Temple Israel Doorpost April 2018

April 2018

Nisan / Iyyar 5778

President’s Message Dear Fellow Congregants, During services last Saturday, Cantor Shira Nafshi discussed the upcoming Pesach holiday and talked about the need to do a spiritual cleaning of the chametz from our inner selves to complement the physical removal of the chametz from our homes.

This was a powerful image and got me thinking about the many ways in which our religious services help me to clear my mind. As I hear and sing the familiar round of prayers on a Friday night or Saturday morning, I feel unburdened and able to refocus on the most important things and release minor annoyances and bumps along the road.

My family has been going to services more often over the past year as our children have gotten older and our girls approach bat mitzvah age. So I have had a chance to see and get to know better the long -time regulars and also people who attend once in a while. But I have also noted that other than during a bar or bat mitzvah, or some other special event, the number of people in attendance has not been large, and sometimes we have even struggled to form a minyan.

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At Temple Israel Dover 36 Olive Meadow Lane, Dover NH

Friday, April 20, 2018 at 7:00PM Special Shabbat presentation with Kati Preston Child Survivor in Hungary, author of the book “Holocaust to Healing: Closing the Circle”

Hebrew Calligraphy Workshop 6:00 pm Thursday, April 5, Social Hall RSVP to Sue West, overbywest@gmail.com Passover Services 9:30am Friday, April 6, Sanctuary Yizkor approximately 11am.

Yom Hashoah Commemoration 3:00pm Sunday, April 8, Sanctuary Music, prayers and readings led by Cantor Shira Nafshi with guest speaker Dr. John Sturtz.

Spring Event Committee Meeting 6:30pm Tuesday, April 10, Shmoozatorium Executive Committee Meeting 7:30pm, Thursday, April 12, Virtual Meeting Bat Mitzvah of Baylee Jacobs 9:30am, Saturday, April 14, Sanctuary IsraAID Presentation 2:00pm, Sunday, April 15, Social Hall Jews and Arabs working together for disaster relief.

Gesher Group meets at Bowl O Rama 4:00pm—6:00pm, Sunday, April 15 Pizza and bowling! 599 Lafayette Rd, Portsmouth.

Jewish Poetry as a Path to Prayer 6:30pm, Monday, April 16 & 23, Library Sign up for workshop(s) with Mary Anker, mamanker@gmail.com Board of Directors Meeting 7:00pm, Tuesday, April 17, Board Room Chai Rollers Casino Night 7:30pm, Saturday, May 5, Social Hall Watch for your invitation to our spring social event.

RSVPs requested by Friday, April 20.

(Continued from page 1) As a family with two working parents and children in a host of activities, I know the challenges that there are to carving out time to attend services. This is a reality across the country and across religious denominations. But setting aside the constraints of time, I have begun to wonder whether we as a community can decide upon changes or additions to our services that will give us more incentive to prioritize this aspect of our community life.

In speaking with friends and other congregants about this issue, a number of ideas have been suggested, such as more musical Shabbatot, having dinners before or after services, adding Torah study to our Saturday services, and having the Hebrew school classes lead more services. At the board meeting this month, we will be discussing the service experience and thinking about ways in which we can be more inviting, more welcoming, and more attractive to our community.

Preschool Registration is open for the 2018-2019 school year.

The ELC is a unique preschool in the Seacoast area, the only place where Jewish values and concepts are integrated into everyday activities and Jewish holidays are woven into the curriculum.

For more information, contact Laura Sher at: 436-5301, ext. 23, or preschool.director@templeisraelnh.org.

But we also want to hear directly from you. 

If you are a regular service attendee, what do you particularly like and want to keep in place?

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If you do not attend services regularly, for whatever reasons, what would encourage you to start attending more often?

Our religious services are an expression of our community, and so it is up to us as a community to decide what we want. This is particularly important now as we begin the process of looking for a new full time rabbi, and have to decide what kind of spiritual leader we hope to have.

