Jewish Agency Mourns the Sudden Death of Michal Elboim

Jewish Agency Mourns the Sudden Death of Michal Elboim

With pain and shock, we announce the death of the Jewish Agency emissary, Michal Elboim of blessed memory. Michal was a community emissary in Pensacola Florida as part of the Jewish Agency's ‘Arevim’ community emissary program.
Michal was killed in a boating accident in Perdido Bay, on Sunday, July 27.
Her friends relate that she loved to travel and contribute to society. Last year she worked unflaggingly on behalf of the residents of Sderot and the Gaza perimeter: “She was an ethical and a Zionist individual who constantly thought of values and educational achievement. She had a million friends.”
More about Michal Elboim at http://www.areivim.org.il/Michal Elboim.html.

Dear Education Committee Members,

I am very sad to inform you that the Jewish Agency family has suffered a tragic loss. Michal Elboim, a young volunteer shlicha in the community of Pensacola, Florida, was killed in a tragic boating accident this past Sunday and will be laid to rest in Israel within the next couple of hours.
Michal was killed towards the very end of her one-year term of shlichut, during which time she succeeded in developing close ties with the Pensacola Jewish community and its young people, with other young volunteer shlichim based in North America, and with the staff of the Areivim Young Volunteer Shlichut Unit within our Department.

Having completed a year of National Service in the Israeli Scouts and having served as an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces, Michal demonstrated a spirit of volunteerism, seriousness and dedication – traits which most recently found expression in her decision to serve as a young volunteer shlicha.
Shortly before her untimely death, Michal took part in a virtual broadcast to train and guide our Department's new shlichim prior to their arrival in their new positions. During this broadcast, our new shlichim witnessed first-hand Michal's unique joy and zest for life.

Although Michal succeeded in fulfilling many of her dreams at a young age, she was tragically killed when her sights were set on new horizons, including enrollment in Ben Gurion University and participation in Ayalim, a Jewish Agency sponsored program which encourages young Israelis to settle and build the Negev and Galilee.

All of us – the Areivim Young Volunteer Shlichut Unit, the Education Department, and the Jewish Agency – mourn this tragic loss and our hearts go out to Michal's parents, siblings, extended family and friends.

Michal represents the very best of Israeli youth and Jewish-Zionist education.
May her memory be a blessing.

Alan Hoffmann

Because a solid foundation lasts a lifetime!

Irena Sendlerowa, Runner Up for the Nobel Peace Prize

Irena Sendlerowa

1910-2008

May 12 marked the death of a 98-year-old lady named Irena.During WWII, Irena received permission from the Nazis to work in the Warsaw ghetto as a plumbing/sewer specialist. She had an ulterior motive...Being German, she knew the Nazis' plans for the Jews and smuggled infants out in the bottom of the large tool box she carried. Larger children were placed in a burlap sack in the back of her truck. Also in the back was a dog that she had trained to bark each time the Nazi guards allowed her out of the ghetto and back in. The soldiers, of course, wanted nothing to do with the dog, and its barking covered any noise made by the infants and small children. Irena managed to smuggle out approximately 2,500 children before she was finally caught. When she was captured, the Nazis beat her severely, breaking both her arms and her legs. Irena kept a record of the names of all the children she smuggled out of that Warsaw ghetto and kept them in a glass jar buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents who may have survived so she might reunite the child with its family. Most, of course, did not survive the Holocaust, and the vast majority of the surviving children were placed in foster homes or adopted. Last year Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, but she lost to Al Gore, who won the award for presenting a slide show on Global Warming.

CONFIRMED ON SNOPES:http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/sendler.asp

High Holidays Surprise Honor! By Helaine Norman

I am pleased to announce that Temple B'Nai Israel has been honored by Rabbi Kenneth Kanter, the Dean of HUC, Ohio, who will be conducting our High Holy Days services!

Kenneth A. Kanter serves as Director of the Rabbinical School for the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. In June of 2005, Rabbi Kanter concluded thirteen years as Senior Rabbi of Congregation Micah of Nashville, Tennessee. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Rabbi Kanter received his B.A. degree in Jewish and American History from Harvard University in 1974 and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity from HUC-JIR in May, 2005. Kanter is a popular lecturer and author of books, journals and articles focusing on the Jewish contribution to American popular music from the 1840’s to the 1940’s. His first book, The Jews on Tin Pan Alley, was published in 1982. He contributed to several journals in the field of Jewish history and religion. Kanter’s second book to which he contributed, Jewish-American History and Culture, was published in 1992. His third encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia of Jewish American Popular Culture, will be published in 2008. Kanter was married to the late Wendy Koplow Kanter.

