May 2015

Coming Events at Beit Haverim May 2015 Rabbi Alan Berg

1

Teacher Appreciation Shabbat Service led

by Rabbi Berg and Ann Brown & Birthday Blessings!

7:00PM

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2

Adult B’nai Mitzvah

10:00AM

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3

Religious School Hebrew School Board Meeting

2:30PM 4:30PM 2:30PM

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3

Congregational Meeting

3:30PM

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6

Confirmation Class

6:00PM

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8

All Music Shabbat Service

7:00PM

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9

Sweet Repeat Home of Janet Sahni

2:00PM

15

Shabbat Service led by Rabbi Berg and Ann Brown

7:00PM

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Email : office@beithav.org

16

Torah Study led by Rabbi Berg

10:00AM

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Website www.beithav.org

19

Ladies’ Night Home of Naomi Angier

6:30PM

22

Shabbat Service led by Rabbi Berg

7:00PM

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23

Morning Shabbat Service/Shavuot

10:00AM

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27

Confirmation Class

6:00PM

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29

Blood Drive

29

Minyan-led Shabbat Service

Cantorial Soloist Ann Brown Shabbat Services Fridays at 7:00 p.m. at Beit Haverim 1111 Country Club Rd. Lake Oswego, OR 97034

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 311 Lake Oswego OR 97034 Rabbi’s Hours: by appointment

Phone: 503-568-1241

1:30PM-7:30PM 7:00PM

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Beit Haverim is an open, inviting, and spiritually alive Jewish community, located just outside of Portland, Oregon in Lake Oswego. We welcome everyone to our Reform congregation of Jews by birth, Jews by choice and Jews at heart.

From Rabbi Alan Berg Adult B’nai Mitzvah May 2 – And a few random thoughts…

Dear Friends, For the last two years I have had the good fortune to study with Suzanne Causer, Karin Stolz, Sue Greenspan, Robin Kay and Hannah Berkowitz. Now on Shabbat morning May 2 they will stand before the ark and affirm their Jewish faith.

Each of these scholars is to be celebrated by our congregation. First, because they have studied consistently and at a more demanding level of Jewish knowledge for a two year period.

More to the point, each is now prepared to make a major and ongoing contribution to the religious leadership of the temple. The goal is now to create a larger forum of individuals who can expand our outreach to our member’s needs, and help lead rituals and services at the temple. In the coming months you will see the impact of what we are really celebrating on May 2.

With this stepping forward in the temple’s religious life in place, we will also be adding to our Jewish cultural and education life with a variety of exciting member opportunities to be announced at the High Holydays.

For the first time in a very long time we can look forward to an active teen-program. We now have had several months of well-attended events, some focused on our temple and some providing our teens with an experience of the larger Portland Jewish community.

The new teen program is only one of many examples where I have watched the kind of scientific way Sue Greenspan and her team gather data, talk to members, take careful notes, and then present a new program or concept. I am not surprised. Sue was and remains a highly experienced and loving teacher. She has demonstrated leadership by empathetically caring about what is in our member’s hearts!

Looking forward to our Adult B’nai Mitzvah service on May 2 and a beautiful Confirmation service on June 12.

B’Shalom, Rabbi Berg May, 2015

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Letter From Our President, Sue Greenspan “Teach them diligently to your children…”

May is National Teacher Appreciation Month – a month set aside to thank TEACHERS for undertaking the awesome task of imparting knowledge to our children.

Teachers are not only found in classrooms surrounded by chalkboards and desks. Rabbi means teacher. In addition to leading our confirmation class, each week Rabbi Alan Berg teaches us from the Bima. Whenever he faces the congregation, he teaches. Whether it is with a D’var Torah or a commentary from an article he has read, we learn more about our Jewish heritage and religion.

Cantor Ann Brown, along with Mark Newman, our religious school cantor, teach the wonderful melodies and songs that have kept the Jewish people together for thousands for years.

However, when we think of teachers at Beit Haverim, our Religious School teachers come to mind. Beit Haverim is privileged to have these inspirational and dedicated individuals that each week give the children of the congregation a firm foundation of Jewish education.

Carol Cohen, our K/1 teacher, lays the foundation. She does a beautiful job of teaching the students the Friday night prayers, as well as giving them hands-on experience making a kiddish cup, challah and challah cover, and Shabbat candles and candle holders.

Kim Kent, grades 2/3, challenges the students to delve into Judaism by asking others about their memories and experiences as Jews. A video of their interviews was shown as part of their class-led Shabbat service.