David Bachrach

Shabbat Service Leaders Cantor Shira Nafshi Saturday, April 7, 2018 Rabbi Ira Korinow Saturday, April 14, 2018 Cantor Shira Nafshi Saturday, April 21, 2018 Rabbi Ira Korinow Saturday, April 28, 2018 Followed by “Lunch and Learn” Torah study

Tuesday Afternoon 5:30pm Friday Night 6:15pm Saturday Morning 9:30am Followed by Kiddush Luncheon

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Ritual Committee

Membership Committee

Why do congregants choose to attend or not to attend services on Friday night and Shabbat morning? If you grew up in a Jewish environment, how do your past experiences of communal worship influence your perspective of what you might want to see reflected in our services at Temple Israel? How do we balance coming together as a Kahal Kodesh while living in a secular world?

Havdalah at Home Postponed

Over the next few months the ritual committee under the direction of Rabbi Korinow will explore these issues. We value your opinion and welcome comments and suggestions. Together we can create a ritual experience that respects our traditions while being open to change, development adapting to the times.

B’Shalom, David Olken

The Havdalah at Home event that was announced in last month’s Doorpost for April 21 is being postponed until the fall. The Membership Committee belatedly realized that Havdalah on that date is not until almost 9 p.m., and we thought it would be easier for people to host and attend on a weekend when Shabbat ends earlier in the evening.

Meanwhile, we are very excited about helping to plan ways to welcome and integrate the members of Temple Israel in Dover who will be joining our synagogue in the coming months.

Beyond the Torah in 10 Minutes Tuesday Night Adult Hebrew Reading Class – 6:00 – 7:30 pm In addition to our regular grammar studies, for the spring, the class will begin with 10 minutes of translating “first sentences” from the Nevi’im and Kethuvim (Prophets and Writings) of the Hebrewonly Tanakh. The purpose, beyond carefully reading Hebrew, is to learn to navigate the Tanakh, with its tropes, punctuation, paragraph and numbering systems, canonical order and Masoretic oddities. We started with Jonah, Joel and Psalm 96 and had great fun!

Anyone is welcome to join the class to participate in the first 10 minutes and stay to observe or join our study of grammar. You are also welcome to bring in sentences from any book of the Tanakh, Siddur, Haggadah, etc., for translation for the following week. The class will not meet April 3. For more information, contact instructor, Kathryn Mulhearn, at 207-351-5654 or isogloss@outlook.com.

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Shalom Everyone! Happy Nisan & Happy April!

Spring is here and so is Pesach! Hag Sameach!

Hebrew School had a busy month of March in spite of a snow day on the very first day back from vacation!

Here are some highlights: Noam, our wonderful Israeli Shlicha (emissary), gave the 3rd – 7th graders a wonderful presentation on Tel Aviv. A slide show and video clips of “Kelaviv”, the amazing dog festival, videos of “White Night”, an all night giant block party for teens, and a “true or false facts” Tic Tac Toe game, made us all want to take the first flight out to Israel! I am so happy to hear that Noam will be here next year also!

The 4th and 5th graders had their class service on Friday, the 16th. The children helped Deborah Hirsch Mayer lead services and they did a wonderful job up on the bimah.

Kol Hakavod to the students and their teachers. There was a lot of “kvelling” that evening! And a big thank you to Sam Berg and his children, Seth and Sydney, for staying till everything had been washed and put away! What mensches!

Model Seders, some with food and some with virtual food, some with parents and some without, were the order of the day on Sunday, March 25th. Hah, no pun intended!! Order = Seder!! Total coincidence!!

Lastly, Lila Kohrman-Glaser joined our faculty as a sub and assistant in the 3rd grade. If you see a fresh new face on a Wednesday, make sure to say hi and introduce yourselves! She is lovely!

Coming up this month: One last visit by Noam, a presentation by “IsraAID” for 4th – 7th graders and a chance to view Dr. Ira Schwartz’s Holocaust era items before the Yom Hashoah event, as well as a visit by the Dover Temple students and their teachers! Another busy month!

As usual, please feel free to call or email me at 603-969-2984 or egt9@aol.com with any questions or suggestions.

L’Shalom, Elian Tackeff, Head of School

Where are the 4th and 5th graders?

The Sunday following your class service you get to sit up on the balcony!

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April

6th

6:57 PM

April

13th

7:05 PM

April

20th

7:13 PM

April

27th

7:22 PM

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Our gratitude to departing Temple employee David Jernigan for his efforts in maintaining this beautiful historic building!

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Welcome to Jeanne Hastie, who has taken over cleaning duties. Also, Welcome back to her husband Dan Hastie, who will be helping with maintenance.

