From the Rabbi’s Desk page 1 What’s Happening/March page 3 Service Schedule page 4 April Oneg Hosts page 4 President’s Message page 5 JFC Sisterhood Invite page 6 Kids Ask the Rabbi page 6 Early Childhood Center page 7 The Religious School page 11 Recent Donations to JFC page 15 Social Action Committee page 17 Birthdays/Annivs/Yahrzeits page 20 Ask the Rabbi page 24 NFTY-NAR Speech page 25 JiFTY page 29 Religious School Seder pix page 31 Purim Carnival pix page 34 ECC Book Swap pix page 35 Donations Form page 36 JFC’s April Calendar page 37 Shofar Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation April 2012 www.jewishfamilycongregation.org From the Rabbi’s Desk Please Support Our Advertisers What kind of Passover seder did you grow up with? In my family, my mother’s father always led the seder, using a small haggadah (not the Maxwell House edition!) with in- tense illustrations and very awkward English translations of the traditional Hebrew text. But that didn’t matter much, since my grandfather and my two uncles read the whole thing in Hebrew anyway, from start to finish. The men sat at one end of the table and raced through the Hebrew in a mumble, while the women sat at the other end and chatted amongst themselves. The kids were in the middle, and we participated only in those parts of the seder for which we had been primed: the Four Questions, the ritual foods, and some of the songs. As we got older, and as we learned more at Hebrew school, we kids introduced some new songs to the family practice. We also changed how we sang the Four Ques- tions, but the seder remained the same until my grandfa- ther died, when I was a teenager. Then my father took over running the seder, and we switched to reading a lot of the text in English, from those same little haggadot. More people could participate in the seder because the language was our vernacular, but the meaning of the hag- gadah was lost amongst the Thees and Thines and Thous. I loved the seder because it was a family gathering, the food was great, and the singing was enthusiastic and joy- ful. What I did not love was the huge task of preparing for the event, which meant a very thorough spring house cleaning, the schlepping upstairs of the Pesakh dishes and the packing away of all the usual dishes, pots and pans and utensils, only to reverse the whole procedure eight days later. With the emphasis on what we ate for those special days, Pesakh became a festival about extra work, not about lib- eration from slavery! And the dreary haggadah we used did not help. Today there are literally hundreds of different haggadot available, written in accessible English (or the language of your choice!) with commentaries that enrich the seder experience enormously. It was not till I was in rabbinical school that I learned that the haggadah itself was never meant to be a text read from cover to cover as my grandfather used to do. The rabbis who created the haggadah were developing rituals and practices to replace the focus on the Passover sacri- fice, which had been the essence of Pesakh until the Tem- ple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. They created the seder plate with its ceremonial foods, the rituals of eating matzah and bitter herbs and other foods, the asking of Four Questions and also the many midrashic commen- taries on the Exodus story, which became the content of the traditional haggadah. What got lost in that process was a complete retelling of the Passover story. It is simply not part of the traditional haggadah. So, in participating in a seder that focuses on reading every word in the traditional haggadah, we are directed away from the meaning of Pesakh, the theme of liberation from slavery which has resonated so clearly with other groups seeking their own liberation. Learning that the haggadah was intended as a work in pro- gress liberated me from the sense of obligation to read (Continued on page 2)
Transcript
From the Rabbi’s Desk page 1 What’s Happening/March page 3 Service Schedule page 4 April Oneg Hosts page 4 President’s Message page 5 JFC Sisterhood Invite page 6 Kids Ask the Rabbi page 6 Early Childhood Center page 7 The Religious School page 11 Recent Donations to JFC page 15
Social Action Committee page 17 Birthdays/Annivs/Yahrzeits page 20 Ask the Rabbi page 24 NFTY-NAR Speech page 25 JiFTY page 29 Religious School Seder pix page 31 Purim Carnival pix page 34 ECC Book Swap pix page 35 Donations Form page 36 JFC’s April Calendar page 37
Shofar Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation April 2012
www.jewishfamilycongregation.org
From the Rabbi’s Desk
Please Support Our Advertisers
What kind of Passover seder did you grow up with? In my family, my mother’s father always led the seder, using a small haggadah (not the Maxwell House edition!) with in-tense illustrations and very awkward English translations of the traditional Hebrew text. But that didn’t matter much, since my grandfather and my two uncles read the whole thing in Hebrew anyway, from start to finish. The men sat at one end of the table and raced through the Hebrew in a mumble, while the women sat at the other end and chatted amongst themselves. The kids were in the middle, and we participated only in those parts of the seder for which we had been primed: the Four Questions, the ritual foods, and some of the songs.
As we got older, and as we learned more at Hebrew school, we kids introduced some new songs to the family practice. We also changed how we sang the Four Ques-tions, but the seder remained the same until my grandfa-ther died, when I was a teenager. Then my father took over running the seder, and we switched to reading a lot of the text in English, from those same little haggadot. More people could participate in the seder because the language was our vernacular, but the meaning of the hag-gadah was lost amongst the Thees and Thines and Thous.
I loved the seder because it was a family gathering, the food was great, and the singing was enthusiastic and joy-ful. What I did not love was the huge task of preparing for the event, which meant a very thorough spring house cleaning, the schlepping upstairs of the Pesakh dishes and the packing away of all the usual dishes, pots and pans and utensils, only to reverse the whole procedure eight days later.
With the emphasis on what we ate for those special days, Pesakh became a festival about extra work, not about lib-eration from slavery!
And the dreary haggadah we used did not help.
