HaZ'man Spring 2011

HaZ’man

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 In this issue:

• Inscribing Our Future— The Mitzvah of Torah • Pesah

Rock the Night Away at the Shushan Singing Celebration Saturday, March 19

After the Megillah Readings

Sunday, March 20

6:45 p.m. Minhah

Kids and families dance the night away with our Rockin’ DJ

9:15 a.m. Shaharit, Traditional Full Megillah Reading

7:30 p.m. Family Megillah Reading

Adults enjoy an adult Purim shpiel– “Text in the City (of Shushan)” and Karaoke Café

10 a.m.

7:45 p.m. Ma’ariv / Traditional Megillah Reading

Family Megillah Reading and Purim Shpiel with RRS

Teen Purim Dance

Come in costume! Please bring money for Matanot L’evyonim – Purim tzedakah for those in need.

Sunday, March 20

11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

New Games,

Moonbounce, and Obstacle Course

New Menu Items

Prizes, Arts and Crafts

‘Tween’ Room

Music, Karaoke, Ping Pong Tournaments

Pre-sale: $10/family

with

one

child;

$18/family with more than one child

Day of Carnival:

$12/family with one child; $20/family with more than one child

Includes Popcorn & Cotton Candy

Volunteers needed for Purim Day

Contact:

Rena

Lapidus,

4 1 0 / 9 7 9 - 2 9 4 5

8100 Stevenson Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21208 www.chizukamuno.org

Synagogue Office 410/486-6400 Synagogue Fax 410/486-4050 Synagogue E-mail info@chizukamuno.org Goldsmith Early Childhood Education Center 410/486-8642 Krieger Schechter Day School 410/486-8640 Rosenbloom Religious School 410/486-8641 Stulman Center for Adult Learning 410/824-2055

OFFICERS

HaZ’man

Chizuk Amuno Congregation

President Richard Manekin, pres@chizukamuno.org First Vice President Michelle Malis, 1stvp@chizukamuno.org Vice President Louis E. Sapperstein Vice President Sandra Moffet Secretary Dr. Andrew Miller Treasurer Michelle Hettleman Assistant Treasurer Jason A. Blavatt

SYNAGOGUE STAFF

Rabbi Ronald J. Shulman | x230

rshulman@chizukamuno.org Rabbi Deborah Wechsler | x231 dwechsler@chizukamuno.org Rabbi Emeritus Joel H. Zaiman | x296 Hazzan Emanuel C. Perlman | x233 eperlman@chizukamuno.org Ritual Director Dr. Moshe D. Shualy | x243 mshualy@chizukamuno.org Ritual Director Emeritus

Rev. Yehuda Dickstein

Headmaster, Krieger Schechter Day School

Dr. Paul D. Schneider | x226 | pschneider@soink12.ksds.edu Director, Congregational Education

Alex Weinberg | x234 | aweinberg@chizukamuno.org Director, Goldsmith Early Childhood Education Center

Michelle Gold | x238 | gecec@chizukamuno.org

Director, Stulman Center for Adult Learning

Judy Meltzer | x287 | stulman@chizukamuno.org Director, Gemilut Hasadim Program

Miriam Foss | x281 | mfoss@chizukamuno.org Bar/Bat Mitzvah Coordinator

Debby Hellman | x290 | dhellman@chizukamuno.org Youth Educator

Isaac Woloff | x305 | iwoloff@chizukamuno.org Curator, Goldsmith Museum

Dr. Susan Vick | x291 | svick@chizukamuno.org Choir Director

T. Herbert Dimmock

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Executive Director

Ronald N. Millen | x224 | rnmillen@chizukamuno.org Director of Congregational Advancement

Laurel Freedman | x275 | lfreedman@chizukamuno.org

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Contents

2 Inscribing Our Future– The Mitzvah of Torah

• by Rabbi Ron Shulman

• by Rabbi Deborah Wechsler

• by Dick Manekin

• by Bob Hallock

12 Preparing for Pesah

• Schedule of Passover Services

• Sale of Hametz

• Siyyum B’khorim, First Born Minyan

• A Place at the Table

• How to Lead a Seder in One Easy

Lesson – The Harold and Sybil 6 Torah Effron Memorial Lecture Personal Torah Writing Experiences

• Dunkin’ Pots and Pans

• by Naomi Amsterdam

• Chef Annie’s Brisket – For Sale

• by Allison Baumwald

• by Marsha Gamerman 16 What’s Nu?

