B'er Chayim Bulletin

B’er Chayim Bulletin March 2018 Adar - Nisan 5778 107 Union Street Cumberland, Md. 21502 301-722-5688 Jews celebrate Passover in unique ways around the globe might also be included. Among leeks to stand for the Egyptian some Moroccan Jews, partici- slave drivers’ whips, using them pants enter the ocean and toss to lightly “whip” each other’s pebbles behind their backs to backs. ward off evil spirits. Hasidic Jews from the Polish Ethiopian Jews strongly identify town of Góra Kalwaria re-enact with the story of Passover and, the crossing of the Red Sea because they lacked haggad- by pouring water on the floor, ot in Ethiopia, observe a local lifting up their coats, and nam- tradition of reading Exodus ing the towns that they would directly from the Torah. In some cross in their region of Poland. Ethiopian families, the matriarch They raise a glass to each town destroys all of her earthenware and thank God for helping them dishes and makes a new set reach their destination. to mark a true break with the past. During the holiday, Ethi- In Spain, the leader of the seder The scattering of the Jews opian Jews refrain from eating walks around the table three around the world over thou- fermented dairy, such as yo- times with the seder plate in sands of years has meant that gurt, butter, or cheese. Matzah hand, tapping it on the head of our traditions have evolved and is homemade, often fashioned each guest. Many Moroccan, been adapted to many different from chickpea flour. Turkish, and Tunisian Jews cultures and settings. As we join have adopted this Sephardic our own families and friends At Persian and Afghani seders, tradition, which is said to bless for seders during Pesach, we participants use scallions or those whose heads are tapped. take comfort in knowing that Jews in every corner of the world will be having their own B’er Chayim Movie Night seders. The following are some March 10, 2018, 7:00 pm Passover seder traditions you may not be familiar with: The Jazz Singer Families of Moroccan and starring Neil Diamond & Laurence Olivier Algerian descent celebrate the end of Passover with a Movie Night is free and open to all Temple members and guests. Mimouna, a celebration that BYOB. Popcorn and soda will be available. includes a feast of lavish sweets Donations to make future movie nights more fun will be accepted. and pastries. Fig leaves, live fish, stalks of wheat, and honey From the Rabbi Following the tragic events in Florida it’s time not only to concern ourselves with more stringent gun control restrictions (which are important) but also the breakdown in our society which has contributed to such an increased level of violence, hatred, and animosity between different groups. As everyone knows, our mission at B’er Chayim and at synagogues across the country is to serve not only the Jewish people but also the larger community. When God made the covenant with Noah called the Noahide Laws, according to Wikipedia, he put in motion “a set of imperatives which, according to the Talmud, were given by God as a binding set of laws for the children of Noah – that is, all of humanity.” Therefore, our concerns need to be for all of humanity and all of God’s creatures taken together. When I see the level of suffering that other people and cultures endure as well as the suffering of “food animals” in the realm of factory farming and other mechanized processes, I realize that though we have accom- plished much technologically, we have much yet to do to build a more just, fair, and compassionate world. At B’er Chayim I have felt very gratified, in my role as a rabbi, to have been given a small part in addressing some of these ongoing issues. Many don’t know the term, “tzaar baalei chayim”, referring to the compassionate treatment of animals as one of the mandates of the faith. That falls behind the mandate of “tikkun olam” (the healing of the world) but it is still very important. If you notice, we here in America are justifiably outraged when we witness the terrible events like the one that occurred in Florida tragically killing 17 and wounding several others. But yet we seem somewhat desensitized to the fact that children suffer and die in other countries from malnutrition, war, disease, and other means each and every day. Here at B’er Chayim, we invite all of you to become part of our efforts to create a more meaningful, spiritual, and authentically Jewish environment where Jews of all ages and backgrounds can feel at home. We also invite you to become part of Donations to B’er Chayim our unified struggle to build a more just and compassionate world. We invite you to become March Yahrzeits part of our efforts, as expressed through the upcoming festival of Pesach or Passover where Marsha Cohen writes that: “Passover is our Donor In memory of tradition, and I like to keep up with that. Our an- cestors couldn’t cut bread, and it’s nice for us to Ferne Jaffe Goldie Kaplon celebrate that every year by going through their Rebecca Kaplon struggles”. Sue Peskin Phyllis Sarubin Doug Schwab & David & Dorothy Hurwitz Passover is also about liberty and the celebra- Betsey Hurwitz-Schwab Leonard & Jane Schwab tion. Let us pray with the coming of Passover Peter Brieloff Jay Brieloff that, at long last, one day, all peoples of the Emerson Miller Bertha Miller world, and all of God’s creatures will be truly Sandy & Tadd Schwab Jane Schwab free. Robin Redding Bess Naviasky Jeremy Drelich Arthur Drelich B’Shalom Harold Yankelevitz Rebecca Marx Rabbi Mark Perman Marlene & Ann Parker Seymour Sallerson Clarke Castelle Daphne Castelle Sheriff’s office conducts active shooter training for Temple community President’s Corner On February 16, the Allegany County Sheriff’s department On February 3, we celebrat- conducted an “active shooter training” for members of the ed Scout Shabbat at B’er congregation. Sgt. Mike Beal conveyed a number of important Chayim. Those who attended points to those attending the training. from my troop really enjoyed it. One of my scouts keeps No one should pull the fire alarm. This just gets people moving and telling his mother he wants to makes everyone a target. If you can call 911 do so very quietly. convert. Thanks to the Rabbi The proper response is Run, Hide or Fight. for his hard work preparing for this. Run. In the video Sgt. Beal presented, we saw you should run for Vice President Bruce Dubins safety and consider those who are older or have physical disabil- and I met with the Rabbi and ities. Did you know that we have fire escapes in the back of the discussed his plans for the building on the alley side? You can access the fire escape by going future. Rabbi enjoys working out the door on the bima and walking to the classroom directly with our Temple family and across the hall in the religious school wing. In that room there is a enjoys the good work that he white outside door. You can go out that door and proceed down the does here in Cumberland. If stairs to safety. you have any feedback that you would like to share with Hide. Try to hide in place or find a room and barricade the door if me, please do so. you can. Once law enforcement is in the building, it is OK to ask police officers to slide their ID under the door before you open it. Robin Redding and I met with Mindy at CBIZ regarding the Fight. Work with other congregants to gang up on the attacker by Temple building insurance. using fire extinguishers, books or even purses to swarm or distract It was a good meeting and the person. Try to keep track of who is at services so that we can several new areas of service be sure that everyone is accounted for. Be prepared to be asked to were added and some exist- walk outside with your hands raised. Many times the attacker will ing ones changed. try to exit with the victims. In most cases, the police will search everyone that leaves. Remember that when law enforcement arrives March is a very busy month. they will search for the attacker first to avoid any more casualties. We will have the Megillah After they bring down the attacker, they will help the victims. reading on March 2, a movie night featuring “The Jazz Sgt. Beal said that B’er Chayim already does a good job of being Singer” on March 10, and a prepared. We are locking the vestry door 15 minutes after the Shabbat pot luck on March service starts and have installed doorbells at the vestry door. If you 16. If you have any ideas on arrive late and cannot get in, please ring the bell and someone will how to make B’er Chayim come down and let you in. We are also adding a view hole in the a better place for all of us, door so you can look to see who is there. We got several recom- please let me know. mendations from Sgt. Beal that we hope to implement as soon as possible. These include having a first aid kit in the building, Please remember that our solid core doors in the religious school wing, a panic button on the Temple calendar is bima that is hooked into our alarm system, a camera at the front online in the Google Calendar entrance, and a new defibrillator in the building.

Load more