Congregation Or Atid Connections Connecting community with spirituality

Kislev - Tevet 5780 December 2019

HAPPY

H A N U K K A H

SHABBAT SERVICES Friday - 7:30 PM Services Saturday - 10:00 AM Services with Torah Study at 9:00 AM Saturday mornings ______

COA’s DECEMBER AT A GLANCE

Friday, 6th 7:30 PM : Simchah Shabbat services Saturday, 7th 9:00 AM : Tour D’Torah with Rabbi Hal with Shabbat services to follow. After services Mickey and Stan Corn’s Kiddush luncheon in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary Friday, 13th 7:30 PM : Life and Legacy Shabbat Celebration with “Friday Night Live” program Saturday, 14th 9:00 AM : Tour D’Torah with Rabbi Hal 10:00 AM : Student led Shabbat services Wednesday, 17th 5:15 PM: The Great Cook-off Wednesday 18th thru January 6th: SCHOOL WINTER BREAK (resume school January 7th) Saturday, 21st 9:00 AM : NO TORAH STUDY Sunday, 22nd: Erev Tuesday, 24th/Wednesday 25th: Office Closed Saturday, 28th 9:00 AM : Tour D’Torah with Rabbi Hal Monday, 2nd: CYBER MONDAY SHOP AMAZON THROUGH OUR WEBSITE!!!

From the Rabbi Cave... 2

In just a few weeks, we will celebrate Hanukkah, which begins on the evening of Kislev 25, corresponding to sundown on Sunday, December 22nd on the civil calendar. We celebrate our festival of lights in a number of ways: telling the story of the against the Greeks, lighting the eight-branched Menorah, singing Ma’oz Tzur, eating (with the preferred sour cream or ), sufganiyot (jelly donuts), and chocolate gelt, and playing . And of course, giving presents. Each of these customs has hundreds of years of precedent and symbolic meaning, but the giving of presents is a relatively recent phenomenon, limited only to the American Jewish experience. Is this just a way for American Jews not to feel left out while our Christian co-religionists give and receive gifts for their winter holiday? Why do we give gifts on Hanukkah? The original giving-related custom on Hanukkah was to give gelt, or money. This comes from the Talmud, which stipulates that everyone must light candles for the holiday. A person who cannot afford candles was to be supported by community giving so that they could have the dignity of fulfilling this mitzvah. Another explanation says that Jewish students gave gelt to their teachers in Europe, inspired by the linguistic connection between the word Hanukkah (dedication) and the Hebrew word ḥinnukh (education). Ironically, the celebration of Hanukkah was once in danger of disappearing from American Jewish practice, and many 19th century rabbis lamented this development. Similarly, Christmas was a minor holiday among American Christians, rarely celebrated. However, there was a revival of Christmas in the late 19th century, and it was declared a national holiday around this time. Hanukkah’s popularity among American Jews grew, parallel to the growth of Christmas. American Jews used to exchange gifts on Purim, but in the late 19th century, this shifted from Purim to Hanukkah. Because Hanukkah is a holiday with no restrictions on work, Jews began to celebrate with pageants, song-fests, big parties, and gift-giving. By the mid to late-20th century, one could find Menorahs of various designs and sizes, Hanukkah decorations, greeting cards, wrapping paper, and music. In the post-war generation, Jewish child psychologists and rabbis encouraged the giving of gifts as a way to make Jewish kids happy to be Jewish, rather than sad about missing out on Christmas. Despite the extreme minority of Jews in America, Hanukkah and Christmas became linked as the “holiday season.” There is an irony to this because the story of Hanukkah is about maintaining distinctly Jewish practices instead of assimilating into Hellenistic (cosmopolitan Greek) culture. So, should we make a big deal of Hanukkah? Yes, but only if we make a big deal of out the other Jewish holidays as well. Light up your homes with multiple Menorahs. Eat fried foods. Put up lots of decorations. Fulfill the mitzvah of publicizing the miracle. Give gifts to celebrate our religious freedom in a spirit of identity-preserving acculturation. But also celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Shavuot, Pesach, and Purim with equal gusto and festivity. Remember, we have 10 holidays, Christians only have 2, and Santa Claus is for the kids who don’t get to celebrate Hanukkah! While you are giving gifts this year, keep in mind that over 2,000 years ago in the land of Israel, a small group of Jews believed that it was more important to stay true to their identities than assimilate into the greater culture.

