61, No. 1 September/October 2013 Elul 5773/Tishrei/Cheshvan 5774 Volume 64, No 4 • March/April 2017 • Adar/Nisan/Iyar 5777 Upcoming Events in March and April TEMPLE NEWS Temple Judea of Manhasset Schedule of Friday Night Services Affiliated with the Union of Reform Judaism March 3 Shabbat Service: 7:15 PM 333 Searingtown Road | Manhasset, NY 11030 Torah Portion: Terumah 516-621-8049 March 10 www.temple-judea.com Shabbat Service: 8:00 PM Todd Chizner…………………...…...……....Rabbi Torah Portion: Tetzaveh Abbe Sher………...…….…........……….....Cantor March 17 Abner L. Bergman, z”l.....…................Rabbi Emeritus Shabbat Service: 8:00 PM Eugene J. Lipsey, z”l…………................Rabbi Emeritus Torah Portion: Ki Tisa Richard Berman……………….................Cantor Emeritus March 24 Maxine Peresechensky…….................Executive Director Shabbat Service: 8:00 PM Torah Portion: Vayakhel -Pekudei Lauren Resnikoff…………..……….….......Educator Erik Groothuis........…………….……….….President March 31 Shabbat Service: 7:30 PM TEMPLE JUDEA BULLETIN Torah Portion: Vayikra Published Five Times Annually April 7 Sheri ArbitalJacoby ….………………...Editor Shabbat Service: 8:00 PM Torah Portion: Tzav Temple Judea Is Handicapped Accessible April 14 Shabbat Service: 6:30 PM Condolences to Cindy Roberts on the loss of her beloved Torah Portion: Chol Hamoed father, Leon Nass. April 21 Condolences to Phyllis Levine on the loss of her beloved Shabbat Service: 8:00 PM husband, Mel. Torah Portion: Shemini Condolences to Sharon Sharon on the loss of her beloved April 28 father, Theodore Barberer. Shabbat Service: 8:00 PM Condolences to Alyce Tucker on the loss of her beloved Torah Portion: Tazria-Metzora mother, Sheila Kessler. Condolences to Jodi Cohen Graver on the loss of her beloved mother and father, Barbara and Arthur Cohen. Mazel Tov the following B’nai Mitzvah Condolences to Richard Kashinsky on the loss of his beloved candidates and their families: sister, Cheryl Kashinsky. Sara Klein March 4 Mazel Tov to Susan and Mark Claster on the birth of their grandson Nate. Jonah Jernoske April 22 Logan Mastromarco April 27 ARE YOU MISSING US? ARE WE MISSING YOU? Are you getting our emails? Toda Rabah Are you having difficulty opening our emails? Thank you to Joe Kagan and family for sponsoring the Are you receiving our phone blasts? Oneg Shabbat on February 24 in memory of Trudy Kagan. Do you have a great idea for a program or an event? Do you want to join a committee? Do you want to let somebody know something Caring Committee about something? The Caring Committee serves the needs of our LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH! congregants. If you or a member of our synagogue Call the temple office 516-621-8049 OR are having difficult personal issues and need our email the temple office at [email protected] OR services, please contact Dr. Michael Wininger at visit www.temple-judea.com and click on our [email protected] or the temple “Contact Us” corner! office at 516-621-8049. 2 TEMPLE NEWS From the Rabbi The next couple of months have some pretty significant holidays: Passover and Purim. Purim begins at sundown on March 11 and Passover begins at sundown on April 10. Did you know that the Passover seder is the most celebrated Jewish event of the year? It makes sense. It includes eating and drinking with family and friends, a great story with a powerful message and the possibility of winning a prize at the end (if you find the afikomen). Amazingly, Purim also has many of these same elements. In fact, on Purim, the eating and drinking are supposed to be a bit more excessive than on Passover. There is even the command on Purim to get a bit drunk, to the point—as the Talmud instructs—when you are not able to tell the difference between the evil Haman and the amazing Mordecai. Also on Purim, there is a fabulous story told in the megillah of Esther, which contains some incredibly relevant and modern messages. It brings up issues that deal with gender roles (Esther is a heroine in a male-dominated society), solidarity with the Jewish people (Esther and Mordecai risk their lives to save the Jewish people) and dealing with evil people (Haman and his family pay the ultimate price for their treachery). Finally, on Purim you can win a prize for the best costume. (I am hoping to win that prize this year at our megillah reading and Wild and Crazy Fun Night!) As far as celebrating Purim, I hope you will join me on Saturday, March 11. All of the elements that make this holiday great will be shared by kids and adults starting at 6:15 p.m. and then by adults only starting at 7:00 p.m. You will have a great time. Who knows, maybe after you celebrate Purim this year, you