Bulletin from the Board- Robert Neusner

Transcription

1 Editor Karen Bartels home phone Newsletter of the Congregation Kehilat Shalom of Belle Mead, NJ June/July 2014 Sivan Av 5773 Congregation Kehilat Shalom 253 Griggstown Rd. Belle Mead, NJ Phone: Fax: Regular office hours: M-W 8:30-4pm T-Th 8:30-6pm F-8:30-2:30pm Rabbi Susan Falk President Susan Waskow Administrator Robin Bengochea Religious School Principal Shari Rothstein Lay Cantor Kate Mende-Fridkis Board of Trustees Officers of the Board 1st Vice President Iris Rubinstein 2nd Vice President Robert Neusner Past President Stacey Anderson Treasurer Ron Lubin Financial Secretary Steve Weinstein Recording Secretary Debbie Gartenberg Corresponding Secretary Sheryl Rosenberg Trustees Tom Berger Leonard Edelstein Michael Galkin Alexis Greenberg Marc Rosenberg Amy Rosenthal Affiliate: Jewish Reconstructionist Federation Published by: Bulletin from the Board- Robert Neusner Seven Interesting Things from the Annual Meeting of the Little Congregation that Can May 18th was an important day which was marked by the end of Religious School and the annual meeting of Congregation Kehilat Shalom. It was also the first time in three years my pickup truck has been clean courtesy of the Kehiloft Car Wash. I had forgotten it was supposed to be white! We had an excellent turnout and wish to thank all of those who participated and partook in the gourmet meal provided. In case you weren t there, here are some highlights: 1. We Have Much to Be Thankful For. Our president, Susan Waskow, opened by sharing that we are now 117 families strong. In a time when most synagogues are experiencing declining membership, we continue to grow. The Religious School implemented the Torah Tech online education program with excellent positive reviews and it will take our students to new levels of achievement in their Jewish studies. 2. The Budget Will Balance Again with Your Help. It appears that we will come in right on the nose for the current fiscal year which ends in June. More importantly, we are starting with a good financial foundation for the upcoming fiscal year. Susan highlighted that dues do not cover all of our operating expenses and that donations will be critical to ensuring that we can achieve the same result next year. 3. Rabbis x 2. Plans were shared for Rabbi Susan s sabbatical next year. Student Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner will be joining us again, both to serve the congregation in Rabbi Susan s absence and to support additional programming, thanks to a grant from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. 4. Toilets Really. Over the last two years, we have replaced the decrepit CKS sign by the road and added moving walls that have allowed the Religious School to make much better use of the existing synagogue footprint. Next on the list are the admittedly awful bathrooms. Proposals are pending from contractors and fundraising letters will be issued shortly in which congregants will be asked to Be a sweetie and sponsor a seatie (OK, I made that up but you get the gist of the opportunity). 5. Your Board. Most of the current board will be continuing with one fantastic addition. Amy Rosenthal has joined the board as a trustee. Many of you know that Amy has been an integral part of our website and social media efforts (among many other things). She has a great grasp of how things really run at CKS and a willingness to roll up her sleeves and get things done. Congratulations to Amy. 6. Land Sale. Gary Gartenberg provided an update on the potential sale of our land. The short story is that Montgomery Township is interested in buying the land and preserving it as open space, with the potential for a trail or other public benefits. If this works out, we will obtain significant funds that can upgrade our financial foundation while ensuring that the land is not developed and becomes an asset to the entire community. It is likely that it will take at least six more months before a concrete proposal is in hand, which would then need to be approved at a special meeting of the congregation. continued on page 2 Proofreader: Shana Bartels

2 CKS Donations CKS gratefully acknowledges the generosity of our members and friends. DONATIONS General Herb & Eleanor Tillman Janis and Alan Todd in memory of Barbara Pulvers in memory of Felix Barondess Jackie & Jeff Barth In memory of Matilda Falk Judy Forster Steve Birnbaum & Chris Ferrara Eric Weitze Tikkun Olam Matt & Amy Rosenthal Jackie & Jeff Barth Rabbi s Discretionary Fund Bob Sohor in memory of Naoma Sohor Bob Sohor Jeremy Perlmutter Steve Weinstein Janis & Alan Todd Merle & Gil Brown Barbara Lehman Did you know that dues only cover half of the CKS annual budget? Please donate. continued 7. Various Virtuous Volunteers. Three exceptional individuals were recognized as Volunteers of the Year for their contributions over many years: Sharon Underberg-Davis, Bill Ries and Sue Krisiloff. They will be recognized on plaques in the sanctuary. More importantly, please stop them, shake their hand and say a heartfelt thank you to them. Rabbi Susan thanked the congregation for their support during the illness and passing of her mother, which was an important reminder of the many ways we have all supported each other through times joyful and sad over the last year. Lastly, let us take a moment to recognize Shari Rothstein, outgoing Religious School Principal, for her incredible contributions to our synagogue and the education of our children. For those of you that have not heard, Shari will be assuming a full-time position with a large Jewish educational program and leaves with our warmest wishes and deepest gratitude. We are in the process of identifying a new principal and will keep the Congregation apprised. Robert Neusner, 2nd Vice President LASHIR- the Jewish Community Choir of Princeton Spring Concert LASHIR, the Jewish Community Choir of Princeton, will present their annual Spring concert on Sunday, June 8, at 2 p.m. at the Princeton Jewish Center, 435 Nassau Street. LASHIR, the oldest independent Jewish community choir in New Jersey, is celebrating thirtyfour years of performing. Singing only in Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino (the language of the Jews of Spain), LASHIR is conducted by Dr. Marsha Bryan Edelman, renowned expert in Jewish music. Dr. Edelman, lecturer, teacher, conductor and adviser to television shows, returns for her fourth year at the helm of this popular choir. The concert is free and open to the public, reception to follow.

