Published Monthly

Vol 39/No 12

Av/Elul 5765

September 2005

Editor:

Stan Schaffer

Congregation Beth Hamedresh ñ Beth Israel

B U L L E T I N

September Presidentís Message

The cooler weather this last week of August foretells the coming autumn season. We had a beautiful day and a great turnout for our picnic on the 21^st. An enjoyable time was had by all.

Very special thanks are due to those who helped with this very successful event. Charles and Laura Levinson donated the delicious produce. Leon Metlay purchased the meat and shuttled many of our members to and from the picnic. Rose Israel sold brownies. Emily Fishman, and Paul Israel sold hots, hamburgers & corn. Ceil Goldman, Mike Klein and Jim Mancuso sold drinks and watermelon. Andrea Paprocki obtained the baked goods and also helped sell hot items. Judith Mercer and Jeff Nidetz prepared food in a very hot kitchen. Our youngest members were invaluable ñ with Hanni Metlay working as cashier, and Matt Honickman and Jordan Paprocki laboring over the grills with Chris Paprocki. Yakob Deng, Harris Honickman, Matt Honickman, Art Mercer, Jeff Nidetz and Leon Metlay helped setup and clean up. Paul Israel, Hanni Metlay and Art Mercer ran the raffle. I regret if I inadvertently left anyone out.

Earlier in the month several members of our congregation helped Rebbitzen Esther Solomonís celebrate her 99^th birthday at the Jewish Home. We also joined with Temple Beth David for a Tisha BíAv service, with a thoughtful discussion of the dayís relevance to contemporary tragedies.

BHBI is now online! Visit www.BHBIRochester.org and tell us what you think of our website. The site was built thanks to the efforts of our newest member - Stephen Teitel. Great job, Steve! You can also email BHBI at bhbi@frontiernet.net.

Looking forward to the High Holidays in October, services will again be led by Dr. George Kornfeld. Please have your friends who wish to attend High Holy Day services at BHBI call the synagogue office to arrange to purchase their tickets.

Please mark the Shabbat of October 15th on your calendars. My family invites you to participate in celebrating our son Matt becoming a Bar Mitzvah that morning.

See you at shul,

Harris Honickman

BHBI is now on the internet!!

Check out our web site at www.BHBIRochester.org

Weíd love to get your ideas for additional content for the web site. Please contact Steve Teitel at BHBI@frontiernet.net with your ideas.

BHBI CALENDAR OF EVENTS ñ September 2005

Friday	Sept. 2	6:15 PM	Shabbat Evening Services Light candles at 7:24 PM.
Saturday	Sept. 3	9:30 AM	Shabbat Morning Services Torah: Reíei
Sunday	Sept. 4	9:00 AM	Service, Breakfast, Discussion
Monday	Sept. 5	7:30 PM	Small Conservative Shul Collaborative Joint Torah Study Session with congregants from Temple Beth Am and Temple Beth David at BHBI
Friday	Sept. 9	8:00 PM	Joint Shabbat Evening Services with congregants from Temple Beth Am at Beth Am Light candles at 7:12 PM.
Saturday	Sept. 10	9:30 AM	Shabbat Morning Services Torah: Shoftim
Sunday	Sept. 11	9:00 AM	Service, Breakfast, Discussion
Monday	Sept. 12	7:30 PM	Board Meeting
Friday	Sept. 16	6:15 PM	Shabbat Evening Services Light candles at 6:59 PM.
Saturday	Sept. 17	9:30 AM	Shabbat Morning Service Torah: Ki Teitzei
Sunday	Sept. 18	9:00 AM	Service, Breakfast, Discussion
Friday	Sept. 23	6:15 PM	Shabbat Evening Services Light candles at 6:47 PM.
Saturday	Sept. 24	9:30 AM 11:30 PM	Shabbat Morning Services Torah: Ki Tavo Reception followed by Selichot Services with congregants from Temple Beth David at BHBI
Sunday	Sept. 25	9:00 AM	Service, Breakfast, Discussion
Friday	Sept. 30	6:15 PM	Shabbat Evening Services Light candles at 6:34 PM

TORAH STUDY

Join friends from BHBI, Temple Beth Am and Temple Beth David for an interesting evening of Torah Study at BHBI at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, September 5^th. We will be studying Parshat Shoftim.

THANK YOU TO OUR KIDDUSH SPONSORS

FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST

August 6 The Congregation

August 13 The Congregation

August 20 Leon Metlay and Nina Klionsky in honor of their 28^th wedding anniversary

August 27 The Congregation

TO OUR DONORS -- THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!

