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BHBIRochester.org Published Monthly Vol 44/No 1 Tishrei/Cheshvan 5770 October 2009 Editor: Stan Schaffer |
Congregation Beth Hamedresh
– Beth Israel B U L L E T I N |
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October
President’s Message Friends, It’s hard to write a
President’s message when the dog just made a mess on the kitchen floor. It’s
hard to get the important things done when the day to day
tasks continue to intrude. As I’m writing this, Rosh Hashanah is past and Yom
Kippur is coming. Rosh Hashanah is called Yom
Hazikaron in the Torah, the Day of Rememberance. One of my friends is going around asking
people “What are we supposed to remember?” The 1st day Torah
reading involves the birth of Isaac, “and G-d remembered Sarah”. Not only
does G-d remember the promise to Sarah, he also remembers the covenant with
Abraham. The 2nd day reading has the binding of Isaac (thought by
the Rabbis to have occurred on Rosh Hashanah), after which the covenant is
reaffirmed. Part of the musaf service is the zikhranot,
remembrance verses, which list examples of G-d remembering us. So, perhaps Yom Hazikaron
is the day for G-d to remember? We too should remember
the part we play in maintaining the covenant. This is the time of year for us
to reflect upon our lives, to remember
what we have done or not done during the past year, and to think about how we
should behave in the coming year. We all have to put aside the distractions
of the mundane and make the time to remember. For our shul the past month has included some distractions. We
are arranging to get new gutters and roof repairs. We also have had emergency
plumbing repairs in the ceiling of our kitchen. These distractions will not
dissuade us from taking action on the important issue of access to our
building. We are going ahead with plans to install a handicapped access lift
for our main entrance. A ramp was vetoed by the historic
preservation board, but a lift was approved. The total cost will be
around $15,000. We are looking for grants and we already have some money
donated for the project. Please help us help all of our members come to shul by making a donation for a lift! October brings Sukkot. The first day service will be held at Temple Beth
Am. The past couple of months have seen a number of cooperative activities
with Beth Am. However, I was disappointed at how few of our members attended
joint events at Beth Am. Cooperation can’t work if we don’t give it a chance.
Rabbi Goldberg will be leading Shemini Atzeret services at Beth Am on October 9th and
at BHBI on October 10th and Simchat Torah
service at Beth Am on October 11th. Please come and hear our Rabbi and support our joint
services. We will have our own traditional Simchat
Torah service on the evening of the 10th as well. It’s lots of
fun, so please come. Have a great October.
Leon Metlay |
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HAVE A WONDERFUL
SUKKOT!
See Rabbi Goldberg’s Sukkot
Message on Page 3
BHBI CALENDAR OF EVENTS – OCTOBER 2009
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Friday |
Oct 2 |
6:30 PM |
Erev Sukkot
and Shabbat Evening Service at BHBI Light
candles at 6:31 PM |
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Saturday |
Oct 3 |
9:30 AM |
Joint Sukkot & Shabbat Morning Services with Temple Beth Am at Beth Am Light candles after 7:29PM |
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Sunday |
Oct 4 |
9:00 AM |
Sukkot Second
Day Service with Temple Beth Am at BHBI |
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Wednesday |
Oct 8 |
7:30 PM |
Small Shul
Collaborative Torah Study Session at BHBI |
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Friday |
Oct 9 |
6:30 PM |
Joint Erev
Shemini Atzeret and Shabbat Evening Services with Temple Beth Am at Beth Am with
Rabbi Goldberg Officiating
Light candles
at 6:18 PM |
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Saturday |
Oct 10 |
9:00 AM 8:30 AM |
Joint Shemini Atzeret and Shabbat Morning Service and Yizkor with Temple Beth Am at BHBI with Rabbi Goldberg Officiating Erev Simchat Torah Service at BHBI Light candles after 7:17 PM |
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Sunday |
Oct 11 |
9:30 AM |
Joint Simchat
Torah Service with Temple Beth Am at Beth Am with Rabbi Goldberg
Officiating
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Monday |
Oct 12 |
7:30 PM |
Monthly
Meeting of the BHBI Board of Trustees |
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Friday |
