Bull mar17 web by Beth El Synagogue Center

MARCH 2017 • Vol. 99, No. 8 ADAR ~ NISAN 5777 WWW.BETHELNR.ORG

63 rd

GALA GAZETTE

No Fake News, No Alternative Facts, Just The Headlines Beth El Synagogue Center’s 63rd Annual Gala Is Coming On Sunday, March 19th, at 5:00 pm www.bethelnr.org/gala2017 Here are the latest headlines . . . Ø Although we will be serving Burgers (there will be an amazing “Slider Bar”), the real reason to attend the Gala is to thank Tris and Sam Berger for their service. Ø Although to be “politically correct” we have to call Donna and Abe Bartell our President’s Ne’emanim Service Award “Recipients,” they really are “winners.” Ø Although we are all on a diet, the Gala gives you the perfect excuse to eat for two straight hours, take a one hour break, and then go back for dessert. Ø Although you may feel a tinge of guilt for eating so much, the Gala will provide you with the opportunity for Jewish aerobics, also known as the Hora. Ø Although most of you have only met Trisanne, you will get the chance to meet her two sisters Anne and Dianne. Ø Although we know none of you are competitive, you will have the opportunity to outbid your friends at the amazing Silent Auction. Although these headlines are designed to make you smile, the real message is we want everyone to join us to celebrate and pay well-deserved tribute to the Bergers and the Bartells. All are welcome . . . this is an E-“Gala”-tarian event.

Passover............................................ page 2. Kallah................................................ page 3 Day School Shabbat.......................... page 3 Annual Minyan Breakfast.................. page 7

Sara Aldouby Exhibit in Museum...... page 9 Keruv Korner................................... page 12

Grab your friends and join us! Limited spots available for many of these events. Please register* in advance.

Wed. 3/15

Mon. 4/3

10:30AM OR 7:30PM Stories for your Seder: The Exodus from Egypt and the Rabbinic Imagination, with Rabbi Sitkin (Session 1 out of 4)

5:30PM Special Needs Seder Volunteers needed!

Tues. 4/4

Wed. 3/22

7:30PM Modern Hot Topics and Seder Conversations 7:30PM Connecting Young Children to the Seder (For anyone with preschool age children attending their Seder)

10:30AM OR 7:30PM Stories for your Seder: The Exodus from Egypt and the Rabbinic Imagination, with Rabbi Sitkin (Session 2 out of 4)

Wed. 3/29

Wed. 4/5

10:30AM OR 7:30PM Stories for your Seder: The Exodus from Egypt and the Rabbinic Imagination, with Rabbi Sitkin (Session 3 out of 4)

10:30AM OR 7:30PM Stories for your Seder: The Exodus from Egypt and the Rabbinic Imagination, with Rabbi Sitkin (Session 4 out of 4)

Thurs. 3/30

First Seder is Monday, April 10!

7:30pm Kosher for Passover: How to Prepare for and Observe the Holiday in your Home

Sun. 4/2 2:45pm Passover Ruach Event (K-2nd) $5/kid 2:45pm Passover Chaverim Event (3rd-5th) $5/kid 3:00pm Passover Cooking Demo, with Dini Klein (Adults) $30/person

*Learn more about all of these events and register at

www.bethelnr.org/passover

Beth El Synagogue Center . 1324 North Avenue . New Rochelle, NY . 10804 . info@bethelnr.org 2

RABBI’S MESSAGE BIKKUR CHOLIM Dear Friends, Anyone who has ever spent time in the hospital knows the terrible dehumanization that Rabbi David Schuck takes place as soon as that hospital band is wrapped around one’s wrist. A stay of multiple days can break a person’s spirit, as healthcare workers enter and leave the room with multiple agendas—take blood, administer a shot, take your meal order (which is almost never delicious), poke and prod you for some reason or another. Of course, the medical team is there to oversee our healing, but the aggregate experience is often one in which we feel alone, scared, and undignified. One of the most potent antidotes to this feeling is a simple visit by someone whose only intention is to merely “be” with us. When someone walks into our hospital room without an agenda, without poking

or prodding us, and without attempting to extract something from us, we feel human again. This experience in our tradition is called bikkur cholim, which means visiting those who are ill. Though the mitzvah of bikkur cholim may sound like a nice thing to do if one has discretionary time, it is actually a foundational principle of building a Jewish community. A synagogue that is not founded on the ethos of caring for those in need is a synagogue unworthy of one’s affiliation. As synagogues developed professional staffing structures in the mid-twentieth c e n t u r y, c o n g r e g a t i o n s l o o k e d t o “professionalize” bikkur cholim as well. This has been a tremendous loss for synagogue communities, as our tradition always conceptualized visiting the sick as a mitzvah incumbent upon all Jews, not just Jewish professionals. Just as one who is ill has his/ her humanity restored by a visit, the visitor is also changed by the encounter. As we spend time with people who are isolated and scared,

we realize that our presence not only brings them a sense of connection and perhaps even optimism, but that we too feel more hopeful and more bonded to our community. At Beth El, we are working to strengthen our communal commitment to this mitzvah. We have been blessed to participate in an initiative developed by the Pastoral Care Department of the Jewish Theological Seminary meant to help synagogues deepen their culture of bikkur cholim. This program presented us with the opportunity to reflect on the ways in which we can better serve the needs of our synagogue as it pertains to visiting the sick and those who are homebound. For starters, the clergy team will, of course, continue to visit people who are ill. We view this as an essential element of our service to the community. Each one of us feels honored to be invited into people’s lives during these vulnerable moments, and we take [continued, page 16] this responsibility

NOTES FROM THE HAZZAN ADON OLAM One of the most well-known prayers in our Jewish liturgy is Adon Olam. It is sung every Shabbat morning as the Hazzan Jamie Gloth concluding prayer of the service. Anyone who attends services with any regularity will notice, even before the prayer is completed, people pulling off their tallitot, standing up, and greeting others. But what is this prayer all about? Although this scenario does not indicate it, Adon Olam is actually a very powerful prayer with a poignant message for us all. Its origins are not known for certain, but most attribute this prayer to Solomon ibn Gabriel, who lived in Spain during the 11th century. It is most commonly sung at the end of the Shabbat morning service, but can be found in many other places in the liturgy as well. It appears at the very start of the morning service. It is often said as part of the bedtime liturgy, along with the Shema. It sometimes has been

recited by those present at the deathbed. And in the Moroccan tradition, Adon Olam is used as a wedding song. Perhaps the reason for such wide usage of Adon Olam, literally “Lord of the Universe,” is its strong universal message. Adon Olam has two distinct sections, with the split coming approximately halfway through the prayer. Although both sections deal with God, each has a noticeably different message. The first half deals with the broad nature of God’s existence. It declares that God has always existed and always will exist, and is unlike any other being in the universe. It is a statement of what we believe about God. It describes the God of the Universe as an awesome, majestic God for all time. The second half of Adon Olam changes its tone. It shifts from the broad to the specific. Here we read about the personalness of God, how we are personally redeemed by God, and how we as individuals trust in God. It declares how we feel personally about God. It describes the intimate closeness of God and the individual praying. 4

The author of Adon Olam seems to be sending a message that is still relevant in our times. Although God is the powerful, almighty Ruler of the Universe, God cares about us as individuals as well. We close the Shabbat service with Adon Olam to declare God as the God of all beings, and to reaffirm our own personal closeness to God as well. Judaism recognizes how difficult it is to sustain faith in such an awesome God (something some of my Bar and Bat Mitzvah students often ask me). Adon Olam is our answer, our reassurance that God cares about the individual too. This is the primary reason that although the text seems conducive to almost any metrical tune, we do not usually use secular melodies (like Yankee Doodle Dandy or Yellow Submarine) for Adon Olam. Its message is too grand and too important for us to be so irreverent. The next time you are in services, I invite you to sit through all of Adon Olam, reading and reflecting on its universal and personal message for us all. Hazzan Jamie Gloth

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE A LITTLE INTROSPECTION AND THREE MEMORABLE E-MAILS Dear Friends, With the Gala upon us in at few weeks, I have been doing a bit of introspection regarding my tenure as president at Beth El and focused on three particular emails that I have received during this time. As you can imagine, our members are not shy about e-mailing to express their views surrounding our shul…. whether it be comments or questions about Shabbat services, the rabbis’ sermons, Israel, refugees, the daily minyan, our clergy, the caterer, the Religious School, security, rugs and hardwood floors, our sound system, landscaping and snow removal, not to mention our programming, bathrooms, kiddush lunch food choices and announcements made or not made in the sanctuary…. and those mentioned above are just a few of the topics covered in e-mails sent to me in the last few years. But there are certain e-mails that I will cherish forever. The first e-mail I will always remember arrived after my first Kol Nidre Appeal. It was a short e-mail from a member asking me to call her about what I said in my appeal and her phone number was listed. At that early time as president, I had only received negative e-mails and calls, so naturally I was expecting that I had somehow offended her by something I must have said. I called the number and a woman answered the phone and told me that she has been a member of Beth El for many years and she had something very important to tell me. She said she lives on a small fixed income and that she has never been able to contribute more than $36 to the Kol Nidre Appeal, but she wanted me to know how important Beth El and Rabbi Sirner were to her over multiple decades. I thanked her so much for her $36 contribution. This nice lady then asked me to let her finish what she wanted to tell me. I stopped talking and she continued saying that she had listened to what I said about the “culture of giving thing” and that how significant it would be if “members could contribute $1 a day to the shul.” She said she wanted to personally tell the president that she would figure out how to contribute $365 and not the $360 I mentioned in the Kol Nidre Appeal because she said “you need to learn how to multiply and 365 x $1 is $365 and not $360, and that is all I have to tell you… Thank you!” This brought tears to my eyes and I will never forget this meaningful encounter. The next e-mail demonstrates the power of a Beth El relationship. This e-mail came from the child of a longtime member that had passed away. “Dear Sam, I take the liberty of using your first name because I almost feel I know you … I’ve been reading the Beth El Bulletin these past several years, being the daughter

who lives up the street from my parents’ home here in [a state far from NY]. It has been good to see how the community has grown and thrived, embracing and creating the “21st century” version of Jewish life. I grew up in the shul along with my younger sister and brother, and, when in high school, Samuel E. Berger enjoyed serving as an assistant in the Sunday School classes…. I write the above to affirm what you know—the important and long-lasting influence of Beth El for all of us. Beth El was central to [my father’s] life, and he honored his own father and grandfather in making it so. I also want to tell you how rewarding it was to get to know Rabbi Schuck under these circumstances [the loss of my father]—his wisdom and clarity comforted us all. It is joyful to think Beth El has the benefit of his guidance. We are also deeply appreciative of all Rabbi Sirner did for my father, especially in these later years. With much gratitude.” Such a beautiful, beautiful note…a lifelong relationship with Beth El and an everlasting memory. The third e-mail came from parents of a child that attended our Kulanu Shabbat experience. Kulanu is an informal, family-friendly program designed to be accessible for children with special needs including ASD and/or intellectual impairments. These parents wrote that it was “the first time where our family could come together at Beth El to celebrate as a family unit and knowing that our child would fit in.” They were so excited that Beth El is offering this type of inclusive programming. After reading this e-mail, I made sure to attend the Kulanu Shabbat and Tu BiShevat experience. Approximately fifty people attended this program, led by Ron and Dan Burton. Seeing these families celebrate Shabbat and Tu BiShevat together was an emotional and rewarding experience. Tears were in my eyes many times during this forty five minute experience. I do not want to give anyone the impression that I only received three beautiful e-mails as president (there were four…. just kidding). There were many more, but I only selected three for this article. The beautiful e-mails are added fuel to further motivate the president to continue serving our wonderful community. Keep them coming for the remainder of my term and for the next president as well. And please remember that complimentary e-mails are even better than complaint e-mails. See you in shul and at the Gala, Sam

