AaronionThe TEMPLE OF AARON’S MONTHLY NEWSLETTER 616 S. Mississippi River Blvd. • St. Paul, MN 55116-1099 (651) 698-8874 • www.templeofaaron.org Vol. 89 • No. 2 October 1, 2013 27 Tishri 5774 Anderson Cooper Helps Temple of Aaron Pay Tribute to Temple of Aaron Leadership Exhibited by Edward Paster & Richard Shaller Sunday, November 3, 2013 Lunch and Learn Saturday, November 2nd after Services Featuring Rabbi Capers Funnye These two men loved Judaism and strengthened our local community with business acumen, guidance and generosity. They also worked to improve our national and international Jewish communities. We are selling tickets and creating a special Tribute Journal. There are 3 VIP Packages which entitle you to attend a private cocktail reception with Anderson Cooper. The fourth package is already sold out. The packages provide reserved tickets and a full Tribute Journal page to share appreciation for the community work performed by Edward Paster and Richard “Dick” Shaller. Let’s review the details describing the Tribute Journal to honor two special community leaders and the sponsorship packages. We have an October 15 Tribute Journal Deadline so act now. VIP Packages: $5,000 (12 reserved tickets, 1 Journal page and private reception) $2,500 (6 reserved tickets, 1 Journal page and private reception) Capers C. Funnye, Jr. is rabbi and $1,500 (4 tickets, 1 Journal page and private reception) spiritual leader of Beth Shalom B’nai Special: $500 (2 reserved tickets plus one-half Journal page) Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation, $300 (2 reserved tickets plus one -quarter page) located in Chicago. Rabbi Funnye $200 (2 general admission tickets and one-eighth page) earned a Bachelor of Arts in Hebrew $100 (single line in Journal) Literature and rabbinic ordination from the Israelite Board of Rabbis, Inc., Ticket Only: $100 = one reserved ticket Queens, NY. Rabbi Funnye also earned $50 = one general admission ticket a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jewish $18 = one student general admission ticket. Studies and Master of Science in Chairs Lisa Lane ([email protected], 612-860-8085) and Michael Saxon Human Service ([email protected], 612-335-5693) are thrilled to lead this Administration blockbuster evening and want to help you select VIP Packages. Executive Director from Spertus Ken Agranoff ([email protected], 651-698-8874 ext 106) can help Institute of you with all ticket levels. Joshua Fineblum ([email protected], Jewish Studies, 651-698-8874 ext 103) is designing the Tribute Journal which has an October 15, Chicago, IL. 2013 deadline, so please act now. From the Rabbi’s Desk . Home is Where . Thank you to everyone who helped make Assistant Susan Tervola for amazing this year’s High Holydays so participatory work this year coordinating the Selihot and meaningful. Home is where our Art Show. Director of Informal Education/ talents are shared, creating a stronger Marketing Mark Gulner helped with community. Selihot, supervised all High Holyday I had the honor to share the bemah with youth activities, and did the majority of Rabbi Jeremy Fine again this year. The work creating this year’s stunning permanent Cantor Search process is programming book, sharing all the ways members can connect to the synagogue. underway and in the interim we created a unique Bemah Team featuring two A special thank you to the artists who members of the congregation in the shared their works: Tracey Agranoff, Judy Rabbi Alan Shavit-Lonstein Cantorial position: Jennifer Schwartz and Freeman, Robin Getsug, Rubin and 651-698-8874 ext. 111 Mark Divine, who worked closely with Esther Kaplan family, Anita White, Julia Email: and sang alongside highly-experienced Vaynerman, and the Sisterhood Gift [email protected] Cantor Arthur Shragg . Shop. During the service, we awarded Twitter: the Ner Tamid volunteer of the year A special thanks to Wendy Kane who @RabbiAlanSL award to Phyllis Brody . Mazal Tov to her expertly arranged Torah reading for the Facebook: and her supportive family. High Holydays for the past 22 years. We facebook.com/alan.shavitlonstein greatly appreciate her consistency, We were blessed to be joined by our Weekly Torah: quality and attention to detail. The choir. Many thanks for years of hard work templeofaaron.org congregation was blessed to have four and dedication to Choir Director Tom members speak during the Second Day Bartsch and members: Betty Agranoff, building is maintained by Bill Jorke and of Rosh Hashanah on their view on Amy Miller-Stern, Jennifer Schwartz, Ellie his staff: Todd Jones, Todd Schmidt, Jim home: Susan Tervola, Malka Goodman, Bier, Marsha Schwartz, Shirley Rosen- Markus . Steve Baldinger and Melissa Ginzburg . blum, Naveh Shavit-Lonstein, Hugh At the same service, Emilee Skadon Gitlin, Jerry Schwartz, Howard Bell, Jim Berg and