TORAH FUND

In celebration of Harriet Lempertís special birthday

Happy birthday to Mrs. Esther Solomon

Charles and Laura Levinson

RABBI AARON SOLOMON SCHOLARSHIP FUND

In honor of Esther Solomonís 99^th Birthday

Paul and Rose Israel

GENERAL FUND

For the picnic

Ceil Goldman

In memory of Sarah Gastel

Ruth and David Polur

So far our TOPS Gift Card fundraiser has been quite successful. Remember,

TOPS Gift Cards are now available through BHBI in $50 denominations.

To purchase TOPS Gift Cards, contact Stan Schaffer

at 473-8072 or by e-mail at schaffer@localnet.com

Would you like to have a Rosh Hashanah greeting in our October bulletin?

If so, please send your name as you would like it to appear together with a donation of $5 or more to our office as soon as possible. All entries must be received no later than September 19^th.

Picnic Photos

Thanks to Dave Rogachefsky and Steve Teitel, photos of this yearís BHBI picnic are now on the internet at the BHBI web site: www.BHBIRochester.org
YAHRZEITS

At the following Shabbat Services, we will read the names of our late loved ones whose Yahrzeits will occur on that Shabbat or during the following week.

Sept. 2-3

Elul

Sept. 16-17

Elul

Sept. 23-24

Elul

Sept. 30-Oct. 1

Elul/

Tishri

Harry Eber*

Bernard W. Engel*

Rose Gordon

Eval Lederman*

Albert Joffe*

Harold Krinsky*

Ethel Strom*

Sept. 9-10

Harold Schulman

Celia Goodman*

Jennie Levinson

Esther Mandelbaum

Irving Mack*

David Nidetz

Anna Zakofsky*

Elul

Sylvia Album*

Morris Mittelman*

Isidor Hess*

Frumeh Hinensky*

Joseph Taub

A. Ben Glaser*

Celia Wolk*

Leonard Mayer Grossman*

Albert Perahya

* Denotes name memorialized on BHBI Memorial Plaque

Pearl Gross

Abraham Goldman*

Maurice Seide*

Hyman Senzel*

Bessie Cominsky*

Rose Levin*

David Goldman*

I. Robert Lewis*

Phillip Rogachefsky*

Janet Kanthor

Gerald Glaser*

Mazel Tov Levy

Shirley Arlene Dvorkin*

Ronni Lynn Gordon*

David Lester Kauffman*

Catherine Braz*

We pray that our mourners will be comforted among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem and that the memory of the deceased continues to be a blessing to all who knew them.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Congregation Light of Israel will have its second annual Rochester Sephardic Fest at Brighton Town Park on Westfall Road just west of S. Clinton Avenue on Sunday, September 4^th from noon to 3 p.m. There will be pony rides for the kids and lots of Sephardic food.

In Memoriam

It is with great sorrow that we note the recent passing of our long-time member Gerald Braz and of Simon Finkelmanís brother. May their memories be a blessing.

Want to Honor Someone?

Sponsor a BHBI Shabbat kiddush in their honor! Call [the shul office 244-2060] for details.

Do you have friends or family members who are looking for a synagogue for the High Holy Days? Tell them about BHBI. Our High Holy Day tickets are reasonably priced. They can call the shul office at 244-2060 or can contact us at BHBI@frontiernet.net for information.

