From The Rabbi:
Tekiah
Adar I/Adar II 5768
April 2008
Dear Friends,
In Proverbs 19:7 we read: זכר צדיק לברכה “The memory of the righteous shall be as a blessing.” This phrase forms the bases for several Jewish customs regarding remembering those who have died. For example, on the securlar calendar one finds the birthdays of famous people listed; on the Jewish calendar, we instead find their yahrzeit, or anniversary of their death. As joyful as we may be upon the birth of a child, we have no idea as to what this person will contribute to the world. It is only after a person has passed on that we can evaluate his life. It is not the anticipation of what a person may accomplish, but their memory that is a blessing. Jewish tradition suggests that remembering those who were dear reminds us of the wonderful things they did. This can result in our striving to live better lives and contribute more to society.
Another facet of the quote from proverbs is the “Mourner’s Kaddish;” it does not contain any mention of death nor does it refer in any way to mourning. It is a praise of G-d and a hope that true peace will come about soon. Why, then, do we read it as a way of remembering those who have died? At the end of a concert or play the audience thanks the performers for enriching the lives of those who were privileged to partake of the performance. There is often a tinge of sadness at the conclusion of such a time. The audience, in attempting to postpone the end, often encourages the performers to do several encores; eventually, the end comes, but not before the audience has thanked the performers with applause.
At the end of the life of one dear to us we feel much sadness, but the pain is the result of losing a vital part of our lives. At such a time we may either dwell on our loss or continue to be enriched by the memories of the person no longer with us. When we concentrate on how much this person added to our lives, we feel a sense of gratitude that we were privileged to be part of their lives. It is in this mood that we say Kaddish, thanking God that our lives were enriched by the presence of that person.
The above reasoning is the basis for the observance of yahrzeit, the anniversary of the death, and yizkor at the end of the High Holy Days, Sukkot, Pesach, and Shavuot. It is quite common, at such times, to miss those no longer with us. Yizkor helps transform that sadness into gratitude for their lives and prompts us to higher levels of behavior.
One does not have to have lost an immediate
relative in order to say Kaddish or come to yiskor services.
There is a tradition among many Jews to rise for Kaddish
to remember and honor the memories of those who have no one to say Kaddish for them, such as those who died in the Holocaust.
Remembering those who came before us and laid the foundations of our lives today not only honors them, but gives us our roots. By remembering them and from where we came, we have a better idea of who we are and to where we are headed now. This need not be a morbid time. Many Chasidim observe the yahrzeit of their rebbe by having a special speaker or studying. It is sad to think that the lessons of those whom we cherish will be lost. I would encourage all of you to consider attending yizkor for Passover (9:30 AM, April 27 ) and Shavuot (8:30 AM, June 10)
Shalom uv’racha,
Rabbi Kaplan
From Our President:
Dear Friends,
On March 9th we held a special congregation meeting to discuss and approve the Rabbi’s contract and the Temko Project. There were almost 100 congregants in attendance. First item for discussion was the Rabbi’s contract. Material Terms of the Rabbi’s contract are as follows:
! The term of employment is an initial term of two years, beginning August 1, 2008 and continuing through July 31, 2010. This agreement will automatically renew for an additional year, running from August 1, 2010 and ending July 31, 2011, unless either party provides written notice that this agreement not renew. This notice shall be sent not later than November 1, 2009 (nine months notice).
! Base compensation will be the amount of the Rabbi’s Package from August 1, 2007 through July 31, 2008, with annual increases based on the CPI.
! Other terms will be consistent with the current contract, with additional provisions adapted from the current form contract being developed by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association.
The Rabbi’s contract was overwhelmingly approved.
The next item was the Purpose and Scope statement for the Temko project as follows:
The purpose of this project is to plan, design and build a structure/facility in honor/memory of Vicki Temko. This project will be entirely underwritten by Robert Temko.
