April 2016 Beth Am Builder by Congregation Beth Am

THE BETH AM

a p r i l 2016 Adar II-Nissan 5776

2016 saxe family scholar-in-residence

Alan Morinis

in this issue:

F r i d a y, A p r i l 8 t o s at u r d a y, a p r i l 9

In keeping with our current education theme, “Living with Intention,” we are delighted to welcome this year’s Scholar-in-Residence, Alan Morinis. Mr. Morinis is the founder and Dean of The Mussar Institute and an active interpreter of the teachings and practices of Mussar, the Jewish tradition of ethics and self-improvement. For the past eighteen years, the Jewish spiritual discipline of Mussar has been his passion, a journey recorded in the book Climbing Jacob’s Ladder (Broadway 2002). We will have four opportunities to learn with Mr. Morinis during the weekend:

An Evening With B e n Fra n k l i n

n friday, 6:15 p.m., sanctuary (during the shabbat service): What Is Mussar and Why Should I Care? n Friday, 7:30 p.m., social hall: Poltava dinner (registration required) and discussion — Discovering

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Your Personal Spiritual Curriculum: Lessons from the 16th-Century Text “Orchot Tzaddikim” n saturday, 9 a.m., beit Kehillah: Torah Through a Mussar Lens n saturday, 3:30 p.m., beit Kehillah: Practicing Mussar: What Is the Goal and What Is Involved?

C h i l d re n o f A b ra h a m : A Jewish-Muslim Dialogue

celebrate with beth am:

Passover 2016/5776

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E v ent s & H o l i d a y B e g i n F r i d a y, A p r i l 2 2

Each year, Passover calls us to remember the exodus from Egypt as if we, personally, had journeyed from slavery to freedom. As we retell this story, we pray that one day all people who are still enslaved will be free. While Passover is primarily a festival centered in the home, Beth Am offers several opportunities to celebrate as a community. Learn more at www.betham.org/Passover5776: n

C o n g re g a t i o n a l Meeting page 8

for families with children ages 0-5: Presented by Jewish Baby Network Sunday, April 17, 10 to 11:30 A.M., Congregation Etz Chayim, Palo Alto A program with activities for young children. 1st night of passover seder match: Let All Who Are Hungry Come and Eat Friday, April 22, Congregants’ Homes Sign up required. annual 2nd night community seder: Led by Rabbi Jennifer Clayman Saturday, April 23, 6 P.M., Social Hall Sign up required.

sweet & savory seder with beth am women: A Festive & Delicious Event Led by Cantor Jaime Shpall Thursday, April 28, 6 P.M., Social Hall Details on page 3. Sign up required. passover festival and yizkor service: Led by Rabbi Heath Watenmaker and Cantor Jaime Shpall Friday, April 29, 9:30 A.M., Beit Kehillah, (Followed by Brunch) We gather as a community to create a peaceful time of prayer, song and remembrance. Sign up required.

From Rabbi Jennifer Clayman Pesach and Perfectionism

Cleaning for Passover is a treasured private spiritual practice. It’s also impossible to finish — which is part of the point.

I love cleaning for Passover. That may seem like a strange thing to say, but it’s true. In fact, some years I have liked the cleaning part, the pre-holiday preparation part, more than the holiday itself. Not that I don’t love seder. But for me the cleaning is a treasured private spiritual practice. It’s also impossible to finish — which is part of the point. Let me explain. We go full-bore kosher for Passover in our home. We clean the house from top to bottom (metaphorically speaking — our house is ranchstyle). We declutter everywhere so we can vacuum behind the furniture. We rededicate bookshelves to books (as opposed to stray receipts, legos and spare change that won’t fit into our spare change jar because we haven’t gotten around to taking it to a CoinStar). And then there’s the kitchen. We keep kosher all year round, with separate dishes for meat and dairy. A small digression: I struggle with this a lot because there are so many places where kashrut and sustainability diverge. The heksher business is a racket, as the Postville scandal revealed. And we don’t keep kosher out at all (that’s a different story). But keeping kosher at home speaks to us spiritually. It’s hard, which means that doing it develops discipline. And it means we’re thinking about Judaism and Jewish continuity whenever we shop, cook and eat. We like that. If this is true for the rest of the year, then al ahat kama v’kama, how much the more so, for Passover. Keeping kosher for Passover requires heightened attention to detail. And maybe because we’re gluttons for punishment, we also choose to observe kitniyot. Kitniyot is a category of foods that, while not chametz (leaven), resemble chametz enough (in theory) to have been prohibited by long-standing Ashkenazi tradition. Examples of kitniyot include rice, legumes (including, annoyingly, soy) and corn. Why go this sort of “extreme?” Selfishly, we find it meaningful. And, observing kitniyot gives me some insight into what it’s like to live with food allergies.

