Temple Kol Ami Where innovation meets tradition WE DO JEWISH PAGE 9 Message from the Rabbi “Mishkan T’filah is Coming to TKA” page 2 Behind the Scenes 4 Business Connect 6 Early Childhood Center 8 Youth Engagement 14 TEMPLEKOLAMI.ORG JUNE/JULY 2018 | SIVAN/TAMMUZ/AV 5778 Message from the Rabbi “Mishkan T’filah is Coming to Temple Kol Ami” Starting Friday night, makeshift prayer books, and some July 6, I’m excited kept using the old Union Prayer Book. to announce that Temple Kol Ami The Mishkan T’filah comes in two Rabbi Schneider will be moving to versions: one larger and one slimmer. “Mishkan T’filah” – the official prayer book The larger format includes Shabbat for Reform Judaism. and weekday and festival holidays. The slimmer version is just Shabbat. Many Reform Jews grew up with Temple Kol Ami has purchased the the Union Prayer Book that was slimmer version. The new prayer first published in 1895. The earliest book reflects the diversity of Reform versions of this prayer book rejected Judaism: such traditional Jewish notions as a personal Messiah, the Jews as God’s • Broad selection of readings including chosen people, and the desire to beloved passages from our Reform return to the land of Israel. But those liturgical tradition and great poetic ideas and other features were changed writings from throughout Jewish history as the book was updated in 1922 and 1941. When the Reform movement • Faithful, elegant translations adopted its next prayer book in 1975, “Gates of Prayer,” it reflected Reform’s • Contemporary, gender-inclusive move toward Zionism and some English acceptance of tradition, featuring services for Israeli Independence Day • Theological and stylistic diversity and Holocaust commemoration. • Extensive commentaries, source But, by the mid 1980s, some Reform notes and usage guides members were already dissatisfied, saying that “Gates of Prayer” used • More than 100 contemporary and sexist language and failed to traditional song texts reflect rising interest in spirituality and participatory worship. Some • Innovative design and color congregations, like Temple Kol Ami, created and photocopied their own PAGE 2 TEMPLE KOL AMI: WHERE INNOVATION MEETS TRADITION FAQ: The Reform Movement’s Revolving Prayer Book What Does ‘Mishkan ‘T’filah’ mean? Mishkan T’filah is the fifth prayer Mishkan means “Place where God book for the North American Reform resides.” T’filah means “Prayer.” Movement. So, Mishkan T’filah refers to our 1857: The Minhag America prayer becoming closer to God through book predated most other aspects of prayer and song. It’s a beautiful Reform Judaism in the U.S. sentiment, and reflects our worship at Temple Kol Ami. 1892: The Central Conference of American Rabbis brought out the Union Prayer Book. The UPB was extensively revised in 1922 and 1941. 1975: Gates of Prayer was introduced, with more than 10 variations of different services. This book is often referred to as “Gates of Blue.” 1989: A revision of the Gates of Prayer was published. Much smaller than the “Gates of Blue,” the new “Gates of Gray” was more gender-inclusive. 2007: The CCAR unveils Mishkan T’filah. 2018: Temple Kol Ami adopts Mishkan T’filah through funds given to TKA by the Harold Greenspoon Foundation for our work to build our Life & Legacy Foundation and a generous gift from members Randee and David Manley. TEMPLE KOL AMI: WHERE INNOVATION MEETS TRADITION TEMPLE KOL AMI: WHERE INNOVATION MEETS TRADITION PAGE 3 When Pushke Comes to Shove Behind the Scenes with the Executive Director For those who are business of synagogue life in our world re- not familiar with quired more than collection of dues. While the word “pushke”, most families may be able to afford a half a pushke is a Yid- shekel, we learned that a half shekel would dish word, (pro- not sustain our communities. nounced PUSH- kee ,PUSH-kuh, or Fundraising, which bridges the gap be- PISH-kee) and is tween the revenue of membership and Nancy Drapin derived from the the actual cost of maintaining our extend- Polish word pusz- ed tabernacle (including educational pro- ka. It means, “a little can or container kept grams, social activities, dinners, social ac- in the home, often in the kitchen, in which tion etc.) became a necessity of synagogue money to be donated to a charity is accu- life. mulated” (Rosten, 1968, 296). Many of us grew up with this little blue box with a map Josh Cohen, TKA Treasurer, presented the of Israel on it, usually kept in the kitchen 2018-19 budget at our Annual Meeting where our mothers could remind us of our on May 6. Kol Ami’s budget will be 2.1 mil- responsibilities. We dropped change in the lion, and, we have a balanced budget. This little top slid and at some point that change means that in order to meet our expenses, was sent to Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel). our revenue must equal $2.1 M. The concept of giving to the community is As you can see, our revenue comes from four in the Torah and is, needless