Page TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 608 Temple Israel of the
Drawing by Marilyn Margolies Poconos May 2015 Iyar/Sivan 5775 Edition 608 A monthly publication of Temple Israel of the Poconos
Inside this Issue CREATOR OF DARKNESS Rabbi’s Message 1 President’s Message 3 by Rabbi Baruch Binyamin Hakohen Melman Norman Gelber 4 Concert 6 Hebrew School 7 Ask the Rabbi 8 Holiday Page 10 Scientists have recently discovered that 95% of the cosmos is made up of Dark Word Search 12 Matter (25%)and Dark Energy (70%). The other 5% is what we had always thought of Save the Date 13 as the principal "stuff" of the universe - i.e. the stars, the galaxies, the planets and Donations 14 the stardust from whence we all come. What does this mean? It means that dark- Chessed 15 ness is not merely the absence of light! There is an actual invisible substance that is Birthdays/ inherently dark in its own right, irrespective of the presence or absence of a light Anniversaries 16 source. We only know that it is there because of gravity. We cannot see it directly, Yahrzeit Lists 17/18 but we can see the distortion of light caused by its gravitational pull. Calendar 19 Advertising 23 At the start of the Shacharit Service following the public call to prayer (the Barchu), we say "Baruch...Yotzer ohr uVorey Choshech, Oseh Shalom uVoreh et aKawl." "Blessed are You... Sovereign of the Universe, who forms light and CREATES DARKNESS, makes peace and creates everything (including evil)." Darkness is therefore created, and is not merely the absence of light. Only now does this make sense.
This is astounding! It clearly implies that our rabbis knew all along, thousands of years ago, that which our top physicists have only recently discovered (similarly, the Torah's Creation Narrative was confirmed only as recently as 1946, with the discov- ery of the Big Bang Theory). The Dark Matter's gravitational pull holds the galaxies BOARD MEETING together, while the Dark Energy's force acts to expand the universe and cause sepa- ration in the celestial realm. Darkness and Light were both conscious creations. WEDNESDAY Good and Evil are actual, real forces which vie for our allegiance. May 6 7:00 p.m. What causes separation here on Earth between ourselves and others, and between ourselves and our Creator? Transgression, which is "aveirah" in Hebrew. Aveirah is from the root la'avor, which means to cross over from one side to the other side. When we sin we cause conscious energy to "cross over" and become dark energy and cause separation and ego and loneliness in the world. When we follow the To- rah we transcend ego, create community and draw ourselves and others closer to the Creator's Light. Even our name, our identity - as Hebrew (IVRI), comes from this same root! There is dark energy and there is light energy. Torah brings us into the Light. Ohr Torah — the Light of Torah!
In the light of this truth we should be aware that every act we do or word we say, either brings more light into the world - or more darkness. Shavuot is the celebra- tion of the awakening of this consciousness and the challenge to choose between Good and Evil, between Light and Darkness, between Life and Death. Choose Life!
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Temple office: (570) 421-8781 Rabbi Baruch Melman [email protected] (570) 730-4799 www.templeisraelofthepoconos.org [email protected]
711 WALLACE STREET, STROUDSBURG, PA 18360
President Sandra Alfonsi 223-7062 [email protected] 1st Vice President Bernie Driller 421-6103 [email protected] 2nd Vice President Lois LaBarca 421-6103 [email protected] Secretary Barbara Rosenberg 894-4537 [email protected]
Treasurer Norman Rabinowitz [email protected] Asst. Treasurer Herb Rosen 424-1161 [email protected] Sitting Past President Suzanne Tremper 588-6148 [email protected]
3 yr Trustee: Art Glantz 424-7876 [email protected] 2 yr Trustee: Esther Graves 426-7020 [email protected] Mark Entenberg [email protected] Merle Turitz 223-1131 [email protected]
1 yr Trustee: Ed Krawitz 421-3139 [email protected]
Mitchell Marcus 588-0991 [email protected]
Cemetery: 209/ Barry Tremper 588-6148 [email protected] Eliezer Gardens Charlie Cahn 424-7955 [email protected] Hebrew School Debbie Smith 610-751-7692 [email protected] Ritual Bernie Driller 421-6103 [email protected] Art Glantz 424-7876 [email protected] Finance Dave Rosenberg 894-4537 [email protected] Membership Sandra Alfonsi 223-7062 [email protected] Kitchen Lois LaBarca 421-6103 [email protected] Sandra Alfonsi 223-7062 [email protected] House Herb Rosen 424-1161 [email protected] Barry Tremper 588-6148 [email protected] Chesed & Wishograms Suzanne Tremper 588-6148 [email protected] Newsletter Barbara Rosenberg 894-4537 [email protected] Gift Shop Debbie Smith 610-751-7692 [email protected] Programming Barry Tremper 588-6148 [email protected] Barbara Rosenberg 894-4537 [email protected] Temple Publicity Marci Rabinowitz [email protected] Hebrew School Publicity Rebecca Bear [email protected]
Rabbi Melman’s Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 10:30 — 12:00 Please provide Barbara with Wednesday 6:00—7:00 any information that is missing for you in the above By appointment ONLY grid. Thank you.