It makes it easier for me to be empathetic, more naturally inclined to pay attention to ingredients when planning education programs. Back to our kitchen. When we change over to our Passover dishes, we scrub every cabinet and drawer. We clean out the fridge. We clean behind the stove. It’s all-out Judaized spring cleaning. I should add that we don’t do it alone, and it isn’t done quickly. We pay our cleaners for extra time. My mother-in-law pitches in. I take two or three vacation days. We make sure we have coverage for the kids. There’s a danger in this. You can obsess. That’s true for many types of religious observance, and it’s especially true here. Even a relaxed, low-key person (which I’m not) can get caught up in the pursuit of perfect cleanliness and stripped-down simplicity. Which is why prepping for Passover, at the very same time as being a lesson in clearing out the excess, is simultaneously a lesson in the futility of perfectionism. When you search for every last crumb, every last coffee grind, you realize that it’s just impossible to get everything. Jane Eisner wrote an op-ed on this point (among others) in the Forward in 2014. Thank God and the ancient rabbis that the ritual of bedikat chametz (searching for leaven) concludes with bitul chametz, a ritual declaration that anything that we’ve left behind accidentally, we declare hefker, ownerless, like the dust of the earth. When I say this Aramaic formula (which you can find in most haggadot), I’m saying, “I’ve tried, I really have. God, accept my effort as an offering of the heart. You know more than anyone that I’m not perfect and never will be. Modah ani, thank You for accepting me in my imperfection.” Thank you, Judaism, yet again, for your ever-nuanced understanding of human nature. As most of you know, I will soon be saying goodbye to Beth Am — my last day in the office will be May 17. It’s been an honor to serve this community for the last eight years, and I hope we’ll stay connected. May the future hold abundant blessings for us all.

Celebrate Rabbi Jennifer Clayman f r i d ay, a p r i l 1 , 5 : 3 0 p. m . , b e i t k e h i l l a h

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Join your friends at Beth Am as we say todah rabah (thank you) to Rabbi Jennifer Clayman for eight incredible years at Congregation Beth Am. The Beth Am clergy and staff will lead a fun and highenergy Shabbat service at which we will all celebrate Rabbi Jennifer! After the service, there will be a delicious FREE dinner for your family to enjoy. RSVP online at bitly.com/Boogie5776 so we know how much food to order for dinner. Hope to see you there!

Jewish Film Series Presents

an evening with

Benjamin Franklin

Ida

A Poignant & Riveting Excavation of Truth

Faith, Science & the Jews

Saturday, April 16, 3:30 P.M., Beit Kehilah

Monday, April 4 7:30 P.M., Social Hall

From acclaimed director Pawel Pawlikowski comes Ida (pronounced “Eeda”), a moving and intimate drama about a young novitiate nun in 1960s Poland who, on the verge of taking her vows, discovers a dark family secret dating from the terrible years of the Nazi occupation. 18-year old Anna, a sheltered orphan raised in a convent, is preparing to become a nun when the Mother Superior insists she first visit her sole living relative. Naïve, innocent Anna soon finds herself in the presence of her aunt Wanda, a worldly and cynical Communist Party insider, who shocks her with the declaration that her real name is Ida and her Jewish parents were murdered during the Nazi occupation. Beautifully written and eloquently shot, Ida is a masterly evocation of a time, a dilemma and a historical moment. Critics found it “one of the most powerful and affecting films of the year.” The film is free and refreshments will be served; discussion follows the film.”

