THE BETH A M APRIL 2017 NISSAN IYAR 5777 Did you know that there is a site index tool on the Beth Am website? If you are trying to find a particular section of the website quickly, click on the site index link in the upper right corner of the Beth Am website. IN THIS ISSUE: Remembering the Holocaust PAGE 3 for families with children ages 0-5: Presented by Jewish Baby Network Sunday, April 2, - 5 P.M., Offsite A program with activities for young children. 1st night of passover seder match: Let All Who Are Hungry Come and Eat Monday, April 10, Hosted in Congregants Homes Sign up required by Thursday, April 6. annual 2nd night community seder: Led by Cantor Jaime Shpall Tuesday, April 11, 6 P.M., Social Hall Sign up required by Thursday, April 6. CELEBRATE WITH BETH : Passover 2017/5777 PASSOVER BEGINS MONDAY NIGHT, APRIL 10 Each year, Passover calls us to remember the exodus from Egypt as if we, personally, had journeyed from slavery to freedom. As we retell this story, we pray that one day all people who are still enslaved will be free. While Passover is primarily a festival centered in the home, Beth Am offers several opportunities to celebrate as a community. Learn more at: www.betham.org/passover5776 sweet & savory seder with beth am women: A Festive and Delicious Event Led by Rabbi Sarah Weissman Thursday, April 13, 6 P.M., Social Hall Details on page 3. Sign up required by Tuesday, April 11. passover festival and yizkor service: Led by Rabbi Marder and Cantor Shpall Monday, April 17, 9:30 A.M., Beit Kehillah (Followed by Brunch) We gather as a community to create a peaceful time of prayer, song and remembrance. Brunch sign up required. Scholar Dr. Avivah Zornberg PAGE 8 Guthaner Lecturer Dr. Arie Dubnov PAGE 8 BETH S 62ND ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL Meeting & Dinner Pay Tribute to Outgoing Beth Am President Loree Farrar SUNDAY APRIL 9, 4 P.M. MEETING; 5:15 P.M. DINNER At this meeting, we will pay tribute to our outgoing President, Loree Farrar, and welcome our next President, Bruce Ives. To honor our new president, who is CEO of LifeMoves, an organization serving homeless individuals and families, we are collecting cleaning supplies for clients to use when they enter permanent housing. Visit www.betham.org/helplm for a list of suggested items. We will also hear our annual Treasurer s Report from Jay Hirsh, honor outgoing board members, and vote in new and returning board members. Following the meeting is a congregational dinner in the Social Hall to honor Loree Farrar. Attending the Annual Meeting is a great way to get to know the community and our leadership. Dinner cost is $15 per adult, $10 per child. To register for the dinner by Thursday, April 6, log on to the Beth Am Members Site at www.betham.org/members and click on the event registration link. Or download, complete and return the registration form, available at www. betham.org/annualmeeting2017, to the Beth Am main office. CONTACT US AT (650) 493-4661
From Rabbi Sarah Weissman Our Sacred Duty Paying taxes may not seem like a spiritual experience, but it is a mitzvah... The month of April has arrived, and with it, a season of renewal and connection to our religious and moral commitments. Passover is the Jewish holiday that the highest number of Jewish Americans celebrate, even the most secular Jews among us. We will gather around the seder table and tell the master story of the Jewish People. It is a time for connecting to family, tradition and our most cherished values values of freedom, justice and the dignity and worth of all human beings. But I m not just referring to Passover. The season of renewal and connection to religious commitments also refers, in my mind, to April 15, Tax Day. Paying taxes may not seem like a spiritual experience, but it is a mitzvah, a sacred duty (pun intended) and a very Jewish act. From biblical times, Jewish law expected members of the community to support communal institutions as well as individuals in need. Through practices like the sabbatical year, the tithe, and peah (the corner of the field), Israelites were obligated to pay portions of their crops to support needy individuals as well as the main communal institution, the Tent of Meeting, and those who served it. So we read, When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger (Lev. 