Join Us for Purim 2018 Come Dressed As Your Favorite Comic Book Character
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FEBRUARY 2018 SHEVAT 5778 JOIN US FOR PURIM 2018 COME DRESSED AS YOUR FAVORITE COMIC BOOK CHARACTER SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH 11:30AM - 1:30PM PURIM CARNIVAL Featuring Balloon artist Avan Kroy, Music by Sun Entertainment, Donut Limbo, Cake Walk Sensory Friendly Room, Misloach Manot baskets for purchase, raffles for great prize baskets, 50/50 raffle and so much more!! Cost $12 Advance Admission Wristband (includes lunch) ------------------------------------------------------------------ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH 5:30PM EREV PURIM MEGILLAH EXTRAVAGANZA Complimentary dairy dinner, Children’s Megillah reading, costume parade, Purim spiel by our USY players, and full Megillah reading. RSVP is a must for both events! For full details see pages 15-16 Page 2 FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ShulCloud! Have you logged in? We informed you back in December that we have transitioned to ShulCloud, a member management system that integrates Inside this our website with our database into a single application - issue: giving us an opportunity for increased efficiency, automation, and access to events and information all in one place. The new system is a From the Rabbi 3 user-friendly, web-based content management system and has many great features for our Kehilla. From the President 4 President A user account for each family which will give you secure access to our membership directory (soon with photos), event registration (click on the event Congregation 5-9 on the calendar to register), and the ability to view your account, update News information and make payments The ability to subscribe to the Beth Shalom calendar so you can have all Men’s Club 10 events available to you on your device(s) Sisterhood 11 An easy to use app (downloadable for iOS and Android) which will give you the ability to register and pay for events, make donations, view the website, Dinner of Honor 12-14 and more all from your phone. You can download the app by typing into your browser the following link: https://www.bethshalom.net/getapp Purim 15-16 If you have not already created your ShulCloud Account, below are the Beth Shalom instructions needed to establish your account: Happenings 17-19 Logging into your Account: Educational News 20 Go to cbshalom.shulcloud.com and click the "login" button in the upper right of the screen (not "Register Now"). Enter your email address and then click "forgot Preschool News 21 password." The system will email you a password reset link. Youth 22 Follow the link to create a new password. Yahrzeits 23 Go back to the website and log in using your new password. Once you have successfully logged in, you can view and access your account. Tributes & 24-26 The first time you access your account, we suggest that you verify all Contributions information. Click on my profile. You can make corrections and add information such as your Hebrew name. Also, please update your billing mail preference – select either Beth Shalom Board & email or paper mail. We hope you will select email since it is a significant savings for Staff information 31 the synagogue. You can change how you are listed in our member directory. Calendar of Important You will be able to add yahrzeits so that you will be notified of future occurrences. Events 32 You can make payments on open items on your account. Click on submit a payment. You will be able to pay by credit card (there is an associated fee) or by E-check (no fee). You may also donate online. On the payment screen, there is a drop down menu showing the funds to which you can donate. You can also dedicate the donation. Select the type of dedication in the drop down menu then complete the information requested. If the recipient is a member, click Person in Shul Cloud. Click on the star at the top of the page which brings you to our homepage under the Beth Shalom logo. On the homepage you can access Beth Shalom's calendar of events, find out what's happening in the week ahead, link to our Facebook page, register for events, and more. Happy clicking! B’Shalom, Loli Gross Page 3 FROM OUR RABBI Purim and the Mitzvah to Feed the Hungry Soon we will be celebrating the joyous, and Fulfilling the mitzvah of occasionally wild and crazy holiday of Purim. matanot l’evyonim can be as simple as dropping coins into While we often think of Purim as a holiday designed a tzedakah box or making specifically for children, this is really not the case at donations of food or clothing to a local pantry or all. Purim holds plenty of meaning and depth for us shelter. adults as well. Sure, Purim is about costumes, outrageous Purim