Spend a delightful evening with Chris Lowell, whose dual careers as both teacher and award-winning stage actor combine to bring Ben to life with historical accuracy, wit and a high level of theatricality. The most fascinatingly versatile of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin lived a rags-to-riches life marked by scientific achievement, useful inventions, a wide range of social service and vitally important leadership in the establishment of our Republic. Learn about Franklin’s remarkable evolution from slave-owner to abolitionist, and explore his relationships with religion, science and the Jewish community of Philadelphia. Following the presentation, actor Chris Lowell will conduct a lively Q&A as Ben, furthering the connection between yesterday and today. “Chris Lowell captures both the joyful spirit and the historical truth of Franklin in an engaging manner.” —Walter Isaacson, author of the best-seller Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

Join beth am women:

Sweet & Savory Seder A festive and delicious event led by Cantor Jaime Shpall T h u r s d a y, A p r i l 2 8 , 6 P. M . , S o c i a l H a l l

Beth Am Women invite you and the women you love to celebrate a delicious Passover among friends and family at the fabulous Women’s Sweet and Savory Seder! Join us for a festive evening of wine, women and song — and scrumptious food — with a seder led by Cantor Jaime Shpall. This year we are doing something new: We’ll start the evening with a wine and appetizer social hour at 6 P.M. The seder will begin promptly at 6:45 P.M. As always, we will also enjoy decadent Passover desserts! Women of all ages are welcome, and we encourage you to bring your daughters and mothers to make this a truly multigenerational evening!

n Early bird registration (by April 18): Individual: $15; daughters, granddaughters, mothers or grandmother guests of an attendee: $8 each n After April 18: Individual: $18; Daughters, granddaughters, mothers or grandmother guests of an attendee: $10 each

Please bring a seder treat based on when you plan to arrive and/ or the month of your birthday. (No meat products, please.) Get detail on what to bring at www.betham.org/BAWSeder5776. Register and pay using the online or downloadable print form available at www.betham.org/BAWSeder5776. For more information, contact Joanne, donskyjd@gmail.com or Susan, ssilver@interorealestate.com.

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Sunday

M o n d a y

T u e s d a y

Wednesday

Congregation Beth Am

6:15 Adult Hebrew Level B 7:30 Adult Hebrew Level A PM

5:45 Prayerboo 6:30 Ballroom 7:00 Adult He 7:30 Children A Jewish7:30 BAW Ros 7:30 Equal Sta

6:15 Adult Hebrew Level A2

11:00 Adult Hebrew Level F

6:15 Adult Hebrew Level B 7:30 Adult Hebrew Level A PM

5:45 Prayerboo 6:15 Beit Râ&#x20AC;&#x2122;fua 6:30 Ballroom 7:00 Adult Heb 7:30 BAM Pho

11:00 Adult Hebrew Level F

17 18 19 4:00 Hagigah

6:00 Building Bridges Seder

5:30 Avodah! 5:30 Development Comm. Mtg. 5:30 Tuesday Night Program 6:00 Confirmation Class 6:15 Adult Hebrew Level B 7:30 Adult Hebrew Level A

4:00 Hebrew P 6:30 Ballroom PM

6:15 Adult Hebrew Level A2 7:30 Hashirim PM

9:00 Jewish Lit. Class 9:00 Sunday Program 9:15 A Season of Mussar 10:00 Passover Celebration for Families w/Young Children (offsite) 11:45 Camp Beth Am

home & hope

home & hope home & hope home & hope 10 11 12

4:00 Annual Congregational Mtg.