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT …… Dr. Sandra Alfonsi
As I sit here writing my message for May, I am looking back at the month of April at Temple Israel. Foremost in my mind is the successful Pesach week which we spent together. We inaugurated our new kitchen with the First Seder and kept it open throughout Pesach. We shared two Pesach Kiddush luncheons and for the first time we had a Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Melman. Our Seder and both Shabbat Pesach services were well attended as was our Yiskor service. So do I think that all went well this Pesach? Not really. We did not have a Minyan – actually we had almost no attendance, the first two days and next to the last day of Pesach. I admit honestly that I did not attend, not because of indifference but because of exhaustion. It is not an excuse just an explanation. But as President of my Congregation I must write about the importance of having a Minyan not only for Shabbat but also for the first and last days of our major holidays. Services really demand very little of our time. Even two hours are not excessive when and if we remember that those two hours are our acknowledgement of the grandeur of Hashem and of our special relationship to Hashem. If we consider the number of hours per day we spend on profane pursuits then giving Hashem a few hours per week of our time is not too much to ask. April was a meaningful month in the life of Temple Israel. Your Executive Board spent several months discussing how to grow our membership. Some of the discussions were philosophical in nature, stemming in part from the Pew Report which speaks at length about the decline in synagogue affiliation. Much time was spent on the fact that some of our members react negatively to the terminology Membership Dues. This is not a problem native to Temple Israel. According to the Pew Report and newspaper articles trying to explain it, discontent with the word dues is rampant. In addition the word membership seems to have taken second place to affiliation – we no longer speak about membership in a synagogue but rather affiliation with a synagogue. So Temple Israel’s Executive Board has adopted the new terminology and I am bringing the news to my membership that as of July 2015 we will have an Affiliation Fee rather than Membership Dues. Basically it is semantics – you are a member of TI or you are affiliated with TI. Choose your own preferred vocabulary. I am proud of my Board for tackling the problem of membership outreach by showing enough flexibility to exchange vocabulary and acknowledging our members’ personal comfort level. In conjunction with this our Board grappled with the economic problems facing all spectrums of today’s society. Your Temple Israel leadership is proud to announce the following policies which we will implement July 2015 We are adopting a universal Affiliation Fee of $200 per person affiliating with Temple Israel. As always this membership is accorded to any Jewish individual seeking affiliation with Temple Israel. As an example a Jewish couple will pay $200 per person = $400 per couple. This responds to two needs: (1) Only the Jewish partner of an intermarried couple will pay the affiliation fee. (2) If one member of a Jewish couple does not want to be affiliated, the other member may pay his/her affiliation fee and join.
There will NO LONGER be Family, Individual or Associate Memberships. We are adopting one universal fee/ per person affiliating.
Children and grandchildren of the affiliated Jewish member(s) receive free Hebrew School. Rabbi Melman must be consulted on all admissions of children of intermarried couples.
As is the custom of Temple Israel there is NO CHARGE for High Holiday attendance.
Anyone owing outstanding dues MUST pay same in full before qualifying for new “affiliation fee” structure for 2015-2016.
(con nued on page 5)
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The “Normal Mystics” by Norman Gelber The rabbis who wrote the Talmud have been described as “normal mys- tics.” The normal mystic is described as God-intoxicated, so drunk with his nearness to God that he sees the divine presence in everyday life: a beautiful sight in nature, a storm, a rainbow, birth, and growth. He per- ceives the created universe, with all its various forms of life, as the work of a divine Artist. And he interprets righteous behavior as a human aspect of divine art.
Rabbi Akiba said to his disciples: “Just as the existence of a house testifies to the builder, the garment to the weaver, and the door to a car- penter, so does the world testify to the Holy One, blessed be He, who created it.”
Normal mysticism is implicit in the words of the Psalmist: “The heavens declare the glory of God,” which means that the stars, the planets, the sun, and the moon provide silent testimony to God as their Creator. Though the story of Purim doesn’t mention God, yet the miraculous deliverance of the Persian Jews from Haman’s intention to destroy them reveals God’s protective care.
In ancient Egypt, Joseph, who was the victim of his brothers’ envy and hostility, reassured them that they need not fear his vengeance because God had directed the scenario: “Now do not blame yourselves or be angry that you sold me here - for God sent me to save lives.”
