Newsletter
January 2009 / Tevet - Shevat 5769
The Congregation Beth El Newsletter is Published every month under the very capable direction of its editor, Ira Weissman. The deadline for newsletter articles is the 15th of every month. Please e-mail your submission to Beth El using the link at the bottom of any page, or mail or drop off submissions to the Beth El office (E-mail is preferable). Contributions from non-members in the amount of $20 per year are required to defray the cost of publication and postage for a subscription.
Notes From The Rabbi
A Jew By Choice
There is an oft-quoted phrase about Jews today and about American Jews in particular: "All Jews are Jews by choice," meaning that today, religious behavior is voluntary. We have freedoms and liberties unheard of to generations past about whether or not to be engaged Jews. Choosing to embrace our Judaism as a culture, a faith, a tradition or way of life is something we all have the opportunity and privilege to do. I am Jew by choice. Born into a Jewish family, the Judaism I chose was a social activist and cultural Judaism. My partner Kelly was born in a Lutheran family. As an adult her exploring and choosing of Judaism led me further to choose to be a religiously engaged Reform Jew along with the activism and culture.
In America, one out of every 37 Jews is a Jew by choice, through conversion rather than by birth. Here at Congregation Beth El and throughout the United States these Jews by choice have taken leadership roles in our congregations and organizations; they have become presidents, youth leaders, and teachers in our religious schools.
This past month alone our congregation has had the special privilege of two more conversions. These two people, like so many before them, were already active members in our community who took one more step in joining themselves to Beth El and the larger Jewish world. There are so many reasons to be delighted and welcoming of new people into the Jewish community; their enthusiasm and energy, their joy and learning, the quiet dedication and the friendships they bring. Also, Jews by choice quite often appreciate things that Jews from birth may take for granted, such as Judaism's emphasis on learning, intellectual freedom and commitment to social justice. Jews by choice are often less concerned than many born-Jews about talking about God or their desire for a spiritual practice or their interest in a connection to community. In all of these ways and more, Jews by choice are enriching and invigorating our Jewish community.
We are all Jews by choice. I invite you to choose even more. Here at Beth El there are many choices available to us all. Choose our study opportunities such as the book group or Torah study. Choose our services - Shabbat, holiday and family style. Choose our social activities. After all we are the Choosing People.
Rabbi Darah R. Lerner
ISRAEL
Here are some photographs from our friends at Kehilat Birkat Shalom, in Isreal:
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Oneg Schedule
For January & February
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Friday, January 2 Friday, January 9 Saturday, January 10 Friday, January 16 Saturday, January 24 |
Friday, February 6 Friday, February 13 Saturday, February 14 Friday, February 20 Saturday, February 28 |
Photos Wanted
We would like to publish a photograph in each issue of the Beth El Newsletter. If you have a photo that you think might be of interest, please send it Ira Weissman through the Beth El office. Thanks
Book Group Meeting
Thursday, January 15, 7:00 p.m.
This month the group discusses: Triangle: The Fire that Changed America, by David von Drehle. Author von Drehle shows how the 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in NY’s Lower East Side, which killed scores, illuminates fights for labor rights, social justice and the Jewish immigrant experience.
Adult Bar or Bat Mitzvah
Never had the opportunity to celebrate a Bar or Bat Mitzvah? Want to learn more about the Shabbat morning service and services in general, develop skills for the understanding of the Torah, and to become part of a group that becomes close by working together? To express interest or ask questions about this adult education opportunity, please contact Rabbi Lerner at 945-4578.
If Not Now, When?
What’s the right time to think about a cemetery plot? For many of us, it’s something that we would prefer never to think about. But there will come a time when you and your family will need to think about it. Why not make plans now? The Beth El cemetery is in a beautiful location off Mount Hope Avenue, and you can buy a plot now - there’s even a discount for 3 or more plots. Call the Beth El office for a brochure, or more information.