This is a truly special event for our congregation and I'm hoping for a packed house for our services. The High Holidays are always a special time for us, but now doubly so. Please plan to attend and join in this momentous occasion.

A fun survey please give this a moment of your time.

This survey is being done by the HUC and is a lot of fun! It takes about 15-20 minutes of your time and will help the students with their research. No personal questions about household income are asked. All responses are confidential. It's about the migration of hebrew and yiddish words into the US english lexicon.

Please visit and take the survey

SUNDAY SHUL IS BACK!!

Sunday Shul is back!

Please join the Sunday Shul (volunteer) Staff on Sunday, August 10th at 9:00 for a brunch, registration and information meeting. Meet our teachers, see the curriculum and ask questions. Director Paul Zipes will give a brief outline of what you can expect from the 08-09 school year. Also, please mark your calendar for the first day of school which will be August 24th. If you have any questions before the 10th of August, please call Paul Zipes at 747-1531 or e-mail him at zipes4@aol.com.

A Berit Milah Board Certified Mohelet in Florida!!

American Board of Obstetricians & Gynecologists

Contact Dr. Parker by E-Mail (rparker@pol.net) or at (561) 683-7770


Meet the Mohelet

Dr. Parker is a practicing, board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist licensed in the state of Florida and is on staff at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach and Jupiter Medical Center. She is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FACOG) as well as the American College of Surgeons (FACS).

Dr. Parker has been performing circumcisions since 1979. She has been certified by the Berit Mila Board of Reform Judaism following a special training program in the history, customs and halacha of brit mila. Dr. Parker brings state of the art medical technique to this ancient and traditional ceremony. Her brit milah practice mainly encompasses Palm Beach, Broward, Dade, Martin, and St. Lucie counties but will perform a brit mila throughout the state of Florida, as the need arises.

Dr. Parker concurs with the current American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendation that newborn circumcision be performed with anesthesia. Reform and Conservative Jews readily accept Jewish law (halacha) that clearly permits anesthesia during a brit mila. As a licensed physician (and if desired by the parents), Dr. Parker is able to provide local anesthesia to safely make your son as comfortable as possible.



How To Contact Me

You may contact me prior to the birth, if you would like but I would not be able to confirm the time and date of the ceremony until we know when your son was born.

Please contact me as soon as possible after the baby is born. I can be reached through my office at (561)683-7770. All calls get forwarded to my beeper when my office is closed. My beeper number is (561)947-1350.

I can also be reached via E-Mail: rparker@pol.net.

An offer of hospitality from Hewbrew Union College -- Jerusalem

HUC Jerusalem extends a warm invitation to all Reform, university age students who are studying or volunteering in Israel this year. Please help the HUC-J reach as many of these young people as possible by forwarding this information to them.

ROSH HASHANAH 5769
Erev Rosh Hashanah: Monday, September 29th at 6:00 pm
Rosh HaShanah: Tuesday, September 30th, Shacharit at 9:00 am
Rabbi Dr. Michael Marmur, Rabbi David Wilfond, Cantor Prof. Eliyahu Schleifer
The HUC Student Choir conducted by Dr. Jay Shir
in Blaustein Hall, Merkaz Shimshon-Beit Shmuel, Entrance at 6 Shama Street or 13 King David Street

University age Students and Volunteers
are invited to join us for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Services.
Participate in a Rosh Hashanah Kallah of Fellowship and Study,
including a festive, catered Erev Rosh Hashanah Seder Dinner
led by Rabbi David Wilfond and HUC Students (60 NIS fee for dinner).
Home hospitality can be provided for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
For reservations and details, please contact the
HUC reception desk: 02-620-3333 or e-mail: hucprograms@gmail.com

Second day of Rosh Hashanah Wednesday, October 1st
Shacharit Services at Kehilat Har-El, 9:00 am, 16 Shmuel Hanagid Street
Rabbi Ada Zavidov, Rabbi Dr. Michael Marmur, Cantor Prof. Eliyahu Schleifer,
Cantor Evan Cohen and the HUC Student Choir