• by Fran Glushakow Gould

• Goldsmith Early Childhood

• by Ronnie Kleiman

Education Center

• by David Mark

• Club 140

• by Temrah Okonski

• PA Council

• Brotherhood 10 Avodah

• New Members

Binding Our Community

• Sisterhood

• Israel Engagement Committee 11 Gemilut Hasadim

• Project Mitzvah

• 2,000 Pieces of Chicken

• Torah Writing Volunteers

• A Legacy of Love and Service

• In Memoriam – Rhoda Toney

• KSMS Learning Festival

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Synagogue Administrator

Jenny Baker | x227 | jbaker@chizukamuno.org Controller

Rick Bernard | x256 | rbernard@chizukamuno.org Information Systems Manager

Bruce P. Yaillen | x284 | byaillen@chizukamuno.org Cemetery Director

Barbara Lichter | x248 | blichter@chizukamuno.org Assistant Cemetery Director

Marsha Yoffe | x309 | myoffe@chizukamuno.org Communications and Membership Coordinator

Cheryl Snyderman | x300 | csnyderman@chizukamuno.org Graphic Designer

Rachel Levitan | x282 | rlevitan@chizukamuno.org

Chizuk Amuno has a long history of proud service to Baltimore’s Jewish community. Dedicated to strengthening faith in our people’s covenant with God, the purpose of Chizuk Amuno Congregation is to create a sacred Jewish community.

Here individuals and families can find meaning for their lives from serious engagement with the texts, wisdom, and celebrations of Judaism. In pursuit of this mission, Chizuk Amuno ascribes to the rabbinic teaching: “The world is sustained through Torah – learning, Avodah – prayer and service, and Gemilut Hasadim – acts of loving kindness.”

The Mitzvah of Torah. .

Our Jewish Story

by Rabbi Ron Shulman hen asked to answer the question, “Who is a Jew?” I answer like this.

A Jew is someone who can tell the story of the Jewish people as their own. It’s not a halakhic answer. It is a personal measure of identity and continuity.

Our Jewish story is accessible to all who appreciate the gifts and blessings of their lives, to everyone who is grateful for human dignity and equality, freedom, and goodness. Our Jewish narrative provides all who wish them standards of personal ethics and celebrations to mark the seasons and milestones of life.

Sitting with you who are writing letters in our 140th Anniversary Torah Scroll is my privilege and pleasure, along with Rabbi Wechsler’s. We have the chance to tell each other our Jewish stories, and to tell the story of the Jewish people as our own while thinking about where it begins, in Torah.

Only Moses came to know God through spoken words, the Torah tells us. At the conclusion of Moses’ life we read that it will be through the written words of the Torah that we and all who have followed since Moses, and who will follow us, may strive to know something of God in our lives.

The Torah’s written text contains the first words of our Jewish story. When we open

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the scroll to read, we do not know whose hand placed those letters before us. When we write in the scroll, we can only imagine who after us may read our handiwork. The letters and words of the story truly bind us together as one eternal people.

If you haven’t already, please make your date to write one of the letters in our 140th anniversary Torah. Invite your extended family to join you. All it requires is a little bit of your time. Dates are available through next February. This is a special and unique mitzvah opportunity.

In our new Torah we will find inspiration as we read and study its words, as we celebrate precious moments in our lives, and as we dedicate ourselves to all that Torah represents as the beginning of the Jewish people’s story in every generation.

