Congregation Sons of Abraham Volume XXIX, No. 4 April, 2011 Pesach, 5771 Passover Worship Schedule Tuesday April 19 10:20 a.m. Monday April 25 10:20 a.m. Wednesday April 20 10:20 a.m. Tuesday April 26 10:20 a.m. YIZKOR at noon Help the Jewish poor observe Passover with dignity contribute to the CSOA Matzoh Fund. CSOA to Honor World War II Belgian Resistance Member On Sunday, May 1 st at 11 a.m. in the synagogue, in observance of Holocaust Days of Remembrance (May 1 st to 8th), Mary Rostad of Houston, Minnesota will be honored with a leaf on our Tree of Life. Mary is being recognized for her dedication to Holocaust education as a personal witness and community resource to area schools. Born in Brussels, Belgium, 16 yearold Mirelle Broullard joined the resistance against Germany. The com- Photo by Simcha Prombaum munity is invited to join CSOA s Sunday school to hear Mary s personal story from the war years to the present day. When Mary speaks, many important lessons for life emerge through her telling. Mary is also one of the earliest recipients of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (1986). Her class of 83 recipients, chosen out of 15,000 nominees, included Gregory Peck, Jackie Kennedy and Muhammad Ali. Services Weekly Shabbat Morning Service: 10:20 a.m. Inside this issue: From the Rabbi 2 AMOS Update 3 Social Action Comm. 3 Congregation Sons of Abraham 1820 Main Street La Crosse, WI 54601 (608) 784-2708 Simcha Prombaum... Rabbi Ed Neuman...President Mary Levine... JWL President www.lacrossesynagogue.org
From the Rabbi... Kosher for Pesach Basics The Torah commandment not to eat leavened food (chometz) on Passover (Pesach) includes all foods, drinks, and ingredients that are made from, or contain, a mixture of wheat, rye, oats, rice-flour and legumes. It is customary not to eat any chometz from 9:45 a.m. in the morning before the Seder (Monday, April 18) until the conclusion of the holiday (one hour after sundown on Tuesday, April 26). If I sold your chometz, please wait until 9:00 p.m. before retaking possession on April 26. The ceremony that marks the elimination of chometz from the home is called Bedikat Chometz. It should be performed after dinner on Sunday, April 17. Accompanied by family members and armed with candle, feather, spoon, and bag, the head of the family searches all the darkened rooms of the house for crumbs of chometz, some of which have been strategically placed in advance. These crumbs are to be burned (Biur Chometz) on Monday before 10:45 a.m. If your Haggadah does not provide the blessing and meditation recited at the evening or morning ceremony, or if you need the tools for the evening Bedikah, please call Simcha. GRAIN PRODUCTS. All grain products or mixtures of grain, such as cereals, breakfast foods, grain alcohol, grain vinegar, yeast and malts are forbidden. Legumes (e.g., peas, beans, peanuts, etc.), rice and corn are also not used on Pesach. Pesach foods containing flour, such as matzoh, cake, macaroons, and noodles, require special Passover rabbinical endorsement. PASSOVER RABBINICAL ENDORSEMENT means that the name of a rabbi or the symbol of a national agency, such as the Circle U and the words Kosher for Passover are printed on the package together. Endorsement is required for practically all processed foods including medicines, candy, wine, liquor, horseradish, vinegar and canned foods. MILK PRODUCTS. Milk products, such as milk, cream, cottage cheese, sour cream, and butter, do not need Passover rabbinical endorsement if bought before the holiday. Milk products purchased during the week of Passover do require rabbinical endorsement. All yogurt must have rabbinical endorsement. FROZEN VEGETABLES AND FRUITS require Passover rabbinical endorsement when produced by companies which also produce pasta blends or sugar added products. DRIED FRUITS. Figs, dates, prunes, apricots, raisins, and apples may be used during Pesach. Caution should be taken that they do not come in contact with chometz if they are bought in bulk. SPICES. Onion powder and paprika require rabbinical endorsement. All other spices are okay for use during Pesach. CANDIES. Only candy which has rabbinical endorsement on each