Nisan 5775 April 2015 Lake Park Synagogue * 3207 N Hackett Ave.* Milwaukee WI 53211

Tel: (414) 962-5508 * Fax (414) 964-2837 * www.lakeparksynagogue.org

Table of Contents From the Rabbi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 From the President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Tuesday Evening Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Passover Community Seder . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Passover Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Donations, Kiddushes, and Yahrtzeits . . .7-8 Sale of chametz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Photos courtesy of Lorraine Hoffmann

Lake Park Synagogue will once again host a seder, this year on the first night of Passover, Friday night April 3rd. This is an excellent way to introduce friends and family to Lake Park Synagogue, and also an invitation to extend to anyone who may need a place for the holiday.

What will make this night different than all others? This will be the first Passover with Rabbi Nisan Andrews and his family, and he promises a fun, traditional seder for adults and children alike. We will be able to use our newly remodeled kitchen for our first Passover, too!

In order to make it easier for all families to participate, we begin seder activities at 7:15 PM so we can finish before too late. For more information, see page five. Please make reservations with the LPS office.

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A cursory reading through the halachic literature regarding the Passover Seder shows that a major concern is to transmit the message of the Exodus to our children. Our rabbis have traditionally invested much thought and energy into making sure that those children remain awake during the seder. Two of the most effective means towards this goal are the hiding of the afikoman and the rousing songs that are sung at the end of the evening.

In my house growing up, the award of favourite seder song would have easily gone to Chad Gadya. The singing of the Chad Gadya certainly provides a sufficient incentive for young and old alike to keep our eyes open, and a stirring jolt for anyone who might have nodded off by then.

Like several other songs that have found their way into the Haggadah, Chad Gadya has no obvious connection to Passover, nor does it constitute an essential component of the liturgy. According to an article published by the University of Calgary, the current version first appeared in the Prague printing of the Haggadah in 1590 and its popularity was for a long time confined to Ashkenazic Jews. Like several other parts of the Haggadah, it is recited in Aramaic rather than Hebrew. According to one theory, it was originally written in Yiddish (in which language it appears in an old manuscript), and afterwards translated into Aramaic in order to make it easier to imitate the Yiddish rhymes. Scholars have, however, pointed out that Aramaic versions of the song are attested to as far back as the thirteenth century in Avignon, southern France, where Yiddish would not have been known.

Although many like to regard Chad Gadya as no more than analogous to such folk songs as "the House that Jack Built" or "the Farmer in the Dell," some of our rabbis approached it with immense respect and tried to uncover its secret meanings. Most commentators saw it as a parable about Jewish history, in which one evil empire after another arises to oppress the defenceless Jewish "kid." This pattern will end in the messianic era, when God himself will do away with our oppressors and banish death itself.

By Rabbi Nisan Andrew

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The reverence in which the Chad Gadya was held is exemplified by an incident that took place in the eighteenth century when a certain brash individual dared to make fun of the song and was immediately placed under a ban of excommunication by an irate observer. The episode was brought before the renowned Rabbi Hayyim Azulai (known as the "Chida") who was thoroughly incensed that anyone should make light of a hymn that is recited by thousands of Jews and accepted by great rabbis. As evidence of the sanctity of the Chad Gadya, the Chida tells of one eminent scholar who composed more than ten different commentaries to the song according to the different levels of mystical interpretation. The Chida, himself a seasoned Kabbalist, entertained no doubts that the Chad Gadya does indeed contain deep mysteries.

Chad Gadya is definitely the hight of the seder for me. I hope you will join Hannah and me at the community seder held at the Lake Park Synagogue to contribute many fond nostalgic memories for my children as well.

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With the arrival of spring we get ready to welcome a new holiday season. Regardless of weather, Pesach with all its preparations and traditions is almost upon us. By now most people are cleaning their kitchens. At Lake Park, we took this commandment to a new level by completely replacing the kitchen. Thats one way to avoid cleaning and to ensure a most kosher Pesach. I wish to first and foremost thank Drs. Alfred and Isabel Bader for their generous donation. Todah Rabah to the many decision makers, organizers and Kiddush preparers who worked under very trying conditions during this endless renovation. Now that the last tile is being laid, we should all use this new space for many many years in good health.

In addition to the Rabbis classes and one-on-one learning options, there are committees and opportunities for everyone to be involved. Think about joining the Kiddush committee, the Program Committee or the Annual Dinner Committee. There is room for everyone. Contact me or the Rabbi to volunteer.

Wishing a happy and kosher Pesach.

By Larry Pachefsky

With Rabbi Andrews

Hassidic Spirituality Through Stories: A Study Through Mishnah

Tuesday evenings 7 PM Between Pesach and Shavuot

Join us for more textual learning opportunities at Lake Park:

Sunday evening: Sefer Chafetz Chaim (the laws of gossip and slander) Monday Evenings: Shaarei Teshuva (a medieval ethics text) Wednesday Evenings: Nefesh HaChaim (a classical work on the theosophic implications of the Kabbalah)

Call ahead, these studies are informal and times vary.