Please Support Our Advertiser

EDITORíS COLUMN

Impressions of Israel

In last monthís bulletin, I described my familyís recent visit to Israel and the many wonders that we saw. This month, I would like to discuss two of the biggest things that happened in Israel this summer. The first, of course, was the lead up to Israelís very contentious disengagement from the Gaza Strip. When we were in Israel in July, the controversy over the disengagement was at its peak. Jerusalem was practically engulfed by youngsters giving out orange (anti-disengagement) bracelets or streamers at practically every intersection. Many Jerusalem motorists had attached the orange streamers to their car antennas. In Tel Aviv and Haifa, we saw only a very little bit of orange, and instead noticed a bit more of the blue bracelets and streamers that were the color of choice of those who were pro-disengagement. While emotions were very high in Jerusalem, they were noticeably lower in the cities along the coast, reflecting both ideological and religious differences of the populations. After all, most of the settlers are religious Jews, and many of them see Gaza as part of the land that the Almighty promised our forefathers. Much was written in the Israeli press about how the disengagement had the potential to cause an irreversible rift between religious Israelis (who predominantly were against disengagement) and secular Israelis (who were predominantly in favor of it). There was speculation about apocalyptic scenarios that might result ñ mass refusals by religious Israelis to serve in the military, a schism between religious and secular visions of what Zionism means and of the role of the state, a breakdown in the everyday relationships of religious and secular Israeli Jews, intercommunal violence, and perhaps even civil war. Happily though, the disengagement went on without major violence and none of these post-disengagement doomsday scenarios seem to be playing out either. The extraordinary sensitivity with which the Israeli Defense Forces evacuated the Gaza settlements was obvious to observers around the world and undoubtedly aided in lowering the tensions that were near a boiling point before the disengagement began. Israeli society survived the trauma of the Gaza disengagement, and in my opinion, is now stronger than it was beforehand. Certainly, views about the advisability of the disengagement remain far apart ñ one cannot know at this point if it will be good for Israel, or if it will put Israel and her citizensí security at greater risk -- however, Israelís citizens can now look ahead, and like others who overcame great traumas, should feel a sense of greater inner strength.

The second major event affecting Israel this summer is one that got scant attention. It was the arrival in Israel of three 747s packed with over 1000 olim (new immigrants) from North America. Aliyah (immigration) is the lifeline of Israel. Over the years we have seen the miraculous ingathering of our people from around the world in Israel. Who can forget the struggle to free the Jews of the former Soviet Union, most of whom now live in Israel? We remember the travails of our brethren from Ethiopia, many of whom walked by foot for hundreds of miles to get to the gathering points from which they would then be taken to Israel. The days of mass aliyah from Russia and Ethiopia are over though. Today, there is no single major source of aliyah. Many of todayís olim are from Europe (especially France) where anti-Semitism has arisen once again. A bright light though is the rise of aliyah from North America. This year the Nefesh bíNefesh organization is sponsoring the aliyah of over 3000 American and Canadian Jews, a huge jump over previous yearsí numbers. Working with the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency, Nefesh bíNefesh provides transportation to Israel, temporary housing, Hebrew language lessons, assistance with navigating the Israeli bureaucracy and job counseling to new olim from North America. Olim even get monitary stipends and free university tuition. If you know someone who might be interested in making aliyah, have them check out Nefesh bíNefesh (www.nbn.org.il).

While the numbers of olim from North America are up quite a bit, almost all of them these days are Orthodox Jews. Why is it that Conservative, Reform Jews and unaffiliated Jews are not making aliyah in any significant numbers? Is it that our connection to Israel is fading? Israel is a very vibrant place where the future of the Jewish people clearly lies. In comparison, we in America face huge issues of intermarriage and assimilation into the wider non-Jewish culture together with readily apparent unfavorable demographic changes that will only worsen. American Jews of every religious persuasion would do well to finally take a serious look at aliyah ñ life in the Jewish state. The first step, of course, is to visit Israel and to strengthen ones connection to the Jewish homeland. Indeed, Israel has a lot to offer each and every one of us. - Stan Schaffer

OFFICE HOURS: The shul office is checked regularly for mail and messages. The shul phone is 244-2060. For urgent issues, call Harris Honickman at 271-5145 or Stan Schaffer at 473-8072. You can also e-mail us at BHBI@frontiernet.net

WANT TO REMEMBER OR HONOR SOMEONE OR A SPECIAL OCCASION?

Consider sponsoring a kiddush or make a donation to any one of our funds (General Operating, Kiddush, Library, Torah, Rabbi Aaron Solomon Scholarship, Our Youth, Special Events, or the Sam Malina Memorial Fund) please indicate which fund you would like your donation to go to and we will send out an acknowledgement card as you indicate and print an announcement in this bulletin.

BULLETIN CONTENT

What do you enjoy reading in the BHBI Bulletin? Is there something that you would like added (or taken out)? If so, please let Stan Schaffer know. We always appreciate feedback.

DID YOU MISPLACE YOUR BULLETIN?

Donít worry. BHBI Bulletins going back several months can now be found on our web page: www.BHBIRochester.org

WANT TO GET YOUR BULLETIN HOT-OFF-THE-PRESS? Consider having us e-mail it to you! Contact Elaine or Stan Schaffer at: the_schaffers@juno.com

Congregation Beth Hamedresh-Beth Israel

1369 East Avenue

Rochester, NY 14610