Focus on TBA Musicians

Volume 30,Volume Number 30, Number 4 • 6December • February 2011 2010 • Shevat/Adar • Kislev/Tevet 5771 5771

Focus on TBA Musicians directory Temple Beth Abraham Services Schedule is proud to support the Conservative Movement by Services/ Time Location affiliating with The United Synagogue of Conservative Monday & Thursday Judaism. Morning Minyan Chapel 8:00 a.m. Friday Evening (Kabbalat Shabbat) Chapel 6:15 p.m. Advertising Policy: Anyone may sponsor an issue of The Omer and receive a dedication for their business or loved one. Contact us for details. We do Shabbat Morning Sanctuary 9:30 a.m. not accept outside or paid advertising. The Omer is published on paper that is 30% post-consumer fibers. Candle Lighting (Friday) The Omer (USPS 020299) is published monthly except July and August February 4 5:17 p.m. by Congregation Beth Abraham, 336 Euclid Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610. February 11 5:25 p.m. Periodicals Postage Paid at Oakland, CA. February 18 5:33 p.m. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Omer, c/o Temple Beth February 25 5:40 p.m. Abraham, 336 Euclid Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610-3232. © 2010. Temple Beth Abraham. The Omer is published by Temple Beth Abraham, a non-profit, located at Torah Portions (Saturday) 336 Euclid Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610; telephone 510-832-0936. It is February 5 Terumah published monthly except for the months of July and August for a total of February 12 Tetzaveh ten issues per annum. It is sent as a requester publication and there is no February 19 Ki Tissa paid distribution. February 26 Vayakhel To view The Omer in color, visit www.tbaoakland.org.

General INFORMATION Committees & organizations All phone numbers use (510) prefix unless otherwise noted. If you would like to contact the committee chairs, please contact the synagogue office for phone numbers Mailing Address 336 Euclid Ave. and e-mail addresses. Oakland, CA 94610 Hours M-Th: 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Adult Education Women of TBA Fr: 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Bet Sefer Subcommittee Lisa Fernandez Office Phone 832-0936 Chesed Warren Gould Office Fax 832-4930 E-Mail [email protected] Development Laura Wildmann Gan Avraham 763-7528 Dues Evaluation Marshall Langfeld Bet Sefer 663-1683 Endowment Fund Herman Pencovic STAFF Finance Dan Finkelstein Rabbi (ext. 213) Mark Bloom Gan Avraham Parents Lauren Kaplan & Mala Johnson Cantor (ext. 218) Richard Kaplan Gabai David Gallant & Jay Goldman Gan Avraham School Committee Jenny Michaelson Executive Director (ext. 214) Rayna Arnold House Murray Davis Office Coordinator (ext. 210) Virginia Tiger Israel Affairs David Marinoff Bet Sefer Director (ext. 217) Susan Simon Membership Stacy Margolin & Gan Avraham Director (ext. 219) Wendy Siver Jill Rosenthal Bookkeeper (ext. 215) Christine Tripod Men’s Club Phil Hankin Custodian (ext. 211) Joe Lewis Ritual Eric Friedman Kindergym/Toddler Program Dawn Margolin 547-7726 Schools Stacy Margolin Volunteers (ext. 229) Herman & Agnes Pencovic School Building Steering Sandy Margolin OFFICERS Social Action Bryan Schwartz President Stephen Shub 339-3614 Torah Fund Anne Levine Vice President Mark Fickes 652-8545 Tree of Life Open Vice President Steve Glaser 531-6384 Web Site Jason Swartz Vice President Stacy Margolin 482-3153 Women of TBA Judith Klinger Vice President Bryan Schwartz 350-7681 Secretary Laura Wildmann 601-9571 Youth Steve Fankuchen Treasurer Dan Finkelstein 428-2849

i what’s happening

TBA’s Youth Services Shabbat Mishpacha: February 5 & 19 T’fillat Y’ladim: February 12 Junior Congregation: February 5 (All youth services start at 10:15 a.m.) WTBA Presents:

WineWine && SchmoozeSchmooze Women on the Move aka Girls’ Night Out Sunday, February 13, 9:45 a.m. WTBA hikes happen the second Sunday of every Thursday, February 3 month. We meet at 9:45 and depart promptly at 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. 10:00. Hikes end by 11:30. at Temple Beth Abraham’s For the remainder of this year, we will meet at the Newest Meeting Spot Skyline Gate on Skyline just south of Snake and hike in Redwood Regional Park. “341 MacArthur” For details, contact Deena Aerenson at Wine & Schmooze is a casual, monthly [email protected] or (510) 225-5107. event WTBA is kicking off this year. Drop in on the first Thursday each month, for an enjoyable social time where TBA women can chat, laugh, debate, have a glass of wine and some light goodies, and get to know each other better. This Want to Play Music event is open to new friends and old. Together at TBA? Drop in, join us and Are you interested in joining Len Nathan and other TBA meet someone new! members to make music together? If so, please let Len know. We are planning an explor- Contact Jeanne Korn with questions: atory meeting on a Sunday morning in March, at TBA, [email protected]. exact date and time still to be determined. Here’s how the idea came about. Len’s sister-in-law belongs to the local Unitarian church, which has something they call A Band without Borders. What in Purim Katan Celebration G major is that? With the Rock & Roll Purim Band Every three months or so the call goes out, and an ever February 17, 6:15 p.m. expanding and contracting group of people, some of whom play instruments, (guitar and the like) some who In the Sanctuary sing, different abilities—get together to make music. The group, under the direction of their talented music leader, then chooses three or four songs which the group TBA Women - Save the Date practices—and then they perform periodically at services. In our case, we would likely play at other venues than Vashti's Banquet Shabbat services. An Afternoon of Let’s make something like that happen at TBA. Please contact Len Nathan at [email protected] or Middle Eastern Food and Delights by phone at (925) 945-4821 (day) or (510) 658-6671 March 13, 3-5:30 p.m. (evening).

1 from the rabbi Purim Katan Musicfest This year, on Thursday, February 17, at 6:15 p.m. in the sanctuary TBA will be celebrating the little known holiday of Purim Katan with our Rock & Roll Purim band. It will feature the usual spoofs on classic and pop hits backed by the electric instruments. We will dress up in costumes of all sorts. Hopefully, we will all have a lot of fun. But what is Purim Katan? Purim Katan literally means “little” Purim. Its existence has to do with a quirk in the Jewish calendar. In the Jewish calendar, which is based on the lunar cycle, a leap year occurs seven out of every nineteen years. Rather than adding a day, the Jewish calendar adds an entire month. During those years there are 13 months instead of 12. The extra month that is added is called simply Adar II. Purim takes place on the 14th of Adar. When there are two months of Adar, Adar I and Adar II, Purim is celebrated on the 14th of Adar II. However, there is still a 14th of Adar I, and it is called Purim Katan. While there are no specific observances associated with it, it is considered a day of joy in the Jewish tradition. Because I will be on sabbatical during the regular Purim holiday, we have decided to make Purim Katan into a joyous songfest this year. Purim itself will feature the megillah reading and some sort of spoof, but the band will play only on Purim Katan. I am sure I will come out dressed as Sergeant Pepper, and look for songs from Bruno Mars and probably Katy Perry to work their way into this year’s repertoire. I look forward to seeing many of you there, and now, we have all learned about yet another celebration in the Jewish tradition. L’shalom, Rabbi Mark Bloom

Welcome Virginia Tiger By Lisa Fernandez As the TBA office says goodbye to Aliza Schechter who left after four years to spend more time with family, our synagogue community welcomes a new office coordinator who takes over this month. Virginia Tiger was hired out of a pool of 80 applicants. “She was the most capable,’’ said executive director Rayna Arnold. “I loved the fact that she was active in her church.’’ Virginia applied for the position after hearing about it from TBA congregants David and Judy Stein. Virginia was a vet tech at East Bay SPCA, where David retired as a veterinarian. In addition to her animal skills (she’s a proud cat owner), the 50-something Hayward resident also has experience running the office of an advertising agency and doing some proofreading and editing. She edits the newsletter for her church, Castro Valley United Methodist. “I like the fact that this job is in a spiritual environment,’’ Virginia said. And she even knows a little Hebrew, as she studied the language a bit in college during a comparative religion course. Virginia is also a singer. She sings in her church choir and also occasionally joins up with Judy Stein’s Harmony Fusion chapter of the Sweet Adelines a capella group.

2 president’s message Music/Getting in Tune One good thing about music – when it hits, you feel no pain.* One of my very first impressions at some point shortly after joining TBA was listening to Allison Kent Weiss leading a musical service in the sanctuary. I don’t remember the date or event, but I remember thinking how spiritual I felt at that moment. More than 15 years later, I’m glad to say that TBA is more musical than ever. This, of course, is greatly helped by having a rabbi who pre- fers carrying a guitar rather than a briefcase, and a cantor who has several recordings to his credit. Throughout this issue of The Omer, there will be lots of articles highlighting the many talented members of our congregation, so rather that focus on any individuals, I want to take a moment to talk about another of those spiritual moments, Shabbat, and how the many voices of our members and guests manage to find their way to sing in unison and to complement each other. It always amazed me how some voices take the high notes and others take the low, how a simple tune can end up with 100 part harmony, and how, even with the lack of instruments or a choir, we sound pretty good. I’ve been to other Conservative shuls and heard almost as much croaking as at the pond on a warm summer night. Maybe it’s because I want us to sound good, but somehow, I think it’s true, that we really do sound good. Interestingly enough, I can pick out some peoples’ voices from the Bimah, so when the times for harmonies come, I’ll look their way, and see smiling faces. That tells me they (the TBA singers) enjoy what they’re doing. That said, my shameless plug is for all of you to come to Shul on Shabbat (Friday evening or Saturday), or to any service where we have a sizeable crowd, and let it out! Even if you don’t think you sound good, you’ll probably smile as well. Another thing I want to address is being in tune. Not the type of “in tune” in terms of singing or playing an instrument, but being in tune with your surroundings. Those of us who volunteer to lead the TBA community have shown that they are in tune with our synagogue’s environment. I have seen and been part of several significant efforts to improve our physical and spiritual surroundings. Many of our amazing leaders and members have contributed their time and, in many cases, significant amounts of money, to improve the ruach at TBA. While the Centennial Project was certainly substantial, the crowning touch, to me, was the refurbishing of the sanctuary interior. I remember sitting in that big empty room on a folding chair, alone, just after the floors had been refinished and the green carpeting was put in, and thinking what a wonderful room for daven- ing this would be. I think you’ll all agree that it has exceeded our expectations. Another major “tune-up” was the remodeling’s of the new youth center and playground. Just a few years ago, who would have imagined? As well, the Chapel, with the stuffy old pews gone and the lights now shin- ing, even on rainy days, through the beautiful stained glass windows in the doors. Congregants and guests have told me time and time again that they think we, the TBA community, has done an incredible job getting our campus “in tune”. I’m writing this article after having listened to President Obama address Tucson and the entire country at the University of Arizona regarding the tragic shootings of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the others injured and killed on Saturday, January 8. In his speech, he spoke of the deep commitment that people who go into public service make, and how he believes that, we as a country “…can be better”, and “…how we treat one another is entirely up to us.” I urge all of you to reflect on what we are, and what we can do, to make life peaceful. Finally, I want to remember Debbie Friedman, whose tunes and songs will be her everlasting memory. See you in Shul. Steve *Credit to Robert Nesta Marley

