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Beth El Bulletin October 2017 Beth El Hebrew Congregation Tishri/Heshvan 5778 Worship Services WRJ/Brandeis Book and Author Thursday, October 5 First Day Sukkot Service Fundraiser 10:30 am Friday, October 6 Sunday, Oct. 29 from 2 to 5 pm Shabbat Evening Service The Beth El Hebrew Congregation Women of Reform Judaism and the Brandeis 7:30 pm National Committee Northern Virginia Chapter are joining forces once again to bring Saturday, October 7 you an exciting afternoon with the extra benefit of raising money for their organiza- Shabbat Morning Service and Bar tions’ worthy causes. Proceeds will benefit the youth of Beth El and the Brandeis Mitzvah of Gunnar Nathanson, National Committee Scholarship Fund. son of Kristin and Scott, 10:30 am Robert Siegel, the popular host of NPR’s All Things Considered and Wednesday, October 11 a member of Beth El Hebrew Congregation, will host and moderate Sh’mini Atzeret and Simchat the event. Mr. Siegel will be presenting the following inspirational Torah Service authors and their books: 10:30 am Friday, October 13 Simchat Torah Soul Shabbat and Consecration Evening Service 7:30 pm Saturday, October 14 Shabbat Morning Service 10:30 am Marvin Kalb Paula Tarnapol Whitacre Michael Takiff Tot Shabbat, 11 am Details on page 16 Friday, October 20 Sixth Grade Student-Led Shabbat Evening Service In this Issue 7:30 pm Rabbi’s Remarks.......................... 2 B’nei Mitzvah............................... 9 Donations ................................. 18 Saturday, October 21 Sukkot Luncheons .............. 2 and 6 Inclusion Committee ................... 9 Permanent Endowment Shabbat Morning Service, Cantor’s Corner ........................... 3 Readers of Beth El ....................... 9 Fund ..................................... 19 10:30 am President’s Point of View ............ 4 Making MAJYK! ......................... 10 Beth El in Your Lifelong Learning......................... 4 WRJ Social Action ...................... 10 Neighborhood ...................... 19 Friday, October 27 Religious School .......................... 5 Mitzvah Opportunity ................. 10 Kol NoVa Choir .......................... 20 Shabbat Evening Service 7:30 pm Brotherhood News ..................... 6 Member News ........................... 11 Chapel in the Woods................. 20 WRJ News ................................... 7 Calendar ............................... 12-13 Beth El Giant Book Sale ............. 21 Saturday, October 28 Renaissance Group ..................... 7 Special Event: Harold Mintz ...... 14 Beth El House ............................ 21 Shabbat Morning Service and Bat Culture Club ................................ 7 ECLC News ................................. 15 Mitzvah of Estee Marcus, Transition News .......................... 8 Special Event: JGSGW ................ 15 ...and lots of tantalizing tidbits daughter of Jane and Richard, ALIVE!.......................................... 8 Book and Author Event ............. 16 scattered throughout, so 10:30 am Caring Community ...................... 8 Beth El/JCCNV Events ................ 17 don’t skip a page! Tot Shabbat, 11 am Page 2 Rabbi’s Remarks IX YEARS AGO I wrote this down, and yet it is also just as easy to reassemble it and article for our Bulletin. It is still make it whole again. S just as relevant to today as it Its flexibility and its porous shell allow its basic struc- was then. May your Sukkot truly be a ture to withstand the wind even as its roof may be dis- festival of joy! placed piece by piece. After the storm the schach (the Two hurricanes, an earthquake, mon- material which makes up the roof) can be replaced, either soon-like rains from a tropical storm, all within the space with what can be found of the previous roof and/or by of a few weeks! As the damage from each one com- supplementing it with new material. In this way, not only pounded, it became increasingly obvious just how fragile is the sukkah made whole but it is indeed refreshed as even the most solidly built structures could actually be well. when subject to the extremes of such natural phenomena. We are at the beginning our spiritual new year and Decades ago I visited Mauritius — an Indian Ocean know that for most of us at some point in the future we island and favorite holiday spot for both South Africans will face one of life’s many “winds.” Perhaps it would be and Europeans. It just so happened that a few days prior worthwhile taking a lesson from the sukkah. the island had been hit by a cyclone, which, as with the Our framework of principles and values is the struc- Virgin Islands, happens with some frequency. And yet, as ture that allows us to face the vicissitudes of life. Like the we drove around the countryside, it seemed that the dam- frame of the sukkah this is what lasts from season to sea- age had been