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the Volume 32, 31, Number Number 6 7 MarchFebruary 2012 2013 TEMPLE BETH ABRAHAM AdarShevat/Adar / Nisan 5773 5772 R i Pu M directory TEMPLE BETH ABRAHAM Services Schedule is proud to support the Conservative Movement by Services/ Time Location affiliating with The United Synagogue of Conservative Monday & Thursday Judaism. Morning Minyan Chapel 8:00 a.m. Friday Evening (Kabbalat Shabbat) Chapel 6:15 p.m. Advertising Policy: Anyone may sponsor an issue of The Omer and receive a dedication for their business or loved one. Contact us for details. We do Shabbat Morning Sanctuary 9:30 a.m. not accept outside or paid advertising. The Omer is published on paper that is 30% post-consumer fibers. Candle Lighting (Friday) The Omer (USPS 020299) is published monthly except July and August February 1 5:14 p.m. by Congregation Beth Abraham, 336 Euclid Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610. February 8 5:22 p.m. Periodicals Postage Paid at Oakland, CA. February 15 5:30 p.m. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Omer, c/o Temple Beth February 22 5:37 p.m. Abraham, 336 Euclid Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610-3232. © 2013. Temple Beth Abraham. The Omer is published by Temple Beth Abraham, a non-profit, located at Torah Portions (Saturday) 336 Euclid Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610; telephone 510-832-0936. It is February 2 Yitro published monthly except for the months of July and August for a total of February 9 Mishpatim ten issues per annum. It is sent as a requester publication and there is no February 16 T’rumah paid distribution. February 23 T’tzaweh To view The Omer in color, visit www.tbaoakland.org. GENERAL INFORMATION COMMITTEES & ORGANIZATIONS All phone numbers use (510) prefix unless otherwise noted. If you would like to contact the committee chairs, please contact the synagogue office for phone numbers Mailing Address 336 Euclid Ave. and e-mail addresses. Oakland, CA 94610 Hours M-Th: 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Adult Education Steve Glaser & Aaron Paul Fr: 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Chesed Warren Gould Office Phone 832-0936 Development Steve Grossman & Flo Raskin Office Fax 832-4930 E-Mail [email protected] Dues Evaluation Susan Shub Gan Avraham 763-7528 Endowment Fund Herman Pencovic Bet Sefer 663-1683 Finance Susan Shub STAFF Gan Avraham Parents Laura Kaplan & Rachel Teichman Rabbi (x 213) Mark Bloom Gan Avraham School Committee Rebecca Posamentier Cantor (x 218) Richard Kaplan Israel Affairs J.B. Leibovitch Gabai David Galant & Jay Goldman Executive Director (x 214) Rayna Arnold Membership Mark Fickes Office Coordinator (x 210) Virginia Tiger Men’s Club Jeff Ilfeld Bet Sefer Director (x 217) Susan Simon Omer Lori Rosenthal Gan Avraham Director (x 219) Barbara Kanter Personnel Laura Wildmann Bookkeeper (x 215) Kevin Blattel Public Relations Lisa Fernandez Custodian (x 211) Joe Lewis Ritual Eric Friedman Kindergym/Toddler Program Dawn Margolin 547-7726 Volunteers (x 229) Herman & Agnes Pencovic Schools Rachel Teichman Social Action Marc Bruner OFFICERS Torah Fund Anne Levine President Bryan Schwartz 814-1936 Web Site Liz Willner Vice President Mark Fickes 652-8545 Women of TBA Jeanne Korn Vice President Rachel Teichman 858-922-0145 Vice President Steve Grossman 834-3937 Youth Phil Hankin Vice President Laura Wildmann 601-9571 Secretary Flo Raskin 653-7947 Treasurer Susan Shub 852-2500 Cover Art by Joni Tanis. See page 23 for more on Joni. i what’s happening Join us for a CD Release Preview Party Sha’a b’Matana (An Hour’s Gift) & Learning Session -- Help Celebrate Cantor Join us for: TBA Gala Treats • With Jing Piser Richard Kaplan’s New CD Thursday, February 7, from 7-9 p.m. SHIREI AVRAHAM TBA Social Hall Sha’a b’Matana (An Hour’s Gift) is a new series The Music of Temple Beth Abraham of monthly speakers, members of our TBA community, chanted by Cantor Richard Kaplan. who have volunteered to share their professional expertise with you in an intimate, informal setting. Wednesday, February 20, 2013 We hope you’ll come out, get some expert advice, and 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel. enjoy a relaxed evening with other TBA members. Join us as we learn and sing For future events please see page 9. several of the 18 songs on the CD including Shabbat, High Holydays and Festival music used in TBA services. TBA Blood Drive Sunday, February 10 in the TBA Social Hall 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Contact Charles Feltman for details THE TEEN SCENE ([email protected]) Sunday, February 3 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Cal Basketball!!! Sunday, Feb. 17 Baum Center For more info see Men’s Club on page 7. Events begin with a light supper from Oakland Kosher. This month we continue with our Music programming. The final session is on February 17. Please contact Devorah Romano with any Kindergym questions or to sign up: [email protected] Sunday PlayDays: or (510) 396-4285. 