3 editor’s message Thank You Debbie Friedman By Lori Rosenthal This month’s Omer, with a focus on TBA member/musicians, and the music they make both in and out of the synagogue, would be incomplete without mentioning the recenet passing of Debbie Friedman, Jewish singer/songwriter extraordinaire. I dedicate this column to her memory. In the 1960s, I was a regular at my synagogue’s Junior Congregation. Much like with Junior Congregation today, those of us who knew the prayers well loved to belt out the words when we got a chance. Two of the only fun songs we got to sing included Ma Tovu (sung in a raucous round) and only after services, David Melech Yisrael (complete with arm and hand movements). Every now and then, we sang Adon Olam to some alternate melody, but basically, the services I attended were just a shorter version of the ones my parents sat through in the adjoining room. Debbie Friedman changed all that. She is credited with creating a whole new genre of contemporary, accessible Jewish music, taking prayers, teachings, and melodies of the ancient Jewish texts and setting them to modern music. Even folks who don’t follow trends in Jewish music are familiar with some of her works. Among others, Debbie Friedman wrote the Mi Shebeirach prayer that we sing on Shabbat at TBA, as well as the heartwarmingly beautiful Lechi Lach that is often sung at Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremonies and other lifecycle events. Her tear inducing And the Youth Shall See Visions is often sung at community events and especially graduations (and was like a soundtrack to my daughters’ middle school years at Tehiyah). In our home, Debbie Friedman’s music returned home with our kids from summer camp each August when Not By Might, Not By Power, and its smile inducing “Nutter Butter Peanut Butter” line was heard often from the TV room or shower at loud volume. Her songs were a staple at holiday times as well. Our home Chanukah celebrations would not have been the same without her simple and silly Latke Song. Likewise Thanksgiving would have lost some of its playfulness without her Happy Thanksgiving ditty. If you’re not familiar with these songs, you can find the words and oftentimes a YouTube clip to watch online. I guarantee they will make you smile. Debbie Friedman’s music touched me, my family, our congregation, and Jewish communities around the world. May her memory be for a blessing.

East Bay Jewish Forum Every Thursday through March 17, 2011 Join us for a lectures, coffee and conversation. For more information, or to sign up, contact Riva Gambert at [email protected], or call (510) 318-6453 for a 21 Lecture Pass. t h e Omer Upcoming Omer Theme: March: Social Action We cheerfully accept member submissions. Deadline for articles and letters is the first of the month preceding publication. Editor in Chief Lori Rosenthal Copy Editors Jessica Dell’Era, Charles Feltman, Nadine Joseph, Richard Managing Editor Lisa Fernandez Kauffman, Jan Silverman, Debbie Spangler, James Wakeman Layout & Design Jessica Sterling Proofreaders June Brott, Jessica Dell’Era, Jeanne Korn, Stephen Shub, Calendars Jon Golding Susan Simon, Debbie Spangler B’nai Mitzvah Editor Susan Simon Distribution Herman Pencovic, Pola Silver, Gertrude Veiss Cover Ruth Teitelbaum Mailing Address 336 Euclid Ave. Oakland, CA 94610 Help From People like you! E-Mail [email protected]

4 wtba, our sisterhood men’s club Men’s Club Update By Jon Shuster New Leadership, Same Fun The Men’s Club heads into 2011 with new leadership while continuing to fulfill our mission to “enrich the experience and quality of Jewish Life at TBA” (and have fun doing it). Led by new President Phil Hankin, our Fall highlights included: Annual “Eggs Mit Onion” Thanksgiving brunch. With Men’s Club superchef David Lenik at the helm, over 50 Pirkei Imahot TBA members and friends enjoyed a cornucopia of good food and seasonal cheer. Monday, February 7 Year End Poker Night Fundraiser. It was a fun night at the tables as over 20 card sharks duked it out for prizes 9:30 a.m. and bragging rights while raising funds for TBA. Kudos to Righteous Radicals - organizers Dave Mendelsohn and Ben Persin. Jewish Heroines: Abigail Purchase of Flat Screen TV. Men’s Club Board member, Jeff Ilfeld, led the selection and purchase of a new 42" flat screen TV to help our students, teachers, and other mem- Join our community of women as we uncover bers better view movies and TV offerings. Way to go Jeff! the emotional and intellectual themes which Already in 2011, we have an exciting line-up of events and live in Torah and connect to our lives. Our programs you won’t want to miss: Rosh Chodesh Torah study meets monthly, Night Out at Cal Bears Game (Saturday, Feb. 5). The on the Monday closest to Rosh Chodesh. Cal Bear Men’s basketball team takes on Arizona and the Meetings are hosted and facilitated by group Men’s Club will be there! Bring your family and friends members. and enjoy the special Cal jamfest before the game, including music, games, the Cal Band, contests, prizes, bounce house, Sponsored jointly by Oakland Ruach Hadassah and promo Items. Contact Jeff Ilfeld at [email protected] and the Women of TBA, the group is open to all or Ben Persin at (510) 338-3864. women. Members-only Super Bowl Party (Sunday, Feb. 6). For Contact Debbie Spangler at [email protected] Men’s Club members and their families, we will be holding or (510) 531-1105 for location of our February a special Super Bowl party, including watching the game on meeting. TBA’s new flat screen. Food, drinks, and fun. Contact Ben Persin at (510) 338-3864. Not yet a member? There’s still time to join and come to the party – call Ben. Schlmiels on Skis (Sunday-Monday, Feb. 20-21). The People of the Book Club annual Men’s Club outing this year welcomes all TBA members, family and friends (along with folks from Netivot Monday, January 31 at 7:30 p.m. Shalom). We’ll be skiing at Sugarbowl and with the snow they’ve already received, the conditions will be great. We will be reading Participants last year noted the short lift lines and wide- open runs. Contact Ben Stigler at [email protected]. Men’s Club Shabbat (Saturday, April 2). The Men’s Club G-d Was Not leads services and hosts brunch. It’s a great way to support the religious life of our congregation. Parts are still available in the Fire (as of the time this article was written). Come participate with us – the more, the merrier. Contact Jon Shuster at by Daniel Gordis [email protected]. Please RSVP to Deena Aerenson by email at But wait – there’s more. Other upcoming events include [email protected] or phone at (510) 225-5107. our annual Beach Party and Day at the A’s Game. Not seeing something that interests you? What’s YOUR idea? NOTE: If we do not have an adequate response, We’d love to hear it and together, we can make it hap- we will postpone the book group meeting. pen! Come join us. The TBA Men’s Club is here for you! Contact Phil Hankin at [email protected]. 5 notes from the ritual commitee Some Musical Sidelights on Yigdal and Kol Nidre Night at TBA is just as likely to conclude with Adon Olam the pretty Sephardic tune once sung by Sarah Sheidlower (of blessed memory). I have observed that Yigdal works By Esther Criscuola de Laix quite nicely to the traditional Irish melody of William Of all the prayers chanted on Shabbat and holy days, among Butler Yeats’ The Salley Gardens – another option around St. the best loved are probably the hymns Yigdal and Adon Patrick’s Day. Olam, which conclude the evening and morning services Of course, some would argue that sacred hymns should not respectively. And not only because they herald the end of be sung to secular tunes, and standards of musical appro- sometimes marathon liturgies – these singable, joyous hymns priateness vary from one community to another. Seeing as form a fitting musical culmination to the service and their Adon Olam has been sung to Shenandoah and Take Me Out legendary musical versatility continues to fire the imagina- to the Ballgame here at TBA (and since no one has objected tion of creative chazzanim and baalei tefillah the world over. too much when I’ve sung the Irish tunes mentioned above), The anonymous text of Adon Olam is remarkable for its it seems that our shul has a fairly relaxed policy on this issue, wide-ranging praise of God, both as supreme Master of and that our congregants enjoy the musical experimenta- the universe (the literal translation of Adon Olam), and as tion these hymns invite. Yet whatever one thinks about set- the protector of individuals in waking or sleeping, in good ting Jewish hymns to non-Jewish tunes, some Jewish tunes times and in bad. Thanks to its short, concise lines of text have most certainly been coopted in non-Jewish hymnody, and strong metrical profile, the hymn can be sung to seem- especially in recent years. Hymn #425 in The Hymnal ingly any tune (well, almost). Tunes for the hymn range 1982 pairs the Adon Olam tune with a text based on the from staid and dignified, like the East European minor- Song of Moses in Chapter 15 of Exodus: “Sing now with mode tune heard in most American synagogues today, to joy unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously! The cheery and upbeat – if I write “Adon... olam... asher asher horse, the rider, and the sword he cast into the raging sea.” malach” and “Adon olam (Adon olam)... asher malach The Lutheran hymnal supplement With One Voice (1995) (asher malach),” you may recognize the tunes to which includes Yisrael v’oraita as hymn #715, with the text “Open tunes I am referring. The melody of Adon olam can match up your ears, o faithful people, open up your ears and hear the season of the year: Maoz Tzur at Hanukkah, Adir Hu at God’s Word.” And Yigdal has been a well-loved Anglican Passover. A shaliach tzibbur with a sense of humor could warhorse ever since the hymn writer Thomas Olivers heard certainly take this further still, using Yankee Doodle for the it sung by cantor Meyer Lyon in London’s Great Synagogue Fourth of July, The Minstrel Boy around St. Patrick’s Day, or in 1770. It appears in the Hymnals of 1940 and 1982 with a Turkey in the Straw around Thanksgiving. Other tunes that text that very loosely paraphrases the Yigdal hymn: “Praise to work for Adon Olam include Shenandoah, Arkansas Traveler, the living God! Scarborough Fair, the Habanera from the opera Carmen, All praised be his Name, Who was, and is, and is to be, for Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, Gilbert and Sullivan’s I Am the Very ay the same.” Model of a Modern Major-General, and even Take me Out to the Ballgame, among myriad others. If the secular melodies used for Adon Olam exemplify Jewish musical borrowing at work – we have always borrowed from Yigdal was penned in the early fifteenth century by Daniel our surrounding cultures – then hymns like “Praise to the ben Judah Dayyan of Rome, and is a verse paraphrase of Living God” show that others borrow from us as well. They Moses Maimonides’ Thirteen Articles of Faith. It has not also remind us just how much share with our Christian typically been subjected to quite so many musical transfor- neighbors: a belief in one God, the scriptural authority of mations, probably because of its longer lines of text. The the Hebrew Bible, the basic structure of the daily liturgies. traditional minor-mode tune sung today in most American And even though Christian and Jewish musical traditions synagogues was known in England in the eighteenth cen- sometimes seem worlds apart, they ultimately have a com- tury, and may originally date from the seventeenth. A mon goal: to “magnify and bless the Living God.” more solemn, haunting tune in the “Eastern” chromatic scale is traditionally used on the High Holy Days, though

Remember to check the TBA website, mid-month mailings and email updates for information about late-breaking TBA events and activities. www.tbaoakland.org

