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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012 • TEVET/SHEVAT 5772
RABBI MARCELO R. BRONSTEIN
We need to see beyond the surface. This requires dedication and connections. It also requires that we build a bridge and cross it frequently. It requires that we visit Israel as often as we can.”
In July I had the tremendous opportunity of spending a sabbatical month in Israel. I went with a charge that I made for myself: I wanted to see the blessings; I wanted to hear the voices behind the conflicts. I went because I feel that we in America are trapped in the tension between right and left, each with their own particular vision for Israel, and in this tension we don’t see the people anymore; we just see conflict and struggle. The result is distance and disengagement. Who wants to relate to something that is associated with conflict all the time? I went because I felt that in this struggle I was missing something.
The Marriage Equality Community Celebration
In every family there is tension and conflict, but if we only relate through that tension we can forget how much we love them, how much we care for them and that ultimately they are family. Hence I went to see and hear as many voices as I could in a short period of time. How did I organize it? I talked to my friends and contacts and told them about my kavannah, my intention. They helped me to organize the most incredible Israel trip that I could imagine. I owe them and the BJ leadership, who supported this idea, my gratitude. Where did I go, and who did I meet? I ran all over the country visiting more than 60 exciting projects and meeting their dynamic leaders and participants. I know they are only the tip of the iceberg. There were many places I had to skip because there just wasn’t enough time. Even with my rabbinic training I couldn’t manage to be in two places at the same time.
PHOTO: SARAHMERIANS.COM
Read more on pages 2-3 about the BJ “wedding” to mark the New York State Senate’s vote to extend the rights of marriage to samesex couples.
I learned about high-tech projects dedicated to the environment and ending hunger; met a Bedouin woman trying to break the patriarchy of the tribal system and an Orthodox woman fighting for equal rights in Jerusalem; visited a new Conservative congregation in Neve Tzedek with Rabbi Roberto Arbib that is creating a synagogue and cultural center; spoke with youth at Ayalim, a new village created by young people with their own hands to fulfill Ben Gurion’s dream; met with musicians; was at the beginning of the tent movement fighting for social justice; and had (continued on page 4)
Social Action/Social Justice . . . . . .2-3 Hakhnasat Orhim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 BJ History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7 Youth & Family Education . . . . . . .8-10 Member Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-13 Gilad Shalit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
inside: Celebrating Marriage Equality With a “Wedding” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Kabbalat Panim: A BJ Host Welcomes You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Picturing Community: 25 Years of Life at BJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Who Will Walk With Me? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Bemidbar: Grasshoppers, Almonds, and the Anthropocene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Feeling Free With Gilad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
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SOCIAL ACTION/SOCIAL JUSTICE
No Ordinary Day: Celebrating Marriage Equality With a “Wedding” By Channa Camins, Director of Social Action/Social Justice began working at B’nai Jeshurun in May of 2007 in the Social Action/Social Justice Department. In my job, I have many big and small moments of triumph with members who are deeply committed to social action and social justice. Those moments happen in one-onone meetings, when leaders in Panim el Panim: BJ’s Community Organizing and Advocacy Initiative talk to elected officials
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Our community celebration was modeled after a Jewish wedding ceremony. Our sanctuary was decked out for a real wedding, complete with a huppah, flowers, our best chairs, cocktail tables, champagne, and hors d'oeuvres. We said Sheva Brakhot for Marriage Equality, adapted for this occasion, we broke a glass to remind us that not all is won in the struggle for equal rights, we sang Sheheheyanu, and we
our partners, all while enriching their Jewish lives through advocacy. They told us about the strong bonds of friendship they built through it all. Our rabbis reminded us why each person’s story was a piece of the tapestry of this community. Our elected officials were sincerely moved to tears and laughter, as they celebrated with us. What was most evident was that B’nai Jeshurun has the courage of its convictions to take
When I came out at age 16, back in 1968, I didn't even imagine this was possible. Not merely that there would be same-sex marriage some day, but that I would be standing in a synagogue with people who were committed to making this moment a reality.” — Mark Horn
using skills they learned through my training; at a well-facilitated meeting, when a group of people decides on a strategy of action based on a shared vision; and when events and actions are skillfully executed. When I work with volunteers to address a challenge at the BJ/SPSA Homeless Shelter, Judith Bernstein Lunch Program, or our tutoring initiatives in neighboring schools, the generosity and commitment they bring to this work is moving. But it is not every day that you get to celebrate a real win as a community organizer. There are setbacks and challenges more often than not, and the ground to cover is vast. B’nai Jeshurun joined the struggle for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Rights and Marriage Equality long before I worked with this community. Still, on June 24, 2011, when the N.Y. State Senate voted to extend the rights of marriage to same-sex couples—and then on July 14, 2011, when this community came together to celebrate this victory—I had two of the proudest moments of my four-and-a-half years at B’nai Jeshurun.
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How thankful and excited we are that we can now plan our wedding in New York State— one that will be both religious and civil. We have had this dream for a long time and will now see it fully realized.” — Judith Trachtenberg and Renie Rutchick
danced! It was moving and joyous, and it demonstrated vividly what is so special about this community. Leaders of the Panim el Panim Marriage Equality Hevra shared with us how this victory was a personal victory. They reminded us of their hard work over five years––educating and mobilizing the congregation, our elected officials, and
action on the issues that affect our loved ones, our neighbors, and our city. We contributed to this victory, and we can contribute to many more. Though the Marriage Equality Hevra’s formal campaign has ended, they will be completing a case study to document their work. If you would like to submit a short written reflection on a personal experience relevant to the issue and BJ’s participation, please contact Channa Camins at ccamins@bj.org n
PHOTOS, PAGES 2 & 3: SARAHMERIANS.COM
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It seems the democratic process does work, albeit slowly, in New York.” — Larry Gifford and Joe Antenson
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Above, left to right: Carlos Menchaca, LGBT and HIV/AIDS Community Liaison to NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn; Patti S. Lubin, Senior Counsel and Senior Advisor to U.S. Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand - NY, Sandy Cheiten; BJ Member, Guest of Erik Bottcher; Erik Bottcher, Special Assistant for Community Affairs to Governor Andrew Cuomo; Liz Krueger, NYS Senator, 26th District; Linda B. Rosenthal, NYS Assembly Member, 67th District; Lauren Schuster, Chief of Staff to Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal.