Oct 16 |
7:00 PM |
Shabbat Evening Service at Heather Heights in Pittsford Light candles at
6:07 PM |
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Saturday |
Oct 17 |
9:30 AM |
Shabbat Morning Service
Torah: Beresheit |
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Sunday |
Oct 18 |
9:00 AM |
Service,
Breakfast and Discussion |
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Friday |
Oct 23 |
8:00 PM |
Shabbat Evening Service Light candles
at 5:56 PM |
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Saturday |
Oct 24 |
9:30 AM |
Shabbat Morning Service Torah: Noah |
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Sunday |
Oct 25 |
9:00 AM |
Service,
Breakfast and Discussion |
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Friday |
Oct 30 |
8:00 PM |
Shabbat Evening Service Light candles
at 5:46 PM |
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Saturday |
Oct 31 |
9:30 AM |
Shabbat Morning Service Torah: Lech Lecha |
THE RABBI GOLDBERG FUND
We
have recently started a Rabbi Goldberg Fund to enable us to engage Rabbi
Goldberg to lead additional services at BHBI during the year in addition to the
previously scheduled 16 joint services that he will be leading for BHBI and
Temple Beth Am. Whenever the funds
in the Rabbi Goldberg Fund reach a predetermined level, we will schedule an
additional service with Rabbi Goldberg.
To contribute to the Rabbi Goldberg Fund, please send a check in to BHBI
with a notation that the contribution should be used for the Rabbi Goldberg
Fund.
HELP SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS TO
IMPROVE ACCESS TO BHBI FOR OUR DISABLED MEMBERS – MAKE A DONATION TO HELP
US BUY A LIFT!
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RABBI’S MESSAGE By RABBI GEOFFREY GOLDBERG |
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Judaism
is blessed with many beautiful and meaningful festivals which teach us to
sense the preciousness and sanctity of time. As soon as one festival is over,
another seems to be on the horizon—and all too often—just around
the corner. Every observant Jew wonders, “why could not the ḥagim be
spread out a little more evenly over the year?” This is a very valid
question, especially at this time of the year when the Yamim Nora’im
are followed immediately by Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simcḥat Torah. Perhaps
an answer to this question lies within Kohelet (“Ecclesiastes” in
English) which we read during Sukkot (this year on Shemini Atzeret). There we
read such immortal words as: Everything has its appointed time, and there is
a season for every event under the sky. There is a time to be born and a time to die, A time to plant and a time to uproot. A time to kill and a time to heal, A time to destroy and a time to build, A time to weep and a time to laugh, A time to mourn and a time to dance…. A time to love and a time to hate, A time for war and a time for peace (From Kohelet,
Chapter 3). Do
we ever know when these times will occur? Occasionally we do, but for the
most part we do not. We never know when joy will come into our lives, or
illness strike and death occur. We never know when war will break out, a
terrorist attack occur, or peace emerge after years of conflict. All we can
do is to be prepared, as best we can, for whatever life brings. But most
especially, when times of joy and happiness occur, we must seize the moment,
give thanks, and rejoice. So
now we must seize the moment that the Sukkot season brings. I love the
transition from Yom Kippur to Sukkot. On Yom Kippur we deny ourselves
physical pleasures, we live, as it were, on a totally “spiritual” level for
25 hours. And then we throw ourselves into pure physicality: the beauty of
the Sukkah and the tangibility of the Lulav and Etrog, to be experienced and
enjoyed with all our senses. In
Temple times a ceremony called “Simcḥat beit ha-Sho’evah” the “Rejoicing of the Drawing of the Water”
was performed. It was such a joyous occasion that it was said, “The one who
has not seen the rejoicing of the Beit ha-Sho’evah” has never seen joy in
that person’s life” (Mishnah, Sukkot, 5:1). While we no longer perform
this ceremony, surely we can say the same of the waving of Lulav and Etrog in
particular, and the Festival of Sukkot as a whole. If you have never waved
the Lulav and Etrog, or savored the exquisite fragrance of the latter, you
have missed one of the joys of life. Don’t miss out. Come to services. Of all
the ḥagim, Sukkot must surely be the most beautiful, and
many would say, the most fun.