6 israel Israel Tidbits Germany guilty and weakened it militarily and economically. By Susan Simon As part of the Paris Conference, representatives from Arab When we last left our fledgling land, we were in the midst nations as well as 35 persons representing the Zionist posi- of the Zionist revival in the early 1900s. The people who tion lobbied for disposition of the lands of the former identified themselves as Zionists knew that they needed a Ottoman Empire, including the land of Palestine. Chaim great power to back them. The British were already in the Weizmann attended the conference and argued that the Middle East, making alliances, primarily to protect the Suez Jews had a historical right to the land and proposed borders Canal which had been built in 1869. The British wanted a for a Jewish state. This was fought by the Arabs who cited land bridge between Egypt and the Gulf in order to create to an earlier demand for an entirely independent Arab Asia. and maintain a positive relationship with the Arab leaders In April 1920, an international meeting took place in San all around the Gulf. So there was a natural and convenient Remo, Italy, attended by Britain, France, Italy and Japan. alliance with the British because Britain had its own inter- Borders and boundaries of defeated lands were still an issue. ests to protect. The British were given the right to control Palestine – an Enter the Balfour Declaration and the Paris Peace agreement which was referred to as the British mandate. Conference. In November 1917, a formal statement was This was very much to Britain’s liking as towards the end of issued by the British government stating it viewed with the war, the British had moved their troops from Egypt to favor the establishment of a national homeland for Jews in Palestine and then to Damascus. So the British had control Palestine. The exact language was the following: of these lands at the end of the Ottoman Empire. “His Majesty’s government view with favour the establish- As the Ottoman Empire was divided, no consideration was ment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, given to the ethnic, linguistic, religious or tribal affiliations and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achieve- of the people living in these lands. Arabs in these areas ment of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing were promised independence, but no one defined what that shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious really meant or what rights people would have. What was rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the effect on the Palestinian Arabs at the time? Some would the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other argue that the Palestinian Arabs were elite and didn’t really country.” want self-determination for the people living under them. So these promises were made to the Arabs who didn’t really This declaration was made in a letter from Foreign Secretary want them. However, this isn’t a point of view reflected Arthur James Balfour to Baron Rothschild, a leader of the currently in Arab histories. Jewish community. Over the next several decades, as the Jewish populations In 1919, the victorious Allies at the end of World War I grew in Palestine there were occasional uprisings and revolts met in Paris to set the terms of the newly formed peace. by the Arabs. There were four major uprisings with injuries Diplomats from 29 countries attended, but not repre- and deaths. The rebellion of 1936-39 destroyed the local sentatives from Germany or Russia. The world declared economy and the economic wealth of the people living there. This did more harm to the Arab population than to the Jewish immigrants. The impact of this turmoil was devastating on the Arab economy. From this time forward, there was very little evolution of the Arab economy. It stayed stagnant and the Arab community remained fragmented and dysfunctional. There was no effective leadership and the population was impoverished, all at the same time that Zionism continued to grow. During the 1930’s the Arabs were selling land to Jews – many believed that these sales would later be overturned and the land returned to the Arabs. Publicly, the Arabs condemned the Jews for being in Palestine, but behind the scenes, they continued to sell land to the Jews, especially along the coastal plain. Next month – stay tuned for information on the White The Balfour Declaration of 1917. Paper, Ben Gurion, the Holocaust, and more.

7 focus on tba musicians From Rock and Roll Shabbat to Open a Rosenthal Sister rendition of Ahavat Olam, all ears were Mic Night on me. I said hello to the crowd, looked at my friend Aaron and counted off the first song, and next thing I knew, I By Becca Rosenthal heard my voice coming through the microphone. The feel- I joined my first band at ing of performing is incredible, but the feeling of perform- around age eleven: the TBA ing original music in the amazing city of Jerusalem is truly Rock and Roll Shabbat Band. impossible to describe. As dorky as it sounded to all I thank TBA for giving me the chance to be a performer in of my friends when I told such a safe and encouraging setting, because without that them that I was in my syna- chance, I would not be able to have had such incredible gogue’s rock band, I have to musical experiences now. say that I would not be a musician today if I hadn’t To read more about Becca’s adventures in Israel this year, you gotten the chance to develop can read her blog at http://beccarosenthal.blogspot.com. a love for performing (and a A Gift of Music true love for the other mem- By Aaron Paul bers in the tri-generational band) over the many years When I was offered free les- that I was a part of it. While I credit TBA for giving me my sons and a musical instru- start musically, being a part of the TBA band does not rep- ment in the seventh grade, resent all of who I am as a musician: I am a guitarist; I am a little did I realize what a singer; I am a songwriter; and I am a performer. wonderful gift I received that While being a musician has allowed me some pretty cool I would enjoy the rest of my opportunities (including playing with the Head Royce Jazz life. That gift was a French Band at Yoshi’s Jazz Club in Oakland and leading countless Horn which I continued campfire song sessions), the coolest opportunities I have had playing in the school orches- with music revolve around my songwriting. I started writ- tra, band, and marching ing music during the spring of my junior year, and since band throughout high school and college. then, I’ve written roughly twenty songs (so far). This past After graduation from college, I was drafted into the U.S. summer, I even put recordings of six of them on iTunes. If Army at the end of the Korean War. I was stationed at the you’re interested, I’ll just tell you that it’s called Out of the Presidio in SF as a musician in the 6th Army Band, where I Box, and it is available on iTunes. met my wife Eva, and shortly before my discharge, we were In September 2010, I began a program called Nativ, which married. is the Conservative Movement’s gap year program in Israel. After discharge, I enrolled as a student at Hastings College of With this program, I spent September-January in Jerusalem the Law in SF. Given the total time commitment required studying, and then I moved to Kibbutz Ein Tzurim, where by my law studies, there was precious little time to practice I live now. I’ve had a lot of time to sit on the balcony in our or play music and I was required to put aside my horn. beautiful Jerusalem stone building playing guitar and writ- After law school and the birth of three children, I decided ing music, but the most fun musical experience I have had to pick up the horn again and began to practice. I joined here included playing a few of my own original songs at an a community orchestra at the College of Holy Names in open mic night at a local restaurant/bar called Mike’s Place. Oakland and began to play, albeit, as a mediocre musician. At about 1 a.m. on a Monday night, a friend of mine ran Between the demands of a young father, husband and a busy up to me and told me that Mike’s Place was having an open law practice, there was again very little time for practicing. mic night, that they had a guitar, and that he (a drum- Over the remaining years and two more children, I con- mer) wanted to know if I’d play a few songs with him. We tinued playing in various musical organizations in the Bay decided to throw logic to the wind and go. We had never Area. I also took lessons with professional horn players, rehearsed, he had never heard either of the two original including TBA’s Jonathan Ring, and attended a music camp songs that I was going to play before, and neither of us one week each year. could care less—we were going to improvise it anyways. As a result, over the years I did improve and was able to hold The only problem was that the stage didn’t have a drum set, down my part in the orchestra. In community orchestras, so he would have to beat-box. there are usually weekly rehearsals followed by 4-5 concerts At 1:30 a.m., the emcee called us to the stage, and as before live audiences. It is difficult to describe the elation though Rabbi Bloom was telling us to turn to page 282 for and sense of personal satisfaction that comes from a solid 8 focus on tba musicians performance of the great classical musical repertoire before a ber loving everything about the process, from learning my live audience. Also, there is a special pleasure derived from lines, to music rehearsals, to blocking and running the show sitting in the midst of 65 musicians playing the great music – from noon to midnight (!), and performing. of the masters and adding one’s part to this great engine of From then on I was in a show or in rehearsals pretty much sound. This can be a special and thrilling experience. Of at all times through High School. At age 16,, I was taken course, none of this would be possible without discipline, on as a voice student by one of the professors from Wichita attending regular rehearsals and private practice. State University. He told me that I had a decision to make, Looking back, it seems to me that the music has had a sta- I could continue working on my voice for musical theater bilizing influence, helping me to keep a balance between the or I could begin training for a career in opera, that I had stresses of raising a family and a busy law practice. the voice for it. Opera seemed so very exotic at that time, Approximately five years ago, I was fortunate to reach retire- so I went for it. I did my undergraduate work in Opera ment. Now that I have the time, I can practice my instru- at Northwestern University and my graduate work at the ment to my heart’s content and can expand my musical University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory. After outlets. I am now a member of three separate orchestras marrying Bruce and moving here to the Bay Area I was and various music groups. determined to get back into performing as quickly as possible. I have been extremely fortunate in that I have found Music is a precious gift, given to me which has enriched my several communities here where I can stretch my wings, life. I feel very fortunate. both vocally and as an actress. I never get tired of the pro- Singing My Way Through Life cess – from auditions, which still make my pulse race and By Alicia von Kugelgen my hands shake; through the rehearsals; learning my lines, my music, my blocking; and the performing! Nothing in I honestly don’t remember a the world gives me the same kind of thrill as singing in time when I didn’t sing. My front of people – even if it’s only my children, who are, after mom says that she was told all, my very best audience! I sing pretty much whenever by the time I was in kinder- and wherever I am, if you ever need a pick me up, feel free garten that I had “perfect to ask and I will likely indulge you… reproductive pitch,” meaning My next production happens to be a straight show – no that when someone played singing. I will be playing the role of Sibyl Chase in Noel a note on the piano I could Coward’s Private Lives at the Douglas Morrisson Theatre. reproduce it. In third grade Performances are from February 25 - March 20, 2011. For my parents sent me to what more information go to www.dmtonline.org or get in touch was then called an alternative with me personally. school – today it would be a magnet. It was for “Gifted, Roshambo Talented, and Creative” children, nobody ever told me By Richard Kauffman which one of the three I was, but I did join the performing arts troop. We performed all over the Wichita area and it was a lot of fun. Looking back, I think my addiction to applause started at Isley school. When I was eleven years old I auditioned for my first professional theater production. Wichita Summer Music Theater was doing “The Sound of Music” and needed children to play the von Trapps. A friend of my mom’s suggested that she take me to the auditions and so my parents drove me downtown. I don’t remember what I sang – probably Happy Birthday – but I do remember my father taking me to the callbacks (second round of auditions). They had all the children line up on stage by height and I remember the director making Roshambo is an Oakland a cappella sextet that performs a line of seven of us, then the producer would come in and dynamic and complex vocal Jazz, with a Latin, funk influ- move me out of the line and move in another little girl, and ence. Known for their tight harmonies and distinctive the director would switch me back in again. I think per- arrangements, they have performed in the Bay Area for over haps there was a battle over whom to cast going on, not the 15 years at such venues as Anna’s Jazz Island, Oakland’s last time this has happened since then! I did end up being Uptown Unveiled Festival, La Pena Cultural Center and cast as Brigitta, my first professional production. I remem- continued on page 10 9 focus on tba musicians continued from page 9 get bigger clients like Bill Graham Presents. That’s where various farmers’ markets and private events. To hear them I came in. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was my on the web, please visit www.roshambosings.com. back door into the music business. The group is currently looking for a new tenor. If you’re Within a few years, I was working for him at the newly in great voice, can sing solos as well as harmonize, have formed High Sierra Music Festival, and in 1994 I took my vocal percussion skills and can commit to weekly rehears- Bat Mitzvah money and bought into the company. Over als on Tuesday evenings, please email TBA member Audrey the last two decades, we’ve produced many music festivals Kauffman at [email protected]. Audrey is on the from Massachusetts to Georgia, and currently produce far left of the Roshambo photo (see prior page). not only High Sierra, but also DelFest in Maryland. The festivals are a lot of work to produce, but present world “You Went to Four Years of College to Stick class music in beautiful settings, and allow people to relax Your Head in a Garbage Can?” and recreate with family and friends. They bring people By Rebecca Sparks together for a few days to create community, reunite with old friends, and make new ones that last a lifetime. These were the words from my beloved Bubbe when I Last summer we celebrated the 20th annual High Sierra announced that I was going Music Festival. As I stood on the stage overlooking the to do recycling and grounds crowd on a hot summer day in July, and stopped to take in management for music fes- the incredible music and all the joy that the event was bring- tivals and concerts. I was ing to so many people, I couldn’t help but think of my Bubbe excited. To me, it was the kvelling over how her granddaughter followed her dream. perfect match between my Come to Shul, Sing Barbershop desire to help the environ- By Jon Shuster ment, and my longing to be involved in the music busi- My love of music ness. Who knows where began as a child. it would lead? Certainly, I took piano les- if someone tapped my grandmother on the shoulder and sons in second told her that someday her granddaughter would be produc- grade and began ing major music festivals that would attract thousands of playing trombone people, she would smile and say, “Now that’s my grand- in middle school. daughter.” I gravitated to jazz, playing the My love for music started at a very young age, and matured trombone in jazz as I did. I always loved to sing. I took piano lessons for bands through several years as a child, and studied various forms of percus- high school and sion as a young adult, but I knew deep down I wasn’t meant into college. It to be on stage. I wanted to be behind the scenes. As a teen was my attending I fantasized about being a record producer or music pro- Shabbat services moter. I wasn’t sure exactly how to fit into the music busi- at TBA, however, that opened the latest (and current) chap- ness then, just that I wanted to be in it. The allure of being ter of my musical experience. around the people making the music, and helping facilitate their careers and performances was so compelling. When After sitting next to me one Shabbat morning, Charles I was in high school, my parents had an acquaintance Feltman noted “it seems you like to sing, Jon. Have you involved in the music business. My mother asked him, “So, ever sung barbershop?” I never had, but after going with my daughter wants to get into the music business. Do you Charles to visit the San Francisco Cable Car Chorus, I have any advice?” He said simply, “Don’t.” That just made found a new and different way to broaden my musical me want to do it even more. horizons. In singing with the chorus, I rediscovered the joy and challenge of learning new music, as well as following Fresh out of college I parlayed my experience working at a director. I enjoyed the harmonies and found my years the university recycling program into volunteering and then as a trombone player enabled me to listen well and blend getting paid for doing recycling at various music festivals with the other voices. Finally, my time in the chorus intro- and events around Northern California with my now busi- duced me to Greg, Orv, and Tom (a lead, bass, and tenor). ness partner. He had the connections and experience, and Together, we formed Bayside, a barbershop quartet (see the needed a college graduate to help him write proposals to photo above). 10 focus on tba musicians As Bayside, we’ve sung together for over four years. We on how to teach very young children. However, back then rehearse two to three times a month and have performed a no one had a clue what to do with me, so lessons were number of gigs in a variety of locations, including a back- short-lived; a relative taught me again around age 7 or 8. yard Mother’s Day party in Marin, dinner parties in the St. Soon after, in 4th grade, notices went home about starting Francis and South Beach Yacht clubs, at a wedding in Golden an orchestral instrument. A good friend said she wanted to Gate Park, and as part of a Benicia Day town celebration. play violin, so I said I would, too. Our most fun and interesting performances, though, are on After going through the Oakland Public School system, Valentine’s Day, when we deliver Singing Valentines* to folks I attended various UC’s for a few years but then travelled all over the Bay area. I enjoy walking into an office or restau- all over the U.S. seeking what I needed to learn the violin. rant wearing a bow tie (ok, it helps to have three other guys Later, I married Ward, a classical percussionist; we travel wearing the same thing) and notice the something-is-very-dif- all over the Bay Area to play in symphonies as far-flung as ferent-here expressions on peoples’ faces. To then sing a few Sacramento, Modesto, Santa Rosa, and Monterey, and we love songs to someone or a group and have them really enjoy teach privately. We have 2 daughters, now 19 and 22, who it is a wonderful experience. I’m amazed at how special, and grew up around all this music; both play violin. Raising intimate, the bond created between musician and audience children in this crazy/wonderful lifestyle involved patch- can be, even in just a few minutes. work babysitters, a big calendar, and lots of flexibility! The *By the way, Bayside and other quartets of the Cable Car girls played steadily through high school, joining Young Chorus will be delivering singing valentines this coming Peoples’ Symphony Orchestra (an all-area group based in Valentine’s Day, Monday, February 14! It’s a fun and dis- Berkeley) and going on their international tours, but both tinctive way to say “I love you.” Write me at jonshuster@ chose non-musical majors in college. Both still play for comcast.net for more information. fun in various orchestras, and when they’re around we play Our music spans a wide range, from more traditional bar- duets and trios. bershop melodies of the early 1900’s to doo-wop and even I am also involved in orchestral politics: I represent two of more modern pop songs like Can You Feel the Love Tonight my orchestras every August at a meeting of representatives (from the Lion King). While we don’t sing specifically Jewish of 83 mid-budget orchestras, where we discuss problems music, we happily perform songs from an array of Jewish and solutions different from “the big guys” (orchestras such composers, lyricists, and singers, including Irving Berlin, Al as New York, Boston and San Francisco Symphonies). I Jolson, and Frank Loesser. It’s fun to sing as well as perform get to travel to unusual places not normally on vacationers’ and I appreciate that my connection to TBA, via Charles itineraries, such as Dayton, Charleston WV, Omaha, and Feltman, helped expand my musical boundaries. For those Chattanooga. Not too exciting, you say? Each of these plac- readers interested in barbershop, contact Charles, who is now es has a full-time orchestra (sometimes a ballet and/or opera the Director of the San Francisco Cable Car Chorus. too); the weather may not be great, but these towns always have other creative aspects: museums, cuisine, and some My Life as a Musician sort of personal charm. I try to seek out something interest- By Debbie Spangler ing during each trip, and I love connecting with other musicians around the country on a personal level, and hearing creative solutions to supposedly insurmountable problems. Being a professional musician has been a wild ride. Learning an instrument involves a lot of childhood sacrifice: weekly lessons from an early age (which are not cheap!), hours of solitary practice, playing in school and outside orchestras, less free time for sports, dating, etc. But the rewards are great: lifelong friends with a common goal, travel all over the world, and if you don’t turn pro, a lifelong hobby. And the life lessons you learn! Patience, discipline, motivation, persistence, teamwork. No quick solutions to all your problems like in a 23-minute sitcom. No instant success like a 3-minute microwave meal. And you can’t achieve a performance by pulling an all-nighter! Being a musician can be When I was 3 years old I would sit at the piano and try to difficult, challenging and frustrating; but when work and bang out tunes, so my parents, fortunately, started me on life come together in a wonderful, creative way, it’s worth it! lessons. Today, methods such as Suzuki and Kodaly focus continued on page 12 11 focus on tba musicians

