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BHBIRochester.org Published Monthly Vol 45/No 1 Tishrei-Cheshvan 5771 October 2010 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: I hope you had a
rewarding and enlightening holiday season. You know what they say, “No job is
finished until the paper work is finished.” The next-to-last thing to do is
to thank the people who made the holiday services such a success. This
includes our Chazan, Dr. George Kornfeld (oh, those shofar blasts!), and Ira
Cohen who led pretty much everything that George didn’t lead, also our usher,
Steve Teitel, the page announcers, Stan Schaffer and Harris Honickman, the
haftorah readers, Janet Grable, Elaine Schaffer, Hermann Vogelstein, and Nina
Klionsky. Judith Mercer did the apples and honey, my wife and I donated the
flowers, the Honickmans sponsored the break-fast (on top of preparing for a
bar mitzvah!). Bruce Nelson, of Beth Am, edited the Yizkor booklet. Steve
Teitel, Ira Cohen, Paula Bobb, Harris Honickman, Esther Vogelstein, Nina
Klionsky, and Helen Gulack put up the sukkah. Special thanks to Helen for the
posters. Hermann Vogelstein did a prodigious amount of Torah reading during
Sukkot. Rabbi Goldberg inspired us on Shemini Atzeret. Janet Grable and Steve
Teitel did the Sukkot and Shemni Atzeret kiddushim. Our friends at Beth Am
made us welcome for services on the second day of Sukkot. And of course, Noah
Honickman and his family made Shabbat Chol Hamoed Sukkot especially festive.
I’m sure I’ve forgotten someone. Please forgive me if I overlooked you. Now that Sukkot is past
us, it’s not over until we put away the sukkah as well as the holiday
curtains and Torah covers. Please join us to do that on Sunday morning,
October 3rd, at 10:30 AM. Many hands make light work! One of the topics I
mentioned in my Yom Kippur address was the importance of the continuity of
institutions, especially our own. As noted above, it takes work from a lot of
people, as well as money, to keep our congregation functioning. Beth
Hamedresh Hagodel was founded in 1911. I wonder if its founders imagined that
their big beautiful building would be gone in less than 50 years. I also
wonder if they imagined that in a hundred years their synagogue would be
located at a prestigious East Avenue address. Should we have some sort of
commemoration of the centennial of Beth Hamedresh Hagodel? What do you think
we should do? Please think about this and share your ideas with me. The month of Cheshvan,
which follows our current month of Tishri, is often called Mar Cheshvan
(Bitter Cheshvan), because it doesn’t have any holidays in it. I think it
should be called Cheshvan Menucha (Restful Cheshvan), because it allows us to
get back to normal after a month of holidays. Enjoy the peace and quiet! B’shalom, Leon Metlay |
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BHBI CALENDAR OF EVENTS – OCTOBER
2010
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Friday |
Oct 1 |
9:00 AM 7:00 PM |
Joint Simchat Torah Service with Temple Beth Am and Temple Beth David at Beth David Shabbat Evening Service at Heather Heights in Pittsford Light candles at 6:33 PM |
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Saturday |
Oct 2 |
9:30 AM |
Shabbat Morning Service Torah: Bereisheit Blessing for the New Month |
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Sunday |
Oct 3 |
9:00 AM |
Service,
Breakfast and Discussion |
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Friday |
Oct 8 |
8:00 PM |
Joint Shabbat Evening Service with Temple Beth Am at Beth Am Light candles at 6:21 PM |
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Saturday |
Oct 9 |
9:30 AM |
Joint Shabbat Morning Service with Temple Beth Am at BHBI with Rabbi Goldberg officiating Torah: Noah |
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Sunday |
Oct 10 |
9:00 AM |
Service,
Breakfast and Discussion |
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Monday |
Oct 11 |
7:30 PM |
Monthly Meeting of the BHBI Board of Trustees |
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Wednesday |
Oct 13 |
7:30 PM |
Joint Torah Study with members of Temple Beth Am and Temple Beth David at BHBI |
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Friday |
Oct 15 |
8:00 PM |
Shabbat Evening Service Light candles at
6:09 PM |
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Saturday |
Oct 16 |
9:30 AM |
Shabbat Morning Service Torah: Lech Lechah |
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Sunday |
Oct 17 |
9:00 AM |
Service,
Breakfast and Discussion |
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Friday |
Oct 22 |
8:00 PM |
Shabbat Evening Service Light candles at 5:58 PM |
