our years as Temple Beth-El president and 22 years as an involved member and leader is a long time. A prolonged leadership experience changes a person and can have a profound impact on one’s perspectives in so many aspects of life.
To quote from Rabbi Jacob P. Rudin’s Very Truly Yours, a seminal collection of his sermons, it has been a “fairly long time, and its passage works a difference in a person, inside. When we are young, we want to save the universe—preferably by tomorrow morning. We are confident that the world’s ills can be resolved quickly and permanently.” This work is a good reference for everyone, especially the president of this esteemed congregation.
Looking back on these years, the successes, challenges and changes that I have experienced as temple leader, and as a Jew, have certainly humbled me. Would I have taken on these roles and responsibilities
if I had known what was to come? Would I have plotted a different course?
It may sound like the plagues of the Passover seder since the turn of this century at Temple Beth-El: a fire, a flood, a pandemic. There have been changing faces, too: Rabbi Davidson’s retirement, the tenure of the Rabbis Feldman and, most recently, we’ve been incredibly blessed by the arrival of Rabbi A. Brian Stoller.
Cantors Lisa Hest and then Cantor Vladimir Lapin and Cantor Adam Davis, and associate and assistant rabbis Renni Altman, Darcie Crystal, Sara Sapadin, Lisa Rubin, Devorah Marcus, Rachel Van Thyn, Elle Muhlbaum and now Megan Brumer, have also been a part of our lives and our community.
We have experienced changes in technology and our security needs as well as so many things for which we could not have planned—and many in which I was very personally involved—in
Thank you for this opportunity and experience.
support of our beloved holy congregation. What an honor it has been!
As my time as your president soon ends, thanks are due to many: our members for their faith and trust in me, the past presidents upon whose shoulders I stand, our clergy and staff for their support and leadership, and my family—my daughters, Jacqueline, Maya and Rebecca; and especially my wife, Melissa—for their unwavering love and encouragement in this and every endeavor.
Thank you for this opportunity and experience. And to those who will come after me, I wish you kol hakovod—all the honors that come with writing the next page in the Temple Beth-El history book.
RABBI
A. Brian Stoller
ASSISTANT RABBI
Megan Brumer
CANTOR
Adam Davis
RABBI EMERITUS
Jerome K. Davidson, DD
RABBIS EMERITI
Meir and Tara Feldman
CANTOR EMERITA
Lisa R. Hest
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Stuart Botwinick
DIRECTOR OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Karen Wasserman
DIRECTOR OF ENGAGEMENT AND PROGRAMMING
Joy Allen
OFFICERS 2023–24
PRESIDENT
Gary Slobin
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Jordana Levine
VICE PRESIDENT
Sheila Aronson
VICE PRESIDENT
Doug Bernstein
VICE PRESIDENT
Joanne Davis
VICE PRESIDENT
Barbara Podwall
TREASURER
Matthew Moshen
FINANCIAL SECRETARY
Julius Myer
SECRETARY
Randi Weiler
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
Ronald M. Epstein
Leslie Abrams
Franklin S. Abrams
BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2023–24
Andrew Aaron
Sheila Aronson
Doug Bernstein
Joanne Davis
Larry Khazzam
Stuart Lempert
Jordana Levine
Matthew Moshen
Julius Myer
Barbara Podwall
Philip Ross
Michael Sanders
David Schwartz
Gary Slobin
Danna Sobiecki
Jennifer Still-Schiff
Grant Toch
Randi Weiler
TRUSTEES EX-OFFICIO
BROTHERHOOD PRESIDENT
Sandy Caplan
SISTERHOOD CHAIRS
Sandy Lubert
Rochelle Rosenbloom
Jennifer Still-Schiff
PAST PRESIDENTS
Marjorie B. Kurcias
Stephen G. Limmer
Roger Tilles
Shelley M. Limmer
Franklin S. Abrams
Nina Koppelman
Leslie Abrams
Ronald M. Epstein
HONORARY
VICE PRESIDENTS
Howard J. Herman
William K. Peirez
HONORARY TRUSTEES
Jacalyn F. Aaron
David A. Cantor
Ann Finkelstein
Alan Greene
John Hirsch-Leiman
Shari Isacowitz
Gloria Landsberg
Jerry Landsberg
Stuart Lubert, z”l
Gayle Monaster
Linda Rice
Amy Spielman
SHEMA
Sheri ArbitalJacoby, Managing Editor
Leslie Abrams and Howard J. Herman, Proofreaders
Hallie ArbitalJacoby, Designer
Reports from
Compiled
The
Book
Preplanning
Cover art (from top): the Old City of Jerusalem, the Israeli flag and Alma Beach in Tel Aviv on a map of Israel.
Designed by Hallie ArbitalJacoby
School will soon be out for the Passover holiday, but lost in the exuberance of having the week off is an idea central to Judaism: God did not free us from Egypt slavery so that our lives would be a permanent spring break; God freed us from our bondage to lead us to Sinai and establish a covenant with us.
Under this covenant, we have special obligations to God and to each other. In short, Passover is not about freedom from responsibility; it is about freedom that comes with responsibility.
One of those responsibilities with which we are most familiar is the duty to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).
As Jewish tradition understands it, this is no mere abstract, theoretical statement.
Maimonides, the great medieval Jewish legal authority, explains that “Love your neighbor as yourself” comprises a basket of kind acts that we are supposed to do for our fellow community members. They include visiting the sick, comforting mourners, attending funerals, welcoming guests and celebrating with brides and grooms at their weddings (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Mourning 14:1).
Many of us may not realize this, especially when it comes to visiting the sick, attending a funeral or making a shiva call.
We feel like, if we go, our friend who is ill or grieving the loss of a loved one will expect us to say something wise or profound, something that will ease the pain or make it go away. And we may not have anything like that to say; we may not know what to say at all—so that makes us reluctant to go see them.
To this, Jewish tradition says, “No. What you say is not important. What matters is that you go. Your presence is the greatest gift you can give them.”
Passover is not about freedom from responsibility; it is about freedom that comes with responsibility.
Maimonides classifies this basket of good deeds as “g’milut chasadim she-b’gufo—acts of kindness that one carries out with their person.” To “carry them out with your person” means that you fulfill the mitzvah simply by showing up. You don’t have to say or do anything specific. Just being present is itself the act of kindness that God wants us to do.
This is something I think we need to work on in our community. When the clergy lead shiva minyans for families who have lost a loved one, one thing we notice is that, quite frequently, there are only a handful of Temple Beth-El members present.
But to be part of a Jewish congregational family is to carry with us this sense of duty toward our fellow congregants. Comforting mourners is a mitzvah. So is visiting the sick.
The freedom of Passover is freedom that comes with responsibility. So, I encourage you to make that extra effort to make that shiva call, see that friend in the hospital, go up to the person at services you haven’t seen before and make a connection, welcome a fellow congregant you don’t know that well yet into your home.
That’s what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
Every spring, we Jews celebrate Passover to remind us of our ancestors’ hasty exit from Egypt—or as it’s known in Hebrew, םירצמ, mitzrayim. This term is drawn from the root word רצמ, meaning narrowness. In the plural, the name suggests the multiple forms of constriction our ancestors experienced.
The physical servitude into which they were forced seems obvious. Their spiritual and intellectual strictures, however, were worse. Presumably, this is why the Eternal sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to “Let his people go,” so that they might serve their own God instead of Pharaoh.
Every generation is instructed to eat matzah as a commemoration of this liberation. Each year, the quickly cooked bread of affliction reminds us that we survived far worse, that we were redeemed and that our freedom is more about process than status.
Our bodies develop more quickly than our emotions or intellect, and so it follows that new mindsets and spiritual outlooks take time to form. Matzah takes only 18 minutes to fully bake—a fine metaphor for our people’s hasty departure and their transformation into a physically free people.
More broadly, Passover reminds us that more complex transitions to better, refined living are neither fast nor easy. Adjusting to new circumstances requires work.
Our more recent immigrant forbearers knew this well, as they adapted to life in America. Some aspects of their old lives were easy to give up—poverty and oppression being the most obvious—and could be overcome in their new home through hard work and opportunity.
Hearts and minds are lagging indicators, though. Sometimes, those arriving in this country who achieve great success remain rooted in the past. Perhaps this mindset served them, but perhaps it is more so that they served the mindset.