6:15 Adult Hebrew Level A2 7:30 An Evening with Benjamin Franklin 7:30 Hashirim

11:00 Adult Hebrew Level F

3:30 Gesharim Event: Being Mortal 6:30 Connections 1 Parent Dinner

home & hope

AM PM AM

9:00 Sunday Program 9:15 A Season of Mussar 10:00 Chicken Soupers 11:30 Zimriyah: Junior Choir 11:30 Teen Study w/Rabbi Weissman 12:00 Hebrew Tutoring

baw retreat weekend

april 2016

6:30 Hebrew T

7:00 Adult Heb

6:00 Confirmation Class PM

5:30 Tuesday Night Program

7:30 Hashirim

8:00 BAM Breakfast

24 25 26 9:15 A Season of Mussar

4:00 Hagigah 4:00 Hebrew P 6:30 Ballroom 6:30 Hebrew T 7:00 Mah Jong

Calendar T h u r s d a y

F r i d a y

S a t u r d a y

baw retreat weekend

5:00 Lay-Led Gates of Prayer 5:30 Shabbat Sha-Boogie Honoring Rabbi Clayman 6:15 Tizmoret Service

8:30 Bagels and Coffee 9:00 Torah Study 10:15 Torah Minyan 10:30 B’not Mitzvah Service: Eisenberg / Zucker

12:00 Talmud 1:30 Jewish Spirituality Class 6:15 Adult Hebrew Level E 7:00 BAW Board Meeting 7:30 Advanced Conv. Hebrew

scholar-in-residence weekend

5:00 Lay-Led Gates of Prayer 5:15 Tot Shabbat Service 6:15 Erev Shabbat Service with Alan Morinis 7:30 Poltava Shabbat Dinner with Alan Morinis

scholar-in-residence weekend

8:00 Thursday Morning Minyan 9:00 Adult Hebrew Level A1 10:30 Adult Hebrew Level C

8:30 Bagels and Coffee 9:00 Torah Study with Alan Morinis 10:15 Torah Minyan 10:30 B’nai Mitzvah Service: Coleman/Ebstein 3:30

Program with Alan Morinis

ok Hebrew m Dancing ebrew Level D of Abraham: -Muslim Dialogue sh Chodesh art Meeting

For a more detailed calendar visit www.betham.org

1 AM

12:00 Talmud 1:30 Jewish Spirituality Class 6:15 Adult Hebrew Level E 6:45 Tinnitus Support Group 7:30 Advanced Conv. Hebrew 7:30 Board Meeting

5:00 Lay-Led Gates of Prayer 6:15 Shabbat Service In the Round: Teacher Appreciation

AM PM

8:00 Thursday Morning Minyan 9:00 Adult Hebrew Level A1 9:00 Yoga for Israel 10:30 Adult Hebrew Level C

ok Hebrew ah Dancing brew Level D otography Group

home & hope home & hope home & hope 13 14 15 16 8th grade beach boardwalk

8:30 Bagels and Coffee 9:00 Torah Study 9:15 Tot Shabbat 10:15 Torah Minyan 10:30 Friendship Minyan 3:30

Jewish Film Series: Ida

brew Level D

Dancing

Tutoring

1st night of passover — office closed AT 12:00 P.M.

No Erev Shabbat Services 1st Night of Passover Seder Match PM

Program and T’filah

9:00 Adult Hebrew Level A1 10:30 Adult Hebrew Level C 12:00 Talmud 1:30 Jewish Spirituality Class 4:00 Hagigah 4:00 Hebrew Program and T’filah 6:15 Adult Hebrew Level E 7:00 BAW Chai Mitzvah 7:00 Knitzvah Group 7:30 Advanced Conv. Hebrew 7:30 Finance Committee Mtg.

forgiveness project deadline 8:00 Thursday Morning 20 21 22 23 Minyan

8:30 Matzah and Coffee 9:00 Torah Study 10:15 Torah Minyan

6:00 2nd Night Community Passover Seder

9:30 Passover Festival and Yizkor Service 5:00 Lay-Led Gates of Prayer 6:15 Erev Shabbat Service 7:30 Israel/Berlin Trip Shabbat Dinner

9:00 Torah Study 10:15 Torah Minyan

3:00 Connections 2 Activity PM

12:00 Talmud 1:30 Jewish Spirituality Class 4:00 Hebrew Program and T’filah 6:00 BAW Sweet & Savory Seder 7:30 Executive Committee Mtg.

