Tikvat Israel Bulletin
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JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2015 TEVET-SHEVAT-ADAR 5775 ■ Tikvat Israel Volume 8 Number 3 BULLETIN Grishman to Assume Presidency; Five Board Slots Filled in Election WEEKLY RELIGIOUS Congregants selected Melanie Grishman, a synagogue member of 24 years, to the presidency of Tikvat Israel Congregation for the next two years. SERVICES Grishman and other officers and board members who were voted into office at a Monday 6:45 a.m. 7:30 p.m. congregational meeting on Dec. 14 will be installed at Shabbat services on Jan. 10. All Tuesday 7:30 p.m. will serve until the end of 2016. Wednesday 7:30 p.m. The incoming president has served several recent terms on the Tikvat Israel board Thursday 6:45 a.m. 7:30 p.m. of directors. Along with her late husband, Herman “Jacob” Flax, she has been a major financial supporter of the shul and its initiatives. Friday 8:00 a.m. Kabbalat She succeeds Rodney Matheson and Jonathan Solomon, who served as co-presidents Shabbat 6:30 p.m. for the last 2½ years. Shabbat 9:30 a.m. Grishman will be joined on the board’s executive committee by the following officers: Sunday 9:00 a.m. 7:30 p.m. Carol Chelemer, Jim Perlmutter and Louis Leibowitz, vice presidents; Steve Raucher, treasurer; Debby Berlyne, recording secretary; and Jesse and Marian Kaiser, co-financial secretaries. Leibowitz joins Grishman as the newcomers on the shul’s top decision-making Services also held at Shiva houses body. The other officers stood for reelection and ran unopposed. as needed. Morning service times may change for Rosh Hodesh, Five seats on the board of directors also were filled by congregants at the voting ses- minor fasts and national holidays. sion. The only newcomer is Warren Berger, who joins board holdovers Irv Cohen, Sally Watch e-mail for notifications. Kram, Helen Raucher and Elissa Schwartz. (See mini-profiles of new officers and board members on pages 4-5.) CANDLELIGHTING Fortuna Scheige and Barry Lipsy opted not to seek another term on the board. TIMES Larry Gorban served as chair of the nominations committee. Jan. 2 4:39 p.m. Continued on page 3 Jan. 9 4:46 p.m. A Bazaar Duo Jan. 16 4:53 p.m. With more than three Jan. 23 5:01 p.m. dozen vendors on site to promote their handiworks Jan. 30 5:09 p.m. and products, the Holiday Shopping Bazaar at the synagogue’s social hall on Feb. 6 5:17 p.m. Dec. 7 required the skillful Feb. 13 5:25 p.m. organizing hands of Louis Leibowitz, one of the event’s Feb. 20 5:33 p.m. principal volunteers, and Michelle Sobel, director Feb. 27 5:41 p.m. of the Tikvat Israel ECC. The event’s proceeds will SHABBAT MINCHA benefit the center’s Parents Committee. (More event Feb. 7 4:54 p.m. photos by Jonathan Solomon appear on back cover.) Feb. 28 5:00 p.m. TIKVAT ISRAEL Parading Our Banner Proudly DIRECTORY Synagogue Office Phone 301-762-7338 Fax 301-424-4399 Rabbi David L. Abramson [email protected] ext. 115 Cantor Rochelle Helzner [email protected] ext. 116 Rabbi Emeritus Howard D. Gorin Cantor Emeritus Mark Levi President Melanie Grishman [email protected] Executive Director Sam Freedenberg [email protected] ext. 111 Office Staff Anita Greenwald [email protected] ext. 110 Debbie Segal [email protected] ext. 126 Josh Lempert (left) and Elon Kline waved Tikvat Israel’s banner at the USY Seaboard Region convention in November, where a fellow chapter member earned the playful Early Childhood designation of “Mister Seaboard” as selected by his USY peers. Read all the details about Michelle Sobel, Director our USY chapter on page 15. [email protected] ext. 120 301-251-0455 Bulletin Editor Shul Shorts Jay P. Goldman Overflowing Food Basket [email protected] Approximately 136 lbs. of donated food from the Tikvat Israel “wicker” food bas- Contributing Editors ket, located in the coat room, was delivered in mid-December to Manna Food Bank. Felicia R. Black These items were part of the ongoing collection of non-perishable foodstuffs donated Ellen Eisner by synagogue members. Betty Fishman “The operative word here is ‘ongoing’ as hunger just doesn’t appear during the winter Nancy Matheson months,” said David Gantz, who handled the delivery for TI’s Social Action Committee. “Let’s try to get that basket filled more frequently so I can visit Manna on a more regular basis.” Design and Layout lgt & associates, inc. Community Shabbat Dinners Newsletter Printer Mark your calendars for the remaining two dates for TI’s Kehillat Shabbat Universal Printing Service and Dinner: March 13 and June 12. The song-filled evenings give each participant a role -- either during the service or at dinner. You help set up, clean up or serve food, or you can volunteer to lead a small part of the service. 