The unseen but protective role of God in the survival of the state of Israel also supports the beliefs of the normal mystics. Despite the many wars that the Arab nations, with superior numbers, have launched against Israel, that small nation had survived. It’s no coincidence that when Israel needed the reinforcement of more Jews to counterbalance the increasing Palestinian population in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, several thousands of Soviet Jews immigrated to Israel. Their timely arrival enriched Israel with a wave of engineers, teachers, doctors, and scientists who also strengthened Israel’s military position.
We usually think of mystics as strange people who profess to have hallucinations or visions of God, heaven, and the angels, according to many incidences in the Bible. In Exodus (29:9-10) such a mystical vision is described: "Then went up Moses and Aa- ron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet the like of a paved work of sapphire stone, and the like of the the very heaven for clearness."
But those who believe that the Lord “works in mysterious ways,” those who see in nature and in human life ample evidence of God’s handiwork, and those who discern in historical events His influence are, after all, normal mystics. And I guess that in- cludes most of us.
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(continued from page 3)
We are relying on all of you to support the efforts of Temple Israel. Most of you have paid higher Membership Dues and we hope that you will show your generosity toward TI by attending our events and making dona- tions. This step of adopting a universal Affiliation Fee is a leap of faith for Temple Israel. However with every leap there is a precipice and this is so true for Temple Israel. If Temple Israel does not keep its current mem- bers and add new members then we face disaster – without members we cannot remain open. Without funds we cannot pay our bills. As your President it is my privilege to lead this Congregation. But it is also my duty to inform you of what is and what is not happening at Temple Israel. There is a dangerous misconception that because Temple Israel “has funds” to renovate the building it “has funds” to pay its day-to-day “household” expenses. That is not the case and that is far from the truth. Temple Israel is the recipient of grant money from the Abeloff Foundation. These funds are designated ONLY for the renovation of the premises. They are NOT what is commonly referred to as ‘running money.” We must continue to raise this money from Affiliation Fees, Fundraisers and Donations. What Temple Israel is receiving from the Abeloff Foundation are funds to maintain the building, to make certain that the building will be a safe and beautiful venue for prayer for generations of members. We, the membership of Temple Israel is charged with the responsibility of membership growth and financial stability. This is our synagogue and it is up to us to share our synagogue with others so that it will become their synagogue as well. Watch our upcoming newsletters for events to attend. Come out and support them. Bring friends. We are here for you. Will you be here for us? Sandra
Did you know….
Did you know that the custom of staying up all night studying Torah on the first night of Shavuot was started in the 1500's in Safed, Israel, by the mystically inclined Jews who also invented the Kabbalat Shabbat service? It was felt that the best way to honor the Torah on the holiday celebrating the Giving of the Torah was to actually study it! At dawn, as the sun began to light up the hills of the Galilee, they would daaven (pray) and joyously receive anew the Torah!
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Chassidic music —
Master of Modern Israeli, Classic Yemenite and popular
Yoel Sharabi and his orchestra 5:00 p.m. 5:00
— Sunday, August 9, 2015 9, August Sunday, School High Stroudsburg at Theater The Street West Main 1100 18360 PA Stroudsburg, 3:00
7062 Masters of Klezmer -
— 223 - Hadassah 570
Patron Seats Available Jewish Agency for Israel Tickets: $25, $35 and $45 A Celebration of Jewish Peoplehood Jewish of A Celebration Contact SandraDr. Alfonsi for for information and tickets UNDER THE AUSPICES OF: From Shtetl to Broadway to Israel Broadway to From Shtetl Temple Israel of the Poconos The Jewish Federation of NEPA The Hester Street Troupe
Page 7 TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 608 HEBREW SCHOOL NEWS
Tuesday, May 7 5:00 — 7:00 p.m. Picnic
RAINDATE: May 19
Tuesday, May 12 5:00 — 7:00 p.m. Class
Sunday, May 17 9:00 — 11:00 a.m. Yom Yerushalayim LAST DAY OF CLASSES
Rabbi Baruch Melman, Principal Mrs. Debbie Smith, Administrative Director
As we wind down the school year in time for the holiday of Shavuot, let us take stock and review all that we accomplished this year.
We have now a comprehensive multi-year curriculum in place. Each grade has an exact curriculum to follow, building upon the skill sets and cognitive growth appropriate to each level.
We have moved beyond a one day setting and now offer our youth opportunities for Jewish study now on many days of the week.
Our main educational day is Tuesday afternoons. One Sunday per month (sometimes two) is a supplementary educational day, to ensure continuity even when we may have holidays or snow days. No longer will our school year suffer at the whims of the weather.
This year we began our High School Program which has been meeting now consistently on Monday evenings for the whole past semester, under the guidance of David Brodsky, who volunteers his time so generously.
Our Bar/Bat Mitzvah program finally has a new crop of students! We are now beginning to meet on Thursdays, for private, individualized tutoring.
Wednesday evenings have featured several Hebrew reading crash courses, ensuring that both parents and children have fluency in Hebrew reading.