continued from page 11 Four years at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, with summers playing at Greenwood, Kneisel Hall, and the Jory Fankuchen Mendocino Music Festival, led Jory to pursue further stud- By Asher Zelig ies at the New England Conservatory of Music and at the Tanglewood Music Festival. Solo performances at Tanglewood, at the Legion of Honor on the Heifetz Guarnerius del Gesu violin, and with the Berkeley Symphony, performing quartets with the likes of Robert Mann, Joseph Silverstein, Bonnie Hampton, Joel Krosnick, Mark Sokol, and Ian Swensen allowed Jory the opportunity to become closely involved at the very highest level with the chamber music that formed his core musical love. It was at Tanglewood that Jory formed the Kailas Quartet, which soon became the resident quartet at the Shepherd School of Music, with a summer residency at the Aspen Music Festival. After its first year, the quartet won the Chamber Music International Competition and took the silver at the National Fischoff Competition. On the eve of an international tour, personnel necessities forced the cessation of the group. The last concert given by the Kailas Quartet was at The Kennedy Center in Washington When he was three years old, Jory Fankuchen crawled in May 2007. under his father’s bed and there among the boxes of papers, pine cones, and rocks discovered an old violin. Though he After another summer playing chamber music at Aspen, had shown no interest in the guitar, banjo, zither, or bongos Jory returned to the Bay Area, where he hooked up lying around their apartment, Jory picked up the violin and with the newly-formed Classical Revolution (www. asked how it was supposed to be played. Five years later ClassicalRevolution.org), a group which seeks to take his curiosity got the better of him, so he traded his budding chamber music out of the constrained environment of the career as a nationally ranked chess prodigy to find out what concert hall and bring it to new audiences in bars, cafes, art a violin actually could do. A $20 half-size fiddle purchased houses, and other non-traditional venues. at the Alameda drive-in movie flea market got him started. Presently Jory plays with the San Francisco Chamber A year later Jory joined an orchestra and, not long after Orchestra and the Modesto Symphony, as well as with that, began playing Kol Nidrei at TBA. many other Northern California orchestras and chamber When he showed up intending to sight-read the groups. He is a member of the Musical Art Quintet, a Beethoven Violin Concerto for his audition, Anne tango string ensemble, and Magik Magik Orchestra, where Crowden, the founder of The Crowden School, recog- he performs with the likes of Sting, Mary Wilson, and nized Jory’s abilities and took him under her wing. Under Bob Weir. Anne’s tutelage, which mixed a deep love of kids and His long-time love of teaching is currently being expressed quartets with the understanding that a pitcher just might as a member of the faculty at The Crowden School, Marin have to show up and play the Bruch Concerto in his Little Academy, and PACO Music Camp. Most recently, Jory League uniform, Jory delved deeply into both the chamber joined the Bridge Chamber Virtousi for a performance in and solo repertoires. Shanghai, China, as part of the World Expo celebration. When he was sixteen, Jory quit the College Preparatory When asked his single greatest musical regret, Jory respond- School in the middle of his junior year, unconvinced that ed without hesitation: much to his chagrin, he finds himself his time there was consonant with who he was and what he still singing along to the country music he had to endure wanted to do. Significantly, a stint at Greenwood Music during the extensive camping trips he and his father used Camp in the Berkshires had convinced him that chamber to take in the red rock canyons and pinon plateaus of the music was not only his passion but his future. Southwest.