Today there are literally hundreds of different haggadot available, written in accessible English (or the language of your choice!) with commentaries that enrich the seder experience enormously.
It was not till I was in rabbinical school that I learned that the haggadah itself was never meant to be a text read from cover to cover as my grandfather used to do. The rabbis who created the haggadah were developing rituals and practices to replace the focus on the Passover sacri-fice, which had been the essence of Pesakh until the Tem-ple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. They created the seder plate with its ceremonial foods, the rituals of eating matzah and bitter herbs and other foods, the asking of Four Questions and also the many midrashic commen-taries on the Exodus story, which became the content of the traditional haggadah.
What got lost in that process was a complete retelling of the Passover story. It is simply not part of the traditional haggadah. So, in participating in a seder that focuses on reading every word in the traditional haggadah, we are directed away from the meaning of Pesakh, the theme of liberation from slavery which has resonated so clearly with other groups seeking their own liberation.
Learning that the haggadah was intended as a work in pro-gress liberated me from the sense of obligation to read
(Continued on page 2)
Page 2 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar April 2012
every word in it. At the JFC seder, I have for years used the haggadah as a guide for doing the required rituals in the right order, while I have avoided the long midrashic commentaries in favour of a re-enactment of the story itself. Though I have done this largely to keep the kids engaged, I have also done this with confidence that it ac-complished the real goal of the seder, which is the retelling of the Pesakh story, so that we too can feel the joy of liberation. After all, the rabbis taught us that each per-son is supposed to feel that s/he was per-sonally redeemed from slavery with the ancient Israelites…that is one of the many mitzvot (religious obligations) of Pesakh.
So this year, as you prepare to run or par-ticipate in a seder, I invite you to think about the theme of this festival, which is liberation. Just last year, we were watch-
ing liberation spread across the Arab world, as various countries over threw their dicta-tors of long standing. It is not clear that real liberation followed those uprisings, but the uprisings themselves reminded us…certainly they reminded me…that liberation does not come with the air we breathe, that it is not necessarily achieved easily. Modern day pharaohs, like Assad in Syria, are still withholding this precious commod-ity from their people.
I also invite you to think of the ways that you can liberate yourself from the con-straints which limit your own sense of free-dom. What old ways of thinking do you need to let go of? What habits of thought, action or feeling do you engage in, that re-strain you from being your best self?
Make this Pesakh the festival of freedom at your seder and in your life.
(Continued from page1)
DEAD SEA SCROLLS EXHIBIT
MARCH 18, 2012
From the Rabbi’s Desk (cont’d)
Jewish Family
Congregation 111 Smith Ridge Road
P.O. Box 249 South Salem, NY 10590 Phone: (914) 763-3028 Fax: (914) 763-3069 e-mail: [email protected]
The items in the JFC Gift Shop have changed again.
Please stop in and take a look!
Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar Page 3
JEWISH FAMILY CONGREGATION 111 SMITH RIDGE RD. - SOUTH SALEM, NY - (914) 763-3028
WWW.JEWISHFAMILYCONGREGATION.ORG
ALL EVENTS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
What’s Happening This Month at JFC?
Fri., Apr. 6 NO FRIDAY NIGHT SERVICES -- FIRST SEDER HAPPY PASSOVER!
Sat., Apr. 7 JFC’S ANNUAL SECOND SEDER 6:30 p.m. Our seder is a pot-luck event that is very kid-friendly and includes all the
traditions! Reservations must be made ahead of time
Thurs., Apr. 12 ADULT-ONLY THIRD SEDER 6:30 p.m. An opportunity to discuss the themes and meaning of Passover on an adult
level.
Fri., Apr. 13 PASSOVER/YIZKOR SERVICE 7:30 p.m. A Yizkor Service will take place during Friday night services.
Sun., Apr. 15 MEET CLARE EFFIONG, FOUNDER OF ESTHER’S AID 11:15 a.m.-noon Join us to meet and hear from Clare Effiong. Esther’s Aid is a Rwandan Chil-
dren’s Relief Organization.
Thurs., Apr. 19 MINI-HEBREW SCHOOL FOR PROSPECTIVE KINDERGARTNERS 4:15-6:00 p.m. Our 4-year old friends are invited to participate in our kindergarten class.
Stay for all or part of the class, which will include music and an informal fun service. Parents may stay too!
Fri., Apr. 20 YOM HASHOAH 7:30 p.m. A special service for Holocaust Memorial Day featuring the JFC Choir.
Sun., Apr. 22 CREATIVE ARTS HEALING EXPERIENCE 12:30-5:00 p.m. Through the use of art materials, image-making and writing, experience a
safe, non-judgmental environment. No art experience needed!
Fri., Apr. 27 YOM HA’ATZMA’UT 7:30 p.m. A special service for Israel’s Independence Day featuring the JFC Choir. KINDERGARTEN/GRADE 1 SERVICE JFC’s Shabbat Service, featuring the Kindergarten and Grade 1 presentation
and their own Oneg Shabbat.
APRIL 2012
Page 4 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar April 2012
APRIL 6 HAPPY PESACH! FIRST SEDER.
NO SERVICES/NO ONEG
APRIL 13 JFC Staff Members
APRIL 20 Jeffrey & Elizabeth Klotz
Emily Perl Kingsley
APRIL 27 K/1 CLASS SERVICE
Please find a substitute if you
cannot host your assigned Oneg.
Please contact the JFC Office with the name(s) of the new hosts.
Please contact your Board Host if you have any questions.