Heading up grades 4/5 is returning teacher Rob Hershinow. Rob uses the Tanach as his text. He goes into depth when studying the holidays, prophets, and symbols of our faith.

Sami Oberlander is our grade 6/B’nai Mitzvah Teacher, as well as our intermediate and advanced Hebrew teacher. Her students learn the fundamentals for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah as well as interpreting the Torah into their modern day language.

Mara Newman and Abby Cohen have done a wonderful job teaching our beginning Hebrew students. These children have learned the alef bet and all their vowels and are ready to take the next step into reading the prayers.

Beit Haverim wants to thank each and every one of our teachers. On May 1, Beit Haverim will be honoring these outstanding teachers at a special Teacher Appreciation Shabbat. Students and parents, please join Rabbi Berg and Heather Kirkbride, school administrator, as we honor these inspirational educators.

May, 2015

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May Events Teacher Appreciation Shabbat And May Birthday Blessings!

Friday May 1, 7:00PM Judaism is focused on knowledge gained through study, so education has been at the center of our culture and religion. Join the congregation for Shabbat to celebrate these special individuals. Don’t miss the chance to thank your teacher…it’s a mitzvah.

We will also be celebrating our May birthdays with a special prayer and Hershey bar!

Adult B’nai Mitzvah Saturday, May 2, 10:00AM Please join Rabbi Berg and Beit Haverim as Hannah Berkowitz Suzanne Causer Suzanne Greenspan Robin Kay Karin Stolz

are called to the Torah as they become Daughters of the Commandments.

This is the first adult B'nai Mitzvah in many years, and all are invited to attend.

Reception to follow.

Annual Congregational Meeting Sunday, May 3, 3:30PM You are invited to attend the Annual Congregational Meeting for Beit Haverim.

This is our yearly state of the congregation message.

Find out what has transpired this year at Beit Haverim and what is coming up for next year; religious school, finances, worship.

Refreshments will be served.

May, 2015

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May Events Annual All Music Shabbat Service Friday, May 8, 7:00PM Come to our annual all musical Friday night service for a unique Shabbat experience.

Gabe Hunter-Bernstein will lead the service with his wonderful tenor voice. Ann Brown, our cantorial soloist will be singing, as well as our talented choir, and others! Allan Kalik will be conducting, and Anna Wessel will be our piano accompanist. In addition to our well-loved familiar prayers and melodies, the rest of the service will be sung as well!

Come join us for a unique and wonderful musical experience! ♬ Please bring a dessert to share at the oneg.

Sweet Repeat Saturday, May 9, 2:00PM-4:00PM Home of Janet Sahni You are invited to a women’s closet exchange event that we call Sweet Repeat. We all have those items in our closet that don’t fit quite right, or are the wrong color. Those impulse buys that we later regret. Let someone else give them the love that they deserve while you take home something to make you happy....and it all benefits Beit Haverim! This year we’re including teenagers too, bring your daughter.

Bring three or more of your gently used, clean clothing or accessories (shoes, purses, scarves, hats, costume jewelry etc.) to exchange for “new to you” items.

For $25 you will get coffee, soft drinks, wine, sweet treats, and a minimum of 3 "new to you" wardrobe additions! If you bring 3 items, you can take home 3 items. If you bring 5 items, then take home 5, and so on.

When you come to Sweet Repeat, be sure to bring along any new or very slightly used backpack that you might have. Tikkun Olam will be using the backpacks for our school supply project.

This event will be held at the home of Janet Sahni. Click here for registration. Address, payment options, and further details will be provided when you make your reservation. Please feel free to invite friends and family. The more the merrier!

Reserve today!

May, 2015

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May Events Ladies’ Night Tuesday, May 19, 6:30PM Home of Naomi Angier. Address will be given upon RSVP. Please bring a dish to share.

Join the ladies group for an evening of delicious food and lively conversation.

Red Cross Blood Drive Friday May 29, 1:30PM to 7:30PM Please consider donating blood at the upcoming Red Cross Blood Drive at Beit Haverim. To schedule a time to donate blood, click here and enter the Sponsor Code: BeitHaverim.

Sign up early to get the time that works best for you. If you have any questions or need help with sign up, email Dena Gutterman.

Beit Haverim Children’s Library At one of the Congregational Desserts, parents of young children asked about a Children's Library that could be accessed during services, for restless children, or on Sundays when older siblings are in class. What a great idea!

We are asking for "gently loved" Jewish book for children of preschool age through 4/5 grade. (Outgrown books from PJ library are a wonderful source).

Also, if you have a small bookcase that you are no longer using, please consider donating it to the library. One with wheels (or wheels could be added) would be most appreciated.