In the saga that follows the children of Israel’s departure from Egypt, they repeatedly complain to Moses about the hardships of the wilderness. They bemoan the loss of the purportedly better life they had in Egypt. Maybe they did have the onions and cucumbers they remembered, but they were also slaves living lives of hardship and servitude.
In every moment of transition, we Jews are eternally leaving Egypt. A better future awaits when we overcome the obstacles in our paths. Sometimes, these impediments include our own internal, unconscious objections to forward progress.
When we anchor ourselves too strongly to the past, our journey becomes limited. How can we cross parted seas if we are weighed down by our emotional and spiritual baggage? Similarly, how can we forge ahead without remembering the lessons learned? If we fail to learn from the past, we are destined to repeat it.
Jewish life exists with these two forces in tension. We each schlep a little of our own Egypt, like sand in our shoes after a trip to the beach. The sensation of it moving between our toes is nostalgic. We forget, though, the long car ride, dragging things from the car to the shore and chasing off seagulls.
The children of Israel carried their insecurities with them, even after leaving slavery behind. Midrash teaches that many never even left Goshen, as they were too frightened by an uncertain future. Those who did leave, however, never fully left. Their grievances and their lack of self-agency in the desert doomed them to be buried beneath the sands of Sinai.
Though we may carry a piece of the past with us, we cannot live in it. To live freely, we must move on from the place of narrowness to the place of openness.
As Amanda and I prepare for our own exodus and look to our future, we’ll carry memories of our Great Neck friends with us as we approach our own promised land.
s we all know, these last months have been difficult for our community. After October 7, it felt like a dark cloud was hanging over our heads—and we didn’t know how to get through to the other side. In the traditional funeral prayer, Psalm 23, the author says, “Though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no harm for You are with me.”
Our initial reaction to the events on October 7 felt like we were in a deep valley, away from the sunlight. We were under this dark cloud; and, somehow, we had to figure out how to walk through it, out into the sunshine.
I don’t know if we are fully out of this valley yet, but I do know that as a community we have taken steps to journey through the valley—to head toward hope rather than fear.
In the immediate aftermath, we joined with our community for a service to remember and be united as one. This was a somber service, remembering those who perished and thinking about the hostages who were taken.
Our next program was meant to spread hope. Community members wanted a space to be together, to join in song, conversation and art. Participants of the Dove Project sang, reflected and decorated doves as a greater Great Neck community.
The doves were then distributed to businesses along Middle Neck Road, where they were displayed in storefront windows—spreading hope throughout the community. In addition to being a place where the community could join as one, the Dove Project raised money for the UJA Federation Israel Emergency Fund.
Time continued, and the hostages still were not all released. Members wanted to do something tangible. Our families had created cards for students and teachers. Our community had sent both money and goods. However, it still didn’t always feel like enough.
We decided to hold a bracelet-making event for Israel. These bracelets were a way for us to visibly show our pride in Israel.
The temple provided many varieties of blue and white beads, and community members came, raised money for the UJA Fund and created bracelets in honor of Israel. It was therapeutic to sit for a few hours, make some bracelets and show our pride for Israel.
This is not the end of our work to spread hope throughout the world during this difficult time. It is just the beginning. Sometimes, it seems hardest to disseminate hope in the darkest of times, but we are working together—taking one step after the other to walk through the valley and into the sunlight on the other side.
Our Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC) staff members all felt sad, fearful and overcome with emotion when the October 7 events occurred in Israel, but we eventually channeled our feelings and the children’s creativity to help those suffering in Israel.
As educators, we watched and listened carefully to our children for any changes in their behavior or expression. We sensed that although the world outside had been significantly impacted, thankfully the children conducted themselves as they always had, reflecting the same joy, energy and engagement at school and within their personal lives.
When an ECEC mom shared how PJ Library, an organization that sends free, high-quality Jewish children’s books to families every month, was conducting a Little Hands, Big Hearts campaign, we knew we had to participate. The nonprofit asked subscribers to help turn hopelessness into action by requesting that their New York kids send a message of hope to children in Israel.
Our ECEC answered the call to action by inviting our three-year-old and pre-K children to create artwork to help offer hope, comfort and light to Israeli children.
Once the teachers saw the magnificent mosaic of artwork assembled, we decided to share the beauty with others by combining the individual pieces to form a greeting card cover.
As Hanukkah approached, we noticed how the rich shades of blues and white on the cards conveyed a visual and tangible bond like when our Jewish resolve hearkened determination and provided light and magnificence to the world.
We decided to order 500 greeting cards and sell them in packs of 12. Thanks to the support of our families and friends, card sales raised hundreds of dollars for the Israel Resilience Campaign, and the funds were allocated toward Kibbutz Be’eri’s $10-million goal.
Contributions will help with immediate needs and relief efforts as well as critically needed long-term rebuilding and support in Israel. Our donation was earmarked toward educational continuity and sustainability, mental health support and community rehabilitation.
The thank-you note from the Jewish National Fund confirmed that the children’s creativity truly made a difference. It said, “Knowing we are not alone in our struggles not only gives us strength as a community but strengthens our resilience and will to never give up hope and to continue moving forward.”
Since my arrival at Temple Beth-El, we have been working to create new and enhanced programming for a variety of interests and age levels that will enrich and entertain even the youngest members. In adding these robust offerings, we are enabling young families to form a tight-knit community that will help our congregation thrive into the future.
If your family hasn’t had the opportunity to experience any of these events, we welcome you to find out what you have been missing. Here’s a roundup of some of the activities engaging our families with elementary, middle and high school children.
During game night in November, families with children in kindergarten through seventh grade bond as they play their favorite board games.
Families with children in kindergarten through seventh grade have been building bonds during Friday Night Live, Family Game Night and Family Movie Night.
We reimagined Friday Night Live this year to provide an opportunity for families to gather, welcome Shabbat surrounded by community and grow their social circle by fostering relationships with others.
After sharing a family-friendly meal, participants enjoy an upbeat, interactive, musical service followed by a craft relating to a Jewish holiday being observed that month.
In December, each child made festive beeswax candles to use on the last night of Hanukkah. To celebrate the earth during Tu Bishvat, the birthday of the trees, in January, participants decorated glass flowerpots with colorful tissue paper and Mod Podge.
During Family Game Night this past fall, each family brought its favorite board games and attendees played everything from Phase 10 to Scrabble—as they ate, laughed and got to know one another.
Dressed in their favorite pajamas, families came together for a fun Family Movie Night. After a vote to determine what would be watched, Frozen won with an overwhelming majority.
During the gathering, everyone ate ice cream, noshed on snacks galore and had such an entertaining evening viewing the animated film together. The children even created chair forts to carve out their own comfortable viewing spaces, and everyone sang along to the soundtrack as friendships were forged. ▶
Teen volunteers provide winter coats, toiletries, hot drinks, warm meals and kindness to the homeless in New York City during Midnight Run.
Candy sushi makes the sukkah experience extra sweet.
Children create cozy chair forts for optimal viewing of Frozen at a pajama movie night.
Our teen programs run the gamut from silly amusement to making a difference. While Sushi in the Sukkah was all about preparing sweet treats, teens learned valuable lessons and helped those less fortunate during Midnight Run.
To celebrate Sukkot, teens started the school year together by making and eating candy sushi as they bonded with old and new friends during the Sushi in the Sukkah event.
Teens and their parents came together for a night of tikkun olam when they participated in a relief mission through Midnight Run, an organization dedicated to helping the homeless.
During prep day, participants listened to the executive director’s story to find out why this work is so important. Attendees gathered donations of all kinds, prepped food and drink, and distributed the supplies to people in need on the streets of New York City.
Temple Beth-El teens and parents took the initiative to help make the evening an overwhelming success, as they provided winter coats, outerwear, toiletries, hot drinks, warm meals and kindness to those in need.
Earlier this year, Temple Beth-El announced that it will bring its religious school back home next term. Our clergy and lay leaders felt the time was right to return our children to their temple to build relationships with their clergy, strengthen friendships with their TBE peers and learn to bring the beauty of our Reform traditions and ideals to life.
TBE’s Religious School Working Group has been diligently imagining and creating an innovative values-based program for our students and families that will launch this fall. As a response to extensive research and conversations with our families, we will be creating a program based on our Reform Jewish values and centered around community.