12 focus on tba musicians Dancing to the Music certs a week every week can be tiring and stressful. There’s By Evan Kharrazi teaching at the San Francisco Conservatory as well as many outside projects, concerts and recording sessions. Oh, and did I mention the weird hours (thanks, Maya!)? But I never take for granted how fortunate I am to be able to do what I love as a career. Keeping it from becoming routine is probably my biggest challenge. Symphony is only one side of my musical personality. The other, of course, is my love of rock and roll, jazz, and any other kind of music that makes you want to get up and move! Most of what we listen to around our house isn’t classical music! My keyboards, writing and arranging keep me sane and allow me to have other musical outlets besides the symphony. The TBA Rock and Roll Shabbat Band has also been a great TBA Member Evan Kharrazi is an honor student of Dance outlet for my other musical personality and is really fun and at the Oakland School for the Arts, Maccabi Gold Medalist, rewarding. Working with Murray Davis on the band’s CD and previous Junior Mr. Dance of California. He attends was a highlight as well as donning the traditional Purim wig Oakland Midrasha and is the recipient of the Isaac Sevi (I’m thankful for ANY hair these days, even if it’s yellow or Holocaust Memorial Award for artistic interpretation. blue!) It’s also great to be involved in some Jewish music. Evan will be dancing this summer in Israel with Maccabi We had Nigun and Ladino songs played at our wedding ArtsFest. He has studied with many notable choreogra- and even sang in our former synagogue’s choir. I have to phers including auditioning for Broadway’s Billy Elliot and say, also, that Cantor Kaplan is truly an inspiration and one acceptance into the Boston Arts Academy. Evan has been of the main reasons I love coming to services. dancing for seven years and is currently a member of OSA’s Music is my family’s life as well. My wife, Maya Rath, is Dance Troupe. He is also an apprentice in Savage Jazz the Finance Director of the Oakland East Bay Symphony Dance Company and early applicant for Juilliard. and an amateur flutist. Our two sons, Julian and Benjamin, both play instruments (bass and drums) and are actively Music is My Life involved in many outside musical activities. We all even By Jonathan Ring decided to send out a family musical Chanukah card this Music is my life. year doing our own version of Maoz Tzur. Literally. I have been I think music is such a powerful form of communication surrounded by it, mes- and it fascinates me how it can bring people together in merized by it, and drawn such varied contexts. With all the craziness in the world to it ever since I can today, I am always happy to return to my “island”, even if remember. I vividly only for a quick visit. recall my great uncle playing mandolin and A Musician’s Dream Job my grandmother sing- By Jessica Siegel ing Yiddish songs. My I count myself as one of the mother was a profession- lucky few. I am surrounded al pianist and teacher every day with people who are and it seemed that there passionate about music and was always music in the want to learn about the harp. house including chamber music evenings and family musi- I have the privilege of sharing cals where we would all get up and perform. the joy of making music. I guess being a somewhat shy person, I realized that I could During my performance career communicate things through music that were hard for me to I have spoken with many say in words, and that continues to this day. It also serves as people who’ve expressed their my “island” of refuge where I can relax and be uplifted. desire to play this magical I play horn in the San Francisco Symphony and have been instrument. Their dreams there almost 20 years. It is a great job, though four con- continued on page 21 13 gan avraham Our Gan Music Specialist teach special needs children with perfect and relative pitch. By Wendy Siver In addition to my music therapy practice, I have continued Susan Rancer, the Gan music specialist, comes to the Gan as a song leader for local synagogues. My husband and I every week, alternating days so that each child at the Gan are members of Temple Sinai in Oakland. But shortly after has the opportunity to sing with her. I thought you might arriving in the East Bay, I was asked to play at a birthday enjoy knowing more about Susan and what she brings to our party for a child at the Gan. When the director, Barbara school. Here is an introduction to Susan in her own words: Ogman, heard me, she hired me saying “You’re a teacher, not a performer. That’s what we need.” I have been here Although I have been in the Bay Area for more than 30 ever since. I also lead songs and do some Friday night ser- years, I grew up in Amarillo, Texas. My first exposure to vices at Beth Israel Judea in San Francisco. To keep my music was at age 6 when my classroom teacher played piano music fresh, I make yearly trips to the weeklong Hava every day. At back-to-school night, having never touched a Nashira workshop to study with Debbie Friedman, Craig piano, I started playing with both hands, duplicating every- Taubman and other great Jewish musicians. thing our first grade teacher ever played for us. Immediately after that, my parents found a music teacher for me and I am committed to using the best in contemporary Jewish that was the beginning of my music education. music to help our children find the joy in Judaism. Later in my childhood I was the accompanist in religious Donations, Time Needed to Help with school at our small synagogue. I played organ and piano 1950s-Themed Schools Auction regularly from when I was very young. This was a time By Lisa Fernandez when only hymns were sung, not the wonderful contemporary music that is available today. The Schools Auction is always a fun time. Later I began to play the violin as well as the piano. I But this year, the May 15 event proves to possibly even be played throughout my school years and then went on to more grand, as co-organizers Rick Heeger and Alice Hale get my college degree from Eastern New Mexico University have decided to add a Roman Holiday twist to it, complete with a major in music therapy. Music therapy uses music with a menu designed by our own Jing Piser. as a vehicle to accomplish a therapeutic goal. I trained and “It’s seen as sort of a sunny and bright time,’’ Rick said, interned with adults but got my first job back in Amarillo referring to why he and his wife chose the theme of 1950s- working at a hospital for emotionally disturbed and autistic era Italy. children. After two years there I established a practice of my “In the movie Roman Holiday, Audrey Hepburn ‘escapes’ to own, which has been my profession for nearly 35 years now. enjoy the city of Rome,” Alice added. “We’re hoping TBA My use of music therapy includes teaching piano and other members will ‘escape’ to the auction for an evening to help instruments to special needs children, exposing them to us celebrate our schools.” musical experiences and related means of expression. But more important than the theme, is the TBA com- In 1980 I came to the Bay Area on vacation and ended munity’s participation in the fundraiser. This year, the up moving here. I relocated my private practice in music money raised is being earmarked especially for Gan and Bet therapy, this time to San Jose. At the same time I also Sefer scholarships. Now, more than ever, there is a greater worked at various synagogues as a song leader and cantorial demand from our congregants who need these funds. “The soloist. I met my husband Mike at a Jewish singles event TBA schools have been so important to our family,” Alice in San Jose and went on to have two children, Emily and said. “I would hate to think that families might not attend David. I am very proud of Emily, who is now finishing up the Gan or Bet Sefer because of financial barriers. It’s an MBA at UC Davis and planning to marry in March. important that Jewish education is available to all the fami- David, sadly, passed away at age 11 in 2001 from Familial lies who want it.” Dysautonomia (FD), a Jewish genetic disease. Mike and I continue to raise money in his memory to support research Last year, the auction raised $40,000, and this year’s orga- on treatments for FD. nizers hope to top that. I built a very successful private practice in San Jose from If you can donate an item, or a service, or create-your-own- 1980 until 1996, when Mike got a job at UC Berkeley. We party, please contact Amy Moscov or Jennifer Ferguson, moved to the East Bay, where I then started a new practice who are heading up our solicitations at amymoscov@aol. for the third (and last) time. Since moving here, my prac- com or (510) 531-3430; or [email protected] or (510) tice has focused increasingly on autistic children. Using my 451-2393. experience with this community, this past April I was able Volunteers who would like to donate their time are also to publish a summary of my experiences and observations needed. Please contact Rick or Alice by emailing them at by contributing a chapter to a book by Dr. Darold Treffert [email protected] or [email protected] or call entitled Islands of Genius. My chapter described ways to them at (510) 336-3044. 14 bet sefer The Bet Sefer Dilemma re-teaching these stories gives us a chance to grown as our By Susan Simon ability to reason matures. What is a dilemma? We can define it as a problem – we We teach mitzvot – we teach the students how Judaism often use the word that way in conversation. One online values caring for one another, for the environment, for ani- dictionary I consulted defines it as a state of uncertainty or mals. We reinforce this as the students get older when we perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally teach midrash, kashrut and the killing of animals, and Pirke unfavorable options. When I think of Jewish congregation- Avot. al school learning, I think in terms of dilemmas. What do We teach about the holidays. Probably more than anything we teach our children in two to four hours per week? What else, it is the celebration of Jewish holidays that makes are our goals for them and for us? such an impact on the psyche of Jews all over the world. In the ideal world, all of our graduates will finish Bet Sefer When we come together for a Pesach seder or to light the with a love for Jewish learning, Jewish practice, and Jewish Chanukkiah, we feel connected to other Jews in the pres- community. They will have thoroughly enjoyed every ent and who came before. It is a powerful emotion that we moment learning with their friends. They will have a com- know is critical to help establish in our young people. plete knowledge of Torah, Tanakh and be fluent Hebrew We teach how to read in Hebrew and how to recite the decoders with a good Hebrew vocabulary. They will be able prayers. Of everything we teach this can be the most to participate fully in services and have a passion for social important. When we teach these practical skills, we give justice and mitzvot. In short, they would be on their way the students the ability to continue their learning for the to continuing their lives as literate Jewish adults. rest of their lives. We teach these skills at a time when they And the dilemma? The time we have with them isn’t are easiest for most students to learn – ask any adult who enough to accomplish these goals. We cannot succeed is tackling the Alef Bet for the first time and they will tell at everything we would like for them in such a limited you how difficult it is at an older stage of life. People who amount of time. And to complicate things further, because learned to decode Hebrew and learned the prayers are auto- their accomplishments (or lack thereof) won’t appear on matic insiders in any synagogue. If you can read Hebrew, any college transcripts, despite our best teaching practices, if you learned the prayers well as a child, you can join any some students just don’t really learn the material. They may Jewish community and within a very short period of time, participate in our learning activities, but for some students, feel that you are part of the community. When someone because the material just “doesn’t count,” there is no reason joins a synagogue without these skills, it can be such an to retain it, to really integrate it into the body of knowledge uphill battle to feel like s/he is fitting in. Knowing basic we carry in our brains and our hearts. synagogue skills makes it much easier to continue your education as an adult. So we pick and choose what we teach, what we reinforce, what we insist that they learn. We teach them stories from And so we continue to battle all sides of the dilemma – the Torah because we believe that every Jewish child needs what do we teach, what do we emphasize, at what can we a foundation in these lessons. By teaching these stories, we be successful? We have endless wishes for educating our also teach the moral lessons that they reflect. Each of these children Jewishly. If you got to decide, what would you stories provides us with wisdom at every stage of our lives choose? – wisdom that we can uncover as we mature. Teaching and

Please Join Us for TBA’s Youth Services February T’fillat Y’ladim is designed for children in Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade and their families. This service is held in the Chapel on the Third Shabbat of each month and will bridge the gap for those students who are too old for Shabbat Mishpacha and too young for Junior Congregation. Junior Congregation is designed for children in grades 2 through 6. This services is held in the Chapel on the First Shabbat of most months. Build your child’s sense of community, reinforce what they learn in religious or day school, and foster their interest in Jewish practice by making youth services a regular part of your Shabbat schedule.

