The Kibbitzer FEBRUARY 2016

Temple Am Shalom SHEVAT—ADAR 1 5776 Mentor, Ohio

UPCOMING EVENTS see page 2 and page 3 Inside this issue: Bowling Party Info 2 A WORD FROM RENÉE Rock Hall Tour info 3 painting and then kitchen cabinets and Celebrating Your Birthday Twice 3 flooring. The drywall for the rest of the Putting Limestone in the Limelight 3 appy February! 2016 is a basement will be done as money allows. Torah Portions for February 4 leap year. Wonderful, one Former member, Steve Silber, who works Hmore day added to our winter at Home Depot, will be obtaining the Mishpatim, Exodus 21:1-24:18 4 flooring, plus he recommended Rich Coming Down From the Mountain... season. Hope everyone has stayed Romano, who also works at Home Depot, warm and safe so far. I had to Israel Connections—Galilee Diary to do drywall. If anyone is interested in 5 cancel one week of Hebrew school, helping with putting up drywall, please let Periphery so far, due to weather. We also me know. Painters will also be needed. It Healing prayer 5 postponed one fundraising meeting definitely takes a village to make things to the following week as well. We come to fruition. Thank you for all of your Fundraising/Activities Meeting 5 are planning a Purim Bowling support in this endeavor. I am truly Party in Painesville at Scores for grateful to know we are making the Donations/Birthday & Anniversary 6 project a reality. March. More info inside. You don’t Fundraising—how we’re doing 6 have to bowl to enjoy the event Welcome home to two of our young with our Am Shalom family. It’s a adults, Aaron Steindler and Jonah Yahrzeit List 6 fundraiser for the continuing Magid, who both spent 10 days in Israel Calendar 7 renovations taking place on the Birthright trip in December. I am anxious to hear from them about their downstairs. Continue to look in The experiences. Kibbitzer for more activities and fundraisers in the near future. In addition, I have begun working with Zoe Wherling, Josie Aitkin and Alissa SISTERHOOD— Speaking of the renovations: electrical Bittinger on their preparations for their repairs are next with the donation of future B’nai Mitzvot later on this year. Meeting for breakfast labor from Jan and Abbie Echle and SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7 donation of parts from Mars Electric. Watch the Kibbitzer for further news! 10:00 am Thank you so much! Once completed, B’ahava (with love) at Manhattan Deli, Mentor. we will be ready to begin putting up Let’s schmooz. drywall in the kitchen area, followed by Renée ¤

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Shabbat Services Men’s Fellowship Group Youth Group Friday, FEB 12 and 26 8:00am Sunday, FEB 21, Mentor Family SUNDAY FEB meetings — contact Elise 6:30pm tot Shabbat—7:30pm adult service Restaurant. Contact Lee Hawthorne at (440) 725-6852 or at [email protected] Saturday, FEB 20 10:00 a.m. Plan Ahead Sisterhood Sunday School Bowling Fundraiser March 12 10:00am SUNDAY, FEB 7 at Details page 2 FEB 14, 21, 28 9:15-11:30am Manhattan Deli, Mentor Contact Rita Rose No Sunday school on February 7th. at (440) 867-2268 or [email protected] Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Tour Preschool Board Meeting May 15 Details page 3 FEB 14 & 28 10:45-11:45am 7:30pm Wed FEBRUARY 3 Hebrew School Congregants, get involved! February 3, 10, 17 & 24 3:30- 5:00pm Fundraising/Activity Mtg WED FEB 10 7:00pm at the temple See page 3 Page 2 THE KIBBITZER Page 3

