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From the Rabbis

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From the Rabbis The KISLEV - tEVEt 5771 / NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2010 Builder CONGREGA T ION BE T H EL from the rabbis YISMECHU: NEW SHABBAT EVE CHANTING SERVICE Over the long history of the Jewish Friday of every month, beginning on Friday, November 19th at people, we have sought and found 6:15 pm. The service will be led by Rabbi Reuben Zellman and many different ways to express and members of our Beth El community. Join us for meditative song deepen spiritual practice. Our heritage and chant to welcome in Shabbat, bringing your harmonies and offers us a broad range of customs spirit to share. You are enthusiastically welcomed whether or not and practices—many of which may you think you can sing. The service will last about an hour and be unfamiliar to us as “Jewish.” For those of us who have only will always include the Sh’ma, the Mourner’s Kaddish, and quiet experienced a narrow range of Jewish spiritual practices, these time for the Amidah or reflection. Begin your Shabbat with music alternative yet authentic Jewish forms of expression can be the for your soul! opening to new and meaningful experiences. Our Kabbalat Shabbat services are at 6:15 p.m. every week in On Yom Kippur afternoon the room was filled to overflowing with the Beit Midrash except for the first Shabbat of the month when Beth El members and guests for our first Chanting Service. For an services begin at 8:00 p.m. Shabbat Unplugged is our Family hour, we just sang. We sang wordless melodies and simple, sacred Shabbat usually on the 2nd Friday of the month. Kids are words; we sang new chants and old ones from many corners of welcome, of course, at every service. Please see the calendar the Jewish world. Repeating the sublime music of our people, below for the schedule of upcoming Shabbat evening services. many of us closed our eyes or shed tears. We were all amazed We look forward to singing, praying and celebrating with you. and moved as glorious, spontaneous harmony swelled and we Yismechu… They shall delight in the Shabbat and call it joyful! shared support and community without speaking a word. Based on the tremendous interest inspired by this gathering, we have added a monthly Shabbat Chanting Service on the third Rabbi Yoel Kahn Rabbi Reuben Zellman November 5 Friday, December 3rd - Shabbat Chanukah! 8:00 pm Shabbat Evening Service 5:30 Tot Chanukah Celebration Commemorating Kristallnacht: 6:15 Latke Extravangaza + potluck supper film about the life of Rabbi Leo Trepp (see p. 2) 7:00 Chanukah Candle Lighting 7:05 Chanukah Unplugged Service November 12 6:15 Kabbalat Shabbat Friday, December 10 6:15 Shabbat Unplugged dinner 6:15 Kabbalat Shabbat 7:00 Shabbat Unplugged service Friday, December 17 November 19 6:15 Yismechu: Chanting Service 6:15 Yismechu: Chanting Service Friday, December 24 November 26 6:15 Kabbalat Shabbat 6:15 Kabbalat Shabbat 7:00 Potluck Shabbat supper Friday, December 31 8:00 Shabbat Shampagne! Shabbat service and champagne oneg 2 from the president FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH On the occasion of the recent renewal of Rabbi Kahn’s contract, I began reflecting on the changes Beth El has seen over the years, and I was reminded of the rationale Commemorating for our founding and the challenges our predecessors faced. Beth El’s beginning in the mid-1940’s was an answer to the need Kristallnacht: for a non-Orthodox congregation and an inclusive religious practice. Compelling stories of holocaust Remembering Rabbi Leo Trepp z”l survival, integration of new immigrants into the congregation, significant barriers to the construction of our buildings, and other (of blessed memory) challenges provided the backdrop and the inspiration for the outpouring of participation and financial support shown by our Friday, November 5 - 8:00 pm predecessors over the years. We sometimes think our generation Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, was a faces unique challenges – uncertain economic times, the decline in synagogue affiliation nationwide, evidence of increasing anti- pogrom against Jews throughout Nazi Germany Semitism, threats to Israel’s statehood. But our predecessors and parts of Austria on November 9–10, 1938. faced many barriers too, some much greater than ours. Beth El will commemorate Kristallnacht at Shabbat In spite of, or perhaps spurred on by our challenges, we have services on Friday, November 5, beginning at furthered our original vision and grown to become an inclusive 8:00 pm. Immediately following the service, 500 member-family congregation. We are a big tent with a broad at 9:00 pm, we will screen a German public television spectrum of religious practice, in keeping with the ideals of our founders. And we have so many blessings to celebrate and be special which profiles Rabbi Leo Trepp who was the thankful for at Beth El. Here are just a