15 check out our local jewish day schools Rock n’ Roll at the Contra Costa Jewish Day Music at OHDS School By Melanie Marcus, Admissions Director By Amy Wittenberg, Admissions Director At OHDS, music is a way to reach the hearts and minds “As a teen growing up in Wales I played in a rock band, of students. The start of each day begins in song as the making music with my friends gave so much pleasure and American, Israeli and California flags are raised to the kept me busy! Now, as the teacher overseeing CCJDS’s familiar tunes of the Star Spangled Banner and Hatikvah, Middle School Rock Band elective, I’m excited to see my followed by the uplifting melodies of tefillah in the class- students have the same passion for music as I do.” said Mr. rooms. When Rosh Chodesh falls on a school day the Rosh Lawrence Delaney who also is the popular second grade Chodesh Student Band rouses the students to sing and general studies teacher at CCJDS. This year the CCJDS dance during the morning mifgash, flag raising ceremony. rock band will be learning about the history of Rock Music, A Jewish day school, by default, boasts a song-filled day. the sentiments behind the lyrics and the difference between There’s always a reason to celebrate in the Jewish cycle; America Rock and British Rock music. chaggim, shabbat, s’machot, rosh chodesh and the myriad of The yet-to-be-named band will have the opportunity to Jewish rituals – learning and celebrating each is never with- perform for the community several times during the year. out song. And, there’s more. When the students were interviewed about why they like Learning subject material to music helps students retain being in the band all of them enthusiastically shared their the information, and is a quick way to trigger the brain thoughts - here are some of their comments; “the band is to retrieve even complex mathematical procedures. Songs like a team, we need to work together to make the music can be used as memory aids and for verb conjugation and sound good, we’ve become tight, it’s the music that helps building. The brain learns so much better when the stu- bonds our friendship”, “I love to sing and hope to become dent feels calm and relaxed. Music can create this feeling of a famous singer, I think I’m starting my career here”, and calm while giving the student a chance to practice rote skills “the band lets me express myself, as a musician you let your in a fun way. This technique is commonly used with the emotions out through the music.” school’s full-time Resource Room faculty. The CCJDS 12 member band is a point of intrigue for Music brings us closer to the land of Israel and its people. many prospective middle school students. Daniel Pascal, a One of the middle school electives is a study of Ashkenazi recent 6th grade transfer student and TBA member said “I and Sephardic Shabbat songs, looking at the diversity was excited to be part of a Jewish School’s rock band, I play between the two cultures through music. Even teachers bass and it’s fun, really fun.” are moving to the sounds of Israel. Every Friday, OHDS If you think your child would thrive in a school with small faculty is invited for Coffee and Conversation, with a new classes, strong academics, a welcoming Jewish community Israeli themed presentation. Teachers recently learned about and an awesome Rock Band, please consider CCJDS. We Piyutim, a movement that’s sweeping Israel where old, are located in Lafayette, only 17 minutes from TBA! We sacred text is being set to Sephardic tunes to make a kind of work with families to offer a flexible tuition, we strive to musical poetry. not make the cost of tuition a stumbling block for families. Music also helps teach American history. Folk songs, like Private tours of the school are available by appointment, the Back Of The Bus about Rosa Parks, can help students call Amy Wittenberg, Admissions Director, (925) 284-8288 have a deeper feeling of the Civil Right Movement. We or email: [email protected]. Applications are now being Shall Not Be Moved is another powerful song about Cesar accepted for next fall. Chavez and the fight to help the migrant workers. Music transforms ordinary class lessons. Music touches the heart and nurtures the neshama in children. We invite you to come see it for yourself. To schedule a personal tour of the OHDS campus, please call Melanie Marcus at (510) 531-8600, ext. 26. Parent Education – All are welcome, no fee Help Me, Help You A Two Part Parent Workshop With Sarah Spencer Thursdays, February 3 and March 3, 7:00-9:00 p.m. Explore some of the obstacles and opportunities parents face Some of the members of the CCJDS Rock Band while raising kids and adolescents. For more details, email [email protected]. 16 check out our local jewish day schools Tehiyah Day School and Music Go Together to our ongoing drum Like Lox and Bagels circle and middle school rock band, By Donna Sidel, Director of Communications Sarita Pockell and Katja Music permeates every aspect of life at Tehiyah Day School. Cooper have teamed up After English and Hebrew, music is the third language of this year for two new Tehiyah instruction. Every school-wide event at Tehiyah is fun and exciting middle filled with music. It is no wonder that Tehiyah is blessed school music pro- with so much musical talent on our faculty and staff, many grams - World Music of whom are known recording artists, and within our stu- Ensemble and Glee dent body. Club (think the tele- Nowhere does the inextricable connection between the vision show “Glee”). school and music become more evident than at the begin- These two groups have ning of every single school day, when the entire school already performed at gathers together to sing Modeh Ani and welcome the day two school events and with song. Similarly during the school day, our classrooms are currently recording are filled with music. As Tehiyah’s Rabbi Tsipi Gabai says, their first CD. “Singing is the most powerful and ancient way of express- Our creative arts teacher, Eric Silverberg, is also a musi- ing yourself, and singing together in unison as a commu- cian who plays guitar every morning during our Modeh nity can bring peace and heal the world - tikkun olam..” Ani assembly. His creative arts program includes musical Rabbi Tsipi, who is known for her rousing musical spirit, improvisation, and his youngest students work with Orff- has recorded a CD for the High Holidays, and is currently Schulwerk, a hands-on musical approach that combines working on a recording of piyutim/sacred prayers. music, movement, drama, and language. T’fillah/prayer classes at Tehiyah are always musical. Our parents, as well, are talented musicians, including TBA’s Students are lucky enough to have their t’fillah classes own Jill Rosenthal. Other musical parents include profes- accompanied by Katja Cooper, an accomplished record- sional blues musician (and TBA member) Steve Utstein, who ing artist and percussionist. She has performed around the has performed on keyboards with blues greats Junior Wells, world with a variety of well-known artists, and was a regular Otis Rush, and Bo Diddley. Parent Cathy Fara Brown is on Israeli national television and radio with the top-chart recording her first CD of her own songs, and talented violin- pop artist Rami Kleinstein. Katja feels strongly that her use ist Virginia Morgan performs with a variety of groups. of the drum, a primal instrument of expression, is an aid to If you would like more information about music at Tehiyah, internalizing the pulse of the prayer. or how a Tehiyah education can help shape your child’s This year, Tehiyah added a new music teacher, Sarita identity, please contact Amy Utstein at (510) 233-3013, Pockell, who has been teaching music and performing arts ext. 239 or [email protected]. to young people for over 15 years and regularly performs for young children with her band Octopretzel. In addition

volunteer bulletin board

Give a New Mom or Dad Welcome an Hour to Shower A perfect mitzvah for those a New Member with daytime flexibility. Do you have time to help deliver TBA’s Volunteers needed to provide short daytime new members baskets? sits free of charge to our new moms and dads allowing them to shower, get a haircut If so, please contact or just take a walk. Stacy Margolin at [email protected] Interested sitters should contact us at or by phone (510) 482-3153. [email protected].

17 midrasha la’atid Oakland Midrasha Update semester that look at different topics through a Jewish By Kendra Lubalin perspective. This month we are highlighting one of our fall electives: From Bernstein to Hip-Hop: The Jewish American Save the Date: March 6, 2011 for an Oakland Midrasha Music Experience. This class used the history of American pre-Passover Wine Tasting music as an avenue to understanding the evolution of the This is a Midrasha fundraiser, and open to ALL, so please American Jewish experience. It was designed to help stu- bring your friends and family members (over 21, of dents connect to their own identity as American Jews. course!). This pre-passover event is an opportunity to sam- Sound interesting? It’s not too late for teens to register for ple wine and food for your seder. We will be featuring both the Spring semester! For more information please contact Kosher wine and wines made by local Jewish vineyards! Director Kendra Lubalin at [email protected] or We will taste and schmooze and eat and have fun! Stay (510) 501-6692. tuned for more information…and save the date. Location: Temple Sinai Midrasha in Berkeley Parent Program - February 8 at 7:15 p.m. is the next one By Diane Bernbaum Midrasha in Oakland has piloted a series of classes for par- Midrasha Berkeley invites you to have a Really Good Time. ents to have their own Midrasha experience! On December This year we have decided to sponsor an evening that 7, 18 parents gathered for a two-hour Jewish Meditation will be fun, not too expensive, social and have something class, presented in Midrasha elective style, by Midrasha for everyone. Welcome to our first ever Midra-Shabang. teachers. The class was a hit. The feedback was very posi- It will be held on Sunday, March 13 from 5-8 p.m. at tive, and folks relayed that they really loved the chance to Congregation Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Avenue experience what their kids are doing here on Tuesday nights in Berkeley. The evening will feature a dynamite Silent for themselves. An added bonus was the opportunity to Auction, great music, a Buffet and an Open Wine Bar. mix with other parents and enjoy latkes. Our next class in We’ll have remarks by special guests (and you’ll have to this series will be February 8 at 7:15. show up to find out who they are). The auction prizes are beginning to pour in. They include several vacation homes, Midrasha Retreats: a ride in a two-seater plane over the Bay, meals cooked for Our Fall retreat also piloted a new experience, that of hav- you in your home, lots of exotic wine, great art, an extraor- ing all our students retreat together. Approximately 150 dinary quilt of the Seven Species and too many other items Midrasha students from all four Midrasha campuses came to list here. We will also be having a raffle where prizes together for a weekend of community building, learning, include free 2011-2012 tuition. and fun. Despite quite a bit of rain, our students rallied for To see a copy of the invitation, go to the Midrasha website Shabbat, hikes, Havdallah, Israeli dancing and singing, and at www.midrasha.org. You can also download an RSVP card a myriad of programming and learning opportunities. Our there. If you’d like to donate items to our Silent Auction, January retreat will have happened by the time you read this contact the Midrasha office at (510) 843-4667. It’s great update. advertising for your business. But the main thing is, come Class Sampler: to our wonderful event. We’ve kept the price really, really What do our students study on Tuesday nights? In addi- low: $36, so we want to fill the house. And bring your tion to a set core curriculum, students select electives each checkbooks. The auction items will be really tempting.

A YouthLa’atid Group For 4th-7th Graders! Next Event: February 27: QZar March 27: Chocolate Seder May 15: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom We look forward to another great year with TBA’s La’atid group!! To RSVP or if you have questions, contact your trusty advisors, Dina and Phil Hankin at [email protected].

18 cooking corner Turkey “Carnitas” for the Oakland Taco Truck Experience By Faith Kramer Oakland’s many cultural traditions help make it a vibrant place. Part of the flavor this mix gives the city is literally a taste of how others live, with lots of ethnic and street food to choose from. But for those who observe the laws of kashrut, sam- pling these local treats can be problematic. So here in the pork-free zone, I’ve adapted a traditional Oakland street taco filling for turkey and give directions on how to serve it just like the taco trucks that line International Boulevard.

Turkey “Carnitas” Quick Pickled Jalapeños Carnitas is traditionally braised or roasted pork and Carrots that is cut into cubes, fried in lard until crispy This quick pickle is a typical accompaniment and then shredded. Recipes vary by region for street tacos. The tacos are also often served throughout Mexico. Here I replace the pork with with thick slices of cucumber, whole or sliced turkey and the lard with schmaltz. If you’d radishes and a grilled or fresh green onion or rather not cook in chicken fat, use the oil but try two. Remove the jalapeño seeds for a bit less adding just a tablespoon or two of the rendered heat. chicken fat to boost the flavor. 1 cup thinly sliced carrots 1 tsp. salt, plus additional as needed 1-2 fresh jalapeño peppers, sliced ½ tsp. ground black pepper, plus additional as needed White vinegar ½ tsp. dried, ground oregano Cook the carrots in water to cover until just begin- ½ tsp. ground cumin ning to soften. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Put 1 Tbs. oil carrot and jalapeño slices in glass bowl or jar. Mix 1 Tbs. plus 1 Tbs. fresh lemon or lime juice well. Cover with vinegar (or use half vinegar, half 1 ½ lbs. of boneless, skinless turkey thighs water for a milder pickle). Chill for at least an 4 oz. rendered chicken fat (about a half jar of hour or two before serving. Store leftover pickles schmaltz) or ½ cup canola oil in the vinegar mixture in the refrigerator. Mix salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, oil and 1 Tbs. Oakland Taco Truck Tacos lemon or lime juice into a paste and rub on tur- Makes about 12-16 small tacos key meat. Let marinate for 20 minutes to an About 32 small corn tortillas (6"-8" in diameter) hour. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place tur- 1 recipe turkey “carnitas” key thighs in a roasting pan, tent pan with foil and bake until the internal temperature is 170 Salsa and other toppings as desired, such as hot sauce, guacamole and or avocado slices degrees or the meat is opaque throughout and juices run clear. Be careful not to overcook. Cut Wedges of lime or lemon cooked turkey into 1" cubes. Heat chicken fat 1 recipe quick pickled carrots and jalapeños in a large fry pan and heat until liquid and hot. Fresh radishes or radish slices, cucumber slices, (Or heat canola oil until hot.) Add turkey cubes. grilled or fresh green onions Fry, turning cubes over often, until well browned Heat the tortillas in a steamer or in the micro- and very crispy. Remove turkey from pan with wave wrapped in a damp paper towel for 20-30 a slotted spoon or tongs and drain cubes on a seconds until warmed. For each taco, stack one paper-towel lined plate. (There will be a lot of tortilla directly on top of another and place on fat or oil left in the pan.) Using two forks, shred plate. Top with a few tablespoons of the turkey. the turkey meat. Taste. Toss with additional Add salsa or other toppings as desired. Serve lemon juice and salt and pepper as needed. Use with wedge of lime to spritz over taco and a few to make Oakland Taco Truck Tacos (see following pickled carrots and jalapeños on the side with recipe) or burritos, or serve with rice and beans. radishes, cucumbers or other accompaniments as desired.