FEBRUARY 2016 The following article is excerpted from Ten Minutes of Torah— Israel As we neared the end of the tunnel tour, we came upon a large Connections from urj.org on November 11, 2015. Aron Hirt- mikveh (ritual bath), and with water slowly flowing in through a Manheimer, is the Union for Reform Judaism’s editor-at-large. hole in one of its walls. It seems that water and limestone seek Israel Connections one another like long-lost relatives. Putting Limestone in the Limelight of Israel Makhtesh Ramon, located in the Negev Desert on the edge of Tourism the Israeli town of Mitzpe Ramon is one of Israel’s natural won- By Aron Hirt-Manheimer ders. This enormous crater, measuring 25 miles long, six miles I’ve never given geology much attention in my travel writing, but wide, and 1,640 deep, was not caused by the impact of a mete- during a recent visit to Israel, I gained a new appreciation for the orite, but by a slow process of rivers washing away sandstone origins and versatility of limestone. toward the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth. As the sandstone eroded over millions of years, a layer of limestone settled Limestone’s virtues are many. To name a few, it colors Jerusa- in its place. Today, the crater’s moonscape-like floor is covered lem gold. The enormous blocks of the Kotel (Western Wall) are with limestone shards of many shapes, sizes, and shades of hewn from it. And it plays a starring role in two of Israel’s most white to brown. spectacular natural wonders. Knowing how difficult it might be to imagine that this desert, The history of limestone dates to the Mesozoic Era (250-65 mil- which receives an average of only two inches of rain a year, had lion years ago), when half the world, including the Middle East once been totally submerged by an ocean, our guide, Oded was covered by the Tethys Ocean. After the waters slowly re- Schickler of Ramon Desert Tours showed us a 40-million-year- ceded, the skeletal remains of prehistoric marine organisms old shark’s tooth, shells, and a fossilized sea urchin he had sank to the bottom of the sea and were compressed into lime- found at the site. stone. People have quarried the stone since antiquity. At the end of our Jeep tour of the Mkhtesh Ramon, the largest Herod I, the Roman client king of Judea (37-4 BCE), favored a nature preserve in Israel, we washed our hands in the manner of kind of limestone called meleke (Arabic for “royal” or “kingly”) to nomadic Bedouin. First we broke off a few stems of an anabasis construct the Kotel and expand the Second Temple in Jerusa- plant, crushing them in our hands to extract its oil. We then add- lem. Meleke has a wondrous quality: It is soft enough to cut with ed a splash of water to make a soapy solution, which not only a knife when quarried, but hardens over time when exposed to cleaned but also moisturized. Our guide then treated us to cold air. watermelon, the perfect ending to our desert experience.

When visiting the Kotel, you see only 60 of the more than 400 The Sorek cave at the Avshalom Nature Preserve is situated on meters of the wall. To see what’s underground, you can book a the western slopes of the Judean Hills between Jerusalem and walking tour through a tunnel that reveals more of the classic Beit Shemesh. It was discovered accidentally in 1968, when a Herodian stones, including one that’s the size of a city bus and blast detonated by workers from a nearby limestone quarry weighs 570 tons, which were transported and set in place with- brought it to light. Inside they found configurations of stalactites out mortar by workers using a system of ropes on pulleys. Ac- and stalagmites up to 13 feet long that some believed to be cording to the historian Josephus, 1,000 Levites were trained as 300,000 years old. New ones are still forming as water seeping builders and masons to renovate the Second Temple, as Herod, into the cave dissolves the limestone. who was regarded as an outsider, wanted to avoid a possible religious backlash. The nature preserve’s guides have nicknamed some of the formations created by this process. “Romeo and Juliet,” for At one stop in the tunnel tour, our guide invited us to look down example, takes the form of a stalactite positions directly a shaft that exposed an ancient quarry. We could see the out- lines of blocks on limestone that had not been cut and extracted. above a stalagmite, separated by a tiny gap of about 2 centi- Had the mining of this quarry been completed, the hollowed-out meters (0.79 inches). At the current rate of growth—100 area would have likely become a cistern, collecting rainwater for years per centimeter—the two will touch in the year 2215! domestic or public use. Until then, safe travels. ¤

Calling All Holy The following article is excerpted from chabad.org on November 26, Rock and Rollers 2015. Chana Weisberg is the editor of TheJewishWoman.org. Temple Am Shalom is planning a trip to How to Celebrate Your Birthday Twice The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum By Chana Weisberg on Every 19 years, the Jewish calendar, which is based on the Sunday May 15 lunar cycle, meets up exactly with the Gregorian calendar, We would spend about three hours which is based on the solar system. touring the museum and then go to lunch At the end of 12 months, the 29.5-day lunar month falls short Car pools would be arranged for the trip of the 365.25-day solar year. But the Jewish calendar insists In order to qualify for group rates we must have at least 20 on reconciling the two cycles. Its solution is to add a leap people. We are checking to see if you would be interested month every few years, which makes it ahead of the solar in this social event. year in some years and lagging behind in others. Only in the nineteenth year do the two meet up—and thus one has a This is not a commitment to purchase tickets. joint birthday: the Jewish birthday as well as the secular Please contact Andy Kenen [email protected] or birthday. ¤ call the temple and let us know if you would join the tour. Page 4 THE KIBBITZER

