intelligence Failures and the Rise of ISIS Extremism: A Lecture by Dr. Mordechai Kedar. Hear his unique perspective on events unfolding in the Middle East. Sponsored by Hillel at the College of Staten Island, COJO of Staten Island, the Young Israel of Staten Island, Congregation B'nai Jeshurun of Staten Island and Congregation Temple Emanu-El of Staten Island this free event is scheduled Wednesday, February 11 at 7 p.m. At the Young Israel of Staten Island (835 Forest Hill Road, 10314) Mordechai Kedar (born 1952 in Tel Aviv) is an Israeli scholar of Arabic literature and a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University. He holds the Ph.D. from Bar-Ilan University. Kedar is an academic expert on the Israeli Arab population. He served for twenty-five years in IDF Military Intelligence, where he specialized in Islamic groups, the political discourse of Arab countries, the Arabic press and mass media, and the Syrian domestic arena. The Los Angeles Times Edmund Sanders described him as one of the few Arabic-speaking Israeli pundits seen on Arabic satellite channels defending Israel. Contact Amy Posner for more information: amy.posner@csi.cuny.edu

13 February 1, 2015 at 9am Come and participate in the Mitzvah of tefillin at Sunday morning Service. Service will be followed by a study session with Rabbi Sam & a light breakfast to follow. Hope to see you all there!

14 Super Bowl Party Feb 1, 5:30 Come and enjoy some food, good company & what should be a great game! Free for members, non-members and guest $18 per person, $25 per couple. RSVP as soon as possible to Charlene in the office or cbjshul@aol.com

15 Are children in our community missing out on Jewish camp due to financial obstacles? Make this summer the summer of a lifetime for more children with BunkConnect. BunkConnect offers families the opportunity to access 40-60% off at over 75 of the top Jewish overnight camps this summer, including many Ramah Camps. Jewish camp makes stronger Jewish communities and develops a deeper engagement for each child - talk about a win-win!

16 Sidney H. Willig Library Twenty-Fourteen Donations Judaic The Jewish Christian Debate in the High Middle Ages by David Berger The Non-Orthodox Jew's Guide to Orthodox Jews by David Baum Jewish Philosophy in a Secular Age by Kenneth Seeskin On the Book of Psalms (Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel) by Nahum M. Sarna Symbols of Judaism (fundamental of Judaism) by Marc-Alain Ouaknin Understanding Judaism (The Basics of Deed and Creed) by Benjamin Blech History The Grandees (America's Sephardic Elite) Stephen Birmingham Cooking Cooking Kosher The New Way (Fast. Lite, & Natural) by Jane Kinderlehrer New York Cookbook by Molly O'neill Novels One Fine Day The Rabbi Bought A Cross Old Love by Harry Kemelman by Isaac Bashevis Singer Stu Zorfas (szorf@aol.com)

17 A Prayer for the Paris Jewish Community (c) Rabbi Menachem Creditor Oy, God. It hurts so very much. Yet again. We lift up our eyes to the mountains, to the heavens, and we ask with pain and fear and determined, indefatigable hope: how long, Adonai, how long. Knowing Your love is abundant, compels us see this fragile world all deeply incomplete. Why must it take so long for us to learn? How can Your images, every human being, do such horrid things, hating each other, hurting each other, killing each other? Dear God. This hurt we know too well has taught us to stand strong through our pain. We will not cease our prayers, and......we also know that we are called, as Your children, to take leaps of action and to turn our pain into a clarion call: Never Again. Cont on next page

18 Cont, That is the prayer of our bodies, writhing in pain as we watch our sisters and brothers, children of the House of Israel, trapped, hurt, killed, In a kosher supermarket in Paris. Shopping for Shabbat is not meant to be an act of bravery, and we call out to You in our anger and fear: strengthen us to build this world from Your Holy Love, God. Remind us, even today, especially in Paris today, that we are capable of this miracle. The world as a whole needs this message: Love. Always. Wins. Source of every breath, we know that if breath is trapped in our throats, as we witness terror for Jews and all who cherish life, You are there too. Dear God, hold our hands as we pray with our bodies, as we mourn those cut down and champion the lives of every Divine Image. May this broken world of ours see no more of this and be blessed by Peace. Amen.

