Hanukkah Party in the (temple) House!! by Paul Zipes

Our community party will be held on Sunday, December 14 from 12:00-3:00 p.m at Temple B'nai Israel.   Join us for lunch, latkes, songs and games.  Bring your menorah and learn the prayers and songs that will help make your home celebration even more memorable (no, it's is not just about the presents).  Cost is free to Temple B'nai Israel members.  Non-members are 5 dollars at the door for adults, 2 dollars for kids 5 and up(under 5 are free).  Lunch and latkes are included.  Please send a courtesy RSVP to Deborah at theholbrooks@comcast.net so we can make the best party plans possible!

Everyone is encouraged to attend.

Union for Reform Judaism urges its members in Florida to vote NO on Amendment Two

Union for Reform Judaism urges its members in Florida to vote NO on Amendment Two on November 4^th and DON’T HURT FLORIDA’S FAMILIES

 

 

The following discussion was taken from a document prepared by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the greater Miami Jewish Federation:

 

Amendment 2, also known as the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, will appear on the November 4^th general election ballot, and requires 60% of those voting to pass.  Florida4Marriage is the official sponsor of the proposed amendment to Florida’s constitution.  The group’s pronounced sole focus is to protect the union of marriage as one that consists of one man and one woman as husband and wife.

       

The proposed amendment to the Florida constitution reads as follows: 

 

“In as much as a marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.”

 

The intent of the first part of the amendment is to ban same-sex marriage. However, the second part of the amendment would further prohibit the State from recognizing any other legal union that is treated as marriage or is the equivalent of such a relationship.

 

The amendment, if passed, could have far-reaching consequences if used as the legal basis to challenge benefits currently provided in domestic partnerships and civil unions, for both same sex and opposite sex partners. According to the U.S Census Bureau, of the roughly 426,000 unmarried partner households in Florida in 2006, about 377,000, or almost 90%, were comprised of opposite sex couples.

Consequences:

The Florida Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research, the research arm of the legislature that provides objective information in support of the policy making process, has drawn the following conclusions:

• If domestic partnership registries are deemed substantially equivalent to marriage, their termination could place registrants at risk of losing specified rights and benefits, such as those related to health insurance.

There are domestic partnership registries in Broward County, Key West, Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County, Palm Beach County, and West Palm Beach.

• Some local governments that currently extend health insurance and other benefits to domestic partners may be impacted by the amendment.  There are six cities and two counties in Florida that currently extend benefits directly to, or in assistance of, domestic partners. The benefits are of two types: (1) health insurance benefits; and, (2) family sick and bereavement leave. The affected governments are Tampa, Wilton Manors, Miami Beach, West Palm Beach, Key West, Gainesville, Broward County and Monroe County.

Several state and community colleges, as well as municipalities, also offer benefits to domestic partners.

• By invalidating any union or “substantial equivalent thereof”, this amendment could be raised as a defense in domestic violence cases, resulting in fewer domestic violence convictions.

States outside Florida: When opponents of Amendment 2 argue that its passage will be used as the basis for future challenges to the provision to domestic partners of health care insurance, hospital visitation, medical decision-making authority, or family protections, they cite the following examples in which legal protection has been threatened or negated.

• Kentucky's marriage protection amendment is the focus of a battle brought by its supporters to take away benefits from public employees at the University of Kentucky and the University of Frankfort.

 

• In Michigan, that state's amendment is the basis for dissolving domestic partnership registries used to provide health care benefits and pensions. This ruling was upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court.

 

Ohio's amendment was used as a defense against a domestic violence charge. The defendant used the amendment's strict definition of "marriage" to argue that his relationship with his longtime live-in girlfriend didn't meet the standard, and therefore no domestic violence charge was valid. A lower court upheld that defense, and for several years it was argued until a higher court dismissed it as a defense. 

Marriage Equality for Same Sex Marriages Background

Married couples receive more than 1,100 legal protections; benefits and responsibilities from the federal government. Same-sex couples in committed relationships are denied access to fundamental protections such as medical decision-making authority, inheritance rights, tax rights (especially regarding the transfer of property), the right to make burial decisions, the ability to adopt as a couple, divorce protections, the presumption of parenthood, and access to Family Court orders of protection from domestic violence that are provided for heterosexual married couples.

Recognition of same-sex couples to marry would have no effect on religious marriage. Any clergy who chooses not to marry same-sex couples would continue to be free to refuse. It would, however, allow couples to enter into a legal marriage distinct from a religious marriage.