Minyan

Program and T’filah m Dancing Tutoring gg

8:30 Matzah and Coffee LAST DAY of passover — 8:00 Thursday Morning 27 28 29 30 office closed

Does Early Learning Work?

Blessing the Quiet Space With Speaker Dr. Avram Davis, Founder of Chochmat HaLev

S u n d a y , M a y 1 , 3 : 30 P . M ., C h a p e l

Dr. Avram Davis will lead a blessing of Beth Am’s Chapel as a quiet space, now open all day for contemplation, prayer or moments of peace. Dr. Davis will share his contemporary approach to meditation, revealing and drawing from time-honored Jewish sources. In particular, he will look at intention in meditative practice. Valuing action as we do, why might we cultivate a quiet space? In what ways do our Jewish intentions diverge from those of other paths? Dr. Avram Davis earned a PhD in the History of Consciousness from UC Santa Cruz, and received rabbinical ordination through the lineage of Rabbi Gershon Winkler. He is the author of three books on Jewish meditation and spirituality.

Equal Start Help Make a Difference in Early Childhood Education Studies show that early learning interventions can have a powerful, long-term impact in combating inequality. There’s an estimated return of $7 for every $1 invested in early learning, and in one study, participants achieved higher education levels, were healthier, more likely to own a home and less likely to be in trouble with the law. Equal Start is Beth Am’s social justice initiative to provide high-quality early learning opportunities for every child. Learn more about getting involved with the Equal Start initiative at www.betham.org/EqualStart.

Meet Orna Morad and Judith Rabbie — two Beth Am leaders who focus on helping our members make positive connections with Israel. Orna, born in Israel, came here with her family in 1997 and for 16 years has been a beloved adult Hebrew teacher at Beth Am. Judith, born in Hungary in 1941, survived the Holocaust in hiding, lived in Israel for a decade, and has been at Beth Am since 2007. Together they lead our Israel Awareness committee, which brings us the very popular Oneg Israel — a delicious Israeli-style Shabbat dinner (cooked by Orna and her team) followed by a cultural program — Israeli TV shows, films, concerts or drama. There is a wonderful, festive atmosphere at Oneg Israel — but the goal is serious: to engage members of all ages more fully with Israel. Judith says: “As a survivor, I remember when European Jews were trapped; there was no place to go. Israel is not a perfect country, but it’s our homeland, and I feel a deep sense of pride in what has been built there.” Orna also co-leads annual trips to Israel with the Rabbis Marder. She says, “I hope that all our members will come to see Israel. Visiting makes a big difference!”

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

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Judith Rabbie & Orna Morad

Oneg Israel Save the Date for Our Next “Arm Chair Trip” to Israel: Friday, June 3 On our next “trip” we will celebrate Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) with music and songs about Jerusalem. Watch for further details closer to the event date.

A N ot e f r o m th e P r e si d e nt

Passover Memories As a Jew by Choice, I don’t have a lot of early Jewish memories. But I do remember my first Passover with the family of my boyfriend (now husband), Russ. Driving over the George Washington Bridge on the drive from our home in New Jersey to Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Jerry’s place in Queens felt like a pilgrimage. We weren’t just going 50 miles; we were transporting ourselves from lives which went where our careers took us, to a bygone time around the corner from cousins and grandparents. I was nervous. I was the new kid on the scene, and the only non-Jew. Would I be viewed as an interloper? Would I say something wrong? Would I even understand what was going on? Driving over the bridge, I made small talk about the traffic to hide my anxiety. I needn’t have worried. The family was having too much fun being family to waste any time making someone feel left out. Aunt Dorothy presided over her kitchen, darting about like a territorial bird, some cabinets mysteriously locked, counters strangely lined with aluminum foil. The family jumbled around