A box labeled "Beit Haverim Children Library" will be in the lobby to collect donations.

For more information, please contact Sue Greenspan.

May, 2015

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News Beit Haverim Song of Miriam Honoree Beit Haverim is happy to announce that this year’s Song of Miriam honor will be presented to Heather Kirkbride. We are grateful to Heather for taking on so many responsibilities and putting in countless volunteer hours to help keep Beit Haverim moving forward.

Each year the Jewish Women’s Round Table honors outstanding women volunteers from Jewish organizations and congregations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Join us for the Song of Miriam Awards brunch honoring these women on Sunday, June 7th at Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

Click here for the registration form.

New Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class Starting in November 2015 A new adult b’nai mitzvah class will start in November, 2015. This class is a 2 year program meeting one Wednesday per month from 12:00—2:00PM. This is for members only. There are a maximum of 5 spaces available. You must be able to know how to read Hebrew. If you are interested, please contact Rabbi Berg. Let us know by June 15th.

Beit Haverim Cookbook Order your copy of Bubbe and Zayde Cook. All recipes are from members of Beit Haverim. All tested by families and well loved. We are very excited with the results and can’t wait to try all the fabulous recipes.

These will make great gifts and wonderful addition to anyone’s cookbook collection. They are $15 each. Please use this link to place your order.

May, 2015

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Tikkun Olam Tikkun Olam is working on one big project that will go on from now until the end of summer, and we need YOUR help. We are collecting school supplies that will be given to schools that do not have the means to provide all that the students need. We are hoping to gather the following: Scientific Calculators Spanish-English dictionaries: ISBN 0844279862 Spanish verbs books: ISBN 0764113577 Small paperback dictionaries Small paperback thesauruses Backpacks for middle/ high school students Backpacks for elementary school students Calculator- basic dual power with square root

But any and all school supplies are needed and wanted. Please enlist YOUR children to help find sales that can provide these other items: Fine tipped black Sharpies Dry Erase board markers Fine tip washable markers Pencil top erasers Crayons Colored fine-tipped felt pens White vinyl erasers Black ultra-fine tip Sharpies Pencil sharpeners Pencil box (5” – 9”) Paper/Notebooks College-ruled notebook paper Three-ring binders Binder dividers Spiral notebooks of graph paper: ¼” grid College-ruled spiral notebooks Mead composition books White copy paper Bright colored copy paper Pocket folders without clasps 7-pocket poly expandable letter file with tabs, flaps, and elastic closure Wide-ruled spiral notebooks Wide-ruled notebook paper Plastic two-pocket folder without clasps Mead primary composition book 3-subject spiral notebooks Pocket folders with clasps Composition books: wide-ruled Portfolio folder with pockets and clasps for attaching 3-hole punched paper Reinforcers (for punched holes) Index cards: 3” x 5”- lined Glue sticks Scissors Facial tissues Rulers

As you can see, the list is long, but the items are necessary. There is a bin at the Temple for you to place your items in during the long period from now until August, but you can start by bringing any backpacks that are in good condition to Sweet Repeat.

Thank you so much for your help.

May, 2015

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2015-16 Membership Dues At our April Board of Trustees meeting, the board voted to increase Beit Haverim membership dues for the first time since 2007. This decision was not taken lightly, but was carefully thought through after diligent evaluation of our expenses and offerings, and research into other area temple dues.

Over the past several years, we have found ways to reduce expenses to meet our budget. These cost-saving measures include closing our physical office last year, among others. In addition to experiencing general consumer price increases, LOUCC raised our rent by over 20% several months ago. It has become clear that an increase in income is required to offset the increase in expenses.

For the 2015-2016 fiscal year, which begins July 1st, minimum and maximum dues levels will increase by 10%, with the exception of non-residents, Friends of Beit Haverim, and students.

What this looks like: Household Dues 2% Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) – minimum $800 $880, maximum $1,750 $1,925 Senior Dues Age 65 & older, dues are 1% AGI – minimum $400 $440, maximum $1,750 $1,925 Non-Resident Dues Live farther than 50 miles away, dues are $300 Friend of Beit Haverim Dues Non-voting membership, must be member in good-standing at another congregation: $300 Student Dues Full-time student under age 23: $300 As always, everyone is welcome as a member of our congregation regardless of their ability to pay. When we hold our annual membership renewal in June, please contact our office if your current financial situation does not permit you to contribute dues as outlined above.

