August 2017 Bulletin

A Congregation Congregation B’nai Israel Affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 6525 Sylvania Avenue Sylvania OH 43560 150 Years of (419) 517-8400 Consecrated Service to God, Torah and Israel www.cbitoledo.org 5777 Tisha B’Av Join us for a meaningful commemoration Monday, July 31, 2017 Tuesday, August 1, 2017 8:30 p.m. Mincha, followed by 7:00 a.m. Shachrit / Morning Service Maariv and Reading of Eichah/ 5:45 p.m. Mincha / Afternoon Service Book of Lamentations David S. Stone Religious School High Holiday Schedule (More details next month) Selichot Saturday, September 16 at 8:00 p.m. Kever Avot Sukkot Sunday, September 17 at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday Evening, October 4 Rosh Hashanah Thursday, October 5 Wednesday Evening, September 20 Friday, October 6 at 5:45 p.m. Thursday, September 21 at 8:30 a.m. Breakfast Shmini Atzeret Friday, September 22 at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday Evening, and 5:45 p.m. October 11 Tashlich Thursday, October 12 Sunday, September 24 at 9:45 a.m. Yizkor Kol Nidre Friday, September 29 at 7:00 p.m. Simchat Torah Thursday Evening, 9:30 a.m. Yom Kippur See page 6 for details October 12 Saturday, September 30 at 9:00 a.m. Friday, October 13 Yizkor 1 Notes from the Cantor ………………………………………. PLACING BLAME This article is a continuation of thoughts I shared in last month’s July bulletin, in my article entitled ‘RETHINKING TISHA B’AV.’ In that article I referred to the notorious spy incident in the Torah portion Sh’lach (Numbers 13 – 15) as the source for Tisha B’av, our national commemoration of multiple tragedies including the destruction of both Temples and two subsequent exiles (Talmud Ta’anit 4: 6; Midrash Tanhuma Parshat Sh’lach 12). This kind of attribution of blame for our national tragedies permeates Jewish theology. The Talmud in Baba Metzia 30b cites the following Rabbinic attributions for the destruction of the Temple: Abaye - the Shabbat was not observed Abbahu - they stopped praying Hamnuna - they stopped teaching religious texts to their children Judah - they scorned scholars Rava - lack of integrity Ulla - shameless sinning Yohanan - the courts were too literal, lacking compassion and understanding. The Talmud in Yoma 9b states that the First Temple was destroyed because three cardinal sins were rampant – idol worship, immorality, and murder. The Second Temple was destroyed, despite the society being immersed in Torah, mitzvot, and acts of kindness, because causeless hatred was rampant. It con- cludes that causeless hatred is equal in severity to all three cardinal sins that caused the destruction of the First Temple. Always intrigued by more fundamentalist Jewish approaches, I researched Chabad.org. It states: “Aside from troubles caused by external powers (Persians, Greeks, Romans), the Jews were also plagued internally by tumultuous politics, and they divided into many factions – a phenomenon that ultimately led to the Second Temple’s destruction and our nation’s tortuous exile.” For many, the Holocaust fundamentally impacted and altered this line of thought, including Con- servative Jewish theology, as discussed in last month’s article. Yet, tragically, attribution of blame for the Jews’ (or society’s) problems continues to be rampant today too. For example more religious Jews blame the less religious and vice versa. Right here in America the right blames the left, and the left blames the right. Just recently (perhaps not coincidentally during the 3 weeks of mourning from 17th Tammuz – 9th Av) Israel’s Chief Rabbinate published a ‘blacklist’ of 160 Rabbis (not only Reform and Conservative which one might have expected, but even Orthodox!) deemed ineligible as authentic arbiters of Jewish sta- tus! The Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism responded: “…This blacklist is far less a reflection on the esteemed Rabbis it names, in as much as it further diminishes the stature of (Israel’s) Chief Rab- binate, in its continued actions that sew division and discord among Jews worldwide, and in particular between Israel and the diaspora.” This blacklist followed very closely on the Israeli government’s abandon- ment of a compromise concerning Kotel access for Conservative and Reform Jews. As we exit the lull of summer before the rapid approach of a full month of High Holiday intensity, let us pray that “tumultuous politics” and “factionalism” will cease, that in the spirit of the Days of Awe, we will all engage in - cheshbon hanefesh/internal introspection, working together for the sake of Klal Israel. Hazzan Ivor Lichterman 2 President’s Message…………………………….