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BHBIRochester.org Published Monthly Vol 44/No 9 Sivan/Tammuz 5770 June 2010 Editor: Stan Schaffer |
Congregation Beth Hamedresh – Beth Israel B U L L E T I N |
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June
President’s Message Friends, We just had what was
probably the shortest and least contentious Annual Meeting that I can recall.
Nobody shouted. Nobody stormed out. Nobody threatened to resign. The votes
were mostly unanimous. Not like the “bad old days.” That’s not necessarily a
good thing. We passed a deficit budget and nobody objected. The relative
placidity could be seen to reflect a fatalism, a feeling of “we can’t do
anything about this.” The placidity also reflects the small number of people
present. There was a quorum, but that’s not a lot of people. We need to be
involved and we need to cultivate the attitude that “we can do something
about this!” As I look back at the
past year, I see things we can be proud of. Our wheelchair lift is installed
and functioning, so that people with wheelchairs and walkers can more
comfortably enter our building. (We could still use some help paying for it,
hint, hint.) The chronic water leakage in the kitchen ceiling has been
finally fixed, as have some problems with our roof. Our building is generally
in good shape. The Rabbi has been an
asset to our services. His sermons are thought provoking and his davening is
wonderful to listen to. The core of people who keep our services going are
doing well, too. Some of our recent bnai mitzvah are continuing to be active
in leading services and reading Torah or Haftorah. We old fogeys are still
active too. If you haven’t been to services in a while, come see how we’re
doing. The upcoming year will
see two bnai mitzvah: Jacob Schaffer in August and Noah Honickman in
September. I hope we will see other happy events in the coming months. I’m
looking forward to seeing you in shul. B’shalom Leon Metlay |
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BHBI OFFICERS
At the BHBI annual meeting, the following
individuals were elected as officers:
President – Leon Metlay
1st Vice-President – Steve Teitel
2nd Vice-President – Judith
Mercer
Treasurer – Ira Cohen
Financial Secretary – Stan Schaffer
Recording Secretary – Harris Honickman
MEMBERS OF THE BHBI
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Paula Bobb
Emily Fishman
Janet Grable
Helen Gulack
Aline Honickman
Katie Metlay
Herb Spencer
BHBI CALENDAR OF EVENTS – JUNE
2010
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Friday |
June 4 |
7:00 PM |
Shabbat
Evening Service at Heather Heights in Pittsford Light candles at
8:27 PM |
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Saturday |
June 5 |
10:00 AM |
Joint Shabbat Morning Service with Temple Beth Am at Beth Am with Rabbi Goldberg officiating Blessing for the new month. Torah: Shelach |
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Sunday |
June 6 |
9:00 AM |
Service,
Breakfast and Discussion |
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Wednesday |
June 9 |
7:30 PM |
Small Shul
Collaborative Torah Study Session at BHBI |
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Friday |
June 11 |
8:00 PM |
Joint Shabbat Evening Service with Temple Beth Am at Beth Am Light candles at 8:31 PM |
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Saturday |
June 12 |
9:30 AM |
Joint Shabbat Morning Service with Temple Beth Am at
BHBI
Torah:
Korach |
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Sunday |
June 13 |
9:00 AM |
Service,
Breakfast and Discussion |
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Monday |
June 14 |
7:30 PM |
Monthly Meeting of the BHBI Board of Trustees |
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Friday |
June 18 |
8:00 PM |
Joint Shabbat Evening Service with Temple Beth Am at BHBI Light candles at
8:34 PM |
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Saturday |
June 19 |
9:30 AM |
Shabbat Morning Service Torah: Chukat |
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Sunday |
June 20 |
9:00 AM |
Service,
Breakfast and Discussion |
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Friday |
June 25 |
8:00 PM |
Shabbat Evening Service Light candles at
8:35 PM |
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Saturday |
June 26 |
8:00 PM |
Shabbat Morning Service
Torah: Balak
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Sunday |
June 27 |
9:30 AM |
Service,
Breakfast and Discussion |
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, June 9th at 7:30 p.m.
The discussion is always lively and engaging!
WHEELCHAIR LIFT
Please note that our
wheelchair lift is now fully installed and operational. If you are
someone who has stayed away from services because of difficulty climbing our
stairs, know that there is now a safe, easy and convenient way to join us once
again. Please come and give it a try! There is a conveniently
located button to press should you need assistance. So don't delay any
longer – join us at BHBI services and events! Of course, contributions
to help with the expense of the lift are still welcome.
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to our
graduates, Matt Honickman and Aviva Schaffer, who are both graduating from
Brighton High School this month.