The scope of the project will be to have a facility, which will encompass the following areas:
1) Parenting/meeting space
2) Kindergarten with its own entrance/exit
3) Teen center
4) Office space
5) Storage
The size of the facility will be decided once an engineering study is done to determine:
- the appropriate square footage of the building and
- the additional parking possible; without having to make major drainage changes and other changes due to code requirements.
The Congregation of Temple Beth El (TBE) has approved the initial stage of this process with the understanding there will be no costs to TBE. Additional items to this project’s scope must be entirely funded by Robert Temko; otherwise, the entire concept must again be presented to TBE for approval. Such modifications would be a significant change to this project’s scope and might represent a capital expense to TBE.
If the scope of this project exceeds the cost that Robert Temko is willing to fund, then either;
- the entire project should be brought back to TBE for approval, or
- the scope of the project will need to be reduced to meet the necessary budget requirements.
Robert Temko has agreed to create an endowment to fund parenting programs.
It is understood that TBE will own the structure and, once the structure is built, TBE will be responsible for its future utilities, maintenance and insurance.
This project also was overwhelmingly approved.
On April 6th we will be holding an informational meeting to discuss going from a three day to a two-day religious school. As indicated this is informational only and no vote will be taken. You should have received a notice of this meeting and pertinent information. This meeting will be held from 9:45 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. On April 27th we will hold another congregation meeting to once again discuss going from a 3-day to a 2-day religious school. This meeting will be held at 7 p.m. and a vote will be taken. If you will need babysitting, please contact the office so this can be provided.
On May 11th, Men’s Club
will be holding its annual Mother’s Day breakfast. We will also hold our congregation meeting
during breakfast at which time we will present our proposed budget for the
2008/09 fiscal years and submit for election the slate of officers to serve on
the
2008-2009 SLATE OF
President: Staci Bagel,
First Vice President: Marla Norton
Second Vice President: Mike Kletter,
Third Vice President: Arlene Johnson
Fourth Vice President: Bill Spinn
Secretary: Mike Chajes
Financial Secretary: Jeff Herst
Treasurer: Ann Herman
Immediate Past President: Jay Stellenberg Past Presidents: Michael Rudolph
Alice Hirsch
Members at large: Ed Weinstein
Elizabeth Munson
Lisa Grier
Jill DiScullo
Scott Zapor
Alan Glasman.
Men’s Club President: Tom Felder
Sisterhood President:Sandy Novick
I hope you will plan to attend.
I would like to remind you that Board meetings are open to the congregation. They are held in the multi purpose room and when all board members attend it tends to become very crowded. Therefore, if you plan to attend, I would appreciate prior notification to insure that adequate space is provided to accommodate all in attendance. Board meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month.
We would like to participate in
“Passover in the Aisles”. This is being
held for the first time in
We still have a few copies of Rabbi Hirschfield’s book; “You Don’t have to be Wrong for Me to be Right”. They sell for $20 each. Contact either Linda Crist or Dee Aaronson, if you would like to purchase a copy.
Linda Oster is chairing one of our fund raising committees and is currently looking into doing some stain glass windows between the Sanctuary and the Social Hall. If you have any ideas or would like to consider donating one of these please let the office know so they can have Linda contact you.
I remind you that if you have any ideas or suggestions please do not hesitate contacting me at ; , or by phone (302-234-6529), or you may contact any one of the other board members.
B’Shalom,
Jay Stellenberg
President, Board of Directors
--------------------------
DISCOVERY GROUP
11:30 a.m. April 6
-----
TOT SHABBAT
7:00 p.m. April 25
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FAMILY SERVICE
Aleph
- April 11CONGREGATION MEETING Sunday, April 6th 9:30 a.m.
Agenda: 3 day
-------------------------
PASSOVER SHAVUOT
Fulfill the spirit of the mitzvah of the Omer
offering. Bring your non-perishable food
from now until May 23, Shavuot. Food
should be left in the lobby under the secretary’s window.