This new program will also provide opportunities for our teens, who are invited to become madrichim, teachers’ assistants. Teens can learn from working with children, take on a leadership role in our program, be a role model for younger students and help them foster their love of Judaism.
We are so excited to welcome our students back home this fall, as they continue to strengthen our TBE community.
This is only the beginning of youth programming at TBE—and we can’t wait to see what is in store for us.
For a tikkun olam project, third and fourth graders pack bags of food for community members in need.
The Hebrew word natan, “to give,” is a palindrome, meaning the word is spelled the same way forward and backward.
Like the word natan itself, community service is as much about giving as it is receiving. The mitzvah or charitable act of tzedakah is considered one of the most important commandments that Jews are obligated to observe, and many Temple Beth-El congregants have embraced this obligation by contributing their time, effort and insight to help those in need.
These impressive individuals are improving our world, making life more pleasant for those who could use some assistance. Read on to be inspired by some special congregants who are enhancing the lives of the less fortunate.
My maternal grandmother introduced me to volunteer work through her temple’s Sisterhood more than 25 years ago. I enjoyed giving back immensely, found it valuable and have been volunteering ever since.
During a visit to my relatives in Little Rock, I learned that my uncle was on a nonprofit board, and I felt that was something I wanted to do.
After receiving a solicitation for a donation from the Great Neck Student Aid Fund (GNSAF) in 2021, I reached out to the president of the board of directors and asked to join the board.
Since 1931, the GNSAF has been providing one-time grants to students from the Great Neck Public Schools district to help pay for the critical first year
of their higher education. Virtually all of the organization’s expenses are paid by the board, so nearly 100 percent of donations go to the students.
As a board member, my role includes attending meetings, strategizing on ways to raise funds, participating in fundraising events and adjudicating the scholarships. One of our successful events is our annual Fun Walk for Education.
To determine each student’s eligibility for an award, three other board members and I review each student’s application for aid using a rigorous, meticulous, objective and confidential screening progress.
GNSAF makes a significant difference in young people’s lives by assisting approximately 15 to 20 students to finance their first year of college each year. It feels great knowing that I’m helping these students reach their goals. ▶
Stuart Lubert, z”l, fundraiser and volunteer, Brotherhood Interfaith Food Pantry
Shortly after sharing the story of his charitable work, Stuart Lubert unexpectedly passed away. After reading the section that follows, fellow Brotherhood member Howard Herman responded, “Stuart was so humble. In his article, he deflects the credit away from himself. True to his self-effacing character, he wrote about other individuals and Brotherhood, when we know that Stuart himself was a driving force behind the activities described in his account.” We honor his extraordinary legacy below.
My wife, Sandy, and I joined Temple Beth-El as newlyweds in 1977. We were impressed and motivated by Rabbi Jerome Davidson’s sermons that inspired congregants to make a commitment to various social action causes.
At temple, we met many people, including congregant Saul Kessler who was involved in a variety of interfaith
projects. I realized that a temple and its Brotherhood made it possible to accomplish many things that one person could not achieve alone.
As part of my membership in Brotherhood, I became involved with the interfaith seder, which eventually included Roger Tilles’s Project Understanding, a program he started with Monsignor Tom Hartman, z”l, to bring together Catholic and Jewish children so they could learn about each other's religion and more about their own as they completed projects on Long Island and then shared a 10-day journey to Israel.
The annual Passover event, now called the Saul Kessler Interfaith Seder, was named for its inspiration and past Brotherhood president, and continues to welcome guests from all denominations.
I had the honor of becoming president of Brotherhood in the 1990s. The group was very active—creating Mitzvah Day, which brought senior citizens into the temple for music, song and nourishment.
Brotherhood soon started serving an Easter Sunday meal at The INN, the Interfaith Nutrition Network in Hempstead. Many congregants cooked turkeys and carved them at The INN for the holiday celebration.
Former Brotherhood president Steven Koteen suggested that we bring the Easter dinner closer to home at the St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church in Great Neck, and we have continued the tradition ever since. This led to a July Fourth barbecue at
St. Aloysius and an ongoing commitment to the church’s Interfaith Food Pantry.
For the past five years, with the support of the Temple Beth-El congregation, Brotherhood has provided healthy fruits and vegetables to the food pantry to help feed about 100 families every other Friday. Each week, approximately six Brotherhood members donate around six hours of their time to unload, package and distribute the supplies with St. Aloysius volunteers for families to pick up on Saturdays.
This is an ongoing commitment and relies on the continuing support of the congregation. We were surprised and delighted that the Temple Beth-El name was added to the Interfaith Food Pantry sign at St. Aloysius Church.
For many years, Brotherhood had also partnered with the local Hatzilu chapter to deliver Shabbat meals to Jewish residents of Great Neck who are food insecure and still helps the organization with other community efforts.
As a Temple Beth-El member, I have learned a great deal and appreciate the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, repairing the world. From a Jewish perspective, social justice is required—not optional.
These efforts are continuing in the next generation. My older daughter, Melissa, is a board member at her temple in Deerfield, Illinois, and my younger daughter, Rachel, is general counsel of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which provides food and services to those in need throughout the world.
I am delighted that my family has continued the commitment that was sparked when we joined Temple Beth-El nearly five decades ago.
Temple Beth-El Brotherhood members, including Stuart Lubert (center), have been preparing Easter dinner at St. Aloysius for many years. Photo by Barbara Herman Members of Brotherhood get ready to help the community enjoy a special Easter meal. Photo by Barbara Herman
Roger Chizever, copresident, Rotary Club of Great Neck; board member, Great Neck Chamber of Commerce; and president, Great Neck Social Center
The Rotary Club of Great Neck started the Thanksgiving Dinner Project to provide free meals to four community families in need around 35 years ago. Through organization and lots of community support, the program now provides full holiday dinners to 1,200 families.
I was introduced to the Rotary Club after opening my Allstate insurance office in 1998. Someone who had insurance from another branch asked me to review his policy. To thank me, he invited me to a Rotary breakfast.
At the meeting, attendees were talking about the Thanksgiving project, and I found it heartwarming that the group actually did things. Chapter members were having fun and giving back. Being in
Great Neck where I grew up, this offered a way for me to help out and give back, too.
The Thanksgiving program was originally started in Milton Tamarin’s garage. When I became involved, 700 to 800 families were being served.
At that time, the packing event was held at the Merchant Marine Academy on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and it would take six or seven hours to assemble boxes and fill them with the grocery items.
The next day, with the help of the Great Neck North football team, we would add a 15-pound frozen turkey to each package.
Being efficient and organized, I have since streamlined the process and we are now able to assemble around 50 percent more meals in less than two-and-a-half hours. Instead of spending time constructing corrugated boxes, we use reusable bags and have sponsors who pay for the bags.
I try to get the best prices, but since COVID costs have more than doubled from around $20 to about $45 a bag. The project costs nearly $50,000 each year, which is covered through private, organization and corporate donations. Some groups distributing the dinners donate money to help support the project and some sponsor a certain number of meals.
Packing is now held at the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire and Water District, which has been offering the club five bays. On the Friday before Thanksgiving, all the grocery items are delivered, and I advise the drivers where to set up the supplies.
We get the frozen turkeys on Saturday; and on Sunday, 200 helpers pack the bags using an efficient assembly line. Then, around 30 groups, including churches, temples, the Hispanic community and veterans, come and pick up the filled bags and turkeys. Each organization then distributes the meals to local families.
The recipients are grateful, and I want to make sure that those who need it get it.
It’s rewarding seeing so many people stepping up. Our volunteers always overcome whatever obstacle is placed in front of us. One year 800 turkeys weren’t delivered, so Rotary members and other volunteers went to local stores and bought as many turkeys as they could to fill in. A project like this brings out the best in people.
The Rotary Club also works on other helpful initiatives, such as oral cancer screenings in October, many efforts to help with food insecurity, contributing personal care items to St. Aloysius, a toy drive for the children’s hospital and donating thousands of dollars in school supplies.
During COVID, a great project was having 80 pizzas a week delivered to families in need. Pizza delivery day became many kids’ favorite day.
I feel good about giving back, but I feel even better about inspiring others to give back. In fact, my daughter, Alycia, who became a bat mitzvah and was confirmed at Temple Beth-El, is second in charge on packing day. I’m thrilled to be leaving the legacy of giving back to the next generation.
