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February, 2015 Volume 145, Edition 4 inside 12 Shevat - 9 Adar 5775 26 Broad Street, Pittsfield MA 01201 413-442-5910 Fax: 413-442-8315 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ansheamunim.org www.facebook.com/ansheamunim page two Temple Anshe Amunim President’s Message Family Purim Carnival page three Magic Dreidel Photo Men’s Club Photos page four Rabbi Josh Breindel WRJ Potluck Vegetarian From the Rabbi Brunch page five The Fruits of our Labor The Blessing of Belonging WRJ Potluck Brunch Second Night Passover Seder It’s a great pleasure for me to share some long-awaited (and very good) news with you! Service and Dinner You may recall that I was ordained as a rabbi through the Rabbinical School of Hebrew page six College (Newton, MA) rather than through the HUC – the Reform seminary. The Passover Seder College trains its students to serve communities across the denominational spectrum. page seven Through my internships and training, I developed a deep affinity for the Reform PFTY/YACHAD movement. When TAA’s Rabbinic Search Committee approached Hebrew College in my page eight fifth year, I knew that I had found my first pulpit. Tu B’ Shevat Seder As I settled into our community, it became clear to me that I should apply for entry to page nine the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) to officially become a Reform Calendar Raffle Fundraiser rabbi. I made this decision for both personal and professional reasons. While I had Tu B’ Shevat Seder formed close relationships with the other Reform rabbis in the Berkshires, I wanted to page ten learn from the movement’s leaders as I continued to develop and refine my rabbinate. Donations Similarly, I wanted to offer the fullness of the teachings and resources of the movement Temple Gift Shop to our Temple community. Finally, my years of experience in Reform settings led me to a page eleven deep sense of kinship with the movement; its history, philosophy and spirituality helped TAA Funds me to blossom into a Jewish leader. page twelve Four years ago, with the blessing of temple leadership (and with an exquisitely heartfelt Reading Hebrew from the recommendation from Rabbi Salzmann), I submitted my application to the CCAR. After Siddur my application was accepted, I began a three-year probationary period. Throughout this Conversational Hebrew time, I spoke monthly with my mentor in the movement, Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman. Kids Kabbalat Shabbat His guidance and experience have been invaluable to me as I’ve worked to develop my Shabbat Preschool rabbinic skills in the context of the Reform movement. page thirteen A few weeks ago, as my three-year term drew to a close, I was contacted by Rabbi Steve Monthly Sabbath of Study Einstein (VP for Member Services for the CCAR) who told me that I had been unanimously TAA Book Club voted in as a full member! Given the blessings that I’ve found in my pulpit at TAA (as well Mazel Tov! as the fulfilling experiences that I’ve found in Reform settings throughout my career), this Condolences moment feels like the culmination of many years of professional and spiritual development. Volunteers Needed From a practical, day-to-day perspective, my membership in the CCAR will not change page fourteen my role at TAA. By the same token, I feel that my membership in the Reform movement Yahrzeits is an