From the Rabbi
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389 Conestoga Road Beth Chaim Reform Congregation P.O. Box 1198 Malvern, PA19355 610-640-2147 THE SCRIBE www.bethchaim.net June, July, August 2019 / Iyar - A v 5 7 7 9 Services From the Rabbi Friday, June 7 6:00 pm Families with Young Last month, I was among five delegates representing our congregation at the Children Service 2019 Consultation on Conscience, the premier social justice gathering of our 6:30 pm Shabbat Potluck Dinner Reform Jewish Movement. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, 7:30 pm Shavuot Service, Board also known as the RAC, led by the visionary Rabbi Jonah Pesner, created the Installation, Choir Consultation for over 1200 Reform Jews to gather to reflect on the most ur- gent social justice issues of our day. Over the course of 4 days we heard Friday, June 21 about the activism of young Parkland survivors on Gun Violence Prevention. 7:30 pm Shabbat Service We heard from Elias Rosenberg, a young Jewish man who was brought by honoring Volunteers his family from Venezuela as a young child. Elias was in 5th Grade and at- tending school in the US when his mother died. When he went to apply for Saturday, June 22 his drivers permit at age 15, he discovered that his mother’s death voided her 5:00 pm Bar Mitzvah Service visa and he and his older sister were suddenly undocumented. He spoke to us as a Dreamer, a young person who would have received temporary, renewa- CALENDAR MEETING ble legal status under DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals act, but is now awaiting a path to legal residency. His activism is fueled by the Wednesday, June 12, at 6:00 pm fact that he any day he could be deported from the only country he has truly ever known. In addition to these issues, we focused on reproductive rights and racial justice, and criminal justice reform and a whole host of important B’nei Mitzvah Class issues, but the most powerful teaching for me centered around antisemitism. I confess that before the conference I was feeling a bit adrift. After the vio- Tuesday, Jun 4 (Adult) lence of Pittsburgh and Poway it is natural to feel unmoored at the terrifying rise of this new wave of antisemitism. This violence in our country is unprec- Board Meetings edented in our lifetime and I certainly never anticipated this kind of crisis in my rabbinate. But as always, the RAC provided an incredible sanctuary of Tuesday, June 18 learning and helped me to discover new teachers. One such teacher is Eric Tuesday, July 16 Ward. I was moved to hear Eric Ward talk about the integral connection between the In This Issue modern rise of antisemitism and White nationalism. As a student of White From the Rabbi………….…...1 nationalism, Ward has spent years interviewing White nationalists to try to understand their motivations, the workings inside their organizations, and President’s Message………….2 their tactics. He teaches that White nationalism came to our country as a re- Education Director…………..3 action to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. With the enfranchisement of Sisterhood……………….………4 Black Americans, White supremacists had just suffered a crushing defeat. Donations………………………..5 White nationalism arises from those who seek an ethnic cleansing to rid the US of people of color. In trying to understand the success of the civil rights Yahrzeits……………………….6-7 movement, White nationalists cannot concede that African Americans suc- This Summer in Torah..9-12 ceeded in securing their own rights. Instead, they embrace a narrative that so Schmata summer camps….13 dehumanizes African Americans, they do not believe them capable of such a New Members………………..13 victory. They reason that there must be another group at work plotting to en- slave white people. That group in this corrupt narrative is the Jewish commu- Event Roundup……………..13 nity, of course. In his 30 years of studying the white nationalist movement, Calendar of Events………...14 Ward has seen antisemitism in each and every nook and cranny. In fact, he Leaders Contact List……...15 cautions, when antisemitism spikes in our country, it is a bellwether that RABBI continued on page 8 President’s Message Dear Beth Chaim Members, Many of us are still reeling from the synagogue shootings in California and Pittsburgh this year, and the anti- Semitic hatred behind these events. While our community has always been open and welcoming to visitors, don’t we need to feel safe and secure at Beth Chaim while we attend services or gather in friendship? How do we balance our open nature with safety? The Board and Security Committee have been discussing security throughout the year, and I’d like to report some changes that we feel will strengthen our safety in measured and well-reasoned ways. First, on Friday evenings we will begin locking the front door 10 minutes after the start of Shabbat services. For most weeks, this means the door will be locked at 7:40 PM for 7:30 PM services. Please be aware that if you arrive late you will need to knock or use the Ring doorbell to alert someone that you require entry. Our reason for this change is that once services start everyone is in the sanctuary and we have no way to monitor who comes through the front door. Second, starting in the fall there will be a security fee added for all families having B’nai mitzvahs. 