…………... Congregation of the Children of Israel. What’s in a Name? On August 19th, we will welcome our friends from B’nai Israel in Monroe, Michigan to worship with us and join us for lunch. We have some long-standing members who are also members of that congregation, and I hope you come that morning to support them and, hopefully, make some new friends. It seemed a nice coincidence that we share a name. But I have noticed other congregations that also share B’nai Israel as their name or as part of their name. So I started won- dering about how many of us there are. Most everything is easily discovered by an internet search, but this was problematic. A study from the American Jewish Committee reported that there were 3,727 synagogues in the United States in 2001, including those labeling themselves as Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Sephardi, Traditional, Humanistic, and Gay/ Lesbian. Unfortunately for me, the published report did not include the names of the congregations. To try and get some idea about how many B’nai Israel’s might exist, I looked at websites for some national organizations. Of course this will miss the many that are not affiliated, including the Monroe synagogue. Our own United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism [USCJ] has a “Find a Kehilla” page that lists all affiliated congregations in the U.S. and Canada, and there are 23 that include “B’nai Israel” in their name. The Union for Reform Judaism lists 37 such congregations. Adding Orthodox, Reconstructionist and others is sure to yield many more to the list of congregations named B’nai Israel. Literally, “B’nai Israel” translates to “Children of Israel”. This always seemed to me to be an apt, succinct and beautiful description of who we Jews are. There is another connotation as well. Israel is also the name given to our ancestor Jacob, who received his new name after wrestling with a divine being who asks Jacob what his name is and then, as translated in our Etz Chayim Chumash, states “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel …” [Genesis 32:29]. So if we consider this, then we can add all the congregations named “B’nai Jacob”, or “Children of Jacob” to our list. The other part of our name, “congregation” seems obvious, as that is what we are. Many like to use the He- brew term “kehilla”, which is usually used to mean “sacred community” and is used pretty much interchangeably with “congregation”. You might wonder about using the term “synagogue” or temple” in our name. Though widely used, these terms are a bit out of fashion since they can be used to indicate the building, while “congregation” [or Kehilla] clearly refers to us. At the USCJ web site, the “Find a Kehilla” page lists six affiliated congregations that use “Kehilla” as part of their names. Interestingly, two use both Kehilla and Congregation in the name. It can get confusing. Our Reform friends call themselves “Congregation Temple Shomer Emunim”, which I take as a reflection of moving to the use of “congregation” while keeping their historic use of the word “temple”, which is common with Reform congregations and makes a connection between their place of worship and the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. Just to make things as confusing as possible, people often say “hope to see you in shul!” I sometimes wonder how confusing it must be to children and others just learning about Judaism and Hebrew to have Yiddish words thrown in. A shul is, literally, a school in Yiddish. Several sources say that it is most commonly used among the Orthodox, but I hear it all the time, and often find myself using the term, even though it was not a part of my own upbringing. In common usage, “shul” means the synagogue building. If we consider the synagogue as a place for study and learning, this makes sense, and that really is the derivation of this usage. I have to think that confusion can also arise when con- fronted with whether to greet each other with Shabbat Shalom in Hebrew, or Gut Shabbos in Yiddish. I find that I seem to shift back and forth, and sometimes even greet someone with one version followed by the other. Saying the same thing twice may not make a lot of sense, but it couldn’t hurt! I hope to see you in shul/synagogue/temple soon where I can wish you Shabbat Shalom/Gut Shabbos! Howard Rosenberg S.O.A.P. (Synagogue Organized Afternoon Program) resumes on Wednesday August 30, 2017 Join Hazzan Ivor Lichterman for a discussion of Jewish current events in the CBI Library 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ALL ARE WELCOME A LIGHT LUNCH WILL BE SERVED No charge 3 Congregational News…………………………………………. August Special Birthdays New Members Please welcome our new members! 2 Sheldon Harris Daria Gan 6 Martha Birnbaum Lillian Hetson Joyce and Joe Moran 13 Jan Lacker Lichterman Michael Ross 18 Joel Mahoney Mike and Rita White 25 Marilyn Reinstein Mazel Tov and Congratulations to 26 Eleanor Golding Christina Katz 31 Marcia Friedman Daniel LaPlante Michael Ross Kim Smith August Special Anniversaries for successfully completing the B’nai Israel conversion course of study.

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