BHBIRochester.org

Published Monthly

Vol 44/No 8

Iyar/Sivan 5770

May 2010

 

Editor:  Stan Schaffer

Congregation Beth Hamedresh – Beth Israel

B U L L E T I N

 

May President’s Message

 

I just finished a book! Well, I have finished lots of books, but this one I’m rather proud of because it took me almost 3 months to read it. It is Surpassing Wonder, the Invention of the Bible and the Talmud by Donald Harman Akenson. Akenson is a historian and he examines the texts of the Jewish and Christian bibles and of the Rabbinic works with the eye of a historian. His major thesis is that 2000 years ago there were many Jewish sects and many religious ideas circulating in the Holy Land, as illustrated by the Dead Sea scrolls and other works of similar age. The Roman destruction of the Temple in 70 CE acted on this multitude of sects the same way the Yucatan meteor 65 million years ago acted on the dinosaurs - only a few of the multitude survived. In the case of the Jewish sects the survivors were the groups which eventually formed Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. It’s an interesting idea and I recommend the book, but it’s not something you can read quickly. I’m now looking around for what to read next. What are you reading? How do you continue to learn about Judaism?

 

During the coming month we will be celebrating Shavuot, the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Sinai. This is a time when we celebrate Jewish learning. It is traditional to stay up late (or even all night) studying on Erev Shavuot. This year we will have a Shavuot dinner (dairy) on Tuesday May 18th, followed by a service and a study session. Please join us, you’ll have a good time. It is also important that you continue your Jewish learning throughout the year. Read a book. Go online. (For instance, if you Google “daf yomi” you’ll find links to a number of programs which study a page of Talmud per day.) You might enjoy joining with a friend to read the same book together and discuss it.

 

Also during the coming month is our Annual Meeting, on Sunday May 23rd at 3 PM. The meeting should not be very long, but it is important for us to have a quorum to conduct our Congregation’s business. You can give a written proxy to someone if you can’t come, but proxies do not count towards our quorum. We will be approving the budget and electing officers and Board members. I hope to see you there!

 

B’shalom

          

Leon Metlay

 

 

Join Us for Our Shavuot Dairy Dinner

To Be Held on Tuesday May 18th

See Page 5 for the reservation form.

 

 

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BHBI Annual Membership Meeting

To Be Held at 3 p.m. on Sunday May 23rd

All members should try to attend.

 

 BHBI CALENDAR OF EVENTS – MAY 2010

 

Saturday

May 1

10:00 AM

Joint Shabbat  Morning Services with Temple Beth Am at Beth Am

Torah: Emor                                            

Sunday

May 2

9:00 AM

Service and Discussion

Friday

May 7

7:00 PM

 

Shabbat Evening Service at Heather Heights in Pittsford

     Light candles at 8:00 PM

Saturday

May 8

9:30 AM

 

Joint Shabbat Morning Service with Temple Beth Am at BHBI with Rabbi Goldberg officiating         Blessing for the new month.                    Torah: Behar-Bechukotai                                               

Sunday

May 9

9:00 AM

Service, Breakfast and Discussion

Monday

May 10

7:30 PM

Monthly Meeting of the BHBI Board of Trustees

Wednesday

May 12

7:30 PM

Small Shul Collaborative Torah Study Session at BHBI

Friday

May 14

8:00 PM

Joint Shabbat Evening Service with Temple Beth Am at BHBI

    Light candles at 8:07 PM

Saturday

May 15

9:30 AM

Shabbat Morning Service                        Torah: Bamidbar

Sunday

May 16

9:00 AM

Service, Breakfast and Discussion

Tuesday

May 18

6:00 PM

 

8:00 PM

Shavout Dinner

 

Erev Shavuot First Day Service Followed by Torah Study

   Light candles at 8:11 PM

Wednesday

May 19

9:00 AM

 

8:00 PM

Shavuot First Day Service

 

Joint Erev Shavuot Second Day Service with Temple Beth Am at Beth Am with Rabbi Goldberg officiating and Yizkor