JOIN US FOR THE SPECIAL NEEDS SEDER ON MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 3rd • 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm The special needs residents of local group homes will be guests of the synagogue at a very unique Lower Westchester Special Needs Seder. It is sponsored by Westchester Jewish Community Services and our Sylvia and Robert Scher Chesed Community. To volunteer, contact Seder co-chairs Ellen Gelboim, esgelboim@ gmail.com, or Sandy Gruenberg, gamson36@gmail.com. We need people to prepare prior to the Seder, as well as volunteers during the event and at the conclusion. If you are unable to participate physically, financial donations are always needed as well. Checks should be made payable

to the Sylvia and Robert Scher Chesed Community and mailed to Sandy Gruenberg at Beth El Synagogue Center. For more information, visit bethelnr.org/specialneedsseder. Also, we are collecting Passover foods that will be given to the group homes. When you shop for your Passover foods, please buy something extra for those in need! Watch for further information and a sign-up sheet. Come participate in this very special event that has become a cherished Beth El tradition. Thank you. 5

Limmud Classes in March Wednesday, March 1 Thursday, March 2 Thursday, March 2

10:00 am 10:00 am 1:30 pm

Thursday, March 2 Thursday, March 2 Saturday, March 4 Sunday, March 5 Wednesday, March 8 Wednesday, March 8 Thursday, March 9 Thursday, March 9 Thursday, March 9 Thursday, March 9 Saturday, March 11 Wednesday, March 15 Wednesday, March 15

6:30 pm 8:00 pm 12:30 pm 10:00 am 10:00 am 7:30 pm 10:00 am 1:30 pm 6:30 pm 8:00 pm 12:30 pm 10:00 am 10:30 am

Wednesday, March 15

7:30 pm

Wednesday, March 15 Thursday, March 16 Thursday, March 16 Thursday, March 16 Thursday, March 16 Saturday, March 18 Sunday, March 19 Monday, March 20 Tuesday, March 21 Wednesday, March 22 Wednesday, March 22 Wednesday, March 22 Wednesday, March 22 Wednesday, March 22 Thursday, March 23 Thursday, March 23 Thursday, March 23 Thursday, March 23 Thursday, March 23 Saturday , March 25 Sunday, March 26 Wednesday, March 29 Wednesday, March 29 Thursday, March 23 Thursday, March 30 Thursday, March 30 Thursday, March 30 Thursday, March 30

7:30 pm 10:00 am 1:30 pm 6:30 pm 8:00 pm 12:30 pm 10:00 am 1:30 pm 8:00 pm 10:00 am 10:30 am 7:30 pm 7:30 pm 7:30 pm 10:00 am 10:00 am 1:30 pm 6:30 pm 8:00 pm 12:30 pm 10:00 am 10:30 am 7:30 pm 10:00 am 10:00 am 1:30 pm 6:30 pm 8:00 pm

The Birth of the Jewish State, with Rabbi Karp Talmud’s Twists & Turns, with Rabbi Hojda Parashat HaShavuah, with Rabbi Josh Dorsch and Jack Gruenberg Beginners Ulpan, with Miri Ben-Avi Advanced Ulpan, with Miri Ben-Avi Daf Shevui Israeli Dancing, with Cantor Uri Aqua The Birth of the Jewish State, with Rabbi Karp Introduction to Judaism (off-site) Talmud’s Twists & Turns, with Rabbi Hojda Parashat HaShavuah, Rab. Dorsch/Jack Gruenberg Beginners Ulpan, with Miri Ben-Avi Advanced Ulpan, with Miri Ben-Avi Daf Shevui The Birth of the Jewish State, with Rabbi Karp Stories for Your Seder: The Exodus from Egypt and the Rabbinic Imagination, with Rabbi Sitkin Stories for Your Seder: The Exodus from Egypt and the Rabbinic Imagination, with Rabbi Sitkin Introduction to Judaism (off-site) Talmud’s Twists & Turns, with Rabbi Hojda Parashat HaShavuah, Rab. Dorsch/Jack Gruenberg Beginners Ulpan, with Miri Ben-Avi Advanced Ulpan, with Miri Ben-Avi Daf Shevui Israeli Dancing, with Cantor Uri Aqua Memories to Go, with Lynn Lowin Torah on Tap, with Rabbi Josh Dorsch (off-site) The Birth of the Jewish State, with Rabbi Karp Stories for Your Seder, with Rabbi Sitkin Introduction to Judaism (off-site) Stories for Your Seder, with Rabbi Sitkin Introduction to Judaism (off-site) Talmud’s Twists & Turns, with Rabbi Hojda The Jewish State and the Arab-Israeli Conflict Parashat HaShavuah, Rab. Dorsch/Jack Gruenberg Beginners Ulpan, with Miri Ben-Avi Advanced Ulpan, with Miri Ben-Avi Daf Shevui Israeli Dancing, with Cantor Uri Aqua Stories for Your Seder, with Rabbi Sitkin Stories for Your Seder, with Rabbi Sitkin Talmud’s Twists & Turns, with Rabbi Hojda The Jewish State and the Arab- Israeli Conflict Parashat HaShavuah, Rab. Dorsch/Jack Gruenberg Beginners Ulpan, with Miri Ben-Avi Advanced Ulpan, with Miri Ben-Avi

Questions? For Ulpan classes, contact Miri Ben Avi at miriulpan@gmail.com, or 914-602-1503. For all other classes, contact Rabbi Dorsch at jdorsch@bethelnr.org, or 914-235-2700, ext. 260. 6

Tween Discussion Saturday, March 1 1th This is a place for tweens to discuss and study a topic that is relevant to tweens and/or to the Jewish calendar. It is informal and there are snacks at the beginning. After the discussion, we enter the sanctuary together for the sermon and musaf. 1 0: 30 AM - 1 1:15 AM ALSO ON April 29, May 27, June 3

LEARNERS’ SERVICE Shabbat, March 25th 10:00 am - 11:00 am with Rabbi Sitkin Our community is diverse; people have varying degrees of knowledge about Jewish text, tradition, worship, and access to Hebrew vocabulary. Since Jewish prayer assumes a certain amount of background exposure and knowledge, this service is intended to create an access point into prayer for those who may feel lost and/or alienated from our typical prayer services. The Learners’ Service is an introductory exploration of the prayer service. Each prayer wil be studied in depth and read in English to gain a basic understanding of its meaning and intent. We will discuss the basic physical mechanics of each prayer when necessary. It is our hope that over time, everyone in our community will be able to enter the sanctuary with confidence and feel at home.

Annual Minyan Breakfast

LIMMUD PRESENTS Stories for Your Seder: The Exodus from Egypt and the Rabbinic Imagination

SUNDAY, MARCH 19th in the Wiener Lounge

8:00 AM - 9:30 AM honoring

with Rabbi Zach Sitkin

BERTRAM GROSS

Four Wednesdays from March 15th to April 5th

for attending minyan faithfully for over 40 years and presentation of Siddurim to those who have said Kaddish for their loved one for the past eleven months.

This class is offered both in the morning, from 10:30 am to 12:00 noon, and in the evening, from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm.

Rabbi Dorsch will teach a class on: “And I Shall be Sanctified Amidst the Children of Israel.” The power of Ten Questions? Contact Cantor Aqua at uaqua@bethelnr.org, or 914-235-2700, ext. 222.

the college-age committee

Have fun with Yiddish! FRIDAYS, 1:00 pm

is packing for our college students on Thursday, March 2nd for Purim

at beth el

Tuesday, April 4th for Passover

Questions? Contact Bea Freedman,

914-337-8645.

AT 7:30 PM • PLEASE JOIN US!

ISRAELI DANCING Learn old and new dances

with Cantor Uri Aqua

Every Sunday, 10:00 am – 11:00 am $10 per class

Beth El Synagogue Center Interested? E-mail uaqua@bethelnr.org.

Wear comfy clothes and sneakers. 7

ISRAEL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE UPDATE The Israel Affairs Committee has been busy this past month supporting, running, and planning several programs. On February 16th, at Beth El, Ann Lewis, former White House Director of Communications for President Bill Clinton spoke on “Israel’s Relationship with America: Reflections on Future Opportunities and Challenges.” Given her experience and unique perspective, it was a fascinating evening on today’s pressing issues in the AmericaIsrael relationship. This event was sponsored by AIPAC and was the perfect opportunity to promote and prepare for the upcoming AIPAC conference in Washington, D.C., from March 26th-28th. Right on the heels of this event, IAC presented “Between the Lines, Voices of Israel: Stories Untold.” Shai and Nir, two young soldiers in Tzahal, the Israel Defense Forces, spoke with us after Kiddush on Shabbat, February 18th. They shared their struggles, successes, military service, and their hopes and dreams for the future. It was a really interesting and meaningful opportunity to hear directly and honestly from Israeli youth, literally on the front lines. Looking ahead, the AIPAC Conference is coming up from March 26th-28th. We already have a strong Beth El cohort who will be attending, including a group of teens who are currently participating in a series of educational sessions, run by our own Rebekkah Gold and Rabbi Josh Dorsch, to help them prepare for this extraordinary gathering. In light of all the recent developments both here in the United States and in Israel, this year’s conference is sure to be a fascinating experience. Please join us for the Conference and register through Beth El to get the shul discount! For information, contact Rabbi Dorsch at jdorsch@bethelnr.org, or 914-235-2700, ext. 260.

We are also excited to announce that we will be running a very special conference of our own at Beth El on May 7th, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm called “Israel: It’s Personal”. This will be a multifaceted program that will include panels with leaders from major organizations supporting Israel, speaking about their initiatives and the impact their work is making on the lives of people as told through personal stories. We are finalizing details, but panels will include organizations from a wide range of areas—Israel Bonds, JNF (the Jewish National Fund), The Lone Soldier Center, FIDF (Friends of Israel Defense Forces), Israel Cancer Research Fund, StandWithUs, and Alexander Muss High School Program. While the panels will focus on the projects these organizations undertake through the lens of individual lives and personal stories, throughout the event, there will also be an “Israel Forum”, where each of these organizations will host booths and you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about their important work and contribute to their success. The Forum will also host an activity for the whole family to participate in to show our support for Israel. And, the day will culminate with a keynote speaker (to be announced). IAC is working to finalize all the plans for this major undertaking so stay tuned for more information and save May 7th. Our next meeting is on Tuesday, March 14th, at 7:30 pm. If you care about Israel and want to show your support and work towards educating our community about and providing meaningful experiences to foster a deeper understanding of and love for Israel, please join us. Michael Schiffres and Mark Seidenfeld, Co-Chairs, IAC

Our trip information is available now! Visit http://www.daattravel.com/Flipbook/Beth_el_synagogue_center/#8 Learn about our fabulous itinerary at http://www.daattravel.com/ Beth-El-Synagogue-Center-The-People-of-Israel.aspx

Wednesday, July 26 – Sunday, August 6, 2017

Sara Aldouby Presents “From Darkness to Light” in the Kanner-Kurzon Museum March 25 through April 30, 2017 Sara Aldouby has been sculpting in stone for the past forty-two years. She is the mother of Tali AldoubySchuck and the mother-in-law of Rabbi David Schuck. Born in Hungary shortly before World War II, she survived two ghettos, three labor camps, and then Theresienstadt with her mother and eight siblings (while her father survived Bergen-Belsen). After the war the family was reunited and settled in an abandoned village near Rehovot, Israel. She served in the Israel Defense Force from 1957 to 1964, attaining the rank of Captain. After her discharge from the IDF, Sara studied movement therapy at the Kibbbutzim College. In 1969, she married IsraeliAmerican Leeam Aldouby. They spent the next three years in the United States because his mother was ill. She finished her course in movement therapy at New York Medical College, and had the first of their four children. They returned to Israel in 1972, where Leeam became the first pharmacy director of the Rebecca Ziv Medical Center, and later started his own pharmacy near Tiberias. While raising her children, Sara began taking art classes in the local artists’ colony. As she said, “I loved the land of Israel, including the desert. I collected shells, stones, and everything that led me to creating art. I grew up in an Orthodox home and went to religious schools; so the themes of the Bible were always very strong for me. Later, as a mother and wife, I came to understand the power of women in the Bible.” She would later explore those subjects in her sculptures.