Finally, as per our educational handbook and Bar/Bat Mitzvah handbook, all students in the Bar/Bat Mitzvah track and their families are urged to attend Friday and Shabbat morning services twice per month, i.e., any two Fridays and any two Saturdays each month. This is to ensure a more meaningful Bar and/or Bat Mitzvah experience for all concerned.
May we go mechayil lechayil - from strength to strength!
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ASK THE RABBI by Rabbi Baruch Binyamin Hakohen Melman
Dear Rabbi Melman,
Does wearing a kippah (Hebrew) or yarmulke (Yiddish) in public imply that the wearer is an Orthodox Jew?
Wondering Jew
Dear Friend,
Not necessarily. A few months ago I was sitting in Starbucks and there was a young man there who had on a beautiful knitted kippah and long flowing tzitzit - fringes. I invited him over to my table to introduce myself and to my surprise he was a follower of "Messianic Judaism." So he was not even Jewish by birth, but rather one who was just trying to live clos- er to the Jewish roots of Christianity. But still, as a follower of Jesus, he was not even Jewish, let alone Orthodox, despite his head covering.
Another example was a personal story of when I was a student at Brandeis University in the 1970's. I was attending the campus coffeehouse, called Cholmondeley's (pronounced Chumley's), and that week in The Justice (the Brandeis student newspaper), I saw my picture in the story about the coffeehouse. The caption said that even Orthodox Jews attended the event, clearly inferring from my kippah that I was Orthodox, even though I was not interviewed for the article.
At Camp Ramah, the camping arm of the United Synagogue (now USCJ), where I attended for ten summers, we were urged to wear our kippahs all throughout the day, in addition to daily prayer and meal times. Certainly on field trips every Wednesday we were required to wear our kippahs with pride whenever venturing in the outside world.
The Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) states that a male Jew must always cover his head and never go more than four cubits without a head covering. This statement was written in the sixteenth century. However, a thousand years earlier, during Talmudic times, the norm was in fact just the opposite! In Tractate Kiddushin, the mother of Rav Huna was asked why her son was so blessed. She replied that he never went more than four cubits without a head covering. This implies that the norm was NOT to always wear a head covering, or else every- one would be so blessed and the question and answer would both be moot. Head coverings in ancient Israel were de rigeur (required) for prayer and for meal times (with prayers said after meals - Birkat HaMazon), but outside of prayer and meal times head coverings were optional. This was normative Jewish practice.
Judaism was always organic and flexibly responsive to the changing needs of each genera- tion. Change, albeit slow change, was always part and parcel of what we call traditional Judaism. In the mid 19th century in Europe, in response to the radical changes of the Haskalah (Enlightenment) and Reform Judaism, a new movement arose which disavowed the possibility of any change in Jewish law, as well as any historical development within Jewish law. Their motto was "there is no change in Torah."
The Reformers called them "Orthodox," as a derogatory term, implying that they held there was only one way to be Jewish and that they saw themselves as straight or uniform (ortho), implying that all others were deviant, misguided or crooked. This group then embraced this derogatory term as their own, much as the modern gay pride community has embraced the term "queer."
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(CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE)
That which today passes as normative in the Orthodox world was largely unknown to adherents of medieval and Talmudic Judaism. The majority of Rishonim (first generation of post Talmudic rabbinical poskim - decisors of Jewish law) derided the prohibition against eating legumes on Passover as"minhag shtut" (stupid custom). And yet today that is normative in Orthodox Ashkenazic Judaism, and is regarded today as law, and not merely custom. Similarly, Glatt (smooth) kosher has become the standard, while regular kosher, observed for millennia prior to this generation, is no longer considered kosher. The mechitza, or barrier separating the sexes in prayer, was historically only a minhag (custom), and now has become "required by Jewish law," thus making non-kosher all other forms of prayer, even while there are no sources for this in two thousand years of Jewish codes and discussions until the mid 1950's, in the views stated by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.
Basically, the Talmud is a compendium of discussions relating practices that were lenient (kulas), practices that were stricter (chumras), and everything in between. Orthodox Jewish practice has basically canonized these stricter opinions as normative, while regarding any and all lesser expressions of opinions found in the Talmud itself, to be deviant. Hence their disregard of the validity of any and all non-Orthodox forms of Jewish expression, however much they may speak to the spirit and practice of the wide varieties of Jewish expression as found in our sources.
The Conservative movement, known in Israel as Masorati (traditional), is based on the Positive Historical School of Judaism, developed in Germany under Zecharias Frankel, in the 1850's, and which came to America in the 1880's. "Positive," a philosophical term, implies that it considers Jewish law as Divine in origin, as opposed to "natural" law, which is man made. Having said that, the term "historical" implies that every generation was in a covenantal relationship with the Divine, and hence had an obligation to allow for gradual changes in Jewish practice in accordance with the changing circumstances and needs of each generation, "under the guidance of the scholars of each generation," in the Torah's own words.