Modern American history has seen dramatic changes in rights to marry. Prior to 1967, many states banned interracial marriage. However, this move toward liberalization hit a roadblock in 1996 with the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which restricted access to federal benefits to marriages between one man and one woman. Since that time, forty-five states have passed state Constitutional Amendments or state-level DOMAs that define marriage for state purposes to exclude same-sex couples. 

Position of the Reform Jewish Movement

The Reform Movement has consistently affirmed its commitment to welcoming gay and lesbian couples into congregations and, in 1997 the Union for Reform Judaism expanded that support with a resolution supporting full equality under the law, including legal recognition of same gender relationships.

Additionally, in June 2004, the CCAR adopted a resolution to:

1. Reaffirm our commitment to upholding the integrity of the United States Constitution, particularly concerning its guarantee of equal protection for all citizens, its prohibitions against discrimination and its safeguarding of religious liberties;

2. Reaffirm our commitment to pursuing full civil marriage rights for same-gender couples; and

3. Oppose any proposal to amend the United States Constitution or any state constitutions, or any state legislation that would limit these rights, and

4. Call upon CCAR members to play a leadership role on the federal, state and local levels on this issue, and to join coalitions and other efforts in local communities.

Talking Points

• The civil right of marriage should be available to all.
• Religious marriage and civil marriage are different, and each religious group would be free to define religious marriage in its own way.
• Recognition of same sex couples right to civil marriage would have no effect on religious marriage. It would, however, allow couples to enter into a legal marriage distinct from a religious marriage.  Any clergyperson who refuses to marry same sex couples would continue to be free to do so.
• Married couples receive more than 1,100 legal protections, benefits and responsibilities from the federal government.
• The religious movements represented today support full equality for same sex couples under the law, including legal recognition of these relationships.
• We urge all state legislators to co-sponsor and vote in support of legislation supporting marriage equality and to oppose legislation 

 

More on the Mishkan T'Filah by Karen Swanay

Friends and congregants, 

I'm back and I'm talking about this wonderful book once more.  Mine is already showing signs of wear and tear because I've used it so much already!  I'm going to have to get a book cover to protect it I think.

I wanted to let you know about an opportunity for people to help the temple and make a difference.  For a donation of $40.00 the temple can buy more of these prayer books, and they will put a book plate on the inside cover detailing the donation details.  (Unless of course you do not want them to.)  You could donate for a mitzvah, in memory of someone, for birthdays, anniversaries both joyful and sad...and on and on.  Any reason you might send a mitzvah card could be a prayer book donation!  

Mitvah cards are nice, and such a welcome to those who get them, but this prayer book will be a lasting reminder of the occasion.  Since this prayer book was two decades in the making, I think we will have them for quite a while so this is a great opportunity to memorialize your occasion for decades to come.

The avenue for the donation is the same as before, contact Helaine, Georgie, or Nathan and specify what you'd like your book plate to say and there you go!  You've done your mitzvah and you've done a really good thing for our temple.  Please consider it.  Also, if you still want one of these beautiful books for yourself at home, do contact Helaine and let her know.  She will be able to get you one when she makes an order for the temple.  You may have to wait, but it will be oh so worth it.

B'shalom, 

Karen

Yoga Workshop by Paul Zipes

Dear Friends,

  I have met (and taught) many of you over the years at various locations but for those who don't know me, my name is Paul and I've been teaching yoga publicly (gyms and studios) and privately (homes and businesses) for the past four years in Panama City.  While I still don't own a studio(yet), I've always been very interested in bringing "big" name yoga teachers to our area.  I am very happy to announce that I am sponsoring Baxter Bell,MD for a weekend workshop in Panama City November 21,22, 23 at the Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida. Whether you take one class or all four, this  weekend workshop is a perfect excuse for reluctant husbands or boyfriends, any local Drs. or PT's and especially beginners to see what a highly educated, athletic and funny yoga teacher can teach us about yoga.  Of course, experienced yogi's and yoga teachers will also benefit greatly from attending (CEC's are provided).
The VAC has a beautiful and spacious gallery where the workshop will be held.   
  