Faith Kramer blogs her food at www.clickblogappetit.blogspot.com. Her food columns appear twice a month in the j. weekly. 19 life cycles February Birthdays 1 10 17 Miriam Ilfeld Sarah Bookin Eric Jones Ann Rapson David Sasson 18 Hannah Reback 11 Roslyn Aronson Nancy Rose Joanne Goldstein Loryn Hudson 2 Rebekah Kharrazi 19 Elise Hannah Schleuning Liam Sondreal Daniel Harvitt Lisa Tabak Joni Tanis Victoria Reichenberg 3 12 20 Carolyn Bernstein Julie Katz Jacob Liron Arjun Bornstein Jacob Nagel 21 Amy Friedman Jessica Sterling Joseph Charlesworth Max Gochman 13 Rita Frankel Leah Hagar Alex Handlers Ward Spangler Jing Weng Hsieh Larry Miller 22 Jacob Raskin 14 Judith Klinger 4 Mira Gellman Zoe Hannah Setton Akash Bornstein Allan Gordon Debbie Spangler Jason Prystowsky Karen Klier 23 5 Mark Liss Ari Goldberg Dan Maidenberg Jake Moore Nicolas Louis-Kayen 6 Jesse Teichman 25 Julia Johnson 15 Joshua DeBare Dawn Margolin Alexander Finkelstein 26 Susan Sasson James Kleinmann Phil Hankin Jeremy Weiss Yonathan Wolf Oren Jacob Stuart Zangwill 16 27 7 Avi Eliahu Julian Goldstein Barbara Rose Steve Fankuchen 28 Cecile Schlesinger Allison Hagey Marc Bruner 9 Deren Rehr-Davis Paula Hamilton Noah Kincaid David Rosenthal Jonathan Ring Abby Klein Josh Sadikman Isabella Scharff

Is your birthday information wrong or missing from this list? Please contact the TBA office to make corrections.

Mazel Tov To Ari & Patricia Eliahu on the birth of a son. Returning Members David Weiner & Ellen Kaufman Ellen Beilock Welcome New & New Members Returning Members David Coltoff & Debra Perrin Coltoff A note to new members: We would like to introduce you to the TBA community in an upcoming newsletter. Please send a short introduction of you and your family, with a digital photo, to [email protected]. Thanks!

20 life cycles Madeleine Leibovitch, February 19, 2011 Hi, I’m Maddy Leibovitch. My Hebrew name is Margolit. I’m so excited for my near Bat Mitzvah. I’m in the seventh grade at Oakland Hebrew Day School and I am currently learning two languages, Mandarin Chinese and Hebrew. I enjoy acting, and singing, and I also play soccer. I also love hanging out with my brother Paul, who is a second grader at my school. My Parasha is Ki Tissa. It contains the well-known story of the golden calf. The theme of the story is forgiveness; G-d forgives B’nai Yisrael for the huge sin that B’nai Mitzvah B’nai they committed. However, the triennial that I will be reading is the part with the famous passage, the Veshamru. I would still like to take the lesson of G-d’s forgiveness, as I become a Bat Mitzvah. I would like to thank my parents Judy Chun and JB Leibovitch, for supporting me along the way, and Outi Gould for teaching me everything I need to know to read Torah and Haftarah. I can’t wait to see you guys there!

Zepora Zangwill, February 26, 2011 My Parasha is Vayakhel which is about building the Mishkan. In my drash, I will be talking about the responsibilities of Betzalel, the main builder. I am a seventh grader at Oakland Hebrew Day School. I love to play soccer, hang out with my friends, and mess with video games. I also love animals and as part of my Bat Mitzvah, I plan to make a donation to the SPCA. Thank you to Outi Gould for helping me prepare for my Bat Mitzvah, and thank you Rabbi Bloom for helping with my drash. And thanks to all my friends and family.

Focus on TBA Musicians, continued from page 13 The harp is now used in innovative settings for therapeutic activities, meditation, and relaxation. People are surprised were often deterred because finding a harp and teacher to find that they can play any style of music on the harp and were daunting tasks. In 2002, in an effort to make the that no previous musical experience is needed. harp more visible and accessible to all, I opened Harps Etc. There is a definite resurgence of interest in this ancient Because of cuts in music education programs, parents instrument played by King David. Many people are look- understand that they need to be proactive in providing ing for an instrument that has a lovely sound, is beautiful music lessons for their children. Research has found that to look at and is as versatile and easy to learn as the piano. studying music improves one’s self-esteem, builds self-confi- Each week, over one hundred students from age five to dence, improves academic achievement and engages the stu- eighty-five attend lessons, ensemble classes and workshops dent in a worthwhile recreational and social activity. Many at Harps Etc. adults come to explore their dormant creativity, to fill time once occupied by raising their families, to fulfill a lifetime What drives this resurgence is the emergence of mass media, dream and to engage the mind and body in new ways. and the ability to produce harps and print music more effi- ciently and economically. On the third Saturday of each One of the greatest joys in my life is playing and teach- month, I offer a free “Try the Harp Class.” In this hands-on ing the harp. My goal is to have Harps Etc feel like visit- group class, students learn some of the basics needed to play ing your best friend. Visitors are greeted by my friendly, the harp while playing simple, familiar tunes on different cheerful Cocker Spaniel, Bella, who gratefully rolls over for types of harps. I try to dispel the common misperceptions tummy rubs. I am honored to be able to share my passion of the harp, such as the harp being too expensive or difficult with the community. I am living my dream job. to play. Many people don’t realize that harps can be rented If you’re interested in learning more about the harp, please or financed and that it is very much like playing the piano. contact me at [email protected], or (925) 937-4277.

21 life cycles February Yahrzeits

May God comfort you among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem shevat 27-30 David Reisman Mollie Forkos Dora Spellman February 1-4 Ruth Roth Phyllis Goldberg Goldie Brody Mary Berger James Jonas Pearl Brook Elizabeth Bernstein Matilda Bloom Holzman Raymond Kivel Harvey Casson Hyman Brodke Benjamin Ottovich Nathan Polse Audrey Cohen Joseph Gould Sara Goldberg Jacob Rubin Regina Singer Samuel Aaron Grinberg Louis Rothenberg Lloyd Silver Benjamin Sutz Rose Hillman Daniel Shuster Howard Morse Spector Edith Gruber Bernard Pollack Max Pearl Sheba Widlan Bookin Allen Silver Nancy Von Kugelgen Clara Ramo Ruth Miriam Cowan Sylvia Turkenitz Milton Weiner Harry Simon William Groskopf Harry Jaffe Samuel Bandel Robert Burnstein Sharon Lerner Barnett Epstein adar I 22-24 Celia Goldstein Morrey Ranzer Irving Goronkin Harry David Levine Dorothy Sarver February 26-28 Rose Kotz Frederick Harland Spector Isaac Biederman Sophie Breslov Sam Wolf Abraham Baim Jennie Coopersmith Max Clar Joseph Zuckerberg Leonard Baum Morris Klang Ida B. Edelson Riskind George Fankuchen Sylvia Hertz Willliam Miller Mildred Arenbart Adler Dorothy Glasser Samuel Jaffe Eli Schwartz Pauline Belzer Joseph G. Kay Sara Schmulowitz Sidney Jerome Zywotow Florence Brettler Joseph Kvint Anna Cohen Arthur Yarman adar I 15-21 Lillian Adler Sue Kantor adar I 8-14 Helen Aldeff February 19-25 Ethel Rose Kapler Eric Baum February 12-18 Emily Friedman Bernice Ring Tillie Elsenberg Louis Adler Esther Gershenson Faye Zaslov Kalman Gluck Philip Bakar Shirley Handloff Maria Belin Pearl S. Goodman John Miller Jack Jacobs Harry Bercovich adar I 1-7 Lucy Jackson Dayton Lillian Levine Kate M. Berkovitz February 5-11 Harry Goldenhar Isador Margolin Morris K. Cohen Sue Kraft Rachel Rutter Morris Davis Rose Bruder Elaine Reisman Goldie Weisbrod Anna Dietz Irving Selig Goldman Friedman Ziesel Helen Goldberg Esther Gold Cassel Gulenson Lilly Shoehalter Latifa Naggar Albert Hyman Anna Jacobs Regina Weiss Ury Rath Freda Katz Esther Segal Nathan Feldman David Roach Morris Lerman Moses Seligson Avram Mendel Goldberg William Tenery Mildred Davis David Hillman Jacob Saidan Jacob Weinstein David Rosenfeld Julius Kohn Charles Bernard Bernstein J. Leon Bloch Simon Lerch

MEMORIAL PLAQUE Anyone wishing to purchase a memorial plaque, please contact Pinky at the synagogue office at extension 229.

