CBI NEWSletter July/August 2014 - Tamuz/Av/Elul 5774 In This Issue: From the Rabbi From the Rabbi Holy friends, Service times Thanks to Jewish Federation Thank God for sum- Shabbat and havdalah times mertime! This past winter seemed to ex- A song for the month of Elul tend longer than usu- You're Invited...to the Ranzer Brunch! al. I'm grateful for the change of seasons: for What does z"l mean? the beauty of our Never Forget Exhibit green hills, for bird- sonng, for long sum- Looking Back: Shavuot mer days. Monthly Spiritual Discussion Group Coming Soon to CBI Behind the scenes at CBI, preparations for the Psalm 100 in a new translation Days of Awe have kicked into high gear. I'm High Holiday Schedule meeting weekly over Skype with student haz- zan (cantor) Randall Miller, a student in the Introducing Days of Awe ALEPH cantorial program. (Some of you may Co-Presidents' Column know Randall from when he lived in Williamstown; these days he divides his time Meet Our Members: Information Needed between Philadelphia, where his wife Julie Be- CBI Book Group (upcoming titles / meetings) nioff is a rabbinic student, and Alaska, which is Lunch Bunch Dates the home of his heart.) CBI Co-Presents Rabbi and Scholar Haviva Ner-David, author of Randall has a beautiful deep voice and a sweet neshamah (spirit). I know that co-leading our Chanah's Voice high holiday services with him will be a joy. Happy occasions Thanks to our donors I've also been putting the finishing touches on Seeking Shamashim a project which has been in the works for sev- eral years (and has been an intense focus for A poem about a year and a half): a new machzor (high Reprint: The Power of Do-Overs holiday prayerbook), which will have its grand début at CBI this September. This is one of the Other Great Jewish Happenings in the projects of my heart. I am so delighted to be Berkshires This Summer: from Rimon, JTS able to share it with y'all. (continued.) - 1 - I'm thankful to the members of the CBI mach- somber and meaningful evening service. We'll zor committee for their wise suggestions and read Lamentations together, along with con- helpful input, and also to the donors who made temporary poetry, and we'll have some time for these new prayerbooks possible at no cost to text study on themes of brokenness and the synagogue. You cn read more about this healing. prayerbook, which is titled Days of Awe, in this newsletter. Wishing you joy, We'll also pilot at least one service from Mishkan HaNefesh, the Reform movement's Rabbi Rachel new machzor, which is due to be published in 2015. Stay tuned for more information about that. Service times Periodic Friday nights (check our Of course, it's not quite high holiday time yet! Before we make it to those awesome days, we website) have a few months of spectacular summer to savor. Every Saturday 9:30 a.m. Shabbat Service 11ish a.m. Kiddush & Torah Study This is a particularly beautiful time of year to come and daven (pray) here on Shabbat Meditation minyan mornings. We usually spend a little while out- Friday mornings, 8:15 a.m. No doors in our "extra sanctuary," which is to say, experience with meditation is the patio and lawn and wetland which are be- required; all are welcome! hind the synagogue. There's nothing quite like saying thank You to God (whatever you under- stand that word to mean) while surrounded by the glory of nature! The birds and crickets and frogs seem to be singing praises, too. On Monday, August 4, we'll observe Tisha b'Av at CBI. Tisha b'Av means "the ninth of Av," and is the anniversary of the date of the de- We Thank Jewish Federa- struction of both holy temples in Jerusalem, tion for Making Our He- one in 586 BCE and one in 70 CE. Tisha b'Av is an opportunity to allow ourselves safely to ex- brew School Possible perience brokenness, together as a community. Congregation Beth Israel gratefully acknowl- It is from this spiritual "low point" of our year edges the receipt of $7,661 from the Jewish that we begin the climb up toward the High Federation of the Berkshires in support of our Holidays...and some people have the custom of students' Jewish education. Each student in counting the 49 days between Tisha b'Av and the CBI Religious School received a tuition Rosh Hashanah, as a parallel to counting the subsidy of $273 for the 2013-2014 school year. 49 days of the Omer between Pesach