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Friday, April 3rd- Taanit Bchorot Shacharit 7 AM Rabbi Andrews will celebrate a siyum followed by refreshments

Last time to eat chametz is 10:46 AM Chametz must be burned by 11:50 AM

Candle lighting 7:02 PM Mincha 7:00 PM followed by Maariv First seder at LPS begins at 7:15 PM

Shabbat, April 4th- Passover I Shacharit 9 AM Mincha/Maariv 7:10 PM Light candles after 8:03 PM

Sunday, April 5th- Passover II Shacharit 9 AM Mincha/Maariv 7:10 PM Havdallah 8: 06 PM

Thursday, April 9th- Erev Passover VII Candle Lighting 7:09 PM Mincha/ Maariv 7:15 PM Shacharit 9 AM

Friday, April 10th Passover VII Shacharit 9:00 AM Candle Lighting 7:10 PM Mincha/Maariv 7:15 PM

Shabbat, April 11th Passover VIII Shacharit 9:00 AM Shir Hashirim will be read Yizkor 10:45 AM Mincha 7:45 PM Havdallah 8:14 PM

Shir Hashirim, The Song of Songs, will be chanted on the last day of Pesach ( Saturday (Shabbat) April 11th).

Please join us as members of our congregation share the reading responsibilities!

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Peggy Goodman

Hannah Gollin

Adina and Harvey Altshull

Nancy Thomadsen

Ken and Juliana Kapp

Isabel and Alfred Bader

In honor of the Loewenbergs grandson Rafis Bar Mitzvah

Tamar and Jacob Loewenberg

Jane and Ellis Avner

Gloria and Leonard Parker

Lorraine Hoffmann

In memory of Isabel Baders sister Marion

Gloria and Leonard Parker

Lorraine Hoffmann

Lorraine Hoffmann

In memory of her fathers yahrzeit

In honor of Isabel and Alfred Baders Anniversary

Rfua Shlaima to Ellis Avner

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Adar

12 Mildred Pevnick-mother of Steven Pevnick (Adar 2) 17 Yankel Bayer, Ephraim Yaakov ben Avraham-uncle of Morry Blumenfeld 19 Meta Goldschmidt, Miriam bat Abraham-grandmother of Lorraine Hoffmann (Adar 1) 21 Josef Joshua ben Mordecai v Sarah-father of Ken Kapp (Adar1) 22 HaRav Shmuel Hillel Ben Aryeh Leib HaKohen-grandfather of Shirley Weinstein 22 Pinchas ben Yirmiyahu (Grafstein)-father of Charlotte Blumenfeld 23 Harold Borkowf, Yisroel Zvi ben Ephraim Moshe-husband of Anne Borkowf 27 Leah bat Meier-grandmother of Lorraine Hoffmann (Adar 1) 29 Lea Bat Yehuda-mother of Juda Jona 29 Shoshana bas Shimon-mother of Rhoda Parsons (Adar 1)

Nisan 8 Harold Hirsh-father of Jody Hirsh 16 Shimon ben Yankel v'Friedl-father of Rachel Forman 17 Yitzchok Ben Shlomo-father of Nita Corre 30 Louis Hoffmann, Eliezer ben Tzvi-grandfather of Lorraine Hoffmann

Iyar 4 Rifka Bas Yoseph-mother of Edith Kahn

5 Inez Ladenson mother of Robert Ladenson

6 Yisroel ben Dovid (ArthurMSweet)-father of Nancy Thomadsen

6 Zahava bat Moshe v Osnat-mother of Boaz Avital

7 Herta Hoffmann, Raisa bat Shlomo-mother of Lorraine Hoffmann 15 Chaim Abramowitz, Chaim Yitzhak Ben Kalman- father of Dena Abramowitz 17 Yaakov Ben Avrohom- father of Alan Corre 19 Yehuda ben Tzvi, J.George Adashko-father of Jane Avner 25 Shayndel Chana Bas Shmuel Zorach- mother of Morry Blumenfeld

Sivan 5 Channa Bat Menachem-sister of Juda Jona 12 Albert Nankin, Ellyoho Ben Aharon HaKohan-father of Armin Nankin 12 Murray Krautheimer-uncle of Irma Fiedler 12 father of Morry Blumenfeld 14 Leo Pevnick, Yehuda Leib ben Aharon-father of Steve Pevnick 14 Yacov Ben Mordechai-father of Leonard Parker 17 Malka bat Yaakov v Hanna-mother of Ken Kapp 19 Irving Fiedler, Yitzchok Ben Chayim-father of Howard Fiedler 29 Hannah bat Natan-mother of Leonard Parker

January 10 Lorraine Hoffmann In memory of her fathers yahrzeit January 24 Leonid and Raisas grandsons 9th birthday February 7 Rabbi Samuels In honor of his birthday March 7 Ken Kapp in memory of his fathers yahrzeit

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Sale of Chametz

I, ____________________________________, appoint Rabbi Andrews to act on my behalf to sell all chametz possessed by me knowingly and unknowingly as defined by Torah and Rabbinic law. The sale will commence on or before , the 13th of Nissan 5775 (April 2nd 2015.) Also included: all sorts of Chametz mixtures, chametz that tends to harden and adhere to the inside surface of pots pans, all animals and livestock which consume chametz and chametz mixtures. Also any chametz in transit that would be delivered to me during the above specified period. I also authorize Rabbi Andrews to lease all my premises in which chametz owned by me may be found. These premises are:

Home address:_______________________________________________________

Other addresses where I store chametz:____________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

I grant Rabbi Andrews authority to delegate any or all of the above powers to any person or persons he shall select to sell my chametz and to lease my property where my chametz is stored. These powers shall conform with all Torah laws and rabbinic laws as well as the laws of Wisconsin.

_______________ ____________________________________________ Date Signature

___ I /We are on the premises throughout Pesach

Or

Access to the premises for purposes of removal of chametz can be obtained by:

_______________________________________________________________

This form should be returned to Rabbi Andrews in person at which time a legally binding kinyan will be made. If this is not possible, please call the office so arrangements can be made (414) 964-2837. All chametz must be sold before the evening of April 2nd.

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3207 N Hackett Ave. Milwaukee WI 53211