April 2015 Nisan Adar 5775 Temple Beth-El 24 Coveway Drive Brownsville, Texas 78521-3602 (956) 542-5263 temple.bethel@yahoo.com www.templebethelbrownsville.org
Tzedakah: Charity The obligation to perform tzedakah can be fulfilled by giving money to the poor, to health care institutions, to synagogues or to educational institutions. It can also be fulfilled by supporting your children beyond the age when you are legally required to, or supporting your parents in their old age. The obligation includes giving to both Jews and gentiles; contrary to popular belief, Jews do not just take care of our own. Contributions: We appreciate the thoughtfulness of those who remember and honor their friends and loved ones through their donations. Education Fund In loving memory of: Edna Levin & Bernard Levin: By: Javier & Sharon Huerta Yahrzeit Fund In loving memory of: Samuel Himmelstein By: Sammy Ladabaum Jack Safra & Camilla Safra & Rachel Rosenberg: By: Claude & LaVerne Harari Elsie Bogorad & Byrdie Nemeth: By: Geoff & Rossana Bogorad Bertha Berg & Rose Steinberg: By: William Berg & Laurel Steinberg Sam Menkin By: Richard & Elka Jaross Flower Fund: In loving memory of: Marian Joseph: By: Denise Joseph It is with great sadness to inform you of the passing of Mrs. Frida Kenigstein on Sunday March 29th. COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE: As we all know we have an aging community who need assistance especially those who have no families near by. There have been some members who have been sick and they don t have any body to turn to and nobody knows that they are sick. Seniors need to let us know that you are sick or you need help taking you to the doctor or run some errands or simply bring you some Jewish penicillin. Please call Geoff Bogorad (243-4814) or Rossana Bogorad (243-4468). It s Raffle Time Our Annual Fund Raiser is approaching... April 25, 2015 Excellent Food Excellent Friends Excellent Prizes Open Bar 1 in 15 wins a door prize. 1 in 250 wins $10,000.00 Spread the word and come have an Excellent Time SPECIAL NOTE: Almost all tickets have been sold. We still need a few door prizes donated for the raffle. Please call Alex and support your Temple.
Calendar of Events April Yahrzeits 03 Miguel Mendez *Mordechai Y. Holand *Mollie Goldenberg **Bertha Russek Louis Franklin Luis Mendez Longoria Jack Rosenberger 10 Simone Leona Goldstein *Isidor Hirschhorn **Samuel Frymerman Chaim Perelman 17 Jake Meyers Jacob Fuhrer Betty S. Rubinsky Elaine Wiedermann 24 *Anne Holtzman *Cesia Horn Paul Abramson Adele Paris Bernard Bramson Bennet Rosenberg 27 **Benny Greenspan **Philip Bloom Barbara Millard Hogan **Samuel Himmelstein *Saul Taylor Monthly Oneg - April 17th Oneg Shabbat will be hosted by *Rossana & Geoff Bogorad, Olga & Alex Blinder and Irwin Riezenman. Come to services and enjoy some Mishpachah time and goodies. Oneg Reminder Please make sure to check the Oneg list when you are in charge. The list is a follows: Challa, decaf coffee, cream, sugar, fruit, nuts, cheese & crackers, cookies, cakes, cold drinks, cups, plastic ware, napkins, plates. Also, please make sure to clean after the Oneg is finished and take the tablecloths to be washed. We are all responsible for leaving our kitchen organized and in the conditions it was found. Board Meeting: The Board of Directors meets every second Wednesday of the month in the Temple library. This month is going to be on the 8th. Everybody is welcome to attend the meetings. Community Passover Seder Friday April 3, at 7pm after services. Services on that day will start at 6pm April Birthdays: 02 Darrell Holland 04 Ziva Lourdes Jaross 05 Morris Edelstein 07 Joseph Bogorad 11 Darrell Stange 14 Rossana Bogorad 14 Jonathan Berg 16 Clem Markley 20 Harry Holzman 21 Harriet Light 22 Judy Kolmen 29 Jayme Gelfer 29 Zeb Abraham Jaross April Anniversaries: 22 Tally & Jonathan Caplan Our services begin every Friday at 6:30 PM. Board bimah assignment: 03 Blinder First day of Passover 10 Frapart Eight day of Passover 17 Furgatch Shmini 24 Goldsmith Tazria-Metzora Saturday services begin at 9:30 AM with Torah study immediately following in the Temple Library.