This season as we celebrate Passover, we also focus on our story. Before Torah there is Exodus, before we can know freedom fully, we must remember oppression and the reasons our story came to be. Gathering with our families and friends at our seder tables, let’s pause, put down our haggadot, and talk to each other. Let’s be sure to tell personal stories and anecdotes, stories from our past and stories that imagine our future.

Hag Sameah v’Kasher – Enjoy a joyous and Happy Passover!

In this issue of Ha’Zman ~ This Season, Chizuk Amuno members tell us their Torah writing stories inspiring all of us to tell the story of the Jewish people as our own. n

. Inscribing Our Future

by Rabbi Deborah Wechsler uried in the Book of Numbers, in the midst of what would otherwise be a dry recitation of law and code we come upon a brief story, known affectionately as the daughters of Tzelofhad. During the narratives of the wilderness, the Torah speaks of a man named Tzelofhad who was blessed with five daughters and no sons. While we all know what a great blessing it must have been to share his home with five daughters, it left his daughters at some disadvantage because in the Biblical system of primogeniture, only sons could inherit land. These women advocated for themselves, and Moses brought their case all the way up to the heavenly court. God decided that their case was just and gave them their inheritance so that they too would have their own stake in the land of Israel. This outcome is extraordinary enough, but the great Biblical commentator Rashi adds an even more extraordinary outcome.

Tradition tells us that the entire Torah was written by Moses. Dictated or inspired by God, it was Moses himself who wrote each word and each story in the Torah. But here Rashi tells us that even though it would have been appropriate for Moses to write the story of the daughters of Tzelofhad as he

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had written the entire Torah, the daughters of Tzelofhad were privileged with writing their own story. That was considered the ultimate reward – the privilege of writing your own Jewish story.

Like Moses and the daughters of Tzelofhad, we too have the opportunity to write our own Jewish story. This year, as part of the celebrations surrounding the 140th anniversary of Chizuk Amuno, we are writing our own Torah scroll. Together as a congregation, each of us as individuals and families, are invited to literally write a letter in the scroll of our congregation and help shape the way the story of our people is told.

When writing a Torah, we write it the same way that a Torah has been written for centuries—the same letters, the same words, the same labor of love. Thrice now I have had the privilege of writing a letter in a Torah scroll. They were incredibly powerful Jewish moments in my life and I was moved to tears by the emotion and meaning of what I was doing.

I was nervous where to put my hand, and that I might cause the sofer to make a mistake. As I sat down next to him, he spoke softly to me and gently showed me

how to place my fingers on the quill. He whispered to me to take a moment to clear my mind and focus on the task at hand. I remember the letters that I filled in. The first time, when it was my turn to go up to the scroll the next letter was ayin, with its pointed ends and soft curve in the middle.

It is a letter of joining together (eem), of flowing springs (ein), of hard work (avodah), and it was mine. The sofer told me it was the ayin tov, the good eye with which he blessed me that I be able to live my life with discernment and vision.

The second time, when it was my turn to go up to the Torah the next letter was koof, with its two parts making a whole, one line rounding into the strong base of the other.

It is a letter of closeness (karov), of holiness (kedushah), of community (kahal) and it too was mine. The sofer showed me its place in the text, embedded in the phrase yad hazakah, the strong arm of God and the continued on next page Pesah 5771 | 3

continued from previous page sofer blessed me with strength to be a rabbi of this congregation and as mother to my son with whom I was pregnant at the time.

The last time, on the bimah here at Chizuk Amuno as we began our new scroll, the letter was reish, with its gentle slope pointing downward and forward and a soft caress in the middle. It is a letter of strong will (ratzon), of joy (rena), of first sons (reuven) and it was mine. This time the sofer faded into the background and in the moment that I wrote it, I had no thoughts other than gratitude for the blessings of my reish and the opportunity to be a part of b’reisheet, new beginnings.

The Talmud teaches that if you write a Sefer Torah it is as if you received it at Mount Sinai. That’s what it felt like to write a letter in the Torah; that I was coming before God to have an intimate audience and that it was a new beginning. I wish for each of you that you be blessed with this experience and this mitzvah.