May, 2015

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Community News and Notables Mazel Tov to Aaron Cohen (left) and David Sahni (right)- both will be heading to Oregon State University in the fall. Aaron plans to study computer and electrical engineering and David will study chemical engineering. Go Beavers! Aaron is the son of Liz and Alan Cohen and David is the son of Janet and Ritu Sahni.

Congratulations to Emily Anderson (pictured below in the middle) for winning best in Oregon in her category in the National History Day competition on April 18th. Emily and her team took home 1st place in the Performance category for their study of Susan B. Anthony and her legacy in history.

May, 2015

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Zack Friedman Mitzvah Project Kids Need Books . . . to learn to read, to feel safe and snuggle when someone reads to them, to lose themselves in a great story and be transported to wonderful imaginary places, to succeed in school, to be happy.

But many kids don’t have any books at home. The Children’s Book Bank tries to change that by collecting, cleaning and distributing thousands of books to young children who really need them.

For my Mitzvah Project, I have been helping out at The Children’s Book Bank, cleaning and repairing books. I have now started Book Drives to collect more books.

You can help.

Please bring new or gently used books to donate. Put them in the Children’s Book Bank box in the Beit Haverim lobby.

They especially need board books, picture books, Dr. Seuss books, early chapter books, alphabet, or shapes books.

Thank you very much, Zack Friedman Religious School Student May, 2015

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Tributes & Memorials In honor of 

Thank you to Dena Gutterman for your donation in honor of the Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class

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Thank you to Karin Stolz for your donation in honor of Heather Kirkbride for Song of Miriam

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Thank you to Stacy Epsteen for your donation in honor of Heather Kirkbride for Song of Miriam

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Thank you to Marvin and Lesley Korach for your donation to the Rabbi’s fund

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Thank you to Sue and Dan Greenspan for your donation in honor of Heather Kirkbride for Song of Miriam Thank you to Sue and Dan Greenspan for your donation in honor of Karin and Gary Stolz’s 50th anniversary

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Thank you to Karin Stolz for your donation in honor of Matigan Williams’ Bat Mitzvah

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Thank you to Karin Stolz for your donation in honor of Caden Ellertson’s Bar Mitzvah

Donations At Beit Haverim we are often asked the question, “How much does the Rabbi (Temple) charge for officiating at a life cycle event (baby naming, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, wedding, or funeral)? The answer is, “The Rabbi charges nothing.” The Rabbi officiating at these events is just one of the many privileges of membership at Beit Haverim. However, it is a tradition to make a donation to one of the many funds we have established at Beit Haverim in honor of your event.

A congregation does not survive on dues alone. It is through your generous donations that many of our programs are able to function.

The next time you are called to the Bima to say an Aliyah, dress the Torah, carry the Torah through the congregation, remember it is an honor. Do a Mitzvah and make a donation to the fund of your choice.

Click here to make your online donation! Thank you!

May, 2015

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Community Events

May, 2015

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In the Beit Haverim Community Yarzheits

Birthdays Todd Scheele

May 1

Madison Sternoff

May 2

Michael Willet

May 2

Kendra Ellertson

May 3

Anne Levine

May 7

Deena Klein

May 8

Nick Levine

May 8

Judy Silverforb

May 9

Heather Kirkbride

May 10

David Williams

May 10

Joshua Hershinow

May 13

Joe Greenman

May 15

Mara Newman

May 15

Shira Fogel

May 16

Constance Dorreman

May 18

Joshua Willis

May 20

Lynne Saphir

May 21

Debra Freedman

May 25

Joseph Willis

May 25

Korbin Aster-Mullen

May 27

Robin Kay

May 27

Sidney Landskroner

May 1

Father of Charles K Landskroner Grant Fowler

May 4

Brother of Brad Fowler Ron Landskroner

May 4

Brother of Charles Landksroner Rose Merr

May 11

Grandmother of Matthew & Cary Goldberg Alan Siegel

May 11

Brother of Diane Lund Miriam Ginsberg

May 15

Grandmother of Robin Kay Lucy Casuto

May 18

Mother of Esther Schwartz Sam Casuto

May 20

Father of Esther Schwartz Baby Dorreman

May 22

Grandson of Constance Dorreman Roslyn Herlick

May 24

Grandmother of Allison Fowler Tami Haslam

May 25

Sister of Barry & Deanna Wiegler Roberta David

May 27

Great Grandmother of Erin and Brian David

Anniversaries Michael Muzikant & Diane Lund May 1 Jeffrey & Michele Beyer

May 2

Lynne & William Saphir

May 7

August, 2015 May, 2015

Morton Popkin

May 28

David & Nancy Levine Adeline Marcoux

May 30

Grandmother of Michele Beyer

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