Temple Beth Sholom
The Shofar ___________________________________________________________________ Iyar/Sivan 5774 May/June 2014 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
A Message from Rabbi David Powers
Miracles bracket reality. Pesach recounts the Exodus tale of the miraculous deliverance of the Israelite from slavery in Egypt. Shavuot (3-4 June, this year) describes the miraculous revelation of Torah at Mount Sinai, 50 days later. Between them are three important Israeli national holidays that resonate also with Jews worldwide. Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27-28 April, this year) recalls the horrors of the murder of six million of our people under the Nazi regime, assisted by many who were not themselves Nazis. Neither the murder is miraculous nor is the failure of Hitler’s monstrous final solution. Both are human events, predictable from human behavior and history, and repeated, as well, since the Shoah. Witness 500,000 to one million dead in Rwanda, killed, mostly by machete, twenty years ago right now, in only 100 days, murderous efficiency that even Germany could not match. (continued on page 2)
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Yom HaZikaron is Israeli Memorial Day, 4-5 May this year. Unlike our Memorial Day in the US, it is not a time of celebration but a day for mourning. Those who died in Israeli wars might all still be alive today, or at least be remembered by those still alive today, so young is the country. And so small, that everyone in Israeli is connected closely to those fallen in her wars. While we have parades, in Israel there is quiet, silence, visiting of graves, recalling the dead, chanting Kaddish and confronting sadness. Yet the very next day is Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, 5-6 May this year. It is a time of responsibility and a time to rejoice that Israel survived the onslaught of united Arab armies that attacked from North, East, and South, determined to destroy the new state, sure that soon the Jews would be gone forever from the region. It was a bad plan, badly executed, and it failed, not because of a miracle, but because of the courage, determination, and genius of the young state’s leaders. So where do we gain faith, from the miracles of Pesach and Shavuot that bracket these secular holidays or from the determination of our people to persist and to triumph, despite the plans and machinations of demonic enemies or determined foes? And how might the story of the three new holidays be told in 4,000 years, roughly the time that separates us from the traditional religious celebrations of spring and summer? Might they be clothed in miraculous events? Or is it possible that the events we celebrate at Pesach and Shavuot are as natural and explainable as the historic events of our time? Truly, among scholars, there is great uncertainty about the historic reality of the Exodus. Some say it never happened. Many agree that it almost certainly did not happen as described. Our Torah may have a divine Source, but it is written by a fallible human hand. Miracles or not, the events of all five holidays can inspire us with wonder and existential relief, that however bad the world can get, it almost always can get better. This is a Jewish response to reality, whenever reality happened.
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YAHRZEITS May Their Memories Be a Blessing May 2-3/2-3 Iyar 27 – Nat Becher 2 – Edith M. Cornblatt 2 – Nathan Newman 2 – Wildred Santerre 3 – Margaret Heiner Kingoff 3 – Jeanne Gabriel Kaufman
May 9-10/9-10 Iyar 5 – Herman J. Cornblatt 6 – Gloria Calisch Gallagher 8 – Sarah Rebeka Whitten Kushner 8 – Louis Sager 9 – Samuel Jacobs 9 – Isaac Rosenstock
May 16-17/16-17 Iyar 12 – Edwin Rosenstock 15 – Lorraine Lester 17 – Lee Evan Howard
May 23-24/23-24 Iyar 18 – Phillip Greenberg 19 – Samuel Cassoy 19 – Daniel Sechtin 20 – Mattie Kaufman 23 – Jay Newman Macht Dr. Luis Fraifeld (22 Iyar)
May 30-31/1-2 Sivan 25 – Joseph Vatz 26 – Esther Cohen 26 – Leo Kaufman 28 – Charles Miller 29 – Rebecca W. Berman 30 – Rabbi Arnold Shevlin
June 6-7/8-9 Sivan 31 – Shirley Kellam 1 – Jacob Berman 1 – Joe Bermann 3 – Arthur Goldstein 5 – Tillie K. Rubin 6 – Annie Rebeccah Vatz 7 – Raynell Lantor
June 13-14/15-16 Sivan 10 – Hyman Sater 11 – Harry Binder Stein 12 – Samuel Gold
June 20-21/22-23 Sivan 15 – Riva Lea Kingoff 16 – Zev Becher 16 – Sam Heiner 18 – Robert Lehr 19 – Lee David Howard 19 – Alan Bermann 20 – Esther Berman Fishman 20 – Theodore Harris 21 – Herman B. Kushner 21 – Ben Klaff 21 – Eleanor Howard
June 27-28/29-30 Sivan 23 – Murray “Buddy” Rippe 25 – Alice Heiner Kingoff
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
(Services will begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.)