wrapper, or is packed in a sealed box with the endorsement printed, not pasted, on the container may be used. A label that reads Kosher for Pesach without the proper rabbinical endorsement is not sufficient. BEVERAGES. Soft drinks and any carbonated beverage, including unflavored mineral water, require rabbinical endorsement. OTHER PRODUCTS REQUIRING PASSOVER RABBINICAL SUPERVISION: Commercially-ground coffee, cottonseed oil, fruit juice, ices, ice cream, mayonnaise, ketchup, vegetable shortening, peanut oil, sour pickles, preserves, syrup, and tuna all require Passover endorsement. (Note that you can buy whole roasted, unflavored coffee beans and grind them yourself.) DISHES AND UTENSILS: All regular cooking utensils, appliances, dishes, flatware, and glasses should be put away. Paper plates are excluded because they contain starches. Counter tops and sinks should be cleaned and scalding water should be poured over them. New sink liners and strainers should be used. Stoves should be thoroughly cleaned and burned at maximum temperature for one hour. Stove racks should be covered with perforated foil. Those who own microwave ovens and wish to use them for Passover should clean them, fill a paper container with water and bring it to a boil, steaming the inside walls of the oven. Then cover the bottom surface of the oven with Styrofoam or some other kind of rack. All foods warmed or cooked in the microwave oven over Passover should be covered. Those who wish to use their tablecloths for Passover must be sure that they are laundered without starch. is the bulletin of Congregation Sons of Abraham, La Crosse, Wisconsin, and is published six times each year. The bulletin editor is Ken Bernstein (contact 784-8204 or ken@rivercityimageworks.com). This issue has submissions from Maureen Freedland, Simcha Prombaum, Anthony Slaby, and Richard Strauss. If you would like to submit a story, artwork, or photographs, please contact Ken. The deadline for submissions for the next issue is May 6, 2011. For advertising information, please contact the editor or Rabbi Prombaum (784-7648 or prombaum@charter.net). Visit our web site at www.lacrossesynagogue.org. Page 2
A Unique JNF Tribute to Memory at CSOA AMOS UPDATE A special thank you to Alan and Brenda Louis of Designing Jewelers who have graciously and generously undertaken a 10-year project to honor the memories of every name on the yahrzeit tablets in our sanctuary 26 trees this year until everyone has been honored. Beginning with the most recent memorial plaques and working backward, here is a list of this year s memorials, together with the spouses who predeceased them: I feel there are parallels between the Hmong and Jewish immigration to America. Both groups came because of horrible persecution elsewhere, and both have worked hard to become proud citizens in a new country with opportunities. Also similar are their work ethics and the notion of advancement through education. It has been a blessing for me to be able to share and reflect with several Hmong through AMOS. Marceline Wind Marcus J. Wind Ada Blanke Beverly Perlmutter Hy Kaplan Lillian Kaplan Michael Warren Gross Herbert Bernstein Stuart Miller Leo Isaac Wedro Michael Steven Raymond Isadore H. Millstein Shirley Millstein Samuel M. Hartman Ralph Brodsky William I. Katz Morris Rifkin Jeanette Rifkin Gloria Krumholz Charles Krumholz Eleanor Altman Polisky Eva Bern Bettie Engber Paul Gross Haydee Brauer Miles J. Felix Mazel Tov to Talya (Prombaum) and Josh Gepner, on the birth of Sylvia Jordan on March 5th, and to proud grandparents Keren and Simcha Prombaum to Jacob Louis Litman, and to his proud parents, Janet and Ron, on his becoming a Bar Mitzvah on March 19th. Tree of Life A leaf on the Tree of Life has been purchased in honor of Sylvia Jordan Gepner, March 5th, 2011. Love, Bubbie and Zayde Celebrate the joyous occasions in your life with a leaf on our tree. Please contact Simcha for more information. Simcha Prombaum (AMOS Advocating, Mobilizing, Organizing in Solidarity is an interfaith, congregation-based coalition working for justice in Wisconsin s Seven Rivers Region) The Hmong Task Force of AMOS was formed to assist the Hmong in community