Scenes from Our World-Wide Wrap

Sara studied sketching with Vienna-trained painter Sala Russata, who encouraged her to cast the ceramic figurines that she was creating. She then studied drawing with Yitzhak Frenkel and Alexander Bogen, and participated in summer sculpture seminars in the Tzfat Artists’ Colony. “From Darkness to Light” is Sara discovered the art of stone made from Orange Alabaster carving at Beit Hagefen, in and the “Dove of Peace” is Haifa, and continued her studies made from Jerusalem Stone. in Carrara and Piettra Santra, Italy. She made a sculpture of Pakistani green onyx, which sits in the Yad Shitrit Cultural Center in Tiberias. The family returned to the United States in 1986. She noted, “When leaving Israel I thought, ‘What am I going to miss the most? Stones!’” For weeks, my husband and I wandered around Israel looking for stones to bring here. We also got a supply from Hebron and Tiberias that would find their way into many future sculptural works.” In addition to teaching Hebrew, Sara studied painting and printmaking in Connecticut at the Silvermine Art Center, in New Canaan, and woodcut and monotype at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking, in Norwalk. She has exhibited at the Discovery Museum, in Bridgeport, and the Stamford Museum and Nature Center. Her works are in many private collections in the United States, Israel, England, Hungary, Canada, Austria, and South America. She has made commissioned pieces for many Holocaust memorials, including at the Jewish Senior Services, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the Virginia War Museum, in Newport News, Virginia, and the Jewish Museum, in Budapest, Hungary. She says, “The process is crazy, very painful, very difficult. It takes out your soul. I do it because afterwards it feels good, and I know it is going to a good place. It’s important to have these pieces in educational settings.” She also has Tree of Life sculptures in synagogues in Connecticut and in Los Gatos, California. Other sites of her sculptures include the Trumbull Library, the Jewish Historical Society of Fairfield County, and the Stamford Jewish Community Center, as well as a nine-foot sculpture entitled “Wings of Peace” on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, in Israel. Sara is a longtime member of the Society of Connecticut Sculptors and Silvermine Guild of Artists. She has been teaching art, sculpture, and stone-carving for the past twenty-seven years. For her, “Art is not a hobby, it’s not a profession, it’s not a luxury. It becomes a way of life. It’s a combination between your hand, your heart, and your mind. You have to be so strong, so flexible, because the stone is stronger than you.” Everyone is invited to attend the artist’s reception on Sunday, March 26th, 2:00 pm-4:30 pm. You can visit the exhibit at any other time the synagogue is open. If the door is locked, please get the key from the office or from the greeter at the front door. Sara will also participate in the Beth El program for Yom HaShoah. That event will be publicized by the synagogue separately.

AT THE MOVIES WITH HADASSAH New Rochelle Hadassah is pleased to present

“The Jewish Cardinal” The Jewish Cardinal tells the amazing true story of Jean-Marie Lustiger, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, who, after converting to Catholicism at a young age, later joined the priesthood. Quickly rising within the ranks of the church, Lustiger found a new platform to celebrate his dual identity as a Catholic Jew. When Carmelite nuns settle down to build a convent within the walls of Auschwitz, Lustiger finds he may be forced at last to choose his side. Monday afternoon, March 20th, at the Eastchester Public Library, 1 Oakridge Place, Eastchester, N.Y. This program and lunch are free, however, you must feed the meter. Light lunch, 12:30 pm; Program, 1:00 pm. (The film is 96 minutes so you need 2½-3 hours on the meter.)

JOIN THE SMART* PEOPLE

* SMART = Senior, Mature Adult, Retired Together Programs

SMART* Programs

Tuesday, March 7th, 10:00 am. Coffee and the newspaper. At 10:30 am , Susan and Art Zuckerman will moderate “Back to the Bronx.” Travel with us by lecture and slides from early Bronx origins to present day. Learn about its history, landmark sites, famous residents, and much more. Boogie down and nosh on Bronx delicacies! $5 per person. R.S.V.P. to Julie at 914-235-2700, ext. 256.

Wednesdays, 10:30

- 11:30

At Beth El. Same class schedule each month, however our schedule is subject to change. Beth El members free; $60 for 10 classes for community members; $8 for a drop in class. No R.S.V.P.

First Wednesdays of the month

MARCH 1: BALANCE EXERCISE AND FITNESS using resistance bands, with Tim from North End Fitness.

Wednesday, March 15th, 11:30 am, Current Events with Shari Baum, following exercise. No charge.

Second Wednesday of the month

Tuesday, March 21st, 10:00 am , Coffee and the newspaper. At 10:30 am, Stop at the Red Apple, presented by author Elaine Freed Lindenblatt. If you have ever stopped at the Red Apple Restuarant, the landmark restaurant is about to return the favor. Travel back along NY Route 17 and learn what it was like to grow up in a round-the-clock family business that served over one million customers annually. Hot dogs, knishes and pareve egg creams for everyone. $5 per person. R.S.V.P. to Julie at 914-235-2700, ext. 256.

MARCH 8: GOLDEN ZUMBA, with Laura, offering Latin rhythms for a low intensity dance workout.

Third Wednesday of the month

MARCH 15: GOLDEN ZUMBA, with Laura, offering Latin rhythms for a low intensity dance workout.

Fourth Wednesday of the month

MARCH 22: CHAIR YOGA, with Nan. Improve your health through adaptive, breathing exercises.

Fifth Wednesday of the month

For questions or to R.S.V.P. on any SMART activity, contact Julie Rockowitz at jrockowitz@bethelnr.org, or 914-235-2700, ext. 256.

MARCH 29: BALANCE EXERCISE AND FITNESS using resistance bands, with Tim from North End Fitness. 10

SISTERHOOD Sisterhood Scene In Hazzan G l o t h ’s c o l u m n , Notes from the Hazzan, last month he wrote about our tradition that “When Adar comes, joy is increased.” This year the first of Adar came just a few days ago, on February 27th. For the next four weeks we will be in the month of Adar on the Hebrew calendar and the month of March on the secular calendar. How can we, as Sisterhood members, increase our joy? Come to our activities—walking club, Canasta, Mah Jongg, Bagels & Books, and cooking for the H.O.P.E. Soup Kitchen. Meet the women of Sisterhood and experience the fun we have sharing ideas. Have you joined the Sisterhood Tea Party? To experience this joy, you don’t need to come out on a cold, nasty, or snowy day. You can do this from your home by sending a contribution to Beth El Sisterhood’s Shiva Dinner Fund. This fund helps Sisterhood provide a Shabbat dinner to each Beth El member family sitting Shiva. Over twenty years ago, when my family sat shiva for my mother, I remember being

touched by the kindness and sympathy extended to us. The Shabbat dinner that was delivered on Friday afternoon was comforting at such a difficult time in our lives. (Our former synagogue had done nothing both times my husband sat shiva for his parents.) My father was deeply touched and wrote a thank you note and check to Sisterhood for their thoughtful act of sending us that meal. There are a few more ways to increase your joy this month. Speak to our Torah Fund Vice Presidents Rita Kaufman and Susan Morris and support Torah Fund. Join us at Beth El for the Purim Megillah reading on March 11th, and at Beth El’s Annual Gala on March 19th. We can also feel joy knowing that winter will end and spring will be arriving and bringing all the beauty that comes with it. See you at Beth El, Risë Stern, Executive Vice-President

Support our tea bag fundraiser! Send your check, payable to Beth El Sisterhood, to the office, and write Shiva Fund Donation on the memo line.

CARD ROOM, 12:45 pm weekly: Canasta,Mondays; Mah Jongg, Tuesdays. WALKING CLUB meets every Monday at 9:30 am for a nice easy walk—not a jog. All are welcome! BAGELS & BOOKS BOOK CLUB will meet on Monday, March 27th, at 9:30 am, for Russian Dance, by Andree Aelion Brooks. EVENING BOOK CLUB, 7:30 pm-9:00 pm, Thursday, May 4th. We will discuss The Marriage of Opposites, by Alice Hoffman. Free. No R.S.V.P. required. MITZVAH KNITTING: Free lessons and supplies. Knit at home and donate your work. Children’s hats, scarves, and 7” squares for afghans needed. E-mail Phyllis at pjf920@verizon.net. QUESTIONS? Contact Arlene Salman at aesalman@aol.com, or 914-235-2485.

2017 SHOP SMART, DO GOOD FUNDRAISING DAY

LORD & TAYLOR SHOPPING BENEFIT

SISTERHOOD’S “BAGELS & BOOKS” BOOK CLUB

Monday, March 27th, 9:30

Sisterhood Programs

FRIDAY, MARCH 31st am

Beth El Sisterhood will gather to discuss Russian Dance, by Andree Aelion Brooks.

opens at 9:00 am, Eastchester Store

Sponsored by Sisterhood of Beth El Pre-shopping (credit card only) begins on March 24th Tickets are available on March 7th for a $5 donation. This ticket serves as your admission to this event and includes two 25% bonus coupons, with very limited exclusions, and your 15% savings pass (usable all day), good on regular- and sale-priced items, including cosmetics and fragrances! You can save an additional 10% on top of all the other great savings when you use your Lord & Taylor credit card.

Save the date . . . Tuesday Evening, April 25th Sisterhood presents MICHELLE BRAFMAN author of Washing The Dead Join us at Beth El for Ms. Brafman’s presentation about the Jewish tradition of Tahara, whereby we honor the deceased by washing them before the funeral and burial. Her book is a novel, but it has the Tahara theme. Note: “Bagels & Books” will meet on Monday, April 24th, at 9:30 am, to discuss this book prior to Ms. Brafman’s visit. 11

TICKETS: Contact Linda Resnick at 914576-3632, or cosa48@yahoo.com; the synagogue office at 914-235-2700, ex t . 2 2 3 ; o r L o r d a n d Tay l o r. c o m / dogoodeastchester (Enter Beth El Synagogue Sisterhood New Rochelle in the drop down).