MAY Friday, 2nd
7:30 p.m.
Shabbat Interfaith Service: Rabbi David Powers Women of Sisterhood, Oneg Hostesses
Saturday, 3rd
9:30 a.m.
Morning with the Rabbi
Friday, 9th
7:30 p.m.
Shabbat Service: Jo Ann Howard
Friday 16th
7:30 p.m.
Shabbat Service: Ben Rippe
Wednesday, 21st
6:00 p.m.
Sisterhood Ladies Night Out – Closing Meeting
Friday, 23rd
No Shabbat Service (Memorial Day Weekend)
Wednesday, 28th
7:00 p.m.
Friday, 30th 7:30 p.m.
Congregational Meeting
Shabbat Service: Bryna and Noah Kramer
JUNE Friday, 6th
7:30 p.m.
Shabbat Service: Jo Ann Howard
Friday, 20th
7:30 p.m.
Shabbat Service: Jo Ann Howard
Calendar Changes – Please be sure to use the above calendar information. Also, if you are unable to conduct your service or serve as a hostess, please secure
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a substitute, contact Jo Ann so the information will be announced or printed correctly. Thank you.
Temple Beth Sholom Donations Lo Lehitalem Building Fund In Honor of Michael Caplan’s Birthday – Stuart Caplan and Bill Badertscher General Fund In Honor of Temple Beth Sholom Congregation - Sandra Strange, Penny Lee In Honor of Jo Ann Howard for Being a Guest Speaker at American National University – Sherri Tuck
Sisterhood Building Fund Contributions Susanne Singer, 822-1114 Please remember the Building Fund for Sympathy, Mazel Tov, Thank You, Speedy Recovery the list is endless. The contributions made to this fund are used by the Sisterhood to beautify our temple for our enjoyment. Thank you for your support! In Honor of the Yahrzeit of Marilee Sager – Jo Ann and Peter Howard In Honor of the Yahrzeit of Miriam Sager Saffer – Jo Ann and Peter Howard In Honor of the Yahrzeit of David Howard – Jo Ann and Peter Howard In Honor of Rabbi Powers for Leading a Wonderful Seder – Jo Ann and Peter Howard In Honor of Ronnie Mand and Judy Salamon – We All Made a Super Seder Team – Jo Ann Howard In Honor of Carol and Michael Caplan – Thank You to the Dynamic Duo for Keeping Our Temple in Working Order – Jo Ann and Peter Howard In Honor of Faye and Sam Kushner – Thank You to Our Temple Gardeners for Keeping Our Front Lawn Beautiful – Jo Ann and Peter Howard
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In Honor of Judy Lyles and Family – Thank you for Being There When We Needed You! - Jo Ann and Peter Howard
WITH OUR CONGREGATION Mazel Tov to Ben Rippe for being honored with the Outstanding Alumni Award at Danville Community College. This recognition is certainly well deserved! Mazel Tov to Sam Rippe for being named to the Dean’s List for his first semester at Virginia Tech. Sam also recently pledged AEPi. It sounds like he has had a wonderful first year at Tech. Mazel Tov to Bryna Kramer on a successful first year at American University. She is on the Jewish Student Association Board and has been very active in Hillel planning events, leading services and learning more about Judaism. She also had a cover story published in the “American Word” magazine. Mazel Tov to Noah Kramer for being inducted into the National Honor Society. He was also chosen to attend National Young Leaders Business Innovations conference in Boston, MA this summer. We are so proud of you! Did we miss your news? Be sure to contact Jo Ann Howard so that it can be included in the next issue of The Shofar. Our wishes for good health are extended to Michael Becher, Bonnie and George Brumfield, Ben Fraifeld, Patrice Kramer, and Esther Rippe. We know that some of our congregants become ill, have surgery, or suffer an injury between The Shofar publications, so please know that we extend a prayer of comfort and continued recovery to those who are not specifically named.
BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES May Birthdays - 4 – Stuart Kramer; 6 – Judy Salamon; 12 – Terrie Lantor; 21–Elisabeth Stanley; 25 – Erwin Will; 27 – Mildred Barth; 28 – Harriett Will May Anniversaries - 10 – Darcy/Michael Amick; 15 – Carol/Michael Caplan June Birthdays - 8 – Allison Gordon; 20 – Bryna Kramer; 25 – Ben Rippe; 27 – Julian Koplen; 30 – Sam Rippe
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June Anniversaries - 15 – Judy/Stephen Salamon; 16 – Ronnie/Steve Mand; 17 – Jo Ann/Peter Howard
Congregational Activities – Looking Ahead and Back
Temple Beth Sholom will open its doors to our Danville community to share in Shabbat worship on Friday, May 2nd. A short question and answer period will follow the service, after which everyone will enjoy the oneg hosted by the Women of Sisterhood. Please be sure to come to this important service and raise your voices in song and prayer.
At the March meeting of Temple Beth Sholom Sisterhood, we discussed The Tenth Song by Naomi Ragen for our annual book review. All current officers agreed to serve for another term and will be reinstalled at the closing meeting, “Ladies Night Out”, to be held May 21st at the Golden Leaf Bistro. Plans are already underway for a Rummage Sale September 18th and 19th. The last one proved to be the most profitable in our history, so we encourage every congregational member to start saving your treasures. Please also remember to contribute to the Sisterhood Building Fund; Susanne Singer will promptly send an acknowledgement card, and your donation helps our “small but mighty” group of dedicated women continue to enhance our beloved temple.
Congregational Meeting – May 28 th Our annual Congregational Meeting will be held on Wednesday, May28th, at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. This is your time to be heard by casting your votes during the election of officers and board members, discussing new business and voicing your concerns. This is a time to be informed by listening to the chairmen’s reports for the 2013-2014 year. Please plan to attend this important meeting. Mark your calendar today for Wednesday, May 28th. Your presence and input are important! A social time will follow the meeting and refreshments will be served.
Ohev Zion Synagogue and United Jewish Communities Cordially invite you to Our Spring Social Featuring the music of Duo Dmitri on Wednesday, May 21st at 6:30 P.M. Chatmoss Country Club 7
$20.00 each - Please specify entre choice salmon, filet, or vegetarian R.S.V.P by May 16th 632-3942 or jdashoff@carlisleschool.org Support the Post Office Food Drive for God’s Storehouse on Saturday, May 10 th By leaving non-perishable food Items (no glass) at your mailbox before the carrier arrives we will fulfill the commandment to provide for the stranger, the orphan and the widow (Deut. 24:19). We will not be able to rejoice on Shavuot in June unless even the poorest and most vulnerable members of society have enough to eat.
Eat Out to On Tuesday,
Help Out!
May 6th, these restaurants will donate 10% of their total sales to God’s Storehouse.
The Brown Bean, Chathamooca (Chatham), Checkered Pig BBQ & Ribs, Danview, Dell’Anno’s Pizza Kitchen, Domino’s Pizza, El Vallarta Mexican Restaurant*, Frank’s Italian Restaurant, Golden Leaf Bistro*, Golden Skillet (Piney Forest Rd. and US Hwy 29), Highlander, Jake’s on Main*, Joe & Mimma’s Italian Restaurant*, Kentucky Fried Chicken(Memorial Drive and Piney Forest Rd.), Libby Hill Seafood, Little Caesars, Los Tres Magueyes, Main Street Coffee Emporium, Mary’s Diner, Nonni’s Italian Eatery, O’Kelly’s (Piney Forest Rd, S. Main St. and Brosville), Pino’s Pizza*, PJ’s Book and Deli, San Marcos Mexican Restaurant, Stateline Diner, Sweet Frog, Taco Bell (Riverside Drive and Piney Forest Rd), Western Sizzlin (*Reservations Suggested)
Susanne Singer would love to sing some of the songs you grew up with in synagogue or new music that you enjoy. If you have the sheet music, that would be wonderful. If not, let her know what it is, and we will purchase the music.