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Call for information: do you have a new phone number, e-mail, or mailing address? Please call or drop a note to the Temple Office to make sure it’s included in the forthcoming Member Directory!

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Our condolences to Rachel Trubowitz and her family on the loss of her mother Ethel Trubowitz of Durham, NH. Ethel and her late husband, Dr. Sydney Trubowitz, were Temple Israel members.

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Hebrew Calligraphy Workshop WHO: This class is welcome to all!

WHAT: In this workshop you will make a decorated word in Hebrew calligraphy. The word can be someone’s name or simply “Israel” or “Shalom”, etc. You will go home with a set of drawings of the Hebrew alef bet both in simple form and in outline for decoration. Please bring a donation of $5 towards materials, any favorite pens or paints, and ideas of your favorite themes.

WHEN: Thursday evening April 5th from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

HOW: Please rsvp to Sue West to register at overbywest@gmail.com. Class size limited to twelve.

Jewish Poetry as a Path to Prayer WHO: Anyone thirteen years and older welcome. Come solo, come with family, come with friends. Come to one or both workshops. This class is open to members and non-members. We will read, discuss, write, and have the option of sharing poems and prayers. No poetry or writing experience necessary.

WHAT: Mary Anker, Temple Israel of Portsmouth member, and John Englander of Temple Kerem Shalom, will lead this workshop together exploring the relationship between prayer and poetry. Sources will vary and will include the siddur. Mary is an English teacher and performing poet. John is an educator and singer/ songwriter who will play his guitar to enhance our understanding of words and their potential depth.

WHERE: In Temple Israel's warm and inspirational library.

WHEN: Two Monday evenings, April 16 and 23, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. A salad and pizza dinner included.

HOW: Please sign up by emailing Mary Anker at mamanker@gmail.com. Workshop size limited to eighteen participants. Please let us know if you need a ride. It may be possible to arrange. There is no charge for this class.

TZEDAKAH (CHARITY) FUND If you know of a member of the community who could use financial assistance, please call and leave a message at: 603-512-0090.

We can provide short-term help for utility bill payments, etc. and all information will be kept in the strictest confidence.

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Late last summer the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire welcomed Noam Wolf, a talented young Israeli professional, to serve as New Hampshire’s Israeli Emissary (Shlicha) for the year. Over the past months Noam has visited our preschoolers several times, joyfully and passionately sharing her love and knowledge of her physical homeland and our spiritual homeland. The children of the Early Laura Sher Learning Center have been energized by her Director, ELC visits, as we traveled around Israel on imagined adventures: through the Negev desert, spotting camels and ibex, floating in the Dead Sea, surfing in the Mediterranean, touching the Western Wall, and tasting Israeli fruits and cuisine. How fun it was to be immersed in modern Hebrew language, music and culture!

And here in New Hampshire, we spent lots of time this past month enjoying our record -breaking snowfalls!

Bundled up and immune to the cold, our preschoolers built snow forts and snowmen, trudged up hills in waist deep snow and then rolled down, expending every ounce of energy they had! And when it was too cold to venture out, the children harnessed their creativity making beautiful watercolor paintings, collages, sand structures, rocket ships and marble mazes.

An important value that we revisited this past month is Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayim, kindness to animals. We made pinecone bird feeders, slathered with peanut butter and seeds, to care for the many birds returning to the Seacoast (who, like all of us, were most likely lulled into a false sense of the arrival of spring)! And we’ve got a new batch of red wiggler worms (1000 of them!), munching away on our food scraps, creating rich compost for our raised beds gardens that will be planted as soon as the snow melts!

We also continued our indoor planting efforts, transplanting our newly sprouted parsley, oregano, sage and dill (that we will use for our Passover Family Celebration), and planting some red bliss potatoes whose eyes have sprouted.

Registration continues to be open for the 20182019 school year. If you know of someone who may be interested in joining our community, please have them contact me at: preschool.director@templeisraelnh.org or 436-5301, ext. 23.

Wishing you all a healthy and happy month ahead!

L’Shalom, Laura

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Baylee Jacobs, Saturday, April 18, 2018

Zoe Selig, Saturday, May 12, 2018

My name is Baylee Jacobs. I attend Hampton Academy. I enjoy playing piano, basketball, and cooking.

