April 2021 | 19 Nisan – 18 Iyar 5781 BALTIMOREHEBREW.ORG Annual Meeting and Shabbat Friday, April 30 N Meeting 5 Pm N Shabbat Service 6:15 Pm + Carol J
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BALTIMORE HEBREW CONGREGATION Rabbi Andrew Busch Rabbi Elissa Sachs-Kohen Cantor Ben Ellerin Cantor Ann G. Sacks Rabbi Rex D. Perlmeter, Emeritus Rabbi Gustav Buchdahl, Emanuel Emeritus BULLETIN Cantor Robbie Solomon, Emeritus Number 8 | April 2021 | 19 Nisan – 18 Iyar 5781 BALTIMOREHEBREW.ORG Annual Meeting and Shabbat Friday, April 30 n Meeting 5 pm n Shabbat Service 6:15 pm + Carol J. Caplan Service and Commitment Awards See page 5 for details Take a Peek Inside . On the Cover . 2 Carol J . Caplan Awards . 5 Night of the Stars . 9 BHC is Collecting . 2 Wisdom Around the World . 6 Women of BHC . 10 From the Clergy . 2 Youth Education . 7 Brotherhood News . 10 From the President . 3 Chai Life . 7 Offerings . .11–13 Upcoming at BHC . 4 The Crowd . 7 April Events . 15 Passover at BHC . 4 BHC Cares . 7 Fill Your Cup Schedule . 15 Annual Meeting & Shabbat . 5 E B. Hirsh Early Childhood Center . 8 Service Schedule . 16 FROM THE CLERGY “TRYING TO UNMUTE” Most jokes are old, that is just the nature of humor. The continuing jokes related to the difficulties we face trying to unmute on Zoom must fall into some old humor WELCOME rubric. By this point, these jokes can’t NEW MEMBERS! be funny anymore. Yet, they continue to We welcome the following congregants show up on social media or in the midst of who have joined BHC since the publication Zoom meetings. On some level, they fall into of our March Bulletin the category of dealing with our discomfort regarding our human situation, not just the foibles of online community and relationships. Mindi & Brad Levin Amy Elias and Richard Pearlstone Just a brief while ago, we wouldn’t have understood using the word Paul Stevenson “platform” to describe how we communicate. And yet, we have so many platforms at the moment: Zoom, email, streaming, texting, phone calls and more. These brand-new or modern platforms have largely ON THE COVER: replaced our familiar platforms in the past year, such as speaking 2021 Annual Meeting & Shabbat together in the BHC lobby or parking lot or sitting across from one Join us April 30 at 5 pm for our Annual another and chatting during a meal. Human communication has Meeting that leads directly into our Friday always had its bumps, but these platforms increase the likelihood Shabbat. See page 5 for more details. of mishaps. We keep trying to unmute ourselves or we keep trying to get to the right link, but it can be frustrating. These mishaps and frustrations happen within BHC and as we communicate more broadly (and that is true for most, maybe all, organizations). Baltimore Hebrew Congregation has been doing its best to navigate these communication’s platform during the pandemic. We have learned together how to provide services, while physically distant and to teach classes distanced as well. Our members have called one another to check in, and BHC Cares has reached out in other ways. Our social justice and volunteer work have continued, even as prepared food was passed out in the parking lot, instead of stowed BHC IS COLLECTING... • Frozen casseroles and dinner turkeys in the fridge. for Our Daily Bread. Our next schedule Now, as more BHC members are vaccinated and we have learned event is April 19 from 11–11:30 AM so much, we are also trying to learn how to ‘unmute,’ if you will. We drop off of frozen casseroles to BHCs were streaming before the pandemic and will continue afterwards. parking lot. Casseroles will be delivered However, our Re-Entry Task Force, staff, lay leaders and clergy are immediately following. working together to safely and smoothly reintroduce more familiar • Non-perishable Food for GEDCO Cares old-time platforms, things that bring us together physically, even as Food Pantry. Please note GEDCO Cares we maintain health protocols. Food Pantry requests: spaghetti sauce, The nature of a bulletin, even online, makes it hard to announce canned tomatoes, canned veggies, exactly what steps we will take and when. However, in the near canned tuna, and canned salmon. Till further notice, non-perishable future, we know that we will be able to communicate opportunities, donations may be placed by the which will continue to unfold in the coming months. We can’t tell Hoffberger Chapel door. you exactly what and when just yet. But we are learning how to • CHANA is collecting donations. ‘unmute’ in real life. I hope we keep our humor about us as we take Current needs are: men’s, women’s these next steps as a community. We appreciate your understanding, and children’s clothing and shoes; and we appreciate your interest and curiosity. handbags, blankets and linens. Please drop off donations outside of the Chapel Rabbi Busch entrance. Ring the buzzer and someone will bring your donations inside. 