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Mark your calendar! The rummage sale is scheduled for September 18th and 19th. Please continue to go through your clothing and household items. Remember, all items need to be clean and in good condition. Questions? Contact Carol Caplan.
Our annual Congregational Passover Seder was held on Monday, April 14th with 39 people in attendance. Thank you to all those who helped make it such an enjoyable evening. I know that everyone would agree that the food was delicious, so let’s give a big thank you to those who contributed to our holiday feast: (in alphabetical order) Bernard Baker, Mira Becher, Joan Fraifeld, Jo Ann Howard, Faye Kushner, Dawne Lucas, Judy Lyles, Ronnie Mand, Joan Newman, Ben Rippe and Deborah Touchstone, Judy and Stephen Salamon, Susanne Singer, Elisabeth Stanley, and Melanie Vaughan. The beautiful flowers were arranged on the tables by Sam and Faye Kushner and added a touch of spring. Rabbi Powers made sure that the service was meaningful and lasted just the right amount of time with both readings and singing. Our new seating arrangement along with everyone being given an opportunity to participate made the experience more personal. A special mazel tov goes to Maya Lucas for singing the four questions in Hebrew!
What a wonderful evening we had when we traveled Martinsville on March 28 ! First we met at Chatmoss Country Club for a delightful dining experience. Thank you to Ben Rippe for making the arrangments. Then it was off to Ohev Zion Synagogue to join them for Shabbat worship. After a very meaningful service we were able to enjoy the oneg and visit with “our neighbors down the road.” th
Thank you to our chairmen Carol Caplan and Ronnie Mand for planning such a funfilled Purim celebration on Sunday, March 16th. Yes, the hotdog supper, including plenty of hamantachen, was delicious. And, the Megillah reading and Purim Spiel both had a little help from Dr. Seuss. We laughed, we ate, and had an absolute blast! If you missed the fun, be sure to come next year.
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Check out our website:
tbsdanville.org
A Bit of Jewish Humor Yossi the Burglar A burglar alarm sent out its piercing wail in the dark of a September night in Tel Aviv, and the police arrived just in time to collar the burglar, Yossi Feinberg, as he was leaving the premises with a big bag full of loot. Soon he was in court, facing a grimlooking judge. " Did you have an accomplice?" asked the judge. " What's an accomplice?" replied Yossi. " A partner. In other words, did you commit this crime by yourself?" " What else?" demanded the culprit. "Who can get reliable help these days?"
Sun or Moon "Which is more important, the sun or the moon?" a citizen of Chelm asked the rabbi. " What a silly question!" snapped the cleric. "The moon, of course! It shines at night when we really need it. But who needs the sun to shine when it is already broad daylight?"
Tanchum the Wise Tanchum, the water carrier, was returning home one evening when a stranger rushed up to him and slapped his face. " Take that, Meyer!" yelled the attacker. Tanchum picked himself up from the street and stared at the man in amazement. Suddenly a broad grin spread over his face and then he laughed uproariously. " Meyer, what are you laughing at?" exclaimed the other. "I just knocked you down." " The joke is on you," chortled Tanchum. "I'm not Meyer!"
Education The teacher at the cheder, after explaining the meaning of Pesach, asked the young students to use the word "matzohs" in a sentence. 10
"Matzohs are eaten at the seder," said Marty. "Very good," smiled the teacher. "How about you, Jerry?" "Matzohs are made without salt," responded Jerry. Izzy, who had been in this country for only a few months, raised his hands. "Time matzohs on!" he shouted triumphantly
Danville Chapter of Hadassah May/June 2014
To Life…To Life…L’chayim! Our Annual Donor Event will be held Sunday, May4th, at the home of Melanie Vaughan. If you cannot attend, PLEASE support the outstanding projects of Hadassah. Your check can make the difference in someone’s life. All of the research completed in Israel is felt worldwide. Make your check payable to Hadassah and mail it today to Jo Ann Howard, 326 Rosemary Lane, Danville, VA 24541.