KERUV* KORNER *“Keruv” = to bring close, to draw near “Ad Lo Yada”—Until We Don’t Even Know This month we are celebrating Purim, a holiday on which we are supposed to drink alcohol until we “don’t know the difference between Mordechai and Haman.” It is a topsy-turvy, irreverent sort of a day, the point of which, I think, is to remind us that there is much we cannot know. We must never give up hope. It is fitting, then, that on Purim we celebrate what is arguably the most famous intermarriage in Jewish history. Interestingly, the rabbis don’t seem bothered that Mordechai set up his adopted niece with a non-Jewish emperor. Of course, by the time the Sages and rabbis read about it, they knew that Esther’s marriage worked out for the best and detected God’s hand in the process. We, as parents, don’t have that advantage. Many of us feel an obligation to dissuade our children from intermarrying, whether out of concern for Jewish continuity, our

children’s ultimate happiness, or our own. On the other hand, we no longer can expect to have the influence that Mordechai had over Esther. American Jews are marrying later and have often moved out of the home as independent adults by the time they are making the choice to marry. How are we to best respond to the situation if and when our children are inter-dating or choose to intermarry? What are we to do with the emotions that arise? Sociologic studies reveal that when American Conservative Jews intermarry, their children are as likely to identify as Jewish as when the parents are in-married. Some argue that (like it did for the ancient Persian Jews) intermarriage is going to save American Jewry by enhancing our shrinking numbers. How, then, do we encourage our children to create Jewish homes and bolster the Jewish identity of our grandchildren,

whether intermarried or not? To what extent is it ok to share with our grown children our own powerful emotions, worries, preferences or expectations? And how do we cope when our children make choices that run counter to our values? Can we, like the Sages, leave it in God’s hands? These questions and others are among the issues we discuss at “Let’s Talk About It.” Four times a year, parents come together in someone’s home, with Shari Baum, M.S.W., as facilitator, to explore how we feel, share what we have learned, and support one another as we face the unknown together. The next “Let’s Talk About It” will be Tuesday, March 21st (see box bottom left). We will discuss whether and how to openly discuss our feelings with our kids. These meetings are open to everyone. Please join us! Elise Richman and Nina Luban Keruv co-chairs

The Chesed Community

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT! Tuesday, March 21st 7:30 pm at the home of

Phoebe and Peter Gross

193 Dorchester Road, Scarsdale “How do we calmly and

respectfully discuss interfaith relationships with our adult children?” Come share your ideas with other Beth El members! Facilitated by Shari Baum, L.M.S.W. R.S.V.P. to Elise Schepp at LCmoocow@aol.com.

What constitutes a community? Is it just a group of people who live in proximity to one another or is it more. The Beth El Community is more, much more. Over the past few weeks, I have experienced that chesed or community kindness and obligation first hand. With the death of my brother, I returned home to New Rochelle ready to sit shiva and to have my family do all the arrangements needed for such a mourning period to occur. Well my “family” from Beth El was there in force. Every evening and morning, I had a minyan in my home for services. A Torah appeared to be read from and various people, some whom I barely knew, showed up on a regular basis for minyan. People paid shiva calls at all hours of the day and paid their respects, even though most did not know my brother and some barely knew me. A coat rack appeared for guests and prayer books and low stools were at the ready. The Sisterhood provided Friday night dinner and the Chesed Community provided a full meal on a different night. As the shiva ended, I decided to attend minyan at Beth El each day for my month of sh’loshim. A dedicated group of men and women found the time in their busy days to help make the minyan in the morning and evening. On the snowiest day this winter, there was a minyan in the morning and the evening, with walkers and drivers coming out in the cold so that those of us saying kaddish could do so with confidence that the quorum would be reached. A community—you betcha! A chesed community—sure. It is a privilege to belong to such a group of givers in the Jewish way. Thank you all! Sandy Gruenberg, Co-Chair

KULANU SHABBAT PASSOVER EXPERIENCE Friday, April 14th, Shabbat Pesach 6:00 pm with

Dan Burton and Ron Burton

Save the date, Friday, May 26th, for a Kulanu Shabbat Shavuot Experience 12

Nursery School News Tu BiShevat literally means the fifteenth day of the month of Shevat, and it usually falls in January or February. It may be winter for us, but it is the end of the rainy season in Israel and the time when sap has started rising in the trees. In the Nursery School we celebrate Tu BiShevat as the “birthday of the trees.” Our classrooms resounded with joyous songs about planting and trees. Tu BiShevat gave us an opportunity to read a wide variety of appropriate children’s literature dealing with trees and nature. We recorded the many functions of trees for both humankind and animals. We discussed the parts of the tree. This was especially exciting for the children when we spoke of the Hebrew names for the parts of a tree, since these words correspond to the names of our classes: Roots – Shoresh – 2s classes Trunk – Gezah – 3s classes Branches - Anaf – 4s classes

explore wood with Vitaly, our Atelierista. Using real tools (hammers, nails, screw drivers, saws and drills) the children experimented with their different functions and created unique wood sculptures. Many varieties of bird feeders were made in recognition of Shabbat Shira. In doing this activity, the children made a conscious effort to feed the birds, teaching them both a human value and the Jewish value of kindness to animals. Children are never too young to learn the importance of caring for others. Tu BiShevat is an important holiday for today’s children. As our awareness of the environment becomes more essential to the future of the human race, Tu BiShevat takes on more of a global importance. It is not just about spring, trees, and rebirth in Israel; it is about respecting, appreciating and taking care of nature. Any activities we can do to foster these values transmit the true meaning of Tu BiShevat to our children. Ronnie Becher, Director

Many classes compared and contrasted the variety of fruits that grow on trees—those with hard outsides and soft insides (nuts, pineapple, coconuts), those with soft outsides and hard insides (avocado, cherry, peach) those which are totally edible (berries, figs, grapes). Some children went outside and sketched the trees in our neighborhood, did bark rubbings, and measured the circumference of the trunks. This “wood related” holiday gave the children a chance to

March 29 - April 4 Open during nursery school drop off and pick ups &

Sunday, April 2 In the Youth Lounge! Fabulous selection of books geared to Nursery School children through 6th grade!

Consider books to enrich your Passover seder, for gifts, and for your children. Jewish Books, Children Books, Cook Books, & MORE! Questions? Contact the Nursery School at nursery@bethelnr.org, 235-2700, ext. 250.

ALL TYPES OF BOOKS!

Proceeds benefit the Nursery School.

YOUTH & FAMILY ENGAGEMENT A Note from Jen . . . Esther, one of the main characters in the Purim story, is often associated with bravery. Why is she brave? Because she had the courage to come out to the people of Persia as her true, authentic self—a Jewish girl in a very non-Jewish community. She did this in a very lonely, individual way, without a network of support and acceptance. Here in the Department of Youth & Family Engagement, we spend much of our time and energy building and supporting that network of radical acceptance. What does that mean? It means wherever our youth and families are, whatever baggage they bring or ideas they hold, they have a place here; Beth El is truly a second home. At any given moment, you can find teens hanging out in our office, parents swinging by or calling in with questions about how best to support their children, or children coming in to share stories about their days. In this office, with us, our youth and families need not feel they are on their own. They can be their true, authentic selves from the moment they set foot here.

Don’t miss your chance to go to The AIPAC Policy Conference with Beth El’s Teen delegation. Open to High School Juniors and Seniors, March 26 - 28. For information, contact Bekkah Gold at rgold@bethelnr.org.

March Youth Community Highlights Sunday, March 5

PURIM CARNIVAL (11:00 am-1:30 pm)

Saturday, March 11

Megillah Reading – Teen led

Sunday, March 12

Beth El Purim Festivities – Family Megillah Reading, Storytellers, Seudah & Variety Show (see Bulletin cover)

Sunday, March 19

Beth El Gala, 5:00 pm

Friday, March 24 Saturday, March 25

Day School Shabbat

Sunday, March 26

Teen AIPAC Trip

Sunday, March 26

Mishpacha Jewish Museum Trip

Watch your e-mail for information about other upcoming Youth Events!

Youth Community Updates Mark your calendar because the Purim Carnival is BACK and better than ever because it’s COMICON! Bring on the superheros and comic gear! Get your mask and cape ready because you won’t want to miss this year’s Purim Carnival on Sunday, March 5th, beginning at 11:00 am . To volunteer to help work on the day of the carnival, please contact the Office of Youth & Family Engagement. We’re also really excited for brand new way to do Purim morning here at Beth El. Join us on Sunday, March 12th, for a Family Megillah Reading, storytellers, Seudah (festive meal), and a Variety Show. You won’t want to miss it . . . it’s sure to be the talk of the town!

Carmel Visit/Schechter Visit: Jen and Bekkah visited some of our Day School friends this past month. It was so much fun to see members of our youth community at school! 14

Our dynamite 5th/6th grade basketball team in the Westchester Jewish Basketball League after their first win!

Our teens spent one Sunday with Josh Warhit from StandWithUs in a program called Israel 101. They are excited to keep learning about Israel in many different ways throughout the rest of the year.

YOUTH & FAMILY ENGAGEMENT Religious School Update March Religious School Highlights

This year we brought nine new teachers into our Religious School. These educators joined our team of talented facilitators who guide our young people on their Jewish journeys each week. You can get to know them by checking out the Religious School page on the Beth El website, or looking at the bulletin board by the entrance to the Youth & Family Engagement wing. We are excited for this group of educators to join with our Nursery School educators for a night of learning on Thursday, March 16th, with Rabbi Schuck and our directors, centered around their own spiritual journeys and how that shapes the spiritual development of their learners. It is sure to be a special and insightful experience.

Sunday, March 5

PURIM CARNIVAL (11:00 am-1:30 pm) (in lieu of classes)

Saturday, March 11

Megillah Reading – Teen Led

Sunday, March 12

Beth El Purim Festivities – Family Megillah Reading, Storytellers, Seudah, and Variety Show (in lieu of classes)

Thursday, March 16

Educator Night of Learning with Rabbi Schuck

Sunday, March 19

Art for Hey & Vav

Sunday, March 19

Beth El Gala, 5:00 pm

Thursday, March 23

Art for Alef & Dalet

Sunday, March 26

Rainbow Day for Rosh Hodesh Nisan, Art for Bet & Gimel

Follow the Religious School on Twitter! @bethelrelschool

Our Gan class learned about Yaakov and Esav. They are playing a game where someone must cover their eyes so they have no sight, like Yitzchak who was blind. One child put on a smooth plastic “sleeve” while another put on a hairy one, and the blindfolded child had to figure out who was Yaakov and who was Esav based on how their arm felt and the sound of their voice.

Above, Kitah Gimel’s tree is “growing” with leaves of quotes about taking care of the earth and the environment. They are preparing for Tu BiShevat!