3 Information & Upcoming Events

Saturday, January 25th Student Led Shabbat Services at 10:00 AM, Kiddush Lunch-and-Learn at 12:15 PM. We will enjoy food together with Rabbi Hal; topic and more details to be announced in upcoming emails, so stay tuned…..

SHOP AMAZON ON CYBER MONDAY THROUGH OUR

From the Rabbi Cave... - Page 2 WEBSITE! Information-Upcoming Events - Page 3 Life & Legacy Information - Page 4 Burial Informational Presentation - Page 4 Book Club - Page 5 Israel Mission Trip Info - Page 5 The vision of this congregation shall be to establish and maintain an institution Shul Cloud Update - Page 5 that creates an all-embracing Religious School News - Page 6 & 7 egalitarian participatory Conservative Celebrations - Page 8 synagogue that serves as a Jewish Donations and Sponsors - Page 8 & 9 spiritual, cultural, and educational Donation Form - Page 9 center for children, adults and families. Mitzvah Corps - Page 10 The synagogue will foster Jewish Shepherd’s Way Information - Page 10 Identity and values, promote the observance of Jewish traditions and Care Committee Info - Page 10 enhance the spiritual growth of our Yahrzeits - Page 11 members; to create a comfortable Candle Lighting Times - Page 11 social environment for our members; to Life Cycle Recognitions - Page 11 involve the congregation in issues of Ongoing Ways To Support - Page 12 Jewish concern and interest.

804 740-4747 Education Coordinator President Website: oratid.org Alison Litvin Lynn Landesman Office Hours: [email protected] Vice Presidents Tuesday - Friday: 9:00 - 4:00 Administrative Assistant Jeff Scharf

Jacqui Shepperson Missy Bunce Rabbi [email protected] Sherrie Wiener Rabbi Hal Schevitz [email protected] Synagogue Administrator Treasurer: Tom McClish and Wanda Schweiger David Jaffe Rabbi’s Office Hours: [email protected] Secretary: Sandy Mayer Tuesday: 2:00 - 4:00 PM Advisor: Rick Wiener Thursday: 9:30 - 11:30 AM Gabbi: Fran Todras

Life and Legacy Celebration 4

On Saturday, November 17th, the Life & Legacy team held a Havdalah service dinner and movie night at the Congregation. More than 20 Life & Legacy donors enjoyed pizza, salad, bread and assorted drinks and then watched the “The Little Traitor,” a moving and sensitive movie about a friendship between an 11-year old Israeli boy and a British sergeant during the last days of the British occupation of Palestine in 1947-48. Thanks to Sandy Mayer of the Life & Legacy team for organizing this program and to Sandy and Fran Todras for preparing the delicious meal. Thanks also to Jeff Scharf, Tom McClish and Art Todras of the Life & Legacy team for providing the technical support and setup that made the movie showing possible. On Friday, December 13th, the Life & Legacy team will hold a Life & Legacy Shabbat service to again honor the donors. The Klez’m’or’a’mim, Richmond’s longest running Klezmer band, of which I am proud to be a member, will perform the highly acclaimed “Friday Night Live” program created by contemporary Jewish composer Craig Taubman. Originally performed by Taubman and his ensemble at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles and then released as an album in 1999, Friday Night Live sets the prayers and psalms of Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv to contemporary melodies and arrangements and explores new ways of engaging spirituality with community. We welcome everyone to attend this Shabbat service, which promises to be lively, spirited, and just plain fun. For those of you who are new to Congregation Or Atid, Life & Legacy is a community-wide project to encourage members of Jewish organizations to designate a portion of their legacy, such as a retirement fund, life insurance benefit, will bequest, or charitable gift annuity to the organization of their choice. With the support of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the Richmond Jewish Foundation, our congregation has received 49 Life & Legacy commitments. In this, the fourth and final official year of the Life & Legacy start-up campaign, we are looking for additional commitments from more members and to continue growing our Legacy in the years to come. In the coming months, we will be reaching out to potential new donors like you to consider helping us secure our future as a congregational and spiritual community. Financial giving is not always easy. It often competes with a family’s obligation to meet living expenses and save for education and retirement. Giving to Life & Legacy, however, is relatively easy because it involves a contribution from after life savings—as much or as little as desired. So, if I may twist the words of President Kennedy, we do Life & Legacy, not because it is hard but because it is easy. For more information on Life & Legacy, please email [email protected]. Art Todras

