CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL “A Family of Families” August 2017 Torah Study Saturdays @ 11:00am Please come and join us CALENDAR OF RELIGIOUS SERVICES Friday, August 4 Shabbat Service @ 6:30 pm Saturday, August 5 Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am Friday, August 11 Shabbat Service @ 6:30 pm Saturday, August 12 Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am Friday, August 18 Shabbat Service @ 6:00 pm 100th Birthday Celebration for Elise Geller Saturday, August 19 Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am Friday, August 25 Shabbat Service @ 6:30 pm Saturday, August 26 Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am Friday, September 1 Shabbat Service @ 6:30 pm Saturday, September 2 Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am Bulletin Article Edited Extract from Sermon given by Rabbi Charles Emanuel on the occasion of Mira Emanuel’s Bat Mitzvah What does bar or bat mitzvah really mean? There is a very interesting insight at the end of the Torah portion (Naso) which, while on the surface might seem completely unconnected, is actually very crucial to all of our individual Jewishness. The end of the Torah portion tells us about the transport of the tabernacle by the tribe of Levy as the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness. Most of the tabernacle was transported on wagons but the family of Levy carrying the Holy Ark itself was commanded to carry it on their shoulders Concerning this, Rabbi Morris Adler, a prominent 20 th century American Conservative rabbi, wrote “we are told not only about a detail of transportation but …we are also being instructed [that]….when it comes to the very heart of religion, we must not try to find…a substitute for our own shoulders. We cannot transfer to anybody else or anything else the obligations that rest exclusively upon ourselves….” And so it is for the bar and bat mitzvah. Up to now, their Judaism has been, for the most part, just that of their parents. But now, as the 13 year old begins his or her journey into Jewish adulthood, they will have to start to carry Judaism on their own shoulders. Like the Levites who carried the Holy Ark, the young adult needs to start to understand that Judaism can be a burden and a discipline, something that many people, especially teenagers, find difficult to accept. But if he or she seeks to carry a faith easily, shouldering no special tasks, making no distinctive sacrifices, the person will have a Judaism that is neither true nor helpful. This is the real meaning of becoming a bar or bat mitzvah, shouldering the burden as well as the joys of our Jewish tradition. What does it mean to shoulder this burden? The 18 th century Jewish mystical rabbi the Baal Shem Tov once wrote concerning the beginning of the Amidah prayer, “Why do we say, ‘Our God and God of our Ancestors’? He argued that there are two sorts of persons who believe in God. The one believes because their faith has been handed down to them by their ancestors and their faith is strong. The other has arrived at faith by dint of searching thought. And this is the difference between the two: one has the advantage that their faith cannot be shaken no matter how many objections are raised to it for their faith is firm, because they have taken it over from their ancestors. But there is a flaw in it: it is a commandment given by human beings and it has been learned without thought or reasoning. The advantage of the second person is that they have reached their faith through their own power, through much searching and thinking. But their faith too has a flaw. It is easy to shake it by offering contrary evidence. But the person who combines both kinds of faith is invulnerable. That is why we say ‘Our God’ because of our searching and ‘the God of our ancestors”, because of our tradition.” This is the hope we have as a person becomes bar or bat mitzvah. They have taken upon themselves this responsibility. They have learned a great deal from their teachers and from their parents and also from the wonderful atmosphere of this very special congregation whose members individually and collectively demonstrate by their actions the highest of principles of Judaism. But when young adults become a bar or bat mitzvah, they will have to decide for themselves what their Judaism will be. This is the responsibility of the bar or bat mitzvah and it is the responsibility of each and every adult Jew. Rabbi Emanuel RABBI’S MESSAGE
Transcript
CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL
“A Family of Families”
August 2017
Torah Study Saturdays @ 11:00am
Please come and join us
CALENDAR OF RELIGIOUS SERVICES
Friday, August 4 Shabbat Service @ 6:30 pm Saturday, August 5 Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am Friday, August 11 Shabbat Service @ 6:30 pm Saturday, August 12 Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am Friday, August 18 Shabbat Service @ 6:00 pm 100th Birthday Celebration for Elise Geller Saturday, August 19 Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am Friday, August 25 Shabbat Service @ 6:30 pm Saturday, August 26 Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am Friday, September 1 Shabbat Service @ 6:30 pm Saturday, September 2 Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am
Bulletin Article Edited Extract from Sermon given by Rabbi Charles Emanuel on the occasion of Mira Emanuel’s Bat Mitzvah
What does bar or bat mitzvah really mean? There is a very interesting insight at the end of the Torah portion (Naso) which,
while on the surface might seem completely unconnected, is actually very crucial to all of our individual Jewishness.