Shabbat Shuvah October 4th 9:30 am in HUC Murstein Synagogue
Rabbi David Wilfond and Cantor Prof. Eliyahu Schleifer

YOM KIPPUR
Kol Nidre: Wednesday, October 8st, at 5:00 pm
Shacharit: Thursday, October 9th, at 9:00 am
Afternoon study 1:00 pm, Mincha/Yizkor/Ne’ilah 3:00 pm
Rabbi Dr. Michael Marmur,Rabbi Naamah Kelman, Rabbi David Wilfond, Cantor Prof. Eliyahu Schleifer
The HUC Student Choir conducted by Dr. Jay Shir
in Blaustein Hall, Merkaz Shimshon-Beit Shmuel, Entrance at 6 Shama Street or 13 King David Street
Light break-fast following Havdalah in the HUC Academic Courtyard

No tickets needed for Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur Services

SUKKOT
Thursday, October 14th at 9:00 am
HUC joins Kehilat Har El services, 16 Shmuel Hanagid Street
Shabbat, October 18th at 9:30 in the HUC Murstein Synagogue

SHEMINI ATZERET/SIMCHAT TORAH
Tuesday, October 21th, 9:00 am in the HUC Murstein Synagogue
Rabbi Dr. Michael Marmur, Cantor Prof. Eliyahu Schleifer, Cantor Tamar Havilio
Festive hakafot with the HUC Student Band and dancing in the Forchheimer Courtyard
We invite all who wish to WORSHIP with us on
Reform Judaism on Hebrew University Campus 08-09

A Program in Partnership with HUC,
The Saltz Education Center and Kesher-URJ

AUGUST PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE by Helaine Norman

Looking Ahead: It is mid July 2008 as I write this article for August. But it is a necessary responsibility of your elected leadership to be on a different timeline as we plan months in advance for this year’s activities which include, among others, Sunday Shul, our approaching High Holy Days and festivals. We even look forward to a bar mitzvah in November! (I just happened to be in the temple recently while the young man was being trained, and I’m telling you we are in for a treat as I was simply amazed at the beautiful chanting I heard!)

Membership: Membership applications are being received. If we have inadvertently missed sending you one, please let Nathan Miller know as soon as possible so that we can be sure you have tickets for the High Holy Days. I would also like to emphasize that no one will ever be turned away for financial reasons. Information about dues is completely confidential.
Only I as president and membership chair and/or Nathan Miller as treasurer will be privy to this information. So if you need some dues relief, or need to make other payment arrangements, please let either one of us know.

Sunday Shul: I would like to remind parents that Sunday Shul registration is at 9:30 a.m. on August 10 at which time you will be given all the details (and to make it convenient for everyone we will be serving a light breakfast). We are very fortunate indeed to be able to have Megan Roberts return as our ISJL fellow. She will also be available that morning. The program promises to be even better than last year having been given the scoop from Paul Zipes who attended the ISJL conference with Jacob Sickerman this summer.

July/August Services: Thank you to Stephen and Jacob Sickerman for the lovely Shabbat service in July. It was nice to see a nice crowd and schmooze a bit with you all afterward. And, thanks to all of you who pitched in to help with the oneg set up and clean up, the ever faithful Melvin Eichholz, Marge Euzent, Pam Sutton, Geri Gitlin, Stephen and Jacob Sickerman. If I missed mentioning anyone it is only because I was so busy schmoozing by the time I looked around it had already been done! We look forward to Mike Giniger, another skilled lay leader, conducting our August service, after which we will resume our twice a month schedule.

Blog: I would like to compliment Karen Swanay on the wonderful job she is doing as editor of our new blog! Thanks to her we never have to wait to know what is going on with the temple. Azoy which means “What’s new?” is always new (current)! It certainly makes it easier for me because you have the news before I have time to write about it!

Farewell: Geri and Paul Gitlin will be moving from our area. We had hoped she would serve on the board this year, and even with Paul’s busy schedule he attended services regularly and helped lead us in song. Geri made me exercise and I appreciate the long walks, classes and golf we shared. We have enjoyed their warmth, will miss them, wish them well and hope they will stay in touch.