Sunday, December 8th 2:00 PM: All are invited to “What happens when we die”

A concise presentation on the cost of a burial, the advantages of prearrangements. The total process and current cost will be clearly presented for those who currently own sites and those who may want more information concerning future purchases. A representative from Greenwood Memorial Gardens will be on hand to answer any questions or concerns, along with the availability of some special discounts. Greenwood will be providing refreshments for the presentation (dietary laws observed) so please RSVP by December 3rd, by visiting our website, weekly Highlights email or you may call the office at 804 740-4747

Information/Upcoming Events 5 BOOK CLUB All women members of Or Atid are welcomed to join the Or Atid Book Club. We meet at another member's home every 6 weeks or so to chat, nosh and discuss books. Meetings are Wednesday evenings at 7:30 PM. Our next two meetings and books are: December 11th - The Lost Vintage by Ann Mah January 22nd - Henna House by Nomi Eve Sonya Brockstein 804 539-8705 [email protected]

LOOK WHO’S GOING From April 21st-30th, 2020, Congregation Or Atid is excited to join the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond’s 85th Anniversary to Mission to Israel, A Sherry Rose Mission, will take the Richmond Jewish community on a transformational journey across Israel. This unforgettable trip in partnership with Richmond synagogues as well as agencies will be a community-wide experience of a lifetime. With different interest tracks of your choosing and dynamic programs, perfect for first time visitors or Israeli travel pro’s participants will be treated to amazing sights from the Western Wall to the innovation of Start-up Nation to exciting thought leaders and experts while staying in top rated hotels. Join us as we travel across Israel as a community. Contact Amanda Braun 804 545-8621 or [email protected] ) to learn more. All Mission Participants will be invited to participate in the 2021JCFR annual Campaign Sherry Rose Memorial Mission Fund of RJF and JCFR are providing a substantial subsidy for the cost of this trip.

We noticed during High Holidays that some of the information we have for our membership is incorrect. If you have not yet logged into your personal Information on our website, oratid.org, please do so using your Email Address as your log in; then click on Forgot Password, SC will email you a link to Reset Your Password, click on the link and follow instructions to change your password. Once you log in, you will see this, click on My Account, Each person on the account with an email address can create their own email login and password. Brief Dropdown descriptions are as follows: My Profile : To change your password, edit name, address, phone #, etc. My Billing : Your donations, sustaining share, etc. My Subscriptions : Your Permissions for emails and paper mail My Members : Your family members My Yahrzeits : You can add here or update information My Directory : You can see any information on any member that they wish to share.