2200 Baltimore Road Rockville, MD 20851 Lending a Shot to Hoopsters www.tikvatisrael.org Tikvat Israel is fielding a men’s basketball team in the Montgomery County Synagogue conference. Games are played on Sunday mornings, January through March, at local high schools. Contact Warren Berger, player-coach, at [email protected] or 240-498- 9048 for information if interested in joining the team. 2 TIKVAT ISRAEL JAN-FEB 2015 Search Begins for TI’s Spiritual Leader ELECTION, continued from page 1 BY SHELLY GOLDIN, RABBI SEARCH COMMITTEE CHAIR During the Dec. 14 meeting, about 100 voting congregants also elected three The Rabbi Search Committee is once votes that make the final decision. It is trustees to oversee the Tikvat Israel Fund again in session. Tikvat Israel leadership imperative that congregants come to syna- for the Future, a long-term fundraising has agreed it is time to hire a full-time gogue services and take full advantage of all arm that will operate separately from the permanent rabbi as of July 1, 2015. opportunities to meet the candidates and synagogue’s board of directors. The fund’s hear them discuss their experiences and objective is to preserve charitable gifts and Because we are a Conservative syna- expectations. The synagogue will contact generate income and distributions. gogue, we work with the Conservative congregants in a timely manner so that movement leaders, the Joint Commission everyone will be able to take part in this The first three member-elected trustee on Rabbinic Placement, to aid in our important decision. posts on the 12-person governing body search. We intend to submit our search for the Fund for the Future will be filled questionnaire by the end of December so It has been asked whether Rabbi Abramson by Carol Chelemer, Sam Gilston and Julia that it is available in January to those inter- will be part of this application process. As a Pitkin-Shantz. An additional three trustees ested in pursuing the spiritual leadership part-time interim rabbi, he is invited to sub- will be elected during each of the next position at Tikvat Israel. mit his application for the full-time position two years. The nine elected members will and will definitely be part of this process. join three individuals whose trustee berths The Rabbinical Assembly, the organiza- Our committee will welcome it. We ask tion that oversees the Joint Commission, are designated by their official roles -- TI congregants to understand that because of his board president, board treasurer and Ways will confirm whether candidates have interim status, we want Rabbi Abramson to be met the standards and Means Committee chair. (See related considered in a fair story, page 8.) of training within manner, along with the Conservative other applicants, so movement before Search Panel In other business conducted during that no one ques- the 55-minute congregational meeting, advancing their tions the process applications to TI’s Members Steve Raucher, the board’s treasurer, for a permanent said synagogue finances were largely on search committee Shelly Goldin, a past president of Tikvat selection. for consideration. Israel and an international board member course with the FY ’15 budget adopted by of the Women’s League of Conservative Congregants congregants in June. He said the higher- This processJudaism, is the chair of the rabbi search also should under- than-anticipated enrollment of 55 children takes time, and all committee. stand that the in the Tikvat Israel ECC had offset lower applicants will be committee works revenue collection from student tuition in seriously consid- The following serve as commit- long and hard to the religious school. In response to a ques- ered. The strongest tee members: Susan Apter, Danny complete the vari- tion, he also reported that the board was candidates will be Bachman, Dalit Baranoff, Jeff Bernstein, ous stages of the considering hiring a kitchen manager to interviewed by our Jay Goldman, Sarah Hardy, Rob Kline, search process. We oversee business operations. committee, and we Louis Leibowitz, Fred Wagner and Judy have shared with will follow up those Waldman. each other what Raucher told congregants that the synagogue interviews by check- Tikvat Israel means maintains a $100,000 line of credit from Sandy ing out professional on a personal level Spring Bank, which he did not expect the board references and handling background to us, and we have pledged to act in a fair would need to use. The line of credit was not checks. and collegial manner to select and embrace used in the last fiscal year. The synagogue’s oper- our new spiritual leader. ating budget is $1.4 million. The finalists will be asked to attend a three-day weekend at our synagogue, likely Those who serve on the rabbi search Co-president Jonathan Solomon in early spring, to meet the TI congregants committee represent the congregation – in opened the meeting by announcing that at Shabbat services and at open meetings.