injury, property damage, returning lost property, helping the FEBRUARY Torah Portion poor, and alleviating the suffering of animals. After the spir- The following article is excerpted from Ten Minutes of Torah — Re- itual high of Mount Sinai, all the details of daily life inter- vene. It seems as though these two parashiyot and the ex- form Voices of Torah from urj.org on February 13, 2010. Rabbi periences they record belong to two different universes. Laura Geller , (at the time of this writing), is the senior rabbi at But Jewish tradition teaches us that it is in fact the same Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills, CA. Rabbi Ad- universe. We need the spiritual high of Mount Sinai, but we am B. Grossman (at the time of this writing), is assistant rabbi at need to remember that revelation exists to enable us to live Temple Israel in Memphis, TN. more fully in the real world. D’VAR TORAH Jewish spirituality is not only in silent retreats and meditation, but also (and more important) in grappling in the real Mishpatim: Exodus 21:1-24:18 world of offices, kitchens, malls, and even bedrooms—the Coming Down from the Mountain While Still real world where people interact with each other. Being There That’s why our Torah portion begins: V’eileh hamishpatim asher tasim lineihem, “And these are the rules that you Laura Geller shall set before them” (Ex 21:1). In January I went on a spirituality retreat. It was an alumni This is the world of Jewish spirituality. This is what Mount retreat of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality for a group of Sinai is about: creating a world where people are responsi- clergy from around the country who had been part of a two ble for each other, taking responsibility for our actions, be- -year program designed to help us deepen our own spiritu- ing careful about what we say about each other. Jewish al commitments. Over the two years, there were four-week spirituality is about empathy and about creating a society -long retreats interspersed with weekly chevrutah study of based on a vision of justice and caring. Chasidic texts. (Chevrutah study, from the root chet-bet- reish, is the intense one-on-one study of a text that one At the very end of the portion, after all the details, all the does with a partner.) My chaver (“friend”, or in this case, laws, God calls Moses: Aleih eilai haharah veh’yeih sham, “partner”) was a rabbi in Boston. For two years we’d meet “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there.” God con- weekly on the phone and study a text for about an hour tinues: “and I will give you the stone tablets with the teach- sharing the insights of the texts as a window into our own ings and commandments which I have inscribed to instruct lives. them” (Ex 24:12). The retreats themselves were intense. There was powerful Menachem Mendl of Kotzk raised a question about this davening, provocative study, yoga, meditation, and a lot of verse: “This seems redundant. If Moses went up to the silence. We ate most of the meals in silence—an eye- mountain, of course he would be there” (cited in Torah opening experience. When you’re not talking, you focus Gems, vol. 2, p. 165). So why does Torah add: “And be more on the food: how it looks on the plate; what is smells there?” like; how it tastes. Whatever food issues you have come It is there to remind us what we already learned at Mount up, like: Will there be seconds? Will I get enough? If I’m al- Sinai: whatever we do, in the sublime and in the mundane ready full why am I getting up to get more? You notice, and dimensions of our life, we need to be there, to bring our you pay attention. whole self into the experience, to be present, and to pay at- So going back to the alumni retreat was a gift. It was a tention. Only then can we hold onto the moments of insight blessing and a spiritual high. It took me three days to clear and clarity and translate them into concrete daily life. the clutter out of my mind so I could really meditate. I had This is Jewish spirituality. time to write in my journal. The experience of prayer became intense; things that were confusing became clear. I D’VAR ACHER even had a few epiphanies. And then I came home. Finding Shleimut I listened to my voice mail from the office on the way Adam B. Grossman home. Then I stopped at the market to buy food for supper. Our parashah, Mishpatim, also known as the Book of the As soon as I got home, I checked my e-mail. I was stunned Covenant, offers us a simple method to finding harmony in at how quickly the high faded away and life got back to our lives. The opening line reads, “These are the rules that normal, with only an occasional echo of clarity. you shall set...” (Exodus 21:1). While literally the line intro- That’s what this Torah portion is about. Mishpatim is one of duces the law code God commands the Israelites to follow the longest portions in Torah, with over fifty different mitz- these beginning words more poignantly inspire us to insti- vot, including laws related to murder, kidnapping, personal tute a personal shleimut plan. By establishing daily rules, which force us each to take time for intellectual stimulation and physical exercise we can guarantee that our overall Torah Portions for FEBRUARY well-being does not suffer. When we follow through with our personal regulations, we will find that we are more mo- FEB 6 — Mishpatim Exodus 21:1 - 24:18 tivated to touch even more lives than we already do. ¤ FEB 13 — Terumah Exodus 25:1 - 27:19 FEB 20 — Tetzaveh Exodus 27:20 - 30:10 FEB 27 — Ki Tisa Exodus 30:11 - 34:35 Page 5