important affirmation, both for our community and for me; that the ideals and Birthdays history of the Reform movement will continue to guide our sense of identity and our Anniversary ongoing process of growth. In our classes and services, I often speak about the page fifteen philosophies that guided the founders of our movement. I feel very blessed that I can now consider myself an integral part of this chain of tradition that continues to inspire Calendar back page our movement and our people. May we continue to grow together from strength to strength! Help Wanted in the Archives President’s Message By Chuck Myers “Together We Can Bring a Dream to Fruition” Happy and Healthy New Year to everyone! I hope that 2015 will be a joyous and healthy year for all. Just wanted to share a few thoughts as we prepare for the cold winter months ahead of us. By now, most of you have heard about our upcoming Capital Campaign: L’Dor Va’Dor-From Generation to Renovation: Honoring the Legacy of Temple Anshe Amunim. Our goal with this exciting and ambitious project is exemplified in the second Schedule part of the title. Let us take a moment to reflect on what “honoring the legacy” truly means. For many of you, Temple Anshe Amunim has been a presence in of Services your life for years or even decades. Others, like me, are newcomers to our spe- cial congregation. Regardless of the length of your membership, Temple Anshe Friday, February 6 Amunim has provided us with a home and a sense of community. In reflection 4:00 p.m. Kids Kabbalat Shabbat of all that our beloved Temple has done for us, it is time for us to give back. We have the name. We have the blueprints. We are only missing one thing to 5:30 p.m. Sabbath of Study bring this project to life: You. Saturday, February 7 I am encouraging each and every one of you to join the movement in honoring our temple. Whether donating to our cause, coming to services or programming 9:30 a.m. Sabbath of Study events, submitting ideas to the Board about improving our community, or active- (includes Shabbat Morning Service) ly joining a committee. Participation and involvement will be the key to success for our project. The reward in such endeavors will be invaluable. Friday, February 13 With the legacy of the past humming in our hearts, we must forge forward in creating a vibrant thriving Jewish community here. With all this in mind, we can 4:00 p.m. Kids Kabbalat Shabbat look forward to the wonderful, accessible and modernized temple to gather, 5:30 p.m. Erev Shabbat Service worship and be a community. Together, and only together, can we bring this dream to fruition. Saturday, February 14 9:30 a.m. Torah Study 10:45 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service Friday, February 20 4:00 p.m. Kids Kabbalat Shabbat Family Purim Carnival 5:30 p.m. Erev Shabbat Service Saturday, February 21 Sunday, March 8, from 3 to 5pm 9:30 a.m. Torah Study Come celebrate Purim with TAA and the greater Jewish community! Games & 10:45 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service Don’t miss the performances: a clown, crafts for Friday, February 27 storytelling, music and more children of Carnival foods and Hamentaschen 4:00 p.m. Kids Kabbalat Shabbat will be available for purchase all ages 5:30 p.m. Erev Shabbat Service Admission is $5 per child, adults free; all proceeds from the Saturday, February 28 event will benefit the Temple’s Religious Education program. This event is open to the public – bring your friends! 