Seven Blessings of Marriage Equality We praise You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine. Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all the worlds, Who created people capable of loving deeply and being loved deeply. Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all the worlds. Make joyful all couples who are united and express their love through the union of marriage recognized by the Jewish community and protected by the laws of the State of New York. We thank you for giving each of us a reason to say, “I love New York.” Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all the worlds, that same-sex couples can share in the mitzvah and the joy of creating Jewish homes, where they may be surrounded and supported by a beloved family, where they may choose to raise children, in a secure and loving space, and where they may grow old loving one another. Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all the worlds. We thank you for the affirmation that, by working together, we can make a difference and that the arc of history is indeed long, and bends toward justice. We thank you for our supportive Jewish community.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all the worlds. We thank You for the rituals that bring us together to mark and sanctify both the joyful and sorrowful milestones of our lives. Marriage equality is the canopy that protects us as we make families, create homes, celebrate simhas, and weather difficult times. Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all the worlds, Who has created gladness and joy, grooms and brides, glee, song, mirth and exultation, harmony and love, peace and companionship. Soon, Adonai our God, may there be heard in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Yerushalayim the voice of joy, the voice of gladness, the voice of couples, from the wedding canopies jubilant voices of married and from celebrations, festive songs of young and old friends. Praised are You, Adonai, Who brings couples together to rejoice in each other.
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The Bridge RABBI MARCELO R. BRONSTEIN a conversation with Amram Mitzna, the Avodah party candidate for prime minister, about the gap between the rich and the poor. I saw a country that is awake and alive, where Judaism is being recreated. I saw what we don’t see from afar through the smoke of the tremendous challenges it faces. Metaphorically, I saw in the people of Israel my family—in spite of the huge and complex conflicts, I love them more than words can express. Tweeting and making videos? Me? Moshe Horn from the Israel committee suggested that I give tweeting a try, and Noel Rubinton took the time to teach me the technology and to coach and guide me while I was there. This was not an easy task. Tweeting my short thoughts, with photos and videos of the people and places I visited, provided an unexpected new way for me to affect Israel/Diaspora relations. I was wary of the technology but found that my messages actually had a positive impact on other people. My goal was, and will continue to be, to deepen the connections with Israel. What did I come back with? With a Bridge. Hedy and Yumi Schliefer are a couple who run relational workshops applied to couples, institutions, and organizations, and I have witnessed their work. They say that in a relationship of two there are always three: You, Me, and the space in between us. What is created between us is where the relationship takes place. When that space is contaminated, there is no possibility of real communication. They also say that to communicate we have to cross the bridge without judgments to the place of the Other. This message struck me as so applicable to our relations with Israel.
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We need to create relationships with the real people who are busy remaking Israel today and from whom we can really learn about the nuances. ”
requires wrestling with tremendous complexities in a neighborhood that is becoming more uncertain by the hour. But Israel has changed. The relationship has changed. The balance of power has changed. The players have changed. The old paradigms don’t work anymore. We need to create relationships with the real people who are busy remaking Israel today and from whom we can really learn about the nuances. We need to see beyond the surface. This requires dedication and connections. It also requires that we build a bridge and cross it frequently. It requires that we visit Israel as often as we can. We, the rabbis, and Ari are working very hard to fulfill the dream of creating such a bridge. We are working to bring an Israel desk to BJ that would become a place to learn, to organize trips like the one I took, to find new ways to connect with the people of Israel, and ultimately to bridge the space between us. We should never forget that under the complexities, there are in Israel real people, living real lives, shaping the destiny of a real country. When we connect personally, oneon-one, we all gain. n
The political discussion has contaminated the bridge between Israel and Diaspora and between Jews in the Diaspora. Yes, we should become more informed about Israel’s conflicts: the Israeli-Palestinian, the secular-religious, and the rich-poor, to name three of the major ones. The situation Pages 4 and 5: Some of the amazing people Marcelo visited during his month-long trip, who represent the projects that are remaking Israel.
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Bringing Israel Home By Noel Rubinton
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hen Marcelo shared “The Stories Behind the Tweets and Videos From Israel” with an 88th Street sanctuary audience on Oct. 26, it hardly seemed like a solo performance. Instead, as he showed his tweets and video interviews on a big screen it was as if he’d brought right to BJ some of the dozens of people he met during his July in Israel. Starting with a giant pastiche of the tweets he sent to more than 1,000 BJ Twitter followers and others while in Israel, Marcelo passionately described his trip in search of inspiration. He found an Israel far different from the troubled images often projected, and full of new wave Zionists of all ages forging connections and constructive change. From dancers to rock star Kobi Oz (whose lyrics these days are often infused with sacred Jewish texts), from the Gilad Shalit protest vigil tent (now happily dismantled) to the first
You can read Marcelo’s tweets, see the photos and videos he took, and find links to the many organizations Marcelo visited at www.bj.org/thebridge. stirrings of the Tel Aviv social welfare protests and much more, Marcelo wove fascinating tales of what he saw and heard. As the program ended and we went out to 88th Street, there was a feeling of vitality and hope, with the sense that we’d traveled far further than the sanctuary for the evening. n Noel Rubinton, director of editorial content for UJA-Federation of New York, volunteers by sharing his communications expertise to BJ. He and his wife, Amy, and daughter, Bella, joined BJ when they moved to the Upper West Side in August 2010.