19:9-10). And,...every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your yield that year then the Levite, who has no hereditary portion as you have, and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your settlements shall come and eat their fill (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). These laws do not describe voluntary charitable donations, but obligatory contributions to the community. Later Jewish law expands on this notion of contributing to the common good. In fact, the suggests that a wise person should only live in a city that has the following public institutions: a court, a charity fund collected and distributed by officials, a synagogue, a public bathhouse, a public restroom, a doctor, a surgeon, a scribe, a butcher and a teacher of young children ( Sanhedrin 17b). In other words, Jewish tradition describes the ideal community as having a judicial system, a welfare program and public access to safe food, healthcare and education. So as we file our tax returns this year, instead of grumbling about having to give away our hardearned money (or at least in addition to grumbling), we can take this opportunity to be grateful for the good that our taxes do: the roads we drive on, the public schools that all children can attend, the social programs that support the neediest members of our community. And we can also take stock of where our tax system falls short, and commit ourselves to advocating for our local and federal governments to create and maintain the kind of society that we want to live in a society in which all of its members can live in security, freedom and dignity. Chag Sameach Happy Passover and Happy Tax Day! Tzedek Update Network Join An Email List Notifying Recipients of Important Tzedek Events and Opportunities These are tense times for Americans, and for many of our friends and neighbors. Beth Am is eager to be a force for good in our community, and to mobilize our members on behalf of causes that reflect our Jewish values and priorities. Beth Am is creating a Tzedek (Social Justice) Update Network a special email list that will allow us to promote important events and opportunities, and to respond quickly when there is an urgent need for action. If you d like to be included in this new network, please fill out the online form at: bitly.com/tzedeknetwork PAGE 2
REMEMBERING THE HOLOCAUST & ACTS OF COURAGE: Elie Wiesel s Legacy A Beacon of Humanity and Hope JEWISH FILM SERIES PRESENTS Watchers of the Sky SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 7 P.M., SANCTUARY For the Dead and for the Living, We Must Bear Witness. These are the words of Elie Wiesel, who passed away on January 2, 2016. This year s South Peninsula Yom HaShoah v HaGevurah Service of Remembrance focuses on this great humanitarian, Nobel Prize winner, author and survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Death March to Buchenwald. The ceremony will feature Wiesel s writings, as well as songs, music, prayer and artwork as we honor those who perished and those who survived. SATURDAY, APRIL 15, P.M., BEIT KEHILLAH The Sundance award-winning film Watchers of the Sky examines the life and legacy of the Polish-Jewish lawyer and linguist who coined the term genocide. Before Raphael Lemkin, the notion of accountability for war crimes was virtually non-existent. After experiencing the barbarity of the Holocaust firsthand, Lemkin devoted his life to convincing the international community that there must be legal retribution for mass atrocities targeted at minorities. An impassioned visionary, Lemkin confronted world apathy in a tireless battle for justice, setting the stage for the creation of the International Criminal Court. This program is free; all are welcome and refreshments will be served. BETH WOMEN Sweet & Savory Seder A Festive and Delicious Social Justice Seder led by Rabbi Sarah Weissman THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 6 P.M., SOCIAL HALL Beth Am Women is celebrating our 25th women s seder this year! Please join us to raise our collective voices in joyful song and prayer, and to stand together to affirm our belief in social justice and recommit to repairing our world. Bring your mothers, daughters, grandmothers, granddaughters and friends to make this a truly multi-generational evening! The evening will begin with wine, appetizers and socializing at 6 P.M. The seder will begin promptly at 6:45 P.M. Early bird registration (by April 3): Individual: $15; Guests (daughters, granddaughters, mothers, grandmothers): $8 each If registering after April 3: Individual: $18; Guests (daughters, granddaughters, mothers, grandmothers): $10 each Please plan to bring a dish for the seder. For details about what to bring and to register by Tuesday, April 11, visit: www.betham.org/ BAWseder2017 PAGE 3