No less important in this discussion is the impact of two other factors that were sourced in the 1960's: to wit, the Black Pride Movement and the Jewish Pride Movement following Israel's astounding and swift victory in the Six Day War of 1967. Israel was felt to be on the brink of destruction, and yet miraculously crushed her attacking enemies with lightning speed "and rested on the seventh day." Young Jews everywhere were filled with pride. Just as the Black Pride Movement advocated a return to African roots dress and customs, the new Jewish Pride Movement echoed the Black Pride Movement and proudly began to wear kippot (head cover- ings) in public, as a mark of Jewish pride. Many young Jews of the counter culture "Woodstock era" were inspired to return to Judaism following Israel's victory and survival and embraced the logic of the Black Pride Movement in synch with the zeitgeist of the era. They were not neces- sarily Orthodox, but rather formed the core of the Jewish Counter Culture Movement, of which the Havurah Movement, beginning in Boston, played a major role. Many of the founders of the Havurah movement went on to become leaders in the Conservative movement as well as the Reconstructionist, and even the neo- Hasidic Jewish Renewal movement, both under Reb Shlomo as well as Reb Zalman. I myself, belonged to the original Havurah, while still in high school, in the mid seventies. All three "Jewish Catalogues" were written by members of the Boston-based Havurat Shalom of the late sixties and early seventies.
So the short answer is, no, wearing a kippah or yarmulke in public is a not a sign that one is necessarily Orthodox. It is a practice that transcends all modern movements and denomina- tions and which defies easy categorization.
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HOLIDAY PAGE
SHAVUOT; the Precious Ger/Proselyte by: Rabbi Baruch Binyamin Hakohen Melman
On the holiday of Shavuot we read the Book of Ruth. Just as Ruth consciously chose Judaism ("your G*d will be my G*d), so too do we reenact on this holiday the historical experience of the collective people of Israel receiving the Torah as one nation at Mount Sinai.
The ger, the convert to Judaism, follows in the footsteps of Avraham Avinu, the Patriarch Abraham, and of Sarah Imenu, the Matriarch Sarah, who were themselves gerim. They chose a new path for themselves, following the deepest yearning of their heart for the ultimate truth that there is One G*d who demands righteousness and ethical behavior. The ger is precious to us as a people, and yet the ger may feel a sense of loneliness, as he/she chose this path for themselves.
Our tradition teaches that all the souls of Israel, past, present and future, stood as one at Mount Sinai, together with the souls of all future gerim, those who would accept the Torah, the Covenant between G*d and Israel. The ger is so holy. And as being holy means being set aside and special in the best sense, being holy and pure as the Sabbath is holy and pure, less sensitive and less refined souls may view the apartness as a possible negative, and so the Torah adjures us 36 times not to oppress the ger in any way. It would be like oppressing Avraham and Sarah, their parents.
The ger, the convert, is fundamentally alone. Unmoored from the past, yet not feeling fully hinged to the present, he eternally seeks validation that he has, in fact, arrived. The alone- ness is his burden, and yet it is his fundamental strength. Recreating Abraham's singular journey, who himself was a ger, he finds solace in the sojourn, that the voyage is, in a certain sense, his ultimate calling.
Ironically, KI GERIM HAYITEM B'ERETZ MITZRAYIM,"because you were strangers in the land of Egypt," employs the plural form for stranger (gerim) when referring to Israel, yet when the Torah refers to the actual GER among Israel, it prefers the use of the singular. Maybe it is because each holy ger comes alone in his quest, following the deep yearning of his soul. In a sense he revels in that aloneness as the precursor of his search, for the search only begins with the confrontation with his essential aloneness. It is that very sense of aloneness which in the end gives comfort. As G*d is essentially alone, and yet yearns to be rejoined by the righteous of Israel and the world, so too does the ger share with G*d in that existential aloneness.
Every group mentioned in Deut. 29:9,10, takes a plural ending - save the proselyte. But in parshat Yitro, in the very verses uttered at the Sabbath day Kiddush (Ex. 20:8-10), every referenced group takes the singular ending-along with the proselyte. Moreover, in Nitza- vim, the proselyte is positioned in the center of the camp of Israel (vegercha asher b'KER- EV MACHANECHA),"and your proselyte who is in the midst of your camp,"whereas, in Yitro, the ger is figuratively positioned at the edge of the camp, literally at the gates seeking ad- mission (gercha asher B'SHAARECHA)" your proselyte who is at your gates."