Special Prayers: You have on the list of Get Well Wishes every month those of our congregation who are in need of healing. Right now there are some of our temple family for which your prayers are even more urgently needed. As they read this, may they know how very much our temple family cares and prays for their comfort and well-being.

ATTENTION MEMBERSHIP!!!

In keeping with the movement forward in technology, all our membership information, like birthdays, anniversaries, and rememberances will be put into a program that will keep track and remind Helaine about them each month rather than having poor Helaine have to hand check each and every membership application each month and write them down. YAY! Less work for Helaine, and that's a very good thing!

So, to that end, if you have not already sent back your membership form, please flip it over on and write your birthdays, anniversaries, and yahrzeits for your family on it, then send it back. If you've already sent it back, please take a moment to send an e-mail to Helaine or to me with the information and we'll make sure it gets into the new "system" so we can remember all your important dates as a congregation.

Thank you,
Karen Swanay

Adult Hebrew Class

"I do not recall a Jewish home without a book on the table." Elie Wiesel

Our Adult Hebrew class will begin again in September. In addition to Hebrew study, we will also have Torah study and Jewish subjects when the student Rabbi or the ISJL Fellow is in town. There is a small group now but we would like to get more people to participate. All levels of competency with Hebrew are welcomed. Need a refresher? Just want to be more adept? Why not give the group a try? Please contact Helaine Norman with questions or to join.

Picture, oil on canvas by Yossef Sofrim is available for purchase...http://www.flickr.com/photos/22840145@N07/

Our Torah

Mystery surrounds our Torah. How old is it? Where did it come from? Who used it? What was the congregation like who owned it before we got it?

Researching this Torah is a big job and answers will take time to uncover and there may be things we can never know about it. But one thing I can report is that it has been repaired!

It's much needed repairs are completed and we have it back.

A Night at the Theater

The Martin Theatre will be performing "Jest a Second" on August 15 & 16 at 7:30 p.m. It is a comedy about a Jewish family. (It's actually a sequel to a play performed approximately three summers ago). It would be nice to see some of the congregation there (as there will be some jokes only Jews will get...it may prompt the non-Jews in the audience to laugh as a reflex). It's general admission, $10. at the door...a bargain! The ever enjoyable Bob Pell will be playing one of the main characters so that's certain to be a treat!

There is no service at the Temple that night so no worries about a conflict there.

THE CUSTOMS OF YAHRZEIT AND YIZKOR by Helaine Norman

The observance of Yahrzeit and Yizkor are hallowed for Jews. On Yom Kippur during the Yizkor service we recall the memories of those dear-to-us that we have loved and lost. And, the imminence of death fills us with reverence as well as apprehension. As our temple leadership is planning for and looking toward our observance of this year’s High Holydays and observance of the Yizkor service I have done a bit of research and read about some history on the beginning and formatting of this meaningful and solemn service.

This memorial service is normally recited in temple four times a year: Yom Kippur and on the last days of the pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. The customs of Yahrzeit and Yizkor are a product of the Crusades which cast a cloud on the small communities of Ashkenazi Jewry scattered across Western and Central Europe in the centuries following 1096. Religious fanaticism stimulated the teaching of contempt, restricted economic opportunity, increased the burden of arbitrary taxation and constantly threatened to erupt in persecution and expulsion. With martyrdom occurring, Jews adopted prayers and practices to commemorate the victims and mingle the young. Thus many congregations kept the stand from which services were led and the Torah read a
memorbuch (thus the name) with increasing lists of local members and renowned sages who had perished because they refused to convert. At the Yizkor service, these names were read aloud. The community would grieve for the past even as it prepared for the future.

The memorial service came to be associated with the final days of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. Yom Kippur constitutes less of a problem because according to an older Midrash, commemorating the dead and giving charity in their behalf had already found its way into the unfolding ritual of the day. One source stated that what determined the impulse to mourn would gain expression in the liturgy at the end location of these holidays is that it revealed a new practice once the need for it was felt.

One rabbi, Ismar Schorsch, wrote he had an old prayer book that had a strange Hebrew name that meant “the order of giving." The Mahzor (prayer book) seemed to stress the importance of giving charity each time a prayer was chanted for the departed. But beyond that the location in the service/holiday festival pointed to the reason that Yizkor was affixed to the last days of the observances of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot.