Jason Divine blew shofar shared the song Home with us. We Michael Bell, and George Bier. for us. Thank you to Janet, Samantha and David Zylberberg for taking care of greatly appreciate all of their Thank you to Lindsay Berg for her help participation. babysitting during services in our Jacob again this year leading the Young Family Locke Room. As in past years, we relied on the and Youth services on both Rosh expertise of Ritual Coordinator Larry Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Thank you all. May 5774 be a year of joy, Eisenstadt and volunteer Terry Zien to and may we all find our home in this The excellent redesign on the website community. coordinate member participation during was a team effort driven by Director of the services. Lindsay Berg, Evana Education and Community Life Josh Kvasnik and Michelle Perle ran High Fineblum with professional outside OCTOBER WEDDING Holyday Youth Programming for assistance. ANNIVERSARIES elementary age students. Volunteer Usher Coordinators Neil Gitlin, Ron Miller Thank you also to Executive Director Ken We display every 5 years and all and Harlan Stern led a seamless effort to Agranoff , Business Manager Shelley anniversaries of more than 50 years keep crowd control flowing. Diamond, Office Administrator Kim Thomey , Susie Haim , Administrative Essential work goes on behind the מזל טוב -Assistant for Education and Youth, Part scenes to ensure that the services run Time Kitchen Supervisor, Svetlana smoothly. Thanks to Ritual/Clergy Kazistova, and Tanya Soroka . The 5 Elena and Justin Samuels 5 Jackie and Joshua Kaplan 15 Inna and Gennadiy Averbakh 2 0 E sther and Jay Goldberger 25 Layne and David Rosen Check out our newly-revamped website at templeofaaron.org 25 Roz and Yoav Segal Website includes: 30 Barb and Phil Mednick Information about events - Weekly blog from Rabbi Shavit-Lonstein 50 Lynn and Buddy Abramson Updated calendar for all areas of programming 59 Gracia and Merrill Kuller Volunteer and giving opportunities - Membership information 60 Riva and Lou Polansky And more.... Check us out and let us know what you think! 60 Gertruda and Yefim Milshteyn 63 Sana and Dmitriy Bubar 2 6 5 G eri and Milt Blumenfeld 3 Department of Informal Education The Unaffiliated Mark Gulner, Director of Informal Education & Marketing Prior to the High Holydays I, along with several other colleagues, had the opportunity to participate in a Listening Session that was put on by the Jewish Federation of Greater St. Paul. When asked how an institution can increase membership many people spoke about a large group known as “The Unaffiliated.” The Unaffiliated identify as being Jewish but do not currently belong to any synagogue. There are a lot of them and if we could find them, attract them and then get them to pay dues we would certainly increase membership. After the listening session I spent some time thinking about how we could attract this group of The Unaffiliated. How could we market to this group who we know a lot about? How could we attract this group who are involved in the Federation, who support JFCS, who are alumni of camps Ramah, Herzl and Chi, and many of whom already have family as members of a synagogue? Mark Gulner On Rosh Hashanah I realized that I was asking the correct questions but focusing on the wrong group. I was concerned with whom I could get in the door and was Director of Informal Education forgetting who already walked through. The full sanctuary reminded me that many of & Marketing our members currently are coming only for the High Holydays. Upon this realization [email protected] the question then became not how I can reach out to The Unaffiliated but rather how 651-698-8874 ext. 115 can I reach out to our current members. Get them to come to one more event, one more class, one more speaker or scholar or play or fundraiser. This year at services many of you saw the Annual Programming Booklet. If you did not Attention all get a copy you can find one on the new website. Look through it, find one program that piques your interest and then make a commitment to come by RSVPing now. If you look through the book and find nothing that interest you please contact me directly with a suggestion of what might. If we can get you to join for one program 9-12 Graders membership will grow quicker, programs will be better and the Temple of Aaron will be stronger. Kinnus is Coming! If you RSVP for any Temple of Aaron program October 1 through November 1 and there is a cost associated with that program we will give you $2 off if you attend. November 28 thru Selihot Spray Paint Success September 1 Kansas City, MO Applications are out and available at www.emtza.org or stop by and see Mark Gulner in the youth office. TUSY partnered with local non-profit Juxtaposition Arts to create a piece of “Street Art” for the Fink Youth Lounge.