Jewish Storytelling
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Volume 34, Number 8 the May 2015 Iyyar/SivanVolume 31, Number 5775 7 March 2012 TEMPLE BETH ABRAHAM Adar / Nisan 5772 JEWISH R STORYTELLINGi Pu M DIRECTORY SERVICES SCHEDULE GENERAL INFORMATION: All phone numbers use (510) prefix unless otherwise noted. Services, Location, Time Monday & Thursday Mailing Address 336 Euclid Ave. Oakland, CA 94610 Morning Minyan, Chapel, 8:00 a.m. Hours M-Th: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Fr: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday Evening Office Phone 832-0936 (Kabbalat Shabbat), Chapel, 6:15 p.m. Office Fax 832-4930 Shabbat Morning, Sanctuary, 9:30 a.m. E-Mail [email protected] Candle Lighting (Friday) Gan Avraham 763-7528 May 1, 7:41 p.m. Bet Sefer 663-1683 May 8, 7:48 p.m. STAFF May 15, 7:54 p.m. May 22, 8:00 p.m. Rabbi (x 213) Mark Bloom Richard Kaplan, May 29, 8:05 p.m. Cantor [email protected] Torah Portions (Saturday) Gabbai Marshall Langfeld May 2, Acharei-Kedoshim Executive Director (x 214) Rayna Arnold May 9, Emor Office Manager (x 210) Virginia Tiger May 16, Behar-Bechukotai Bet Sefer Director Susan Simon 663-1683 May 23, Bamidbar Gan Avraham Director Barbara Kanter 763-7528 May 30, Naso Bookkeeper (x 215) Kevin Blattel Facilities Manager (x 211) Joe Lewis Kindergym/ Dawn Margolin 547-7726 Toddler Program TEMPLE BETH ABRAHAM Volunteers (x 229) Herman & Agnes Pencovic OFFICERS OF THE BOARD is proud to support the Conservative Movement by affiliating with The United President Mark Fickes 652-8545 Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. 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Women of TBA Molli Rothman & Jessica Sterling Youth Phil Hankin i WHAT’S HAPPENING ANNUAL TBA MEMBER MEETING! May 17, 2015 9:30 AM Social Hall Volunteer Recogniton Lunch with Liba Falafel Learn Torah with Rabbi Bloom MAH JONGG and other TBAers Join us on the second Shabbat Each Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. of the month as we gather at the Woodminster Cafe. in the Chapel after Kiddush. No knowledge of Hebrew is required. May 9 and June 13 May TODDLER & KINDERGYM Schedule May 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22 In the TBA Social Hall for under-3s with a loving adult Toddler Class: 10:30-11 a.m. $12 Kindergym: 11:15-noon $10 Dawn Margolin looks forward to seeing you there! [email protected] or call 510-547-7726 THE TEEN SCENE Women of TBA Event: The Friendship Circle Friendship Circle programs pres- May 12 - Details on page 6. ent families of individuals with spe- cial needs and teen volunteers the opportunity to form real friendships within a non-judgmental and supportive community. Teen Scene: Teen Scene is a semi-monthly, one and a half hour program on Sunday evenings for teens with special needs to join with loving teen volunteers for a fun, educational group experience. The program begins with a light dinner and is followed by an hour of activities and Jewish discussion. Teens enjoy various activities, which include dancing, basket- ball, yoga, drum circle and more. For more information, including Teen Scene dates, please contact Devorah Romano, [email protected]. Men’s Club Event: See additional Adult Education events and activities for women on page 6. May 13 - Details on page 7. 1 FROM THE RABBI Nachshon, Freddy the Frog, Ariel, and Aquaman Storytelling is an integral part of the Jewish tradition—from the “oral tradition” of the Talmud with its stories of the rabbinic sages to the Midrash which expands upon the stories of the Torah to the great Yiddish writers such as Shalom Aleichem and YL Peretz, to today’s great Jewish novelists like Michael Chabon and Jonathan Safran Foer. My contribution is to the preschool set, where one of my favorite parts of the job is to tell sto- ries to the Gan classes during chapel on Shabbat every other week. I love being able to “meet the children where they are,” so I often incorporate the things that make up their fantasy world, such as superheroes, animals, and princes into the stories of the Torah. If they come home con- fusing some of the Biblical characters with their favorite cartoon characters, don’t worry. It’s part of the joy of being a child. Here is one of my personal favorites. Everyone knows that when the Israelites fled Egypt God performed the miracle of dividing the sea for the Israelites to walk on dry land. But not so many know that God had a lot of help. First, there was Nachshon of the Tribe of Judah, who dove into the water first. While the rest of the Israelites were standing around in confusion and Moses was engrossed in prayer, Nachshon took the risk and dove in. Only after he dove in did the Sea split. But what you also don’t know is that Nachshon didn’t dive in in on purpose. He was chasing his frog. You see, Nachshon had a pet frog named Freddie, who he loved dearly. He kept Freddie with him at all times. But once Freddie saw the water, he jumped out of Nachshon’s hands and into the sea. Knowing he had to act quickly to make sure he didn’t lose him, Nachshon chased in after Freddie. That’s why Nachshon dove in first. He was trying to find his pet frog! Meanwhile, Ariel the Mermaid Princess and Aquaman saw what was going on. They knew they had to do their part to save the Jewish people from Pharaoh and his army. They knew that ordinary humans can’t swim for such long distances and that they would drown if they didn’t do something quickly. So each of them swam back and forth from side to side, communicating in their secret languages with all the creatures of the sea, telling each creature to swim this way and that way. This created a wall on each side of the Red Sea, leaving a great dry patch in the middle for the Israelites to cross. The fish and all the other sea creatures listened to their friends Ariel and Aquaman, and, thankfully, the Israelites made it across. I’m not saying it wasn’t a miracle by God that the Isralites made it across, but they couldn’t have done it without the help of Nachshon of the Tribe of Judah, Freddie the Frog, Ariel the Mermaid Princess and Aquaman the Superhero. L’shalom, Rabbi Mark Bloom Please Join Us for Morning Minyan on Mondays & Thursdays Join the regulars at our Minyan service, each Monday and Thursday usually starting at 8:00 a.m. The service lasts about an hour, and is really a great way to start the day. As an added bonus, break- fast is served immediately afterwards. To use the old expression – try it, you’ll like it. If not as a regular, just stop in once or twice and see what it’s all about. 2 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Fun Jewish Stories by Mark Fickes Judaism has such a rich tradition of storytelling. From the Midrashim to the Chasidic Tradition, stories have helped Jews throughout the ages connect to G-d and to tradition. So, this month I decided to share two stories of which I have always been fond. The Cow That Kept Shabbat Pesikta Rabbati 14 There was once a Jew who owned a cow with which he plowed his field. Then it came to pass that this Jew became impoverished and was forced to sell his cow to a non-Jew. The new owner plowed with the cow throughout the week, but when he took her out to the field on Shabbat, she kneeled under the yoke and refused to do any work. He hit her with his whip, but she would not budge from her place. So he came back to the Jew and said to him, “Take back your cow! All week I worked with her, but today I took her out to the field and she refuses to do anything...” The Jew said to the cow’s purchaser: “Come with me, and I will get her to plow.” When they arrived to the field the cow lay, the Jew spoke into her ear.