“Honoring Tradition, Celebrating Diversity, and Building a Jewish Future” Issue 148 · April/May 2015 Beth El’s Pesach Kids BY LAURA TURBOW WZO Parting The Elections: Words Genealogical Congregation Beth El Your Vote from Paul Information is a member of The Union for Is Needed Sugarman Highway Reform Judaism PAGE 5 PAGE 3 PAGE 4 IN THIS ISSUE CONGREGATION 2 From the Rabbi 11 Recipes 17 Mitzvah Corps BETH EL 3 12 18 1301 Oxford Street From the President Library Torah Study Berkeley, CA 94709-1424 4 The Genealogical 13 Children’s Library 19 Chutzpah List Phone: 510-848-3988 Fax: 510-848-2707 Information Highway 14 Eyes on (You)th 19 Mazel Tov 5 WZO Elections Youth and Family 15 Midrasha 20 Tzedakah Education Office 6 Events 15 B’nei Mitzvah 22 Calendar Direct Line: 510-848-2122 8 Were You There? 15 New Teen Awards 24 Gift Shop Nursery School Office Photos from Direct Line: 510-848-9428 Beth El Events 16 BENS News Camp Kee Tov Office 10 New Members 17 Chug Mishpacha Direct Line: 510-848-2372 Midrasha Office Direct Line: 510-843-4667 Correction: In the last issue, we inadvertently omitted the photo credit for the image of Robinn Magid’s family, which should have been attributed to Shoey Sindel. CLERGY & STAFF Rabbi Yoel H. Kahn FROM THE RABBI ext. 215 · [email protected] Rabbi Rebekah P. Stern ext. 228 · [email protected] Norm Frankel Learning, Practice, Executive Director ext. 212 · [email protected] and Celebration Debra Sagan Massey Director of Education by Rabbi Rebekah Stern ext. 213 · [email protected] Maguy Weizmann-McGuire THE TALMUD (BT Kiddushin 40b) RELATES A STORY of Early Childhood Education Director ext. 219 · [email protected] a friendly debate among scholars, held one quiet afternoon while reclining in one of their homes. Zach Landres-Schnur Camp Kee Tov & Youth Director “Which is greater,” the question was posed, “study or practice?” ext. 217 · [email protected] Rabbi Tarfon, a sage of the Mishnah (a 2nd-century work of Tameka Young-Diaby rabbinic literature), answered first: Bookkeeper “Practice is greater,” he said. ext. 210 · [email protected] His colleague, the great Rabbi Akiba, countered, “Study is Juliet Gardner greater, because it leads to practice.” Administrative Coordinator Soon the rest of the assembled Elders chimed in, “Study is ext. 225 · [email protected] greater, for it leads to action.” Aliza Minkina Rabbinical Assistant This is likely the logic that explains why, in the Mishnah, in a list of mitzvot ext. 235 · [email protected] (commandments) that includes honoring one’s mother and father and caring for the Mimi Abraham poor, study is stated as being “equal to them all” (Mishnah Peah 1:1). Communications Coordinator This year in our YAFE (Youth and Family Education) programs we have been ext. 211 · [email protected] learning about middot (Jewish values). Our middot have been a great foundation for Emily Schnitzer provocative conversations across developmental stages, and provided motivation Camp Kee Tov Admin. Coordinator for righteous choices. Learning about values such as ometz lev (courage) and emet ext. 223 · [email protected] (truthfulness) has been combined with the stories and rituals around holidays like Allie Liepman Chanukah and Purim in order to help students of all ages relate our ancient tradition Youth and Family Education Admin. Coordinator to their contemporary reality. In this way, we hope, study will indeed lead to action, as ext. 214 · [email protected] we live our Judaism everywhere we go—in our homes, at school, at work—and choose Rabbi Jennifer Flamm to speak up and take action when we witness injustice. This is what it means to live by Midrasha Director Akiba’s wisdom. The more we learn, the more we can put that learning to use as we act 510-843-4667 · [email protected] in the world, both within and beyond our specific Jewish practice. Odette Blachman And, with all due respect to Rabbi Akiba, we can also appreciate the wisdom Gift Shop in Rabbi Tarfon’s response, especially this month in the observance of Passover. As ext. 240 · [email protected] several repetitions during the Exodus story found both in the Torah and the Haggadah Rabbi Reuben Zellman Music Director remind us, practicing the ritual leads to questions about meaning, and then to further On Leave 2014-2015 study. “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall Rabbi Ferenc Raj be a festival of Adonai. Throughout the seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten; Rabbi Emeritus no leavened bread shall be found in all your territory. And you shall explain to your [email protected] CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 2 · THE BUILDER · APRIL/MAY 2015 FROM THE PRESIDENT Parting Words: “Long Meetings Mean We Care More ” by Paul Sugarman, President of the Board