SERVICE SCHEDULE
APRIL
Friday, April 6/ Nisan 15 NO SERVICE…first night of Passover
Saturday, April 7 6:30 pm JFC Second Seder (by reservation only)
Friday, April 21 7:30 pm Passover Shabbat Yizkor Service
Friday, April 20/Nisan 29 7:30 pm Yom HaShoah*** observed
Saturday, April 21 10:00 am Shabbat Morning Service
Friday, April 27/ Iyar 6 7:30 pm Yom Ha-Atzma-ut^^^ observed
Kindergarten-First Grade service
Saturday, April 28 10:00 am Shabbat Morning Service
*** Holocaust Memorial Day ^^^ Israel Independence Day
APRIL BOARD HOST: Pat Shafer (203) 731-7645
APRIL ONEG HOSTS
CHOIR
If you would like to join the choir, or for more information, please contact Kathy Storfer at [email protected]
We welcome all adults -- 13 or older!
Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar Page 5
President’s Message by Richard Mishkin
Spring is here and it’s a busy time at JFC. We are putting the final touches on two or three events, which you will be hearing about shortly. Leslie Gottlieb has told us that early registration for Reli-gious School has been excellent and ahead of last year. Jane Emmer is excited about ECC attracting new families and more than optimistic about a fun-filled Summer Camp. Our new Sisterhood has given a group of women an opportunity to bring the JFC com-munity into their social lives and offer what will be enjoyable and meaningful occasions. The Board’s responsibilities, as we near the end of our current fiscal year, include planning for the an-nual congregational meeting in June, as well as plan-ning for next year. We have a better understanding of our financial condition as a result of the work of Donn Henshaw and Hal Wolkin, assisted by Kathleen Sakowicz in our office. The Board has developed a budget for consideration of and approval by the con-gregation at the annual meeting. We shall distribute copies of the budget in advance of the annual meet-ing so that you may have time to consider its content prior to the meeting.
We are also charged with filling vacant seats on the Board. The by-laws require that a nominating com-mittee be appointed (to be made up of Board mem-bers and Congregants) to nominate for election, indi-viduals who will be placed on the ballot for election at the annual congregational meeting. We think that it is important for the congregation to play a role in this process and would encourage that you consider doing so. With that in mind, if you are interested in serving on the nominating committee please contact me as soon as possible, but no later than April 20th. Please note that members of the nominating may not run for office. In addition, if you are interesting in becoming a Board member, please let me know and I will make sure that the nominating committee is made aware of your interest. The nominating committee will be charged with identifying at least three individuals to fill the three seats on the Board that will become va-cant on June 30th. A zeisen pesach to all.
THE THIRD SEDER…HOW IS THIS NIGHT DIFFERENT?
Many family seders are shaped to accommodate the needs of the young children who attend them, and that is entirely appropriate. After all, the haggadah itself was shaped to hold the attention of young children; the Four Questions were moved from the end, where they belong, after all the rituals are done, to the beginning, before the rituals occur, to give the kids a role in the seder at an early point in the observance.
But that bypasses the interests of the adults in attendance. There may be no room for a discussion about the holiday’s theme, liberation, or about how the haggadah came into existence, or what its goal was, or how we should relate to the various rituals, etc.
So we are, this year, offering a Seder Study Session, on Thursday, April 12, be-ginning at 7:15 pm. This will be an all adult event, held at JFC. We will use a vari-ety of haggadot, and participants are invited to bring along their favorite, or least fa-vorite, haggadah. Come and ask all those questions you have been thinking about for years!
If you are coming, please bring some food (KOSHER FOR PASSOVER) to share with others. Not a meal, but some nourishment for the body while our discussion provides nourishment for the soul. And we’ll bring wine or grape juice to round out the celebra-tion.
Please notify Rabbi Freedman that you are going to attend, by calling her at 914.763-3028, x12, or emailing to [email protected].
Page 6 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar April 2012
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What Did We Do In March???
March at the Early Childhood Center was extremely busy.
IT IS TIME TO REGISTER FOR SCHOOL AND CAMP!!!!!!
We celebrated Purim in a big way with our youngest folks. Bobbie Cohlan, the force be-hind the beginning of the ECC, visited and baked yummy Hamantashan with us. The teachers performed a Purim Schpiel. Cantor Kerry led us in Purim songs. Rabbi Carla led our Purim service. We all made special Shaloch Manot bags to share with our families. We are enjoying our NEW activity, indoor soc-cer. Our coaches from Happy Feet are teach-ing us many things. We are learning the basics of ball handling and most importantly how to have fun! We continue with our Yoga classes with Stephanie. The Garden Room is a busy and active place during ECC time. Our 2nd annual book swap was a huge hit. We had lots of familiar faces reading stories. We enjoyed non-stop story time, with stories read by Farmer Dale, Batyah Ben-David, Laur-ence Furic, Mark Frey, Jen Carter, Naomi Heftler and Kathy Storfer. Thanks to our readers and to Dara Marceau for organizing this terrific and fun event.
The Yellow Room visited the Railroad Museum in Danbury and had a blast. They got a tour of the old rail yard and were able to see and climb on a real train.
Passover at the ECC was celebrated early this year, because of our spring break. We got a head start cooking, singing and cele-brating. We all learned the story of Passover and enjoyed our all-school Sedar. April will prove to be a bit quieter..., but we are sure to have lots of fun!!!
