1836 Rohrerstown Road Lancaster, PA 17601 [email protected] 717-581-7891 www.tbelancaster.org Volume 72, No. 8 Omer - Sivan 5780 MAY 2020 Mission Statement Attn: Temple Beth El Members and Friends The mission of Temple Beth El is to provide a house of Conservative The Temple Beth El Monthly Bulletin will now be available electronically every Jewish worship which fosters month. Where? spiritual fulfillment, Jewish theology, • On the TBE website under the Welcome tab life-long Jewish education, and • Via direct email to you each month community support throughout the • Via a link in every Tuesday Mail Chimp e-news cycles of the seasons. At Temple Beth El, we are always trying to optimize our cost savings while Board of Directors enhancing our offerings to you. As you may know, we no longer do bulk President - Gary Kogon mailings and the Bulletin printing and mailing costs are continuing to escalate. Vice President - Steve Gordon We also want to introduce more color, and provide links to other articles of Secretary - Hal Koplin interest. Treasurer - Samantha Besnoff One way to do this is make the monthly Bulletin mailing optional, while posting Financial Secretary - Linda Hutt it electronically to our website. The bulletin will also be available in Directors: Lynn Brooks, Bob Brosbe, downloadable PDF format on the Temple Beth El website (tbelancaster.org), in Abshalom Cooper, Sue Friedman, our weekly Mail Chimp email, and via your direct email address, to read online Yitzie Gans, Ilana Huber, Dolly and for those who wish to print their own hard copy. Shuster Earl Stein, Ruth Wunderlich. Effective with the June/July Bulletin, mailing via USPS will only be done for Sisterhood Rep -Joan Goldman those who OPT-IN. This can be done by contacting the Temple office at Rabbi Daniela Szuster [email protected] with the subject line "OPT-IN". If you do not opt-in, Rabbi Rami Pavolotzky you will only receive an e-version of the bulletin and will not receive a paper Principals - Rabbi Daniela copy in the mail. & Rabbi Rami Thank you for helping us stay in touch in a cost-effective way and be safe! Men’s Club - Steve Kleinman Sisterhood - Sisterhood Board Membership - Susan Friedman The Temple remains closed and all our programs (with Inside This Issue: the exception of our online programs)have been canceled. Rabbi’s Message Page 2 We are following the recommendations of the CDC, the Pennsylvania Principal’s Message Page 3 Department of Health and Governor Wolf and will continue monitoring this President’s Message Page 4 situation. We will notify you our members and friends when it is determined to Birthdays Page 5 be safe to resume all of our programs. Yahrzeits & Donations Page 6 The Jewish Food Festival originally scheduled for May 3, has been postponed and Candle Lighting Times has been rescheduled for November 15th, 2020. Due to the Governor's restrictions, the May bulletin will also be posted to our May 1st 7:43 PM website and will also be distributed electronically via Email and Mail Chimp. May 8 th 7:50 PM May 15th 7:56 PM The Rabbis will be working remotely for the foreseeable future. In the event you May 22th 8:03 PM need to contact them during this time, here is their contact information: Rabbi Daniela [email protected] (717) 618 -2388 May 29th 8:08 PM Visit tbelancaster.org Rabbi Rami [email protected] (717) 618-2383 Volume 72, No. 8 MAY 2020 Temple Beth El Page 2 MESSAGE FROM marriages. Rabbi Shapira was able to terrible a situation. It is moving to RABBI DANIELA survive in the ghetto until its know that his book survived and was liquidation, avoiding the tragic eventually published in Israel. deportations to Treblinka in the In these difficult times we are living summer of 1942, because of the through, due to the COVID-19 support of the Judenrat, a council for pandemic, I would like to share with administration of Jewish affairs. Like you one of Rabbi Shapira’s messages other notables, he was given work at written in his book, which I believe is Schultz's shoe factory—a path to also appropriate for our time, helping ongoing survival. us to face our situation. Rabbi Shapira is especially well known First, Rabbi Shapira brings forward a because of a book he wrote while in quote from the Talmud, Masechet the ghetto. The book, which is a Chagigah: “The verse states: ‘But if you compilation of weekly sermons to his will not hear it, my soul shall weep in students, contends with complex secret [bemistarim] for your Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman questions of faith in the face of the pride’ (Jeremiah 13:17). Rav Shmuel Shapira’s Story and an mounting suffering of the