It is why this time I will bring my children to take part in writing a letter in our new Chizuk Amuno Torah – that they become the next link in a chain stretching back to Moses and the daughters of Tzelofhad; that they fulfill a mitzvah that they might not have a chance to do any other time in their lives. But perhaps even more importantly so they can begin to write their own Jewish story, in their own hand, in their own community. That together as family we stand at Sinai to begin a new Jewish journey in our lives. I hope you’ll join us. n

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L’chi Lach

by Dick Manekin

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nergy and emotion pierced the air as our sacred community celebrated the opening ceremony for the writing of our 140th Anniversary Torah Scroll. God was present in our Sanctuary and all who were there clearly knew it. We, as Jews, believe that the Torah is an actual reflection of God; when we write a Torah letter God’s presence flows through our hands. We connect to those who wrote and read Torah before us; we connect to those who gave Torah to us and to those to whom we will next pass the Torah.

As I confidently and joyously carried the Manekin Torah with outstretched arms and a smile on my face, there were many emotions running in my heart. Only three years ago, my father, brothers, and I, along with the clergy and members of Chizuk Amuno’s professional staff, had the privilege and honor of performing the 613th commandment – the final mitzvah – the commandment to write the last letters of a Torah that we as a family were giving to Chizuk Amuno in honor of my father. I vividly remembered writing in the Torah, saying a prayer for Dad’s health and the health of our entire family, holding on to the quill as the sofer inked the letter. As I reflect upon that moment and the fact that the last chapter of Torah, V’Zot ha-B’Rakhah, contains Moses’ farewell blessings and his death, I think of the courage and strength my father was able to summon in order to perform that commandment, knowing that he was in the final chapter of his life.

While Moses never made it to the Land of Israel, we, the Jewish people, did. Dad died a year and a half ago, but I distinctly felt his presence as I jubilantly lead the procession to the Aron Kodesh where his Torah was placed waiting to be joined by Chizuk Amuno’s 140th Anniversary Torah.

Every member of our Chizuk Amuno family will have the chance to take part in the writing of this Torah, a scroll that will be our legacy to those generations who follow us, as well as a commemoration to those who came before us. As the Chizuk Amuno community choir of over 200 voices – composed of all of our schools and a cross section of our congregation – sang Debbie Friedman’s L’chi lach, I beamed and thought of the strong future that lies ahead for our sacred community.

L’chi lach, to a land that I will show you Leich l’cha, to a place you do not know L’chi lach, on your journey I will bless you And you shall be a blessing, you shall be a blessing, you shall be a blessing L’chi lach L’chi lach, and I shall make your name great Leich l’cha and all shall praise your name L’chi lach, to the place that I will show you And you shall be a blessing, you shall be a blessing, you shall be a blessing L’chi lach

The Chizuk Amuno Community Choir~A crazy idea?

by Bob Hallock

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couple of years ago, I got this crazy idea: What if we established a huge Chizuk Amuno Community Choir to sing in the Sanctuary? Would this 140 year old synagogue go for it? How could it be done?

And there were many more questions. Last fall, after presenting this idea to the Torah Writing Programming Committee, I was given a very exuberant “go for it!”

Engaging our large and diverse community presented my first

Another prayer.

I arranged Debbie Friedman’s beautiful L’chi Lach melody especially for this occasion. Debbie revolutionized Jewish music of our time by connecting the musical styles of the 1960’s and 70’s with Jewish tradition. She broke down barriers between the performer and the audience, between the bimah and the congregation – much like what I wanted to

The adults climbed to the very top, in front of the Aron Kodesh. The students crowded onto the front and sides of the bimah. I had always thought that Chizuk Amuno’s bimah was too big; on this day, it was perfect.