The end of the Torah portion tells us about the transport of the tabernacle by the tribe of Levy as the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness. Most of the tabernacle was transported on wagons but the family of Levy carrying the Holy Ark itself was commanded to carry it on their shoulders
Concerning this, Rabbi Morris Adler, a prominent 20th century American Conservative rabbi, wrote “we are told not only about a detail of transportation but …we are also being instructed [that]….when it comes to the very heart of religion, we must not try to find…a substitute for our own shoulders. We cannot transfer to anybody else or anything else the obligations that rest exclusively upon ourselves….”
And so it is for the bar and bat mitzvah. Up to now, their Judaism has been, for the most part, just that of their parents. But now, as the 13 year old begins his or her journey into Jewish adulthood, they will have to start to carry Judaism on their own shoulders. Like the Levites who carried the Holy Ark, the young adult needs to start to understand that Judaism can be a burden and a discipline, something that many people, especially teenagers, find difficult to accept. But if he or she seeks to carry a faith easily, shouldering no special tasks, making no distinctive sacrifices, the person will have a Judaism that is neither true nor helpful. This is the real meaning of becoming a bar or bat mitzvah, shouldering the burden as well as the joys of our Jewish tradition.
What does it mean to shoulder this burden? The 18th century Jewish mystical rabbi the Baal Shem Tov once wrote concerning the beginning of the Amidah prayer, “Why do we say, ‘Our God and God of our Ancestors’? He argued that there are two sorts of persons who believe in God. The one believes because their faith has been handed down to them by their ancestors and their faith is strong. The other has arrived at faith by dint of searching thought. And this is the difference between the two: one has the advantage that their faith cannot be shaken no matter how many objections are raised to it for their faith is firm, because they have taken it over from their ancestors. But there is a flaw in it: it is a commandment given by human beings and it has been learned without thought or reasoning. The advantage of the second person is that they have reached their faith through their own power, through much searching and thinking. But their faith too has a flaw. It is easy to shake it by offering contrary evidence. But the person who combines both kinds of faith is invulnerable. That is why we say ‘Our God’ because of our searching and ‘the God of our ancestors”, because of our tradition.”
This is the hope we have as a person becomes bar or bat mitzvah. They have taken upon themselves this responsibility. They have learned a great deal from their teachers and from their parents and also from the wonderful atmosphere of this very special congregation whose members individually and collectively demonstrate by their actions the highest of principles of Judaism. But when young adults become a bar or bat mitzvah, they will have to decide for themselves what their Judaism will be. This is the responsibility of the bar or bat mitzvah and it is the responsibility of each and every adult Jew.
