The Bulletin TEMPLE BNAI ISRAEL’S MEMBERS & FRIENDS NEWSLETTER “...to do justly, love mercy, and SIVAN-TAMMUZ/TAMMUZ-AV 5776 JULY/AUGUST 2016 walk humbly with thy God.” 106 Years and growing! Quiet Corner Refugee Resettlement (QCRR) Program How you can help: Volunteer. Participate in the many opportunities to become informed about refugees, US and UN policies, and the culture, beauty and strengths of the families we welcome as new neighbors. Help raise the $6-7,000 we need for each family; mail checks to: WAIM - PO Box 221 - Willimantic, CT 06226. Please note “QCRR” in memo line. Donate material goods like household furnishings through WAIM, Tuesday - Saturday 9am- Noon. Turn to page 10 for more information in the Tikkun Olam Committee’s article Board of Directors 2 Answers to last month’s Library art work 13 Summer Vacation Information, challenge 2 Administrative hours update Donations 15 President’s Message 3 Yahrzeits for July and August 16, 17, 20 Rabbinic Reflections 4 Donations 15 In this issue Services 5 Opportunities for Giving 19 July/ August Jewry Duty Participants/ 6-7 Thanks to our advertisers 22 Needs WAIM’s Back-to-school clothing program 23 Library 8 July and August Weekly Readings 9 Art work by member Tammy Hunter 25 Committee Reports 10 July/August calendars 26, 27 Temple Family News 11 Bnaifactor Update Back cover OFFICERS & BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Immediate Past President David Golden David Stoloff THE BULLETIN is a Vice President, Mishkan/Building & Operations publication of Jim Baber TEMPLE BNAI ISRAEL 345 Jackson Street Kesher/Secretary & Communications PO Box 61 Gloria Gerald Willimantic, CT 06226 Phone: 860.423.3743 Tikkun Olam Fax: 860.423.7594 Anne Willenborg Submission deadline: 3rd Monday of each month. Brit/Community & Membership Mona Friedland Rabbi Jeremy Schwartz Office hours: Torah/Education & Programming Tuesday through Friday Karen Drazen To schedule an appointment call 860.423.3743 Ext. 0 or e-mail Avodah/Religious Life [email protected] Judy Stein Confidential Voice Mail: Kemah/Treasurer 860.423.3743 Ext. 1 Glenn Blumenstein [email protected] Affiliations: Members at Large: The Jewish Gerry Berkowitz Reconstructionist Movement Alex Nishball www.jewishrecon.org Ellie Shane Jewish Federation of Doreen Simonsen Eastern Connecticut Thank you for your service to our shul. www.jfec.com Windham Area Interfaith IMPORTANT SUMMER UPDATE Ministry (WAIM) Rav Jeremy will be away from the office for vacation www.waimct.org and other commitments: Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger July 5 through July 11 www.mazon.org July 24 through August 1 Religious August 3 through August 15 School Administrator Morah Dara Bowling The administrator’s office hours Email: [email protected] for July and August will be: Monday, 10:00am to 4:00pm Office Administrator Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 12:00pm to 5:00pm Marlene Aulten No Wednesdays 860.423.3743 Ext. 0 Deviations from this schedule can be seen on [email protected] Monday 10am-3pm the Temple calendar at: Tues/Wed/Thurs noon to 5 http://www.templebnaiisrael.org/temple-bnai-israel-calendar/ 2 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Shalom, Emmanuel Buzay, Jim Baber, Lex Nishball, Ellie Firstly, I want to apologize to you for the delay in Shane and myself. The proposal that was approved and will be implemented is as follows: sending out this edition of The Bulletin. Marlene was waiting for this message from me in order to Signage: complete and mail this issue out, and I wasn’t able We will be placing signage on the downstairs door to get it to her in time. Especially for those of you that says ‘please enter upstairs’ after the start of any reading this via hard copy (because the date of event, and we will place ‘warning’ and ‘security mailing may result in you not receiving this until camera’ signs at the back door, parking lot, and after the first of the month), I am sorry. Now that outside kitchen area. We may possibly install my mea culpa is out of the way, on to this month’s inexpensive cameras on the grounds as well. important message: Locking Doors: I wanted to take the time to update you on a recent We will lock the downstairs door after the start of TBI Safety and Security Committee proposal that any Temple event. Whenever possible, we’ll have a was approved by the Board, and will be designated person (greeter) to keep an eye on the implemented at our Shul over time. We take the front door during services and other events (starting safety of our congregants, staff and tenants very with members of the Safety and Security Committee, seriously in these troubling times, and as a result we and later to be expanded to include other