Calendar MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY CONGREGATION BETH S A T U R D A Y For a more detailed SUNDAY calendar, visit APRIL 2017 30 1 1 11:45 Beit Midrash Sunday Morning Walkers Sunday Program Hebrew Tutoring ZIMRIYAH: Jr. Choir Teen 3:00 Wise Aging Passover Together NFTY CWR 8TH GRADE BOARDWALK OVERNIGHT Tizmoret Shabbat Service 7 Adult Hebrew Level B 25 11:00 B Breakfast Adult Hebrew Level F 4:45 5:30 Salsa Bar Tuesday Night Program Confirmation Adult Hebrew Level B2 26 24 6:30 7:15 Hagigah Adult Hebrew Level D Ballroom Dancing Adult Hebrew Level A BAW Rosh Chodesh Thursday Morning Minyan Adult Hebrew Level C Adult Hebrew Level E Advanced Conv. Hebrew Executive Committee Meeting 27 21 Shabbat Service in the Round BAW RETREAT 5:15 28 Tot Shabbat Service & Dinner Shabbat Service: Teacher Appreciation Shabbat Teacher Appreciation Dinner Asilomar Adult Learning Retreat at Asilomar Is Early this Year! SAVE THE DATES: FRIDAY, JULY 7 TO SUNDAY, JULY 9 ASILOMAR CONFERENCE GROUNDS, PACIFIC GROVE, CA Mark your calendars for Beth Am s retreat at Asilomar! More information about the weekend will be coming soon. 8 Tot Shabbat Service Shabbat Salon Performance: The Mitzvah Project Bar Mitzvah Service: Walsh Jewish Film Series: Watchers of the Sky BETH HOSTS HOME & HOPE BETH HOSTS HOME & HOPE 1 9:15 15 22 Israeli TV Show Screenings: Shtisel 20 Thursday Morning Minyan Adult Hebrew Level C Adult Hebrew Level E BAW Chai Mitzvah Knitzvah Group Advanced Conv. Hebrew Atid Meeting Shabbat Service BETH HOSTS HOME & HOPE BAW RETREAT Hagigah Mah Jongg Adult Hebrew Level A BAW Sweet & Savory Seder Tinnitus Support Group 7:15 6:45 Adult Hebrew Level B2 Family Learning Task Force Thursday Morning Minyan 14 19 Adult Hebrew Level F BETH HOSTS HOME & HOPE 13 11:00 Beit R fuah Ballroom Dancing B Photography Group 18 BETH HOSTS HOME & HOPE 6:30 2nd Night Community Seder BAW Yoga Group Community Yom HaShoah Event BAW Board Meeting Board Meeting Passover Festival & Yizkor Service, Followed by Brunch Beit Midrash Sunday Morning Walkers Sunday Program Hebrew Tutoring Camp Beth Am 1 11:45 BAW RETREAT 23 6 9:30 17 12 YOM HASHOAH Thursday Morning Minyan Meditation Class Ballroom Dancing BAW Book Group 6:30 5 7TH DAY OF PASSOVER OFFICE CLOSED BETH HOSTS HOME & HOPE 11 PASSOVER OFFICE CLOSED 10 16 4 1ST NIGHT OF PASSOVER OFFICE CLOSED AT, NOON 1st Night of Passover Seder Match BETH HOSTS HOME & HOPE Past Presidents Breakfast Confirmation Annual Congregational Meeting & Dinner 9 Jewish Literature Class 3 Jewish Baby Network Family Passover Celebration (offsite) Gesharim Program: Oral History Workshop B nei Mitzvah Service: Rawlinson/McFarland www.betham.org 2 10:00 Chicken Soupers 29 Bar Mitzvah Service: Parker
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Bruce Ives & Barrett Moore Meet Bruce Ives, Beth Am s new president, his wife, Barrett Moore, and their kids: Olivia (21), Teija (21), Eddie (18) and Russell (16). Bruce is a Midwesterner, born in Cleveland. After graduating from law school at UC Berkeley, he worked for the Los Angeles Public Defender s office. In 1991, while working on John Van de Kamp s gubernatorial campaign, he fell in love with Barrett, a fellow campaign worker and 6th generation Californian, born in San Francisco. They were married in 1993 and moved back to the Bay Area to start their family. Bruce became District Director for Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, then spent 19 years at Hewlett-Packard, where he held diverse positions of increasing managerial responsibility. He also founded and led the legal team s Pro Bono project, helping countless tenants, veterans and women facing domestic violence. In April, 2015 Bruce moved to the non-profit sector, becoming CEO of LifeMoves (formerly Innvision Shelter Network), the largest and most effective nonprofit committed to ending the cycle of homelessness for families