Rabbi Emanuel
RABBI’S MESSAGE
Page 2 C o n g r e g a t i o n B e t h I s r a e l N e w s l e t t e r
Manuela Sela, Religious School Director Leslie Green, Shabbat Dinner Coordinator
CBI PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
CBI Executive Board President Jim Gold
First Vice President Rikki Schmitchel
Second Vice President Mike Trimyer
Secretary Leslie Levy
Treasurer Greg Marks
Past President Chris Adler
Sisterhood Representative Odelia Rios
Committee Chairs Adult Education David Jacobs
Cemetery Robert Adler
Carl Kuehn,
Gary Blum
Ritual Committee Andrew Sheinberg
Membership Suzy Hilliard
Social Action Linda Snider
Dues Committee Ann Engel
Jim Gold
Building Mike Trimyer
Grounds Rikki Schmitchel
Fine Arts Laurie Mintz
Mike Trimyer
Dear Congregants,
I want to express my sincere thank you to the Congregation for allowing me to lead CBI for the next 2 years. I feel privileged, humbled, and excited that the members have placed their confi-dence in me at a time when the makeup of the Jewish communi-ty is changing demographically and in numbers. These changes
will challenge us to rethink how we meet the funding, religious, educational, cultural, charitable, and social needs of our congregants and community.
We started the year with an outstanding Annual Meeting. David Jacobs and Sue Williams prepared delicious South Texas hamburgers and fixn’s while Sarah Loeb won all of our hearts with delicious cobblers. Most importantly, the Social Hall was full of great conversation and joy as people met new people and others chatted with old friends and family. Best of all we were really a Family of Families in action.
Once dinner was completed we went into our formal Annual Meeting. Mike Trimyer was presented with the Exemplary Service Award and Maury Wolfson received a special award for his decades of service to CBI and the broader Jew-ish community. We thank both of them for their extraordinary dedication and contribution to our Congregation and the Coastal Bend Jewish community.
Chris Adler gave an outstanding presentation describing many of the accom-plishments achieved under her leadership. Our efforts in Social Action provid-ed the homeless community 4000+ pairs of socks, food was delivered through manning the Salvation Army Food truck, and planning for additional activities this year has already begun. Educationally, we provided Torah Study, Judaism 101 course, a series of lectures by Rabbi Roseman, and a visiting Scholars weekend with a noted archeologist. Socially we had Havdalah at the Hooks and our Mardi Gras Party. We provided both Traditional and Reform Services each weekend and on the High Holidays under the leadership of Rabbi Emanu-al. Our activities with youth have grown with a trip to the Houston Holocaust Museum and increased attendance at Jewish camps and weekend youth events. These are just some of the past year highlights with many more events planned for the coming year.
As we move into 2017-18 we want to make sure that we build upon our prior success and find creative ways for addressing our membership and funding concerns. I am so fortunate to be working with a superb Board of Trustees deeply dedicated to leading the Congregation for the next year. Our outstand-ing Executive Committee of Rikki Schmitchel 1st Vice President, Mike Trimy-er 2nd Vice President, Greg Marks Treasurer, Leslie Levy Secretary, Odelia Rios Sisterhood Representative and Chris Adler Past President will be instru-mental in seeing that the activities, programs and services are implemented to the highest quality. Our continuing Board members including Gary Blum, Lin-da Snider, Eva Brown, Sue Williams, Inna Klein, Suzy Hilliard and David Ja-cobs will provide the continuity, creativity and energy they have so wonderful-ly demonstrated in the past while our new Board members including Laura Hausman, Carol Rehtmeyer, Odelia Rios, and Eddie Seale will bring energiz-ing new perspectives to help meet the challenges we face. We are fortunate to have a Board of Trustees representative of our diverse Congregation, dedicated to CBI, and eager to work hard to strengthen CBI.
Finally, I need to emphasize it will take each of us sharing ideas, finding a role, doing specific tasks and creating special experiences and relationships for us to continue to build our family of families. I look forward to a great year working with and serving each of you. Sincerely, Jim Gold, CBI President
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SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE
cÄxtáx }É|Ç âá àÉ vxÄxuÜtàx ELISE GELLER’S
100TH U|Üà{wtç
Friday, August 18th Congregation Beth Israel
Services will be at 6PM followed by a DINNER Hosted by her family.