   Light candles after 9:21 PM

Thursday

May 20

9:00 AM

Joint Shavuot Second Day Service with Temple Beth Am at BHBI with Rabbi Goldberg officiating and Yizkor

Friday

May 21

8:00 PM

Shabbat Evening Service

     Light candles at 8:15 PM

Saturday

May 22

9:30 AM

Shabbat Morning Service                        Torah: Naso

Sunday

May 23

9:00 AM

 

3:00 PM

Service, Breakfast and Discussion

 

Annual Membership Meeting

Friday

May 28

8:00 PM

Shabbat Evening Service

     Light candles at 8:21 PM

Saturday

May 29

8:00 PM

Shabbat Morning Service                        Torah: Behaalotchah   

 

Sunday

May 30

9:30 AM

Service, Breakfast and Discussion

 

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO MAKE A DONATION TO HELP US PAY FOR THE WHEELCHAIR LIFT!

 

Name(s): ______________________________ Donation Amount: $________

Send this form to BHBI, 1369 East Ave., Rochester, NY 14610 along with your special donation for the wheelchair lift today!

AppleMark

 

FROM THE RABBI’S DESK

By

RABBI GEOFFREY GOLDBERG

 

May 2010

    

Do you have a favorite Jewish festival? I don’t, since I enjoy them all, each having its own lessons to teach and enrich us. But some do have a favorite. For some it is Passover, with the seder rituals and the eating of matzot. On occasion individuals have said it is Yom Kippur! Yes, Yom Kippur, because it is sui generis among our holy days. I am currently reading a wonderful novel, “Friendly Fire,” by the acclaimed Israeli author, A. B. Yehoshua. The events take place during the week of Hanukkah, and one gets the impression that for the characters of the novel, secular Israelis, Hanukkah is their favorite festival, especially for the children.

 

The other week someone said to me that her favorite festival was Shavuot. Now that was new one, I had never heard anyone say that before! Despite being a major festival, one of the three Shalosh Regalim (Pilgrim Festivals) Shavuot is not too well observed. While many non-Jews know about Hanukkah, I am sure that few know about Shavuot.

 

Shavuot celebrates Z’man Matan Torateinu, the Season of the Giving of the Torah. As the festival of Revelation, it celebrates not just an event, but a concept. Because this concept is so abstract too many Jews fail to accord Shavuot the seriousness which it deserves, especially since, based upon a theological idea, it is difficult to celebrate it symbol and ritual.

 

Even so, it became customary to observe certain Shavuot rituals, such as the eating of dairy foods. There is no one reason why we eat dairy at Shavuot. One explanation is that, being summer time, light dairy meals are more appropriate at this season of the year. Others connect Shavuot with ḥalav u-devash, with milk and honey, since the Land is described in the Bible as “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Another explanation is based on a verse from Psalm 68, which is the special Psalm designated for Shavuot. There the psalmist describes the mountain as a “mountain of gavnunim” (many peaks). But if you rearrange the letters of the word it can be read as gevinah, cheese!

 

Sephardic Jews have a beautiful custom enacted at the Torah service during the Shavuot synagogue service. A special Shavuot ketubah, based upon the traditional wedding ketubah, is read under a ḥuppah of an outstretched tallit. This special ketubah is based on the idea that while Passover represents the courtship between God and Israel, at Shavuot the actual marriage is celebrated. Israel expresses faithfulness to God by through faithfulness to the teachings of the Torah. When I lived in Israel I specially attended a Turkish synagogue on Shavuot to witness this beautiful custom which some non-Sephardic Jews are beginning to adopt.

 

What do we mean by Matan Torah, Revelation, and what can a thinking Jew seriously believe about it? This is one of the central challenges of the Festival of Shavuot. What is Conservative Judaism’s view (or views) about Matan Torah? The Eitz Ḥayyim Ḥumash includes three essays on this subject (pp. 1394–1406). They offer much food for thought and guidance on this subject, one which we should all struggle with, but hopefully, fascinate us as well. I hope to share some of the insights of these studies with you during Shavuot services.