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Maybe this reflects perspective. As in quantum physics, perspective itself affects reality, even affecting the affective, i.e., the realm of feelings. When one is standing on the edge, just another point along the circumference, then all whom you know is standing right next to you- immediately to your right, and immediately to your left. But when one is standing in the cen- ter, everyone else seems plural in the sense that one now takes in the greater whole from the central vantage point. The periphery, once veiled owing to one's having had been a part of that very periphery, now becomes enlarged in its seeming fullness by virtue of one's new perspective.
How true that the ger amongst us once stood alone at the gates, beckoning admission. And how true that those very gerim are now the vibrant center of our Jewish lives, whose vibrant enthusiasm so infectiously stimulate. As Israel is the central truth seeker and shaker in world history, so too is the ger the energy center and truth seeking core within Israel.
Israel, similarly, remains the vibrant center in world consciousness, stands alone, and similarly craves acceptance by those of the world tribunal so reticent to grant it. In the opening verse of our parsha (verse 9) the word "Israel" stands alone in the singular. So too does the word "ger" in the immediate verse following. Alone amongst the plurality, Israel and the ger share a fate forever intertwined, as stood Abraham, exemplar exemplorum.
Israel, having just left Egyptian bondage, in its precovenantal state, was still yet seemingly just another nation, standing at the gates of world history, but readying to stand center-stage. Israel, qua Israel, emerging from its own ger status as history's UR-stranger, had yet to receive the covenant through which to be then thrust to centerpoint. And in walking through those gates, the ger takes center stage, for the momentum keeps him going.
Israel, through her taking on the Covenant, symbolized by the Sabbath, and reaffirmed in the Kiddush, likewise becomes the new center- history's hub, even as that very hub urges a transcendence of history. The existential loneliness of Israel is the existential loneliness of the ger. The two remain as one, as one with the One G*d of Israel, the One G*d of the ger.
Chag Sameach! Gut Yuntiff!
© 2015 by Rabbi Baruch Binyamin Hakohen Melman
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Page 13 TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 608 SAVE THE DATES
May 17, 2015 Yom Yerushalayim Entertainment/Program
June 26, 2015 Installation of Officers
August 9, 2015 “From Shtetl to Broadway to Israel A Festival of Jewish Music” Concert at Stroudsburg High School
Watch future newsletters for more information.
Page 14 TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 608
THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR GENEROUS DONATIONS TO TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS
GENERAL DONATIONS
Aloysius Murgatroyd Susan Havison Lois LaBarca/Bernie Driller
YAHRZEIT DONATIONS Leni Eiseman in memory of Erma Eiseman Marc Wolfe in memory of Sydney Wolfe Melvin Rosenthal in memory of mother Paul Schuchman in memory of Charles Cchuchman Paul Schuchman in memory of Howard Schuchman
In memory of Hilda Brown Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Ellsweig Dr. and Mrs. Harvey Friedman Kenneth and Colleen Butler Mr. and Mrs. Gunner Lukas Jonathan Lonner Mr. and Mrs. Eliot Brown
ONEGS AND KIDDUSHES Art Glantz Barry Tremper
Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund
Polypodium Psyllium Leigh Steltzer Barry and Suzanne Tremper Marlyn Clarke Mitchell Marcus Sandra Alfonsi
Tree of Life In honor of Sam Newman’s 80th birthday from Jack, Charlie, Art, Irv, Mitchell and Herb
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HESSED FUND Hessed is a Hebrew word meaning kindness and a reaching out to other people. It is the way you can express sympathy, warm wishes or celebrate simchas for any one within or outside the Jewish community. If you would like something included here: Call Suzanne Tremper at 588-6148. Please leave all the information on the machine so Suzanne doesn’t need to call you back. OR Better than telephone, is contacting Suzanne by e-mail at [email protected]. That's the best!
If you would like us to send a card to a person who is not a Temple Israel person, you must include the recipient’s address when giving Suzanne the information. Cards are usually sent within three days of the request.
To: Bobbie Krawitz Wishing you a r’fua sh’leima
from: Sandra Alfonsi Art Glantz Howard & June Farber Ruth Popkin Herb & Sylvia Rosen Barry & Suzanne Tremper Myra & Bennie Trumpaitzky & family Donna & Ken Waite
To Bill Brown & Family In memory of Hilda, loving wife, mother and grandmother from: Ruth Popkin
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May Anniversaries May Birthdays May 04 Jeffrey & Robin Bair May 02 Art Glantz May 21 Radcliffe & Sara McGowan May 04 Andre McGowan May 24 Allan & Carol Sitroon May 05 Barry Tremper May 06 Edith Jacobson May 10 James Crowley May 12 Marilyn Goldman May 17 Pearl Rothman May 19 Jordan Speicher May 20 Daniel Harter May 21 Mariel Rodriguez May 22 Bill Brown May 22 Howard Klein May 24 Marla Stein May 26 Mitchell Marcus May 28 Marion Koshar May 29 David Rosenberg Jacob Rubin
May 30 Abigail Stein
If you are celebrating a milestone year, whether it be birthday or anniversary, please let me know so others may celebrate with you.