If you haven't heard of Baxter, here is a brief bio; 

BAXTER BELL, MD, RYT500 combines his 15 years of yoga practice with his insights into conventional and complementary medicine to bring his students an evolving understanding of yoga in their lives. He teaches internationally, leading workshops and retreats in the US, Mexico and Europe. Baxter is Co-Director of Piedmont Yoga Studio’s Advance Studies Program , and is on faculty with many other teacher training programs around the country.  He also maintains a complementary medical practice focusing on medical acupuncture and therapeutic yoga.  Baxter is featured in Yoga Journal's DVD "Yoga for Stress", and students appreciate his clarity and infectious sense of humor!

If you are not a credentials person, I can say from personal experience that he is a very good teacher. 

To see a full description of the weekend workshop, please go to my website and click on "workshop" or go to: http://www.yogaforyoupc.com/baxterbell.html 

Please e-mail or call me if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks and Shanti (Peace), 

Paul


Paul Zipes RYT
Owner/Instructor
Yoga For You
Panama City, Florida
web: www.yogaforyoupc.com
phone: 850.867.8597
email: paul@yogaforyoupc.com

TEACHING OUR CHILDREN THE RIGHT WAY ABOUT GOD AND JUDAISM (SO THAT IT ISN’T LOST WITHIN ONLY A GENERATION)! by Helaine Norman

 

I am so glad that we now have a wonderful quality and thriving religious school program for our children!  I want to commend Paul and Lori Zipes and the teachers, Jacob Sickerman, Ed Nagler, Cheryl Flax-Hayman and others who have helped to make our Sunday Shul possible and successful!  There is nothing so important to the continuance of Judaism and to the nurturing of our children!

 

I recently read an article in a in a newsletter of a temple in Ft. Wayne, IN that I get because I've become friendly with their president through our URJ president’s listserv on the internet.  It was written by Jaki Schreier, Religious School Committee chair of Temple CAV.

 

It really hit home as I read it.  I want to share some of it with you.  Another reason that prompted me to share this article is that I have a friend who lives in a small town where there are no other Jews, and she mentioned to me that she is afraid to let people know she is Jewish - right there where she lives with friends and neighbors (here in America where all are supposed to have freedom of religion!).  Unfortunately, she is not alone in feeling this way and it is sad.  Anyway, here is the article and it speaks for itself.  I have bolded portionsthat I think we should consider seriously.

 

SPEAKING OF GOD WITH YOUR CHILDREN

 

I had the awesome opportunity this summer at the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education conference to hear many outstanding speakers, rabbis, comics, musicians and presenters.  The theme of the conference was "God, " That's right...God!

 

As Jews, we are not always comfortable speaking about what is core to our faith.  Yet Dr. Lawrence A. Hoffman, past president of the multi-faith North American Academy of Liturgy and founder of Synagogue 3000, told conference attendees that studies show Judaism will not survive another generation if we do not change this trend.  A leading innovator of spiritual life and worship internationally, Hoffman said that cultural Judaism --simply doing mitzvot and eating bagels - won't connect future generations to identify a Jews.

 

Even with our friends, we often take to heart part of the old adage not to discuss sex, religion and politics in polite company.  Somehow sex and politics surface in conversation, but speaking of faith carefully is avoided.  With some non-Jewish acquaintances, perhaps we stick to talking about customs rather than what our tradition teaches because we may not be well versed or may have concerns where such an exchange of ideas will take us.   At the same time, many of us just seem at a loss for words when discussing this most important issue in life.

 

During my 10 years teaching in our Religious School, students without fail begin the year wanting answers to their many questions about God.  Does God have a shape?  How can God always have existed?  What happens to me after I die?   I ask students if they ever talk about God with their families.  Unfortunately, they almost always say "no."

 

We suddently become embarrassed and uncomfortable when our children ask about God.   We sidestep their questions, leaving them unsatisfied and without an answer.  In time, children learn that to ask about God does not bring help; parents do not know how to answer.  Thus, they grow up without the vocabulary to talk with their own children about God.

 

Religious ideas, like political ideas, need to grow as one matures.  Religion begins in the search, and we must embrace the search.  Judaism is clear:  Religion is about shaping our attitudes and actions toward ourselves, toward each other and toward God.  Religion helps us believe that we matter, that our actions matter and that we are never alone.

 

So where do we start, especially if we have never learned these ideals ourselves?  Start by attending services with your child and really listening to what our ritual is trying to teach us.  Begin asking open-ended questions of your child on what they learned at Religious School that day.  Ask how they feel about some of the topics.  Check out books from the Temple library or visit the Jewish section of the local booksellers.  You will find outstanding books there that can enrich your lives as well as those of your children.  Attend Torah study or other adult education opportunities.  Make your spiritual journey a continual journey for yourself and your family.