The German name for Yizkor is actually derived from the identical Torah reading designated for all three holidays. The festival is concluded appropriately enough by a short section of Deuteronomy which summarizes the religious calendar of ancient Israel (15:19-16:17, extended to 14:22 on Shabbat). I quote "they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed, but each with his own gift, according to the blessing that the Lord your God has bestowed upon you." The link between Yizkor
and the pilgrimage festivals/holidays is the act of giving. The rabbi also mentioned in neither case are we to approach God "empty-handed" and “The Torah reading provided an elegant format for implementation and sanctity of a much needed liturgical innovation.”

Today the meaning of Yizkor is more personal than communal, but nevertheless marked by the giving of charity. Each time we chant the Yizkor prayer for a departed loved one, we pledge ourselves to perform an act of charity. The rabbi also said, “…of course, that the underlying theology has changed, but in the Midrash, the living redeem the dead, that is, every memorial prayer with its accompanying charity enhances the welfare of the deceased in the world beyond. More pointedly, the giving is what makes the prayer work. For us, the prayer is no longer an act of intercession. The giving improves the lot of the living. If anything, it is the values of the departed that intercede to inspire in us acts of self-transcendence. A slight modification in the traditional text of the Yizkor prayer reflects the shift in worldliness.”

“What remains constant is the connection between remembering and giving. Ritual produces social capital. Time and again in Judaism, the social and moral values are inculcated and transmitted indirectly through purely ceremonial instruments. Attending a minyan impresses on us the primacy of community and the obligation each of us has to sustain it.” Making a Passover Seder reminds us of the enduring ideal of family unity. Facing east when we pray keeps Jerusalem and Israel ever in our minds. There is a purpose to offering the Misheberakh prayer for all "those who unite to establish synagogues for prayer, and those who enter them to pray (i.e. to make a minyan), and those who give funds for heat and light, and wine for
Kiddush and Havdalah, bread for the wayfarer and charity to the poor; and all who devotedly involve themselves with the needs of the community…”
These are the values, expertise and socialization that are acquired by living Jewishly in the framework of a temple community. “There is no divide in Judaism between ritual and morality.” You cannot have one without the other. The rabbi also wrote that ideally, our relationship to God should determine our relationship to the world in which we live.

We will be preparing our Yizkor “Memorial” service booklet soon, and you will be able to commemorate by giving on behalf of your departed loved ones thereby having their names listed and remembered. I know for me this service and its ritual touches my heart deeply while I pray and at the same time gaze upon the names of my dearly loved but departed husband, brother, parents, grandparents, other relatives and friends who meant so much to me.

The Postville Situation

Because we are not alone in this world, and because we were once strangers in the lands we lived...I bring this to your attention. Whether or not the Rubashkin family is or is not guilty of any misdeeds...the fact remains there are people in trouble and they need help. Please respond if you can.

Dear Friends,

I am writing to follow up on my presentation to the congregation at last week's Shabbat services about the plight of former workers of the kosher meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa run by Agriprocessors. While Agriprocessors is a private business not officially representing any Jewish organization or denomination, itis a high profile Jewish business, owned and operated by orthodox Jews. As explained below, some of the recent actions and policies of Agriprocessors have contributed to the suffering of former workers at the plant.With the wide support and cooperation of congregations in Ann Arbor, the Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan has organized a relief fund to help the former workers at this plant, largely undocumented Guatemalan immigrants, who were subjected to arrest by an investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security several weeks ago. Because of the nature of the arrests and the role played by Agriprocessors in the workers' plight, we feel it is of great importance that Jewish organizations respond generously and visibly to help alleviate a serious humanitarian crisis in northeast Iowa. What follows is some background about the situation in Postville and a more detailed description of the current situation. If you are already familiar with this material, you may want to skip to the final section, "What our Jewish community can do", which includes information about how to contribute to the relief fund. If you have any doubts about the importance of a strong Jewish communal response to this crisis, please be sure to read the section below entitled "The role of Agriprocessors".

The needs of approximately 200 immigrant families are serious and pressing. Timely contributions would be most useful. Thanks very much for your generous support of this important project.