minimal. Unexpectedly the shanty towns, son. We have developed this infrastructure over the consisting predominantly of houses made of cinderblock years, adding supports were necessary, tightening some and corrugated iron sheets, were still standing intact and of the screws, and replacing some of the beams that have although one could see evidence of the erosion from the warped through natural exposure to the elements and rushing water, the narrow roads were still in reasonable wear and tear. shape. And the stuff that gets blown away? That which, During a stop at a roadside grocery store (which was when we are confronted with the stark reality or enormity but a slightly larger house with a couple of refrigerators of what we are facing, suddenly becomes unimportant and some shelving for groceries) I asked the owner how and disposable. How or why did we spend so much ener- come it seemed that most things were back to normal. He gy hanging onto what turns out to be just schach — laughed and said that they were very used to this and so emotional or physical stuff that can easily be dispensed their houses are build to withstand the wind. When he with and which we will just as easily replace once the saw how skeptical I looked, he added, that the corrugated crisis is over? iron roofs all blow off, but the basic structure remains Our tradition has a long history of shaping this frame- intact and it doesn’t take all that long to find your piece work of values and as we enter this new year together, of iron roof and put it back on! may that framework indeed always be there to strengthen In a few weeks we celebrate the holiday of Sukkot, us and give us courage and hope. and in many ways the fragile structure of the sukkah tells the same story. It looks so flimsy and is so easily blown Chag sameach to you and yours, — Brett Sukkot Luncheon UKKOT is a Hebrew word meaning “booths” and refers to the remembrance of when the Jewish people dwelled in temporary booths or huts in the desert. Sukkot, like so many other Jewish holidays, began as an ancient agricul- S tural festival, marking the beginning of the fall harvest. We are commanded to dwell in our sukkah for seven days, to eat in it, and, in some traditions, to sleep in it just as our ancestors did in the desert and during the harvest season. Please join us for the first day of Sukkot at services beginning at 10:30 am on Oct. 5. You are cordially invited to dwell in the Beth El sukkah for a dairy potluck lunch. Please call Jeanette Astrow at 703-451-7007 or email her at [email protected] to RSVP and to coordinate food items. All are welcome to attend. In case of rain, lunch will be served inside. Beth El Bulletin October 2017 Beth El Hebrew Congregation Page 3 Cantor’s Corner N AUG. 28, on the 54th anniver- support friends and family. Everyone sary of the historic March for has a place in this work. O Jobs and Dr. King’s “I Have a The Power of Presence Dream” speech, I was invited to partici- During the march, numerous faith lead- pate in the 1,000 Minister March as a ers whom I had never met before ap- representative of the American Confer- proached me and thanked me repeated- ence of Cantors (ACC) alongside the ly for being there. I didn’t know them delegation from the Union of Reform and they didn’t know me. They didn’t Judaism/Religious Action Center. It was thank me for any specific action that I an incredibly humbling and powerful experience, and took or any ideological similarity that we may have one which I feel blessed to have been a part of. shared. They merely thanked me for being present. This We began on the field behind the Martin Luther reminded me of the power of presence. I remember feel- King, Jr. Memorial, where clergy of all faiths and de- ing this same feeling last year when Muslim neighbors nominations addressed the crowd, including leaders of of Beth El reached out to us with a message of love and the URJ such as Rabbi Jonah Pesner and URJ VP April friendship after hate crimes occurred in our community. Baskin. With great pride, I watched my colleague from As a cantor, I was taught the power of presence in rela- the ACC Social Action and Justice Committee, Cantor tionship to pastoral situations. We are trained to show Jacki Rawiszer, address the crowd and lead the inter- up, to listen and to be a caring presence even when there faith community in a spirited singing of Hinei Mah Tov. are no right words to say. This march taught me that As we began our march to the Department of Justice, being present in that manner is just as important in so- I stood next to my friend, Rabbi Hannah Goldstein of cial justice partnerships. Temple Sinai in DC, who held the Torah and with it, The Importance of Partnership centuries of Jewish history and wisdom. As we arrived It is by partnering with others that we advance the at DOJ, I went to the stage area, and awaited my turn to goals of justice.