Contact: Suzanne Tremper 588-6148 or [email protected]
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MayYahrzeit List
May 1 Iyar 12 Frances Forster May 20 Sivan 02 Minnie Glaser Sonya Fisher Jane Spears
May 2 Iyar 13 Abraham Lichetenbaum May 21 Sivan 03 Amanada Canarte Ann Margolies May 4 Iyar 15 William Brown May 22 Sivan 04 Sophie Fleischmann May 6 Iyar 17 Beatrice Joseph May 23 Sivan 05 Irma Reicher May 7 Iyar 18 Edward I. Odzer Carl Greenberg Murray Abeloff Jacob Bernbaum May 24 Sivan 06 Morton Silverman May 8 Iyar 19 Rachel Jollowskly May 25 Sivan 07 Harry Trumpaitzky Evelyn Hill May 9 Iyar 20 Florence Goldstein Julius Reader May 26 Sivan 08 Tom Breslauer Leo Feinsilber May 27 Sivan 09 Esther Parish Anna Nadell May 10 Iyar 21 Philip Goldstein Lilian August Jerome Freiberg May 11 Iyar 22 Harry Smulyan May 28 Sivan 10 Max Blum May 12 Iyar 23 Arthur Silverwater Esther Jacobs May 13 Iyar 24 Arthur Jolley Rose Goldberg Stanley Iskowitz May 29 Sivan 11 Ludwig Schnog Louis Goldberg May 14 Iyar 25 Robert Dean Cohen Sadye Rosenzweig May 30 Sivan 12 Samuel Whitman Joseph Greenberg May 16 Iyar 27 Abraham Userowitz May 31 Sivan 13 Elsie Lustgarten
Yahrzeit candles are to be lit before sundown the night prior to the date listed above. If the Yahrzeit falls on Shabbos, be sure to light the Yahrzeit candle before lighting Shabbos candles.
Page 18 TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 608
June Yahrzeit List
June 1 Sivan 14 Irene Mandel June 2 Sivan 15 Norman D. Cohen June 4 Sivan 17 Susan Carol Glass June 5 Sivan 18 Ida Newman June 6 Sivan 19 Hilda Garaventi Ethel Silverwater Haiman Greenberg
June 7 Sivan 20 Joseph Farber Charles Taxerman
June 8 Sivan 21 Minnie Dortort June 13 Sivan 26 Abraham Levine June 14 Sivan 27 Richard Alan Goldman Meyer Solomon
June 15 Sivan 28 Jack Joseph June 17 Sivan 30 Mollie Gelber Irving Shevrin Irving Karpe
June 18 Tammuz 01 Bessie Yudelson June 20 Tammuz 03 Ada Block Eli Getz Jules Goldberg Samuel Caplan Eugene Irving Iskowitz
June 21 Tammuz 04 Brenda Howitt Tucker June 24 Tammuz 07 Max Eisemann Leo Yudelson Pearl Weinberg
June 26 Tammuz 09 Esther Martin Richard Podhajny
June 27 Tammuz 10 Beatrice Rosenberg Ethel Krumper Noah D. Lambert Nathan Goldstein
June 28 Tammuz 11 Marvin Schwartz Jacob Silverman Esther Melman Jay Effross
June 29 Tammuz 12 Anna Hurwitz Louis Sperling
June 30 Tammuz 13 Benjamin Chamock
Page 19 TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 608
5 Sivan 5
Sat
2 13 Iyar Iyar 13 2 sponsored Kiddush to Cahn Charles by of Yahrzeit the honor Abeloff Murray Iyar 20 9 Iyar 27 16 23 Shavuot Erev Candlelighting: pm 9:08 after
Fri
1 12 Iyar Iyar 12 1 29 11 Sivan 30 12 Sivan 12 30 Sivan 11 29 Candlelighting: pm 8:06 Candlelighting: 7:39pm Iyar 19 8 Candlelighting: pm 7:47 Iyar 26 15 Candlelighting: 7:54pm Sivan 4 22 Candlelighting: pm 8:00
18 Iyar 18
p.m. Thu 7:00 7:00 —
7 BBQ School Hebrew 5:00 Iyar 25 14 Sivan 3 21 Sivan 10 28
Wed MAY 2015 MAY
Iyar 17 6 Iyar 24 13 Sivan 2 20 Sivan 9 27
23 Iyar Iyar 23 1 Sivan 1
pm Tue 7:00 7:00
—
5 16 Iyar 16 5 12 School Hebrew 5:00 19 for Raindate School Hebrew BBQ Sivan 8 26
7 Sivan 7
Mon
4 15 Iyar 15 4 Iyar 22 11 Iyar 29 18 25 Shavuot Yizkor Day Memorial
28 Iyar 28 6 Sivan 6
Sun 11:00 —
FRIDAY EVENING SERVICES WILL START AT AT START EVENING SERVICES WILL FRIDAY 6th. March beginning 7:00 p.m. Iyar 14 3 Iyar 21 10 17 School Hebrew 9:00 OF DAY LAST CLASSES 24 Shavuot Candlelighting: pm 9:09 after Sivan 13 31
Page 20 TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 608
NOW IT’S EASIER THAN EVER BEFORE TO SPONSOR AN ONEG OR A KIDDUSH LUNCHEON
YOU CAN CELEBRATE A BIRTHDAY, ANNIVERSARY, LIFE CYCLE EVENT OR JUST BECAUSE..... TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS KOSHER KITCHEN ANNOUNCES SHABBAT ONEG AND KIDDUSH LUNCHEONS
Friday Night Oneg: $75 Package includes cakes, cookies, fresh fruit in season, hot coffee, milk, sweeteners, seltzer and cold beverages.