The Early Childhood Center Jane Weil Emmer, Director
JFC CLASSIFIED
ALL ADS ARE A FLAT $18 AND MAY NOT EXCEED 50 WORDS. THEY WILL RUN FOR
ONE MONTH ONLY.
To place an ad, submit the text and your payment to the JFC Office. You may email the text to [email protected] and either
drop off or mail your check (payable to JFC). Credit card payments are also accepted.
Page 8 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar April 2012
Todah Rabbah from the ECC to:
Bobbie Cohlan for baking Hamantashan with us.
Farmer Dale for planting Mexican Sun Flowers
Dara Marceau for coordinating Book Swap
Meredith Rudin for coordinating our Scholastic Fund Raiser
Elise Serby for hosting the ECC social event
Rabbi Carla, Cantor Kerry, Jolie and Kathleen for support and
tolerance of our beautiful noise!
Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar Page 9
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The Religious School Leslie Gottlieb, Director
When our family started to resemble a real one-- with the introduction of little ones over twenty years ago, my hus-band and I decided that we needed our own traditions for holidays. I am sure everyone goes through the same thing. We are still figuring this out to this day and that’s funny because now all of the kids are grown and live apart from us (except when our daughter is home from college). We had so much time to establish all of the traditions that would set us apart but the process is an evolving one in our case. Passover presented us with a unique challenge. Which haggadot would we purchase and use? Would we clear out the chametz and if so to what extent? How would we all agree on what to do at all in our home? All families have to make new rules-- and when it comes to religion, choice (as Reform Jews) can be daunting in some respects. The responsibility for making educated and meaningful choices is a heavy one.
When our boys were little, before Miss Renna came along… we had a very close relationship with our non-Jewish neighbors. The kids and I decided that we would sell the chametz to them for $1 (a token amount to be re-turned with the food items at the end of the holiday as we were instructed to do by some book or another). As a symbolic gesture to show that the task at hand was com-plete, we would sit on the floor in the darkened kitchen and by the light of a candle we would drop a piece of chametz (a piece of bread, usually) onto the floor tiles—using a feather to push the offending matter onto a spoon. Then out it went and we were ready for Pesach.
My husband returned from work one night (our first time going all the way with this tradition) and the cupboards were almost bare. He did not like this new family tradition very much but procured a good enough attitude knowing that I was trying to teach broad lessons of our faith to our young audience. Add to this the fact that my husband’s birthday always falls at Passover, it seems, so he has had to endure years watching me snatch away his bread on its way to the toaster (if he stashed any away successfully) just as he was about to infect our flour free environment. Again, he always rose to the occasion but he was so not used to all of this from his childhood; it was almost as if we grew up practicing two different religions.
Now that one of our sons is dating a Jewish girl (both are in fact, surprisingly) he has had to accommodate her in a most interesting way. She is strictly kosher and we are not! Now it all comes back around again. So many Jews, so many traditions…. In fact, now that the boys have Jew-ish girlfriends, we have a most difficult situation. Where do they go for Passover? Our oldest is going to California for the seders and we will miss him at ours. Our other son is going to Pennsylvania for the second night. A parent does not consider all of this when hoping the kids settle
down with those who practice the same religion. It’s a funny kind of problem, no? Thank goodness there are two nights.
In the winter edition of Lilith magazine (I have a gift sub-scription from the Rabbi for which I am truly thankful) I was reading an essay entitled, The Joy of Chametz -- a per-sonal reflection on the process of preparing the writer’s home over the years for Pesach. Its author, Hadar Dubowsky Ma’ayan, writes, “Cleaning for Pesach isn’t just cleaning for me. It’s about beginning the process of pre-paring for a holiday that’s about spring and liberation. Cleaning feels like working hard to start anew, and it mir-rors the ‘spiritual cleaning’ of reaching towards a more just way of living.” I have to agree but it’s a hard notion to sell to everyone.
The writer talks about her changing relationship with be-ing Jewish over the years and I can relate to that and am sure many readers of this column would agree. “Throughout my life, I’ve had a range of Pesach cleaning experiences, depending on my relationship to Judaism at the time. I grew up in a family where my mom cleaned out all the chametz for Pesach and put it in paper bags in the garage. We were serious about Passover. One year when I was eight, I forgot about Pesach and ate a sand-wich at a birthday party and felt horribly guilty.” We have all been there. One year I made our entire family matzah sandwiches and we went to the Bronx Zoo for the day as the kids had their spring break overlapping with Pesach. Of course all of the yeshiva students had the week off from school and so the entire zoo was filled to capacity with men and boys in black coats and hats—and our little matzah sandwiches made us feel strange, to tell you the truth. I felt like we were in a science experiment with Jews of different stripes placed together in an artificial setting. Were we really all celebrating the exodus from Egypt? Were we all following the same Gd? Was this possible considering how our lives were being led so differently? Were the animals there really scientists watching the hu-mans behave? Oy!!!
With so many Jews and myriad traditions, there are so many haggadot from which to choose. We bought a great set when the kids were young—but old enough to appreci-ate the readings in it that included authors like Martin Lu-ther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy. My Israeli brother-in-law had a difficult time with our seder that year, to be frank. I thought it was magical and held true meaning for our guests. Seders at his family’s home start after sun-down, go on forever, are all in Hebrew, and there is almost no discussion of the meaning of the holiday. This is trou-bling for me but it seems more important that the whole
(Continued on page 12)
Page 12 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar April 2012
The Religious School (cont’d) family come together rather than separate the group be-cause we interpret the purpose of Pesach not so much in the same way—or at least the seder piece. No matter, it’s the absence of our deceased relatives, like my mother and Larry’s father and our grandparents, which makes this holi-day the hardest of all to celebrate. I hear my mother sing-ing Dayenu in my ear but she’s not there to judge the mat-zah balls anymore. This, too, becomes an aspect of every holiday for all of us who have lost loved ones. It is very difficult to enjoy it in just the same way.