2/17, 3/3 and 4/7 10:30 a.m.- noon KINDERGYM SUNDAY PLAYDAYS with Dawn for UNDER 3s Women on the Move (per family: $9 members; $10 other); Sunday, February 10 Come join us with your baby and toddler as we climb, slide, WTBA hikes happen the second Sunday of every jump on our trampoline, rock on old fashioned horses, enjoy month. We meet at 9:45 and depart promptly at music, singing, play dough, water and rice play, painting, 10:00. Hikes end by 11:30. parachute, bubbles and so much more! We will meet at the Skyline Weekday classes too! Gate on Skyline just south I look forward to playing with your family!! of Snake and hike in Contact Dawn at: www.tbaoakland.org/kindergym Redwood Regional Park. or by phone at (510) 547-7726. For details, contact Deena Aerenson at (510) 225-5107 or [email protected]. See additional WTBA and other Adult Education activities on page 5. 1 from the rabbi A Tribute to the Leader of Band In one of the less kind responses to the congregational survey sent out last year, one of the general comments was “Purim has become too much of a karaoke party” or something of the sort. I know it wasn’t meant to be complimentary, but I took it as a compliment anyway. If our Purim band was able to produce something that sounded close enough to the songs we were spoofing to make it sound like karaoke, then that is quite a band. These days you can stick in a Karaoke CD, download a Karaoke mp3 of a song, or even watch Karaoke TV on your cable or satellite package, and the music will sound exactly like the song. We’re spoiled, in a way. But to reproduce something similar from a live band of synagogue musi- cians, that’s nothing short of amazing. I was recently listening to the top 50 songs of the last 10 years on some sort of countdown. I knew most of them, as it turned out, because we had parodied so many of them for Purim. Over the past decade we have told the story of Esther, Vashti, Mordecai and Haman to the music of Avril Lavigne, Green Day, Outkast, Bowling for Soup, Britney Spears, Jason Mraz, Daniel Powter, LMFAO, Maroon Five, Adele, Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and many more, in addition to classics by the Beatles, Sonny and Cher, and the Troggs. I got the idea from Rabbi Gerry Walter of Temple Shalom in Cincinnati, who put together a similar band made up of rabbinical students when I was in school. I was one of the guitarists and singers, and since that time, I have formed a band in every congregation I have ever served. However, none of them have ever sounded quite like the Temple Beth Abraham Band. Jonathan Ring and Michael Aronson help me put the songs together each year, but this year, we will not have the musical gifts of one of our other collaborators, our lead guitarist and singer, the incomparable Murray Davis. There was nothing like watching him from the wings while he belted out Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. His crisp and lively guitar solos, soulful tenor voice, and even more amazing spirit behind the voice that went into that song caused us all to rejoice, which is what we are supposed to do on Purim. When Murray died of a sudden heart attack this past December, I knew we lost not only an important member of our congregation, but a good personal friend. Murray was a mensch. Murray was a terrific husband, a caring father, and a loyal friend. Murray was generous with his time, his pocketbook, and his spirit. Zecher tzadik livracha, may the memory of this righteous man be a blessing to us always. We will miss him greatly, especially on Erev Purim, when someone other than Murray leads the show off with the words “Several thousand years ago today…” L’shalom, Rabbi Mark Bloom 2 president’s message The Murray Davis Legacy for Purim Celebrations to Come By Bryan Schwartz One of my daughter’s first words was “Romemu.” At first, I couldn’t tell what she was saying every time we got into my car to drive to her day care. It sort of sounded like “meh-moo.” But, when the TBA Rock and Roll Shabbat CD started on my car stereo one morning, and she start excitedly shouting “meh-moo! meh-moo!” I realized that she was demanding to hear Murray Davis’ version of Romemu prayer, again. For a while, she would reach the brink of tantrum unless I played that one song, over and over again, until we reached the destination.