The congregation grew quiet, the children waited with anticipation, and the adults took a breath. I gave the downbeat, the piano started, and the children started singing. They sounded like angels. How is it possible that so many children stayed

challenge. Early on, all of our children’s schools signed on, as well as the Chizuk Amuno Teen Team. Each of these groups would rehearse separately until the very end. As for adults, an e-mail blast went out, making the appeal for participants, stressing how much fun this would be – creating the largest community choir in Chizuk Amuno’s history. In fact, I had no idea whether this community choir could even get off the ground, let alone be the “biggest choir.” This is where prayer started to come in.

Adults began to respond, many of whom sounded upbeat about the project. Several indicated some reservations, however, because

do at Chizuk Amuno.

While we were rehearsing, Debbie was seriously ill, and she sadly passed away just a few weeks before our performance.

In early January, we held our first adult rehearsal – only 11 people showed up – not exactly the biggest choir in Chizuk Amuno’s history. Eight showed up for the second rehearsal. People started buzzing about the choir, and it continued to grow throughout January.

Other beautiful things also began to happen. One of our choir members kindly volunteered to transport an 88 year old woman who could no longer drive to all the

together? Such earnest, beautiful faces.

And then the adult choir started to sing in gorgeous four-part harmony. The sound was glorious. The music was soaring, and finally the congregation joined in at the end with everyone singing their hearts out. The entire Sanctuary became a big Debbie Friedman songfest. Oh, how Debbie must have smiled from heaven. In less than three minutes, it was over. Spontaneously, the Congregation jumped to its feet, giving us a standing ovation. Many had tears in their eyes.

I stood there a bit stunned that this “crazy idea” actually had come to fruition. On that day, close to a thousand people in the Chizuk Amuno community joined together in song and spirit. It can’t get any better

they had no prior singing experience. I tried to assure them that no singing experience was necessary and secretly hoped we would not have an entire choir of tone-deaf folks. More prayer was in order.

The rehearsal schedule included lots of different days and times to accommodate the adults’ schedules. Choir members were asked to attend only two rehearsals to keep it as easy as possible. This provided everyone with little excuse to not participate. The downside was that we never had everyone in the same rehearsal at the same time.

rehearsals and to the performance. An added bonus – they formed a beautiful friendship.

Another person told me of her father who had suffered a stroke and could no longer speak. However, he could sing and wanted to participate. Like the 88 year old woman, he, too, climbed the bimah stairs to sing at our performance. I could go on and on.

At the Torah Writing Opening Ceremony on Sunday, February 13, Rabbi Shulman invited everyone in the choir to the bimah.

More than 200 children and adults spilled down the aisles and up onto the bimah.

than that. n

What if we established a huge Chizuk Amuno Community Choir to sing in the Sanctuary?

Would this 140 year old synagogue go for it?

Bob Hallock and his wife, Fritzi, joined Chizuk Amuno 11 years ago.

They have three children, Steve, Amanda, and Charlie, who is currently attending Krieger Schechter Day School. Bob is a sales development/marketing consultant and also performs a one-man cabaret act. He currently serves on Krieger Schechter’s Annual Campaign committee and Chizuk Amuno’s Membership and Torah Writing project committees.

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T o r a h F

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ebruary 13, 2011 was a historic moment at Chizuk Amuno Congregation. The Sanctuary was overflowing with joy as our community leaders wrote the first letters in Chizuk Amuno’s 140th Anniversary Torah. Generations came together in song and prayer as we began this year long journey. After the shofar blasts filled the Sanctuary and our scrolls were paraded down the aisle for all to see, Rabbi Shulman wrote the first letter of B’reisheet on behalf of the congregation.

A highlight of the Opening Ceremony was the performance of Debbie Friedman’s L’chi Lach by the Chizuk Amuno Community Choir, comprised of over 200 members of our school and synagogue communities.

After a festive lunch and dancing, families joined our sofer, Rabbi Moshe Druin, in the Hoffberger Chapel for a more intimate and personal letter writing experience. In the course of the next day and a half, over fifty shared in the 613th mitzvah – the mitzvah to write a Torah.