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Saturday |
Oct 23 |
9:30 AM |
Shabbat Morning Service Torah: Vayeirah |
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Sunday |
Oct 24 |
9:00 AM |
Service, Breakfast and Discussion |
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Friday |
Oct 29 |
8:00 PM |
Joint Shabbat Evening Service with Temple Beth Am at BHBI Light candles at 5:47 PM |
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Saturday |
Oct 30 |
10:00 AM |
Joint Shabbat Morning Service with Temple Beth Am at Beth Am Torah: Chayei Sarah |
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Sunday |
Oct 31 |
9:00 AM |
Service, Breakfast and Discussion |
WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS
BHBI would like to
welcome its newest members, Hermann Vogelstein, Nelly Vishnagorsky, and Simeon
and Sherrie Kolko and their son, Zachary.
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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FROM THE RABBI’S DESK By RABBI GEOFFREY GOLDBERG October 2010 |
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On Yom Kippur afternoon before I returned to the
synagogue for Minḥah and Ne’ilah I read
through the Book of Jonah and some of the commentaries in the Rabbinical Assembly’s
wonderful new Mahzor Lev Shalem. We all know that Jonah was commanded
to go and preach to the people of Nineveh. Why this city? As the commentary
informs the reader, Nineveh was no ordinary city, for it was the capital of
the Assyria which had destroyed the northern state of Israel (Samaria) and
led it into captivity in 722 BCE. At the end of the Book of Jonah we read
that the people of Nineveh, from the greatest to the smallest, performed Teshuvah
which was accepted by God. The content of Jonah is rather mind-boggling,
since Nineveh (even though it was destroyed by the Babylonians in 612) can be
compared to Germany of the Nazi era. At the end of October I will be going to Israel for a
month’s working stay in connection with preparation of a book in the field of
Jewish Music that connects with Germany. The book will eventually be
published by the Jewish Music Research Centre of the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, as part of its Yuval Music Series. My book will include the
publication of chants and melodies of the South-German synagogue tradition
according to an unpublished manuscript of a ḥazzan in Esslingen, now a satellite
town of Stuttgart, in Baden-Württemberg. One of the tragedies of the Shoah
was near-complete destruction of this chant tradition. Echoes of it survive
only here and there, so the publication of my book (and hopefully an
accompanying CD) will also serve as testimony and witness to a
musical-liturgical tradition that was once vibrant. The Jewish Music Research Centre (the “Merkaz”
to those of us who are connected with it) will be making this working stay
possible. However, the funding is actually coming from Germany, and more
specifically, from a group of non-Jews who belong to a body called Freunde
Jüdischer Kultür, Esslingen (Esslingen Friends of Jewish Culture).
Members of this organization are particularly eager to see the completion of
the book and have invited me to come to Germany to speak. All over Germany
today there are similar organizations of Germans who feel the loss of the
great Jewish culture that was once present in Germany, notwithstanding the
rebirth of a Jewish community there in recent years. They feel that this
culture was part of their culture, too. For example, in South Germany,
countless synagogues (some including mikva’ot) have been rebuilt in
towns and villages that once had active Jewish communities. Alas, they are
mostly only museums and memorials, but once cannot but be moved by such
positive gestures. I correspond frequently with a member of the Freunde
Jüdischer Kultür, Esslingen, a true Judeophile who has learnt Hebrew, and
is personal friend of the local rabbi and ḥazzan. He recently told me about the
recent trip taken by members of his group to see the Esslingen Maḥzor, a magnificently illustrated
medieval maḥzor on exhibition in Dresden. The
artwork of this illustrated maḥzor, as my friend pointed out to me, was done by gentiles, a testimony
to close interaction that there often was between Jews and gentiles in
medieval times. I am, obviously, very excited about my forthcoming
visit to Israel and I hope that much will be achieved towards the completion
of the publication. I have heard rumors that I might be invited to lead a
seminar of the Ashkenazi music working group at the Hebrew University. I hope
to visit some interesting synagogues during my stay, including the Syrian
Ades Synagogue for bakkashot on Shabbat morning at 3:00 am (yes am!).