If you have any questions or need help concerning logging in please call the office 804 740-4747

6 Helen and Sam Kornblau Religious School News

December brings the Festival of Lights, and the Kornblau Religious School is ready for a fantastic Hanukkah celebration this year! Families are looking forward to continuing a new tradition, The Latke Cook-Off, during school on Tuesday, December 17TH. In the weeks leading up to the cook-off, students will be exploring flavors of the world by comparing different recipes; including the Indian , the Hawaiian Uala pancake, the Korean Gamjajeon, the Brazilian batata suiça, and more! Students will study the various flavor profiles, breaking down the recipe by identifying the role each ingredient plays. Students then teamed up to create their own unique latke recipes, working together to carefully choose their base ingredient, mix-ins, spices, and toppings. With brand-new, never before made recipes, students then worked in teams and with their families to prepare, fry, and plate their unique latkes. Highlights from last year’s cook-off included Plantain Latkes with an Avocado Crema, Italian-themed Eggplant Parmesan Latkes, topped with fried eggs for a truly eggcellent dish, Cinnamon Apple Latkes, and more! Families joined together to put the recipes to the test, and by the end of the night everyone had discovered a new favorite latke. Check out the student-made recipes at the end of this article and give them a try at home- you won’t be disappointed!

This tasty tradition is a fun time for all, and as parent volunteers fry the latkes, students will share the Hanukkah spirit with games and music. There will be to spin, songs to sing, and of course, many latkes to eat! Students and families will gather to light the Hanukkah candles, setting all the menorahs side-by-side as the candles glow throughout the night. The Latke Cook-Off brings everyone together for a uniquely delicious evening, and everyone goes home with a belly full of latkes and new recipes for the cookbook. With everyone working together the night is a delicious success, bringing families closer together as we celebrate Hanukkah with our own Or Atid twist.

The Kornblau Religious School is always open to interested families who are looking to start, continue, or explore their own Jewish Journey. In class, students discover new ways to interact with Jewish holidays and traditions, Israeli culture, Hebrew and Tefillah, and the weekly parsha. For more information about the school, and to schedule a tour, please contact Education Coordinator, Alison Litvin, at [email protected], or call Congregation Or Atid at 804 740 - 4747.

School Calendar 2019/20 WINTER BREAK DECEMBER 18TH THRU JANUARY 6TH Shalom Yeladim (Pre-K): Sunday 9:00 - 11:00 AM 12/8 Kindergarten - 2nd Grade: Sunday 9:00 AM - Noon 3rd Grade - 7th Grade: Tuesday 4:15 - 6:15 PM and Sunday 9:00 AM - Noon Machon 8th - 9th Grade: Every other Sunday 9:30 AM - Noon 12/8 & 12/15

7 Helen and Sam Kornblau Religious School News continued

Join us for The Great Latke Cook-Off Tuesday, December 17th 5:15 PM

Students teamed up working together to create their own unique recipes:

The Latke Squad—The Garden Vegetable Latkes (Jacob Greenberg & Gillian Perschetz)

The Broken Refrigerators—Plantain Latkes with Avocado Crema (Miles Noah, Jackson Gwaltney, & Zachary Mollen)

The Caffeinated Cookie Monsters—Eggy- Eggy-Eggplant Latkes and Cinnamon Apple Latkes (Cady Bunce, Alex Coffey, Harrison Cohen & London Hart)

Check out the full recipes on the website just click on the link listed on the home page and ENJOY!!

8 Celebrations

Simchah Shabbat – 1st Friday of Every Month Celebrating a birthday next month? An anniversary? Something good happen in your life? Please join us for Shabbat night services on the first Friday of every month (December 6th) for special recognition and a blessing upon the joyous event happening in your life!

Celebrations for December

Peter Macheras 2nd Taryn Torre and Mayer Grob 13th Lyn Ruden 3rd Susan Taich-Schufeldt and 22nd Nathan Lyons 4th Harlan Schufeldt Joe Cheslock 4th Sandy and Glenn Weiner 26th Jennifer Greif 4th Regina and Steven Richman 29th Wayne Brown 4th Ellen and Richard Hollands 30th Pam Lichtman 6th Judith Voynow 6th Happy Anniversary!! Jack Janulis 8th Henry Bochner 9th Mazel Tov!! Andrea Komulainen 9th Leslie Koralek 12th Thank You Oneg and Kiddush Sponsors for November Lisa Senger 14th Bob Resnick 15th Gerald Milsky 16th Thank you to Lisha and Adam Levin for Austen Cohen 16th sponsoring the Kiddush luncheon on Bryan Kornblau 18th November 9th in celebration OF Ethan’s Michael Mollen 18th Bar Mitzvah. Mazel Tov!