Take a look at some interesting ideas (taken from the URJ website but altered in places) for taking next year’s seder at your house or Grandma’s to another level. Maybe Pass-over is our best opportunity all year long to talk about im-portant social and life issues with our family there-- a fo-rum for sharing ideas. Hopefully, a meaningful conversa-tion evolves to create a lasting impression for all partici-pants.
The Seder Plate Alongside the traditional items on the Seder Plate, try some modern additions that add special meaning to your family.
Four Cups of Wine While our tradition applies specific meaning to the four cups of wine found within the Passover seder, many mod-ern Haggadot have begun to reinterpret the original four cups. Your family can invent its own ideas.
Ha Lachma Anya/ Bread of Affliction This reading provides the primary textual inspiration for feeding the hungry during Passover as well as calling for an end to slavery. This can inspire a tradition of performing the mitzvot of making a donation to the poor.
The Four Questions This part of the Seder allows for much creativity in the text and inclusion of social action themes or questions.
The Four Children To further delve into the text, reconsider the identification and interpretation of the four children.
Maggid/The Narration Amidst the retelling of the exodus from Egypt, a seder can include the discussion issues of oppression or redemption of others.
Ten Plagues As we recite the plagues, we pour out ten drops of wine, lessening our joy, to remember the plagues set upon Egypt. In today's world, there are many societal cruelties and injustices that can cause us to diminish our joy.
Dayenu: It Would Have Been Enough Dayenu is a song of thanks for the myriad of miracles which took place during the Exodus. It can also allow us to express our gratitude for recent miracles.
Cup of Elijah During this time, we focus on our hopes for peace and re-demption of messianic times. But what can we do to repair the world today?
The reading of the haggadah, whichever version, can be rejuvenating. I just ordered a copy of the new Nathan Englander hag-gadah and would be happy to lend it out to anyone interested in, yet, another tell-ing of the story. I have read that Obama is using the Maxwell House edition (over 5 billion handed out over the years… can this be right?) for the White House seder once again this year. He IS the commander in chief so he gets to decide, I suppose. It must be one of the preroga-tive powers….
I hope that this season brings rich new ideas and traditions to your family seder. At JFC, we ARE a family and I will be thinking of you all as I plod through the Hebrew-only text we’ll be using in New Rochelle on the first night. More than anything, I will be grateful to: be with those whom I love, be eating foods that represent larger moral and spiri-tual concepts—and to simply be alive in this wonderful world at this time of the year. Enjoy the holiday.
Todah Rabbah From The Religious School to…
Karen Blum for helping with EVEYTHING… especially the school seders & the Youth Group shul-in last month
Our class parents for helping with the seders Our Kids Knesset families for helping with our April 15 Esther’s Aid event All of the families who registered their children during the “early” period The RS Committee for all of their ongoing support
Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar Page 13
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Recent Donations to JFC
IF ANY DONATIONS ARE NOT LISTED, KINDLY CONTACT THE JFC OFFICE AND LET US KNOW.
Caring Committee Robi Margolis and Family In Honor Of Lisa Block, Debbie & Mark Lavin, Jane Emmer, Karen
Conti, Laurence Furic, Doris Hettmansberger Sylvia Rappaport In Memory Of Steve Margolis
General Fund Rick and Bobbie Cohlan In Memory Of Steve Margolis Robi Margolis and Family In Honor Of Rabbi Carla Freedman and Cantor Kerry Ben-David for their support and caring Jeff and Nicole Freeman In Memory Of Steve Margolis Jonathan Young and Deborah Miller Young In Memory Of Steve Margolis Susan Stillman In Memory Of Steve Margolis James and Joan McCaffrey In Memory Of Steve Margolis Howard and Gail Henner In Memory Of Steve Margolis Dawn Kessler In Memory Of Joseph Martin Arthur Del Negro, Jr. In Memory Of Steve Margolis
Grounds Beautification Fund Jack Goldberg & Trudy Wood In Memory Of Steve Margolis
Molly and Gregory Religious School Scholarship Fund Michael and Emily Wein Peter and Dawn Kessler Kenneth and Cindy Carson Michael Gitlitz and Rita Landman Adam and Robyn Cohen Gordon and Polly Schnell
Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund Jeffrey Klotz
Did you know…
A donation to the JFC-URJ Camp Fund helps send children to summer camp who would not otherwise have this privilege.
Memories that will be cherished forever.
Thank you for considering this fund!
Don’t forget: Each time you shop at DeCicco’s, just tell the
cashier you are a JFC member before ringing up your order.
JFC gets a rebate from your purchase. It’s that easy!
(You may still use your DeCicco’s card.)
Page 16 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar April 2012
Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar Page 17
We had a very successful Midnight Run on March 17. The weather was beautiful and some of our young people were experiencing the Run for the first time. It was a gratifying experience for all. Thanks to everyone who participated -- from the people who have been donating clothing and toiletries all year, to the people who made extra bag dinners for the Run and the people who have helped out sorting and la-beling clothing.