Membership Address
Do you have a change of address? Please let us know, so that we don't send the newsletter to your old address. You will also save the synagogue money, because we pay for every returned, undeliverable newsletter. The Post Office will not forward your newsletter to you. Thanks.
Announcing the Creation of a New Congregation Beth El Men's Group
We are forming a Beth El Men's Group. The first organizational meeting will be in late January or early February. The focus of this group will be to explore ourselves as Jewish men, fathers, sons, husbands, and partners.
The Beth El Men's Group will aid us in rediscovering and deepening our connection with the Beth El synagogue and the Jewish community at large. Jewish prayer, song, dance, chanting, meditation, and textural study are some of the means by which we may explore our inner spirituality and our common ground as Jews.
If you are a Jewish man or a male partner of a Jew and have some kind of affiliation with Congregation Beth El (or intend to make that connection), please considering becoming a co-creator. We are working from the ground up to create a vibrant Beth El Men's Group. If this description sounds too exciting or too intriguing to pass up, then call or email the Beth El office for more info.
Social Group for Couples and Families
Saturday, February 21, 5:30 p.m.
Are you looking to meet other young couples, families or singles in our congregation? We are forming the "Under 45 Social Group." Our primary purpose is to bring younger congregants together to meet each other for friendship and networking. Our first event - an Italian themed dinner - will be held at our home. Children are welcome, and a babysitter will be available on site for the event. Please bring your favorite Italian dish; we'll provide the desserts and drinks. If you so choose, please bring a bottle of your favorite wine for tasting. Feel free to bring friends - this group does not need to be Beth El members exclusively! Our focus is to help young couples, families and singles meet each other.
Please call or email the Beth El office to let us know you are coming, and to get directions.
Kim & Mike Ross
Update on Kehilat Birkat Shalom
Last month we heard from Rabbi Miri Gold. She has sent us an excerpt related to her court case:
New Reform Push For Rabbinic Funding
(Haaretz, Anglo File, December 5, 2008, By Raphael Ahren)In a bid to revive its struggle for official recognition by the state of Israel, the Reform movement here has collected over 5,000 signatures on a recently launched petition.
Beginning with the words "We, too, deserve Rabbis," the petition cites the case of Miri Gold, the American-born Reform rabbi who three years ago turned to the Supreme Court demanding to be officially recognized as spiritual leader of her community.
The petition, initiated by the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism and the Israel Religious Action Center, will be submitted to President Shimon Peres after it garners more than 10,000 names. It calls upon Israel to "immediately recognize" Rabbi Gold and "apply government funding to support the work of Rabbi Miri Gold and her peers, and to equally support all streams of Judaism in the spirit of Klal Yisrael." Most of the signatories live in the United States, Britain and Australia.
In 2005, Rabbi Gold and the Reform movement filed an appeal with the High Court of Justice demanding that the 58-year-old be recognized as rabbi of her Kehilat Birkat Shalom, which is located in Kibbutz Gezer, near Ramle. A final decision is still pending. "In our region, there are 16 salaried Orthodox rabbis, including the one who serves Gezer and basically does nothing," said Gold, who moved to Israel in 1977 from Detroit.
Rabbi Gold said that "the court case dragged on because the government lawyers claim that there is work being done on a sweeping policy change about community rabbis, and therefore they say they have frozen rabbinic appointments in the meantime. It's like a filibuster."
The petition is available online at www.irac.org.
Thank You
To Diane and David Cutler for their donation to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund in memory of Diane’s parents, Charles and Ruth Schwat.
To David and Nancy Sugarman for their donation to the Capital Campaign.
To Howard Segal and Deborah Rogers for their donations in honor of Noah Nesin’s term as Regional President of the Northeast Region of the URJ, and Ilze Petersons receiving the Maryann Hartman Award given by the University of Maine.
To an anonymous donor for the donation to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund
To Jeanne Jacobson for her High Holy Days donation.
To Ruth Saxl for her donation to Beth El.
To Joan and Allan Kleinman for their donation to Beth El.
