Temple Sholom T he T in Broomall FEBRUARY 2012 T emple T idings SHEVAT/ADAR 5772 CELEBRATE SHIRA BY THE SEA WITH YOUR SISTERS AT SISTERHOOD SHABBAT Friday, February 3 at 8:00 PM U ISH VAT EDER AND T B ’ S SHABBAT WORSHIP EXPERIENCE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10 AT 6:30 PM On Friday, February 10th we will be celebrating Shabbat and having a Tu Bish’vat experience at Temple Sholom! Tu Bish’vat marks the New Original Artwork: Barbara Litt Year for the trees. In the Middle Ages, Tu Bish’vat was celebrated with a feast of fruits in keeping with the Mishnaic description of the WHAT’S INSIDE th holiday as a "New Year." In the 16 century, the 2 Rabbi’s Message 14 Religious School News kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed and his Newest Members 15 Religious School disciples instituted a Tu Bish’vat seder in which 3 Cantor’s Notes Calendar notes the fruits and trees of the Land of Israel were 4 Office News Mitzvah Meals 5 PATS Concert Religious School given symbolic meaning. The main idea is that JLL Series Website eating ten specific fruits and drinking four cups Feb. Oneg Sponsors Havdalah in the Home of wine in a specific order while reciting the Tanakh Study Challah Mitzvah appropriate blessings would bring human 6 Message from the 16 Jewish Travelers beings, and the world, closer to spiritual Board Knit Wits Mazel Tovs 17 Pizza Order Form perfection. In Israel and here in the United 7 Steve Berger’s Message 18 Jewlery & YOU! States, the Tu Bish’vat seder has been revived. 8 Broad Street Mission 19 CSA Sign-up 9 Hilltoppers Conversations with Men Come and enjoy this special experience with Remembering Nate Amazon Associates Rabbi Rigler, Cantor Shapiro, Kol Shalom and Computer Classes 20 Sisterhood News Doing Mitzvot JNF Trees your temple community. 10 B’nai Mitzvah 21 Sisterhood Book Club Storahtelling! Gift Garden Our evening will begin with a potluck dinner 11 Preschool Update Women’s Spirituality and will continue with a Shabbat/Tu Bish’vat College Admissions 22 Happiness & Mem. experience beginning at 6:30. 12 Hospice Cards JLL Lecture Series 23 Tzedakah Mitzvah Corps 24 February Yahrzeits For those commemorating the yahrzeit of a Shop Sholom 25 Temple Funds loved one, we will be reciting kaddish in the 13 Lobby Café Recent Passings Main Sanctuary after our Tu Bish’vat program ToaSTY’s Tidings 27 Temple Calendar at approximately 8:00 PM. Food Drive 28 Upcoming Events February 2012 1 Temple Tidings Temple FROM THE DESK OF RABBI RIGLER For the Sake of Our Children Tidings Temple Sholom Israeli statesman Abba Eban once stated, "Now is an in Broomall interesting time in Israel. In fact it is always an 55 North Church Lane interesting time in Israel!" Broomall, PA 19008 610-356-5165 Phone Joel Perlish Photography We can't help but watch with worry and great concern 610-356-6713 Fax now as we see the shifting sands of the Middle East. 610-886-2065 Education Office What will this year bring in that part of the world? You may not be www.temple-sholom.org surprised to know that I consider myself a Zionist and care deeply about [email protected] the future of the State of Israel. I do not agree with every policy and have spoken out when I am concerned. I hope that we can all agree that the Rabbi Peter C. Rigler Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro future existence of the State of Israel is something we are committed to. Rabbi Emeritus Mayer Selekman Cantor Emerita Patrice Kaplan In the coming months and years Temple Sholom will continue to find Abbey Krain, Executive Director ways to engage with Israel. From learning to debating and celebrating. I Lori Green, Education Director am excited this month to be brining another group of Temple Sholom Liz Z. Sussman, Early Childhood Ed. Dir. members to see the Holy Land. We travel not just for ourselves, but to Sandy Cohen, Community Coordinator represent the families of Temple Sholom. I will share our trip pictures and Temple Sholom Executive Board stories when we return with the congregation. Michael Samuels, President Michael Danowitz, Executive VP Our members Steven and Ilene Berger are among those within our Brett Amdur, Senior VP synagogue family actively committed to Israel. Steve in fact was recently Steve Granoff, Treasurer named to the Board for the American Technion Society! Steve recently Jim Meyer, Secretary shared a message with the Board that I found moving and important. I Steve Berger, Member at Large have asked him to share his words with the entire congregation. See Emily Mendell, Member at Large Page 7 for Steve’s message. Auxiliary