too will rank it right up there with the Passover seder! Purim is a one-day celebration; however, Passover is a seven-day holiday that has several observances that you may be interested in. On Tuesday, April 11, we will hold a first-day festival service at 10:30 a.m. in the sanctuary, and services will conclude with wine and macaroons. At sundown on Sunday, April 16, it is customary to light a yizkor candle in our homes for our loved ones who have passed away. On Monday, April 17, at 10:30 a.m., we hold yizkor services in the sanctuary; services will again conclude with wine and macaroons. Passover will end at sundown on that Monday evening; of course, you are free to eat pizza and bagels at that time. :) May this holiday season be a good one. May we apply the messages taught to us to our world. May we find the sweetness of life in the traditional foods and in the warmth of family. May you have a happy Purim and a sweet Passover. Rabbi Todd Chizner, Lauren, Jacob, Jed and Rachel 3 TEMPLE NEWS Message from the President Spring is the season of rebirth and renewal. This time every year, as the sun begins to warm the earth, the frozen ground softens and plants come to life. So, it is too at Temple Judea today. Thanks to our new exclusive caterers at Hasson Catering, our building is undergoing an extensive renovation that has generated a buzz in the community. Parties are already fully booked for the late fall as the news spreads about our soon-to-be stunning new space. Special thanks to our house chair, Richard Kashinsky, who has been overseeing the construction and renovation process. The changes at Temple Judea are not just physical. Now that we live stream many of our services, people are visiting us virtually, including our snowbirds who spend their winters in Florida. Speaking of Florida, on March 22, we will be sending Rabbi Chizner on a mission to reconnect with our current and former members in Boynton Beach, which will be hosted by Estelle Levy and Judit Ungar. Special thanks to Susan Goldklang for making the reunion happen. We have reimagined our Caring Committee under the leadership of Dr. Michael Wininger. Temple Judea now reaches out in new, more personal ways to our members in times of need. The response from our members has been heartwarming. On March 11, our membership chairs, Meryl Katz and Stacey Wink, will host Wild & Crazy 2.0, an adults-only celebration of Purim. Those of you who attended the original will want to know that we will be bringing back the game show, the wine and, most importantly, the good company. Please get your RSVPs in so that they can make arrangements for food. This spring will be a special time for my own family, as we celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of my daughter, Maya. It is an exciting time for all of us, and I am proud to be a part of the process. Warm regards, Erik Groothuis President [email protected] 4 MESSAGE FROM YOUR SISTERHOOD As I write this, the daffodils that were peaking up through my mulched beds are now covered with snow. By the time you read this column, they may be in bloom. It reminds me of the Jewish stories that we tell at this time of year. Purim, to me, is a story behind a story, possibly hidden under the snow. Obviously, Jews overcame a political system that was poised to quash its people. Underneath, Purim is about a strong woman who was able to use her head to circumvent existential problems for the Jews of Persia. Similarly, the story of Passover also features strong women who were able to save their people (casting Moses into the river as a baby, “finding” him for the Pharoah’s daughter and raising him as a wet nurse) by their behind the scenes activities. While WRJ Sisterhood may not have such dramatic issues, we work tirelessly to be a strong, supportive force at the temple. This month on Friday, March 31, we are working with Rabbi Chizner on a service entitled Shabbat of Inspiration: Facing Life's Challenges. Originally, we were planning a service to bring attention to those battling breast cancer, but when we saw all the diverse challenges that our temple community faces—from myriad health issues to personal relationships and loss—we wanted to broaden our approach to be more inclusive. We invited Yanni Wattenmaker to speak at the service. While she heads the Breast Cancer Alliance of Connecticut, she also has a broad depth of experience in many social issues, including addiction-recovery support. Since the temple’s Caring Committee does great outreach to those of us going through difficult times, we hope you will honor your loved ones by making a donation in their name for all the fantastic work the Caring Committee does.