This year-long effort is led by Sandi Moffet, Neil Katz, and 140th Anniversary Chair Shelly Malis. A committee of over 50 members has worked diligently over the past nine months to bring this milestone project to fruition.

Do not miss your chance to be a part of this important personal and community experience. Information regarding registration is on the inside back cover of this issue of HaZ’man ~ This Season. There is no cost to participate.

Our new Torah will be a source of inspiration and comfort as we read from it and study its words. It will become an enduring connection between all of us and a legacy for those who will follow. Make your mark on Chizuk Amuno history and join our journey as we look toward the next 140 years.

by Naomi Amsterdam or reasons other than cards and roses, February 14 is an auspicious day for me.

It was the birthdate of my father, of blessed memory, and the day I met my husband, Larry. This year, the date took on added significance, as together we fulfilled the mitzvah of writing Torah.

I initially approached the experience with some discomfort.

Larry and I were raised in traditional, Orthodox shuls, where women didn’t chant from the Torah in front of the community and physical contact with the Torah was forbidden. Although, decades ago, Chizuk Amuno’s egalitarian approach enabled me to fully participate in the worship service,

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the actual inscription of a letter of Torah implied direct contact with the sacred scroll.

However, my tension subsided as we were guided through the process. Each step was personalized – selecting a tallit, conversing with Rabbi Shulman about a significant parasha of Torah, and being warmly welcomed by Rabbi Druin to the bimah. With humor, he shared insightful stories related to the pasuk we would help to write. Our letter, pay in the word pinay, became an analogy for looking at life through an optimistic lens. Rabbi Druin reminded us that through positive actions we can change the way we are perceived by others. He encouraged us to touch the parchment and hold tightly to the quill as we completed the letter together.

Larry recalled his own father who, having

survived the Holocaust, continued to hold fast to his Jewish faith. By physically writing into the Torah, Larry and I acknowledged our responsibility to transmit the lessons of Torah to the next generation in order to ensure continuity of the Jewish religion.

Larry and I will treasure the plaque commemorating this very special project.

And we’ll pray that our children’s children will also treasure the precious legacy our fathers gave to us. n Naomi is a speech/language pathologist with Baltimore County Public Schools. Larry, a dentist, chants the High Holy Day services in the Krieger Auditorium. He is vice president of the Chizuk Amuno Brotherhood and a member of the Ritual Committee. They are both members of the Kol Rinah a capella group. Their four adult daughters all attended Goldsmith Early Childhood Education Center.

Elisa and Kari are graduates of Krieger Schechter Day School; Alisa and Rachel are graduates of the Rosenbloom Religious School.

by Allison Baumwald t’s not every day that one writes a letter of a Torah. On February 13, my family’s personal Torah writing experience began.

That evening, my husband, Adam, our three year old daughter, Henni, and I walked into synagogue.

Immediately, volunteers Ilana and Sandi Moffet welcomed us.

Their enthusiasm and warmth was contagious and set the tone for what came next.

As we walked into the chapel, we were met by Rabbi Shulman and had a special opportunity to ask him questions and explore how this opportunity related to our family. After washing our hands, we ascended the bimah and Rabbi Druin introduced us to the letter vav – what would become our letter when we completed it. As we learned about vav and its significance,

we were quite impressed with the Rabbi’s ability. His words transformed what was once a mere letter of the Hebrew alphabet into much more for our family.

Truly, it is beshert that vav was our letter.

We learned that vav, in English, means hook.

When vav comes at the beginning of a Hebrew word, which it does frequently, it also means “and.” So, vav is a connector and Chizuk Amuno is a new connection for our family, as we are fairly new members. We were asked to consider the vav’s vertical shape. Other “connectors” shaped liked a vav include beams of a building, our spine, internal and communal aspects of our lives – these strengths need no credit, but do so much.

