Congregation Ahavat Chesed Newsletter Spring-Summer Edition 2012–5772 The Voice of congregaTion ahaVaT chesed You are cordially invited to our Save The DaTe Anniversary Gala Honoring our Volunteers Thursday, March 8 Tuesday, June 5, 2012 Come one, Come All! Cocktails 6pm in Chapel Purim ServiCe & SeudAh. noon in the ChAPel followed by Monday, april 2 Synagogue Dedication & Dinner Join uS for our PASSover Seder. Honorees noon in the ChAPel Eva Adler • Helga Bodeen • Lotte Buff • Elaine Goldmintz Thursday, april 26 Rose Harris • Muriel Isbitts • Cantor Ilan Mamber let’S CelebrAte Eliana Mechlowitz • Miriam Moskowitz Yom hA’AtzmAut. Inge Silberthau • Blanche Weinberg • Miriam Zelin noon in the ChAPel Thursday, May 10 tAke PArt in our lAg b’omer feStivitieS. noon in the ChAPel Thursday, May 24 CelebrAte ShAvuot with A SPeCiAl ServiCe. 2Pm in the ChAPel Tuesday, June 5 Your participation will help support the dynamic programming offered to our don’t miSS our gAlA residents. The congregation is the center of religious and spiritual life at BRMC dinner & dediCAtion. and helps residents maintain ties with the greater Jewish community. 6Pm in the ChAPel Please consider attending the dinner and supporting us. Couvert: Sixty Dollars • For tickets please email [email protected] Congregation Ahavat Chesed Newsletter Passover 2012–5772 President’s Address by Joseph s. orlando brmc president n July, The Foundation at our long term care residents. IBergen Regional will be- As president of BRMC, I am proud gin the Auditorium renovation project of the vibrant and active congregation to benefit the residents, and pastoral care sup- patients, families, staff ‘I am proud of the vibrant port network we have and community served by and active congregation at the Medical Center. BRMC. and pastoral care support I look forward to seeing This exciting renovation network we have.’ you at the Congregation will take approximately Ahavat Chesed Tenth eight weeks and be a tre- Anniversary Gala. mendous benefit to our ongoing pledge May each of you have a Chag Sameach of quality of life and quality of care for and Happy Passover! Get me to the azal Tov to volunteer Miri- Mam Zelin and resident Lisa chapel on time Paul on their 90th birthdays, cel- ur Mincha Minyan is ebrated at Congregation Ahavat Chesed (pictured). Omoving to Daylight Sav- ings Time. On March 12th, Mazal Tov to volunteer Elaine Goldmintz on her Mincha will start at 1:30pm, Monday through birthday. Thursday, in the Chapel. Everyone is welcome. 2 Vol. V Issue II Bergen Regional Medical Center In Memory of Risselle Winograd adly, our longtime member Risselle Winograd passed away. Risselle was dedicated to Aha- Svat Chesed and served as synagogue president and board member. With a deep commitment to her faith and a great love of Judaism, Risselle strived to be at every program. We will miss her. ‘I hope and pray I live up to the honor. Thank you to those of you who had confidence in me.’ – Risselle on being installed as president. From the desk oF s we welcome the warmer weath- see first hand the difference donnalee corrieri, brmc er, celebrate the holidays and pre- our volunteers make every A Vice president & pastoral care liaison pare for the Foundation’s Auditorium day by donating the most Renovation Project, I want to once precious commodity we again recognize all of BRMC’s dedicated volunteers and have, our time. This is a selflessness that very few people our volunteer department leadership, Susan Burkhardt and incorporate into their lives. The compassion and commit- Geeta Patel. Volunteer Appreciation Week is in April and ment demonstrated daily by our volunteers is truly a bless- we take that very seriously at BRMC. We will host a Volun- ing to our patients, long term care residents and all of us at teer Appreciation Dinner on Wednesday, April 18th in the BRMC. Auditorium from 5pm-7pm to thank these dedicated men With all of these blessings, we at BRMC have much to be and women. thankful for this holiday season. I am honored to work with the Volunteer Department. I Chag Sameach – Happy Passover! 