and This funding, raised during the Federation's Shavuot. Annual Campaign, is a vital part of our school budget and we highly encourage every member of CBI to contribute to the Jewish Federation Whether or not you've ever dipped into Tisha of the Berkshires Annual Campaign in 2014. b'Av before, I hope you'll join us this year for a - 2 - Shabbat candle and A Song for the month of Havdalah times, July and Elul August On Monday August 4 at sundown we'll enter into the Jewish month of Elul. Elul is the month which leads immediately to the High Holidays / Days of Awe. ,אלול ,If you spell the month's name in Hebrew it can be understood as an acronym for the ,Ani l'dodi v'dodi li ,אני לדודי ודודי לי phrase which means "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine." That's a line from Song of Songs, and in this context, it reminds us that we are God's beloved! If you want to light Shabbat candles and make havdalah at the halakhically-accepted times, here they are: Here's a song which is traditionally sung every day during the month of Elul: July 4 8:15p lighting, July 5 9:23p Havdalah July 11 8:12p lighting, July 12 9:20p Havdalah July 18 8:08p lighting, July 19 9:15p Havdalah from Psalm 27 July 25 8:01p lighting, July 26 9:08p Havdalah □ ַאַחת ָשַׁאְלִתּי Achat sha'alti me'eit □ August 1 7:54p lighting, Aug. 2 9:01p Havdalah Adonai, ֵמֵאת-יְיָ Aug. 8 7:45p lighting, Aug. 9 8:52p Havdalah otah avakesh אוָֹתהּ ֲאַבֵקּשׁ: Aug. 15 7:35p lighting, Aug. 16 8:41p Havdalah Shivti b'veit Adonai, Aug. 22 7:24p light, Aug. 23 8:31p Havdalah ִשְׁבִתּי ְבֵּבית-יְיָ, kol y'mei chayyay Aug. 29 7:13p lighting, Aug. 30 8:19p Havdalah ָכּל- ְיֵמי ַחַיּי; ,Lachazot b'noam Yah u'l'vaker b'heikhalo ַלֲחזוֹת ְבֹּנַעם-יְיָ, Of course, if it is your practice to light candles at a different hour of the day (perhaps not וְּלַב ֵקּר ְבּ ֵהיָכלוֹ. quite so early as halakha indicates during the winter, and not quite so late as halakha indi- □ One thing I ask, I ask of You cates during the summer), that's also a legiti- I earnestly pray for: mate Reform Jewish choice. What's most im- That I might dwell in Your house portant is that you're finding a way to all the days of my life incorporate Shabbat into your life! Knowing the beauty, the beauty of You and to dwell in Your holy place! - 3 - Brunch Honoring David What does z"l mean? and Joanne Ranzer by Rabbi Rachel You are cordially invited to a Brunch in Honor of Joanne and David Ranzer at 11:30 on July 5th ז׳׳ל at Congregation Beth Israel Following Saturday morning Shabbat services Recently someone asked me about the meaning of the two letters with the quotation David and Joanne Ranzer have been members marks which frequently appear after the name of the CBI community for eighteen of someone who has died. For instance, when years. Both of them have served as President of we send out an email notice about a funeral, the CBI Board of Directors. They were the subject line reads Ploni ben Ploni, z"l. instrumental in the creation of the CBI (Ploni ben Ploni is the Hebrew way of saying building at 53 Lois Street which we all enjoy "John Doe" -- a generic name which doesn't re- today. They were active in researching and fer to anyone in particular.) What does the z"l founding the Take and Eat program at CBI. mean? Most importantly, they have been warm and wonderful welcomers to all who have walked through CBI's doors for many years. (It was The abbreviation z"l is an English rendering of -which is an abbrevi ,ז׳׳ל their outreach which convinced Rabbi Rachel the Hebrew acronym ,זכרונו לברך to join CBI as a member, long before she was ation of the Hebrew phrase in rabbinic school!) Join us in celebrating their zichrono livracha, which means "May his many contributions, both tangible and memory be a blessing." (For a woman, the זכרונה לברך intangible, as their move to be closer to same abbreviation would indicate children and grandchildren precipitates a shift zichrona livracha, "may her memory be a from year-round membership to seasonal blessing." membership. th The other abbreviation one sometimes sees af- We asked people to RSVP by June 18 with the ter the name of someone who has died is a"h, an ,א׳׳ה number of people in your party, including which is the English way of writing children, to Jack Hockridge at 413/663-5830 abbreviation for , alav hashalom, אליו השלום or [email protected].