3 Message from the Rabbi A WORD OF THANKS AND WHAT I DID ON MY SABBATICAL First, let me express to you, my fellow congregants, how grateful I am for all the support you showed me during the time of my mother s passing. Thank you for all the cards, s, and donations; for showing up to the funeral and shiva; for all the warm hands and hearts. It meant so much to me! Having the time during my sabbatical to spend with my mom during her final weeks of her life was a gift. Of course, given this, my Sabbatical was not exactly what I had originally envisioned but here are some highlights: Yiddish at YIVO: Naturally, I did not learn to speak fluent Yiddish in one semester, but I so enjoyed learning some basic conversational vocabulary and expressions (beyond chutzpah and verklempt!), how to read Yiddish in the original Hebrew characters, as well as the grammar of this rich language that contains so much of the soul of the Jewish people. I also enjoyed being in class with a diverse group of adults from professors to retired diplomats to writers to people who just wanted to learn the language of their grandparents. (I was the only rabbi!) The Desert: My partner and I spent five days hiking in the desert of Southern California. Climbing up steep ridges, we were treated to wide vistas; walking from oasis to oasis of virgin palms, we scrambled over the rocks of the narrow streams, trying to catch glimpses of rare birds, and hoping to reach the small waterfalls at the summit. I ve always loved the desert, whether in Israel or California or elsewhere. There s something about the air and sky and stark but stunningly beautiful landscape that feels purifying to the soul and cleansing to the mind. There s something about hiking along dirt trails versus city streets that straightens out the body. And there s nothing like a desert night-time sky to make you realize your place in the universe. Institute for Jewish Spirituality Retreat: I m an alumna now of this program, and so this time, found myself with a whole new group of rabbis and cantors with whom to learn, to sing, to pray, to eat and meditate in silence, and to stretch with in yoga class. This being my third year at this beautiful site in the Simi Valley just north of Los Angeles, I became acutely aware of the terrible drought in this part of our country. Perhaps the most moving moment of the retreat was when one of the cantors sang the Prayer for Rain one night after dinner. Sometimes we take our liturgy for granted or don t think it pertains to our modern lives. This was one of those times when one feels the lasting power and wisdom of Jewish tradition. Favorite Books: It was great to have so much time to read. I ve always been a devourer of fiction but since becoming a rabbi, I haven t had as much time for the fun novel or book of poetry. Here are some of my favorites: The World to Come by Dara Horn. This masterfully written novel about an art theft was peopled with fascinating characters both real (like Marc Chagall and Der Nister, the Yiddish writer) and imagined, and was filled with illusions of the mystery of life and death from the Torah, Talmud, and Midrash. I can t wait to read some of this author s other works! Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut. It was great fun to read something by Vonnegut again: the short, punchy sentences, the absurd and ironic wit that never stops poking fun at humanity, and never stops revealing to us who we are in all our glory and darkness. Written in 1985, this time Vonnegut tackles the topic of evolution only in reverse and tells the story of how our species ends up returning to the seas. A great read! Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by the American poet, Richard Bly. What can one say about the poems of Rilke? If you ve never read anything by him, you should. With all this, it s good to be home again with you all at CKS. Come say hello and let me know what you ve been doing. B shalom, Rabbi Susan

4 Mark you calendar for Religious School OPENING DAY Sunday, September 7, 2014 CKS RELIGIOUS SCHOOL MONTHLY NEWS June/July 2014 Dear CKS Families, It has been wonderful being your principal for the last five years. I will greatly miss all of the relationships I have formed with you and your children. Thank you for a beautiful send off at our closing day and all of the generous gifts and sentiments. This time with you at Congregation Kehilat Shalom has been a significant milestone in my Jewish journey, both personally and professionally. You have all welcomed me into this community with warmth and open arms. For this, I am most appreciative. On July 1, I will begin my new role as Associate Director of Religious School at Temple Emanu-El of Westfield, New Jersey. It is hard to say goodbye so I will just say, L hitraot until we meet again. Shari Rothstein HIGHLIGHTS from the last day of Religious School Our special guest, Marilyn Price teaching us how to use puppets. Thank you Karen Fridkis! Morah Shari & Rabbi Susan Register Now for Religious School Registration materials for next year are available on our website: On the top menu bar, click Education and drop down to Religious School K-7, then on the left menu click on Registration. Please sign up soon so we can plan for class size, staff and for text book orders. CKS Religious School Expands Torah T.E.C.H. Torah T.E.C.H. (Tutoring Each Child in Hebrew) was designed to help our students reinforce their Hebrew skills, outside of the classroom. It was such a success with our 5th and 6th graders that we will be expanding the program to include 4th graders in school year. All 4th, 5th and 6th graders will participate in one-onone Skype video meetings, with a Hebrew teacher, for thirty minutes each lesson. Each lesson is focused on providing students with an interactive review of their in-class Hebrew lesson, concentrating on their individual needs. Kehiloft teens welcome the 7th graders into Kehiloft for the year