few: last surviving German rabbi from the Holocaust until his recent death. The 50-minute movie is in English Rabbi Kahn, our dedicated and inspiring spiritual leader, and the phenomenal professional staff he has assembled have and German with English subtitles. created a vision of community engagement that brings a new and refreshing perspective through innovative youth and family On Kristallnacht, Jewish homes and shops and education programs, beautiful music in our sanctuary, enriching multi-generational Jewish learning opportunities, and much more. towns were ransacked. Buildings were attacked with sledgehammers, leaving the streets covered in With the variety of talent and expertise, high level of energy pieces of smashed windows—the origin of the name and clear vision on our Board and Program Council, our lay leadership is poised to move forward with the future directions “Night of Broken Glass.” Around 1,668 synagogues developed in our strategic planning process. Renegotiated were assaulted and 267 were set on fire. Kristallnacht debt, an operating budget that is balanced, and firm financial was followed by further economic and political discipline provide the strong fiscal foundation that will sustain us as we develop creative programs and allow them to flourish. persecution of Jews, and is viewed as the beginning of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. Comfortable upholstered seats and a fantastic new acoustic system contribute to a welcoming environment that substantially enhances the spiritual experience we enjoy in our sanctuary. Rabbi Leo Trepp, a young rabbi who had been ordained two years previously, was the rabbi of I’m sure you can point to other recent “upgrades” to our Oldenburg and the surrounding villages. synagogue life and environment that I haven’t mentioned here. As a congregation, we are gaining strength in many ways. But He was arrested and taken to the Sachsenhausen as our history has shown, in order to sustain a vibrant synagogue concentration camp. He was released after eighteen and meet the challenges faced by each generation, the support days on the condition that he leave Germany and involvement of our entire congregation is essential. Thank you for your participation in sustaining and strengthening our immediately. He first went to England and then to community. America, becoming the first full-time Rabbi of Beth El in 1947. Rabbi Trepp died on September 2, 2010. Joanne Backman President from the executive director 3 DEVELOPING OUR FUTURE LEADERS It seems like yesterday that we were concluding are interested in working with this committee, please let me or our our High Holy Days services with a joyous President, Joanne Backman, know. Simchat Torah celebration and we are already planning for Chanukah, for our winter and This past year we successfully renegotiated our long term debt, spring adult education programs, and yes we significantly reducing our annual interest payments. This has given have started planning next summer’s Camp us the necessary time to develop a long term plan for building Kee Tov program. None of this is possible without financial strength and stability. I noted at our last annual meeting the incredible and passionate commitment of our professional budget presentation that it cost us approximately $3,400 per staff and the volunteer participation of this community. I want to member to support the programs and services we offer. We need take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped Beth El through to manage and maintain the beautiful facility we have, to keep the this month of High Holy Day celebrations. So many people, both lights on, the incredible geothermal system running smoothly and staff and volunteers, pitched in to make everything happen at efficiently, and most importantly to meet our goal of being open just the right moment, that I can’t possibly acknowledge each of and accessible to everyone in our Jewish community regardless you personally. I do want to take a moment to once again thank of their personal financial circumstances. We are able to meet our volunteer usher coordinator, Jerry Weintraub. Jerry not only these financial challenges through a variety of means, through makes sure that we have a full compliment of dedicated ushers and your dues, through fees we charge for programs and services, greeters; he also is always at the front door, continually greeting and through your contributions to our fundraising efforts. As members and guests alike. We like to think of Congregation Beth professional staff it is our responsibility to continually offer quality El as a warm and welcoming community. It is the dedicated actions programs and services, and to do this effectively and in a way that of volunteers like Jerry that make that vision a reality. And I also enables us to take advantage of our incredible resources, both want to acknowledge the members of our amazing Pantry Chug.
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