PHOTOS, PAGES 4 & 5: RABBI MARCELO R. BRONSTEIN
HAKHNASAT ORHIM
Kabbalat Panim: A BJ Host Welcomes You By Jon Wood , Membership Associate
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elcome to BJ!” So began the first BJ shpiel to a visiting group from Belmont, Mass., by one of our new Kabbalat Panim hosts on April 8, 2011. The wonder of BJ’s Kabbalat Shabbat services each Friday evening is well-known to BJ members. Its reputation has spread far and wide. BJ thus finds itself attracting an average of two to three visiting groups each week, including confirmation classes, synagogue groups, representatives of Jewish and non-Jewish organizations worldwide, and others. Creating a New Program After observing the bewilderment and amorphous excitement radiating from these newcomers, our proactive Education and Communications Team (of the Membership
Department) decided we needed to do a better job of welcoming guests into our holy space. “I used to watch our visitors sitting up in the balcony. The high-school-aged students often seemed confused and distracted. It was obvious that they had an interest in participating because when there was an opportunity to dance, they jumped up and danced! I felt that if they could be prepared for what they were seeing, there would be more interest on their part,” says Joe Antenson, co-chair of the team. “It would be a much more meaningful experience.” Joe led a brainstorming session, which ultimately gave rise to the idea of Kabbalat Panim: A BJ Host Welcomes You. Kabbalat Panim literally means “to greet faces,” and
that is exactly what these hosts aim to achieve. Penny Dannenberg, BJ member and volunteer on the Membership Steering Committee and docent of the Whitney Museum, quickly jumped at the opportunity to share her professional expertise. She became the leader of the Kabbalat Panim Hosts and made it her first order of business to write a comprehensive guide for volunteers to use when they welcome visiting groups. The Kabbalat Panim guide focuses on the experience one feels on Friday night, but it also touches on the history and architecture of BJ. The Host Protocol Eight BJ members volunteered to be hosts and were trained using the guide. The Kabbalat Panim Hosts both welcome our (continued on page 13)
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BJ HISTORY
Picturing Community: 25 Years of Life at BJ By Denise Waxman, Director of Communications have a story about that day …” Can you believe how long his hair was?” “I just love that picture of them.” “Remember the joy of that moment?” “Right before that happened …” See that bit of hair behind Roly, that’s me.” “Who is the person on the right? … left? … middle?” [Overheard remarks from people looking at the show.]
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The person in the picture may be you; it is after all a show about the BJ community. The exhibit of BJ photographs and artifacts, Picturing Community: 25 Years of Life at BJ, opened in Frankel Hall on Sept. 10, 2011, right after the kiddush in celebration of Rabbi Matalon’s 25 years as a rabbi at BJ. It is intended to complement this celebration and to reflect the vibrant life of the BJ community during this period.
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... [W]e hope to have a permanent display of archival materials reaching back to the very beginning of BJ’s history.”
Retreats, trips, celebrations, plays, s’mahot, marches, lobbying days, meetings, and prayer—all of these activities and more are represented. Document and artifacts, some from the past 25 years, including a fragment of the original ceiling with “before” and “after” photographs, and some from the 19th and early 20th centuries are in the display cases also. Desserts for the Sept. 10 kiddush were arrayed in the middle of the room, many members made the descent to Frankel Hall and enjoyed a trip back in time while enjoying refreshments. Meanwhile, as cocurator of the show, I had the immense pleasure of observing and eavesdropping on the visitors who were enjoying it.
Lunch program; a child leaping in delight—these are just a few of the images in the show. The photos proved to be a great conversation starter as members recalled or asked someone else about that time, or place, or person. Occasionally I stepped in to chat and in the process learned much more about the people of BJ and past events. It was personally very satisfying to see so many people so very engaged.
PHOTO: DENISE WAXMAN
While working on the exhibit with Myriam Abramowicz, Norman Bleckner, and several BJ staff members, I thought we were just creating a show about the BJ community. After the opening of the exhibit, and at several events since then, I realized we were also helping to create community. My conversations with members often ended with a request that the member write an article about their story for the Kol Hadash so the community conversation can continue. I hope they all do. New photographs will be rotated in periodically between now and the ultimate move to the 89th Street Community House, by which time we hope to have a permanent display of archival materials reaching back to the very beginning of BJ’s history. This is a necessity. BJ never stands still. n
PHOTO: DENISE WAXMAN
Above: Roly reading the book of member messages and archival photos presented to him at the kiddush celebrating his 25th anniversary at BJ. Below and page 7: A selection of photos old and new from the Frankel Hall exhibit and BJ Archives.
Roly, Marcelo, and Felicia circa 1997 at the first BJ Meditation Retreat; Marshall talking to children at 88th Street; a handsome couple dancing at a simha; a bar mitzvah student laying tefillin under Roly’s guidance; teens praying with their feet at the AIDS walk; good friends beaming arm in arm; a volunteer cooking for the Judith Bernstein
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SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New York, NY 10023 • TEL : 212.787.7600 • FAX : 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE : www.bj.org
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The BJ Archives Story By Denise Waxman
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he exhibit Picturing Community: 25 Years of Life at BJ is testament to the foresight and vision of Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer, who created the B’nai Jeshurun Archives Committee in 1990 to recover, collect, identify, and record every aspect of BJ, past and present, tasks he believed were vitally important given BJ’s rich and long history.
other BJ members, researched, organized, inventoried, and preserved documents and artifacts from the rich history of B’nai Jeshurun going back to 1825. They also documented the daily life and ritual at the reinvigorated BJ (apart from Shabbat and holidays) by taking photographs, making videos, writing articles, and transcribing interviews.
Rabbi Meyer worked to shape a congregation guided by the Jewish tradition of gemilut hasadim (acts of loving kindness), one that would provide Shabbat lunches for people with AIDS and their families, offer food and shelter to the homeless and hungry, and be fully and actively engaged in creating a kehillah kedoshah (holy community). And while that immense task was of primary importance to him, he also valued the need to keep and retell our stories.
In the Picturing Community exhibit the names of all the members of the BJ Archives Committee are listed with sincere thanks for their efforts. The BJ Archives, a vast collection that tells the story of the community back to its founding, is now primarily housed in the Ratner Center at the Jewish Theological Seminary.
He appointed documentary filmmaker and BJ member Myriam Abramowicz to be the Archives Administrator. She, together with
BJ’s historical record continues to grow as a new generation of members shares their memories in video and audio recordings in the “Capturing our Stories” project, writes articles for the Kol Hadash, and takes photographs. Together with the extensive audio tracks of BJ’s music and services
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BJ’s historical record continues to grow as a new generation of members shares their memories in video and audio recordings in the “Capturing our Stories” project, writes articles for the Kol Hadash, and takes photographs.”
recorded by Hazzan Ari Priven, these materials document the significant contribution that BJ continues to make to Jewish heritage in America. Many thanks to the members, photographers and BJ staff who, in recent years, rallied to the cry to “Take pictures, please” and generously shared their visages and photographs with BJ. The task going forward is to continue to document BJ and to maintain these materials in a way that will be available to future generations. We welcome the contributions of all members to these ongoing efforts. You may write to communications@bj.org for more information. n
Below: Rehearsal for children’s services, ca. 1960.