2 Baltimore Hebrew Congregation Bulletin | Number 8 | April 2021 | 19 Nisan – 18 Iyar 5781 FROM THE PRESIDENT BULLETIN Each year as spring arrives, we celebrate Passover and are reminded of our ancestors UPDATE transitioning from enslavement to freedom. At Until the health this time, we recognize that it has now been restrictions are lifted, more than a year since we have met in person. future issues of the It is natural, as we see positive change around Temple Bulletin will us (vaccine availability and some schools re- be shared via our opening), to anticipate an end of the pandemic website. and a return to what our lives looked like before mid-March of 2020. This year especially, we will celebrate a degree of https://www.baltimorehebrew.org/ comfort, if not freedom, as more of us are vaccinated. However, just as connecting/bhc-bulletins-and-annual- our forebears mourned those who did not survive, we remember that report/ so many have suffered from this virus. One year ago, we would not have been able to say that there is real reason to believe that our lives, which have been so disrupted, might BHC’S VIRTUAL COMMUNITY return to a degree of normalcy in the near future. There will be elements Our congregation has mobilized itself to of change that will continue to be with us for an unknown period of continue to connect us virtually, as a community time, such as wearing masks, some degree of physical distancing and and to our Judaism . washing hands. However, we can say with certainty that Baltimore Please see the regular emails and Hebrew Congregation has begun to return to our building using small baltimorehebrew .org for information, updates steps, with small B’nai Mitzvah celebrations. Our Re-Entry Task Force and creative offerings . Our education programs are being is hard at work studying the next steps to permitting additional small carried out via Zoom, which is an app worth gatherings that can be safe and meaningful. downloading and works beautifully on your We will remain steadfast in our compliance with all governmental computer . It works best with a camera and a and congregational protocols to ensure the safety of our clergy, microphone but can be utilized without them . staff and congregants. As you know, this transition will need to be Our services are being offered via online tempered by these protocols, so as not to endanger or expose anyone streaming and are also archived for later viewing . Visit https://venue .streamspot .com/ unnecessarily. We are eager to return to our lay and congregational de50dfb8 to follow along . lives, but we must take small steps toward this goal. We encourage you also to follow the I am happy to report that additional pre-schoolers are returning to Baltimore Hebrew Congregation page on our E.B. Hirsh Early Childhood Center and that our Youth Education Facebook, where we communicate ideas and program is running smoothly as well. resources for the congregation . As always, the clergy and staff remain hard at work to provide for the needs of our members in every way possible. Please continue to follow the website baltimorehebrew.org for updates on services and programming. Thanks to our clergy and staff for their tireless efforts in this last difficult year. We should all be grateful to them and offer thanks when we have the opportunity. Lastly, a special thanks to all of our congregants, who have generously given of their time and resources to BHC. Stay healthy, Log on to our website, baltimorehebrew.org for our online Membership Directory, to pay John I. Elias your bill or make a donation. Simply click, BHC President “Forgot your ID or password?” to have your login information emailed to you. LIKE BHC ON FACEBOOK Receive notices of upcoming events and see current photos. Find event details and photos of past events. And watch our “Time for Shabbat” videos, posted on Fridays. Let us know if you want to share your Shabbat plans with us to be featured on our page. FACEBOOK.COM/BALTIMOREHEBREWCONGREGATION Baltimore Hebrew Congregation Bulletin | Number 8 | April 2021 | 19 Nisan – 18 Iyar 5781 3 Programs, Events and Services below are all currently being presented UPCOMING AT BHC over ZOOM or StreamSpot. See individual programs for more details. TORAH TALK: via Zoom Azure Concert for Families Living with Autism and Saturdays, April 3, 10, 17 & 24, 9 am Similar Challenges Each Saturday, we gather for a discussion of the weekly Torah Sunday, April 18, 2 pm portion . Our conversation takes place on Zoom and is led by There will be a live, online Azure concert for families living Rabbis Busch and Sachs-Kohen, with occasional guest teachers . with autism and similar challenges . The concert will feature the No prior experience, Hebrew, or preparation is required .