Monthly Messages
Message from the Rabbi: June 2008
I say this every year, but it’s hard to believe another school year has gone by. It literally seems like yesterday we were celebrating our High Holy Days, cooking the latkes, booing Haman, and hiding the afikoman. Now, it’s time to prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur once again. I know we have the whole summer ahead of us, but once the calendar turns to June, the real preparation begins.
This past year, we have seen a lot of changes here at Temple. We remodeled our kitchen, social hall, and the bima. Everyone is delighted with the changes we have made and how beautiful everything looks. It is a tribute to the many people who worked to get it done.
This coming year will bring even more and substantial changes around the Temple. Most significantly, Project Legacy will finally come to fruition and our new school building will finally be built. Temple Beth Tikvah has adopted the new prayer book of the Reform Movement, Mishkan T’filah, and this will mean some changes to our worship services. I have previously mentioned that we will institute two new worship opportunities beginning in the fall: Tot Shabbat and Intergenerational Shabbat Service, and we will continue our very popular Musical Shabbat services. I will also offer a new learning opportunity, Lunch with the Rabbi, once a month beginning in September.
Many people make note that for a “small” temple we sure do a lot of activities. “Small” is only relative, and what we do here is create and build community. Clearly, larger congregations have more staff and a bigger budget and can thus offer even more programs and services. What makes Temple Beth Tikvah unique is the culture of Jewish values we create and the expectations we place upon ourselves.
In today’s day and age, Temple leadership is a thankless job. Although the rewards can be enormous, the day-to-day tzuris can sometimes seem overwhelming. We owe a great deal of gratitude to those who serve our congregation. This month we begin our new fiscal year and with it a new Board of Directors. We thank those who served us in the past and honor those who have stepped up to assume the mantle of leadership.
On Friday, June 13th, at our 6:00 p.m. Shabbat Service, we will install our Board of Directors for the coming year and honor our outgoing board members. Our very special guest that evening will be Rabbi Alan Henkin, Director of the Union for Reform Judaism Pacific Southwest Council. Rabbi Henkin has been here before and we are honored that he will be with us again for that special evening.
I hope everyone has a wonderful summer vacation. As I say every year, please remember that God does not take vacation, so we will be here every week. Please join us for Shabbat services, and remember that this is the time that people “Temple shop,” so invite a friend or neighbor to experience what makes TBT the place to be!
Kenneth Milhander
Message from the President: June 2008
June 1 marks the beginning of the 2008-09 fiscal year for Temple Beth Tikvah as well as the beginning of my second term in office. Thank you for making my first year so awesome, so enjoyable and so humbling. I have learned so much, and I hope to do a better job of using that knowledge in this coming year. I could not have done justice to my position without the constant help and input from so many of you. Thank you to Rabbi Milhander and to Miriam Van Raalte for their constant support. A special thanks to Executive Vice-President Mark Filowitz who has used both his leadership skills and his spot-on moral compass to keep me on course. Lila Pesner holds a special place in both my heart and in the heart of TBT for her historical knowledge of our Temple and for her willingness to help with any project, whether it is Project Legacy or making sure the silver on our Torahs is polished for High Holy Days. Thanks to TBT’s Board of Directors for working so hard and accomplishing so much this year. Perhaps my biggest thanks go to my wife, Sheri, and my son, Danny, for being so understanding of the many hours I have missed, and will miss, being a husband and father, while attending to my responsibilities at TBT.
For every one person I am remembering to thank, I am remembering dozens more who are also deserving of thanks and I realize I cannot possibly do so on this page. I can only hope that I always remember to be thankful and grateful every time I meet you. I do want to acknowledge those on the Board of Directors whose term has expired and have stepped down from their position. Education Vice-Presidents Dolly Boliver and Mindy Liron completed an important project to survey both the ECLC parents and the Temple congregants on a wide range of subjects. We listened to everyone’s thoughts and ideas on how to improve what we do and how we do it. Temple Leadership is in the process of making some changes reflective of those results and we were also very pleased to hear that, for the most part, there is wide approval for the manner in which the Temple operates. Membership Vice-presidents Ann Nanes and Louise Sussman worked hard to find creative ways to make Temple Beth Tikvah even more inviting to prospective and new members than it already is. They instituted our monthly “wine and cheese social” that has become very popular. With their creative ideas and their knowledge of how to get things done, Facilities Vice-Presidents, Lynda Trachtman, Sherri Chapman, Bob Cohen (continuing), and Joe Bloomfield made significant contributions to the beauty, safety, and integrity of our structure. The new roof, remodeled social hall and kitchen, and the improvements in the sanctuary were the visible parts of the many improvements made this last year. Publicity Vice-Presidents Tom and Tracy Green continued to make what we do at TBT visible to the outside world and they continue to lead our Outreach effort with many creative programs. Religious Practices Vice-Presidents Marilyn Roberts and Ariel Feldman (continuing), facilitated making sure all our religious and High Holy Day services ran smoothly and that the manner in which those services run is in keeping with Reform Judaism and our Temple’s own culture. We wish Marilyn and her husband Ken well in their new life in Reno. Ways and Means Vice-Presidents Rachael Wager-LaCross and Sandy Wager made unforgettable successful contributions to our Temple last year. Casino Night was well run and very profitable. We will always be especially grateful for the many, many hours they spent making the “Haim and Elaine Asa Dinner and Tribute” a wonderful, memorable evening and the most successful one-night fundraiser in our history. The new Board members have large shoes to fill and will be given all the support needed from all of us.