PHOTOI: ARIEL SCHNEIDER
PHOTOI: LEORA FRANKEL PHOTO COURTESY DANIELA SCIAKY
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YOUTH & FAMILY EDUCATION
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Who Will Walk With Me? By Anne Landsman fter 10 generations of silence, God speaks to Abram and says, “LekhLekha, Go forth.” He tells Abram to leave everything he knows and start again, making a new life in a land he doesn’t know and hasn’t seen. With this sea-change comes the promise of greatness. Abram and his descendants will be blessed. They will be unique, special. At the first-ever BJ Special Needs Havdalah Service on Oct. 29, 2011, in Frankel Hall at the 88th St. sanctuary, those sacred words were read by Shoshi Rosenbaum, and Emily Walsh translated them into English, “Abram realized he was special, and could help other people feel special also.”
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download the unfolding narrative of the evening in the form of a “social story.” Up front, a large board had the same breakdown in brightly colored letters, Quiet Time, Story Time, Dancing, Nighttime With Candles, Shema, Percussion.
For those of us typically developed—and developing— adults and children who were privileged enough to be there, it was an encounter with the divine, through experiencing human beings in all their extremity, wonder, diversity.”
The wordless melody of the opening niggun provided a seamless entry point into the service especially for those for whom language is unattainable or immensely difficult. “Story Time” began with Rabbi
For the 16 special-needs children, adults, and their families, a similar moment of election happened the day that they were born, and their parents were suddenly called to a new land, a country they had never seen before. Like Abram, they had to summon up every bit of their strength to make a journey unlike any other they had ever undertaken. Spearheaded by the Inclusion Committee and guided by Robert Accordino, the founder of Music for Autism, BJ honored that journey by creating a service specifically designed for children and adults whose disabilities limit them from engaging fully in synagogue life. This initiative was the result of years of dreaming and soul-searching. It finally burst into life at 5:45PM in the midst of an unexpected October snowstorm, a raw and slushy night where families maneuvering wheelchairs as well as shepherding children and adults with a range of physical, cognitive, social and emotional disabilities might have had every excuse to stay at home but instead chose to come, some from as far afield as Philadelphia. As BJ volunteers helped the group of around 90 people who had shown up remove their coats and find a place to sit, peace and calm filled the room, making space for everyone’s needs, everyone’s expressions and responses. Prior to the service each participant’s family had the opportunity to
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PHOTOS, PAGES 8 & 9: HILARY SCHUMER (EXCEPT AS NOTED)
Pages 8 and 9: Images from the BJ Special Needs Havdalah on Oct. 29, 2011.
Marcelo Bronstein taking the Torah out of the Ark and inviting the special-needs participants to follow him around the room. Some of the children and young adults on the spectrum were high-functioning, others weren’t. Some had language, others didn’t. Some walked, another rolled along in his wheelchair. One young man was developmentally disabled, another child had Down Syndrome. Some children with emotional and/or social issues stayed behind, curled up in their seats. There were
PHOTO: DENISE WAXMAN
young children, teenagers, and adults in their thirties. Some were members of BJ, most were not. Despite the wide range of ages, disabilities, and Jewish backgrounds, what everyone seemed to have in common was their joy at being there. After the Torah reading—chanted in Shoshi Rosenbaum’s angelic voice—we all sang “Ki Mitzion” as once more Marcelo carried the Torah around (continued on page 9)
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A Truly Special Havdalah By Jeannie Blaustein, President of BJ trekked through a beastly night of winter weather, after 12 hours of snow and slush, to attend the special-needs havdalah service. Excited, I was nevertheless unprepared for the powerful experience that followed. The room was full of families and individuals, so happy to be together. Planned beautifully and with enormous care to ensure that safety, joy, and the BJ spirit would fill the room, the service was uplifting, touching, musical, and inclusive. As Marcelo walked around with the Torah, followed by a parade of loving, energized kids—some in wheelchairs, others holding onto Marcelo’s shoulder, to the yad on the Torah, to Marcelo’s hands, singing and smiling—my eyes welled up with tears. In that moment I understood in a new way how precious it was for these families to celebrate Shabbat communally. I’m so proud that BJ is now partnering with other congregations to meet the deep yearnings of these special families. n
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Who Will Walk With Me? the room. This time no one stayed in their seats. Everyone was special, everyone a unique thread in the complicated fabric of humanity. Transformation happened. At the cue of one autistic boy who had been clapping his hands above his head, Marcelo did it too, encouraging us all to follow suit. The room was a sea of outstretched arms, fingers reaching up, up, up toward the sky. The blessed music of BJ—Ari Priven’s singing and keyboard-playing and Uri Sharlin on the piano accordion—kept spirits high, hands clapping, feet tapping, bodies moving. Marcelo jumped up and down with a young man with autism, and the excitement was palpable. Dancing segued into “Nighttime With Candles,” brakhot were chanted, and cups of grape juice as well as sachets of
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spices were handed out to each participant. The flame of the havdalah candle seemed to glow more brightly than ever as juice was drunk and the sweet smell of the departed Sabbath was inhaled. The evening drew to a close with the recitation of the Shema, everyone covering their eyes. Then instruments were handed out, and the last niggun was sung accompanied by the ringing of bells and the shaking of percussion eggs and maracas. On their way out, the families of the specialneeds participants were encouraged to share their responses to the service. One woman said, “To see my nephew engaged so deeply without being distracted was a moving experience.” Another said that her child was mesmerized the whole time. A mother expressed surprise that this was B’nai
Jeshurun’s first Special Needs service because it was “exceptionally well done.” For those of us typically developed—and developing—adults and children who were privileged enough to be there, it was an encounter with the divine, through experiencing human beings in all their extremity, wonder, diversity. As Heschel said, “If you want to understand God, sharpen your sense of the human.” There will be Special Needs Havdalah Services on February 4 and April 28, 2012. n Anne Landsman is an internationally acclaimed novelist and author of The Devil's Chimney and The Rowing Lesson. She has been a BJ member for 16 years.
SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New York, NY 10023 • TEL : 212.787.7600 • FAX : 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE : www.bj.org
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YOUTH & FAMILY EDUCATION
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Limitless Prayer By Samantha Lubliner ccording to the Merriam Webster dictionary, to pray is to “address God with adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving.”