To Melissa Ladenheim and Jamie Moreira for their donation to the Capital Campaign.
To George and Sylvia Strumpf for their donation to the Capital Campaign.
To Elaine Potoker for her donation to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund.
To Leonard and Renee Minsky for their gift to Beth El’s Annual Fund.
To Marvin and Marilyn Rogers for their donation to the Capital Campaign.
To Sid and Martha Block for their donation to Beth El’s Soup Kitchen Fund.
To Barbara Friedman for her donation to the Rabbi Discretionary Fund in honor of Nancy Bauer’s conversion to Judaism.
To Cecilia and Alan Cobo-Lewis for their donation to the Capital Campaign.
Library Thank You
To Liz Cutler for the donation of books.
To Jerry Jaffee and Janet Schlesinger for their donation of books.
Torah Readings
January 3
Vayigash
Genesis 44:18–47:27
Ezekiel 37:15–28
January 10
Va-y'chi
Genesis 47.28-50.26
1 Kings 2.1-12
January 17
Shemot
Exodus 1.1-6.1
Isaiah 27.6-28.13, 29.22- 23
(Jeremiah 1.1-2.3)
January 24
Va’era
Exodus 6:2-9:35
Ezekiel 28:25-29:21
January 31
Bo
Exodus 10:1-13:16
Jeremiah 46:13-28
Welcome New Members
Our congregation is strengthened as our community grows. We welcome the following new members:
Ric
Beth El Funds And A Wish List
There are several funds at Beth El to which you may contribute.
1. General Fund: The general fund covers all aspects of running Beth El including building maintenance, heating and salaries.
2. Rabbi's Discretionary Fund: The Rabbi’s discretionary fund allows the Rabbi to support various projects and causes in Maine and beyond. In the past, it has provided fuel assistance and food money for Beth El members and others in our local area.
3. Endowment Fund
4. Beth Pancoe Book Fund: The Pancoe fund is used to purchase prayer books and books for the library.
5. Soup Kitchen Fund: The soup kitchen fund is used to cover the costs of the soup kitchen supported by Beth El.
6. Capital Campaign Fund: Contributions can be made directly, or by creating various kinds of bequests including real estate or charitable trusts.
Wish List
Gary Friedmann originally published a wish list in 2005. Many of the items are still needed, and are listed below:
Lulav and etrog sets @ $45, $90 total. (needed every year)
Religious School
Computer tables (for newly donated computers in the classrooms).
DVD player with TV: $300.
Office
12 months of internet service @ $25/month: $300 total.
Social
52 Soup kitchen meals @$25/week: $1,300 total.
Program
Scholar-in-residence (one program): $1,000.
Music program (one program): $2,000.
House
Security system upgrade: $700 – 2,000.
Replace side door: $1,500.
Gutters on back and sides: $2,000.
Cemetery
Cemetery landscaping (stone benches and decorative driveway) and maintenance: $5,000
Endowment
Pay off mortgage: $57,000.
Best Wishes For A Speedy Recovery
To Cindy Leiffer following her recent surgery.
Mazel Tov!
To Nancy Bauer on her conversion to Judaism.
To Paula Matlins on her conversion to Judaism. Paula reports that this comes at a perfect time, and she is thankful for all the support from her family and community.
Update From the Brooks
By the time you receive this newsletter, Astri and I will have moved to Beijing. After 28 1/2 years working at the Eastern Maine Medical Center's cancer program, I have accepted a position with an international hospital system - United Family Hospitals and Clinics - to develop an oncology program and to be Vice President for Medical Affairs. We have sold our home of 25 years in Hampden; but we will plan to return to Maine and live in Bar Harbor in a few years.
The Beth El community is a very special one and we will miss you. Thank you for all you have given us. We have already had an introduction to the Jewish Community in Beijing. Yes, there is one!
Our known contact information is available through the Beth El office.
We wish you all the best and will look forward to seeing you in the future.