Russ Finer 18th Thank you to Sonya Brockstein for Jean Goldman 20th sponsoring the Kiddush luncheon on November 16th in Edith Himelbloom 20th memory of her father, Morris Brochstein. Sheri Cantor 21st Mike Cohen 22nd Thank you to Lynn and Josh Landesman for sponsoring Allyson Vinik 24th the Oneg on November 22nd in memory of Lynn’s father, Elaine Gibberman 26th Jack Bank.

Graham Barber 27th Thank you to Marilyn and Rick Wiener and Fran and Art Frank Kress 28th Todras for sponsoring the Kiddush luncheon on Merle Kahn 29th November 23rd in celebration of their wedding Ari Mollen 29th anniversaries. Mazel Tov to both couples! Ralph Navon 30th Thank you to Sandra and Franklin Levin for sponsoring the Oneg November 29th in honor of Erin and Zach Happy Birthday!! leading services while Rabbi Hal is away. Mazel Tov!!

We Are Here For You If you are ill, have an upcoming surgery, or are in distress, your Or Atid family would like to help. Please contact the office to ensure your spiritual needs are taken care of.

9 Thank You for Your Generous Donations

Yahrzeit Fund Charles and Sandra Perschetz in memory of Rose Perschetz Ellen and Richard Hollands in memory of Rose Gerstein Elise and Robert Buncher in memory of Esther Buncher Roberta Berman in memory of Jerry Berman Dianna Gabay in memory of her mother, Rose Gabay Dianna Gabay in memory of her sister, Barbara Gabay-Hilow Norm and Sue Geller in memory of Bernard Geller Sue and Norm Geller in memory of Steven Rose Sonya Brockstein in memory of Morris Brochstein Russ Finer in memory of Pamela Finer General Synagogue Fund Franklin and Sandra Levin in celebration of Rabbi Hal’s birthday Bob and Margo Shayne in memory of Kathryn Goldman Ellen and Richard Hollands in memory of Kathryn Goldman Sandy and Ralph Mayer in memory of Kathryn Goldman Walter Jett Dana and Elliott Corn & Mindy Shatfer and Larry Moyer in celebration of Mickey and Stan Corn’s 50th wedding anniversary Dianna Gabay in honor of Marcy Horwitz as our guest accompanist for Shabbat services Eddy and Lou Gelrud in celebration of Mickey and Stan Corn’s 50th wedding anniversary

Mitzvah Corps 10

FeedMore BackPack Program

On weekends and school holidays: The BackPack Program provides chronically hungry children with a BackPack filled with six nutritious, child-friendly, nonperishable meals to fill the gap some children face on weekends, over school breaks, and in the summer. In the year ahead, more than 80,000 BackPacks will reach 2,000 children weekly during the school year. See more at: https://feedmore.org/

Please contact us to VOLUNTEER to fill these precious bags. (Note their times.) We will need 8 volunteers for each date.

Tuesday, December 17th, 2019 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Tuesday, January 21st, 2020 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Tuesday, April 28th, 2020 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM (Evening)

Sandy Weiner 804 513-6153 Merle Kahn 804 363-4584 [email protected] [email protected]

On December 25 th (Christmas morning), volunteers from Or Atid, under the auspices of the Social Action & Justice Committee, will be serving breakfast at Shepherd’s Way Relief Center (400 E. Main St. Richmond, VA 23219) from 8:30 - 10:30 AM. Shepherd’s Way is a charitable organization that provides breakfast and other assistance to people without homes in the city throughout the year. The relief center’s staff will do the shopping and food prep (using donated funds from Or Atid), while we will be tasked with providing table service for the meals. For that, we will need ten or more people beginning at 8:00 to 8:15 AM on Christmas morning at 400 E. Main Street. If you are interested in helping, please contact Tom McClish at 804 740-4835 or you can email him at [email protected] .