At right, Kitah Vav enjoyed celebrating such a big milestone at their Mock Wedding this month! 15

MEMORIES TO GO

[Introduction by Lynn Lowin] My mother was married in 1937, a time when all was not well with the world. First, there had been a terrible depression where so many, including her family, were poverty stricken. Then, there were unimaginable, ominous rumblings from across the sea about mad men rounding up Jews and planning to take over Europe. My mother loved my father very much, but questioned the ethics of bringing a child into this dark world. World War II came and knowledge of concentration camps and massacres leaked into New York City, where my mother was struggling with the decision to create life or not. Was she protecting a potential child from danger or was she depriving that child from experiencing what is good in life? I was born during the War and my sister was born just after it ended. Mom consciously make the decision to affirm life and told my father that a child would be a blessing. I have been fascinated by Mom’s ethical dilemma and asked members of the “Memories To Go” class to write a letter to a fictitious young woman I named Jane, who was struggling as my mother struggled, only Jane is struggling in 2017, when the world is, once again, a fearful place. Jane wanted our input. Here is one of the letters to Jane, written by Ruth Kon. My dear friend Jane, I was glad to hear that you and your husband John recently bought a beautiful house in Scarsdale. Your garden sounds wonderful, with all the nice tall trees and colorful flowerbeds. Following our long conversation about starting a family, I was surprised to hear that both you and John are hesitant to bring children into a world as confusing and dangerous as ours. I think that the world has always been dangerous and that you can’t allow your fears to prevent you from pursuing one of life’s most rewarding experiences. As a matter of fact, I think that there is perhaps no better time in history to have children. Recent medical advances have enabled us to conquer many diseases; we have greater knowledge of the dangers posed by different chemicals; and educational opportunities abound. Your reluctance reminds me of my Uncle Eric and Aunt Hannah who lived in Munich, Germany, when Hitler came to power. They were persecuted for being intermarried, since my uncle was Jewish and my aunt was Catholic. The Germans called it Rassenschande, which means bringing shame to your race (in their case my aunt was

RABBI, continued from page 4 very seriously. As we transition to a three clergy model, we will be sure to continue to support the bikkur cholim needs of our congregation. When someone falls ill, as soon as we are made aware of their needs (please do not assume that we know), one of the rabbis or cantor will arrange to visit. These visits are a precious opportunity for us to build even deeper relationships with each of you, and we will continue to do so. At the same time, as we analyzed the culture here at Beth El, it became clear that we can do a better job at creating more opportunities for congregants to engage in this mitzvah. Not only will this enable us to better serve the needs of our families, but it will also enrich the very fabric of what connects us to one another. I will never forget when I attended a synagogue in Manhattan and during the Shabbat announcements, the president invited anyone to join a group that was walking over to one of the hospitals to visit people who were ill. That one announcement alone told me more about the culture of the synagogue than anything else. People took responsibility for caring for one another, and they took seriously their personal obligation to fulfill the mitzvah of bikkur cholim. I am certain that the lives of the people who made those visits were enriched by them. We would like to create a similar culture here at Beth El, a culture in which every member of our synagogue has the opportunity to visit people who are homebound or who could use some company while in a hospital, rehab facility, or nursing home. These visits are not out of pity, but rather, an opportunity for both people to enrich their lives. The first step in changing our culture is listening to your stories. We want to hear about your experience visiting someone who was 16

considered to have brought shame to the German race for having married a Jew). Uncle Eric and Aunt Hannah refused to have children because they feared the intolerance that their future children might also have to endure. This was a terrible shame because both would have been wonderful parents and they had the means to provide well. I believe that they both eventually came to regret their decision to remain childless, especially in their later years. Dear Jane, please don’t let this opportunity to build a warm, loving family pass you by. While you are young, John and you may enjoy fulfilling careers and carefree travel, but in later years you may find that a home without young people feels very sterile and sad. I strongly suggest that you reconsider your decision. Your future child may one day discover great things and may even be instrumental in bringing some order to the chaos of the world!Please keep in touch and let’s keep the conversation going. It’s an important one. Love from your old friend who is always a great optimist, Ruth ill or being visited. We want to know how this experience impacted your life, and how you can draw on that experience to touch the lives of others in our synagogue. Our team will contact members of the shul from all age demographics in order to have one-on-one meetings so that we can hear your stories. If you have a story that you would like to share, we want to hear it. Please contact Rabbi Sitkin (zsitkin@bethelnr.org or 914-235-2700, ext. 338) and we will set up a time to meet with you. As we hear your stories, we will also create systems that will enable people to fulfill this mitzvah. We will offer training sessions so that people will feel comfortable with how we visit people who are ill, and so that people will see that this is an opportunity that does not require a large time commitment and can change the life of a person in need. Rav Kook wrote (Orot, p. 104) that the foundational essence of the Jewish people is the aspiration to bring God’s justice into the world. “This is the aspiration—built upon a clear and mighty consciousness and the highest and most inclusive moral imperative— to redeem humanity from the horrific burdens of spiritual and material sorrow, and to achieve for her a life of freedom filled with dignified glory and refined pleasure, in the light of the Divine Ideal, in order to achieve success for the human project in its totality.” I hope that you will join us in striving toward this aspiration, as each one of us takes responsibility to help bring dignity and kindness to those among us who are so easily forgotten. L’shalom, Rabbi David A. Schuck

Save the date . . . Sunday, April 30th . . . for the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs’ Hudson Valley Region Annual Luncheon

Beth El Celebrates March Birthdays Beth El Synagogue Center would like to extend a “Happy Birthday!” to its members with a birthday in the month of March. If you have a March birthday, we hope that you will join Janis Demartini Lauren Afran Sari Dweck Robert Alterman Noel Edelson Stan Arkow Arlene Elkind Glenn Barney Erica Epstein Adam Barrett Jordan Esrig Jesse Bartell Michael Felberg Stephen Bartell Richard Feuerstein Hannah Bases Susan Field Sanford Batkin Steven Fuchs Paul Bernstein Andrew Bosworth Bruce Gold Marisa Goldberg Joan Brown David Gordon Enrique Casanova Jill Eichel Charrabe Florence Graff Daniel Groner Lance Cohen Peter Gross Howard Cohen Ellen Gross Yehuda Cohen

us for Kiddush lunch on Shabbat, March11th. If you have a March birthday, but your name does not appear on the list, we are sorry for the omission and ask that you e-mail the synagogue at info@bethelnr.org so that we

can update our records. Please contact us if you do not wish to have your name appear on our birthday list. (The list reflects our adult members and post-bar/bat mitzvah children up to the age of 21.) Beth Halperin Burton Stern Greg Portnoy Elliot Lesser Zoe Heller Pearl Sullivan Ilene Poses Susan Lesser Samantha Herlands Gilbert Levine Marianne Sussman Margery Reisfeld Mark Hirsh Andrew Tannen Jonathan Rieber Elizabeth Levine Barbara Horowitz Barnett Troodler Jamie Rothenberg Lance Levine Robert Jacobson Mitchell Troyetsky Michelle L. Blaustein Evelyn Rothenberg Ethel Kaplowitz Charlotte Watt Samuel Schiller Michael Malina Alan Kellman Zwi Weinberg Zachary Schwartz Lisa Mandelker Shlomo Kessel Kira Weiss Melanie Selber Andrew Messinger Jason Klee Leni Wiener Joel Siegel Miriam Morris Nora Klion-Wolloch George Newfield Susan Gelb Silberberg Sophia Wolk Jennifer Klonsky Robert Sofer Arthur Wolk Lillian Newman Iva Kornreich Ira Solomon Ivor Wolk Jason Newman Joshua Kurlander Deborah Solymar Allan Wolkoff Dianne Newman Rubin Kuszel Jeffrey Stahl Steven Young Selma Parker Seth Leibowitz Rachelle Stern Lester Zimerman David Pfeffer Jay Lerman Steven Stern Lena Podolsky 17

MARCH 2017 MONDAY

SUNDAY

Please visit the Beth El Synagogue Center website, WWW.BETHELNR.ORG for the most current information on meetings and events. To send us a message, e-mail info@bethelnr.org.

1324 North Avenue New Rochelle, NY 10804-2190 914-235-2700 • www.bethelnr.org

A Conservative synagogue affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Rabbi .................................... David A. Schuck Hazzan ........................................ Jamie Gloth Associate Rabbi...................... Joshua Dorsch Associate Cantor ...............................Uri Aqua Assistant Rabbi.........................Zachary Sitkin Rabbi Emeritus ......................Melvin N. Sirner Hazzan Emeritus ....................Farid Dardashti Executive Director ..................Erica Leventhal Controller .................................... Olivier Vogel Day Camp Director .................Julie Rockowitz Nursery School Director ......... Ronnie Becher Dir. of Youth & Family Engagement ...Jen Vegh Special Projects Director ........ Linda Newman Maintenance Director ............... Milton Sinclair OFFICERS President ............................ Samuel E. Berger Executive Vice President....... Mark Seidenfeld Vice President ...........................Daniel Burton Vice President ...................Sandra Gruenberg Vice President .................Geralynn C. Reifer Treasurer ...............................Joseph Wygoda Financial Secretary ................. Barbara Cohen Recording Secretary ..................Jayne Peister AFFILIATES Sisterhood President ...........Barbara Horowitz Men’s Club President ........... Steven L. Young Religious Sch. Parent Org. ........... Ellen Barlis, Sharon Brown, Rachel Casanova, Marci Marcus Nursery Sch. Parent Org. ...Rachel Messinger BULLETIN EDITOR ............... Linda Newman

Daily Minyan Beth El maintains morning and evening services every day of the year. Contact Associate Cantor Uri Aqua, 914-235-2700, ext. 222.

TUESDAY

Visit us on facebook at facebook.com/BethElSynagogueCenter

7 ADAR Religious School Closed

Zumba 9:30 am Israeli Dancing 10:00 am

8 ADAR

Evening Minyan Times Mincha and Maariv March

1– 3 4 – 11 12 – 17 18 – 31

5:30 pm 5:45 pm 6:45 pm 7:00 pm

9 ADAR

Walking Club 9:30 am

S.M.A.R.T. Discussion 10:00 am

Canasta 12:45 pm

Mah Jongg 12:45 pm

Purim Carnival 11:00 am

Sisterhood Executive Board Mtg. 6:30 pm Teen Israel Advocacy Sessions 6:30 pm Sisterhood General Board Meeting 7:30 pm Nursery School Board Mtg 7:30 pm

14 ADAR

Megillah Reading 8:00 am Family Friendly Megillah Reading 9:00 am Zumba 9:30 am Learning Sessions 10:00 am Israeli Dancing 10:00 am Purim Seudah and Variety Show 11:00 am Purim Bible Players 6:30 pm Daylight Savings Time Starts— Move clock forward 1 hour at 2:00 am PURIM

21 ADAR

Annual Minyan Breakfast 8:00 am Zumba 9:30 am Israeli Dancing 10:00 am

15 ADAR

16 ADAR

Walking Club 9:30 am Canasta 12:45 pm

Mah Jongg 12:45 pm

Religious School Board Meeting 8:00 pm

Teen Israel Advocacy Sessions 6:30 pm Israel Affairs Committee Meeting 7:30 pm

SHUSHAN PURIM

22 ADAR

Walking Club 9:30 am

23 ADAR Nursery School Closed

Hadassah 12:30 pm (off-site) Canasta 12:45 pm Memories to Go 1:30 pm

S.M.A.R.T. Program 10:00 am Mah Jongg 12:45 pm Let’s Talk About It Disc. 7:30 pm (off-site)

63rd Annual Gala 5:00 pm

Nursery School Purim Celebration

Ritual Committee Meeting 7:30 pm Torah on Tap 8:00 pm (off-site)

Shacharit*

Saturdays – 9:00 am Sundays – 8:00 am Mondays & Thursdays, 6:55 am Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 7:00 am

28 ADAR

Mishpacha Jewish Museum Visit (off-site) AIPAC Conference (off-site) Zumba 9:30 am Israeli Dancing 10:00 am

29 ADAR

1 NISAN

Sisterhood Bagels & Books with New Rochelle Hadassah 9:30 am Walking Club 11:30 am Canasta 12:45 pm

Mah Jongg 12:45 pm

USY Rosh Hodesh Group 1:00 pm Artist’s Reception 2:00 pm ROSH HODESH

ADAR ~ NISAN 5777 WEDNESDAY 1

3 ADAR

Limmud: The Birth of the Jewish State, with Rabbi Molly Karp 10:00 am Get SMART* Get Fit 10:30 am (*Senior, Mature Adult, Retired Together) Officers Meeting 7:15 pm (off-site)