THE POSTVILLE SITUATION:

Background In 1987 Aaron Rubashkin and his family, orthodox Lubovitch (Chabad) Jews, purchased a defunct meat packing plant in the small northeastern Iowa town of Postville and turned it into a kosher meat packing plant operating under the name Agriprocessors. Postville is a very small community where most long-term residents are of Lutheran German extraction. Over the next 20 years, the Rubashkins developed this plant into a very successful business. It is estimated that thePostville plant provides over 60% of the kosher beef to the US market, and also exports to Israel. This developing kosher meatpacking business has brought significant economic benefits to the Postville area, but it has also changed the nature of the community. In addition to a small but significant and very visible orthodox Jewish presence, Agriprocessors has recruited and imported, at various times, non-local workers willing to take the many dangerous, difficult and low-paying jobs offered in the plant. The latest such group of workers consisted of approximately 800 (mostly undocumented) workers, primarily from Guatemala and some fromMexico. Many came to Postville with their families. The ICE RaidOn May 12, 2008, the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) part of the Department of Homeland Security, raided the Postville plant and detained nearly 400 undocumented workers, many of whom had false identity papers. In the following weeks, most of these workers were subjected to summary trials. About 300 of them were given prison sentences of 5 months to be followed by deportation. Another45 or so, (mostly women) were released to care for their young dependent children. These 45 were fitted with ankle bracelets tomonitor their movements. The conditions of their release require them to remain in the state until their cases go to court-which will not be until October. They are forbidden from returning to any kind of work, including the packing plant. An additional 20 minors were also detained and released on humanitarian grounds, and they face a very similar situation to the adults on conditional release.

THE CURRENT SITUATION:

The sentence of 5 months incarceration followed by deportation is an unusually harsh sentence and has created a humanitarian crisis in Postville. Postville is a very small community with little in the way of a social welfare system. As a result of the ICE raid, thereare about 200 families of former workers at the plant that have no means of support. Their loved ones are currently in prison. These families cannot work, and continue to be tied to Postville until their loved ones are released from prison. The situation for those workers who were temporarily released is yet more uncertain in that their hearings are not scheduled until October. There is no organized relief agency in Postville, but some volunteers from the area have been working through a local church, St. Bridget's, to provide what relief they can.

THE ROLE OF AGRIPROCESSORS:

The plight of these former workers of a kosher meat processing plantis of great concern to the Jewish community, not only because it is a significant humanitarian crisis, but also because it is a crisis that has been created, at least in part, by the actions of Agriprocessors. Over the years there have been many allegations of mistreatment by Agriprocessors of their workers. These charges against the company are serious, but they have not been unequivocally substantiated and in the absence of such substantiation one should not be quick to judge the company. On the other hand, the current response of Agriprocessors to the plight of their former workers is clear, and, in itself, is chillingly disdainful and uncaring. In brief, Agriprocessors has done nothing to help alleviate the suffering of its former workers and their families. On the contrary, following the raid, Agriprocessors moved quickly to hire workers from other parts of the country to replace the arrested workers. Since the company does not pay its workers in advance, and since those who come to Postville to take these jobs have very few resources, these new workers have turned to the volunteers at St. Bridget's for support, putting additional strain on an already overextended volunteer organization trying to help the families of arrested workers. Thus, not only has Agriprocessors not helped their former workers and their families, they have made matters considerably worse by importing other out-of-town workers without regard to how that will affect the community and its scarce resources. The behavior of Agriprocessorsand the Rubashkins following the ICE raid is a chillul Hashem (a desecration of G_d's name). These actions stand in startling contrast to the case of Aaron Feuerstein, also an orthodox Jew, who,when his textile mill, Malden Mills, burned down in 1995, kept all 3000 of his workers on full pay and benefits for months after the fire.