FEBRUARY 2016 areas. (Recent Israeli movies The Band’s Visit and Turn Left Israel Connection—Galilee Diary at the End of the World depict life in development towns). The following article is excerpted from Ten Minutes of Torah— Israel That’s why we both laughed—Shelomi indeed has a nice Connections from urj.org on June 27, 2012. Rabbi Marc Rosenstein, (under-utilized) IYHA hostel, but the idea of developing it as until his recent retirement, served as executive director of Makom ba- a tourist attraction seemed like a joke. Galil, The Galilee Foundation for Value Eduction,a seminar center that engages in programming to foster pluralism and coexistence, and But she meant it, and a week later we found ourselves as director of the Israel Rabbinical Program of HUC-JIR in Jerusalem. exploring Shelomi and interviewing community professionals. Shelomi is a 30-minute drive from Shorashim (through Galilee Diary Ahihud junction—see text above), but I never had a reason Periphery to go there. It is near the border and hence has a history of By Marc Rosenstein security incidents. We discovered magnificent views of the And you shall also take a chieftain from each tribe through whom mountains to the north and the sea to the west. From the the land shall be apportioned for you... From the tribe of Asher: a hostel it is a few minutes walk to the JNF Hanita Forest, chieftain, Ahihud son of Shelomi where a trail leads to Kibbutz Hanita on the border, one of — Numbers 34:18, 27 the “Tower and Stockade” kibbutzim, founded in 1938. We learned that the site sat on the The Kings Highway in ancient Recently the Israel Youth Hostel Association opened a times, a major caravan route down the coast and then beautiful new hostel at the entrance to the old city of Acco. eastward, which is why El Batza, the Arab village on the site Since our seminar center here at Shorashim has before its inhabitants fled north in 1948, was known for accumulated quite a bit of educational tourism experience in smuggling and “toll collection.” The village was mixed, Acco, we approached the Association to see if they might Moslem and Christian; indeed, right in the middle of town the like to use our services The discussion is ongoing, but along ruins of a small mosque are clearly recognizable next to a the way, the director of education said to me. “Maybe you large church visible from afar. The church is in disrepair—no could help us with Shelomi...” And we both laughed. one maintains it, the windows are mostly gone and the roof is Shelomi, located near the Lebanese border in the western not fully intact. The iron door is not locked; inside we found Galilee, is a development town which is kind of a symbol of lots of pigeons and their droppings—but also the remains of the depressed peripheral development towns that the carved woodwork—and a table with candles and icons and a government set up in the 50s and 60s to distribute the influx prayerbook in Arabic. Someone, it seems, still prays there. of new immigrants (sort of like the Galveston Plan for Jewish Shelomi was settled by North African Jews who are still the immigrants to the United States in the early 20th century) - dominant population; their Jewish orientation is “traditional.” and to create facts along the as yet somewhat uncertain Recently, an influx of Russian Jews has entered, who tend to borders. These towns, Shelomi included, started out as tent be “secular.” This has led to a number of “issues” and camps for immigrants who didn’t exactly choose them as interesting compromises—and to the creation of an destinations (there are jokes about the “Jerusalem Street” experimental unified junior-senior high school that seeks to found in many of these towns—so that when the serve the whole population (i.e. no separation into “religious” unsuspecting immigrants were dumped there upon arrival in and “secular” schools as is the norm in most Israeli towns). Israel, they would see the sign and believe they had been And there is an active community center that seeks to foster brought to Jerusalem). While they have come a long way, expressions of local culture through such activities as most development towns suffer from a poor image in the photography contests and art exhibits. eyes of the residents and in the general public perception. Most don’t have a strong economic base, and are not In sort, once again it turns out that there is no place that is magnets for business and industrial investment or for not interesting if you really look ¤ migration from the large cities or from the surrounding rural