building as the Hmong community sees desirable. We have met with the Elders to engage in conversation to get to know each other better. If you are interested in supporting and working with the Hmong community, here are some ways: Adults are needed to attend Tony Yang s youth mentoring program at Central High School (even one visit is appreciated). Community visitors are welcome at Va Thao s elder care program at the HCCC every Wednesday and Thursday from 10:30-12:30. (Come sit with the elderly as they sew and talk about the past) Voter education has been expressed as a high priority by the Hmong community. Drafting non-partisan information about elections and issues, English tutoring for older adults seeking citizenship, and driving people to the polls are ways we can help. Please contact me for further information. Maureen Freedland Social Action Committee The Social/Community Action Committee has been added to the list of CSOA committees, and as a new Board member, I was asked to be chairperson. Many or most, if not all, of the synagogue's members are active in the community as individuals or families, but there are instances when community service is done in the name of a congregation, and in CSOA's case, such activities are WAFER, AMOS, Meals on Wheels, Sharing the Bounty, and the CROP walk. If you have ideas about other avenues of community or social action for this committee and the congregation, please let me know. Richard Strauss Volume XXIX, No. 4 Page 3
Lipstadt made history when Holocaust deniers took her to court and she won Distinguished Emory University Historian Deborah Lipstadt, flanked by Rabbi Prombaum and Darryle Clott, presented two community lectures at Viterbo University on March 17 in conjunction with the annual Holocaust Educators Workshop for middle school and high school students. That morning, Lipstadt announced that her new book, The Eichman Trial (released on March 16) had just gone into its second printing. Photo by Anthony Slaby, Viterbo University You Might Be Interested Mark Kastel, co-founder, Cornucopia Institute, will speak on the topic: Local, Healthy, Sustainable Food Systems: Hyperbole or Sensation? The talk is to discuss how the choices we make in the grocery impact our health, our environment, and the economic vitality of the Coulee Region. See Mark at the Cartwright Center, UW-L, Tuesday, April 5th at 7:00 p.m., admission is free. Page 4
Support our advertisers! Volume XXIX, No. 4 Cheryl Keeffe Mixed media fiber artist working jest for The pun of it Custom orders welcome 608.385.4675 ckeeffe@charter.net www.cherylkeeffe.com Page 5
Congregation Sons of Abraham 1820 Main Street La Crosse, WI 54601 Not Letting the Grass Grow Under His Feet Logan senior Ben Levine and friends have formed ELS Lawn Care Service, LLC. Want the boys to spruce up your property? Call Ben at (608) 792-6054 or email him at ELSLawnCareService@gmail.com. Good luck, Ben! Sale of Chometz Reminder The observance of Passover strictly prohibits the ownership or consumption of leavened foods (chometz). One should not to eat any chometz from 9:45 a.m. in the morning before the Seder (Monday, April 18) until the conclusion of the holiday (one hour after sundown on Tuesday, April 26). Ideally, a homeowner should not need to sell his/her chometz because it has been consumed before the holiday, given to neighbors, or donated to an emergency food resource. Mechirat Chometz (sale of chometz) arose to meet the needs of Jewish-owned manufacturing and warehouse businesses that would suffer economic hardship if they had to destroy leavened inventory to observe Passover. The sale of chometz transfers ownership of all leaven which is segregated and stored in one s home to a gentile neighbor until after the holiday. You may sell your chometz with the synagogue serving as an agent for the sale. Simcha will arrange the sale of your chometz if you complete and return the form on the right or e-mail him. If you sell your chometz, please wait until 9 p.m. on April 26 before retaking possession. Sale of Leaven Authorization I,, authorize Rabbi Prombaum to sell my leavened products in accordance with the laws of Pesach. My address is Signature Page 6