100% of the security fee will be used to hire an armed security guard during the duration of their Saturday morning or Havdalah services. We cherish these joyous events in our community, but from a practical point of view they are large and often involve visitors to our community. Thus, they are challenging to monitor for intruders. For families celebrating these events, a member of the security committee will schedule a call one month in ad- vance to discuss any specific security concerns and will facilitate arrangements with the security company. Third, for all other events our Security Committee has developed a decision matrix to help us decide if armed security is needed. This matrix takes into account factors such as expected attendance at the event, occurrence of attacks against Jewish people in the U.S. and around the world, proximity to a holiday, whether the group hosting the event has been previously targeted, etc. This tool will allow us to make consistent and thoughtful decisions about hiring armed security. Beth Chaim administrator Robin Resnick will use the decision matrix, in consultation with the Security Committee, to work with anyone hosting an event. Lastly, many of you know that the synagogue was the recipient of a federal security grant. In addition to in- stalling new physical barriers around the building to protect from vehicle attacks, we will be installing a smart entry system. This system will allow members to access the building using their smart phones, thus avoiding some of the current challenges with locked doors and entry. We anticipate the system being installed by the end of the summer. I want to end by thanking the Security Committee for their efforts this year. In past years this group was able to function in relative anonymity, quietly adding security in- frastructure to keep us safe. This year they were thrust into the spotlight and have been marvelous in rising to the challenge of protecting Beth Chaim. Kind regards, Ben Schwartz President Ben Schwartz 2 Educationally Speaking What a wonderful end to a sababa (awesome) school year! During the Bridging ceremony, our 7th graders committed to continue to Confirmation, come to Shabbat services and stay together as friends. The Confirma- tion students welcomed the raising 8th graders into Confirmation. The children’s choir under the direction of Tatyana Smolen sang, as did our students, under the direction of Evan Gordon. The teachers received “Thank you’s” from the Education committee and the Family Engage- ment committee. Mazal Tov to; * Evan Snyder, recipient of the Mitzvah Project award, * Ava Greenberg, recipient of the Spirituality award * Mark Ham, recipient of the Bitachon Atzmi (self-confidence and independence) award And to all our rising 8th graders on their Bridging to our teen program! Our morning continued with a community BBQ and games! While the weather was hot, students and parents enjoyed GaGa, relay races, hula hoop mazes, Jenga, chalk designs, food and friends! Thank you to; Melissa Bloom for overseeing the program, Seth Marcy, Ed Nathan and the Men’s Club for organizing the BBQ, Alex Scherer for helping with the GaGa pit and much more, Stephanie Kaliner for guidance and help with the games, And everyone who was on hand to help when needed! Registration for Religious School will open July 1st. Log on to your Chaverweb account to register! Wishing you and your family a relaxing and sababa summer! B’Shalom Sherrie Rosenberg Klein Sherrie Klein 3 Sisterhood Looks Back And Ahead The Sisterhood Board would like to THANK our many members for their participation and engagement this past year. Together, we: • Welcomed new members to Beth Chaim, and provided Caring & Sharing outreach • Provided hospitality by coordinating High Holidays onegs and Break the Fast • Drew on our fellow Sisters’ expertise to present programming for the mind, body and soul • Baked delicious hamantashen and raised funds for new programming at Beth Chaim • Enjoyed stimulating discussions at Book Club meetings and Mah Jong games • Laughed a lot and deepened our connections. We are delighted to expand our Board with three new members at large for 2019-20. The following women were elected at the May 16 annual meeting: Sherrie Brady - VP, Caring & Sharing; Shari Cohn - Secretary; Melissa Dunoff - Treasurer; Michelle Eisenberg - President Members at Large: Joanne Borin, Terry Heyman, Jean Mann, Nora Margolis, Cheryl Paul Please feel free to reach out with program ideas and questions – contact [email protected].