Please RSVP by contacting the CBI Office
CARE BAGS: The annual Resource Fair for the Homeless and Insecure Housing is coming up again this fall. This is a one-day event organized by the Homeless Issues Partnership (HIP) to provide supportive services and hospitality in a convenient loca-tion directly to people experiencing homelessness in Corpus Christi. The goal is to provide needed services for those experiencing homelessness and for leaders to gain essential insight into the lives of those living on the streets. The Social Action Com-mittee of CBI will again be delivering items for “Care Bags” for distribution during that fair. There is a large basket under the table just inside the main door to CBI if
you have items that can be used for the “Care Bags”. We are particularly looking for items such as deodorant, shaving crème, soap, shampoo, new wash cloths, new socks, razors, chap stick, Kleenex, dental items, etc. Lightly used school back packs would also be welcome. Contact Sue Williams (361-779-8593) for more in-formation. She will be happy to pick up items if you are unable to bring them to Temple.
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As summer is nearing its end, I hope that everyone is enjoying their time off. We have a lot of fun things on the calendar for next school year and we are happy to introduce you all to our new ISJL Fellow, Rachel Katz. Rachel is one of the many ISJL Fellows who help make our religious school curriculum. She will visit us in the fall and in the spring and she will do fun and educational things with our students. She will also help us to use the religious school curriculum as effective as possible. Registration for Hebrew and Religious school is on Sunday, September 10 at 10:00 am, followed by a parent orientation meeting. See you all soon and enjoy the rest of the summer B’Shalom Manuela Sela, Religious School Director
Corpus Christi Community Religious School Manuela Sela, Director
2017-2018 OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES
President Jim Gold 1st VP Rikki Schmitchel 2nd VP Mike Trimyer Secretary Leslie Levy Treasurer Greg Marks Past President Chris Adler Sisterhood Representative Odelia Rios
Beginning a two-year term: Gary Blum George Kopf Andrew Sheinberg Linda Snider
Completing the 2nd year of a two year term:
Sue Williams Inna Klein Eva Brown Suzy Hilliard
Four President’s Appointees to serve a one year term 2017-2018
Laura Hausman Carol Rehtmeyer
Eddie Seal David Jacobs
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Dear friends, Summer is almost over; However, we don’t think in Corpus you will ever feel the difference between Summer and Fall! Coming in Fall, we have the High Holy Days which will be a busy but fun month for us as Jews. This will be a time for us to remember, honor, and celebrate with lots of food, family and friends bringing us all together! Don't forget you can still order you Honey for Rosh Hashanah and bring the sweets into your friends’ and families’ homes and even your own! Although, before we get into the High Holy Days we have our Annual Sisterhood Kickoff Party which will be hosted by Mrs. Chris Adler! Thank you again Chris for your hospitality! More information will follow and invitations are being prepped to send out. We look forward to seeing you all there. If you are not a member yet or if you want to renew your sisterhood membership this is the time! We have sent out the sisterhood membership form for our new year. Please complete it and return it to CBI Sisterhood. The next Sisterhood meeting will be on Wednesday August 16th at 6.00 pm at CBI. Hope to see you all at the Sisterhood Kickoff Party! B’ Shalom, Manuela Sela & Odelia Rios Sisterhood Co – Presidents
CBI Sisterhood News
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Shalom Everyone,
I hope you have all been enjoying your summer with friends and family, relaxing, vacationing, and even getting some home projects done. Can you believe a new school year starts at the end of this month? Oh, how I hate the lazy days of summer to end!
We are in the process of planning the dates for our Family Shabbat Dinners for the upcoming year! Make sure to read your CBI Newsletter for the upcoming monthly dinner dates, holiday schedules, as well as all the activities planned for the coming year. This is going to be a great year at CBI … and wishing all the new officers and committee members Mazel Tov on their new positions!
I can't believe I'm entering my 7th year cooking for all of you … time really flies!! Please consider giving up some of your free time to help me in the kitchen once a month ... it's pretty lonely in there all by myself! To some of our NEW members, going “behind the scenes” is a great way to make new friends, stay connected and get involved in our CBI family!