 

Rabbi Geoffrey Goldberg

 

THE RABBI GOLDBERG FUND

Contributions to the Rabbi Goldberg Fund enable us to engage Rabbi Goldberg to lead additional services at BHBI during the year.  Whenever the funds in the Rabbi Goldberg Fund reach a predetermined level, we will schedule an additional service with Rabbi Goldberg.  To contribute to this purpose, please send a check in to BHBI with a notation that the contribution should be used for the Rabbi Goldberg Fund.

 

TORAH STUDY

Join congregants from Temple Beth Am, Temple Beth David and BHBI for our monthly Small Conservative Shul Collaborative Torah Study session at BHBI on Wednesday evening, May 12th at 7:30 p.m.  The discussion is always lively and engaging!

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.

April 30-May 1

Iyar

May 14-15

Sivan

May 21-22

Sivan

May 28-29

Sivan

 

Libbie Goldberg*

Samuel Gastel*

Pauline Hobel

 

18

21

22

 

Sam Dubin

Nathan Epstein*

Bessie Klein*

Rose Levin*

Esther Gertrude Schriba*

Morris Levine*

Ida Sherman*

Ann Alderman*

Sam Solomon

Max Atkin*

Bessie Eber*

Albert Bernstein

Max Vogelstein

 

2

2

2

4

 

4

5

5

6

6

8

8

8

8

 

Benjamin Weinrib*

Sarah Osband*

Jessie Stolnitz*

Harry Strauss*

Minnie Strom*

Theresa Meyer Block

Anna Whalen

Rose Sallerson*

Janet Riwkin Glaser*

 

 

* Denotes name memorialized on BHBI Memorial Plaque

 

  8

10

10

11

11

12

12

13

14

 

Evelyn Goldman Kauffman*

Louis Maltinsky*

Sadie Stolnitz*

Katherine Weinrib*

Lyons I. Jossem*

Zus Kaminnik

Esther Senzel*

Sarah Rebecca Gerber*

Minnie Marcus*

Nathan Yablin*

Leo Lewin

 

 

17

17

17

17

18

19

20

 

21

21

21

22

May 7-8

Iyar - Sivan

 

Esther Leah Silverman*

Reuben Cohen

Leopold Beechbinder*

Charles Bertman*

Isadore D. Goldberg*

Harry T. Levinson*

Abraham Goldman*

Arnold Kauffman*

Samuel Schwartz*

 

24

26

27

27

27

27

28

28

  1

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.

 

MEMORIAL PLAQUES

Memorialize a friend or loved one by purchasing a BHBI memorial plaque.  For more information, contact Stan Schaffer at 473-8072 or stanschaffer@frontiernet.net

 

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!!

 

 

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

TO OUR DONORS -- THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!

 

WHEELCHAIR LIFT FUND

Steve and Ruth Teitel

 

In memory of Irving Gold

Lyn Michaels

 

GENERAL FUND

Malcolm and Annette Weinberg

 

In memory of Charles Levy

Paul and Rose Israel

 

THANK YOU TO OUR KIDDUSH SPONSORS

FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL

April 10

The Congregation

April 17

The Congregation

April 24

Nina Klionsky and Leon Metlay in memory of Nina’s grandmother, Marion Klionsky

 

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!!

 

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SHAVUOT DINNER RESERVATION FORM

Join us for a Shavuot dairy dinner on Tuesday evening, May 18th at 6 p.m.

 

Cost $10 for adults and children age 13 and over; $6 for kids under 13

 

Family max = $36

 

Reservations required by Wednesday, May 12th.

 

Name(s): _________________________________________________________

 

Number Attending: _______ adults; _______ children          Amount enclosed: $______

 

Send your reservation to BHBI, 1369 East Avenue, Rochester, NY  14610

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.

 

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?

Don’t 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 Stan Schaffer at:   stanschaffer@frontiernet.net  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congregation Beth Hamedresh-Beth Israel

1369 East Avenue

Rochester, NY  14610