Hadassah Hadassah Book Club Hi, Readers: Come join us to learn about Pirates of the Caribbean The author, Edward Kirtzler starts the book in 1494 with Christopher Columbus and his voyages to the New World. His family will provide a haven for Jews in the New World. We will also learn that Columbus was Jewish. Jewish explorers were conquistadors, cowboys, and even pirates. In Kritzler s book we learn to rethink history. Come join us as we learn about the first Jew in the Age of Discovery. Forbidden entry into the New World, the Jews disguised themselves as Christians called conversos. This is a non-fiction book, so all historians will want to read it.. Please help us discuss Kritzler s book on April 12th in the Temple Library at 10:00 a.m. If you have not read the book, come anyway. We always welcome new members. Ongoing Fundraisers Temple Beth-El sells HEB cards. Please pick up one or a few here at the office. A percentage of the sales go to Hadassah and the temple but this is only possible if we all buy a card. HEB cards can be used for purchasing of groceries, gas and medicines. See you on the 12th. Harriet Light Please be part of hadassah this year 2015 and Join Us The Friendship of Women thanks us for all the supplies we bring to them. I m still collecting personal supplies for the women and their children. Leave your donations in the library box. I ll pick them up. Thanks Harriet Light
Sunday School News With the help of our ISJL fellow, Arielle Nissenblatt, the Sunday School had a Passover themed Macabbiah. The students were split up into two teams, hail and frogs, which represents two of the ten plagues and they competed for the coveted Passover prize! Some of the competitions included painting a banner, coming up with a cheer to show team spirit, Passover trivia, basket decorations and the Red Sea race. As you can see, fun was definitely had by everyone involved!
Sunday School News Thank you to the Edelsteins and Geoffrey Bogorad for hosting the Sunday School s mock Seder. Emma Huff was the lucky winner in finding the afikomen. Elyssa looks on inquisitively as Emily explains the symbolic meaning of the Seder plate....complete with an incredible mini raspberry Cake. the Temple Beth El Sunday School 24 Coveway Dr. Brownsville, TX 78521 SPAGHETTI DINNER FUNDRAISER on Sunday, May 3rd 5-8 PM Adults $8.00 Kids 4-12 $5.00 Children 3 & under eat free with purchase of adult ticket plus Dessert table and friends galore! Dinner includes spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread, salad and drinks
PASSOVER TRADITIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 1) AFGHANISTAN: Jews living in Afghanistan created the tradition of gently whipping themselves with scallions as a symbol of the Egyptian slavedrivers whips used against the Israelites, says Beliefnet.com. The largest population of Afghan Jews are in Queens, New York. 2) POLAND: Hasidic Jews living in Góra Kalwaria, Poland, reenact the crossing of the Red Sea in their living rooms. On the seventh day of Passover, each Jewish family pours water on the floor of their homes, hikes up their coats and says the name of the towns in the region they would pass while making their crossing, according to Beliefnet.com. 3) INDIA: A Jewish community has lived in Cochin in the Indian state of Kerala for more than 2,000 years. Its members go to shockingly great lengths to prepare for Passover, reports The Jewish Week. Pesah work, as it was called in Cochin, would begin immediately after Chanukah. In the Cochin community, it was believed that if a Jewish woman were to make even the slightest mistake in Passover preparation during the 100 days before the actual seder, then the lives of her husband and her children would be endangered. The pursuit of chametz was a serious business. To ensure purity, the Jews of Cochin kept special rooms in which all Passover utensils, thoroughly scrubbed, were stored. Houses would be scraped and repainted immediately after Purim. Wells would be drained and scrubbed, lest they be polluted. Each grain of rice -- an essential staple even during Passover -- would be examined to ensure that it was free from cracks into which polluting chametz might find its way. 4) GIBRALTAR: In the British territory of Gibraltar, the tiny island off the coast of Spain, Jews actually mix the dust of bricks into their charoset dish, a symbol of the mortar used to hold together the brick walls the Jews built in Egypt, according to Hillel. 5) ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian Jews history is strikingly similar to that of their Israelite ancestors. The Jewish community there underwent an exodus of their own in 1985, when Operation Moses and Joshua took almost 8,000 Jews from Sudan to a safe-haven in Israel, according to the Jewish Virtual Library. In commemoration of Passover and their own past, Ethiopian Jews break all of their dishes and make new ones to symbolize a complete break from the past and a new start, reports The Jewish Daily Forward. Want more interesting Passover trivia? The largest Seder in the world is celebrated in Kathmandu, Nepal, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Cemetery News Hebrew Cemetery: The history of Brownsville begins in 1846 with General Zachary Taylor s order to erect Fort Texas on the north bank of the Rio Grande River across from Matamoros at the start of the Mexican-American War. The fort was garrisoned by 500 men under Major Jacob Brown. Major Brown was killed in action during a bombardment of the fort. Soon the fort was named Fort Brown. Bernard Kowalski emigrated from Poland and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1845. He joined General Taylor in Point Isabel as an officer in the Quartermaster Corp and remained with Taylor all the way to Mexico City. After the War ended, Bernard and family lived in Matamoros and soon moved to Brownsville to establish his mercantile business. Bernard and family were founding members of the Jewish community in early Brownsville history. The Hebrew Cemetery is grateful for the continued support of the Kowalski family. Millicent Brown Slaughter and Sonia Young Decoteau, Great-Great Granddaughters of Bernard Kowalski donated land from the Kowalski Plot to the Hebrew Cemetery. Also, Deborah Schueneman, another Great-Great Granddaughter sent a check last month to the Hebrew Cemetery for continuing operations. Bernard Kowalski died in 1889 but his legacy continues. by Larry Holtzman Here is a photo in uniform from his time in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War.
Dear Congregants: This is again that time of the year where we gather to remember and celebrate our exodus from Egyptian bondage. Our Community Seder will be held here at our Temple on Friday April 3rd. at 7:00 PM. The Seder will be available to all Members and Non-Members of our Temple. Adults (ages 13 and up) $30.00 Children under 13 $15.00 Children under 5 are free. (Your check is your reservation) PLEASE RESPOND TO THE OFFICE WITH YOUR PREPAID RESERVATIONS By Friday March 27 th. 2015 RESERVATION FORM Family Name: Names of Adults: Names of Children: Amount due $: Date Paid: Check #: Please mail this form and your check to: Temple Beth-El, 24 Coveway Dr. Brownsville, TX 78521-3602
other stuff... If you have any events or pictures, please submit them for the Shofar and or website. LIVE Vist us at: www.templebethelbrownsville.org Donations may be made to Temple Beth-El in memory, in honor, in appreciation, etc. for the following funds: General, Yahrzeit, Yizkor, Education, Building & Grounds, Flower, Torah, Cantor s Discretionary Funds. You may use this form: Donations form Please find enclosed a donation to the Fund, given in Honor Memory Appreciation Speedy recovery of Please send acknowledgment to: Name: Address: Donor information: Name: Address: Please note that any contribution submitted without a designated fund will be placed in the General Fund. Make checks payable to Temple Beth-El and mail to: 24 Coveway Brownsville, TX 78521-5263 Thank you! Committees & Chairs Budget Committee: Chair, Mike Furgatch/Irwin Riezenman Building/Ground Committee: Javier Huerta Dues Committee & Membership Committee: Mike Furgatch Fundraising Committee: Alex Blinder/Morris Edelstein House Committee/Welcome Committee: Sara Kenigstein/Barry Goldsmith Library Committee: Harriet Light Religious School Committee: Patricia Edelstein/Leon Weisberg Ritual Committee: Sara Kenigstein Scholarship Committee: Larry Holtzman Temple Beth-El 24 Coveway Drive Brownsville, Texas 78521-3602 (956) 542-5263 temple.bethel@yahoo.com www.templebethelbrownsville.org