Tara and I are grateful to be invited to share these thoughts with you all, our beloved Temple Beth-El family, at this moment of extraordinary danger to every Jew in America and in Israel. As we Feldmans settle into our new lives, we also miss you very much—and very much feel that we are with you. Our hearts are still so connected to yours.
Tara and I are inspired by the work of Rabbi Stoller. Brian’s leadership is genuine, passionate, learned and wise. Temple Beth-El is doing so much to keep Israel in your consciousness and to be a pillar of support and a source for deeper understanding of what Israel and all Jews are facing at this historic moment.
It is an honor and a joy for us to watch Rabbi Stoller, Rabbi Megan and Cantor Adam in action, which we do very often.
From the depths of our hearts, we also want to commend Gary Slobin for the incredible work he has done as temple president for four years, culminating in one of his most awesome accomplishments—inspiring Jordana Levine to become his successor.
Jordana, Temple Beth-El is blessed to have you rise to the position of president. Rabbi Stoller, we know you are aware that you and Temple Beth-El have hit the jackpot, yet again, with Jordana.
As Jerusalem has been the sole Feldman home for about 18 months, I want to share some of our most deeply held views on this existentially threatening moment.
I am more in love with this place and with these people than ever. We are surrounded by so many extraordinary souls.
To me, average Israelis feel like superhuman citizens in a world going mad. Every family we know has a child or grandchild serving in Gaza or on our border with Lebanon. October 7 is so profoundly personal and local.
If I can be blunt, the way the world depicts the Israeli army is heartbreaking, sickening. No young man or woman wants to be spending 90 straight days in a tank,
in tunnels or killing other human beings. No one speaks of revenge.
The young men and women of Israel are lovers of life who want to learn, live, love, have a family and make a small (or large) contribution to the world. And every one of these young people is completely, unreservedly ready and prepared to do their small (and heroic) part to defend our national dream, ensuring that their grandchildren will have the blessing of a Jewish home, a State of Israel.
Two Arab neighborhoods are within a minute drive from Arnona, our idyllic little Jerusalem neighborhood. Surrounding us is the very real stress, worry and thought, “Could it happen here?”
Thankfully, our children, Gavi and Adina, and Tara and I are well. Like the overwhelming majority of Israelis, we too are deeply immersed in our daily lives and deeply invested in the success of this war, praying that one day, even in our lifetimes, God willing, we will live peacefully with our neighbors to the north and south, similar to the peace we have already achieved with our western and eastern neighbors—Egypt and Jordan.
Protests and campaigns that demand an immediate cease-fire completely mystify and shock me. Gazan lives are precious, sacred and holy. Israel believes that. But close your eyes. Reimagine September 11, 2001.
As the U.S. population is more than 30 times greater than that of Israel, just multiply the tragedies of October 7 by 30. Imagine that 36,000 Americans have just been murdered, that 90,000 murderous terrorists infiltrated the U.S. border and decapitated, raped and burned families alive. That was Israel on October 7.
Imagine this: We’re not talking about an Al-Qaeda in Iraq, on the other side of the globe, but an ISIS-level enemy operating one kilometer over the border with Mexico. Imagine 100 American communities (not three as on 9/11) are in the fight of their lives to defend
themselves from Nazi/ISIS-like terrorists who destroyed our quiet, peaceful neighborhoods.
Imagine thousands of rockets are being fired into bordering towns—in Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. Who would demand a cease-fire with a Mexican neighbor that has proclaimed in their charter and repeatedly promised to obliterate America, even after 9/11? It’s incomprehensible!
To be clear, from October 8 to November 8, 2023, Israel’s Home Front Command (Pikud HaOref) issued 1,987 alerts of missiles fired into Israel. In November, 1,610 missile alerts were cited. In December, there were 1,460 alerts; and as I write this in January 2024, there have been only 857.
Don’t forget that more than 100,000 Israelis have been relocated from their homes and are living in hotels and other temporary residences throughout the country, many without work and any clarity about the life to which they will return.
Cease-fire—with an enemy who has rejected every invitation to peace since 1922 and who has promised to reenact October 7 again and again and again?!
No country in history, other than Israel, has been condemned for loving its own children more than the children of its mortal enemy. Thankfully, Israel will do what it must to protect her own children from the children of her neighbor. (For more, read https://unwatch.org/un-teachers-callto-murder-jews-reveals-new-report.)
Still, faced with such inhumanity, being terrorized, murdered, raped, burned alive does not cause Jewish victims and survivors to become terrorists. It didn’t cause Jews after the Shoah to become terrorists. It didn’t cause the Germans or the Japanese who were overwhelmingly defeated by the Allies in WWII to become terrorists.
Never before has a people been counseled that it can’t or shouldn’t destroy its lethal, subhuman, barbaric enemy, because success will create more vile terrorist enemies. No. For any serious human being, winning a “just war that is being fought justly” is not what produces terrorists.
A hate-filled educational system is what creates a culture of terrorists. For anyone who genuinely cares about Gazan children, destroying the cancerous educational system and culture of Hamas is the one and only path for a future of peace, prosperity and genuine partnership.
Even as we face this existential threat, against a backdrop of unthinkable violence, here in Israel, so many holy and wholly mundane moments of generosity, kindness, goodness and joy emerge.
Even as months of war drag on, endless waves of volunteerism continue and every little effort feels meaningful—picking fruit on the kibbutzim at the Gaza border; collecting 1,000 eggs on a chicken farm; delivering supplies to a neighbor in need;
being in synagogue on most mornings for minyan and on Shabbat as the names of each and every hostage are read; and making a bikur cholim visit to a young soldier with serious wounds, now home after 12 weeks in Gaza, having hardly removed his boots.
There is so much to discuss. We are convening many small groups of Americans over Zoom, with a focus on college-age students to discuss the meaning and purpose of Israel.
In this time of shocking Jew hatred and Israel hatred on college campuses and beyond, what does Zionism mean? What should or could it mean? This is a moment to put every ounce of energy into building a Zionism, a Jewish identity, that is moral, ethical, loving, generous and humble— even in the face of Israel’s stunning achievements.
I will close with one final thought about this war against Hamas/Hezbollah/Iran. My thought has two pillars.
Pillar #1: Understand, this is a war for the very existence of our Jewish state. We must look directly into the eyes of our hate-filled neighbors, who are dead set on dead Jews. To choose otherwise is to blaze the path of Israel’s eventual destruction.
Pillar # 2: Understand that success in eliminating Hamas’s military and political
power will create the very real possibility of a new horizon, a new era of hope for Israel, for the people of Gaza and beyond.
Remember, the Allies didn’t kill every Nazi nor any haters of Nazis in 1945. Who could have imagined a German chancellor so publicly and proudly fighting in 2024 against anti-Semitism and for a safe and secure Jewish state.
Our sages teach that the light of goodness and hope and peace are born at our darkest hour. It is said that the mashiach (messiah) will be born on Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av), the most brutal, painful day in our people’s history. I believe this to be true and pray that October 7 has given birth to just such a moment.
This war, with all its darkness and sacrifice, is filled with the promise and possibility of a world in which Am Yisrael, לארשי םע, the People of Israel, will be admired as a tiny people with a courageous vision.
At the heart of this war is the message from our own people to peoples of every race, faith and ethnicity—a message about human dignity, compassion and hope. May the Jewish people, wherever we may live, be an or la’goyim, םייוגל רוא, a light unto the nations (Isaiah 42:6 49: 6), a voice inspiring life, liberty and loving kindness to all of humanity.
For an inside look at how Jewish communities throughout the country have been impacted by the events of October 7, several members of Rabbi Stoller’s daily morning minyan share their stories about how things have changed. Plus, a very active retired member reports on her new community.
Rabbi Stoller’s gathering formed at the beginning of COVID, when everyone was locked in their houses, and our spiritual leader, then based in Omaha, invited congregants to pray with him on Zoom. The online minyan became a meaningful way for people to connect each day and bring Jewish spirituality into their homes during a difficult time.
As Rabbi Stoller transitioned to his new position at Temple Beth-El, he reached out to some of the regular attendees of the temple’s own morning minyan, which had been meeting in person two days a week since 2010 until the onset of COVID when it became Zoom only—and the two minyanim were merged.
Reform Jews across the country, from New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Michigan and Massachusetts, still attend daily. Read on to find out about some of their experiences, as well as those of our retired congregant from Maryland, during another difficult time.