Care Committee: Throughout the year we like to keep our young adults encouraged as they embark on their journey in college life. Please ensure that our Care Committee has each students name, physical address, and email, so we can provide cards and care packages. Please send their information to Ellen Bernstein at [email protected]

Yahrzeits 11

Yahrzeits for Kislev - Tevet 5780

Norman Strum 4 Kislev Molly Kress 18 Kislev Morris Pinsker 5 Kislev Louis Stark 18 Kislev Steve Roday 5 Kislev Eula Connors 20 Kislev Helen Kasper 8 Kislev Janice Itkin 20 Kislev Pinkus Gaizer 9 Kislev Barbara Gabay-Hilow 22 Kislev Resi Jonson 9 Kislev Ruth Roday 24 Kislev Hyman Ramberg 9 Kislev Sander Levy 26 Kislev Velma Cheslock 10 Kislev Arthur Kasper 27 Kislev Harvey Printz 10 Kislev William Turkel 27 Kislev Heather Clyne 11 Kislev Yale Himelbloom 28 Kislev Celia Raphael 11 Kislev Bella Arner 29 Kislev Joseph Petersiel 12 Kislev Pearl Kaner Weinstein 29 Kislev Linda Rubin 14 Kislev Ruth Navon 30 Kislev Rufus Davis 15 Kislev Aleksey Pekar 30 Kislev Rose Perschetz 15 Kislev Arnold Kornstein 1 Tevet Julius Zelinger 15 Kislev Wilson Shayne 1 Tevet John Edwin Curry 17 Kislev Beverly C. Simon 1 Tevet Natalie Simmons 17 Kislev

Candle Lighting

December 6th 4:33 PM December 13th 4:34 PM

December 20th 4:37 PM December 27th 4:40 PM

Life Cycle Recognitions Your Or Atid family would like to celebrate your joyous life-cycle events with you, as well as support you in times of loss when an immediate family member passes away. Please contact the office to let us know about these moments.

Purchase a plaque for the Memorial Wall in memory of someone special: $360.00

12

10625 Patterson Ave. Henrico, VA 23238 804 -740 -4747

Ongoing Ways to Support COA Congregation Or Atid Endowment Fund

Go to the Richmond Jewish Foundation website at Purchase a siddur in honor or memory www.rjfoundation.org. Click on the big green “Click Here to Donate” button on the right side of the screen. Enter the of someone special: amount you’d like to donate and select the Congregation Or Atid Endowment Fund from the drop down menu under “Fund Designation”. Complete the rest of the information including your secure online credit card information and you’re done! Helen and Sam Kornblau Religious School Support $36.00 $54.00  Don’t forget to link your Kroger Card to our new Non-Profit Organization #NY766.

 Link your Publix account to their Publix Partners program using our school name….both Kroger & Publix donate a percentage of all sales to our Helen and Sam Kornblau Religious School

AMAZON is as easy as..…. $72.00 1 2 3

1. GO TO OUR WEBSITE (WWW.ORATID.ORG) Purchase a leaf for the Tree of Life in honor of 2. CLICK ON THE AMAZON.COM BUTTON, WHICH WILL TAKE someone special: $172.00 YOU DIRECTLY TO THE AMAZON SHOPPING PAGE

3. SIGN IN TO YOUR AMAZON ACCOUNT (IF YOU DON’T HAVE ONE YOU CAN PROCEED AS A GUEST) AND THEN GO SHOPPING. WHATEVER YOU PURCHASE, AMAZON WILL DONATE A PERCENTAGE TO COA.