to say, much major streams: Membership, Early Childhood older than a pushke. The pushke is just the Center, Fundraising and Program income vehicle for gathering money, a marketing (Religious school and youth programs, High and communications strategy. Holy Days and all other Jewish Holiday cele- brations, and adult education). Each of these The Torah talks about an accounting of all areas contribute to the Temple’s bottom line. the funds and materials that Moses collect- ed for the building of the tabernacle. The Meeting the budget each year is like doing Torah also talks about the command for a huge puzzle with thousands of pieces. Ev- every Israelite over the age of 20 to donate ery donation counts towards the big picture. a half shekel back to the Tabernacle. The Each revenue stream contributes to the bot- half shekel was a tax – a way of collecting tom line of $2.1 M. communal funds and counting the mem- bers of the community. Over the years, synagogue membership dues became a way of counting the mem- bers and of having enough money to fund our “tabernacles”. And ever since Mo- ses, we have tried to maintain a balanced budget. However, the cost of running the PAGE 4 TEMPLE KOL AMI: WHERE INNOVATION MEETS TRADITION Each fundraising activity contributes to fun- raising goals are based on the needs of the draising revenue stream as follows. If one congregation as a whole community. Our area does not meet its goal, it affects the synagogue belongs to all of us and protects bottom line of the budget and impacts the individuals and all generations of our mem- goal of another area. bers by providing support to everyone and to all activities. •Your gift helps to pay the bills and meet our basic budget. Just because we are non –profit doesn’t mean we should or can exist in a def- icit – we have to meet budget expectations. Fundraising supplies the additional finances that are needed, over and above annual dues and service fees. •If you are the person who needs to know what specific things your donation buys, I can tell you that it purchases art supplies, toilet paper, challah, copier toner and so many oth- During the past two year, we have in- er items that are used throughout the week. creased our fundraising success by using It helps to pay teachers’ salaries, keep the air three strategies: conditioning working, pay the water bill and provides the oneg after Shabbat services. 1) Building relationships so that people are Your donation touches everything and every- better connected and understand our vision, one who comes in contact with our Temple. 2) Decreasing the number of fundraising proj- •Your donation puts a value on Jewish life. ects by centralizing approval, planning, and Your gift enables us to enhance what we do emphasizing larger activities. well, to support our core values, and to en- able new experiences. It provides the core 3) Spreading our fundraising throughout the support to our vision, to “doing Jewish”. year to improve our cash flow The Hebrew word “to give” is v’natnu which is •Each of these tactics have allowed us to a Hebrew palindrome – a word that is spelled increase our volunteer teams, focus en- the same way forward as backwards. When ergy, save time, reach more members and we give with holiness, we gain as much as raise more money. By lowering the number we give. We are honored by the gifts that we of times we “ask” our members to give, we receive from you. We hope that you believe promote the idea of giving to the communal that supporting our community is a privilege good rather than to a specific cause. It opens and that you feel you receive much when you the door to educating everyone about what give. we do at the temple whether or not a mem- ber participates in a particular program. Our temple is in excellent financial health. Every donation that you make, whether it is •We know that fundraising is discretionary large or small, has a BIG IMPACT. On behalf giving, over and above your annual member- of all of our members, clergy, staff, Board of ship commitment. So, what do your dona- Trustees, I thank you for your gifts of love to tions do? our temple. If you would like to get involved in Kol Ami fundraising efforts throughout Your gift simply helps others. Our fund- the year in any way, please email or call me. • I hope you have a great summer! TEMPLE KOL AMI: WHERE INNOVATION MEETS TRADITION TEMPLE KOL AMI: WHERE INNOVATION MEETS TRADITION PAGE 5 NEW TKA BUSINESS CONNECT Do you have a business expertise that you can share with other members of Temple Kol Ami? Would you like other TKA members to learn about your business? Would you like to connect with other TKA business owners? Don’t Miss the First TKA Business Connect Networking Meeting At our first meeting we will: Wednesday Outline the objective of the group; schedule and plan presentations; August 22 set goals for the year Contact Nancy Drapin: [email protected] or 480-951-9660 7PM to make sure your name is on the list.