Philip and Astri
Internet Shopping Benefits Beth El
You can now shop on the internet at certain stores, and have a percentage of your purchase end up as a donation to Beth El! Please visit our web site, http://me002.urj.net and click the Shop On Line & Help Beth El button. As long as you don’t go to a different site before purchasing, the business will donate a portion of your purchase
Connecting With The Reform Movement in Israel
Congregation Beth El is committed to supporting the Reform movement in Israel. A number of our congregants visited with Kehilat Birkat Shalom in Israel; and we are interested in forging stronger connections with them. We have been in contact with their rabbi - Rabbi Miri Gold - and she has recently written back. Rabbi Gold writes:
"Sorry I have been so slow in responding. I recall Gary (Friedmann) asking something about pen pals for the kids. I came up with a different idea. I set up a Birkat Shalom group in Facebook and thought that this might be a way to get people involved. I periodically post things. So far we have 85 members.
One thing that is central at the moment is the fact that we're pushing the petition for my court case. As you may know, in September 2005 the Israel Religious Action Center, IRAC, started the push for recognition of me as the rabbi of Gezer. The petition is against the government of Israel, which funds the salaries of Orthodox rabbis and institutions only, even though all Israelis pay taxes for religious needs. That means that there are Muslim and Christian groups that get money as well.
I was picked for the test case because I live at Gezer, a small community made up primarily by liberal Jews who have no need for the Orthodox rabbi assigned to us. There are 16 Orthodox rabbis in the Gezer Regional Council responsible for the 27 communities in our area. (A regional council community can have up to 5,000 residents.) The "mayor" of the Regional Council wrote a letter to the Prime Minister's office, asking that they consider recognizing me. The lawyers for the State have repeatedly succeeded in postponing a decision of the Court, because they claim they are working on a sweeping "reform" in the world of community rabbis, and therefore have frozen all new appointments.
Here we are, almost at the end of 2008, and nothing has happened. There is a petition circulating for signatures to be sent to President Shimon Peres. I will send the letter with the site.
I will also send a Power Point about the Peruvian Jews, who live in Ramle, who are an integral part of our kehila. We bring them by cab to synagogue, are organizing a conversion course for them, and provide them with food and clothing when necessary. All in all, we are integrating them into our community as well as into their new homeland, Israel.
The Power Point Slides will be available shortly.
Please let me know more specifically what topics I can write about. I hope you have some people in facebook already! Have them look me up - Miri Gold - and Kehilat Birkat Shalom.
All the best, Miri."
For more information about Kehilat Birkat Shalom, please speak with Rabbi Lerner.)
Welcome to Beth El
Services are held at: 183 French Street, Bangor
Our membership includes individuals and families from throughout Northern and Central Maine. We welcome every one - interfaith couples, people exploring their Jewish roots, those considering conversion to Judaism, visitors and non-members, to all services and special events.
A playroom for children and babysitting services are provided at many services. We attempt to arrange rides, carpools, or over-night hospitality for those traveling long distances.
The Sanctuary is handicapped accessible. For information see the notice below, click the "Handicap Access" button in the menu to the left, or call the office at 945-4578
Member: Jewish Community Council
Mission Summary
Congregation Beth El is a Reform Jewish Congregation which strives to create a welcoming, spiritually, socially, and geographically diverse community where members can explore and express Jewish religious beliefs and/or their own relationship to God; seek social, family, and cptural ties; and/or participate in social activism
Accessibility Notice
The ramp at the back of the building is available to wheelchairs and people with limited moblity. Park in the driveway to easily access the ramp. Please let us know if you still have difficulty entering the building; it is our intent to have the synagogue fully accessible.
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Congregation Beth El is a proud member of The Union for Reform Judaism.
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| This site was last updated on January 2, 2009 |
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The Congregation Beth El web site is maintained by Dave Hicks. If you have any comments or suggestions, please send me an e-mail. Thank you. Email: Web: http://www.me002.urj.net |