 

Emerson wrote:  "We are born believing, a man bears beliefs as a tree bears apples."   Children have a natural capacity for faith.  Let's not let that faith go untended and be lost.

Yom Kippur Speech

Again, for those of us who were not able to attend the services at the temple, or for those who wish a review of Helaine's address to the congregation, here it is.

On behalf of the Trustees, thanks to all of you who are participating in our services this year, especially Rabbi Kanter who came all the way from Cincinnati to help us out when the alternatives were not good.  It is an honor it is to have him here with us.  Thanks also to soloist Melissa Gray and John Rasch for their musical contributions, to our Ritual Chair Liz Berman and her committee, and to Stephen Sickerman for preparing our Yizkor Memorial Books.  Without all of them our holiday experiences would not be what they are.  To keep my speech short I won’t identify all of our volunteers (although I really want to).  But know you are appreciated as you really are the ones who keep this Jewish community’s values andTRADITIONS alive and well.

Speaking of TRADITIONS, and because Rabbi Kanter is here and a new student rabbi has just begun, here’s a story.

During the first service conducted by a new rabbi at an old synagogue, when the Shema was said half the congregants stood up while the other half remained seated.

The half that sat started yelling at those standing to sit, and the ones standing yelled at the ones sitting to stand.

The new rabbi, learned as he was in the Law and the commentaries didn't know what to do. Some of the congregants suggested that he consult a 98 year old man who was a founding member of the temple, who now lived in a nursing home.

The rabbi hoped the elderly man would be able to tell him what the actual temple TRADITIONwas, so he went to him with a representative of each arguing group.

The one whose followers stood during the Shema said to the old man, "Is the TRADITIONto stand during this prayer?"

The old man answered, "No, that’s not the TRADITION."

The one from the group that sat spoke up, "Then the TRADITION is to sit during the Shema!"  (pause)

The old man answered, "No, no, no, no, that is not the TRADITION."

Confused, the rabbi said, "But the congregants fight all the time, yelling at each other about whether they should sit or stand."  The old man interrupted, "THAT is the TRADITION!"

That’s not unlike some loving families I know with THAT very same Jewish TRADITION!

Now, to the TRADITION of synagogue presidents giving a High Holydays’ message here is mine.

There was much TRADITION in the home in which I grew up but Judaism per se belonged to the men.  The girls had only a peripheral view.  Now my experience as a volunteer in this temple has shown me the limitless horizons of my faith.  In my adult growth as a Jew, being your president has been especially meaningful. I no longer sit apart from my fellow members.

7 years ago, I was new in town and wanted a connection to people.  I had not met any Jews yet.  Then, I came to a Shabbat service and met my first friend, Julie Unger, an active temple member who has since moved away. But she invited me and Jim to her home the next evening for her family’s Rosh Hashanah dinner.  If it had not been for that invitation I would have missed for the first time in my life a TRADITIONAL sit-down Rosh Hashanah meal. It meant a lot to get such a welcome to the Jewish community.  (I’ve often thought that we should start a program of families taking turns hosting newcomers to Shabbat or holiday dinners in this way.)  Anyway, later she nominated me as a board member.  I was a little nervous having never served on a temple board before.  I thought “Who am I,’ to take on this task?  Am I qualified?!”  At first, I was quiet at meetings.  I listened, watched, learned.  Mostly I enjoyed.  And you know what?  I have gotten more from this temple than I have given. My sense of fulfillment almost feels selfish. And I sincerely hope more of you will be so blessed.

I read an article recently by a psychologist who was doing research on what makes people and their lives happy and satisfying.  The conclusion of the study was that it isn’t money or having things.  It is the gratification one gets from giving.  That really isn’t a new idea.  That is what tecun olam is!  Repair of the world, doing good for others, and for social justice. By participating in and supporting our temple I can personally verify that you will be amazed at the power that has to make you not only a happier person, but a better person.

 

Many of us know people who collect things they think they cannot live without.  Some collect chatchkies of some type or another.  I have a friend who has a penchant for anything with a red hot pepper on it.  From the looks of her closet, I have a friend who apparently collects shoes. Another built an extra large room just to hold a collection of antique cars.  Another collects cups of Starbucks coffee in her stomach every day at the cost of about $6 a day.  Forever thinking about how we’re going to keep this temple going, especially in these difficult financial times, I wonder how much could be saved by giving upjust one of those a week and donating that much to our temple by those of you who have that particular proclivity. 