10 ADAR

Nursery School Picture Day

Limmud: The Birth of the Jewish State, with Rabbi Molly Karp 10:00 am Get SMART* Get Fit 10:30 am (*Senior, Mature Adult, Retired Together) Intro to Judaism 7:30 pm (off-site)

FRIDAY

THURSDAY 2

4 ADAR

Talmud’s Twists & Turns, with Rabbi David Hojda 10:00 pm Parashat Hashavua 1:30 pm

SHABBAT 5 ADAR

5:30 pm

Yiddish Vinkl 1:00 pm

Cub Scouts 6:00 pm

11 ADAR

Talmud’s Twists & Turns, with Rabbi David Hojda 10:00 pm Parashat Hashavua 1:30 pm

12 ADAR

Yiddish Vinkl 1:00 pm

5:38 pm

Hebrew Ulpan, Beginners 6:30 pm Executive Council 7:00 pm Hebrew Ulpan, Advanced 8:00 pm Board of Trustees 8:00 pm

17 ADAR

Limmud: The Birth of the Jewish State, with Rabbi Molly Karp 10:00 am Stories for your Passover Seder 10:30 am Get SMART* Get Fit 10:30 am (*Senior, Mature Adult, Retired Together) SMART* Current Events Discussion, with Shari Baum 11:30 am (*Senior, Mature Adult, Retired Together) Intro to Judaism 7:30 pm (off-site) Stories for your Passover Seder 7:30 pm

24 ADAR

Limmud: The Birth of the Jewish State, with Rabbi Molly Karp 10:00 am Stories for your Passover Seder 10:30 am

18 ADAR

Parashat Hashavua 1:30 pm Hebrew Ulpan, Beginners 6:30 pm

25 ADAR

Limmud: Israeli Conflict 10:00 pm Talmud’s Twists & Turns, with Rabbi David Hojda 10:00 pm

Stories for your Passover Seder 7:30 pm

UJA Fed. Centennial 6:30 pm (off-site)

Intro to Judaism 7:30 pm (off-site)

Get SMART* Get Fit 10:30 am (*Senior, Mature Adult, Retired Together) Officers Meeting 7:15 pm Stories for your Passover Seder 7:30 pm

6:46 pm

Rosh Hodesh Girls 6:00 pm (off-site)

26 ADAR

6:53 pm

Day School Kabbalat Shabbat

Hebrew Ulpan, Advanced 8:00 pm

3 NISAN Nursery School Bookfair

Limmud: Israeli Conflict 10:00 pm Talmud’s Twists & Turns, with Rabbi David Hojda 10:00 pm Parashat Hashavua 1:30 pm Hebrew Ulpan, Beginners 6:30 pm

How to prepare for Passover and Observe the holiday in your home 7:30 pm (off-site) Hebrew Ulpan, Advanced 8:00 pm

13 ADAR

4 NISAN Nursery School Bookfair

Yiddish Vinkl 1:00 pm

7:01 pm

Shabbat ends 6:39 pm

Birthday Shabbat Shabbat SPACE 9:30 am Pre-Serv Oneg 10:15 am Shabbat Discussion Group 10:15 am Tween Shabbat Experience 10:30 am Youth Services 10:45 am Daf Shevui 12:30 pm Megillah Reading 7:00 pm Teen Shul-In 10:00 pm EREV PURIM

20 ADAR

Shabbat ends 7:47 pm

Bar Mitzvah Aden Erlikh Shabbat SPACE 9:30 am Shabbat Discussion Group 10:15 am Pre-Serv Oneg 10:15 am Youth Services 10:45 am Daf Shevui 12:30 pm

25 VAYAKHELPEKUDE

Yiddish Vinkl 1:00 pm

Cafe Shabbat 5:30 pm

Hebrew Ulpan, Beginners 6:30 pm

KI TISA

Ladies Night Out 7:00 pm (off-site) The IDF Band 7:00 pm (off-site) Hebrew Ulpan, Advanced 8:00 pm

Parashat Hashavua 1:30 pm

Nursery School Bookfair Limmud: The Birth of the Jewish State, with Rabbi Molly Karp 10:00 am Stories for your Passover Seder 10:30 am

19 ADAR

Yiddish Vinkl 1:00 pm

Cub Scouts 6:00 pm

Get SMART* Get Fit 10:30 am (*Senior, Mature Adult, Retired Together)

2 NISAN

Talmud’s Twists & Turns, with Rabbi David Hojda 10:00 pm

Shabbat ends 6:31 pm

Bar Mitzvah Benjamin Jacobson Welcoming Chai House Residents & Staff Shabbat SPACE 9:30 am Pre-Service Oneg 10:15 am Youth Services 10:45 am Daf Shevui 12:30 pm

TETZAVEH

TANNIT ESTHER (FAST OF ESTHER)

6 ADAR TERUMAH

Hebrew Ulpan, Beginners 6:30 pm College-Age Comm. Packing 7:30 pm Hebrew Ulpan, Advanced 8:00 pm

27 ADAR Shabbat end 7:54 pm

Day School Shabbat Shabbat SPACE 9:30 am Learners Service 10:00 am Pre-Serv Oneg 10:15 am Shabbat Discussion Group 10:15 am Youth Services 10:45 am Daf Shevui 12:30 pm

NEWSMAKERS

MARCH YAHRZEIT OBSERVANCES

Mazal tov to: Esther and Steven Winik on the birth of their grandson Jacob Gershon Kekst, and to parents Dana and Joseph Kekst; Donna and Gary Levy on the birth of their granddaughters Ariella Ruth and Abigail Tamar, and to parents Matthew Levy and Jill Kalish Levy; Debbie and Steven Fuchs on the engagement of their daughter Randi Fuchs to Brett Asnas, and to grandmother Caryl Fuchs.

A Warm Beth El Mazal Tov to One and All!!

Share your milestone events with us! If you experience a milestone or a loss in your family, contact Linda at LNewman@bethelnr.org, or 914-235-2700, ext. 246.

Kiddush The Kiddush of February 25th was sponsored by Beth Siegel and Pat Myron in honor of the bat mitzvah of their daughter Jenna SiegelMyron; and by Adele and Sheldon Lobel in honor of their daughter Marci Esrigâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s special birthday and her reading from the Torah. The Kiddush of March 4th will be sponsored by Nadine and Robert Jacobson in honor of the bar mitzvah of their son Benjamin Jacobson. The Kiddush of March 18th will be sponsored by Marina and James Erlikh in honor of the bar mitzvah of their son Aden Erlikh.

Welcome to the Beth El Community The FioRito Family of Pelham Naomi & Geoffrey FioRito Paige, 11; Haily, 8; Sabrina, 6

The Mark Family of Stamford Len & Susan Mark The Schulman Family of Scarsdale Joshua & Rachel Schulman

CONDOLENCES We record with sorrow the losses suffered by our members and friends and extend to them our deepest sympathies. Condolences to: Sandy Gruenberg on the loss of her brother William Savitz; Barbara Katzeff on the loss of her mother, Selma Cohen; Joan Ganeles on the loss of her husband, Paul Ganeles; Rob Ehudin on the loss of his father, Irv Ehudin. 20

The yahrzeit of the following deceased persons permanently inscribed on our Memorial Walls are observed on these dates: Harry Gorlon 1 Ross Gottlieb 15 Jacob Holman 1 Mae Lowenbraun 15 Riva Jaffe 1 Jennie Somerstein 15 Annie Golub 3 Martin W. Teichman 15 Bess Jacobs 3 Barry Berger 16 Betty M. Press 3 Mollie Diesenhof 16 Libbie Tecklin 3 Marc Fried 16 Bessie Dreizen 4 Edward Goodman 16 Estelle F. Harrison 4 Abraham Burstein 3 Solomon Kolins 4 David Fusfeld 3 Benjamin Morris 4 Bessie Glick 3 Faye Koslow 5 Henry B. Glick 3 Lola Resnick 5 Rabbi David I. Golovensky 3 Rabbi Isaac Shanok 5 Miriam Katowitz 3 Herbert Taub 5 Gail Goldstein Kenvin 3 Selma Berry 6 Stanley Root 3 Benjamin Fishman 6 Joseph G. Teichman 3 Max Fried 6 Benjamin Greenstein 18 Mitchell David Katz 6 Charles Kurzon 18 Dorothy Messite 6 Reuben Miller 18 Annette Chabrow 7 Philipp G. Nussbaum 18 Frieda Haimoff 7 Miriam Rimsky 18 Edgar Moses 7 William L. Strauss II 18 Icek Alexander 8 Rose Wagner 18 Sadie Einhorn 8 Charles Epstein . 19 Albert C. Gross 8 Dora Gerber 19 Elliot Kahn 8 Charles Librett 19 Henry Katowitz 8 Harry Lowenbraun 19 Esther Thier 8 Sam Stieglitz 19 Jo Ann Berrol 9 Isaac Werbelosky 19 Mae S. Lieberman 9 Fritzi Abrams 20 Harry Rosenblum 9 Joel Halpern 20 Esther Shanok 9 Rose Kramer 20 Dorothy Sobel 9 Solomon Wofsy 20 Judith Sunshine 9 Nathan Florowitz 21 Henry Walke 9 Jules Guggenheim 21 Stanley Galler 10 Joseph Hoffer 21 Minnie Herrman 10 Walter Klee 21 Leah Hirschtritt 10 Beverly Robinson Mansfield 21 21 Herman B. Liebman 10 Dr. Matthew Statsinger 22 Martin Zuckerman 10 Gilbert Kahn 22 Moshe Eliyahu Ben Yehuda 11 Helen Scheer 22 Arlene Chabin 11 Philip Weintraub 23 Sol Gerstein 11 Vivian R. Fink 23 Irving Sobel 12 Anna B. Levene 23 Rose Wolfson 12 Norma Schneiderman 23 Dr. Henry Agnuss 13 Celia Newman Sushner 24 Sarah Patchen 13 Jerome Louis Ginsberg 24 Gussie Raber 13 Eugene Kellner 24 Max Wiener 13 Samuel V. Price 24 Max Wygod 13 Isidore Rubenfeld 24 Beatrice L. Braunstein 14 Bunny Schaffer Philip Kasakove 14 continued, page 23

CONTRIBUTIONS GENERAL FUND

RABBI’S DISCRETIONARY FUND

A donation was received from Diane and Eugene Selma Cohen, beloved mother of Barbara Katzeff, from Mila and Michael Greenberg, and Shari and Linett. Marvin Chinitz. IN HONOR OF: Rita and Bruce Gilbert on the baby naming of their My beloved mother, Ray Watt, from Richard and Charlotte Watt. granddaughter, from Lynn and Jeffery Lowin.