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Perhaps this minyan community is a bit more somber since October 7, though we continue to find ways to laugh, cry and just be together, which is probably what we all need right now.
—Saul FinkTri-Faith Commons partners in Omaha supporting one another at the mosque include (from left) Judy Waples from Countryside Community Church, Bonni Leiserowitz and Ilene Arnold from Temple Israel, Ramazan Kilinc from American Muslim Institute and Ann Naylor from Countryside Community Church. Photo by Wendy Goldberg
Dr. Ilene D. Arnold, a minyan participant from Omaha
At the start of the COVID pandemic on March 23, 2020, Rabbi Stoller, who was the spiritual leader of Temple Israel of Omaha at the time, started a morning minyan that enriched many of our lives. Growing up in a Conservative congregation, I had never participated in a morning minyan.
Rabbi Stoller used Zoom to video conference, making the minyan available for anyone from anywhere to pray together. After about a year, Rabbi Stoller asked for lay leaders. Six of us learned to lead morning minyan. Our minyan community has grown friendships and helped support those in need of healing or peace—especially after October 7, 2023.
On Saturday morning, October 7, I was headed to Torah Study at Temple Israel of Omaha when I heard the shocking news about the attack on Israel. Rabbi Benjamin Sharff was teaching that morning. I could feel the sadness in his voice as he talked about what had occurred.
Morning service coincided with Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin talked about praying in the midst of our sorrow and sadness—and told us to pray for peace to emanate from within so it could radiate outward to the world.
Temple Israel is located on the Tri-Faith Commons, the only place of its kind. Situated on 38 acres in Omaha, Nebraska, The Commons house a synagogue (Temple Israel), church (Countryside Community Church), mosque (American Muslim Institute) and interfaith center.
The events of October 7 and the days following put the Tri-Faith national model and center for interfaith learning, collaboration and celebration to the test.
All four organizations issued one statement, We Unite in Our Call for Change. Emotions ran high in the days that followed. Individuals in our community wanted a stronger statement.
Religious leaders were interviewed on local TV and radio stations regarding the
impact on our community. Everyone was watching the Tri-Faith Commons to see whether it would implode. Social media content did nothing to help navigate this crisis.
Fortunately, the amazing Tri-Faith Initiative executive director and cofounder, Wendy Goldberg, helped navigate any troubled waters. She scheduled time for all the partners to talk about the crisis in the Middle East, hoping to encourage open communications and continued collaboration.
Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Temple Israel’s rabbi emeritus and a cofounder of TriFaith, shared his wisdom after Shabbat services, expressing that this moment of crisis also represents an opportunity for unity with our neighbors. We could hear the pain from everyone involved.
Our beloved rabbi emeritus offered wise and inspiring words. He prayed that the children of Abraham—two peoples—would one day learn to come
together, to bury their pain as Isaac and Ishmael once came together to bury their father, Abraham, placing the pain of their childhoods aside to care for him.
As both a trustee on the Temple Israel board and a member of the Tri-Faith board of directors, I witnessed how many in our Tri-Faith community had become friends through activities like the Tri-Faith Unity Garden and Hope Orchard, many shared programs and United We Walk.
We have all broken bread at each other’s place of worship. As friends, it was important to show our support for one another.
Congregants from the synagogue and church, along with leaders of the Tri-Faith
Initiative, attended prayer services at the mosque on Friday, October 13. Later that day, congregants from the mosque and church attended Shabbat services.
We all wanted to send a message of support to our friends—and anyone else watching—that we love our neighbors, regardless of our different views, and we expressed hope for friends and family members in the Middle East.
Individuals from the different Abrahamic faiths continue to visit their partners’ services to show ongoing support for one another. There will always be those few who don’t agree, who don’t see the benefit in building relationships or who post misinformation, misleading content or even false material on social media.
I embrace the opportunity to learn from my neighboring religious congregations. We all have beliefs and teachings, some in common and some that are different. It is important to recognize that just because an individual is different, it doesn’t make them a danger as a stranger.
If you open your heart and mind, you can learn immensely about others’ beliefs, what they pray for, what they value and what support they need during difficult or stressful times. When that happens, the others are no longer strangers but friends sustaining our partnership and community.
This brings me back to morning minyan because that community supports each other, and the support then spreads into other parts of its participants’ lives and other communities. Prayer brings us all together. ▶
Life balance in our world is not a constant. Following the High Holidays, my wife and I joined our family in New York City on October 6 to celebrate our son’s 30th birthday. What a beautiful night it was, sharing in the simchas and final planning for his upcoming wedding to Morgan in November.
The following morning, my two sons and I left for Baltimore to attend our first playoff games for the Baltimore Orioles in years. While traveling, we read the initial reports of the hideous and heinous attacks in southern Israel by Hamas.
Nobody could have imagined the extent of how awful this was until more details unfolded during the coming days. While we all were basically living our lives safely, there was a developing tragedy, and I didn’t know what to do about it.
During those first few days, I spoke with many friends and family members. For what seemed like a split second, the world was aligned with support for Israel. Within
days, Israel was ready to go to war, and the world turned against them/us.
I personally felt attacked; and the majority of the U.S. and world were turning their backs on the horror of October 7 while hundreds of innocent Israelis were being held hostage.
As the war began (and continued), it was clear that removing Hamas came with its own complications and horror, while innocent Gazans were being killed, displaced and living in the worst circumstances.
In Boston, the broad support for Israel following the October 7 attacks has changed as the Jewish community continues to support Israel, while the broader population has walked back its support as it sees the atrocities that the war has brought on the people of Gaza.
While my wife and I moved to Boston full time in April 2020, we continue as members in our New Jersey synagogue. Since our move, we have been attending services at several Reform synagogues in the Boston area in the hope of finding our new community.
In September, we made plans to meet with another Temple Beth-El minyannite
from Boston, Mike Levinger, and his wife for Shabbat services at their synagogue, Temple Beth Elohim, on Friday, October 13. The service was well attended.
While walking in, the person next to us simply said, “Good evening.” When I looked up, I noticed it was Senator Elizabeth Warren. She had come to the synagogue to show her strong commitment to this community and to Israel.
Senator Warren wasn’t seeking any attention, and she did not plan to speak. From the start, the service brought me to tears of comfort, and I believe we may have found our new synagogue.
On a daily basis, I get much of my sense of Jewish community from the morning minyan led by Rabbi Stoller. I joined when my mom passed in December 2020, and I have been an active participant ever since.
Rabbi Stoller has a sixth sense about building a strong minyan community from across the country, and it is authentic and seems effortless on his part. From the day I joined, the group members have been so inviting and comforting to one another. There has been no better place for me to find solace since the October 7 attacks.
The following Monday, Rabbi Stoller introduced A Prayer for Jerusalem into our service, which has provided us all with a daily reminder of the attacks and continuing war while the rest of the world just goes about its business.
Perhaps this minyan community is a bit more somber since October 7, though we continue to find ways to laugh, cry and just be together, which is probably what we all need right now.
Growing up in Chicago, we celebrated Jewish holidays with family. I also went to Hebrew school and became a bat mitzvah at our synagogue.
In 1963, we moved away from extended family, so my parents began looking for a Reform synagogue to join. When they couldn’t find one, we founded Beth Elohim with four families. In 1965, we merged with B’nai Jehoshua, forming BJBE.
The temple’s dynamic young rabbi, Mark Shapiro, inspired everyone with his warm personality and inclusive Judaism. Currently, BJBE has 900 members, and my family is still active.
In 2010, then BJBE Assistant Rabbi A. Brian Stoller began a weekly minyan. After becoming senior rabbi at Temple Israel in Omaha, he began leading a daily Zoomonly service, which he continued when he joined Temple Beth-El of Great Neck, and I still participate.
BJBE as well as the daily minyanim have been important sources of joy and prayer for me. I’ve met so many wonderful people, expanding my Jewish community!
Israel has always been important at BJBE, forming one of our core values. We have an active Israel committee and regular trips to Israel, including for celebrating life-cycle events.
Israeli art appears throughout our building, and Israel-related topics and activities have always been part of our programming.
Since October 7, our Israeli-focused activities and educational programs in support of Israel have intensified, led by Senior Rabbi Philip Sherman and other clergy members, administrators and lay leaders.