Wishing y'all a fabulous rest of the summer and may each and every one of you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a Happy & Healthy New Year too! Leslie Green Family Shabbat Dinner Coordinator Cell: (804) 334-5662 Email: [email protected]
Family Shabbat Dinner
RABBI ROSEMAN UPLOADS LECTURE SERIES Rabbi Kenneth D. Roseman, has just uploaded the first twenty lectures in his series entitled THE HISTO-RY OF THE JEWS IN AMERICA. The video lectures begin with the settlement of Jews in Spain during Ro-man times, discuss settlement of Jews in South and North America and now continue through the 1920s. As they are completed, additional lectures will be posted in the next two months until this story is brought up to the present-day.
The series can be accessed by anyone through YOUTUBE by searching for the general title, WE SAW THE LIFTED LAMP, and then selecting the specific topic one wishes to listen to. Each lecture lasts about 20-25 minutes and is illustrated with pictures of historical personalities, maps and other visuals. There is no charge for the series, which is provided as a gift from Rabbi Roseman to anyone interested.
Rabbi Roseman is a graduate of Oberlin College and was ordained as a rabbi in 1966 at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. He holds a Ph.D. degree in American-Jewish History and has taught at Southern Methodist University and Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. Prior to coming to Cor-pus Christi in 2002, he served congregations in Dallas and Madison, WI and spent eight years on the faculty of his seminary, as Assistant Professor of History and Dean. Among his prize-winning books is Lone Stars of David, a history of Texas Jews he co-edited with Hollace Weiner, and an enormously popular series of history books for ad-olescent readers. Link below: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC33sRwvGF6CtROxLMUbKf2w/videos
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Page 9 C o n g r e g a t i o n B e t h I s r a e l N e w s l e t t e r
PERPETUAL YAHRZEITS
Sabbath of August 4th *Rose Blair Florence Bloom Louise Caldwell *David Ettelman *Joe Goldstein *Israel Goltzman *Saul Grossman *Fred Haas *Karry Kovner *Albert Nelson Edith Roseman *Kate Schapira *Myra Stillman
Sabbath of August 11th Milton Axelrad *Linda Beck Bernice Eisenberg *Goldie Ettleman *Lillian Farber *Jeanette Ginsberg Donald Gordon Zoltan Grun *Arthur Holzman *Louis Kohn *Joseph Krams *Milton Krams Abel Rodriguez Sol Roosth Isadore Rosenwasser *Eva Tenovsky *Bessie Zane
Sabbath of August 18th Truman Appel Elisa Cox *Harry Friedlander
Minnie Hersh *Edward Jacobson *Rose Josephs *Betty Katz Sylvia Levey *Isaac Maniloff Melvin Marks *Jacob Nieman *Joseph Oshman *Marcus Rossenwasser Eloise Rubenstein Sarko Sanders *Sarah Susser Barbara Unger *Bertha Weil *Marcia Weltman *Bertha Wolf
Sabbath of August 25th *Celia Bergman *Fruma Binder Bessie Feinberg *Hadassah Goltzman Pat Gorsuch Helen Hoffman *Salome Isenberg Sharlene Laser *Sol Mintz *David Nagler *Julia Nast Helaine Strauss *Jacob Zalim
Sabbath of September 1st *Samuel Beilin *Sadye Braun *Nathan Cohn *Archer Dawson *Jacob Goltzman *Joseph Grand *Dora Greenberg *Irene Grossman *Edward Grossman *Milton Halprin *Sheva Isenberg *Alfred Laser *Louis Lebowitz *Gladys Lev Elaine Moskowitz *Hannah Solinger Mildred Union *Sophie Wolf
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The Congregation thanks you for the following contributions
Don’t forget . You can remember a friend or relative with a minimum contribution of $5.00 to one of our many funds. These funds support camp scholarships, education, cemeteries, fine arts, library, & building improvements, to name a few. An acknowledgement card will be sent to the honored person or family. Please make checks payable to CBI and specify the fund. Call the CBI office with any questions.