worked very hard to come up with a few policies volunteers). If it so happens that such a person is that will be beneficial to our community, but won’t not available, the event will nevertheless continue as be overly burdensome to, or intrusive upon, planned. everyone’s experiences at the synagogue. I’d also like to express a very special thank you to Continued on page 21 the members of our Safety and Security Committee who worked hard on this proposal, namely MISSION STATEMENT Temple Bnai Israel is a welcoming Jewish community which offers a spiritual, religious, and social home for all Jews. We cherish a belief in one God, the Torah, prayer and the music and beauty of our Jewish culture. We are commanded and committed to passing these blessings on to all future generations. We observe and celebrate Jewish traditions and laws, while remaining open to change which meets the needs of our time, and which will stand the test of time. We intend to be a force for good and comfort as individuals and as a whole. We seek to offer justice, tolerance, and charity within the Temple Bnai Israel community, the larger Jewish community, and the non-Jewish worlds within which we live. Our synagogue recognizes the equality of all Jews. Jewish men and women, including those Jews in interfaith marriages, are entitled to participate equally in all religious rites, and all secular and religious leadership positions. Our congregation also reaches out to all who welcome Judaism into their lives. We believe in the ancient teaching: “to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God.” 3 RABBINIC REFLECTIONS Rav Jeremy Schwartz Should a synagogue stay out of politics? If I can trust you to keep reading as I explain exactly what I mean and why, I’ll give you my basic answer up front….. No. As a Jewish institution, I think a synagogue must oppression we have experienced: stereotyping and hatred engage in some kinds of politics, though there are some of “strangers,” attempts to compel beliefs, etc., whether it should stay out of. In filling out that statement, I want the victims are Jews or not. to address some problems with it: What about the For many of us, our Judaism in not just about ethnicity/ separation of church and state that Jews value so highly? community/family, but also about a relationship with What about the divisiveness and lack of consensus about God. But to be in relationship with God is to know that politics; we agree we’re a Jewish organization, but we the Godliness of the world needs our actions to be don’t necessarily agree on our politics. What about the actualized. We’re called upon by Judaism to make the IRS and our non-profit status? Those are important world more Godly. To condense what might be a whole questions that will influence how and when we do treatise into a sentence, I think there’s broad Jewish politics Jewishly, but let me first explain why I think we consensus over time, and over diverse Jewish do need to engage in politics and then address them. approaches to a few core propositions about what a Our core, foundational story, is about God engaging more Godly world means: in the relationship between supernatural battle with the despotic Pharaoh, releasing individuals and God, it means more humility and joyous an enslaved nation from his country, and giving us a awe (these are essential components of tikkun nefesh – Torah that not only teaches about how we are to relate healing the soul); in the relationship between people, it to God, and to each other, but about how we are to means limiting the power of one person over another order our society. Our God is a political God. and increasing the love between one person and another Ok, but that’s a story. We’ve evolved since Torah times. (essential components of tikkun olam – healing the world). In particular, we don’t live in a society governed by Torah and we wouldn’t even want to! So, whether we’re religious or ethnic Jews or both, we’re True. But, what are our current Jewish values, actually supposed to get certain things done in the world. commitments, and obligations? Here, I know, we don’t We’re supposed to change it, reducing oppressions and all agree. Let me share some of what I, personally, suffering, and increasing love. Since politics is one of believe, and about which I think we have broad the ways humans arrange their relationships, one of the consensus. For many of us, Judaism and our Temple ways of both exercising and limiting oppressive power community are an ethnic home-base, someplace we feel (of governments, individuals, and institutions), one of comfortable with our extended Jewish “family”. That the ways of acting on or acting against stereotypes and home-base is not without its obligations.