WHAT OUR JEWISH COMMUNITY CAN DO:

Agriprocessors is owned by orthodox Jews associated with the Chabad Lubovitch community. Agriprocessors, however, is not a Chabad organization. It is not an orthodox organization. It is not even a Jewish organization. It is merely a private business owned by orthodox, Lubovitch Jews. But in being a successful kosher meat packing plant, it is a very visible business with a very strong Jewish identity. As a result, even though there is nothing officially "orthodox" or officially "Jewish" about the business, its policies and actions necessarily reflect on the entire Jewish community, and, in the perception of the non-Jewish world, has implications for the ethical foundations of our religion. For these reasons it is vitally important that the Jewish community respond vigorously and publicly to the humanitarian crisis in Postville. We have organized a relief fund for the former workers of Agriprocessors. The organization providing relief to the workers' families in Postville estimates the cost of providing basic needs for these families over several months at about $700,000. It is our intention to collect donations as quickly as possible from the AnnArbor Jewish community and send those funds, on behalf of the entire Ann Arbor Jewish community, to the relief organization in Postville in support of their work with the families of the former employees of Agriprocessors. We will also work to publicize these donations andthere by try, as best we can, to counteract the public perception of unethical Jewish behavior engendered by the actions of Agriprocessors. We hope that you will join us in donating generously to this effort.Donations may be made on-line at http://www.annarborminyan.org using paypal. Please click on the "Donate to the Postville Relief Fund"button. Donations can also be made by check made out to the Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan and marked for the Postville fund. Checks should be sent to Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan, 1606 Brooklyn, AnnArbor, MI 48104. 100% of all funds collected will be sent to the St.Bridget's Hispanic Relief Fund in Postville where they will be used to help provide basic services to the families of the workers.If you have any further questions or want more details about thesituation in Postville, please do not hesitate to write to me (RobertSavit) at savit@umich.edu.

Farewell to the Swanay Family by Helaine Norman

As we bid farewell to the Swanay family, due to John’s new assignment, I am thinking of these intelligent and exemplary parents and precocious children who came to our temple as non-Jews, endeared themselves to us and eventually were welcomed as members of not only our congregation, but the Jewish people as they made history by being the first family to be converted inside our temple walls.

We had hoped to honor them all, Karen, John, Liam and Morgan, appropriately at our next Shabbat service but unfortunately they are having to move sooner than first expected. So, on behalf of our whole congregation, and as a friend, let me wish them a safe journey and much mazel in their new home in Montgomery, Alabama. There is a possibility they will return to Panama City, and if so we look forward to that day.

I am also reminded of the heartening article Liam wrote and contributed to our newsletter in which he so eloquently expressed his feeling about his experience attending Sunday Shul. Both John and Liam will be missed by their teachers and classmates.

I will also miss Karen's presence in our adult Hebrew class where she thinks she learned much, but in fact also passed along to the rest of the class a lot of insight into Jewish subjects from being as well-read as she is, I am privy to the fact that she has shown kindness to others who are unaware of the fact and she prefers it that way - true tecun olam!

A huge thank you goes to her for volunteering to take on the responsibility of the Azoy and turning it into our temple’s new blog. The Swanays have been an asset to our congregation, and I’m happy to say they will remain connected because Karen is continuing to be our Azoy editor!
Helaine Norman

Meet the New Student Rabbi!

Here is our new student Rabbi Anne Strauss. Anne will be quite well suited to meet the needs of our community since such a large portion of it is military. Welcome Anne and we can't wait to meet you in person!

TBI: Can you tell us a little about yourself?

AS: I was born and raised in Dallas, TX and still consider that my "home base." I went to college at Bates College (a small school up in Maine) and majored in English literature. While studying literature I also became interested in studying religion. I was drawn to biblical text study and had a few great teachers who really inspired me.

I initially applied to HUC's graduate program in Judaic studies and spent one year with that before transferring to the rabbinic program. Last year I applied for and received a commission to become a chaplain in the United States Navy. Since I was a first-year HUC student and, like all first-years, spending the year studying in Israel, the commissioning ceremony actually took place at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. When I returned to the States in May I immediately went to officer training command in Newport, Rhode Island, and just graduated from that last week.

I was impressed by everyone I met and excited about this part of my life. In my free time I love running, cycling, reading, and being outdoors. I have an older sister (she is in environmental research) and a younger brother (who is starting graduate school in electrical engineering). I am looking forward to meeting everyone and have really enjoyed reading the congregation's blog. See yall soon!

Help Julie Unger Make a Difference by Helaine Norman

All of us who remember Julie Unger will be interested to know Julie is doing well in her new home Colorado Springs, CO. She was an active Temple B'nai Israel for many years as a Board Member, our Youth Director and more until she moved to Colorado. Please see the link below to see what she's up to now and support her endeavor.

Click this to see how you can help!