d'var sinai May 2019 Artist-in-Residence Weekend See page 11 for more information. Also in This Issue: Annual Meeting: page 4 Construction Update: page 7 Activities for Young Families, Youth, & Teens: pages 8 - 10 Temple Sinai Board of Trustees & Staff To reach President Cary Rodin, email [email protected]. To reach staff via email, please use first initial, last [email protected]. Ex: [email protected] Board of Trustees Spiritual Leadership D’var Sinai President Rabbis Published by Temple Sinai Cary Rodin Ronald M. Segal 5645 Dupree Drive President Elect Bradley G. Levenberg Sandy Springs, GA 30327 Lynn Redd Samantha S. Trief P: 404.252.3073; F: 404.252.8570 Philip N. Kranz, Emeritus www.templesinaiatlanta.org Vice President of Communications Bunzl Family Cantorial Chair Mark Rosenthal Beth Schafer 8 Be sure to visit our website to Vice President of Community Administrative & Programming Staff register for upcoming events. Penina Richards Executive Director Jack J. Feldman Vice President of Development Associate Executive Director Look for the icon indicating that Candy Berman Shelly Dresdner the service will be streamed live. Vice President of Education Director of Communications LaWana Streger Andrea Fineman D’var Sinai Submissions Vice President of Membership Director of Member Engagement should be emailed to Josh Tolchin Jaimee Boettcher communication@ Event and Rental Manager Vice President of Spiritual Life Allison Carter templesinaiatlanta.org. The Cathy Gottlieb deadline for the June/July issue is Accounting Manager Treasurer Michele Harvey April 25. Thank you! Mark Bachmann Facilities Manager Assistant Treasurer Andre Parker Jan Saperstein Advertise with Us Member Engagement Manager The D’var Sinai has a circulation Immediate Past President Simone Bonnejonne of approximately 1,500 Marcia Nuffer Program and Engagement Manager Samantha Berinsky Members households and is published 11 Jon Barry Graphic Design Associate times per year. Our advertising Gus Kim Steven Bodner, Presidential Appointee rates are very competitive. Jeff Diamond Digital Marketing Associate Lara Dorfman Helaine Milch-Schroder Please email communication@ Howard Feinsand templesinaiatlanta.org for Marcy Fortnow Senior Clergy Assistant Rachel DeLine information. Michael Freedman Stacey Geer Executive Assistant Greg Jacobs Corinne Williams Jane Leavey Front Office Assistant Alex Lurey, Brotherhood Trustee Michele Goodelman Adam Mayer, Presidential Appointee Sara Neuberger, Teen Trustee Center for Learning and Engagement David Piha Director, Center for Learning & Engagement Mindi Sard Marisa Kaiser www.facebook.com/TempleSinaiATL Andi Siegel, Women of Sinai Trustee Director of Preschool & Young Family Robert Sinsheimer, Presidential Appointee Learning & Engagement Lynda Walker Jamah Maman In order to reduce waste and costs, Heather Weiner Director of B’nei Mitzvah Program Sharon Clark we offer an option to receive the URJ Board Members D’var Sinai each month via email. Director, Teen Learning & Engagement Steve Berman We have plenty of printed copies at Jan Epstein Molly Okun Temple Sinai to peruse as well. Please Howard Fagin Director, Youth Learning & Engagement Arthur Heyman Emily Cohen note that this is only an option; if Your Journey. Your Home . Home Journey. Your Your Ben Sillins you do not sign up to receive our Education Program Manager & Library Coordinator online version, you will still receive HUC-JIR Board Member Samara Katz the printed copy in the mail. Sign up Joy Greenberg Center for Learning & Engagement Assistant electronically by selecting your mail Jenny Mopper preferences in our member portal or Preschool and Young Family Learning & by calling the Temple Sinai office at 2 Engagement Assistant 404.252.3073. Liz Reynolds From My Perspective | Bunzl Family Cantorial Chair Beth Schafer What is Jewish music? It is a question that’s been asked for generations. Is Jewish music the chanting modes of our liturgical tradition? The melodies that are inextricably connected to the Hebrew that lead us through our daily and seasonal prayers? Is it the music that stems from our cultural tradition? Songs in Yiddish and Ladino, melodies from Yemen, Syria, Russia, or Spain? Is it the music of Jewish composers? Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan? Is it the music of Debbie Friedman, Craig Taubman, Julie Silver, Dan Nichols, and the like who write about Jewish life and help us get closer to our sacred texts? Of course, the answer is yes. It is all of those things in one way or another. When anyone uses their God-given artistic talents and expresses them in a way that also reflects Jewish thought or experience, then one could make the case that the music is in some way Jewish. Gone are the days when a klezmer band from Eastern Europe would be the standard bearer of Jewish music. This month we have the opportunity to hear an extraordinary group of musicians and their imprint on contemporary Jewish music. The band Nefesh Mountain, who will be with us the weekend of May 3-5, are amazingly talented. They have been written about in Billboard magazine as one of the best bluegrass bands touring right now. Eric Lindbergh, guitarist/banjoist, is one of the most talented players I’ve ever met. Together with his wife, Doni Zasloff, the band has swept the Jewish world up in its infectious, rootsy, Appalachian sound. You do not want to miss a chance to experience them in worship and in concert. I am so excited that our Music Committee picked these talented mensches to come spend a weekend with us. I would love to hear from you what Jewish music has touched you or how music has connected you to Judaism in some way. As we grow our musical experiences at Temple Sinai, both in-house and through guest artists, knowing what has been meaningful to you will really help shape future offerings. Looking forward to seeing you in May and experiencing this knock-out band together. templesinaiatlanta.org | Bunzl Family Cantorial Chair, Beth Schafer 404 . 252 3073 Nefesh Mountain 3 Board Message | Cary Rodin, President Friends, what an incredibly fast year it has been! Fast, but also gratifying, productive, challenging, and instructive. It’s been a deep personal honor to serve as president of Temple Sinai—an experience I have long anticipated Board Message Board and will never forget. There were so many meaningful moments—the chance to stand before the congregation on the bima on Rosh HaShanah. Commemorating Temple Sinai’s 50th anniversary in prayer, celebration and nostalgia. Helping to launch and execute a successful 50th Anniversary Capital and Endowment Campaign. And working daily with the most passionate and capable clergy, staff, and board a president could want. I also had the honor of representing the congregation on April 1st when Rabbi Segal was installed as the President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. In my D’var Sinai message of a year ago I noted that a primary focus of my time in office would be “maintaining our strong financial well-being and ensuring its sustainability.” Nearing our $12 million Capital and Endowment Campaign goal, I feel confident that Temple Sinai is in that enviable financial position. This assures that needed renovations to about 80% of the building, including the sanctuary and preschool, will be executed at the highest level of quality. And, by strengthening the endowment, it will ensure that Temple Sinai remains strong for today, tomorrow, and for generations to come. In mid-May, we will shift our physical setting to permit construction to take place on Dupree Drive. On page 7 of the D’var, Jack Feldman and the staff detail what will happen when and where. We have consolidated the construction period, with plans to be back in the renovated building in time for both the start of preschool in the fall and the High Holy Days 2019. Thank you again for the opportunity to serve a congregation I love. Incoming President Lynn Redd and her board are already hard at work to continue to make Temple Sinai the warm and welcoming congregation it has been since 1968. I look forward to my role as Immediate Past President and continuing to serve the congregation. With gratitude and warm wishes for a wonderful summer, Cary Rodin, President Temple Sinai’s Annual Meeting Followed by dessert reception Monday, May 6, 7:00 pm The Annual Meeting gives our congregation a “State of the Union” and a chance to hear directly from Your Journey. Your Home . Home Journey. Your Your our clergy, staff, and lay leaders regarding goals for the future and an update on this year’s initiatives. Join us and help mark another amazing year and important transition in the life of Temple Sinai. So that we may plan accordingly, please let us know if you are planning to attend. RSVP online at www.templesinaiatlanta.org. 4 Brotherhood Upcoming Events of Sinai Brotherhood/Women Spring 2019 Brotherhood Poker Tournament 8 Wednesday, May 22, 6:30 pm at Hudson Grille in Sandy Springs Are you Sinai’s best poker player? Do you want to be? Test your skills at Brotherhood’s Semi-Annual Texas Hold‘em Poker Tournament. The poker tournament will begin promptly at 7:00 pm. Prizes will be awarded… plus, the top two players will have their names permanently engraved on the “Sinai Cup” trophy. Not a poker player? Not a problem. Stop by and hang out with your Sinai friends (or make some new ones) while watching the poker action or primetime NBA playoff basketball on the televisions at Hudson Grille. Come enjoy the dinner, desserts, and drinks. The cost to attend for Brotherhood members is $10 and $30 for all others. If you want to play in the poker tournament, the ‘buy-in’ is $20 for everyone. All re-buys will be collected for Tzedakah, and Brotherhood will make a donation to a worthy Sinai charity.