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However, I’ve learned prayer is not restricted to a particular action. If anything, its implications are limitless. B’nai Jeshurun helped me learn to pray in a way that is meaningful and inspiring to me. There are opportunities everywhere, and B’nai Jeshurun promotes all different experiences. We pray when we teach, we pray when we learn, we pray in services, we pray through our actions (we pray with our feet!), and we pray when we help others. I have taken three service-learning trips through the BJ teen program. I have traveled to New Orleans twice and to the Dominican Republic for the first time this past February.
Through these experiences, I have found my voice in prayer. Though the trips may sometimes be brief, the impact is long-lasting and life-altering. Samantha Lubliner Jewish service challenges mental as well as physical standards. When I came home from the D.R., I was deeply moved and decided I wanted to pursue more Jewish service learning. I signed up for a volunteer summer program through American Jewish Society for Service (AJSS) that sent me with 15 other teens to Springfield, Ill., to do a multitude of community service. We worked with the
We pray when we teach, we pray when we learn, we pray in services, we pray through our actions (we pray with our feet!), and we pray when we help others.”
Illinois State Community Garden, Salvation Army, United Way, United Cerebral Palsy, domestic-violence shelters, Boys and Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity, food pantries, homeless shelters, and church organizations. At the end of the summer, to show their appreciation, the mayor proclaimed a day in Springfield dedicated to AJSS. B’nai Jeshurun, AJSS, and Jewish learning have helped me in developing my own Jewish identity. I have learned that there is much more to Judaism than the rigid definition of prayer. Judaism and service learning allow me to explore and define my own wide interpretation of the kind of Jew I want to be. The values and lessons instilled at B’nai Jeshurun reach far beyond the synagogue walls. This summer, they had the opportunity to reach the small town of Springfield. It is my hope that B’nai Jeshurun’s programs continue to have impact on those who choose to be influenced. I’ve learned about myself, what it means to be Jewish, the change I can be a part of, and a way to make prayer a meaningful action. n Samantha Lubliner is an ozeret at Hebrew School and is on the Teen Leadership Board. She attended Teen Service Learning trips to New Orleans and the Dominican Republic. She is a junior at the Bronx High School of Science.
Images from the February, 2011 BJ Teen Service Learning Trip to the Dominican Republic.
PHOTOS: EMILY WALSH
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SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New York, NY 10023 • TEL : 212.787.7600 • FAX : 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE : www.bj.org
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MEMBER PROFILE
Jules Frankel: Translating Music Into Community ules and Susan met in the basement of BJ in the 1960s at a rehearsal for the national Israeli folkdance festival. They were just 14 and members of a prominent Israeli dance troupe. Little did they know at that time how important BJ would be to them.
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About 18 years ago, Jules attended Hava Nashira, a Jewish song-leading institute that would change his life. Inspired, he started a havurah in his New Jersey home. The members met often and each Shabbat Shira came together to join in song. Beginning with 40 people, this last Shabbat Shira they celebrated with hundreds in attendance. Jules is also a leader in the New Jersey Jewish community, spreading his love of music and song to many organizations, including local schools. For Israel’s 60th anniversary celebration he led over 2,000 attendees in song as the Artistic Director for the Jewish Federation of Middlesex County.
Since then, everyone in the Frankel family has been active at BJ. Jules and Susan made many friends at BJ and felt that they found a spiritual home. Their children, Leora and David, became involved too. Leora was a rabbinic intern in the Youth and Education Department, and she leads a Rosh Hodesh group. Many families know David as the infamous Bim Bam leader and one of the regular musicians at BJ children’s services.
experience. Each week one member shares their own Jewish journey—how they came to Judaism and BJ—and this has created even deeper connections between participants. BJ Sings is open to everyone and is currently putting together a Shiron (a song book). We are truly fortunate to have the Frankel family in our congregation. Their contributions—particularly of music— brighten and enlighten our community. We know that Jules will continue to spread his love of music and Judaism not only within BJ but throughout the Jewish world. Years after they met, Jules and Susan returned to the basement of BJ, which had since been named “Frankel Hall.” This is where their daughter Leora married Andrew Sage last year and where David met his fiancée, Donielle Lavintman. “As soon as we returned to BJ and saw that it was named ‘Frankel’ Hall,” Jules said, “we knew it was beshert.”
Michael Kessler, a member of the havurah, told Jules that every time he closed his eyes and listened to the music, he felt like he was at BJ. Jules knew he had to check BJ out. Subsequently, Jules regularly made the trip to BJ for spiritual nourishment. Jules is a CPA, MBA, and shareholder at Wilkin & Guttenplan, P.C., where he services hundreds of condos and co-ops in both New York and New Jersey. In 2002, when many of their friends were buying houses at the Jersey shore, Jules and Susan decided that their second home would be in New York City: They had two stipulations 1) that it be close enough to BJ so Jules could walk there and 2) close enough to Lincoln Center so Susan could walk to the ballet.
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As soon as we returned to BJ and saw that it was named ‘Frankel’ Hall,” Jules said, “we knew it was beshert.”
For more information about BJ Sings, please contact Jules at julescfran@aol.com. n Jules began wondering how he could translate music into community at BJ. Two years ago he started “BJ Sings.” With friends Joe Antenson and Donna and Tom Divine, they created a group that gathers on the third Shabbat of the month. Jules teaches
The author is a member of the Education and Communications Team of the Membership Committee.
and leads the group. Whether the music is from Debbie Friedman, a”h, Craig Taubman, or Jules’ original compositions, the group always has a wonderful, communal
SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New York, NY 10023 • TEL : 212.787.7600 • FAX : 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE : www.bj.org
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REFLECTIONS
Bemidbar: Grasshoppers, Almonds, and the Anthropocene By Bob Pollack for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and bore ripe almonds.
he fourth of the five Books of Moses is called Numbers in English, but in Hebrew it is called Bemidbar, that is, “Where the Wild Things Are.”
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Forty years is a long time, but today with good medicine, good food, and good luck, it is only the first half of a lifetime. That’s enough time to begin to think about where we are today. Are we fruitful, productive, like almond flowers, or are we—like those selfdeprecating, paralyzed scouts— grasshoppers in our own eyes?