Representatives Howard Cylinder, Brotherhood ~ B’shalom, Rabbi Rigler Cindy Meyer, Hilltoppers Donna Hendel, Sisterhood Alyssa Kress, Youth Group Director Temple Sholom is a NON-SMOKING facility WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST Temple Tidings Publication Guidelines MEMBERS: Deadline for March 2012 issue: February 1, 2012 The Temple Tidings is published monthly. Material submitted for publication may be edited for style, THE SLOMIANSKI FAMILY length and content. Anonymous submissions will not be printed. ANTONIA & NETANEL, HILA, ALONA & YARON Please make submissions by E-MAIL if possible. A confirmation message will be sent on receipt of your e- mail or send submissions to the Temple TYPEWRIT- THE KELLEHER FAMILY TEN or CLEARLY PRINTED. Questions? Call Elyse Endy, Editor 610-296-4096 PATRICK & JACKIE, RYAN, LAUREN, RACHEL & JAMES [email protected] Advertising in the Temple Tidings THE MORTON - BERGER FAMILY Advertising contracts are arranged and paid IN DEBRA & BEN, HARRY, ARNIE & TESS ADVANCE of publication through the Temple Office. Call Elyse at 610-356-5165 or e-mail her at: [email protected]. Advertising rates are posted on our website at: www.temple-sholom.org/aboutus/newsletter/ TEMPLE TIDINGS 2 February 2012 CANTOR SHAPIRO’S NOTES Tu Bish’vat, the new year for the through other th trees, always falls on the 15 day of organizations. There are the month of Shevat on the Jewish now opportunities to support progressivism in Israel calendar. This year Tu Bish’vat falls by planting trees through Rabbis for Human on February 8th. We will observe the Rights. RHR has launched a campaign to replant holiday here at Temple Sholom on olive orchards in the West Bank that were burned by Friday, February 11th with a very special Shabbat Jewish settlers. You plant a tree through RHR here: service and Tu Bish’vat experience. http://www.rhr-na.org/blog/?p=1354 Trees hold an important place in Judaism. From our Rabbi Jack Riemer wrote these words that appear in texts, there is, of course, the mention of trees in the our prayer book: Garden of Eden. And Deuteronomy asks the question, “Are trees of the field human?” in a verse We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end war, that prohibits people from cutting down trees in for we know that you have made the world in such a battle. Natan Zach is a great Israeli poet, born in way that man must find his own path to peace within Berlin, who immigrated to Haifa as a child. He himself and with his neighbor. published a well-known poem playing on this verse in 1999. An excerpt of the poem in translation We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end follows: starvation, for you have already given us resources with which to feed the whole wide world, if we could For man is like a tree of the field. only use them wisely. Like man, the tree also grows; Like the tree, man is cut down. We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to root our And I know not, where I’ve been nor where I’ll prejudice, for you have already given us eyes with be, like the tree of the field. which to see the good in all men, if we would only use them rightly. The poem was set to music by Shalom Hanoch. You can listen here: http:// We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1ur8e- despair, for you have already given us the power to 2IYE&feature=related clear away slums and to give hope, if we would only use our power justly. In early December of 2010, forest fires raged through Northern Israel and “cut down” many trees We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end of the field. The fires took the lives of 41 Israelis, disease, for you have already given us great minds taking the lives of trees and people together, making with which to search out cures and healings, if we no distinction in its path of destruction. More than 30 would only use them constructively. square miles of forests were destroyed in the blazes. Therefore we pray to you instead, O God, for strength, determination and will power, to do what At home in North America, just in 2011, 538,000 we can, to do what we must, to do instead of just to acres were swallowed in the worst fire in AZ state pray, to become instead of merely to wish. history; 34,000 acres in the worst fire in Texas state history and 1,800,000 acres of forest were lost to As we celebrate Tu Bish’vat this year, let us fire in Alberta, Canada. remember that we cannot merely pray to God to restore the forests and the destructions wrought by Each year when Tu Bish’vat arrives, Israelis plant human carelessness, for God has given us hands to trees.