I cannot help but think, as we sit here praying to be inscribed in The Book of Life, God will not ask how many chatchkies, shoes, cars, what type of coffee taste we had or whatever we had.  God will likely want to know what we did to make the world a better place.  God will not ask what our highest salary was.  God will ask if we used it to make a difference, or if we compromised character to get it.

 

Last year I had a non-member who attended High Holiday services, because he had not heard a president of this temple make an appeal speech before, say to me, “It’s a shame you’ve been reduced to begging.”  In this year’s message, I wish I knew the right words to touch the hearts and souls of those who do not understand the “honor” it is to participate actively in this congregation whether it be with your time, your talent or your money.  As president it is one of my responsibilities, when we have the biggest crowd here, to make an appeal.  We have a small congregation.  And we have a building to maintain with so few members.  Your board has chosen not to raise dues.  And, some of our members need dues relief.

Let me conclude by saying there are envelopes in your seats.  You know what they are for. 

 

The Torah says, “Deeds of giving are the very foundations of the world.”

 

It also says, “I did not find the world desolate when I entered it.  And as my parents planted for me before I was born, so do I plant for those who will come after me.”

 

As we begin this New Year, there are many ways in which we as individuals can make choices that affirm our Jewish values.  As the gates of heaven begin to close, let us start anew, as if this were our last opportunity to live a truly meaningful life.  This congregation is not only about this building (although we do have to maintain it), it’s about our members, our children, the TRADITIONS we preserve and create, and members really getting something meaningful from participation. 

As I said before, there are envelopes in your seats.  You know what they are for.  Let us all give generously of our time and today of our resources.  To invest in the future of our temple and Judaism, is one of the few good investments available today.

 

I pray that the positive, nurturing ways of Judaism will be the cornerstone of each of our lives.  May the light of the Torah burn brightly forever in our hearts, our minds and the ones we love.  G’mar Chatimah Tovah!

 

Bar Mitzvah Invitation!

Open Invitation

 

To The Entire Congregation

 

You are invited to share

a special lifecycle event

for our family and

 

beloved son Corey

 

as he is called to the Torah in celebration of his

Bar Mitzvah,

 Saturday morning, the 29th of November, 2008, at 10:00 a.m.

 

Temple B’nai Israel
1910 Frankford Avenue
Panama City, Florida

Please join us for the reception immediately following service.

 

Dr.Robert and Mrs. Linda Joseph

 

 

RSVP Required for Saturday Morning

 

Please call Linda at 763-3599

 

October's President's Article by Helaine Norman

This is Helaine's Rosh Hashanah message for those of us who could not make it to services:

I think I know what you’re thinking, and it’s maybe 15 minutes long!  That’s not too, too long, so... I have a question first:  What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden?  The answer: he gave?  

“Your mother! She ate us out of house and home!”  Okay, now to the serious. 

On behalf of your trustees and the entire congregation, I want to thank Rabbi Kenneth Kanter, Director of the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, for being with us.  I hope many of you meet with him while he is here.  He’s a scholar who was willing to give of his personal time to conduct High Holy Day services for us when our student rabbi was unable to come. She’s conducting services for members of the military of which she also is a part.  I also thank Melissa Gray for taking on the task of being our cantorial soloist.  (Would you believe they only had about an hour last night in which to practice together?)  I would like to thank individual volunteers who give their time all year round but it would take longer than my allotted time.  Let me just say to those who participate in any way, we know who you are; you make it possible for us to have this congregation.  You are appreciated!

When I was asked if I would allow my nomination as your president, I shuddered as I thought about taking on the responsibilities of this temple.  The idea of speaking publicly scared me even more.  Quite frankly I thought I was being asked because no one else would do it!  I didn’t accept right away, had to give it much thought and had to make sure that if I did accept I had the full support of my husband Jim.

 

I knew that it was an honor to do anything for one’s congregation, and it would give a special purpose to my life.  Well into my second year now, with the exception of falling in love and raising my children, without a doubt, it has been the most gratifying experience of my life.  I sincerely wish for others to know the joy of serving in this way.  I have made new friends both in our own community and in the larger organization of the Union for Reform Judaism.  I have become aware of Jewish resources and gained much knowledge that I would never have otherwise known.  I have been privy and gratified to have witnessed some acts of extreme kindness of people on our board and others in this congregation, which at times have made me well up with pride and realize what an honor it is to be associated with them, giving me more faith in the humane family of our little temple.  I have also become comfortable speaking with you en mass.