Healing Prayers Notes from the Acting Treasurer Jim Adams Annie and Daniel Baskind As we start 2016, Am Shalom Members can feel proud that Arlene Everly Jack Glass Harley Harris Michele and Lee Hawthorne our temple has survived one financial crisis after another. Richard Hughes Alvin Stein Betty Stein After replacing the Temple Roof, we discovered a huge wa- Marc Steindler ter problem and the resulting unhealthy mold in our lower level. This past year, Am Shalom elected to go to a fair share dues system with no questioning of the amount pledged by the member. A big thank you to our members for their addi- FUNDRAISING/ACTIVITIES MEETING tional donations and help to get us through and not close WEDNESDAY our doors. In addition to member donations, both in funds FEBRUARY 10 and services, we still need events to generate the funds 7:00PM at the temple needed to finish the remodeling of our lower level. We’re asking members to suggest new fundraising activities and We need your ideas and your help ideas. ¤ We need to raise funds to finish the basement renovation— install new walls and floors and install a new kitchen. Page 6

THE KIBBITZER

Thank you for your Donation Towards the kitchen fund In memory of Leonard Cohen Sandra & Don Berlin Yahrzeits Rhoda Fischer Light Yahrzeit candles the evening before the date. T & R Fleming These names will be read during services in the month of February: Ron & Rita Rose Linda Shapero Name Date of Hebrew Date Yizkor Robert & Lauren Sobol Death corresponds to: Date Obsrvd Bob & Laurel Weinberg Jacob Kohn 2/1 (Shevat 8, 5696 — Jan 18, 2016) Yale Talisman 2/5 (Shevat 15, 5718 — Jan 25, 2016) Sharon & Don Whitney Samuel Odess 2/7 (Shevat 24, 5743 — Feb 3, 2016) Tony Brahms 2/11 (Shevat 21, 5756 — Jan 31, 2016) Minnie Nehamkin 2/11 (year unknown) Donations are most welcome. Helen Levine 2/16 (Adar 2,5770 — Feb 11, 2016) Bruce Abrams 2/17 (Adar 3, 5751 — Feb 12, 2016) Possible other areas for donation: Mary Jane Lobl 2/17 (Adar 3, 5751 — Feb 12, 2016) Arthur Lannoch 2/22 (Adar-1 18, 5771 — Feb 27, 2016) Operating Expenses; Oneg Expenses Virginia May Obenour 2/22 (Adar-1 22, 5755 — Mar 2, 2016) Norman Lynn 2/26 (Adar-1 22, 5752 — Mar 2, 2016) Willard Russert 2/26 (Adar 4, 5764 — Feb 13, 2016)

Exact year, month and/or day not given Kitchen Fund Dolores Cohen Samuel Lenchner Phase 1: Frank Ellentuck Ida Levine Dig the Trench Fund Morris Glick Jean Rosenblatt Back & Kitchen side DONE Loretta Lee Goldberg Dr. Robert Reitman Phase 2: Robert S. Hall Herbert Schiff Dig the Trench Fund DONE Flora Kraus Excavating south side

Phase 3: DONE If you are following the civil calendar, then you will light the mold removal candle the evening before the civil date; if you are following the Hebrew calendar, then you will light the candle the evening be- Phase 4: fore the observed yizkor date. Drywall for kitchen & stairs $1,000 Repair walls/floors $10,000 Help us update our records. Any corrections and/or infor- Kitchen and classrooms mation on the names listed would be appreciated. Phase 5: (Regarding the alphabetical names: Are you a relative or do you Kitchen Renovation $3,000 know the relatives? Do you know the dates of death? Please tell us.) Cabinets & Floors