-------------------------
THE
APRIL 21 THE SECOND DAYS
OF PASSOVER
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CALLING ALL
KNITTERS...
Terry Prager and Alice Hirsch are
interested in beginning a knitting guild at Temple Beth El. We would meet on a
regular basis and be affiliated with the Knitting Guild of America. This group
would be open to knitters of all levels, from beginners to experts. It would be
a time for us to share ideas and techniques. One activity could be a knit along,
where everyone would be knitting the same project. If you are interested or want more
information please contact
LOOKING FOR
SOFTBALL
PLAYERS
If anyone is interested in playing softball this
Spring/Summer for our organized
>>Don't
miss out-call now<<
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YISKOR SERVICES
Sunday, April 27th
9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, June 10th
8:00 a.m.
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL NEWS
News from Mrs. Romao's Hai Class:
During a class dinner, it came to the attention of some of
our Hai class students that plastics were not being
recycled in our kitchen. Rising to the high ideals of Tikkun
Olam, the class presented a plan to me, their
parents, Mrs. Mattes and Mrs. Aaronson. Thanks to these caring and community
minded children, a number of Hai class families are
now taking weekly turns bringing recycling from Temple Beth El to a local
recycling facility. This will continue with the Hai
Class through the end of the religious school year.
We should be very proud of our youth!
~~~Corey
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Sunday, April 13th
The
TBE Confirmation Class will be visiting the
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ALEPH FAMILY DINNER & SERVICE April 11th
Dinner begins at 6:00 p.m.
PASSOVER MODEL SEDERS
K - 2nd
Sunday, April 11th
3rd -
7th Tuesday, April 15th
Parent volunteers are needed to prepare for both days -
please let Adina know if you can help.
-----
YOM HA’ATZMAUT
Sunday, May 4th
Join us as we celebrate
-----
SNACK CARDS
$12.00
------------------------
GIFT SHOP
Please stop by and look in the windows! We have several new
items in the gift shop as well as some new Passover items(in
the office) and the new 30 Minute Seder Booklets. It is the best family seder I have seen in a long time.
Please come in and browse through it! Only $6.00. Let me know if you are looking for any items
for your needs. I am very interested in
personal shopping for you. I will be ordering some new talit,
both for men and women, coming in soon, thank you, please call or email
me at
.
Thank you,
Andrea Finestrauss
GREAT
OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN ABOUT THE KITCHEN AND MEET NEW PEOPLE
Please
check out the dates below.
There
are several opportunities to work in the kitchen with experienced sisterhood
members. It’s a great way to volunteer
and have fun at the same time.
Get a head start on donor for next
year by signing up for any of the dates below.
Kitchen volunteers are needed for the following
dates:
April
Friday,
April 18th
– 2 workers (Aleph Class Service)
Saturday,
April 19th – 1 worker
Friday,
April 25th – 2 workers (Passover)
Saturday,
April 26th -
1 worker (Passover)
Please call me or send me an e-mail
to sign up or to get more information.
Thanks. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.
Renee Felder
(610) 347-0518
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WORKERS NEEDED
FOR THE
UP COMING ONEG
& KIDDUSH
Earn donor!
The Bar/Bat Mitzvah's are upon us. Below is a listing of a few them coming
up. If you are available and would like
to help out, earn donor and get to know some wonderful individuals...This is
for you.
May 2/3
Daniel Rutstein
Oneg & Kiddush workers
May 9/10
Danielle Miller
Oneg & Kiddush workers
May 30/31
Hannah Densten
Oneg/Kiddush and Luncheon workers
Every weekend in June there is a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Your help is greatly appreciated. Please contact me if I can sign you up.
Thank You,
Sue Herst
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DATES TO REMEMBER
Sat. , April 5th Special service with
Sun., April 6 -
Congregation Meeting to Discuss 2 day a week
Discovery Group