19 NNJR Hockey Night Out Come and join the Northern New Jersey Region Men s Clubs for a trip to Prudential Center in Newark, NJ to see the New Jersey Devils play the Philadelphia Flyers Sunday March 8, pm Tickets are $54.00 each, which includes, after the game, going onto the ice to shoot from the blue line and a group picture on the Devils logo. There will also be a gift from the Devils. Deadline for reserving seats is Fri., Feb. 20 Please contact Joel Brimmer (718) or Brimmer911@aol.com -- for tickets or additional information.

20 Birthdays Irwin Feingertz Cole Wiener Hannah Bruschi Netanel Newberger Daniel Powell Kulick Kori Rushton Stuart Garber Julia Gimbelman Sonia Kranich Jennifer Sari Feingertz Elliot Ray Rachman David Memoli Valerie Porcelan Helena Gottlieb Leonard Ogontz Jerome Grushkin Adriane Schoen Yacov Carmel Julia Isaac Craig Brimmer Steven Magnus Yotam Ganiel Ran Ganiel Lindsay Conrad Blake Jackman Mark Ben-Aron Sandra Estreicher Daniel Brook Gordon Susan Bender Happy Anniversary to Maggie & Netanel Newberger

21 Support Fund Raising At Congregation B nai Jeshurun This is a good time to support our synagogue. Join with the first dedication for a paving stone. Make a donating for a paving stone. Call our synagogue s office Just a quick note, the office is in the process of updating addresses and phone list. So if you are interested in receiving the weekly Shabbat Shalom message and any upcoming events , please the office at: cbjshul@aol.com If you are interested in still receiving the Hatokayah by mail or by please contact the office. Or if you will prefer to be called, call the office and you will be placed on the call list. Thank you, Charlene Diaz Office Manager

22 Feb 1 World Wide Wrap -Super Bowl Party Feb 7 Tu BiShvat Sedar Feb 11 Botched a lecture by Dr. Mordecai Kedar at Young Israel of SI Feb22 Last day to order Passover candy from Hebrew School Mar 8 Devils vs Flyers game If you need any information on any upcoming events please contact the office

23 To sponsor an Oneg please Call Arlene Rachman Or

24 If you want to advertise in our Hatokayah, please send your ad to Pricing is shown below. Your ad will run a total of 10 issues Pricing for advertising in our Hatokayah *Full Page $ Half Page $ Quarter Page $ Eighth Page $75.00 ADS IN COLOR $ additional

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28 Yahrzeit Candles Yahrzeit Candles are traditionally lit for the deceased at sundown on the eve of the anniversary of the death and on days Yizkor is said (the last day of Passover, second day of Shavuot, Yom Kippur and Shemini Atzeret. Calculating Yahrzeit Dates Yahrzeits are commemorated on the Jewish calendar anniversary of the deceased s death (not burial). To find the corresponding Hebrew calendar date to the secular date of death visit hebcal.com. YAHRZEITS Yahrzeit begins at sunset of the day preceding the date listed Name Observed on (civil) Jewish Harry Goldfisher Sunday, 2/1/2015 Shevat 12, 5775 Berman, Lenore beloved father Lenore Rose Levy Sunday, 2/1/2015 Shevat 12, 5775 Jacobi, Mordecai beloved mother in law Anna Sigelman Sunday, 2/1/2015 Shevat 12, 5775 Sigelman, Arthur & Diane beloved grandmother of Arthur Muriel Adelman Monday, 2/2/2015 Shevat 13, 5775 Duskin, Sanford & Yvette beloved mother of Yvette Samuel Beckman Monday, 2/2/2015 Shevat 13, 5775 Beckman, Jeffrey beloved father of Jeffrey