Jews in the bar Inya said in the name of Rav: The ghetto. When it became apparent to Holy One, Blessed be He, has a place Encouraging Message Rabbi Shapira that the end of the where He cries, and its name is For our Time ghetto and all its inhabitants was near, Mistarim. What is the meaning of ‘for he buried the book in a canister, as your pride’? Rav Shmuel bar Yitzḥak B”H part of the Ringelblum Archive, an said: God cries due to the pride of the effort by Jews of the time to hide and Jewish people, which was taken from By Rabbi Daniela Szuster preserve important documents. This them and given to the gentile nations. During these days of isolation due canister was found by a construction Rav Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: He cries to the coronavirus pandemic crisis, I worker after the war had ended. The due to the pride of the kingdom of had the chance to learn the story of book originally simply entitled "Torah Heaven, which was removed from the an interesting rabbi who lived in the Innovations from the Years 5700- world. time of the Holocaust. In this essay, 5702," was published in Israel in 1960 I would like to share with you his under the title Esh Kodesh. “The Gemara asks: But is there crying story and some of his teachings. before the Holy One, Blessed be He? Didn’t Rav Pappa say: There is no I’m referring to Rabbi Kalonymus sadness before the Holy One, Blessed Kalman Shapira z"l (1889-1943), be He, as it is stated: ‘Honor and who was the Grand Rabbi of majesty are before Him; strength and Piaseczno, Poland, who authored a gladness are in His place’ (I Chronicles number of works and was murdered 16:27)? The Gemara responds: This is by the Nazis during the Shoah. not difficult. This statement, that God In 1909 he was appointed rabbi of cries, is referring to the innermost Piaseczno, near Warsaw, and chambers, where He can cry in secret, subsequently attracted many whereas this statement, that He does Hasidim. He was deeply focused on not cry, is referring to the outer the education of children and young chambers.” (Talmud Babli Masechet men, establishing the yeshiva Da'at Chagiga 5b) Moshe in 1923, which became one After the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was According to this source, God cries of the largest Hasidic yeshivot in crushed in 1943, Rabbi Shapira was only in the inner chamber, in secret, Warsaw between the wars. for the suffering of his people. taken to the Trawniki work camp near After the invasion of Poland in 1939, Lublin, where he was among the Following the idea of this quote from Rabbi Shapira was interned with a the Talmud, Rabbi Shapira explains: victims of the mass shooting carried few of his Hasidim in the Warsaw out on November 3, 1943. “When God hides himself within the Ghetto, where he ran a secret I would like to highlight that, during inner chambers, a Jew may also enter synagogue. He invested enormous those difficult times living in the and be alone with God there. … There efforts in maintaining Jewish life in Warsaw ghetto, Rabbi Shapira wrote are times when a person wonders the ghetto, including arranging for many uplifting teachings for his about himself, thinking, ‘I am broken, I mikveh immersions and kosher students, helping them to face so am ready to burst into tears any Volume 72, No. 8 MAY 2020 Temple Beth El Page 3 moment. How can I possibly learn TEMPLE BETH EL groups at the Religious School and Torah?’ Religious School also for Hebrew High students. Once a month we have a special class for “It is the Holy Blessed One who is Learning Judaism with Joy! toddlers, as we used to have in our crying within the inner chambers, and building. We also use email to send whoever presses himself close to God assignments and study material to the through Torah is able to weep there students, with the help of their together with God, and also learn parents. Torah with him. This new online school experience is “The pain and grief he suffers over his not perfect. Some students have situation, alone, in isolation, can issues with their microphones, break a person. But the crying that a sometimes the Wi-Fi connection is not person does together with God great, etc. And, of course, the makes him strong. He cries and takes dynamics of a class is not the same strength.” thing when everyone is at a different According to Rabbi Shapira, when a place! Still, this new platform has person is alone and sad, and studies PRINCIPLES’ MESSAGE allowed us to keep our classes going Torah anyway, this enables that on and be connected, each one from person to enter God’s inner chamber The month of April was marked by the his/her home.