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FROM THE RABBI’S DESK By RABBI GEOFFREY GOLDBERG June 2010 |
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First Fruits Throughout
the Festival of Shavuot, which we recently celebrated, a passage in the
Mishnah was buzzing in my head. I had wanted to share it, but there was not
the opportunity. In
ancient times the Shavuot was also known as Ḥag
ha-Bikkurim, the Festival of
First Fruits, as laid out in Exodus 23:19 and Deuteronomy 26:1–11. The
latter reads, When you come into the Land… You shall take of
the first of all the fruit of the ground… and shall put it in a basket… and
shall come to the priests… who will take your basket… and you shall declare… A
wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down to Egypt… and the Egyptians
oppressed us… And the Eternal heard our voice… And brought us out of Egypt…
and brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey… And behold, I have
brought of the first fruit of the land… And you shall rejoice in all the good
that the Eternal has given you. Part
of the italicized passage we recite at the Passover Seder. In
a special tractate of the Mishnah, known as Bikkurim, we learn how the
First Fruits ceremony was conducted. We learn that originally all who knew
how to recite the Deuteronomy passage did so from memory, but those who did
not know the passage or had forgotten it, were prompted in the declaration by
the priests (the priest would recite the words first, and the donor would
repeat after him). Just
try to imagine life in ancient Israel. Ordinary people did not have “books”
at home. Scrolls containing books of the Bible were kept in the synagogue, the
House of Study. Probably only rich persons might have had personal scrolls at
home. Even if a person had memorized the passage at the local synagogue, what
if he (or she?) forgot it on the way to Jerusalem? How was such a person to
look up the passage again? The Mishnah (Bikkurim 3:7) tells us that
people, rather than shaming themselves when they came to donate their First
Fruits at the Temple before the priest, would stay away! They simply didn’t
show up! They did not want to suffer embarrassment in public and made to feel bad and inferior to the
scholars who spent many hours in the House of Study, or the rich people who
might have had personal copies of the books of the Bible. A
way out of this situation was found. The rabbis decided that in future, everyone
would be prompted by the priest, whether they knew the passage or not. No one
was to suffer embarrassment or shame. I
find this rule of the Mishnah very moving. It overflows with great compassion
and profound sensitivity. It is true religion in action. This, too, is Torah! Rabbi Geoffrey Goldberg |
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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.
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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June 4-5 |
Sivan |
June 11-12 |
Sivan- Tammuz |
June 18-19 |
Tammuz |
June 25-26 |
Tammuz |
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Fannie Warnick* Louis Sanow* Ada Gordon* Stella Getz* Mary Goldman* Betty Newell* Eva Wasserman* Elsie Cohen Isadore Goldman* |
23 24 26 27 27 27 27 28 29 |
Gerald Braz Hyb Jossem* Marion Bernstein Samuel Hoffman* Sara Sarachan* Rose Joffe* Jennie Epstein* David Glasser* |
30 30 2 2 2 3 4 4 |
Morris Krinsky* Sarah Shnitman* Rabbi Aaron Solomon* Eva Krinsky* Jael Stekel Phillip Morrow* Rochli Rothschild* Eli Hobel |
7 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 |
Sarah Singer* Rachel Strauss* Rachel Morris* Yetta Goldman* Sarah Marken* Sam Hector* Harry Sarachan* Rose Schiff* * Denotes name memorialized
on BHBI Memorial Plaque |
14 14 15 16 16 20 20 20 |
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!!
GOODSEARCH.COM
Goodsearch.com
is an on-line internet search program that pays non-profit organizations like
BHBI a fee every time someone uses their search service. Go to www.goodsearch.com, enter the search term
that you want and put in BHBI on the line where it says Who Do You Goodsearch
For? BHBI will collect a fee for
each search you make!
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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 |
TO OUR DONORS -- THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!
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THANK YOU TO OUR KIDDUSH SPONSORS
FOR THE MONTH OF MAY
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May 8 |
Phil and
Annette Garver in memory of Harry Gordon |
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May 15 |
The
Congregation |
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May 19 |
Janet Grable
in honor of Shavuot |
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May 20 |
Janet Grable
in honor of Shavuot |
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May 22 |
The
Congregation |
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May 29 |
Leon Metlay
and Nina Klionsky in honor of their niece, Maxine’s, graduation |
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!!
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
Dan
Senor Caps off Israel Series
Dan Senor, co-author of Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic
Miracle and Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council
for Foreign Relations, will headline the final program in the Federation
sponsored series, Israel 2010, on June 3rd. "The Economic
Miracle" will take place at Temple Beth El, 139 S. Winton Road, at 7:00
PM. The program is co-sponsored by Greater Rochester Enterprise,
Harter Secrest & Emery, High Tech Rochester and the University of
Rochester. It is free of charge and open to the community. Dan
Senor served in Iraq as a Senior Adviser and the Chief Spokesperson for the
U.S.-led Coalition in 2003-04. He also served as a Pentagon adviser to Central
Command in Qatar and as a foreign policy and communications adviser in the U.S.
Senate. Senor is a commentator on Middle East affairs for Wall Street Journal,
the New
York Times, the Washington Post, the Weekly Standard, and TIME. He studied in Israel, completed his MBA at Harvard Business
School, and has traveled extensively throughout the Arab world.
Photoburst
Photoburst is an on-line photo sharing project and
contest that is connecting photographers in Rochester and Modi’in, Israel. Post your favorite digital photos
on-line at Photoburstpartners.org in one of five categories. Winning photos will be printed, framed,
and displayed in Rochester and Modi’in.
Misheberachs
for Those Who Are Ill
We are updating our misheberach list for those who
are ill. If you added any of the
following names to the misheberach list, please let Leon Metlay know if the
individuals listed have recovered from their illnesses:
Miriam bat Pessa, Yitzhak ben Carol, Harold Rubin.
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