asking and granting

the crowded apartment, made more so by the extended table thrust from the dining room into the living room. There were lots of family jokes that I didn’t yet understand. Uncle Jerry led the seder, leaning on a fringed, damask decorative cushion, with my eventual father-in-law, Ted, making wisecracks throughout. As the youngest person in the room, I asked the four questions (in English, thank heaven), and we ended with Ted leading a lively version of Chad Gad Ya, snapping his fingers to the backbeat. It was strange and warm and wonderful, something I looked forward to, and now look back on, fondly. In the recent Pew Study of American Jews, attending a seder is the Jewish practice mostly widely observed across the spectrum of Jewish lives: more than lighting Shabbat candles, more even than fasting on Yom Kippur. This is true regardless of generation, marital status or denominational affiliation. Even Jews who say they have “no religion” attend seders in large numbers. What is this magic of the seder that still calls to us, even when no other formal religious practice does? And how can we take that magic and bring it to other parts of our Jewish life? Read more at www.betham.org/PassoverMemories. L’Shalom, Loree Farrar President@betham.org

Whether You’re Jewish or Not:

Cooking for Shabbat With Beth Am Members Paige Kaplan, Susan Allen and Dawn Kepler of Building Jewish Bridges

S u b m i s s i o n D e a d l i n e : F r i d a y , A p r i l 22

As we look far ahead to the 2016 High Holidays, when the issue of asking for forgiveness will be foremost in our minds, we ask you to please share your story of forgiveness now. If enough stories are shared, we will use them as the basis for a theater piece to be presented at our S’lichot service on Saturday evening, September 24. Your story can be shared anonymously by submitting it in writing and leaving it in the special box in the Beth Am office, or you may tell your story to Rabbi Marder at rabbi_marder@betham.org, (650) 493-4661 or to Caryn Huberman at yackybooks@hotmail.com, (650) 3260600. Your privacy will be respected. Please submit before Passover on April 22. We hope our Beth Am community will be enriched by this new project. Be a part of it!

S u n day, M ay 1 , 1 to 3 P. M . , B e t h A m K i tc h e n

Food plays a big role in Jewish culture and holidays. What if you’re not Jewish but want to create a wonderful, festive meal for your family and friends? What if you are Jewish and you want to make Shabbat more joyous, meaningful and delicious? Then come cook and chat with old and new friends! Food alone doesn’t make a family meal or Shabbat complete. You have to put more into the day. Recipes and rituals come together to build memories and strengthen family bonds. We’ll discuss how we can use food to build those relationships and create happy memories for our loved ones. Learn how to make delicious holiday dishes that are perfect for a Shabbat dinner! Cost: $30. Register online at www.lehrhaus.org.

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NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #121 CONGREGATION BETH AM LOS ALTOS HILLS, CA

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C o n g r e g at i o n B e t h A m 26790 Arastradero Road L o s A l t o s H i l l s , CA 9 4 0 2 2

Children of Abraham A Jewish-Muslim Dialogue and a Story of Success on the Path Toward Peace

W e d n e s d a y, A p r i l 6 , 7 : 3 0 P. M . , S a n c t u a r y

Join us for a public conversation with Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer, Imam Abdullah Antepli, Karen Stiller and Wajahat Ali as they explore present-day challenges in Jewish-Muslim relations and how North American Jews can successfully forge lasting relationships based on mutual respect. Their discussion will focus on the critical initiatives towards peace being undertaken by Muslims and Jews as part of Shalom Hartmann Institute’s Muslim Leadership Initiative. Learn more about the speakers at www.betham.org/ ChildrenOfAbraham.

beth am’s 61st annual

Congregational Meeting

S u n d a y, A p r i l 1 0 , 4 P. M . , B e i t K e h i l l a h

During this meeting, we will hear an overview of the past year from Beth Am President Loree Farrar and our annual Treasurer’s Report from Bruce Ives. We will pay tribute to our outgoing board members and elect new and returning board members. The Annual Meeting notification was mailed in March and included biographical sketches of the newlynominated board members. The Annual Meeting is a great way to get to know the community, support our leaders and make your voice heard. Hope to see you there!

For more info visit www.betham.org • Please “Like us” on Facebook and “Follow Us” on Twitter!