In Numbers 13, the Israelites send scouts, led by Caleb, from their desert encampment into the Promised Land. They return 40 days later, reporting that the land is good, but reducing themselves by self-mockery and self-deprecation. 31] But the men who had gone up with him [Caleb] said “We cannot attack that people, for it is stronger than we.” 32] Thus they spread calumnies among the Israelites about the land they had scouted, saying, “The country that we traveled and scouted devours its settlers. All the people that we saw in it are men of great size; 33] we saw the Nephilim there—the Anakites are part of the Nephilim—and we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them.” The punishment for this failure of selfrespect is direct and to the point, in Numbers 14: 31] Your children who, you said, would be carried off—these will I allow to enter; they shall know the land that you have rejected. 32] But your carcasses shall drop in this wilderness, 33] while your children roam the wilderness for forty years, suffering for your faithlessness, until the last of your carcasses is down in the wilderness. 34] You shall bear your punishment for forty years, corresponding to the number of days—forty days—that you scouted the land: a year for each day. Thus you shall know what it means to thwart Me.
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PHOTO: JWERDE
Joshua—the one scout who did not make the mistake of self-deprecation—would indeed lead the next generation of Israelites to that Promised Land, but only after an additional 40 years—one year for each day— so that the generation of self-mockery would die off to leave their children to enter it with confidence. Neither Moses nor Aaron escaped that consequence of communal self-deprecation. But their children did, and here we are. Bemidbar does not say much about that, but it does give us a beautiful picture of what it must have meant, to some of those condemned to die in the desert, to know their children would prevail. In the following portion, Numbers 18, concerned with the priesthood, the future fertility of Aaron’s descendants is described in terms of a budding, flowering, blooming, fruitful almond branch: 21] And Moses spoke unto the children of Israel; and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. 22] And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tent of the testimony. 23] And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and, behold, the rod of Aaron
The answer matters, because we are in an odd time in human history. We are already well into what my most well-informed and dispassionate colleagues in the sciences tell us is a new geological Era, the Anthropocene. The Holocene—the previous 11,000 years in which all of our texts and all of our communal experiences including those in Bemidbar must have occurred— ended a few centuries back, when our species began to refashion the planet in our own image. In those few centuries our numbers have outstripped the numbers of any other animal our size by a factor of about 100,000fold. The carbon dioxide we continue to put into the atmosphere by burning coal and oil for our transportation and our electric power may reach a concentration that would irreversibly heat our planet’s atmosphere and oceans, making our days here—or anywhere else on Earth—considerably different and more difficult than they are today. We have known about the need to control our planetary addiction to the burning of coal and oil—so much like a person’s addiction to tobacco—for closer to 40 years than 40 days. But, like those scouts in the Bible, we have for the most part acted as if the problem was gigantic and we were but grasshoppers in our own eyes. For myself, these past 40 years have shown me a path to doing better, and I’d like to share that with you. I am a scientist by training. That means I have been taught the
SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New York, NY 10023 • TEL : 212.787.7600 • FAX : 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE : www.bj.org
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Are we fruitful, productive, like almond flowers, or are we—like those selfdeprecating, paralyzed scouts—grasshoppers in our own eyes?”
craft of converting my curiosity into a set of ideas that can be tested. This notion of testing—we call it doing experiments—is the key step in science, because when the test fails, there’s no choice but to say of our idea “It’s wrong,” and move on. That way, science keeps itself from wasting more time and effort than necessary on ideas that can be proven wrong by testing. Of course there are many ideas that cannot be tested nor disproved, but must be either accepted or not as a matter of inner conviction. The commandment to love your neighbor as you love yourself is a good example of that. But there are many, many ideas that can be tested. We are not grasshoppers, we are people. But what does that mean in the light of science?
Kabbalat Panim
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From the ideas that can be tested, have been tested, and have been found to survive the test, science has built up a remarkably clear vision of our place in the natural world. It is a vision that allows us to choose to act to prevent our planet and our descendants from being overcome by our past actions.
Our mental worlds are expensive: We spend upwards of a quarter of the energy we get from food on the upkeep of our brains, this tissue no larger than two clenched fists. In our special mental power lie our hope and our liberty, if we would only take responsibility for each other’s future.
We are chemical, science says, made of only a few elements, the same elements that fill the universe: Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen, Sulfur, and Phosphorus. But so are grasshoppers.
Look around for the person who looks most different from you. That person’s DNA and your DNA are about as similar or different as your DNA is from your biological brother or sister’s DNA. We are all one family.
We are complicated, science says, with one chemical, called DNA, so complicated that it carries in it an instruction book for the construction of a whole new creature from a single cell. But so are grasshoppers.
So, we are each mistaken, science says, when we choose to live in a mental world in which we think that any one of us is special. This is the modern way of seeing others as grasshoppers. And of course, if everyone thinks that way about someone else, it is no different overall from everyone thinking of themselves as grasshoppers as well.
We are a species, science says, with each one of us being fertile, that is, capable in principle of being the source of DNA for the formation of a new generation of individuals in our species. But so are grasshoppers. We are mindful, science says, with brains so big, so complicated, so capable of learning and imagination, that we have become quite dependent upon our mental worlds. The mental world makes humans different not only from grasshoppers but from everything else alive.
So, let us resolve today to do better than Caleb’s scouts. Let us resolve today to begin to see each other as equally valuable, equally rare, equally vulnerable, no matter what differences there are among us. n Professor Robert Pollack and his wife Amy have been members of BJ since 1994.
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guests and put them at ease. For around half an hour before the beginning of Kabbalat Shabbat services, the host explains both traditional Jewish customs, such as standing when the Ark is open and facing Jerusalem during the Amidah, as well as unique BJ traditions, such as the eclectic music influenced by Jewish melodies from around the world and dancing during Lekha Dodi. The Guests’ Feedback The response from these groups has been tremendous. “Dancing, dancing in a circle. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting from Friday night services. My notion of Judaism was limited to Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, Passover Seders, Hanukkah candles, and High Holiday
services,” said Joshua, a confirmation-class student from Massachusetts. “I simply wasn’t aware of Judaism’s capability to create a vibrant and fun atmosphere.“ A recent guest from an Omaha, Neb., congregation, who was mesmerized by the spirited melodies and engrossed in the beauty of the sanctuary, told her host, Andrea Newman, “I didn’t know services could be so moving.” Our hosts report that all their groups have been enthusiastic about the services and grateful for the orientation. Online Visiting Group Registration Visiting groups can easily register online, read a welcome letter with logistical
information and the basic rules of decorum at BJ, and find a map to BJ at www.bj.org/visit. The registration data we obtain will become increasingly useful in the future. Among other things this data will help determine the impact of BJ on the larger Jewish community. The Future Kabbalat Panim enables us to truly welcome organized groups. Moving forward, Penny hopes to grow the number of hosts as the demand increases. The Kabbalat Panim project has also inspired some creative thinking about how to reach and welcome more personally the countless individuals who join us to celebrate Shabbat each week. n
SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New York, NY 10023 • TEL : 212.787.7600 • FAX : 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE : www.bj.org
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GILAD SHALIT
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When he was freed and I saw photos of Gilad as a free man, I felt like I had been liberated too. The burden of despair and disbelief of these many years was shed.”