Some of the highlights include:
• Regular sermons about Israel by Rabbi Sherman and all of our clergy members speaking about Israel and community solidarity;
• A recent visit to Israel by Rabbi Sherman, who brought back his much-needed reflections to BJBE;
• Individual clergy assistance to congregants as anti-Semitism and anxiety about Israel increase;
• Many programs, classes and discussions, such as the recent talk by the AntiDefamation League about the rise of U.S. anti-Semitism and action we can take as well as our discussion about Noa Tishby’s book Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth;
• The addition of new Israeli books to BJBE’s library, using Jewish Chicago-area librarian recommendations;
• Providing local and national resources and donation links for Jewish United Fund (JUF) and Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) in BJBE’s weekly newsletter;
• Collaborating with local synagogues to offer Israel programming and events, such as concerts and a successful Israel Art Fair;
• Participating in local and national events in support of Israel and release of the hostages;
• Creating a prominent Hostage Shabbat Table that incorporates photos of the hostages;
• Offering note paper for sending supportive words to Israelis and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF);
• Involvement in a Jewish National Fund (JNF) Volunteer and Solidarity trip to assist in Israel.
Chicago’s JUF has also been invaluable. Here are some examples:
• Running ongoing public awareness campaigns, from local media coverage to legislative outreach;
• Sharing a daily newsletter and weekly updates by JUF Israel Office Director Orly Bavly;
• Raising $48.8 million by JUF’s Israel Emergency Fund;
• B eing a resource for BJBE and other Chicago-area synagogues;
• Sponsoring local rallies;
• Assisting and collaborating with local Jewish institutions related to security concerns.
We all pray for a just peace, bringing the hostages home and disseminating accurate information. I am grateful to be part of the Chicago Jewish community, which has been a big part of supporting these goals. ▶
This basket at BJBE is filled with notes containing words of encouragement for the IDF and other Israelis.
Before October 7, Indianapolis was like most small to intermediate Jewish communities.
We educated students through our award-winning Hebrew day school, Hasten Hebrew Academy; worshipped and attended programs at our six synagogues and Chabad; cared for the elderly at our assisted living center; helped Jewish families in need through Jewish Family Services; combated anti-Semitism and lobbied legislators through our Jewish Community Relations Council; and brought families together for connection and philanthropy through our Jewish Federation.
We thrived Jewishly but started seeing a rise in anti-Semitism—although nothing like on October 7 and soon after.
In the wake of the October 7 attacks, Indianapolis quickly took action and quickly learned how strong it could be when everyone came together. We brought thousands of community members together through a solidarity gathering and a community havdalah singalong with Dan Nichols.
The Indianapolis community, like all other Jewish communities, was deeply affected by the Israel-Hamas war. In one way or another, most of us had connections to someone who was injured, died or was taken hostage on October 7. Many have family and friends in Israel constantly seeking cover in bomb shelters.
Since the attacks occurred during the High Holidays, several families visiting Indianapolis didn’t have a home to go back to in Israel. Some families who were in Israel at the time had to wait several days or weeks to return home.
We know soldiers who died fighting for the beloved country. We had medical professionals, rabbis and volunteers travel to Israel to help where they could.
Our Jewish community’s partner agencies have distributed Support for Israel yard signs, written letters to Israel Defense Forces soldiers and sent videos of support.
The Indianapolis community immediately started an Israel Emergency Fund, which raised $2.45 million for Israel humanitarian efforts.
In November, approximately 150 community members attended the March for Israel in Washington, DC.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis immediately put together a website (www.jewishindianapolis.org) with updates and resources on how to help.
Unfortunately, the Indianapolis Jewish community has seen an alarming increase in anti-Semitism locally and on college campuses.
The Jewish community responded by significantly increasing its social media presence to deliver credible pro-Israel content amid the Hamas propaganda. In the first month alone, the reach to Jewish and non-Jewish communities was expanded by nearly 300 percent.
Even before October, a billboard was displayed stating: Indy Has No Place for Jew Hate.
The Jewish community is lobbying its elected officials to condemn anti-Semitism and Hamas’s actions and has provided information on why the United Nations needed to support Israel’s right to protect itself.
House Bill 1002 was unanimously passed in the Indiana House of Representatives and will soon be heard in the Indiana Senate. If passed, this legislation will add the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
working definition of anti-Semitism to the education code and align Indiana with a widely accepted standard.
Local Jewish programs and events have seen a significant increase in engagement because people want to come together in solidarity and support. Through the Partnership2Gether region in the Western Galilee, Israeli guest speakers will talk at upcoming programs.
To train local Jews on how to become better advocates and leaders, three special events will be held this year, including the Maurer Koach Program on fighting anti-Semitism and social Justice with a trip to Europe; ATID, which trains leaders to serve on boards and committees with a trip to Israel; and 36 individuals under 36 will be honored for the remarkable work they do in the community and beyond.
Indianapolis has stepped up its efforts to educate the community and combat anti-Semitism during this difficult time.
Judi Rosenzweig, a retired Temple Beth-El member who lives in Maryland
When my husband, Elliot, and I moved from Great Neck to Maryland in September 2021, we began our search for our new spiritual home.
After “temple shopping,” we joined Temple Beth Ami of Rockville in Montgomery County. The congregation has almost 800 family units: One third are older than 65; the religious school has 500 students and 100 little ones attend the early-childhood program.
The synagogue has two rabbis and a cantor, as well as an Israel Relations Committee, which periodically provides speakers at the temple—both in person and on Zoom. The Jews in both our area and our congregation have been pro-Israel but against the Israeli Supreme Court shake up.
some were with Conservative synagogues.
Almost immediately, our clergy began scheduling specific meetings and programs to meet the needs of our very diverse congregation. Meetings covered what was going on in Israel and what was happening in our communities and on college campuses.
Daytime, evening and weekend sessions were planned, both in person and on Zoom. These were held daily for the better part of two weeks and included age-specific meetings for the early-childhood parents, religious school parents with younger children, those with older children and with Hebrew high school students.
Even students not enrolled in Hebrew high were encouraged to join these meetings, to listen and to have their questions answered. With the rise of anti-Semitism on university campuses, meetings were held for parents of college students. Sessions took place during the daytime for those home during the day, and evening meetings were held for those
At erev Shabbat services each week, our congregation now recites a prayer for Israel and concludes by singing “Hatikvah,” the national anthem of the State of Israel, which it hadn’t previously.
On Friday, February 2, day 119, Elliot and I joined as our congregation volunteered at the Smithsonian Mall in Washington, DC, to help set up the Shabbat Empty Tables for the remaining 136 hostages, along with separate tables containing photos and yahrzeit candles for the hostages who were killed.
We helped unload the truck and set up tables, chairs, tablecloths, dishes, silver, Shabbat candlesticks and kiddush cups. On the back of each chair, we clipped a laminated photo of a hostage. We had wheelchairs and highchairs.
Flags representing the various nationalities of the hostages were attached to appropriate chairs. We provided and 10 bunches of flowers
Our central location at the mall has lots of foot traffic, so Elliot and I answered questions from those walking by.
As of this writing, 121 days into this, some division exists amongst our congregants and others in Maryland about what Israel should be doing regarding a cease-fire, release of the hostages and the fate of Palestinians
The Shabbat Empty Tables display, which has been set up every Friday since October 20, keeps this tragedy front of mind. We believe we’re the only city in the U.S. doing this every weekend, and each week we hope that it’s the last time
Temple Beth-El proudly announces the creation of the Susan Stumer Cultural Arts Fund. Envisioned by her husband, Mark Stumer, this new fund will support innovative current and future music and cultural arts programs for the Temple Beth-El community.
Susan’s three children, Scott, Allison and Ylana, share memories of their mom, their family, their link to Temple Beth-El and their hopes for what the Susan Stumer Cultural Arts Fund will mean for our community.
Tell us about your family connection to Temple Beth-El.
Allison: Mom felt strongly that we have a powerful connection to the temple and that, as children, we felt supported by a community connected to Judaism. She, herself, did not grow up with a bond to a synagogue and this was something she expressed feeling disappointed about. It was important to her that she prioritize that for us.
Scott: I had my bar mitzvah in May of 1984; and as long as I’ve been alive, the temple was a part of our lives. Mom’s closest lifelong friend was her sister, my Aunt Carole [Krosser]. She and her husband, Uncle Stu, moved to Great Neck and were part of Temple Beth-El until they
moved to Florida. Every holiday and family event at the temple meant we were going to spend quality time together.