Ḥag Sameacḥ, Rabbi Geoffrey Goldberg |
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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.
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October 2-3 |
Tishrei |
October 16-17 |
Tishrei- Cheshvan |
October 23-24 |
Cheshvan |
October 30-31 |
Cheshvan |
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Irving Solomon Harris I. Cenzer* Jean Traub* Marie L. Steinmetz* Robert Steinmetz* Stanley Toker* |
15 18 18 19 19 20 |
Sam Gold Bernard Israel Celia Israel Bessie Miller* Ida Phillips Sarah Rickler* Blanche Florescue Ross* Charles Schnidman* Harry Silverman* Rabbi Jordan Taxon * Denotes name memorialized
on BHBI Memorial Plaque |
29 30 30 1 2 4 4 4 4 4 |
Ida Menter* Clara Spencer Marion Lazar* Joseph D. Stolnitz* Ida Buckbinder* Irene Bernstein Mikolasek* Bernard Lipschutz Lottie Astrachan* Lewis Glaser Alfred E. Hart* Sol Weinstein* |
7 7 8 8 9 9 10 12 12 12 12 |
Israel Astrachan* Marion Grossman* Nellie Beckler* David Mandelbaum Lena Cohen* Sofya Kaminnik* Ray Toker Mosheh Lazar* Nathan Pastor Nachem Reb Tsvi Hersh Julia Goldman* |
13 13 15 15 16 17 17 18 18 18 19 |
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October 9-10 |
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Daniel Horowitz Beverly Clark* David Israel Morris Album* |
23 24 24 25 |
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.
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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 stanschaffer@frontiernet.net |
THANK YOU TO OUR KIDDUSH SPONSORS
FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER
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September 12 |
The
Congregation |
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September 19 |
Art and Judith
Mercer (Apples and Honey for Rosh Hashanah) |
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September 26 |
The
Congregation |
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September 28 |
Harris and
Aline Honickman (Yom Kippur Break Fast in memory of Milton Honickman) |
TO OUR DONORS -- THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!
(Note:
Donations to the High Holy Day Appeal will be acknowledged in the November BHBI
Bulletin)
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Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y YY Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
AMAZON.COM
The next time that you want to buy something from
Amazon.com go to the BHBI web page at www.BHBIRochester.org and click on the
Amazon.com link. Each time you
make a purchase after linking to Amazon.com from our web page, BHBI gets a
percentage of the purchase. Buy
gifts or something for yourself or your family and support BHBI at the same
time!!
Do You Know Anyone Who is Unaffiliated and
Interested in Joining a Congregation?
Let
them know about BHBI’s special free 3 month trial membership (available
to prospective first-time new members only). Have them contact BHBI at 244-2060 or BHBI@frontiernet.net and we will be
happy to give them information about BHBI and this great offer!!
OFFICE: The synagogue office is checked
regularly for mail and messages.
The synagogue phone is 244-2060.
For urgent issues, call Steve Teitel at 473-5741 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 making a donation to any one of our funds (General Operating, Kiddush, Library, Torah, Rabbi Aaron Solomon Scholarship, Our Youth, Special Events, Rabbi Goldberg Fund 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. A standard sponsored kiddush at BHBI costs just $40 while a larger enhanced kiddush is just $50.
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Congregation Beth Hamedresh-Beth Israel
1369 East Avenue
Rochester, NY 14610