My name is Zoe Selig. I attend Oyster River Middle School. I enjoy reading, acting, and spending time with friends and family. Judaism is important to me because I love learning about the traditions.

Judaism is important to me because I am fourth generation at Temple Israel and the customs and traditions make me feel closer to my family that came before me.

For my mitzvah project, I am donating my hair to a nonprofit organization called Children with Hair Loss, which gives wigs to kids who have lost their hair. I am asking others to donate hair and money to it as well.

Hebrew School registration for the 2018—2019 school year is happening now!

If you have a child in kindergarten or know of a family who might be interested in enrolling, please call Elian Tackeff at 603-969-2984 or email egt9@aol.com.

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CULTURAL ENDOWMENT FUND Betty & David Effron in memory of David’s father Alvin Effron and Betty’s father Herman Slass.

Elliott & Shirley Fishbein in memory of Elliott’s father David Fishbein and Shirley’s father Jack Lessow.

PRESCHOOL FUND Cynthia Freedman and Marcia Blacker in memory of their grandfather Barnett Freedman. Naomi Fishbein in memory of her mother Bessie Partoll.

Selma Freedman in memory of her family. Rita Tobin in memory of Ethel Trubowitz.

DINNERMAN/ROTTENBERG EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENT FUND Gloria Turner in memory of her mother Pauline Applebaum.

RABBI’S DISCRETIONARY FUND Joan Hankin in memory of her father Ben Gersh.

Peter Schultz in memory of his mother Carol Dancis Shultz.

HEBREW SCHOOL FUND Sharon, Jason, and Aaron Roberts, in memory of Rosalie Katz, Sharon’s mother and Jason and Aaron’s grandmother. Michelle Baer in memory of her father David Davidson. Gail & Steven Goldberg in memory of Steve’s father Richard Goldberg. The Rubin family in memory of Paul Rubin, Michael’s father, Allyson, Hannah, & Lily’s grandfather. Gail Bradbard in memory of Norris Bendetson.

LIBRARY FUND Paula & Karl Singer in memory of Paula’s father Harold McCrensky. Doris Freedman in memory of her mother Beatrice Downs and father-in-law Barney Freedman. Bernice Richman in memory of her mother Rose Richman. William McQueeney in memory of his father John Joseph McQueeney.

INSTITUTIONAL OPERATING ENDOWMENT FUND Stuart & Paula Boxer in memory of Stuart’s father Louis Boxer and Paula’s father David Rosengard.

Harold & Gloria Moldoff in memory of Harold’s mother Sarah Moldoff and Gloria’s father Albert Woolfson. Roger Epstein in memory of Stanley Epstein. Mark & Susan Berman. Bert & Deborah Freedman in memory of Estelle Israel.

KIDDUSH FUND Fran Berman in memory of her husband Harry Klein and also her mother Harriet Berman. Myrna & Howard Promer in memory of Myrna’s parents Eva & Mannie Weisner.

TZEDAKAH FUND Brenda Altschul in memory of her aunt Estelle Israel. Diane Goulston in memory of Estelle Israel.

Marilyn Gorman in memory of her mother Lena Gorman. Rita Robbins in memory of her parents Bessie & Morris Marcus. Alan Cronheim in memory of Gus Cronheim. Agnes Cabot in memory of her father Alexander Vero. Rachel Dennis in memory of her mother Ruth Dennis.

Donations received in memory of Ethel Trubowitz: Soo Hyon Kim; Rochelle Lieber; Siobhan Senier; Douglas Lanier; Delia Konzett; Seth & Susan Truwit; Mark & Darlene Edelman.

RABBI DAVID SENTER MEMORIAL FUND Donna Pasternak. Diane Goulston in memory of Rabbi Senter. Elissa Kaplan Senter in memory of Rabbi Senter’s grandfather Rabbi Aaron Rosenbaum. Richard David Grossman in memory of his mother Mildred Rachel Weissman Lobel.