Ylana: Temple Beth-El has been a constant presence in our family’s important celebrations—from baby-naming ceremonies to nursery school and bar and bat mitzvahs to weddings. Rabbi Davidson, and then Rabbi Meir [Feldman], led many events for our family.
Allison: Mom shared with me that she felt a spiritual connection to Rabbi Stoller as a shared lover of music. On the week she passed, she asked that he come to the hospital. Together, they sang “L’chi Lach” and “Oseh Shalom.” Even knowing what was ahead, she was smiling and at peace when she sang.
Susan was known to be an important part of the temple choir. What are your choir-related memories of her?
Allison: Mom was the host of all our Jewish holiday meals, and mealtime always revolved around when she was singing in the choir.
Scott: Someone from the choir recently shared with us that mom didn’t want to practice with everyone listening to her, so she would practice alone with the cantor and the rest of the choir would be secretly
huddling outside listening. Her fellow choir members were all commenting that she was such a professional. I didn’t realize how special she was to the rest of the choir.
Allison: Mom always sat in the same seat with the choir. She directed us where to sit in the balcony so that when she stood we could see her.
Scott: She had big hair in the ’80s, and we could always see the top of her honeybrown curly hair. The hair would rise first—and then we would soon see the rest of the choir.
Ylana: Mom always sang with the biggest smile on her face. It was so evident that singing brought her so much joy. I could always pick out her voice among the choir. She’d always look for us in the congregation and give us a wink.
Susan’s love for music, singing and the arts were so important to her life and that of the family. Tell us more.
Ylana: She taught us the importance of following our dreams, as she had done with her passion for singing and acting. All of us were introduced to music and the arts at a very young age and grew a deep appreciation that we are passing on to our
Susan and Mark Stumer are flanked by their children and grandchildren.
own children. She bought my son Henry his first guitar; and till this day, it’s his favorite toy. Despite her parents’ guidance to study business, given her strong business acumen, she pursued her passion and majored in music at Syracuse University. I was always so proud to tell people that my mom was a singer and actress.
Allison: She always kept music, theater and the arts in her life. She exposed us to concerts, museums and shows. It was her message to all of us: Find what brings you joy and pursue it.
Scott: She made me take piano lessons when I was a kid; and to this day, I can’t read music but I can play piano by ear. She was convinced since before I was born that if she put music to the womb, it would come to me by osmosis—and she may have been right. In addition to the temple choir, she also sang in the American Mood Machine, a traveling women’s group mostly on Long Island.
Allison: She continued her music education far into adulthood, completing her dream of attending Juilliard. She sang all over the world as well as at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, but most special was her singing at all our life-changing special occasions. She was offered so many opportunities that may have been “the big break,” but it inevitably conflicted with
something one of us had and she always showed up for us first.
Scott: Expressing our creativity was something she instilled in all of us. Beyond singing, mom took up needlepoint. She made my yarmulke with Yankees pinstripes [to represent where I work], in University of Michigan maizeand-blue colors [to represent my alma mater] and she even put “Dad” and hearts to honor me being a dad to my daughters, Grace and Madeline. She also included “Piano Man” on my yarmulke with music notes. I played that song at her funeral service while the cantor encouraged the congregation to sing, which was a wonderful tribute to mom. It was important for us to put musical notes on her memorial headstone, too.
Allison: She decided to resume her hobby of needlepointing from the ’70s when my sons, Jack and Will, were each preparing for their bar mitzvah. She decided she wanted to create a yarmulke for the important men in her family. She took care to include the colors they wanted and stitches they found interesting. While battling her illness, Mom taught me how to needlepoint and we created a backgammon board together. I have continued to needlepoint, and somehow it makes me feel closer to her.
What do you hope the new Susan Stumer Cultural Arts Fund will provide for our community?
Ylana: We hope the new Susan Stumer Cultural Arts Fund will serve as a lasting tribute to our mom’s passion for the arts. The arts were such an important part of her life, and she would be so honored to serve as a catalyst for fostering creativity and cultural enrichment in our community.
Allison: Mom valued music and art and would be thrilled to support education in the arts in our community in her honor. She knew that music, art and creativity could be therapeutic and could contribute to one’s own well-being. That’s why I think she would want others to have the opportunity to experience it in their lives and obtain the same inner peace she did. Scott: Maybe it will help encourage someone with a casual interest in music to find a greater love and involvement. I remember mom singing her scales in preparation for the temple choir services at all hours of the night. It was her passion, so if a few children and adults find greater involvement in music and take it more seriously, she would be so overjoyed that music had an effect on their lives. Maybe someone out there is quiet about their interest. Maybe this can be what will help them find their passion, too.
When thinking about delicious Israeli specialties, hummus, falafel and shawarma immediately come to mind. But modern Israeli cuisine comes from rich and diverse backgrounds, both Ashkenazi and Sephardi.
Influenced by Mediterranean and Arabic ingredients and cooking styles, recipes from this region offer a culinary fusion of traditional Jewish foods and those brought to Israel from its residents’ countries of origin. Members of our Temple Beth-El family share some of their favorites.
Egg Potato Salad is famous among Russian-speaking Jews, who comprise approximately 15 percent of Israel’s population. This dish, invented in the mid 1800s by French chef Lucien Olivier, is known by the names Salad Olivier and Salad Olivieh. Passed down by my late grandmother, a Jewish refugee from the former USSR who inspired my culinary interests, this festive salad can be found at every celebration and many Shabbat dinners of the Jewish immigrants whose ancestors lived in one of the 15 former USSR republics.
Preparing this dish is a reminder of our family’s history in the former Soviet Union as well as the time spent making it with my grandmother for every holiday in America.
Find more of my recipes, including an instructional video for how to make the Israeli dessert sufganiyot, at www.funwithchefd.us.
3 large potatoes
1 large carrot
3 large eggs
1 can peas, rinsed and drained
3–5 pickles, finely diced
1/2 cup cucumber, finely diced
1/8 cup cilantro, minced Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup mayonnaise or to taste
1. Wash the unpeeled potatoes and carrot well.
2. Add the potatoes, carrot and eggs to a pot filled halfway with water and bring to a boil. Once the eggs are hard-boiled, remove them from the pot and set aside. Continue cooking the carrot and potatoes until they are tender, or a fork can easily pass through.
3. When the eggs are cool enough to handle, peel, dice and place in a large bowl.
4. Let the potatoes and carrot cool for one to two hours, then peel, dice and add to the large bowl.
5. Add the peas, pickles, cucumbers and cilantro to the bowl and toss. Mix in the salt, pepper and mayonnaise—and enjoy.
As an Israeli mother of five and a teacher in Temple Beth-El’s Early Childhood Education Center, I am happy to share one of my favorite Shabbat dishes.
To add variety to the recipe, you can also include chickpeas, sliced potatoes and sliced carrots when you place the peppers in the pan. I hope your family enjoys this entrée as much as my family does.
1/3 cup oil
2 Tbsp Moroccan paprika in oil
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin
3 tomatoes, cubed
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups water
2 red peppers, sliced
1 fresh chili pepper
3 dried chili peppers
5–6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
6 pieces salmon, cod or halibut Juice from 1 lemon
1. Heat the oil in a large pan on low. Add the paprika, turmeric and cumin and fry the spices for few seconds, being careful not to burn them as spices cook quickly. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the water, red and chili peppers, garlic, sugar, salt, white pepper and half of the cilantro. Bring to a boil, cover and cook on low for 10 minutes.
2. Salt the fish, add the lemon juice and let the seasoned fish sit for 10 minutes.
3. After the sauce has cooked for 20 minutes, add the fish to the pan, spoon the sauce over the fish and cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
4. About 5 minutes before the dish is fully cooked, add the remaining cilantro to the pan. Bon appétit! ▶
I hope your family enjoys this entrée as much as my family does.
As an Israeli mom with children in the Early Childhood Education Center, I love sharing this special treat with my little ones. They have almost as much fun helping decorate the chocolate balls by rolling them into the toppings as they do eating them.
1 (171/2 oz) package tea biscuits
31/2 oz dark chocolate
11/2 cups milk
5 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp cocoa
Shredded coconut and colorful candies for decorating
1. Place the biscuits in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse until the desired texture is created, making the pieces as sandy or as coarse as you prefer.