I can’t wait to listen to Israeli radio, watch Israeli TV, buy Israeli
newspapers). I nervously dread the temptation of bookstores which I won’t be
able to resist. I must never forget the generosity of those who are
funding my stay. The enormity of the Holocaust can never be erased, but a new
spirit on the part of many Germans today is hope for optimism. Just as the
people of Nineveh did Teshuvah, so I believe that many Germans,
consciously or subconsciously, are doing Teshuvah for the sins of the
Nazi era. Lehitra’ot 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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Oct 1-2 |
Tishrei |
Oct 8-9 |
Cheshvan |
Oct 15-16 |
Cheshvan |
Oct 22-23 |
Cheshvan |
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Beverly Clark* David Israel Morris Album* Betty Katzen Sam Gold Bernard Israel Celia Israel |
24 24 25 25 29 30 30 |
Bessie Miller* Ida Phillips Sarah Rickler* Blanche Florescue Ross* Charles Schnidman* Harry Silverman* Rabbi Jordan Taxon Ida Menter* Clara Spencer * Denotes name memorialized
on BHBI Memorial Plaque |
1 2 4 4 4 4 4 7 7 |
Marion Lazar* Joseph D. Stolnitz* Ida Buckbinder* Irene Bernstein Mikolasek* Bernard Lipschutz Ingeborg Vogelstein Dianne Hooker Lottie Astrachan* Lewis Glaser Alfred E. Hart* Sol Weinstein* Israel Astrachan* Marion Grossman* |
8 8 9 9 10 10 11 12 12 12 12 13 13 |
Nellie Beckler* David Mandelbaum Lena Cohen* Sofya Kaminnik* Ray Toker Mosheh Lazar* Nathan Pastor Nachem Reb Tsvi Hersh Julia Goldman* Bessie Schnidman* |
15 15 16 17 17 18 18 18 19 21 |
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Oct 29-30 |
Cheshvan |
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Louis Gastel* Emanuel Koveleski* Nathan Strom* Mary Jaffey Harvey Sanow* Fannie Stern* |
23 24 24 28 28 28 |
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.
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!
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
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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 SEPTEMBER
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September 4th |
The
Congregation |
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September 11th |
The
Congregation |
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September 18th |
Harris and
Aline Honickman in memory of Milton Honickman (Yom Kippur break fast) |
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September 23rd |
Janet Grable
in honor of Sukkot |
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September 25th |
Joseph
Yudelson in honor of Noah Honickman’s bar mitzvah |
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September 30th |
Janet Grable
in honor of Shemini Atzeret |
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!
THE RABBI FUND
Contributions to the Rabbi Fund enable us to engage
Rabbi Goldberg to lead additional services at BHBI during the year. Whenever the funds in the Rabbi 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 Fund.
UPCOMING EVENTS IN THE COMMUNITY
The opening event of the
UJA Federation’s 2011 campaign will feature columnist David Brooks on Sunday,
October 3rd starting at 5 p.m. at the Riverside Convention
Center. Cost for the dinner and
program is $50 per person. Those
in attendance will have an opportunity to privately make a commitment to the
2011 UJA Federation Campaign. A
minimum gift of $500 is suggested.
Contact Jay Podolsky at the Federation at 461-0490 x224 to RSVP.
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!!
TORAH STUDY
Join
us for an interactive session of Torah study with our friends from Temple Beth
Am and Temple Beth David at BHBI on Wednesday evening, October 13th
at 7:30 p.m. The discussion is
always lively!
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 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 5 years 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