22 donations

Charity is equal in importance to all the other commandments combined. Centennial Project Richard & Edie Mills, in honor of our Camper/Scholarship Fund Stephen & Susan Shub granddaughter Brynne Fisher, in Elinor DeKoven, in memory of Marcia Alan & Mary Ellen Silver memory of Jeanette Jeger, Marian & Benjamin’s father David Migdal, Harold Nudler, Tobe Michael & Deborah Sosebee, in memory Robert & Maxine Halem Burnstein, Reba Schechtman, Frank of Marty Stone’s father David Kaplan Weinberg, and Larry Miller’s mother. Joan & Hershel Solomon, in memory Centennial Match Steven Rosenthal & Ailsa Steckel of Blanche Roth Nueman Marc & Debra Barach Bet Sefer Discretionary Fund Charles Bernstein & Joanne Goldstein, Rabbi Discretionary Fund Steven Rosenthal & Ailsa Steckel in memory of Norman Stone Bruce M. Barbash & Janis Rosenfeld Gary Zimmerman & Kathy Saunders Leon & Judy Bloomfield Barbash, Happy Birthday Lynn Langfeld Phil & Dina Hankin GAN Fundraising Event Patrick Bukowski & Eve Grossman, Thank Hennie Hecht, in memory of Ilse Sanders Jesse & Rachel Teichman, Challah You and Reba Schechtman High Holy Days Yizkor Book Steven Rosenthal & Ailsa Steckel, speedy recovery to Warren Gould James Kleinmann & Lara Gilman Steven Rosenthal & Ailsa Steckel Ely & Shirley Langfeld, Happy Birthday Steven Rosenthal & Ailsa Steckel Lynn Langfeld General Fund Jerome & Beverly Turchin, in memory Steve Fankuchen Charles & Edna Levine of Leslie Turchin Doris Weiner Gluckman, in memory Josh & Rebecca Posamentier Steven & Victoria Zatkin, in memory of of Etta Kushner and Alice Gluckman Joseph Zatkin Paul & Florence Raskin Edward & Paula Hamilton, in memory Cantor Discretionary Fund Elizabeth Simms, in honor of Misha of Frank Weinberg Nudler, Jack Jeger and Pola Silver Maurice & Barbara Weill, in memory Mark & Maribel Mogill, in memory of of Lawrence “Sunny” Singerman Stuart & Abby Zangwill, in honor Minnette Mogill of Beckett Natherson’s Brit Milah Henry Ramek & Eve Gordon-Ramek Celia & Morris Davis Hunger Stuart & Abby Zangwill, in honor Steven Rosenthal & Ailsa Steckel, in Fund of Eli Posamentier’s Brit Milah memory of Erna Pikarski Joan Aldeff, in memory of Helen Aldeff Stuart & Abby Zangwill, in honor Steven Rosenthal & Ailsa Steckel Sharon E. Fogelson, in memory of of Eli Teichman’s Brit Milah Andrea Share Lily Fogelson Stuart & Abby Zangwill, in honor Hennie Hecht, in memory of Tobe of Evan Motamed’s Brit Milah Elizabeth Simms, in honor of David Galant Burnstein Stuart & Abby Zangwill, in honor of Evan Sobel’s Brit Milah Stuart & Abby Zangwill Endowment Fund Stuart & Abby Zangwill, in honor Kiddush Fund Jeffrey & Judith Quittman, in memory of Jacob Sobel’s Brit Milah Hennie Hecht, in memory of Esther of Leonard Quittman Stuart & Abby Zangwill, in honor Drozda, Freida Silverberg and Geertje Leonard Wolf, in memory of Marion of Mason Dolder’s Brit Milah Silverenberg N. Wolf Jeannette Jeger Kitchen Fund Steven Rosenthal & Ailsa Steckel Hertz Interfaith Fund Jack Coulter, in memory of Gertrude Minyan Fund Gerald & Ruby Hertz, in memory of Yarman Fifi Goodfellow, in memory of Moshe Walt and Harry Morotsky Naggar Wasserman Fund Sheldon & Barbara Rothblatt, in Marc & Janet Wasserman, in memory memory of Benjamin Goor of Leo Wasserman

“How wonderful it is that no one need wait a single moment to start to improve the world.” Anne Frank

5 12 26 19 hodesh

C Ki Tissa Tetzaveh Terumah Vayakhel osh r Shabbat Shabbat Mishpacha 10:15a T’fillat10:15a Y’ladim 6:25p Havdalah 6:25p Havdalah (42 min) 6:19p Havdalah 6:19p Havdalah (42 min) 6:34p Havdalah 6:34p Havdalah (42 min) 6:41p Havdalah 6:41p Havdalah (42 min) 9:30a-12p Shabbat Service 10:15a Shabbat Mishpacha 9:30a-12p Shabbat Services 9:30a-12p Shabbat Services 9:30a-12p Shabbat Services Zepora Zangwill Zepora Bat Mitzvah 10:15a Junior 10:15a Congregation Junior & Madeleine Madeleine Leibovitch Bat Mitzvah 15 Adar I 22 Adar I 1 Adar I 8 Adar I 5p Men’s Club-Family Cal Club-Family Basketball 5p Men’s 4 February 2011 11 25 18 atan hodesh

K 5:25p 5:40p C 5:17p 5:33p urim osh '' '' P '' r 9:30-10:30a & 9:30-10:30a & 9:30-10:30a & '' 12p Gateway ai sm to Jud 12p Gateway ai sm to Jud 12p Gateway ai sm to Jud 12p Gateway ai sm to Jud 10:45-11:45a Kindergym 10:45-11:45a Kindergym 10:45-11:45a Kindergym 6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat 6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat 6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat 6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat 21 Adar I 14 Adar I 7 Adar I 6:15p Kitah Dalet Share A Shabba 6:15p BS Gimmel Share A Shabbat 30 Shevat 3 10 24 17

4p-6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer 10a-12p Kindergym 10a-12p Kindergym 10a-12p Kindergym 10a-12p Kindergym 7p Men’s Club Poker 7p Men’s 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 6:15p Rock n Roll Purim 9:45a East Bay Lecture Series 9:45a East Bay Lecture Series 9:45a East Bay Lecture Series 9:45a East Bay Lecture Series 7:30p WTBA Girls’ 7:30p WTBANight Out Girls’ 20 Adar I 13 Adar I 29 Shevat 6 Adar I 2 9 16 23

7p AZA & BBG 10a-12p Kindergym 10a-12p Kindergym 10a-12p Kindergym (Woodminster Cafe) (Woodminster 10a-12p Kindergym (Woodminster Cafe) (Woodminster (Woodminster Cafe) (Woodminster (Woodminster Cafe) (Woodminster 9a Weekly Text Study Text 9a Weekly 9a Weekly Text Study Text 9a Weekly 9a Weekly Text Study Text 9a Weekly (Baum Youth Center) Youth (Baum 9a Weekly Text Study Text 9a Weekly 7:30p Praying 7:30p with Praying Lior 7p AZA & BBG YC) (Baum 7p AZA (Baum Youth Center) 7p AZA Youth (Baum 7p AZA (Baum Youth Center) 7p AZA Youth (Baum 19 Adar I 12 Adar I 28 Shevat 5 Adar I 1 8 22 15

4p-6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer Kitah Zayin in LA

18 Adar I 11 Adar I 27 Shevat 4 Adar I 7 28 21 14 ay d s ’ are are produced 30-60 days in advance using the best data This available TBAcalendar from Staff. the is Administration also available at our website www.tbaoakland.org resident P Kitah Zayin in LA 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 24 Adar I 17 Adar I 10 Adar I 3 Adar I Always Always check Shabbat Bulletin the for Congregational E-mail more up-to-date Weekly or information. the Please note any corrections care of Rayna Arnold at TBA the office. 6

27 20 13 Calendars Calendars The in Omer 10:30a-12:00p It’s Thing a Girl It’s Kitah Zayin in LA (Baum Youth Center) Youth (Baum 4p-6p Rosh Chodesh, 4:30-5:30p Alef Bet Adult Hebrew Hebrew with Susan Simon 7:30-9:30a Praying 7:30-9:30a with Praying Lior with Susan Simon YC) (Baum 23 Adar I 16 Adar I 9 Adar I 2 Adar I Kindergym-PlayDay Kindergym-PlayDay (for under 3) 4:30-5:30p Alef Bet Adult Hebrew Shevat Adar / I 5771 24

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S Tzav Vayikra Pekudei Shemini habbat habbat S habbat S S Shabbat Shabbat Mishpacha 10:15a T’fillat10:15a Y’ladim 8:01p Havdalah 8:01p Havdalah (42 min) 9:30a-12p Shabbat Service 10:15a Shabbat Mishpacha 6:55p Havdalah 6:55p Havdalah (42 min) 6:48p Havdalah 6:48p Havdalah (42 min) 8:08p Havdalah 8:08p Havdalah (42 min) 9a Song with Cantor Kaplan 9:30a-12p Shabbat Services 9:30a-12p Shabbat Services 9:30a-12p Shabbat Services 10:15a Junior 10:15a Congregation Junior & 13 Adar II 6:15p Purimschpiel/Megillah Reading 6:15p Purimschpiel/Megillah 20 Adar II 29 Adar I 6 Adar II March 2011 4 11 25 18 5:54p 7:07p 5:47p 7:01p '' '' '' 9:30-10:30a & 9:30-10:30a & 9:30-10:30a & '' 9:15a Gan Play Purim 7:30p Raza D’Shabbat & Confirmation Service 10:45-11:45a Kindergym 10:45-11:45a Kindergym 10:45-11:45a Kindergym 6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat 6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat 6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat 6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat 19 Adar II 12 Adar II 5 Adar II 28 Adar I 3 10 24 17 31 SthEr E

aSt F 4p-6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer 10a-12p Kindergym 10a-12p Kindergym 10a-12p Kindergym 10a-12p Kindergym 7p Men’s Club Poker 7p Men’s 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)

8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 9:45a East Bay Lecture Series 9:45a East Bay Lecture Series 9:45a East Bay Lecture Series 7:30p WTBA Girls’ 7:30p WTBANight Out Girls’ 25 Adar II 18 Adar II 11 Adar II 27 Adar I 4 Adar II 2 9 16 30 23

7p AZA & BBG 10a-12p Kindergym 10a-12p Kindergym (Woodminster Cafe) (Woodminster 10a-12p Kindergym 10a-12p Kindergym (Woodminster Cafe) (Woodminster (Woodminster Cafe) (Woodminster (Woodminster Cafe) (Woodminster (Woodminster Cafe) (Woodminster 9a Weekly Text Study Text 9a Weekly 9a Weekly Text Study Text 9a Weekly 9a Weekly Text Study Text 9a Weekly (Baum Youth Center) Youth (Baum 9a Weekly Text Study Text 9a Weekly 9a Weekly Text Study Text 9a Weekly 7p AZA & BBG YC) (Baum 7p AZA & BBG YC) (Baum 7p AZA (Baum Youth Center) 7p AZA Youth (Baum 7p AZA (Baum Youth Center) 7p AZA Youth (Baum 24 Adar II 17 Adar II 10 Adar II 26 Adar I 3 Adar II 1 8 29 22 15

4p -6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer 4p-6p Bet Sefer 23 Adar II 16 Adar II 9 Adar II 57 Adar I 2 Adar II 7 28 21 14 urim P hodESh are are produced 30-60 days in advance using the best data This available TBAcalendar from Staff. the is Administration also available at our website www.tbaoakland.org c oSh huShan r S 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 8a-9a Minyan (Chapel) 22 Adar II 15 Adar II 8 Adar II 1 Adar II Always Always check Shabbat Bulletin the for Congregational E-mail more up-to-date Weekly or information. the Please note any corrections care of Rayna Arnold at TBA the office.

6 27 20 13 a n q u e t B s ’ Calendars Calendars The in Omer hodESh colate Seder urim c a s h t i P oSh r 7-9p Morasha: It’s Thing a Girl It’s (Baum Youth Center) Youth (Baum 4p-6p Rosh Chodesh, La’atid Ch o La’atid 5p Shi Lei Presentation V WTBA’s Oakland Together Oakland Learns 21 Adar II 14 Adar II 7 Adar II 30 Adar I Adar I Adar / II 5771 25 Temple Beth Abraham Periodicals 327 MacArthur Boulevard Postage P A I D Oakland, CA 94610 Oakland, CA Permit No. 020299

TBA Schools Auction Roman Sunday evening, May 15, 2011 An evening of amazing items, yours for the bidding, fantastic food, great fun and great friends. Holiday All in support of scholarships for TBA schools. For more information or to volunteer for this important event, contact Rick Heeger [email protected] or Alice Hale [email protected].

what’s inside TBA Directory...... i Notes From the Ritual Committee.... 6 Midrasha...... 18 What’s Happening...... 1 Israel...... 7 La’atid...... 18 Rabbi’s Message...... 2 Focus on TBA Musicians...... 8 Cooking Corner...... 19 President’s Message...... 3 Gan Avraham News...... 14 Life Cycles...... 20 Editor’s Message...... 4 Bet Sefer News...... 15 Donations...... 23 Women of TBA...... 5 Local Jewish Day Schools...... 16 Calendar...... 24 Men’s Club...... 5 Volunteer Bulletin Board...... 17