Thanks go to:
Talia Kaufman and Sue Kaufman: Talia conducted a terrific Girl Scout project with several of her fellow scouts. She organized them to go through the huge amount of clothing in the bins, labeling and sorting them. There were quite a number of bins that had gotten wet on the inside, so she washed and dried the clothing so they were ready to use! Thanks to her mother, Sue Kaufman, for facilitating and helping with this project! And thanks to Sue for donating more bins for the clothing. Congrats to Talia for working on this high level scouting award.
Sarah Valente, Phyllis Amerling, Emily Kingsley: Thanks to Sarah, Phyllis and Emily and their families for helping to sort and label clothing.
Iris Glass: Thanks to Iris and her two kids who helped make bag dinners to take on the Run.
Thanks to Jan Sanders, Alan Sanders and Mark Lavin
for helping to get things ready on the Run and "launch" the runners.
And finally, thanks to all the people who participated on the March 17 Midnight Run till the wee hours of the morning: Ed and Cole Verbeke Peter, Greg and Zach Kaplan Emily and Jason Kingsley Yaniv Gorodischer Curt Shulman Pat, Sierra, Skylar and Aspen Shaffer Claire Laben, Skylar's friend, who together are doing a social action project for their school.
Thanks especially to Pat Shaffer who took leadership responsibility for this Run and made an extra trip down to Dobbs Ferry to pick up the Midnight Run Van.
We hope to do our next run in late June -- look for the date in next month's Shofar and email [email protected] if you want to participate.
Page 18 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar April 2012
Don’t forget to check out
the JFC Blog!
Go to www.jfc.rjblogs.org
We have all received the letter from the Board regarding the future of JFC. My purpose in this column is not to comment on the Board’s letter; rather it is to aid in the restoration of unity among the members of our JFC family.
Several points need to be kept in mind. First, Rabbi Carla is still our rabbi, mentor and teacher. Irrespective of the Board’s decision, she will remain our rabbi through June 30, 2013. In addition to fine tuning the ritual activities for the remainder of 5772, she and I have already begun the planning of the calendar for 5773. The members of the Ritual Committee are continuing the transformation of our lineup of services that many of you who attend regularly have seen over the past few months, such as the addition of family services, more musical services and some which I will mention below.
Second, no matter what one thinks about the recent Board action, JFC is facing a significant financial deficit. If the synagogue and all it represents is important to you, it has never been more important to show it. One way is to attend more services – there is much in store. We have had two services in our series, Congregant’s Drash - those of you who were at them know how refreshing and stimu-lating the evenings were. If you would like to be the speaker at the next scheduled date, please let me know. April 7th is the date for the annual JFC Second Seder –my family and I have attended in the past. If you haven’t been to one, I can attest to the fact that it is a lot of fun for peo-ple of all ages, members and non-members alike. Kathy Storfer has planned two wonderful evenings of music for Yom HaShoah and Yom HaAtzmaut, which are coming up in the next month. The May 4th service will be “Ashkenazi Shabbos” with a very different flavor to that which we are accustomed. The next pot luck Shabbat dinner is sched-uled for May 18th – come and enjoy food, songs and ca-maraderie.
In addition to attending services, you can participate in events, volunteer to be a member of the Ritual Committee or other standing committee, attend Board meetings to express your concerns, support fundraising efforts as gen-erously as possible, invite your friends who are not mem-
bers to a service and do everything you can to help retain existing members and drive new membership.
Third, we need to repair any divisions created by conflict and dissension among our members - not with rhetoric but with our actions. Our problems are not insurmount-able. Bob Dylan wrote in his song, Let’s Keep it Between Us, “All we need is honesty, a little humility and trust.” As a congregation, the Board members and the members at-large need to heed his words and work together to assure a continued Jewish communal presence in Lewisboro. If you believe it would be tragic if such a presence were to disappear, if JFC is a critical part of your life, you must all do everything possible to help put our synagogue on a uni-fied path for renewal.
Feel free to contact me at [email protected] with your ritual concerns.
Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar Page 19
IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL READERS Ruth Ossher is DANGEROUSLY ALLERGIC to many flowers. Accordingly, we CANNOT have the following flowers in the building at any time:
Lillies Tropical flowers Jasmine scent
Any highly scented flowers Artificial flowers that have been sprayed
Ruth is NOT allergic to:
Tulips Daffodils
Hydrangeas Mums
Sunflowers Potted flowers that we plant outdoors
If you are using a florist, PLEASE have them call us even if they are sure. Dangerous mistakes have already been made. Many thanks for your cooperation!
Page 20 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar April 2012
Jack Goldberg & Trudy Wood
Donn Henshaw & Abby Plotka-Henshaw Martin & Tracey Weisberg
Neil Alexander David Amerling Dr. Paul Amerling Alexandria Andrade Richard Auerbach Michael Berland Kenneth Carson Kayla Clott Adam Cohen
Nora Dockter Cyndi Dodes Evy Drawec Ellen Elias Lauren Fried Carly Goldstein Max Goodstein Lawrence Gottlieb Jama Hansonbrook
Rachel Kalter Sarah Kaplan Douglas Kaufman David Kurzweil Dr. Rita Landman Allie Moss Tomo Okamoto Linda Paulding Jacob Raimondi
Ike Radin Samantha Shulman Leslie Simon Julia Sklarin Paul Stevelman Susan Valente Cole Verbeke
BIRTHDAYS
ANNIVERSARIES
Eleanor Aufsesser Abraham Belsky Mary Benjamin Amy Cohen Mickey Conn Arnold Eydenberg Ramon Garay Harry Goodman Lillian Gordon Mary Henshaw Harlan Hettmansberger Mary Keleher
Saul Koven Maurice Leff Rose Leitner Harry Malamet Arthur Margolis Joseph Martin Thelma Reichenthal Joan Sobel Anna Steinberg Jacob Steinberg Emmy Sternberger Barbara Traynor Stoll
YAHRZEITS
Have you considered celebrating significant birthdays and anniversaries with a leaf on our Simcha Tree of Life?