Feeling Free With Gilad By Guy Felixbrodt, Director of Events can still hear the sounds of the Katyusha rockets falling, as we were sitting at my mom’s living room in Haifa. My wife immediately asked, “Are those the sounds of bombs falling that we just heard?” I said, “Hakol beseder” (everything’s OK) in the typical Israeli way of denial. “No, probably just some really loud trucks!” Maybe that’s a survival method in Israel, to react with “No” first.
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It only took a few minutes to get confirmation that Hezbollah had fired, for the first time ever, rockets from Lebanon so deeply into Israel. We also heard that a few soldiers were killed at the Lebanon border and in Gaza, and that one soldier was missing—Gilad Shalit. Our vacation, and my daughter’s first visit to Israel, changed forever. My hometown became a ghosttown; we reluctantly shortened our vacation by two weeks.
Guy Felixbrodt and Hazzan Ari Priven at the JCC’s ceremony celebrating the release of Gilad Shalit.
I started following this young man’s journey. The years went by, and I saw my daughter growing up in front of my eyes, from a 2year-old who spoke very few words to a theatrical young girl who sang and played, but I frequently thought about the son of another family who was rotting away in an underground jail somewhere very near
KOL HADASH
Israel. Because I am a former Israeli navy officer, this disturbed me greatly. My friends and I always knew that the country we gave our youthful years to in service of its security would make every effort to take care of us, especially if we got injured or captured in combat. Israel hadn’t kept its promise to Gilad. The Shalit family stepped up its efforts to free Gilad by participating in a very personal documentary about his plight and their difficult journey. I was very glad that BJ took a stance and showed this film to the community. I pushed back a long-planned vacation in order to be there in support of Gilad. I was especially proud as a BJ staff member when Yaara Winkler, the girlfriend of Gilad’s brother, Yoel, was allowed the rare honor of addressing the congregation at a Friday night service this past summer. My family and I were overjoyed when the news came about his possible release. When he was freed and I saw photos of Gilad as a free man, I felt like I had been liberated too. The burden of despair and disbelief of these many years was shed. I was finally free from the doubts that had grown in me regarding Israel’s commitment to its soldiers, the fear that Israel would never deal with its enemies, the worry that yet another Israeli family would become bereaved. When I was invited to read the prayer written in honor of Gilad by Beit Tefilah Israeli, one of BJ’s partners in Israel, at an impromptu ceremony at the JCC on Oct. 18, 2011 I was deeply honored.
… May it be your will, our God and the God of our fathers and mothers, that in this day, and in all days to come, the freed captive will experience only joy in his heart, peace of the soul, and success in all his doing, together with his family and the entire people of Israel. God who listens to prayer and pursues life, may the feelings of solidarity and mutual responsibility that are felt all over Israel in these days continue in the coming days, and that the saying “He who saves one person is as if he had saved an entire world” will continue to guide the State, its leaders, government, and citizens … I finally felt more whole (shalem), and thus more inner peace (shalom). I feel more hopeful about Israel’s future and want to believe, as Gilad said in his first interview, after years of being in darkness (literally), that the return of all prisoners to free life will help bring peace to that region! Amen. n
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The Kol Hadash is published every other month. We would love to print your stories and articles about BJ! For submission guidelines, contact communications@bj.org. All material is the property of B’nai Jeshurun and cannot be reprinted without permission.
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PHOTOS: GUY FELIXBRODT
The Kol Hadash is printed using soy-based inks on 50% recycled paper by an online, eco-friendly printer at a substantial cost saving compared to traditional printing methods. Designer: Harriet R. Goren
SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New York, NY 10023 • TEL : 212.787.7600 • FAX : 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE : www.bj.org
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Condolences (through December 2)
Mazal Tov To the following members and their families on their B’nai Mitzvah (November and December): Sara Wetzler Rachel Fischer Jonathan Weiss Joshua Adamson Julia Imershein Jacob Diament
Matthew Arons Michael Davidoff Ethan Cohen Joseph Bergmann Ariella Rosen
To the following members and their families (through December 2):
The community of B’nai Jeshurun mourns the death of our beloved members: • Gertrude Grossman, and we extend sincere condolences to her entire family. • Edith Neidenberg, and we extend sincere condolences to her family, John Ruskay and Robin Bernstein, Judith Rabinor and Larry Wetzler, Ilana and Scott Ruskay-Kidd, Darone and Stephanie Ruskay, and their families. • Neil Mosesson, and we extend sincere condolences to his wife Regina, their daughter Abigail, and their entire family. • Harvey Israelton, and we extend sincere condolences to all his loved ones.
• Carrie Goff and Michele Melnick on their wedding. • Elana Opher on the recent marriage of her son, Daniel Joseph, to Melissa Kennedy. • Nancy and Michael Mostow on the birth of their grandson, Alfred Charles Irving.
The community of B’nai Jeshurun extends sincere condolences to the following members and their families: • Robert Goldenberg and Tom Kramer on the death of Robert's father, Arthur Goldenberg. • Elaine Nevins on the death of her aunt, Irene Weissman.
• Brian Neugeboren and Yim Tong on their wedding.
• Nadine, Elisa, Chaim, and Adalia Hack, and Jerry Dunfey on the death of Nadine's father, William (Zev) Hack.
• Barbara Schwimmer, Gwen Schwimmer, and Ian Desberg on the naming of their granddaughter and daughter, Ruby Allison Desberg.
• Sam, Ellen, Eliza, and Madeline Bender on the death of Sam's father, Harvey Bender.
• Carl Cunow and Dalia Levy, Audrey Sieger and Larry Drath, and Nina and Ari Priven on the wedding of Carl and Dalia.