and individuals in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Bruce says his most important priorities in life are family, service and baseball. Barrett is deeply focused on creating social change. She says: My heart is with the working poor creating community, building opportunities for people. Coming from a working-class family and now living in an affluent area makes me especially aware of disparities and inequities. Those unjust disparities make me angry, and I try to address them with every hour of free time I have. Barrett works at two soup kitchens, and teaches English to new immigrant women at a Catholic Worker house in Redwood City. She describes herself as passionate about kindness, justice and equity also baseball snacks. Barrett is not Jewish, but was fully supportive of giving their children a Jewish education. She and Bruce are grateful to Beth Am for providing their kids with Jewish learning, grounding in solid values and a sense of connection to the Jewish community worldwide. Bruce s first Beth Am involvement was serving on the Re-Imagine Task Force that was exploring the transformation of our youth education programs, providing a valuable perspective from his years as an elected Trustee of the Menlo Park School Board. He then joined the Board of Directors, serving as treasurer. He sees his role as Beth Am s president as a rewarding opportunity to serve. When I m asked to help, I always want to say yes. Beth Am has great clergy and strong, active lay leaders. The congregation has provided support to us and our children at significant junctures in our life. I felt that this was a place where I could really contribute in terms of sharing my skills, experience and values. Barrett takes credit for bringing her husband to the attention of our congregational leadership. I was walking the Dish with then-president Rachel Tasch. I said to her, Bruce is an amazing gift as a person you should get to know him! I knew that getting him involved would be good for Bruce and good for Beth Am. Teacher Appreciation Shabbat FRIDAY, APRIL 28, P.M., SANCTUARY Congregation Beth Am is blessed to have an incredible staff of dedicated teachers. Our teachers work each week to instill a love of Judaism and Israel in our students; a love that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Please come honor our teachers at the Teacher Appreciation Shabbat service, as we invite our teachers to receive a special blessing. Hagigah Spring Play SATURDAY, MAY 6, 3 P.M. & SUNDAY, MAY 7, 10 A.M. SOCIAL HALL Come see Beth Am s Hagigah performers in their original play, We Speak for the Forest. Join Tova and Honi on their quest to discover the importance of taking care of the Earth! Hagigah is a Beth Am Youth Education program in which children explore Jewish topics through the production of a winter play and spring musical. This year s theme is tikkun olam. Come support our young performers! PAGE 6
. Congratulations. A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT Moral Grandeur & Spiritual Audacity Dear Bruce, You have just landed the best job in the world. Being President of Congregation Beth Am is truly an honor and a privilege. You will be recipient of the passions of our passionate members who want to make our congregation better. You will get to lead an amazing, hard-working Board of Directors. You will work closely with all of our talented clergy, seeing a side of them that few are privy to. You will get to know our quietly competent staff, in the office and on our campus. Within the Union for Reform Judaism, you will be queried by those who want to do what Beth Am has done, seeking insight from you so that they can copy our successes. You are a lucky man. And the pay is outstanding: The trust of the congregation. The time spent with Rabbi Marder, envisioning what this congregation can become. An opportunity to strengthen an organization you love. You just can t buy that stuff. I, and all of Beth Am s past presidents, stand ready to help you in any way you need, whether with moral support, a listening ear to explore ideas or willing hands. But, just in case I m not around, here are my top ten hints for being a successful President. Read them at: www.betham.org/tenhints L Shalom, Loree Farrar President@betham.org Shtisel Screening of Episodes 4 and 5 SATURDAY, APRIL 22, P.M., BEIT