29 YAHRZEITS LISTED IN OUR CALENDAR Yahrzeit begins at sunset of the day preceding the date listed Name Observed on (civil) Jewish Diane Feld Monday, 2/2/2015 Shevat 13, 5775 Feld, Karen beloved mother in law Sidney Lachman Wednesday, 2/4/2015 Shevat 15, 5775 Bogatz, Joseph & Ellen beloved father of Ellen Sara Ben-Aron Thursday, 2/5/2015 Shevat 16, 5775 Ben-Aron, Marvin beloved mother of Marvin Ben-Aron, Ronnie beloved mother of Ronnie Ilse Weingarten Friday, 2/6/2015 Shevat 17, 5775 Kaplan, Ruth beloved sister of Ruth Robert Noah Rothman Saturday, 2/7/2015 Shevat 18, 5775 Rachman, Arlene beloved brother of Arlene Sara Chaplin Sunday, 2/8/2015 Shevat 19, 5775 Chaplin, Israel & Tova beloved mother of Israel Julius Kaplan Sunday, 2/8/2015 Shevat 19, 5775 Kaplan, Ruth beloved husband of Ruth Benjamin Kerin Sunday, 2/8/2015 Shevat 19, 5775 Gordon, Betty beloved father of Betty Joseph Gillerman Monday, 2/9/2015 Shevat 20, 5775 Gillerman, Mark & Lenora beloved father of Mark Emille Abitbol Tuesday, 2/10/2015 Shevat 21, 5775 Myerson, Shoshana beloved mother of Shoshana

30 YAHRZEITS Yahrzeit begins at sunset of the day preceding the date listed Name Observed on (civil) Jewish Zehre Badoch Tuesday, 2/10/2015 Shevat 21, 5775 Kruger, Norman & Hadassah beloved mother of Hadassah Morris Duberstein Tuesday, 2/10/2015 Shevat 21, 5775 Duberstein, Marshall & Diane beloved father of Marshall Sylvia Fleischer Tuesday, 2/10/2015 Shevat 21, 5775 Eison, Howard & Karen beloved mother of Karen Ann Aronstein Monday, 2/16/2015 Shevat 27, 5775 Beiles, Arnold & Susan beloved mother of Susan Harry Fine Monday, 2/16/2015 Shevat 27, 5775 Lasser, Myron & Ruth beloved father of Ruth Mayer Apelbaum Tuesday, 2/17/2015 Shevat 28, 5775 Miller, Arthur & Leya beloved father of Leya Matilde Guindin Wednesday, 2/18/2015 Shevat 29, 5775 Guindin, Gregorio & Ilene beloved mother of Gregorio Lena Swaaley Wednesday, 2/18/2015 Shevat 29,5775 Swaaley, Michael & Sherry beloved grandmother of Michael Freida Klawsky Thursday, 2/19/2015 Shevat 30, 5775 Klawsky, Dorine beloved mother of Dorine Elaine Kaplan Friday, 2/20/2015 Adar 1, 5775 Kaplan, Ruth beloved daughter of Ruth

31 YAHRZEITS Yahrzeit begins at sunset of the day preceding the date listed Name Observed on (civil) Jewish Shemouel Rokshar Friday, 2/20/2015 Adar 1, 5775 Rokhsar, Emanuel & Eva beloved father of Emanuel Rose Gelb Saturday, 2/21/2015 Adar 2, 5775 Gelb, Thomas & Sonia beloved mother of Thomas Chaia Markinzon Monday, 2/23/2015 Adar 4, 5775 Chaplin, Israel & Tova beloved mother of Tova Ephraim Chazan Wednesday, 2/25/2015 Adar 6, 5775 Bender, Jack & Susan beloved of father of Susan Anna Elia Wednesday, 2/25/2015 Adar 6, 5775 Saltiel, Lewis beloved mother of Liliane Isidore Miller Wednesday, 2/25/2015 Adar 6, 5775 Cohen, Ira & Sherry beloved father of Sherry William Moskowitz Friday, 2/27/2015 Adar 8, 5775 Moskowitz, Roy & Ann beloved father of Roy Gilbert Austein Saturday, 2/28/2015 Adar 9, 5775 Austein, Lance & Stacey beloved father of Lance Miriam Garber Saturday, 2/28/2015 Adar 9, 5775 Garber, Stuart & Florence beloved grandmother of Stuart Garber, Robert & Zinc Diaconeescu Beloved grandmother of Robert

32 Congregation B nai Jeshurun 275 Martling Avenue Staten Island, New York TIME VALUE Or Current Resident Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 55 Staten Island, NY