 

Chairing your board has also made me aware of some of the most crucial issues facing the Jewish people today.  One in particular is our very own existence – not only in this very small community but worldwide.  Throughout history Judaism has been a tiny, thin gold thread. Today that gold thread is a mere 2% of the world’s population.

 

One reason for the small proportion of Jews is the many centuries of others trying to cause our extinction... from Biblical times to the present. Six million of us perished in the Holocaust, leaving behind a very different European and world Jewry.  Some went into hiding and changed identity to avoid death in concentration camps.  Others assimilated after the war to fit into society wherever they could.

 

Several years ago I worked with a man whose whole family was Catholic, but he told me they had once been Jewish.   He called himself a “Mirrano.”  He actually knew the facts about how his family had been forced, during the Spanish Inquisition, to convert from Judaism or be killed.  Now they live but Judaism is dead to them.

 

My own paternal grandfather came to America to keep from being drafted into the Czar’s army where young Jewish men were made to remain privates for 25 years.  Fortunately for me, his family did practice their religion, but in secret. And, they continued their Judaism when they came to America.  My Hungarian maternal grandmother told me she came here because of the pogroms in which soldiers would ransack and burn Jewish homes simply because they were Jews.

During the invasion of Hitler’s army my late mother-in-law, age 13 and her parents literally had to flee from their village of Briansk, Poland, where there had been a thriving Jewish population.  They wanted to escape the concentration camps.   As their bus drove off they heard former gentile neighbors shouting, “Damn the Jews!”  Today there is no indication whatsoever that there was ever a Jewish community there.  Even their consecrated Jewish cemetery has been desecrated and then covered from neglect.

One weekend I visited my son in Athens, GA.  Half way there from Atlanta, I was stopped at a red light in a small town where there was a demonstration by hooded Ku Klux Klansmen. One of them came over to my car and handed me a flyer.  It was about getting rid of Jews.

Israelis have the threat of annihilation everyday.  There is new news about anti-Semitic uprisings in Europe.  Throughout history the Jewish people have been challenged to exist. Right now too!

In America, we still live in a Christian-dominated society but Jews have been able to prosper. There is more respect for the beliefs of others but it is still difficult to be good Jews. 

Society’s Gregorian calendar and events are not based on the Jewish lunar year and its holidays, and often they conflict.  My point is we have to do what we can individually and locally with our Jewish community to keep us alive and well.

Nobel Prize winner, Elie Wiesel, said:

  “To be part of a community, to shape it, and to strengthen it is the most urgent, the most vital obligation facing the Jewish individual.”

Our temple is but a small part of the world’s Jewish Community.  It is also the home where our families can join together to celebrate mitzvahs, share grief, and pass on traditions. Recently, as is the case from time to time with folks passing through, the father-in-law of the brother of a prominent local man, passed away while visiting him in another town.  On their way back to Chicago two days later, the couple, Conservative Jews, and their b’nai mitzvah teenage twins, stopped here and needed a minyan to say Kaddish.  It was a mitzvah we were able to get together a group for this purpose.

We need to exist for that minyan and for the many other obvious reasons.  But, just as a family cannot pay bills without income, so a temple family cannot exist for the same reason.  Tzedaka is a mitzvah and without it we can easily be extinct.  This is, of course, an appeal speech for donations.  But it is also about the commitment of your time, your skills and your talents in any capacity.

My time is up.  Yours is not, however.

There are envelopes in your seats.  It’s up to “all of us.”  Donate now so we can continue to exist for all the right reasons.  The most important reason, of course, is our children.  All of them.

Have a sweet and happy life.  And have sweet and happy children.

 

L’Shana Tova, Helaine

***************************************************************

Editor's Message: As you are reading this on the blog and not at the service, please know that you can at any time donate to the Temple.  There will always be need for time, money and effort.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to Helaine, Nathan Miller, or any of the board members and offer what you can.  Money is nice, but the greatest gift you can give is yourself.  Be at the temple.  Volunteer to help out.  We may not all have extra income to give, but we can all lend a hand and every bit of effort is appreciated.

 

Adult Hebrew Class Cancelled until Jan

Due to unforeseen events, the Adult Class held on Saturday afternoons will be cancelled and begin again in January. Please respond by email or phone (2654213) so we can be assured that everyone is informed.