3 Tenth Anniversary Edition-5772 Congregation Ahavat Chesed Newsletter Passover 2012–5772 Rabbi’s Message By RaBBi BaRRy SchneideR BRmc chaplain “Kol Echad V’Echad Chayav Lo- We are commanded that every- mar: Beshvili Nivrah Ha’olam.” one had to be counted before he/ Every single person must say the she could participate. In addition, world was created for me. we had to know the individual Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 37B capacities, how much each one ccording to Rabbi Bunim, could eat, what were the individ- Aeveryone should have two ual needs and degree of participa- new sanctuary. Yom Ha’Atzmaut pockets, each containing a slip of tion; only then could you know is universally celebrated on paper. On one should be written: how to prepare for the Seder. In Thursday, April 26 and we will I am but dust and ashes, and on the Torah food is nourishment for have a wonderful Independence the other: the world was created the body and the soul. “All who Day party in honor of Israel’s 64th for me. From time to time, we are hungry, let them enter and eat. birthday. Lag B’Omer also falls on must reach into one pocket or the All who are in need, let them come a Thursday and we are planning other. The secret of living comes and celebrate…” something special for this happy from knowing when to reach into In the Haggadah we recall the day. which pocket. four guests, our children, who are On June 5th we will bring our Congregation Ahavat Chesed present at the Seder. Each child Tenth Anniversary year to a cli- has a group of volunteers who comes with different needs and max with a special dinner and know that our motto of Chesed abilities and each one is spoken sanctuary dedication. At this is personified by the story above. to according to his/her abilities time we will have the opportu- They see each one of our residents and understanding. Every pro- nity to honor our volunteers for as individuals who are entitled to gram and service we conduct is their dedicated service with “The all the benefits and privileges as a arranged according to the needs Ahavat Chesed@BRMC Chesed right given to them by the Torah. and the abilities of all our partici- Award” for outstanding service In a long-term care facility the pants; they are our family and we to our residents, clients and mem- needs of the individual are sacro- treat them accordingly, with love, bers. Invitations will be mailed sanct. Perhaps that is the beauty of understanding and compassion. out shortly and we hope that the our success; we measure it not by This our volunteers do every money we raise will allow us to numbers but by individual partic- day. They are always suggesting complete our Jewish Chapel and ipation, by what he or she person- new and better ways to help our sanctuary. ally gets out of it. residents. They never rest on their Your participation is vital; with- This is the story of Passover. A laurels nor do they shy away from out your support we would have whole nation of millions of Israel- new challenges. Their motto is, very few programs and services ites left Egypt searching for free- “Kol Echad V’Echad Chayav Lomar: available to our Long Term Care dom and the Promised Land, but Beshvili Nivrah Ha’olam” (Mishnah Residents as well as our clients before they could embark on their in Sanhedrin). Every person is ob- in Behavioral Health. Please re- journey they were commanded to ligated to consider him/herself as serve the evening of Tuesday, observe the Seder, an observance the Raison d’Être of the universe. June 5 to join us in celebration of that continues to this day. It was, In the next few months we our past accomplishments and and is, an observance of the indi- will celebrate many holidays our future dreams and goals. vidual. It did not take place in the and special occasions. This year synagogue or rechov ha’ir (the Purim falls on a Thursday and we Wishing everyone a town square) but at home within will have our first ever Purim Seu- Chag Kosher V’Sameach & the confines of the family. dah and Megillah Reading in our Happy Passover. 4 Vol. V Issue II Bergen Regional Medical Center rthur Brown, a popular resident and Amember of Ahavat Chesed, is passionate about music. A public school music teacher for 20 years, his father was a Chazan and his daughter is a Cantor at a local synagogue. Trained by his father, Arthur plays classi- cal piano and regularly entertains residents at congregation functions. At the recent Tu B’Shevat Seder, Arthur’s beautiful rendi- tions of popular Israeli folk songs enhanced the service. When he’s not tickling the ivories, Arthur is also a proud grandfather. With Holocaust Remembrance Day ap- proaching, Arthur writes about the devasta- tion of the Shoah. yom hashoah by arthur brown he systematic annihilation of six mil- a beautiful diary before her destruction. Tlion Jews during the Second World Mordechai Anielewicz was a hero of the War is the single most horrifying event Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. of the 20th century. How could one na- We should never forget. tion carry out a program of the mass murder of anoth- er people? And yet it hap- pened. Under the control of Adolf Hitler, the “Final Solution” was carried out. There were many non- Jews, some who are recog- nized as Righteous Gen- tiles, who helped Jews hide and escape.