Break Esther’s Fast was held on Thursday, March 13, 2014, at the Golden Leaf Bistro. We learned how Queen Esther used her talent, strength, and wit to change the course of history. We also learned about other historical and modern Esthers who have carried on Esther/Hadassah’s legacy of courage, resourcefulness, and activism. These women included Esther Gottesman, a national board member of Hadassah who supported the creation of the Hadassah College of Technology in Jerusalem; Esther Broner, author of The 11
Women’s Haggadah; Estee Lauder, founder of Estee Lauder cosmetics; Esther Lederer, aka “Ann Landers”, famous advice columnist; Esther Raab, Israel’s first native woman poet; Esther Rome, health activist and co-author of Our Bodies Ourselves; Esther Ruskay, writer and speaker, and leading advocate for Jewish traditionalism. Misheberach List – Please continue to keep these Hadassah members in mind for prayers of healing – Siege Weiss, Esther Rippe, and Patrice Kramer. Mazel Tov to Samantha Amick on her recent marriage. Cards…Trees…Certificates…Life Membership…News? Contact Jo Ann and she’ll head you in the right direction. Educational Conference in Israel Marks World Down Syndrome Day As part of World Down Syndrome Day, about 100 people participated in a conference at Hadassah Hospital-Mount Scopus on April 6, 2014, affording families of patients with Down syndrome from all over Israel an opportunity to meet with eminent specialists. Hadassah's National Center for Down Syndrome on Mount Scopus,
established 10 years ago under the direction of Dr. Ariel Tenenbaum, was one of the hosts. Hadassah’s Down syndrome center is a multidisciplinary, "one-stop shop" for individuals with "Trisomy 21," the other name for Down syndrome, indicating that those with the syndrome have three, rather than the usual pair, of #21 chromosomes. This year’s conference zeroed in on the relationships within the family (parents, siblings, and others) and issues of integration into the community.
Excerpts from Building Bridges to Peace through Medicine
Marcie E. Natan
The rationale for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel is based on generalities—many of them uninformed—about how different populations live, work, study, and coexist in the region. In reality, Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, collaborate and cooperate on a daily basis in a hundred arenas. At Hadassah Medical Organization’s two hospitals in Jerusalem, Jews and Arabs work side by side— doctors, nurses, technicians, administrators—in a life-and-death struggle with sick and broken bodies. Over one million patients a year are treated there, without regard to race, religion, or nationality. This is not new. It’s been the case since Hadassah opened its first hospital in Jerusalem in 1918. In one such collaboration, HMO is part of the Peace in Sight program, which trains doctors and nurses in ophthalmology to serve at the St. John Eye Hospital in East Jerusalem—the primary center for specialized eye care in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. This partnership is critical, since Palestinians suffer unusually high rates of blindness. Some of the funding for this initiative comes from the U.S. State Department. Additional programs in neonatology, dental medicine, pediatric cardiology and more bring together Israelis and Palestinians in an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation. Medicine is a common denominator among peoples. It sees past ethnicity, past religion, to our shared humanity. 12
Kameill Husseini, Palestinian writer and founder of the first Palestinian communications firm, took his mother to Hadassah for cancer treatment over a period of a dozen years. In an article in the widely read Tel Aviv newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, he says, “At Hadassah, it doesn’t matter who you are; they encourage you to fight the disease and other dangers that are much more important than all our wars. … In the treatment rooms, Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs unite in searching for a cure, in praying to their God. They all rise above the conflict and hate, and become humans.” Last spring, the Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Health, Dr. Hani Abdeen, visited patients in the pediatric hemato-oncology department at HMO, where 30 percent of the children are Palestinian. Learning that about 60 Palestinian doctors are doing their residencies at Hadassah’s hospitals at any given time, Dr. Abdeen noted the importance of developing specialties that are lacking in the Palestinian Authority, including anesthesiology, interventional radiology, cardiac care and pediatrics. “I understand that I am the first Palestinian Minister of Health to visit our patients in an Israeli hospital,” he said. “We’re here to find ways to further collaborate.”
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