Goal for Phase 4 & 5 Phase 5 $3,000 $13,000.00

Phase 4 $10,000

Kitchen $1,000 $3,625 Happy Happy &Stairs Birthdays Roberta Brown 2/1 Martha Lannoch 2/8 Rachel Bingman 2/2 (7) Bobbie DeFrank 2/13 Peter Alscher 2/4 Joshua Alscher 2/17 Phase 4, to repair walls and floors in the kitchen and class- Steven Myers 2/4 Steve DeGuire 2/18 rooms. Discovery that the interior walls of the basement are Barbara L Goodman 2/6 Cole Bittinger 2/22 (6) concrete block. Renee got an astronomical price for drywall. Nadine Sherman 2/6 Sonia Chapnick 2/23 However a quote just for kitchen & stair area came in low Anniversaries enough to start there. Robert & Lauren Sobol Feb 3 (48) Phase 5, kitchen renovation. Page 7

FEBRUARY 2016

6:31pm

6:40pm

6:56 pm 7:04 pm

6:48 pm

Sat

Shabbat Service 10:00am ShabbatService

Adar I 5776 I Adar

—

4:47pm

5:54 pm 5:54 pm 6:02 pm

5:37 pm

12 19

Fri

Shabbat Service ShabbatService

festive day in the intercalated first month of Adar in in of first month Adar festivein intercalated the day

Shevat

6:30 Children / 7:30 Adults Children7:30 / 6:30

6:30p Children/7:30p Adult Adult Children/7:30p 6:30p

Thu

(lit. “Minor Purim”); semi “Minor (lit.

PurimKatan: that celebrated which Purim date actually in is the corresponds date to aleap year, whose Adar monthof in year following the

5:00pm

5:00pm 5:00pm 5:00pm 5:00pm

3 2

- - - -

—

Adar I 1 I Adar

Wed

3:30 3:30 3:30 3:30

3:30 Rosh Chodesh Rosh

Hebrew School Hebrew School Hebrew School Hebrew School Hebrew School Hebrew

Meeting 7:00 pm 7:00 Meeting

Ash Wednesday

Fundraising/activities

ShushanKatan Purim

Board Meeting 7:30pm BoardMeeting

Temple Am Shalom Shalom TempleAm

2 9

Havdalah or Endof Holiday orHavdalah

Tue

Shevat 30 Shevat

PurimKatan

Rosh Chodesh Rosh

Groundhog Day

22 29

Mon

Chinese New Year ChineseNew

President’s Day President’s

(Year of the of (Year Monkey)

Candle Lighting time CandleLighting

11:45am 11:45am

- -

11:45am 11:30am

11:45am

- -

31 21

Manhattan Deli Manhattan

Sun

Valentine’s Day Valentine’s

FEBRUARY 2016 2016 FEBRUARY

NO Sunday NO School

Sisterhood Breakfast SisterhoodBreakfast

Key:

SunSchl 9:15

Men’s Fellowship Men’s 8:00a

SunSchl 9:15 SunSchl 9:15

Mentor Family Mentor Restrnt

Preschool10:45 Preschool10:45

10:00am 10:00am

33 Omer33 Renée Blau, Spiritual Director & Cantorial Soloist Please kibbitz with us by contributing to our newsletter! Elise Aitken, Asst. Spiritual Dir. & Cantorial Soloist Address your news, articles, suggestions or … correc- The Temple Board tions to Rita Rose at [email protected] (be sure to in- clude an identifying Subject line in your email); or send President Steven Blau mail to her at the temple (by the 21st of the month prior Vice President Jason Sobol to the issue you want your information to appear): P.O. Secretary Pene Obenour Box 1507, Mentor, Ohio 44061-1507. Acting Treasurer Ronald Rose Thank you! Youth Group Elise Aitken Education Director Renée Blau Facilities Maintenance Jerry Kozack Members at Large : Lee Hawthorne, Erik Nehamkin, Rita Rose, Bob Sobol Check us out at www.amshalom.org

Temple Am Shalom P.O. Box 1507 Mentor, OH 44061–1507 (440) 255-1544 www.amshalom.org