spiels, and for some, drinking until At Beth Shalom, we recently initiated a social you can’t tell the difference between Mordechai and action program called “Backpack Buddies” to feed Haman. But it’s also about fulfilling important mitzvot hungry children in our community each week. We that teach us about the nature of being Jewish in a are partnering with Kingsley Elementary School sometimes cruel and inhospitable world, and our (a Title 1 school) where children receive free responsibility as Jews to try and make this world a breakfast and/or free lunch each day. better and more just place to live. Unfortunately, many of these children have little or nothing to eat over the weekends and their next Our tradition teaches us that there are four essential real meal may be Monday morning when they re- commandments associated with this holiday. They turn to school. are: Each week we pack at the synagogue 16 single Mikra Megillah - Reading (or hearing) the Megil- serve, non-perishable items (6 meals) and deliver lah read. them to the school on Thursday. Through this Seudat Purim - Having a festive Purim meal. program, we currently are feeding 50 children each Mishloach Manot - sending Purim gifts to one week. another. Matanot l’Evyonim - Giving gifts of food to the There are several opportunities for you to either poor. volunteer or financially support this wonderful endeavor. This is a real mitzvah for our Synagogue Of course Purim is not the only time when we should and an opportunity to give back and participate in offer help to those in need. Purim is simply a time our community. If you are interested in helping, when it is a special mitzvah to do so. you can find out more about this project here: https://www.bethshalom.net/backpack-buddies/ or The message is clear. In order for us to enjoy in food, feel free to call or e-mail Samra or Ronald Robbins drink and merriment, we ought to ensure that the who are the co-chairs of our Beth Shalom people with the least in our community are also taken Backpack Buddies program. care of. Not only do we have to help ease the burdens of those struggling in our community, but the Our Jewish values, both at Purim and year-round, very act of giving charity is an essential part of the teach us to open our hearts and be generous to Purim celebration. In spite of, or perhaps because of those in need as we strive to be God’s partners in its fun-filled traditions and celebrations, Purim is also making the world a more whole place and a more a holiday that should be about Tikkun Olam, repairing compassionate place to live. our broken world. Simchat Purim, Rabbi Mark Zimmerman Beth Shalom Patio dedication March 10th at 12:45pm The new Beth Shalom patio has been built in memory and in honor of of Bea and Sam Axler and Minna and Morris Short, parents of Joel Axler and Louise Short, and grandparents of Ariella (Joe) Shayani, Elana Axler, and Eden Axler. All four parents had a love of Judaism that they passed down L' Dor V Dor, and their families were the center of their lives. We hope that the patio will be a place of gathering and worship that will strengthen our communities' bonds to Judaism and to each other. Please join us on March 10th at 12:45 pm immediately following Kiddush lunch when we will be dedicating the patio in their honor and memory. Page 4 FROM OUR PRESIDENT Shalom Congregation Beth Shalom! As many of you know, the USCJ biennial Convention This incredible sense of connection was recently held this past December in downtown and commitment to Beth Shalom is Atlanta. It’s the largest gathering of Conservative awesome. However, it becomes Jewish leaders, thinkers and doers in North America. challenging each day to keep up with Beth Shalom was fortunate to have a nice delegation a changing society and to keep our community attend the various sessions, workshop and lectures. engaged. So, my question/concern to you all is what Being present among such an amazing, diverse, will Beth Shalom look like in a year? Two Years? committed and enthusiastic group of people was Five Years? quite inspiring. I know I can speak for those in attendance that we are all better for having been a To that end, we need to have our own “Beth Shalom part of the conference. We will look for continued Convention” on a regular basis, if not every day. As opportunities to use the knowledge and experiences you all convene for synagogue events, services and we learned back here at Beth Shalom. programs keep thinking of how we can grow and get stronger. How can we continue to inspire and I bring this up because so many of the folks at the challenge each other to transform and be flexible to Convention were volunteers and leaders in their own the needs of the entire kehilla? I recently came across synagogue communities.