Shabbat Kiddush-Luncheon: $125 Package includes 4 different salads, veggie platter, fresh fruits of the season, assorted cakes and/or cookies, hot coffee, milk, sweeteners, seltzer/cold beverages.
Each package is priced for 25 people.
Other special request items (including lox) are available upon request and for an additional fee; please contact me to design your own special event. For scheduling, availability and more information contact: Lois LaBarca at 421-6103
Page 21 TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 608
WE ALL HAVE SIMCHAS AND NACHES IN OUR LIFE CELEBRATE AND COMMEMORATE WITH ANY OF THE FOLLOWING...
SEND WARM THOUGHTS Give Suzanne Tremper a call at 588-6148 or e-mail her at [email protected] and let someone know you’re thinking of them. For a small contribution to the Hessed Fund, Suzanne will send a card wishing a Happy Birthday, Congratulations, Mazel Tov, Get Well or Condolences. A notice will appear in this bulletin, as well. When you call, please leave all the information needed.
TREE OF LIFE AND MEMORIALS Add a leaf to the Tree of Life to celebrate births, birthdays, marriages, bar and bat mitzvahs, or any other special event for a minimum contribution of $150. Remember loved ones with a Memorial Plaque at a minimum contribution of $600 for members, $850 for non-members. Contact Suzanne Tremper at 588-6148.
ENDOWMENT FUND It’s always a great time to make a contribution. Make your check out to “Temple Israel.” Another thought to consider, remember Temple Israel in your will. Call the Temple office at 570-421-8781 or [email protected]
Honor or Remember Someone Special with a Bookplate
A bookplate can be placed in a Siddur, the weekly prayer book we use every Friday evening and Shabbat morning, or in a machzor, the prayer book which is used on the High Holidays. Remember a special occasion such as a birthday, anniversary, bnei mitzvah or any other occasion you want to note for a relative or friend. You can also place a dedication in someone’s memory. A nameplate with the donor, recipient, and occasion will be inserted. The minimum donation is $50. Contact Herb Rosen, 424-1161, or at [email protected].
Do you need a Mi Sheberach Recited?
When you can’t make services, but would like a prayer said on behalf of someone important to you, please don’t hesitate to call the synagogue and leave a message on the Temple answering machine for Rabbi Melman so that your prayers will be included in our services.
Page 22 TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 608
FROM YOUR MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE….. we offer you a challenge!
We need everyone to help with this. Surely you know individuals and families who have no affiliation with a Synagogue. Encourage them to become members of our Temple Israel Family!
If every family brings in one individual or family, think of the possibilities!
At Temple events, be they regular Shabbat Services or a social occasion, introduce yourself to anyone you don’t recognize. You’ll make new friends and assist us in enlarging our family.
YOU CAN BE PART OF OUR SUCCESS!!
For information please contact:
Dr. Sandra Alfonsi 223-7062 [email protected]
or Temple Israel 421-8781 Please leave a phone number so that we may return your call.
Page 23 TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 608
Please tell our advertisers you saw their ad here.
Temple Israel Newsletter, Edition 608/May 2015 published monthly at Temple Israel of the Poconos, 711 Wallace Street, Stroudsburg, PA 18360. (570) 421-8781/[email protected].
For information concerning this publication contact Barbara Rosenberg, Editor, (570) 894-4537/[email protected].
Now on the web at: www.templeisraelofthepoconos.org
All submissions are subject to review by the editorial committee. Please submit all articles for consideration to: Barbara Rosenberg 570-894-4537 or [email protected]
PLEASE NOTE THE DEADLINE FOR THE NEXT ISSUE OF YOUR NEWSLETTER: JUNE NEWSLETTER: MAY 12
Temple Israel of the Poconos is located at 711 Wallace Street in Stroudsburg. Friday evening services begin at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday Shabbat Services begin at 9:30 a.m. ALL ARE WELCOME!