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April Yahrzeits

16 Nisan / 15 Iyyar

1

Sarah Black, Esther Shulman, Rosalie Katz, Ruth Dennis

17

Edward Segel, Sarah Bratter, Jay Schwartz

3

Lawrence Friedman, Davida Roberts, Jerome Fishbein

18

Rev. Jacob Meyerson, Anna Siegel, Lillie Sorkin

4

John Rosenbloom, Katie Lampert

19

Jeanette Kaufman

5

Rudolph Goodman, Sarah Levine, Robert Brann, Pauline Bailey, Herman Blamk

20

Pamela Shulman

6

Samuel Kolikof, Leonard Levy, Israel Mirsky

21

Moses Haritonov, Ethel Pierce

7

Eric Goulston, Sarah Borwick

22

Bessie Rosenbloom, Ida Cooper, Harry Singer

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Maurice Lightung, Rae Pearl, Sarah Friedman

23

Hyman Berlin

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Beatrice Friedman, Tillie Fein

24

Esther London, Rose Singer

10

Samuel Kline, Judith Kramer

25

Charles Zitomer

11

Joseph Cohen, Milton Roberts, Ida Silverman, Roberta Berman, Brina Lampert, Louis Emmer, Sterra Tackeff Louis Bradbard, Rae Scheckter, Mollie Wolf

26

Morton Nannis, Tillie Spaien

27

Ida Karpman, Nathan Neyer, Eugene Barbehenn, Harriet Gorski

Gladys Goodman, Max Freedman, Ernie Kessler, Sarah Polimar, Gertrude Borden Julius Zeidman, Danielle Harman, Sol Lesser, Laura Share, Samuel Share, Mildred Friedman, Annie M. Freaman Blume Lepoff, Sadye Schwartz

28

Rose Lisagor, Benjamin Karpman

29

David Scheen

30

Eva Weisner, Jean Mittelman, Betty Feffer, Mark Freedman

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When you are observing a family member’s yahrzeit, you are welcome to say kaddish not only at the Friday night or Saturday morning service, but also at the 5:30pm Tuesday minyan and Wednesday or Sunday when school is in session.

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P l e a s e j o i n u s f o r Yo m H a s h o a h Holocaust Remembrance Day Sunday, April 8th, 2018 at 3:00PM Cantor Shira Nafshi will conduct the observance.

Guest Speaker: Dr. John Sturtz of the Cohen Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies, on “Lessons of the Holocaust: What and How to Teach Our Communities.”

Coffee & refreshments to follow with a Holocaust Exhibit in the Levenson Social Hall.

IsraAID Presentation Sunday, April 15, at 2:00PM IsraAID is a unique organization focused on Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, with Arabs and Jews working together in a common purpose. This non-governmental umbrella organization includes Jews, Israelis, and Arabs working together for search and rescue and medical relief with groups that provide aid worldwide to people in need, regardless of race, religion, nationality or disability.

It encompasses over 35 humanitarian aid organizations, youth movements, solidarity movements, and friendship societies and is privately funded by individual Israeli and North American donors as well as partner organizations.

This free and inspirational event describing the many world-wide programs which IsraAID supports is open to the public.

Presentation sponsored by 

Jewish Federation of NH

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Temple Israel Portsmouth Cultural Endowment

Temple Israel Portsmouth Board of Directors

Call to action!

Comcast needs to hear customer demand to add this “PBS-style” educational Jewish TV channel to their New Hampshire lineup.

David Bachrach, President Fran Berman, Immediate Past President David Olken, VP Ritual Joanne Samuels, VP House

It just takes a moment to

Sam Berg, VP Education

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Call Comcast’s corporate offices at 215-665-1700

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Ask for the Programming Department

Jennifer Sebeny, Financial Secretary

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Request that they offer JBS in New Hampshire.

Amy Borne, Treasurer

Beth Salzman, Recording Secretary

JBS is a Jewish television channel featuring daily news from Israel, leading Jewish figures, issues and events of Jewish importance, call-in programs, Jewish studies, 92nd Street Y, children’s programs, films, music, books and entertainment. To learn more , visit www.jbstv.org.

Robert Bradbard, Director Amy Hyett, Director Steve Sacks, Director Ira Schwartz, Director Margie Wachtel, Director Mel Prostkoff, Director Tobey Harma,n Director

Proud member of USCJ Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday, Friday

8:00am—2pm 8:00am—2pm 11:00am—5pm 8:00am—2pm

OFFICE HOURS 200 State Street Portsmouth, NH 03801 603-436-5301

Temple Israel

You can also post your request on the Comcast Facebook page (www.facebook.com/xfinity) or on Twitter (twitter.com/xfinity, @ComcastCares).