JANUARY 2018 • Vol. 100, No. 6 TEVET ~ SHEVAT 5778 WWW.BETHELNR.ORG
DONALD J. FLEISHAKER TO BE HONORED AT BETH EL’S 64th ANNUAL GALA ON SUNDAY, MARCH 18th • 5:00pm Donald Fleishaker was born in Brooklyn to parents Esther and Abe Fleishaker. He was the youngest of three brothers. At seven years old, the family moved to the Bronx, and it was there that Donald began his Jewish education and involvement. His family joined Emanuel Synagogue in the Bronx, and while his dad worked hard at his market, his mother was active in Donald J. Fleishaker the shul. Donald attended Hebrew school, participated in youth group, and was active in the choir. For those who have enjoyed his High Holiday davening, one of his haftarot, or just his singing on Shabbat, this all began when he was a boy at Emanuel. One of the highlights of his choir experience was that his choir actually sang “back up” for Cantor Reuven Tucker when he auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera. The audition went great; all the boys got ice cream. You may better recognize Cantor Reuven as the famous tenor Richard Tucker. Donald attended James Monroe high school. He was a very active bass player in the orchestra, where he met his “bashert,” a pretty violin player named Dorothy. A year younger than he, Dorothy actually won a bet with her 11th grade classmates by being the first to get asked on a date by a senior boy. They made beautiful music
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together and were married in 1951. In 1956, with three-year-old twins Sandy and Rhoda in tow, they settled in Eastchester. Abbe and Aaron soon followed and their family of six was now complete. Donald and Dorothy joined Genesis Hebrew Center, a small Conservative congregation adjacent to the Crestwood train station. Synagogue life and communal giving was a staple in the Fleishaker household. At Genesis, Donald was a three-time president, a member of the Board of Trustees, chair of the Ritual Committee, and frequent substitute Cantor. Dorothy served as two-time Sisterhood President and Donald and Dorothy were the first couple to serve as synagogue president and Sisterhood president simultaneously. When various local synagogues began to have financial problems and declining membership, Donald led the effort to effectuate the mergers of both Agudas Achim and Emanuel Jewish Center of Mount Vernon into Genesis. Unfortunately for Genesis, the Jewish population in Eastchester continued to decline. Not one to ever give up on his shul, Donald found a new location in Scarsdale, sold the existing building and helped to build a new building in the Scarsdale location. This effort resulted in the founding of Sharei Tikvah, in Scarsdale. In the Jewish community at large, Donald has served as chair of the Westchester UJA-Federation Campaign, has served on the UJAFederation Overseas Board, the Human Resources Development Committee, and the Westchester Cabinet. He was board member of HIAS and served on their Executive Committee, Scholarship Committee, and Speakers Bureau. He is also an Honorary Director of the Westchester Jewish Conference. Since moving to Westchester, Donald has always maintained a relationship with Beth El. He has attended [continued, page 4]
NIGGUN HALEV ~ MELODY OF THE HEART ~
An intimate, song-filled Shabbat morning service led by Deborah Sacks Mintz, Jack Klebanow, and Rabbi David Schuck. Services take place at 9:00 am in the Wiener Lounge on the following Saturdays: January 27, February 10, March 10, April 14, May 5 For more information, contact rabbiadmin@bethelnr.org.
The Fun & Funny Juggling Show..... page 2 Purim Fundraiser............................. page 4 Casino Night...................................... page 3 Get the Word Out: Social Media....... page 8
What Keeps Your Rabbi Up ............. page 9 Sisterhood News....................... pages 10, 11