of Directors THIS COLUMN MARKS MY LAST as president of Congregation Beth El. For the past two years I have used my Builder soapbox to address Board Installation nearly a dozen topics: the strength of our synagogue and its programs; the importance of lifelong membership and participation in a synagogue and Volunteer community; the personal rewards that flow from volunteering at Beth El; the Recognition abundance of benefits that our members receive by virtue of their synagogue Have you volunteered this year? membership; and the importance of developing future generations of Beth El Hundreds of our members have leadership. So what’s left for me to write about? contributed to the community, Only this — the extraordinary dedication and commitment of Beth El’s sharing time and skills, from volunteers, and those who support our synagogue, through tens of thousands answering phones in the office of hours of volunteer service each year and the generous donations that help to ensure Beth El’s to leading a class to cooking for financial stability. the Gala to driving a meal to We are a truly remarkable community. No other institution with which I have ever been affiliated another family at a time of need. commands the sustained outpouring of volunteer effort and generosity that pours forth from our We will honor and thank all of our members. Every year we honor our volunteers at an Erev Shabbat service — please join us at the next volunteers at our annual Volunteer such service on May 15th — and every year the list of volunteers grows longer, numbering more than Recognition Shabbat on Friday, 600 this year. If I were to try to list the committees, task forces, programs, projects and tasks that May 15. Incoming President Jill benefit from the efforts of our volunteers, I would exceed the word limit of this column! Instead, I Dodd and our 2015–2016 Board simply offer my heartfelt thanks to you all. members will also be installed at this And while I hesitate to single out any one group of volunteers lest I be perceived as celebratory evening. undervaluing the contributions of others, I do wish to thank and applaud the members of the Beth El A catered buffet dinner will be Board of Directors with whom I have had the pleasure of working. I often ask myself why, as Chair of served at 6:15 pm and the service the Board, I never seem able to end Board meetings on time. After all, I have chaired other nonprofit will begin promptly at 7:30. Dinner is boards and more than a dozen board committees. I always managed to conclude those meetings on free; advance sign-ups are essential! time. What is it about Beth El Board meetings that makes it impossible for me to end them on time? Please visit our website to RSVP. A simplistic answer might be that Beth El’s Board is the only board I have chaired comprised entirely of Jews. (The old adage of “two Jews, five opinions” comes to mind!) But the answer goes deeper than the Jewish characteristic of bringing Talmudic-like debate to every question. Rather, it is the very dedication of our Board members, their commitment to examine and discuss every issue in depth — however long it takes — in order to determine how best to govern our synagogue and to serve the interests of its members, that leads to lengthy meetings. And for that, I am truly grateful. Finally, I cannot end without thanking all of you for the privilege of allowing me to serve our synagogue community. As president, I have had the opportunity to get to know many of you across the generations, and that has been among the greatest personal rewards of my time in office. Thank you for entrusting me with the leadership of Beth El for the past two years. L’shalom, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Your thoughts and opinions are important to us. If you have a subject of interest to the Congregation, write a letter or essay of a maximum of 500 Communications Member Contributors words and submit it to Mimi Abraham at mimi@ Coordinator Odette Blachman Scott Spear bethelberkeley.org. No anonymous submissions will Mimi Abraham Jenn Brysk Paul Sugarman be accepted. Marjorie Gelb Susan Sugarman Copy Editor Deadline for the next issue: April 17, 2015 Janine Baer Marlene Getz Laura Turbow Jerry Iserson Susan Zarchy Letters, essays and guest articles may be edited for Designer Robinn Magid length, content and style. Cheshire Isaacs CONGREGATION BETH EL · BETHELBERKELEY.ORG · 3 FEATURE PHOTO BY MIMI ABRAHAM The Genealogical Information Highway, Mapping a Path to Jewish Life by Robinn Magid ALL AROUND CONGREGATION BETH EL are public names. Outside our social hall appear the names of contributors to displays of names that have meaning for the people who our current building’s capital campaign, and carefully tucked away in posted them.