It was, all in all, a good year for TBT. We also left much undone. Our fundraising effort for Project Legacy has been very successful, but not complete. We are certainly more than 80% there, and when our modified plans become finished in the next few weeks, I am sure there will be renewed excitement and new pledges, allowing us to begin construction within the next few months. I have been amazed and gratified by the growing support by our Temple community for this all-important project. Our monthly “Town Hall” meetings will continue to keep you informed and allow you to voice your comments.
2008-09 promises to be one of the most eventful fiscal years in our history. Every one of us has an important part to play. I promise to do my best to fulfill my part. I hope every one of you will fulfill yours. Together we can continue to keep Temple Beth Tikvah the warm, caring community that it has always been.
Greg Weitzman
ECLC News: June 2008
In May I officially became 50 - the big 5...0...! Now that it is June it is sinking in that there is no going back, and I like it!
I want to thank all those who participated in the awesome CD. It touched my heart in a very deep way. I have always wanted a recording of the children and now I can listen to them whenever I want. Once again, words cannot express how special this gift will always mean to me. I still can't believe that the children kept this from me.
I want to invite all who would like to come on June 14th, 2008. The school will be celebrating my big 5...0...! The festivities will commence at 5:00 p.m. It will be a great time! In lieu of gifts please think about making a donation to the E.C.L.C. director's discretionary fund. All donations will go towards revitalizing the school!
The Pre-K Graduation and Kindergarten Celebration will be on June 26th, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. I cannot believe that this year is coming to an end.
Our wonderful camp will start July 1st, 2008 Last year’s art camp was such a success that we are going to do it again and extend on the theme to different realms of art and artists.
It is not too late to sign up. We will continue registration up until the third week of this June.
I am looking forward to seeing as many of you as I can at my BIG 5...0...! party. Until then …
Karin Cook
Religious School News: June 2008
I have seen plaques and coffee mugs that bear the saying, “Three reasons to become a teacher: June, July, & August.” While the summer months do provide a welcome pause from the routine schedule of the school year, there is nothing like the presence of children to brighten an educator’s day. The last day of the 2007-08 school year was a day unlike any other. We all dream of sending our children to Israel, to give them a taste of our collective history and to give them a shot of Jewish identity. Our dedicated team of Religious School teachers took this to heart and created a closing day program that proved to be fun, educational, and inspirational. 4th grade teacher Marilyn Spielberg got the ball rolling, and each staff member then created an activity to give our students an experience to remember.
As the students arrived at school, they were given a “passport” with the picture of one of four Israeli leaders: Golda Meir, Chaim Weizmann, Theodore Herzl, or Moshe Dayan. It was soon time to be led to the “plane” in the chapel, where seats were set up in rows like a plane (of course no one under 18 was allowed to sit in the emergency row). Once the flight started, we heard all the safety information and were treated to our in-flight movie – a virtual tour of Israel created by teacher Tara Filowitz. Both entertaining and informational, the children saw the sites of Israel and heard voices and music from our Jewish heritage.
It was soon time to leave the plane and divide into groups (according to the Israeli leader on the passports). Students participated in four activities led by our teachers:
*IDF training: a physical workout to prepare for defending the State of Israel (led by Tara Filowitz)
*Safed artistry: making stained glass pictures of Israeli flags (led by Sammi Jass)
*Archaeological dig: in the sandbox of the preschool playground, students unearthed “ancient” fragments of pottery (led by Bethany Spielberg)
*Prayers for the Western Wall: students wrote amazing prayers and placed them in our “Wall” that was created out of stuffed paper bags.
At the end of the morning, we gathered at our own Dizengoff Street café (on the patio) for falafel (thanks to Greg Weitzman for preparing the batter, to Todd Menaker for doing the frying, and to Lysa Bloomfield, Carmen Feldman, Dafna Gutterman, and Joan Wiener for chopping veggies and helping to serve the children – all under the watchful eye of third grade teacher Emily Wiener). And of course a sidewalk café wouldn’t be complete without strolling minstrals and music – all provided by our songleaders Jonathan Katz and Ben LaCross.
While all of the above took place, we culminated a year-long mitzvah project tied in the celebration of Lag Ba’Omer, a holiday which provides traditional Jews the only opportunity between Passover and Shavuot to cut their hair. In the social hall we set up a beauty salon, and several adults as well as children got 8-10” of hair cut to help make wigs for those suffering from illnesses that cause hair loss. Thanks to beautician Mo Khooban and the students from Marinello Beauty School for donating their time to make this activity possible! We hope to make this an annual event, and I can already see that some of our children are working towards next year’s haircutting event!
Miriam VanRaalte