Sylvia Rogers in thanks to the Beth El minyan; Judy and Fred Bomback in memory of Maya Cohen; Phyllis Cole in memory of Maya Cohen, beloved granddaughter of Rabbi Melvin and Lenore Sirner; Phyllis Cole in memory of Naomi Abrahami, beloved daughter of Harriet Abrahami; Noel and Leah Edelson in memory of Harry Edelson on his yahrzeit; Sheila Tanenbaum in memory of Naomi Abrahami; Sheila Tanenbaum in memory of Maya Cohen; Irwin Cohen in memory of Isaac Esses, brother of Dr. Jacob Esses; Cindy Eisenberg in memory of Ike Eisenberg on the anniversary of his yahrzeit; Michael Wechsler in memory of Rosalind Wechsler; Judith Harary in memory of Naomi Abrahami, beloved daughter of Harriet Abrahami and Kenneth Abrahami; Liz and Eric Alderman in honor of the bar mitzvah of Noam Schuck; Phyllis Cole in honor of the birth of Carole and Jeff Graham’s grandson; Carol and Paul Diament in memory of Dr. Elias Rosenblatt, brother of Carole Curtis; Debbie and Art Kaplan in memory of Naomi Abrahami, daughter of Harriet Abrahami and Kenneth Abrahami; Sol and Linda Haber in memory of Maya Cohen; Sue and Michael Meisler in memory of Maya Cohen; Annette and Mitchell Fogelman in memory of Maya Cohen; Paul and Carol Diament in memory of William Savitz, brother of Sandy Gruenberg; Esther Zarembski in memory of Maya Cohen; Dori Graff and Seth Leibowitz in memory of Maya Hazel Cohen, beloved daughter of Gabrielle and Morris Cohen and granddaughter of Rabbi Melvin and Lenore Sirner; Arnold and Margery Reisfeld in memory of Maya Cohen; Arthur and Michele Wolk in memory of Maya Hazel Cohen; Richard and Randi Klee in memory of Maya Hazel Cohen; Barbara Birshtein and Howard Steinman in memory of Maya Cohen; Robert and Barbara Cohen in memory of William Savitz, brother of Sandy Gruenberg; Robert and Barbara Cohen on the yahrzeit of their beloved parents, Jerry and Jeanette Cohen; Maxine and Joel Siegel in memory of Maya Cohen; Lois Kohn-Claar and Gary Claar in memory of Rabbi Melvin and Lenore Sirner’s granddaughter Maya Cohen; Jayne and Darren Peister in memory of Maya Cohen, granddaughter of Rabbi Melvin and Lenore Sirner; Robert and Marianne Sussman in memory of Maya Hazel Cohen, beloved granddaughter of Rabbi Melvin and Lenore Sirner; Frank Meyers in memory of Maya Hazel Cohen; Merill and Ellen Resnick in memory of Maya Hazel Cohen, dear granddaughter of Rabbi Melvin and Lenore Sirner; Merill and Ellen Resnick in memory of William Savitz, dear brother of Sandy Gruenberg; Melissa Langsam Braunstein in memory of Maya Hazel Cohen.

Carole and Jeff Graham on the birth of their The yahrzeit of my beloved parents, Jerry and Jeanette Cohen, from Barbara and Bob Cohen. grandson, from Mila and Michael Greenberg. Sandra and David Langsam on the birth of their Maya Hazel Cohen, beloved granddaughter of granddaughter, from Mila and Michael Greenberg. Lenore and Rabbi Melvin Sirner and daughter of Gabrielle Sirner Cohen and Morris Cohen, from Esther and Steven Winik on the birth of a Bettina Graf and family, Barbara and Lawrence grandson, from Shari and Marvin Chinitz. Orans, Harriet and David Rudnick, Betty and Donna and Abe Bartell on their 2017 Gala honor, Mitchell Troyetsky, William Winters, Sheila Cohen, Tami and Michael Novoseller, Jacqueline from Mila and Michael Greenberg. and Avi Einzig, Laura Penn, Lois Morgenstern, Tris and Sam Berger on their 2017 Gala honor, Terry Cohen, Bhila and Jerry Gottlieb, Bernie from Mila and Michael Greenberg. Katz, Mila and Michael Greenberg, Carol and Shari and Marvin Chinitz on the marriage of their Paul Diament, Debra Cohen and Tom Markovits, son Isaac Chinitz to Janine Berenson, from Phyllis Mona Gross, Debra and Edward Koch, Helene and and Harvey Jay, and Lynn and Jeff Lowin. Howard Goldstein, Loretta and Arthur Holland, Liz and Eric Alderman and family, Joyce and IN MEMORY OF: Michael Wechsler, Roz and Richard Kaufman, Naomi Abrahami, beloved daughter of Harriet Bea and Abe Walfish, Shari Baum and the WJCS Abrahami and Kenneth Abrahami, from Roz and Jewish Programming Staff, Grace Kalfus and Richard Kaufman. Bruce Gold, Emily Magid, Barbara Engelson Dr. Elias Rosenblatt, beloved brother of Carole and Marc Klee, Susan and Jeff Mittleman, Nina Curtis, from Roz and Richard Kaufman, and Mila Langsam Blackman, Davina and Michael Fisher, Bari and Jay Goldstein, Debra and Edward and Michael Greenberg. William Savitz, beloved brother of Sandy Ackerman, Rachelle and Steven Stern, Barbara Gruenberg, from Mila and Michael Greenberg, and Harold Shulman, Beth and Sheldon Weinberg, Sharon and Ira Weiner, Shelley and Alfred and Shari and Marvin Chinitz. Klein, Erica and Larry Epstein, Meryl and David Isaac Esses, beloved brother of Jacob Esses, from Mendelson, Valerie Rudolph, Helene Pollack, Mila and Michael Greenberg. Marlene Rimsky, Bea Freedman, Deborah Olstein, Eleanor and Mark Walfish, Esther and Steven Winik, Janet Yoskowitz, Cindy and Stan Arkow; Larry, Sharon, and Matthew Hanau; and Shireen and Matthew Lewis. Stanley Cohen, beloved husband of Rosalie Cohen and beloved father of Jay Cohen, from Claudia Hammerman, Daniel Leffel, Melissa and Scott Barshay, Andrew Gordon, and Michael Gertzman. YAHRZEIT/YIZKOR DONATIONS

THE GRUENBERG FAMILY appreciates all of your donations, visits, and kind wishes upon the death of Sandy’s brother BILL SAVITZ

Rosanna Eisenberg; Arye Stern; Mark and Melinda Berman; George and Sharon Rozansky; Marsha Green; Barbara and Leon Protass; Dianne Newman; Esther Zarembski; Mark Walfish; Howard Rebackoff; Norma Wasserman; Jenny Ferencz; Marilyn Falow; Alfred Fayer; Joyce Cornick; Jack and Marion Auspitz; Marilyn and Mitch Sofer; Bilha and Jerry Gottlieb; Felice and Steve Brostoff; Sylvia and Lothar Kahn; Eugene Levin; Cindy and Ken Klein; The Bilik Family; Richard Robbins; Malcolm and Florence Graff; Carol and Laurence Gross.

DAY CAMP FUND IN HONOR OF: The birthday of Ruth Kon, our friend for fifty years, from Carol and Paul Freedman. 21

NOTE: Donations made in memory of Maya Hazel Cohen will help fund the planting of a garden in Israel to honor Maya’s memory.

CONTRIBUTIONS ENDOWMENT FUND

SYLVIA AND ROBERT SCHER CHESED COMMUNITY FUND

IN MEMORY OF: IN MEMORY OF: William Savitz, beloved brother of Sandy Gruenberg, from Sue and Michael Meisler. Maya Hazel Cohen, beloved granddaughter of Lenore and Rabbi Melvin Sirner and daughter of DOROTHY FLEISHAKER Gabrielle Sirner Cohen and Morris Cohen, from RELIGIOUS SCHOOL FUND Ellen and Moshe Gelboim, Avi Gelboim, and Ricky Gelboim. IN MEMORY OF:

SISTERHOOD MITZVAH FUND IN HONOR OF: Barry Salman on his retirement from the Supreme Court Bench, from Maria and Steven Kessler, and Carole and Jeffrey Graham. Arlene and Barry Salman on the bat mitzvah of their granddaughter, from Carole and Jeffrey Graham.

William Savitz, beloved brother of Sandy William Savitz, beloved brother of Sandy Noam Schuck, son of Rabbi David Schuck Gruenberg, from Andrea Fleishaker. Gruenberg, from Mona Gross, Roz and Richard and Talia Aldouby-Schuck, on becoming a bar Selma Cohen, beloved mother of Barbara Katzeff, Kaufman, Erica and Larry Epstein, and Marjorie mitzvah, from Carole and Jeffrey Graham. and Mark Seidenfeld. from Andrea Fleishaker. Phoebe Gross, with wishes for a rapid and complete recovery, from Judy and Ed Schwartz.

JEREMY SCHEINFELD MEMORIAL FUND HANNAH AND JOSHUA FUND IN MEMORY OF: Maya Hazel Cohen, beloved granddaughter of Lenore and Rabbi Melvin Sirner, from Dori Graff and Seth Leibowitz, and Pearl and Tom Sullivan.

ELEANOR G. BAUMWALD PRAYERBOOK FUND IN MEMORY OF: Maya Hazel Cohen, beloved granddaughter of Lenore and Rabbi Melvin Sirner and daughter of Gabrielle Sirner Cohen and Morris Cohen, from Ida and Marvin Hyman, and Judith Silverman Hodara and Roberto Hodara. Eva Teitelbaum, from Jack R. Schwartz.

IN HONOR OF:

wish to thank the Beth El Community for their love, support, and generosity following the loss of our beloved mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, and greatgrandmother

Selma Cohen

IN MEMORY OF:

Stanley Cohen, beloved husband of Rosalie The engagement of our son Daniel to Elyssa Cohen, from Carol and Paul Freedman, members Sham, from Jodi and Rob Scheinfeld. of Sisterhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bagels & Books Group, Leon and The engagement of Seth Sininsky to Rachel Irene Greenspan, Deena Geller and family, and Marianne and Robert Sussman. Hirshan, from Jodi and Rob Scheinfeld. The engagement of Lisa Schwartz to Brett Dr. Elias Rosenblatt, beloved brother of Carole Curtis, from Dana Rottman, and Eunice Kaplan. Rothstein, from Jodi and Rob Scheinfeld. Isaac Esses, beloved brother of Jacob Esses, from THE RECOVERY OF: Carole and Jeffrey Graham, Joyce and Michael Dr. Mitchell Kaphan with wishes for a speedy Wechsler, and Caryl Fuchs. recovery, from Jodi and Rob Scheinfeld. William Savitz, beloved brother of Sandy IN MEMORY OF: Gruenberg, from Blanche Fried, Joan and Joanh Maya Hazel Cohen, beloved granddaughter of Atlas, Lori and Steve Schwartz, Cynthia and Jeff Lenore and Rabbi Melvin Sirner and daughter of Glickman, Carole and Jeffrey Graham, Marge and Gabrielle Sirner Cohen and Morris Cohen, from Arnie Reisfeld, and Caryl Fuchs. Lynn Chinitz Gruenstein and Steven Gruenstein, Naomi Abrahami, beloved daughter of Harriet Marjorie and Mark Seidenfeld, and Elliot and Abrahami and Kenneth Abrahami, from Joyce Susan Hollander. and Michael Wechsler. William Savitz, beloved brother of Sandy Gruenberg, from Robin and Mitchell Kaphan, Barbara Finder and Jack Renick, and Grace Kalfus and Bruce Gold.

Barbara Katzeff and Family

Herb Fox, with wishes for a rapid and complete recovery, from Carole and Jeffrey Graham.

Isaac Esses, beloved brother of Jacob Esses, from Robin and Mitchell Kaphan. Selma Cohen, beloved mother of Barbara Katzeff, from Robin and Mitchell Kaphan, and Barbara Finder and Jack Renick.

ANDREW SHAPIRO MEMORIAL FUND

Maya Hazel Cohen, beloved granddaughter of Rabbi Melvin and Lenore Sirner and daughter of Gabrielle Sirner Cohen and Morris Cohen, from Cynthia and Jeff Glickman.