KEHILLAH Come watch the fourth and fifth episodes of the enormously popular Israeli TV series Shtisel. This engaging drama tells the story of a fictional Orthodox Haredi Jewish family living in the Geula neighborhood of present-day Jerusalem. Rabbi Marder will lead a discussion following the screening. This program is free; refreshments will be served. WHO MAKES LEGACY GIFTS? Everyone Legacy giving means preparing a gift that will go to Beth Am after your death, to ensure that your values and priorities live on and costing you nothing during your lifetime. Many of you reading this may think, I m too young to think about legacy giving, or I m not wealthy enough These are some of the myths we d like to debunk here MYTH: Only wealthy people make legacy gifts. TRUTH: 58% of legacy gifts are made by people with incomes under $75,000. MYTH: Complex planning and expensive attorneys are needed to plan a legacy gift. TRUTH: 80% of legacy gifts are made simply by listing an organization as a beneficiary of a will, retirement plan or insurance policy. Designating a charitable beneficiary of a retirement fund or life insurance policy is as simple as filling out a new form with the holder of your account or policy. No additional paperwork or attorneys needed. MYTH: Only old people establish legacy gifts. TRUTH: The fastest growing group of legacy donors is those under the age of 55, who represent a total of 43% of planned bequests. Forty-four is the average age at which a will is made, and 49 is the average age when the first charitable bequest is planned. MYTH: The primary reason for legacy giving is for estate and tax planning. TRUTH: 97% of people create legacy gifts because they love an organization and want to be sure its work continues. Is that you? Whether you are preparing your first will and estate plan or updating an old one, consider adding a small percentage gift to Beth Am and your other favorite charities. Join with the 111 Beth Am households who are part of our Builders Circle legacy donors and leave your own legacy here in this special place that we love! For more information, please visit www.betham.org/legacygiving or contact Mandy Eisner at meisner@betham.org or call (650) 493-4661, ext. 211. PAGE 7
50% Recycled Chlorine Free Printing CONGREGATION BETH 26790 Arastradero Road Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #121 CONGREGATION BETH LOS ALTOS HILLS, CA BETH IS HONORED TO WELCOME Dr. Avivah Zornberg Speaking on And I Am a Stranger: Becoming Ruth THURSDAY, MAY 4, 7 P.M., SANCTUARY Ruth is a stranger in more senses than one. Who is this unknown woman who is destined to become the mother of royalty? How does she find her way into a foreign and unwelcoming culture and religious tradition? Dr. Avivah Zornberg, a world-renowned scholar, holds a PhD in English Literature from Cambridge University. For the past thirty years, she has taught Torah in Jerusalem at Matan, Yakar, Pardes and the Jerusalem College for Adults. She has published many outstanding books, including Genesis: The Beginning of Desire, which won the National Jewish Book Award. She travels widely, lecturing in Jewish, academic and psychoanalytic settings. BETH WELCOMES Dr. Arie Dubnov Sponsored by the Ernst Guthaner Fund for Cultural & Educational Programming SUNDAY, MAY 7: P.M. LECTURE, SANCTUARY; FOLLOWED BY A CATERED RECEPTION (RSVP REQUIRED) SOCIAL HALL Beth Am welcomes Guthaner lecturer Dr. Arie Dubnov, Associate Professor of History and Chair of Israel Studies, George Washington University and Senior Lecturer in the Department of History at Haifa University in Israel. Dr. Dubnov will give a presentation entitled Between Zionism, Liberalism and Diaspora: The Case of Isaiah Berlin and Its Relevance to Contemporary Dilemmas. This year s Guthaner lecture gives us a fascinating opportunity to ponder contemporary debates over Zionism and anti-zionism on the left by studying the life and thought of Sir Isaiah Berlin (1909 97), a prominent Russian-Jewish-British philosopher, political thinker and public intellectual. To attend the reception after Dr. Dubnov s talk, sign up is required by Sunday, April 30 using the form at: www.betham.org/guthaner2017 Each year the Guthaner Fund makes possible outstanding cultural events for our Beth Am community, including musical programs, lecturers and scholars-in-residence.