• Norman and Sheila Bleckner on the death of Norman's sister, Evelyn Bookbinder.
• Sarah Silverman and Jonathan Malawer, Robert Silverman and Mary Rosenbaum, and Jonathan Silverman on the naming of their daughter, granddaughter, and niece, Emma Lilly Malawer. • Paul and Danielle Taubman on the birth of their son, Liam Joseph. • Sarah, Seth and Jonah Guthartz on the birth of their daughter and sister, Stella Robyn. • Sharna Goldseker and Simon and Owen Greer on the naming of their daughter and sister, Sasha Victoria Greer.
• Daniel, Fern, and Allison Flamberg on the death of Daniel's mother, H. Ruth Flamberg. • Marshall, Laura, and Nina Glesby and Gail Schattner on the death of Marshall's father, Alan Bert Glesby. • Saskia Lane, BJ musician, on the death of her grandmother, Dani van den Ende. • Penny and Steven Dannenberg on the death of Penny's niece, Jessica Levitt. • Matthew Pasher, Lori Robinson, and Naomi Robinson-Pasher on the death of Matthew's grandmother, Lillian Grushka.
• Jennifer Hirsch on receiving tenure as Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
• Marcy and Max Drogin on the death of Marcy's grandmother, Rosalind Ratner.
• Sandy and Doug Davidson on the marriage of their daughter, Julia, to Jared Miller.
• Leslie Cooper on the death of her father, Herbert Cooper.
• Rabbi Stephen Roberts for editing the recently published Professional Spiritual and Pastoral Care: A Practical Clergy and Chaplain's Handbook. • Barbara Simon on her granddaughter, Ruby Zhifeng Simon, becoming a Bat Mitzvah.
• Peter, Claire, and Nathan Wolf Smith on the death of Peter's mother, Clarissa Ross Smith. • Richard Sussman and Ellyn Rabinowitz on the death of Richard's mother, Shirley Sussman. • Carol Stella on the death of her father, Marcello Stella. • Janet, Gilbert, and Henry Spitzer on the death of Janet's mother, Evelyn Glaser.
• Terry Rosenbaum on the birth of her granddaughter, Johnna Ariel Rosenbaum.
• Jennifer Peck and Gabriel Barnett on the death of Jennifer's mother, Barbara Peck.
• Linda and Bob Marshall on the birth of their grandson, Baruch Eliezer Marshall.
• Amy and Albert Schindler on the death of Amy's mother, Shirley Kalb.
• Karyn and Joe Gold on the birth of their grandson, Ezra Max Katsir. • Karyn and Joe Gold on the marriage of their daughter, Lisa Katsir, to Marc Brooks.
• Miriam, Jon, and Jacob Kose on the death of Miriam's brother, David Kaufman. • Betsy, Richard, Henry, and Jake Shuster on the death of Betsy’s brother, Brent Treiger. • Sherry Kohn on the death of her mother, Doris Kohn.
• Jessie Reagen Mann and Timothy Mann on the birth of their son, Sebastian David Mann. SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New York, NY 10023 • TEL : 212.787.7600 • FAX : 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE : www.bj.org
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KOL HADASH new voIce • . SYNAGOGUE: 257 West 88th Street OFFICES: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), #203 Main Telephone Number 212-787-7600 Fax Number (2109 Broadway) 212-496-7600 Website www.bj.org
Rabbis: J. Rolando Matalon Marcelo R. Bronstein Felicia L. Sol Hazzan and Music Director: Ari Priven
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JANNUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
Committees & Services: Accounts Payable.......................227 Accounts Receivable ..................237 Adult Education Information .....233 Bar/Bat Mitzvah .........................223 Bekef ..........................................224 Bikkur Holim..............................233 BJ Reads ....................................391 Communications........................275 Community Programs ...............255 Conversion .................................261 Daily Minyan...............................232 Development & Donation Information ........228
Director of Events: Guy Felixbrodt, x255 Interim Director of Development: Arlene Swartz, x228 Director of Communications: Denise Waxman, x275
BJ Rabbinic Fellows: Jonah Geffen, x262 Adam Roffman, x261
Director of Administration & Finance: Ron Seitenbach, x226
Cantorial Intern and Teen Educator: Shoshi Rosenbaum, x242
Director of Facilities: Roma Serdtse, x258
Executive Director: Harold Goldman, x248
Assistant to Rabbi Matalon: x234
Assistant Executive Director: Belinda Lasky, x224
Assistant to Rabbi Bronstein and Hazzan Priven: Naomi Goodhart, x240
Director of Education for Youth and Family: Ivy Schreiber, x225
Assistant to Rabbi Sol: Sarah Guthartz, x233
Director of Social Action/ Social Justice: Channa Camins, x259
Assistant to Executive Director Harold Goldman: Jacob Shemkovitz, x256
88th Street Rental......................255 Family Activities: Hotline ...........318 Hakhnasat Orhim.......................255 Havurot.......................................255 Hevra Kadisha ...........................233 Homeless Shelter .....212-339-4250 Interfaith Committee ............... 379 Kiddush Scheduling ...................255 Kol Jeshurun...............................275 Kol Hadash .................................275 Life Cycles..................................233 Lunch Program ..........................338 Mekusharim...............................224
Membership Information...........224 Ralph Bunche School Partnership ...........................301 Social Action ..............................259 Teen Programming ....................253 Torah/Haftarah Reading ............232 Tze’irim ......................................264 Ushering ....................................233 Visiting Groups...........................250 Volunteer Information................255 Youth & Family Education ..........225
Board of Trustees: Jeannie Blausteinº President
Henry Meer Bernie Plum Irv Rosenthal Jack Stern Emily Weiss Michael Yoeli
Jonathan Adelsbergº Chair Sally Gottesmanº Vice President Joel Kazisº Vice President Stephen Stulmanº Vice President Debra Fineº Treasurer Andrew Littº Secretary Katie Boyar Robert Buxbaum Anne Ebersman Christina Gantcher Barbara Glassman Sofia Hubscher Beth Kern
Honorary Trustees Virginia Bayer* Ted Becker* Frederic Goldstein Marcy Grau* David Hirsch* Richard Janvey* Robert Kanter Joan Kaplan Susan Kippur* Sara Moore Litt* Naomi Meyer Judith Stern Peck* General Counsel Richard Kalikow º Executive Committee Member * Past President