YOUTH ACTIVITIES FUND IN MEMORY OF:

Maya Hazel Cohen, beloved granddaughter of Lenore and Rabbi Melvin Sirner and daughter of A donation was received from Babs and Harvey Gabrielle Sirner Cohen and Morris Cohen, Linda and Harvey Heir, and Anaruth and Henri Bernard. Shapiro. IN HONOR OF:

Isaac Esses, beloved brother of Dr. Jacob Esses, from Linda and Harvey Heir and family.

Sam Levy, the 2017 winner of the Andrew William Savitz, beloved brother of Sandy Shapiro Memorial Award, from Judy Shapiro. Gruenberg, from Linda and Harvey Heir and IN MEMORY OF: family. Maya Hazel Cohen, beloved granddaughter of MENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CLUB FUND Lenore and Rabbi Melvin Sirner, from Judy Shapiro. IN HONOR OF: Beatrice Prince, my beloved mother, on her In honor of the engagement of Jacob Meisler to yahrzeit, from Judy Shapiro. Yael Mordfin, from Jodi and Rob Scheinfeld. 22

SPECIAL NEEDS FUND IN HONOR OF:

PTA ISRAEL TRAVEL STUDY FUND

IN MEMORY OF:

The bat mitzvah of Rachel Parsley, daughter of Maya Hazel Cohen, beloved granddaughter of Gabriela Parsley, from Elizabeth and Alan Legatt. Lenore and Rabbi Melvin Sirner and daughter The marriage of Rachel Jay, daughter of Phyllis of Gabrielle Sirner Cohen and Morris Cohen, and Harvey Jay, to Sam Shikiar, from Elizabeth from Dana Rottman, Blanche Fried, Janet and Isaiah Seligman, Judy Harary, Judy and Bobby and Alan Legatt. Schmeidler, Wendy and Alan Rosenberg, Alan The thirtieth wedding anniversary of Ellen and and Elizabeth Legatt, and Judy Harary. Graham Arad, from Elizabeth and Alan Legatt. My beloved mother, Bertha Mandel, on her The birth of Sabrina Jay Rosenbloom, daughter of yahrzeit, from Dalia Fenster. Laura and Keith Rosenbloom and granddaughter of Phyllis and Harvey Jay, from Elizabeth and Our beloved brother Peter Cutler on his yahrzeit, from Wendy and Alan Roseneberg. Alan Legatt. The birth of Ruby Elizabeth Braunstein, daughter Sydney Mitchell, beloved father of Andrea of Melissa and Todd Braunstein and granddaughter Mitchell, from Wendy and Alan Roseneberg.

IN HONOR OF: Our anniversary aliyah, with thanks, from Alan and Rise Stern. The bar mitzvah of Noam Schuck, son of Tali Aldouby-Schuck and Rabbi David Schuck, from Janet and Isaiah Seligman. The aufruf and upcoming wedding of Isaac Chinitz, from Erica and Larry Epstein.

BERNICE FELDMAN NURSERY SCHOOL ENRICHMENT FUND IN MEMORY OF:

Maya Hazel Cohen, beloved granddaughter of of Sandra and David Langsam, from Elizabeth and William Savitz, beloved brother of Sandy Lenore and Rabbi Melvin Sirner and daughter Alan Legatt. Gruenberg, from Elizabeth and Alan Legatt. of Gabrielle Sirner Cohen and Morris Cohen, The birth of Zachary Kanaan Graham, son of Isaac Esses, beloved brother of Jacob Esses, from from Karen and Ronald Herzog, and Marilyn and Mitch Sofer. Tanya and Russell Graham and grandson of Elizabeth and Alan Legatt. Carole and Jeff Graham, from Elizabeth and Alan Legatt.

Sunday, March 19, 2017 | 21 Adar 5777 Honoring Tris & Sam Berger

Donna & Abe Bartell

President’s Ne’emanim Service Award Recipients

Special Recognition Packages

YAHRZEIT DATES, cont. from page 20

Harry Halpern Sarah Kaufman Nathan Landin Esther Liebe Gertrude Ratner Nathan Theeman Sidney Druskin Eva Goldfarb Gertrude Teichman Benjamin Kalen Frances Klein Julia Lefkowitz Morris Rosenblatt Julius Shulman Saleh Masri Dr. Arthur D. Sobey Morris Ferstenberg Tessie Katz Dorothy Klingsberg Burton L. Merdinger Irving S. Rapaport Beckie Krumholtz Evalin Lesser Ida Liebman Samuel Singer Joseph Tecklin Abraham Wissoker

25 25 25 25 25 25 26 26 26 27 27 27 27 27 28 28 29 29 29 29 29 30 30 31 31 31 31

Rabbi’s Circle

$100,000

Builder’s Circle

Includes 18 tickets to the Gala and a Rabbi’s Circle Ad.

Founder’s Circle

$72,000

Strengthener’s Circle

Includes 16 tickets to the Gala and a Founder’s Circle Ad.

Guardian’s Circle

$54,000

Supporter

$3,600

Includes 4 tickets to the Gala and a Supporter’s Circle Ad.

Benefactor

$36,000

$1,800

Includes 2 tickets to the Gala and a Benefactor’s Circle Ad.

Includes 12 tickets to the Gala and a Patron’s Circle Ad.

Pillar’s Circle

$7,200

Includes 6 tickets to the Gala and a Strengthener’s Circle Ad.

Includes 14 tickets to the Gala and a Guardian’s Circle Ad.

Patron’s Circle

$10,000

Includes 8 tickets to the Gala and a Builder’s Circle Ad.

$18,000

Gala Journal Ads

Includes 10 tickets to the Gala and a Pillar’s Circle Ad.

Gala Celebration Tickets

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Attach your ad text, business card, or visit bethelnr.org/Gala2017. Beth El’s staff is available to help with your online submission or to take your sponsorship over the phone or by e-mail. Contact Linda Newman at LNewman@bethelnr.org, or 914.235.2700, ext. 246. 1324 North Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 10804-2190 Tel 914.235.2700 Fax 914.235.2718 www.bethelnr.org

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A SUMMER TRADITION FOR 89 YEARS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS AGES 3-13

10% DISCOUNT FOR BETH EL MEMBERS ENTER CODE “BETH” AT CHECKOUT PURCHASE ONLINE AT

FOR INFORMATION, CALL (914) 949-8857, OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.CAMPHILLARD.COM

bjcrystalgifts.com/collections/judaica

One Family

Four Generations

Est. 1929

914-632-0324 www.GeorgeTDavis.com New Rochelle’s oldest established business is proud to announce its newest location

16 Shea Pl. New Rochelle 10805 The staff of Lloyd Maxcy & Sons welcomes its new addition and is committed to providing the same excellent care that families have come to expect over the past 151 years. Please feel free to visit our new location.

Ever y ction e l e s thing e g lar ! you n a s d e v o a o f eed! h d e e r W a p e r of p Specializing in a complete line of Kosher Meats, Provisions, Cooked Foods & Specialty Groceries. We have a full-service catering department for all your party needs. Golden Horseshoe Shopping Center Scarsdale, NY 10583

SEASONSNY.COM Place your order online and either pick it up in the store or have it delivered to your home! E-mail scarsdaleorders@seasonsny.com. 32

Tel: 914-472–2240 Fax: 914-472–2215

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW ROCHELLE LEADING SALES PROFESSIONALS OF ��

JOCELYN HALL BURTON Real Estate Salesperson

Mobile: 917.693.3557 TOP PRODUCER

MARY ANN GIACOBBE Real Estate Salesperson

MARINA KOLMER

Associate Real Estate Broker

PLATINUM AWARD

ROSETTA BULFAMANTE

PATRICIA MEMOLI

GOLD AWARD

Real Estate Salesperson

ROBYN ROSENBERG

DEBORAH E. BAUMOHL Real Estate Salesperson

Associate Real Estate Broker

ANGELA RABIOLA

MELANIE WILLIAMS

GORDANA CACINOVIC

SILVER AWARD

Real Estate Salesperson

THE NUMBER ONE RANKED OFFICE IN NEW ROCHELLE NEW ROCHELLE BROKERAGE | 15 QUAKER RIDGE ROAD, NEW ROCHELLE NY 10804 | HOULIHANLAWRENCE.COM 33

Ray Catena Lexus of Larchmont and NOEL GREENSTEIN invite you to see our

Pretty Paper

& Polka Dots

Luxury Sedans & SUVs

(914) 833-5000 1435 Boston Post Road ngreenstein@raycatenalexusny.com Larchmont, N.Y.

Law Office of

David Lacher

RIVERSIDE MEMORIAL CHAPEL WESTCHESTER: 21 West Broad Street Mount Vernon, NY 10552

Providing creative solutions to individuals and the business community

914-664-6800

• Real Estate: Commercial and Residential • Wills, Trusts, and Estate Administration • Business Services, including Contracts, New Business Formations, and Sales/Purchases • Land Use: Zoning Board, Planning Board

Just off Exit 7 of the Cross County Parkway East

The Source of Support for the Jewish Community since 1897 www.riversidememorialmountvernon.com Charles S. Salomon • Joel E. Simon

chase bank building

Continuing to maintain the high service standards of the Rosenthal, Grossberg, and Alpert families

270 north avenue, 8th floor new rochelle, ny 10801 34

914-355-5900

www.lacherlaw.com

Carmel Academy invites you to Experiment

Create

Experience

Purim Celebration! at our

Wednesday, March 8th • 1:30 p.m. Carmel Academy • 270 Lake Avenue, Greenwich, CT

Open to all 3- and 4-year-old children!

Puppet Making and Personalized Groggers

Purim Puppet Show Fun with Theater!

Fun with Art!

Purim Bingo

Experiment at the Hamantaschen bar

Fun with Letters!

Dice Throwing and Horse Racing

Fun with Food!

Fun with Math!

RSVP to Ella Shteingart Ella@carmelacademy.com or 203-983-3503 35

FILE: CLIENT:

CA Purim 170203 BES OK Carmel Academy

LAYOUT: Beth El Synagogue PUBS:

SIZE: PAGE #:

7.5” x 9.875” 1

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE CENTER 1324 NORTH AVENUE NEW ROCHELLE, NY 10804-2190

Non Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID White Plains, N.Y. Permit No. 925

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

SHERY ROSENSTEIN Sales Associate

Personalized attention to you and your needs. B: (914) 723-8228 C: (914) 420-8556 E: s.rosenstein@yahoo.com W: www.clairedleone.com

29 Wilmot Road Scarsdale, NY

“A GENUINELY HAPPY PERSON IS ONE WHO HAS RENDERED OTHERS HAPPY.” DAISAKU IKEDA

Wishing that your home is filled With blessing With light With happiness and With joy

GAY ROSEN

#1 Agent in new rochelle Brokerage Jocelyn Burton As Real As Real Estate Gets

Licensed R.E. Associate Broker ABR, CBR, CDPE, CRS, GREEN, GRI, SRES c: 914.907.2645 • gay.rosen@juliabfee.com gayrosen.com Larchmont Brokerage • 1946 Palmer Avenue Each office is independently owned and operated

Real Estate Salesperson

917.693.3557 JBurton@HoulihanLawrence.com Proud Beth El member

New Rochelle BRokeRage | 15 QuakeR Ridge Road HGMLS, 1/1/16–12/15/16, All Property Types, Total Listed Dollar Volume by Agent, by Office, New Rochelle School District.