5 KehiLoft As we near the end of the school year, we also near the end of Kehiloft. For this reason we held a meeting in which we invited the 7 th graders. This was designed as an opportunity to show potential members what Kehiloft is like. I think the meeting showed us that while we are sad to see our senior member leave, we have a good group to look forward to next year. A few days later we led Friday night Shabbat services which is something that we do several times a year. An interesting thing about this time is that we had the same parsha for one of our services last year. Although we sang the song from last year again this year, we took the discussion in an entirely different direction which I felt yielded much success. We held a social session in the beginning of May. This involved just hanging out and playing a board game in sanctuary. The next meeting we had was a meeting with Rabbi Susan. In a discussion that spanned from Yiddish, to her sabbatical, to Klezmer music, we learned a lot. It was also great to welcome her back from her sabbatical. As I said earlier, the year is coming to an end, and as the last day of religious school comes we will be doing a carwash, as well as continuing our handprint fundraiser project. The adults of the congregation will be given the opportunity to paint their hand or thumbprints on the stairwell. We will also be contributing to the religious school graduation ceremony. I wish everybody luck with the rest of the year. Derek Schneider JUNE Wednesday, June 4-6:00-8:00. Dinner in Princeton Sunday, June 22 - All day. Field trip to the Lower East Side, NYC Friday, June 27-7:30-9:30 Kehiloft graduation Shabbat service Shalom, Karen Fridkis, Education Director of Kehiloft

6 Homefront Picnic- May 17 Face Painting Chacha Slide Tent Rock, paper, scissors 6

7 June 2014 S M T W T F S :00 PM Kehiloft 5 6 Family Shabbat Services 7 9:15 AM Jay Garg Bar Mitzvah Kindercapers Graduation 12 Board Meeting 13 Shabbat Services 14 9:15 AM Vivian Milich Bat Mitzvah Education Committee Shabbat Services Ritual Committee Meeting Membership Committee Kehiloft Graduation & Shabbat Services 28 july S M T W T F S Board Meeting Education Committee

8 Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Princeton, NJ Permit No Griggstown Road, Belle Mead, NJ Listserve contact Fulfilling the religious, educational and social needs of our Jewish community since Current resident or: June-July 2014 Whom to contact for Adult Education Meryl Bisberg Beautification Debbie Gartenberg Billing/Payments Robin Bengochea ext. 1 admin@ksnj.org B nai Mitzvah (helpers, celebrations) Meryl Orlando Board of Trustees 2 nd Thurs Susan Waskow president@ksnj.org Building/Grounds/Décor Andy Sokel andsok@aol.com Building Usage/Access Robin Bengochea ext. 1 admin@ksnj.org By-Laws Victor Elgort vselgort@nmmlaw.com Congregants Assistance Rabbi Falk ext. 3 Fund rabbi@ksnj.org Education 1st Wed. Jill Fraticelli and Chrisine Witt Financial Committee Debbie Gartenberg Steve Weinstein Fundraising Debbie Gartenberg Gift Shop Susan Waskow Iris Rubenstein Hospitality(Kiddush & Oneg) Natalie London Kindercapers Natalie London Kehi-Loft Karen Fridkis Life Cycle (Caring for each other) Sheryl Rosenberg swellcourt@verizon.net Joseph Weiss Long Range Planning josephhobartweiss@verizon.net Ron Lubin Marketing Bob Neusner Membership Jim Ohls Pastoral Emergencies Rabbi Susan Falk Personnel Jeff Barth Publicity Bob Neusner Rabbi's Liaison Debbie Tesser Holly Nelson Ritual Iris Rubinstein Technology- Internet and Marketing Amy Rosenthal webmaster@ksnj.org Technology - Computer and Networking Michael Galkin Tikkun Olam Michael Galkin Debbie Gartenberg Deadline for next newsletter: July 15 th 2014 by CKS. All rights reserved. Permission required for reuse. The CKS Newsletter is published monthly, except July. Deadline is the 15 th of each month. Every effort will be made to publish contributed items, but due to space restrictions, placement and format are at the discretion of the editor. Advertising Policy. You can advertise in this newsletter to inform the community of your business or profession. Advertising is accepted based on its interest and applicability to our readership. Location in the newsletter is at the editor s discretion. CKS does not necessarily endorse or vouch for the products and services of our advertisers. The newsletter is published 11 times per year (no issue in July). a file with the art to the editor, or provide camera-ready art on clean, white background. Advertiser responsibility to meet deadlines. Rates are low and must be paid in advance. For information and a rate sheet, please contact the temple office.