9:30 a.m. Torah Study For more information contact Esther Benari-Altmann, Education Director, at 10:45 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service (413) 442-5910 ext. 12, or [email protected]. 2 ~ Temple Anshe Amunim ~ February, 2015 Men’sMen’s ClubClub BBREAKFASTREAKFAST Temple Anshe Amunim ~ February, 2015 ~ 3 tŽŵĞŶŽĨZĞĨŽƌŵ:ƵĚĂŝƐŵ /ŶǀŝƚĞƐĂůůdĞŵƉůĞǁŽŵĞŶĂŶĚŵĞŶƚŽĂ Potluck Vegetarian Brunch ^ƵŶĚĂLJ͕&ĞďƌƵĂƌLJϴ͕ϮϬϭϱĂƚϭϬ͗ϯϬĂ͘ŵ͘ ƚƚŚĞ^ĂůŝƐďƵƌLJƐƚĂƚĞƐůƵƵƐĞ͕tĞƐƚ^ƚƌĞĞƚ͕WŝƩƐĮĞůĚ ,ŽƐƚĞĚďLJZŚŽĚĂ<ĂŵŝŶƐƚĞŝŶĂŶĚůďĂWĂƐƐĞƌŝŶŝ JEFFREY BORAK Berkshire Eagle Arts & Entertainment Editor will speak about ³$6HDWRQWKH$LVOH´ WůĞĂƐĞZ^sWďLJtĞĚŶĞƐĚĂLJ͕&ĞďƌƵĂƌLJϰƚŽ WĂƵůĂWŽŵĞƌĂŶƚnj;ƉƉŚŝŬĞƌΛƚǁĐ͘ĐŽŵ͕ϰϭϯϰϰϳ-ϳϰϮϵͿ͕ZŚŽĚĂ<ĂŵŝŶƐƚĞŝŶ;ƉŬĂŵŝŶƐƚΛĂŽů͘ĐŽŵ͕ϰϭϯϰϰϮ-ϲϳϱϴͿŽƌ dĞŵƉůĞKĸĐĞ;ϰϭϯͿϰϰϮ-ϱϵϭϬ͘ EĂŵĞ͗ͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺ WŚŽŶĞ͗ͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺ ĂŐĞůƐĂŶĚďĞǀĞƌĂŐĞƐǁŝůůďĞƉƌŽǀŝĚĞĚ͘/ǁŝůůďƌŝŶŐ;ƉůĞĂƐĞĐŝƌĐůĞŽƌǁƌŝƚĞŝŶͿ͗ ^ĂůĂĚͬƐƉƌĞĂĚ;ŚƵŵŵƵƐ͕ĞŐŐŽƌƚƵŶĂƐĂůĂĚ͕ƐĂůŵŽŶ͕ǁŚŝƚĞĮƐŚŽƌĐƌĞĂŵĐŚĞĞƐĞ͕ŽƚŚĞƌͿͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺ sĞŐŐŝĞƚƌĂLJͬ&ƌƵŝƚƚƌĂLJͬdŽƐƐĞĚƐĂůĂĚͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺYƵŝĐŚĞͬĐŽīĞĞĐĂŬĞͬŵƵĸŶƐͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺ /ǁŝůůĚŽŶĂƚĞΨϳŝŶƐƚĞĂĚͺͺͺ /ĐĂŶ͛ƚĂƩĞŶĚ͕ďƵƚǁŝůůĚŽŶĂƚĞƚŽtZ:ĂĐƟǀŝƟĞƐ͗Ψͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺͺ ϮϲƌŽĂĚ^ƚƌĞĞƚ-WŝƩƐĮĞůĚ͕DϬϭϮϬϭʹWŚŽŶĞ͗;ϰϭϯͿϰϰϮ-ϱϵϭϬ dĞŵƉůĞKĸĐĞΛŶƐŚĞŵƵŶŝŵ͘ŽƌŐǁǁǁ͘ŶƐŚĞŵƵŶŝŵ͘ŽƌŐ ĂŶƐŚĞĂŵƵŶŝŵ 4 ~ Temple Anshe Amunim ~ February, 2015 Celebrating the SAVE THE DATE Fruits of our Labor From Esther Benari-Altmann, Director of Education Women Of Reform In Midrash Tanhuma we read the following story: The Roman emperor, Hadrian, once went for a walk Judaism Potluck Brunch in Tiberias. On his way he saw an old man planting a fig tree. All temple women and men are invited to a potluck Hadrian asked him, “Old, old man! If you were working when brunch at Salisbury Estates Clubhouse, Sunday, you were young, you should not have to work now when you’re February 8, at 10:30 a.m. old.” The old man replied, “I worked when I was young and Jeffrey Borak, The Berkshire Eagle Arts and also now when I’m old, and I let God decide whatever is good Entertainment editor, will speak about, “A Seat on for Him in His eyes.” the Aisle.” “And how old are you today?” Hadrian wanted to know. “A Rhoda Kaminstein and Alba Passerini are hosting hundred years old,” said the old man. this event. See page 4 for details and please RSVP “Do you believe that you will be able to eat from the fruits of by Wednesday, February 4. the tree you are planting today?” Hadrian asked. The old man said, “If I am able to, that would be wonderful. If not, let my children enjoy the fruits as I enjoyed the fruits planted by my father!” SAVE THE DATE The old man’s words touched the heart of the emperor, who asked the old man to let him know when the tree bore fruit, hoping he would still be alive. After a while; the tree bore fruit and the old man was still Second Night Passover alive. The old man went and filled a basket full of figs for the emperor. Seder Service and Dinner When the emperor saw him, he ordered his servants to carry Our annual Second Night Passover Seder will take the old man in a chair made of gold and he filled his basket with place Saturday, April 4, 2015, beginning at 5:30 p.m.