2. In a small pot over medium-low heat, combine the remaining ingredients except for the decorations and stir until the chocolate melts. Add the biscuit crumbs and mix well.
3. Remove spoonfuls of the mixture and form into balls in the preferred size.
4. Place the balls on a cookie sheet and freeze for 1 hour.
5. Roll each ball in coconut or colorful candies and serve.
They have almost as much fun helping decorate the chocolate balls as they do eating them.
Adapted from a recipe by Israeli pastry chef, best-selling cookbook author and television personality Carine Goren, our late congregant’s treat has been an oneg favorite. She sometimes prepared this as mini cheesecakes, so everyone could savor their own.
To honor her grandmother’s memory, Monica Ephrati is compiling Roberta’s recipes with the hope of publishing a cookbook.
Crust and crumbs
11/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
Generous pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
11/4 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cubed
3 egg yolks
Cheese filling
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 (8 oz) containers cream cheese, softened
1 (16 oz) container sour cream
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. To make the crust and crumbs: In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolks and pulse just until dough is formed.
3. For the base of the cheesecake, press about half of the dough evenly into a parchment paper–lined 9-inch baking pan.
4. Press the remaining dough into the base of a second 9-inch parchment paper–lined pan. This dough does not need to be spread perfectly, since it will be crumbled.
5. Bake both pans in the oven for about 20 minutes, until golden. Cool completely.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the cheese filling by beating together the heavy cream, sugar and pudding mix in the bowl of a stand mixer until firm peaks form.
7. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the cream cheese and sour cream and whip for 1 minute to combine.
8. Pour the filling over the cooled crust and smooth the surface with a spatula. With your fingers, crumble the remaining baked crust and gently sprinkle the crumbs on top of the cheese filling.
9. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight and serve cold.
Monica Ephrati is compiling recipes from her grandmother, Roberta Lulov, z”l , to create a cookbook of her favorites, including this cheesecake.Sometimes I feel like a book was handed to me by a personal librarian who knows what I’ll enjoy or what I need.
In the case of the latest picture book winner from the Association of Jewish Libraries, maybe it is meant for all of us right here in Great Neck.
Two New Years, by Richard Ho, sweetly illustrated by Lynn Scurfield, is a celebration of Jewish and Chinese New Year traditions enjoyed by a Jewish family with Chinese heritage, told from the viewpoint of the children.
“My family celebrates two new years,” it begins. And we hear how both holidays include sweeping away the past year and casting away old mistakes, then welcoming joy and hope.
Colorful pages present paper lanterns and pomegranates, framing the family of four as they prepare for and carry out their holiday observances.
The opening image of a shofar sitting beside a blue-and-white porcelain bowl represents this integrated family’s two
cultures. Like our neighborhood, the two traditions live side by side in the story.
The text explains how Rosh Hashanah begins the Jewish calendar, and the Lunar New Year follows the Chinese calendar. Both holidays embody the togetherness of family, honoring our ancestors and eating delicious foods.
We have noisy elements—and also solemn rituals. Our ceremonies are important to honor our histories and enjoy our present moment.
The mother in these illustrations covers her hair, and the men and women sit separately in the shul. Although a mechitza is an unusual sight in our branch of Judaism, we can all relate to sliced apples and honey, and hugging our grandparents.
We have so much in common within our community. As our calendars follow the moon, our holidays can bring us together.
Like this family, our Great Neck community shares a strong connection to our varied pasts as well as to our favorite foods, music and festivities.
I hope you will share it with your neighbors and loved ones as a way to discuss our differences, promote understanding and celebrate our intertwined futures.
Two New Years was the picture book winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award for outstanding children’s literature that authentically portrays the Jewish experience. For more great works, visit www.jewishlibraries.org.
In our tradition, when saying “Happy Birthday,” people may wish their loved ones the blessing that they live to be 120 years old. Few will see this age, and everyone will one day face the reality that our earthly journey will come to an end.
The sages of the Midrash, the early interpreters of the Torah, had important wisdom for thinking about our end of days. In fact, they advise us to purchase a burial plot even while we are still alive and well. It is sometimes said that doing so will actually bless one with a long life. On a more practical level, purchasing a grave avoids a burden for a loved one. Sometimes this is a parting gift to those around us.
Our Temple Beth-El family is blessed to have its own sections of the Beth Moses Cemetery in Farmingdale. In the coming year, the purchase price for our plots will increase as we continue investing in care and upkeep of the property.
Please consider purchasing graves for your family. Plots are only available for purchase by temple members but can be used for your extended family. Single graves are available, and there are also plots for any number of graves, including 20+. Stuart Botwinick, our executive director, is happy to tour the grounds with you.
For additional information, please contact Joy Palevsky in the main office at jpalevsky@tbegreatneck.org or 516-487-0900, ext. 110.
ACROSS Lofty area in NYC
ACROSS
1 Lofty area in NYC
5 Iconic Israeli peanut butter puffs
10 Smidge
Iconic Israeli peanut butter puffs
14 Pastoral poem
53 Archipelago with eponymous wine
15 Sneak home?
16 Upstate college or statement of possession?
Smidge Pastoral poem Sneak home?
17 Joint point
56 College Sports channel
59 Zenith rival
18 Ubiquitous Israeli chef
20 Nice way to say stop
22 Sem. language
61 Satirical novelist Stanley
Upstate college or statement of possession?
23 Distinguished from wants
24 Set apart
62 Saucy brunch fave
26 “Pardon me”
Joint point
28 Flaky treats with squishy spuds
65 High degrees
66 Scoundrels
33 Sold out
Ubiquitous Israeli chef
35 Langston Hughes poem
67 Spherical
36 Sufganiyot
Nice way to say stop Sem. language
37 WKRP bombshell Anderson
68 Late President of Namibia
39 Economic index measuring prices for goods received by producers
69 Kitchenware brand
41 Over in Berlin
Distinguished from wants
42 ___, or does this seem off?
45 Look over quickly
Set apart "Pardon me."
48 Luau memento
70 Ones who treat you as a means to an end
49 Epic Jerusalem market
71
52 Character with the traveling hump
Flaky treats with squishy spuds
53 Archipelago with eponymous wine
56 College sports channel
Sold out Langston
59 Zenith rival
61 Satirical novelist Stanley
62 Saucy brunch fave
Hughes poem Sufganiyot WKRP bombshell Anderson Economic index measuring prices for goods received by producers
65 High degrees
66 Scoundrels
67 Spherical
68 Late president of Namibia
69 Kitchenware brand
70 Ones who treat you as a means to an end
71 Doesn’t meet req’s
DOWN
1 The sages say we were all there
2 Stinks
3 Magical planters
Over in Berlin ___, or does this seem off?
4 Electric Light Orchestra palindrometitled album
5 Tanglewood regulars
6 Where it’s lonely
Look over quickly Luau memento
7 __ out justice
8 The Little Prince’s tree
9 Start and end of Musketeers motto
Epic Jerusalem market
10 Has bottles and glasses
Character with the traveling
11 Football analyst Merril
12 Crisply shown
13 Mai ___ (cocktails)
19 Comes before febrero
21 Comic Jacques
25 Pic on a pec, say
27 1963 Newman western
29 “Clumsy me!”
30 Grandson of Genghis
31 Suit to ___
32 Class of depression medication
34
38 “Pretty
40
55
55 First name in photography
56 Suffix with fluor- or acqui-
57 49 Across is the most famous
58 Green spot in Paris
60 Sugar’s shape at tea
63 Astros, on a scoreboard
64 Pop-ups
47 Like the first couple, at first
spot in Paris
60 Sugar's shape at tea
You
•Are
•Have
Levittown, NY 11756
5 Old Mill Road Great Neck, NY 11023
Jerusalem Memorial Chapels is pleased to announce a partnership with Temple Beth-El of Great Neck to conduct funeral services here for the local Jewish community
Jewish Owned and Operated Pre-Need and Immediate Need
Religious preparatory area, Tahara, Shomer, Mikvah all available
David
516.418.7000 (Call or Text)
3026 Hempstead Turnpike
Adam Novak, Funeral Director
Sakhai, Founding Member
TEMPLE BETH-EL OF GREAT NECK
GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE SUPPORT RECEIVED FROM
SPONSORED BY CAROLINE & JOSEPH S.
LIFE MONUMENT FUNDS, INC. & UJA FEDERATION OF NEW YORK