Yahrzeit Donations In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Barbara Silverman Jerry Silverman
Shirley Sacks Becky & Maurice Schmidt
Hugh Quentin Cook Carla DePena
Gerda H. Yaffe
Chinke Lieberman Susan & Bill Martin
Jack Kaufman
Bernard A. Axelrad
Herman Gottlieb Phyllis & Ken Roseman
Sadie Finkelstein Becky & Maurice Schmidt
Max Schmidt
Anne Train Rona & LA Train
Abe Katz Annette & James Cottingham
CBI Cemetery Endowment Fund In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Dr. Jerry Levinson Yettta & Marvin Leshin
Isador Levinson
Dolly Oshman
Richard Hinojosa
Clara Braslau Lois & Gary Blum
Richard Hinojosa
Endowment Fund In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Ray Wasserman Rona & LA Train
Dolly Oshman
In Honor of-------------------------------------------------- From
Elise Geller on her 100th Birthday Rona & LA Train
General Fund In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Richard Hinojosa Mille Zalim
Susan Pels
Richard Hinojosa Jim & Annette Cottingham
Clara Braslau Richard Hinojosa Village Park Townhome Owner's Association
Safronia Jenkins Moria & Patrick Cain
In Honor of-------------------------------------------------- From
Elise Geller on her Birthday Julia & Tim Noble
Jim Gold-New CBI President
Elise Geller on her Birthday Elizabeth & Jerry Susser
Hebrew Rest Cemetery Fund In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Dolly Oshman Elizabeth & Jerry Susser
Richard Hinojosa
Clara Braslau
Mitzvah Fund In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Joyce Clark Susan Barham
Beth Barham
Offenberg Library Fund In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Clara Offenberg Lois & Gary Blum
In Honor of-------------------------------------------------- From
Mira Emanuel on her Bat Mitzvah Susan Thieme
Oshman Family Foundation Fund In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Dolly Oshman Barbara & Jay Lack
Richard Schaffer
Susan & Bill Martin
Susan Thieme
Jack Solovey
Mrs. Patricia Rowland & Family
Charles & Martha DeCou
In Honor of-------------------------------------------------- From
Mike Trimyer-Exemplary Service Award Jack Solovey
Rabbi's Discretionary Fund In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Richard Hinojosa Yvonne Hinojosa
Arturo Hinojosa
Recovery of-------------------------------------------------- From
Iris Lehrman Carla DePena
In Honor of-------------------------------------------------- From
Mira Emanuel on her Bat Mitzvah Carla DePena
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 Shabbat Service 6:30 pm
Light Candles at: 7:58PM
5 Shabbat Service 9:00 am
6 7 8 9 10
11 Shabbat Service 6:30 pm
Light Candles at: 7:53PM
12 Shabbat Service 9:00 am
13
14
15
16
17
18 Shabbat Service
6:00 pm Elise Geller’s 100th birthday celebra on followed by a dinner Hosted by her family. Light Candles at: 7:46PM
19 Shabbat Service 9:00 am
20
21 22 23
Sisterhood Kick‐Off
24
25
Shabbat Service 6:30 pm
Light Candles at: 7:39 PM
26 Shabbat Service 9:00 am
27
28
29
30
31 Sept. 1 Shabbat Service 6:30 pm
Light Candles at: 7:32PM
Sept. 2
Shabbat Service 9:00 am
August 2017
CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL 4402 SARATOGA CORPUS CHRISTI, TX 78413
CBI Sisterhood Gift Shop
announces its new
*Judaica Exchange *
Donate your previously loved and gently used Judaica, get a tax donation receipt, then come to the Gift Shop to browse and buy!
To schedule alternate appointment times, please call the