Call the JFC Office for details.
Please call the JFC Office when any relevant information arises or changes so all Birthday, Anniversary and
Yahrzeit listings are accurate and up to date. JFC can only list names/dates that have been reported to us.
Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar Page 21
Shabbat at the Western Wall is just the start!
Join us for UJA-Federation of New York's
SUMMER FAMILY MISSION TO ISRAEL
MONDAY, AUGUST 20 - FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2012
Bring your family to Israel and see what few tourists see.
Explore lush, green nature parks and colorful sandstone mountains.
Reach new heights by climbing the snake path up to Masada, and new depths by taking a dip in the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth.
Connect with the diverse cultures living in Israel and sample local cuisine.
Browse the Cardo, a Byzantine street that is now the world's oldest shopping arcade.
Experience the hustle and bustle of Jerusalem's Machaneh Yehudah open air market to enjoy the sites, smells, and tastes!
Touch biblical history firsthand when you visit:
Jaffa, the 8,000-year-old city.
Caesarea, an ancient port city built by Herod the Great.
Take part in a hands-on archaeological dig at Beit Guvrin with its thousands of underground caves dating back to the time of the Phoenicians.
Explore the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Davidson Visitor's Center, the Southern Wall Exca-vations, the Kotel (Western Wall), and the Western Wall Tunnel.
Touch Jewish history at Israel's museums, including:
The Israel Museum where you can see the Dead Sea Scrolls and the model of Jerusalem during Temple times.
The Latrun Armored Corps Memorial and Museum, an open-air exhibit of more than 200 tanks and other armored vehicles that you can climb on and in, some dating back to World War I.
Yad Vashem, the memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
Learn about the humanitarian work of UJA-Federation:
Visit the Mevasseret Zion Absorption Center where you'll meet Ethiopians newly arrived in Israel.
Do a mitzvah by hosting IDF Lone Soldiers for Shabbat dinner that have no family in Israel or no family at all.
Whether this is your first time or a rediscovery, there is always something new and wonderful to experience!
For more information or to register, please contact Cindy Cutler at 1.212.836.1140 or [email protected].
Page 22 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar April 2012
Dear Rabbis, Cantors and Educators,
Have I got an opportu-nity for your congrega-tion!
I’m pleased to an-nounce “Taste of Camp,” a special pro-gram targeted at boys in grades 3-6 who are considering their first overnight camp experi-ence. The program consists of 3 mini-sessions of 5-6 days each. The campers will live in a brand new cabin (being built as I write this) with Eisner staff members. They’ll spend their days alongside campers their own age, and will get to participate in all of the regular camp activities: sports, swim, arts, nature, and adventure, plus eve-ning programs and special events. Of course, they’ll also get to experience the magic of Shabbat at camp.
Our goal is to reach those families who are interested in camp but have been hesitant to send their boys away
for an extended first-time camp experience. This program is designed to meet the needs of both the parents and the campers by providing a short-term yet meaningful encounter with the wonders of camp. And the best part is the cost: only $600 per camper for each session.
We hope that you’ll share the attached flyer with congregants you feel fall into this category. We see this as an opportunity to provide an additional point of contact for some of your families and will help you engage them more fully in congregational life.
Please let me know if you have any questions about the “Taste of Camp.” Thank you for your continued support.
L’shalom,
Louis
Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar Page 23
Page 24 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar April 2012
ASK THE RABBI
Question: For Passover, can I use quinoa or faro? Answer: You are right that these grains are not amongst the foods we are required to avoid for the eight days of Passover. The grains we are forbidden to eat (or use in any way) during Pesakh are: wheat, barley, spelt, rye and oats. Of course, flour made from wheat is nowadays pro-duced under rabbinic supervision so that it does not come in contact with water, which causes it to leaven, and from this flour, matzah and matzah-products (farfel, etc) are made. Ashkenazic rabbis added corn, rice, millet and legumes to the list of forbidden foods on the grounds that they could be confused with the forbidden grains. These foods are permitted in Sefardic practice. Today, none of us are likely to mistake a grain of corn or rice or a bean for a grain of the forbidden foods, so many Ashkenazi Jews now eat these foods despite the traditional objection. As for grains like quinoa and faro, there can be no objec-tion to eating them during Pesakh, because they are clearly not on the list of forbidden foods, and there is no reason to expand the list. This will make Passover more manageable, especially for vegetarians (quinoa is a good source of protein, unusual in a grain). I actually think that eating faro on Pesakh is appropriate: the bad guy in the Exodus narrative is, after all, Pharaoh. Products made from grain or those that might contain
some leavening agent require a hekhsher, or certificate of rabbinic supervision, to be useable during Pesakh. Things like coffee, tea, spices, sugar, salt, honey, fresh fruits and vegetables and juices and even frozen fruits and vegeta-bles and juices (as long as no other ingredients are added) do not require a hekhsher, although many such products are marketed with one (to appeal to those who are very strict in their observance or to those who can be per-suaded to pay extra for a hekhsher when it is not actually required!) Derekh Agav (By the way): there are a lot of customs
about foods permitted or not during Pesakh, based on
experiences in the places where our ancestors came from
in Europe. For example, the Jews who came to Winnipeg
in the late 19th or early 20th century brought with them a
prohibition against eating cabbage during Passover. Some
research in the 1950s revealed that over the winter in Po-
land, people protected cabbages from worms by pasting
the outer leaves together with a flour-and-water paste,
which indeed made the cabbages unacceptable during
Pesakh. Since we do not store cabbages that way any-
more, even Winnipeg Jews now eat cabbage during
Pesakh.
Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar Page 25
Hi NAR!
I feel so privileged to be able to stand before you all this morning. I am amazed by how many wonderful people have come together in this room, giving off so much positive energy and making me feel so comfort-able and welcome. And thank you for staying to listen to one more speech!!
I’m Jackie Kalter, running to be the next CVP for our region. I come from the tiny town of Pound Ridge, or Pound Cake as Maddy Feiner likes to call it. I have great parents, a younger sister, four dogs and a large crazy-but wonderful-Jewish family.
Now, many may ask why I chose to start attending NFTY events at the beginning of my junior year of high school, and I have wondered the same thing my-self. I had always thought that I wasn’t the type of person to continue attending temple after my Bat Mitzvah, but I was so wrong. I was lucky enough to have the push of my amazing Youth Advisor, Leslie Gottlieb, at the start of freshman year to make me realize the importance of continuing my life-long in-volvement with Judaism. I decided to follow through and began my participation in the Student Mentor program at my temple. Presently, I am a proud SAVP of my TYG, JiFTY, and a Co-teacher at my temple as well. It was the external push that I needed, because on my own there was no way I was going ahead with any of this. Attending Fall Kallah was the best deci-sion I’ve made thus far, and I truly can’t thank the people who helped me to get there enough. Without the help from my advisor, and also from all of the friends I’ve made here, I wouldn’t be where I am to-day, a proud member of NFTY, and running for the CVP position of our region.
Since my so-called ‘breakthrough with Judaism,’ I’ve held numerous leadership-type positions - from Cheerleading Captain of my high school, Camp Coun-selor at a day camp and a Peer Power Facilitator for troubled incoming freshman. From these wonderful experiences, I’ve learned what it’s like to be someone who’s looked up to, someone who needs to take the initiative, and someone who’s ready to listen - and now I’m ready to take the step and do that for this community.
I’ll start by taking my personal motto, ‘it’s never too late’ and bring it to the region. I realize the value of every second I have left with NFTY must be cherished.
The people of NFTY have had a major positive effect on just about every aspect of my life; and I don’t want other teens to miss out on this opportunity. It is my major goal to make NFTY more well known. One of the ways I would go about doing this is by having fundraisers by sub-region, like car washes and tag sales to get the community out-side of NFTY aware of who we are and how awesome NFTY is. With that said, I will also continue updating the social network sites, keeping every NFTYite posted with up to date information. I also want to create online silent auctions which will allow for us to all be involved even after we leave an event, and would also help us in our fundraising efforts.
What I would hope to be is the ‘the external push’, for all of those who don’t have it. I want them to know, I want everyone to know, how special of a place NFTY really is. I am so thankful to have found my niche, and the place I truly belong. I hope for the opportunity to give back to you what you have given to me…It would not only be a privilege, but an honor to serve our region as CVP 5772-5773.
Just remember: It’s never too late to make a new friend. It’s never too late to learn something new. It’s never too late to strengthen your beliefs in Juda-ism. It’s never too late to join NFTY. Thank you!
We now have a Facebook page!
If you are on Facebook, go to: http://facebook.com/
jewishfamilycongregation
and like us!
Jackie Kalter Applies for a Position with NFTY-NAR (North American Federation of Temple Youth - New York Area Region)
Page 26 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar April 2012
Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar Page 27
ROADSIDE CLEANUP SUN., MARCH 25
We had 12 people participate in this year’s cleanup. A special thank you to Ted Bloch
for his telephone recruiting efforts, as well as Rob Strongin for his organizing efforts.
Due to the large amount of debris, we filled in excess of 30 bags. Usually we fill less than 20 bags!!!!
The following is a list of the participants:
Ted Bloch
Michelle Blum Josh Blum
Sam Blum
Ian Leitner Elisabeth Rich
Andrew Richman Gordon Schnell
Quoya Schnell Andrea Snyder
Rob Strongin Ed Verbeke
A BIG THANK YOU!
Ple
ase S
upport
Our
Advert
isers
Page 28 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar April 2012
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS
Jewish Family Congregation Early Childhood Center
Where Family is our middle name
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO REGISTER!
Please visit our website at www.jewishfamilycongregation.org
Nisan/Iyar 5772 Jewish Family Congregation Shofar Page 29
We have been busy bees here at JFC’s youth group! Last month we had a shul-in. We were very fortunate to have quite a few other New York area Jewish youth groups come and join us! We played games relating to our Pixar theme. At the end of the night, we watched Mon-sters, Inc., which we all thoroughly enjoyed! After hours of talking, we finally fell asleep! The next morning, we awoke and had bagels and cream cheese for breakfast (how very Jewish of us). Everyone had a super time and became very close! This month, we will be holding our annual JiFTY board elections. Board members are chosen carefully through a process involving interviews, speeches and an election. Wish us luck!
See, I told you we have been busy!!!
Jess, Communications VP
JiFTY By Jessica Sheptin
If you would like to “announce” a Simcha in your family, please send the text (pictures are welcome too!) to Jolie Levy at