We learned that it is like the love between couples and the love of a child – completely unconditional. We feel this for each other

by Marsha Gamerman ime. I’ll let you in on a little secret—I have been waging my own private little war with time for quite a bit. I often fretted, obsessed, ruminated, worried, and wondered about time. And, then, on the 13th of February, 2011 at Chizuk Amuno’s 140th Anniversary celebration, comes a new way to think about time, a new way to handle time. Time-catcher.

Jews, I learned, are often called timecatchers. I had never heard that term before, but it sure does make sense, especially when I think about Shabbat and the work week.

The 13th of February became an all around time-catching experience for me when my husband, Jay, my younger son, Jeffrey, and I went to write our letter in the Torah. The power and connection of that moment are hard to describe. It is strange to say, but

there was also a quiet simplicity about the moment as well. I wasn’t quivering in anticipation; it felt peaceful.

What I realized is that we were truly being time-catchers by taking what would normally be a typical Sunday afternoon and making it a sacred one. We captured a moment and made it our own. We elevated the work of our hands beginning with netilat yedayim to actually writing the letter hay in a sacred document that has touched the past, present, and God-willing, the

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and our daughter, and we hope to become that type of leader for our community.

At my father’s request, my siblings and I will read Torah for his 65th birthday at his synagogue, where our family was raised. The first letter of the first word of the parasha I am reading? Vav. On that special day, I will read from the Torah dedicated in 1999 to my father’s father, my Zayde Abram, for which the sofer was Rabbi Druin’s father.

Writing a letter of Torah provides a unique personal and spiritual experience, yet as a congregation we will have a shared experience. How wonderful it is that our congregation encourages each person to participate. We hope everyone will choose to be part of history and part of something that will be passed down from generation to generation. The Torah keeps us connected to the past and now we are connecting Torah to our future. n Allison Baumwald, 34, is currently the Vice President for Women’s Philanthropy at THE ASSOCIATED, where she has been working for the past 7 ½ years. In addition to her professional career, she is honored to serve on the Publicity sub-committee for the Torah Writing project. She, Adam, and Henni live in Pikesville. future.

Torah. Time. Time-catching. I can’t wait for my other son, Ira, to come home from graduate school so he can participate in his own awesome, time-catching moment.

Maybe I am no longer so much at war with time; just maybe I am more committed to make each and every moment count. May God grant my family and me the strength, vigor, and wisdom to do that. n Marsha and her husband, Jay, have two sons, Ira and Jeffrey, both graduates of the Rosenbloom Religious School. She is a teacher and has been a member of Chizuk Amuno for close to fifty years. She remembers with great affection and respect Rabbi Goldman, Cantor Salkov, Reverend Dickstein, and Stanley Minch – important figures in her youth who helped to make Chizuk Amuno her second home.

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by Fran Glushakow Gould have had “Oh My God” experiences before. Like the first time I saw the kotel in Jerusalem. Or when my children were born. Or when a dolphin kissed me in Mexico. But this was different. Writing a letter in the Torah – in the first sentence of B’reisheet no less, now THAT was an “Oh My God” experience.

I was excited about doing it, but really had no expectations about what it would feel like or how I would respond. When I ascended to write my letter, in a very real sense, I felt like I was a vehicle for my people. Sounds hokey, even to me. But I felt a glow while I sat before the Torah. It came from within. A joy. A sense of import. This is the TORAH. This is what it’s all about!

And I am helping to write one, with my daughter and husband, and with all of the community of Chizuk Amuno.

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This will be passed on, and read for generations to come, just as the Sifrei Torah now in the ark have been informing our people here and throughout the world for millennia. We read the Shema every day. It admonishes us to keep the word of God in our minds and in our hearts, and to teach it to our children. And I had that extraordinary chance to participate in actually writing God’s word, to perpetuate the sacred text in some very small but some very huge way as well. I hope that sense of sacred connectedness stays with me. n Fran Glushakow Gould has been a commercial real estate attorney for almost 30 years. In addition, she has recently completed her coursework in Aging at The Johns Hopkins University Odyssey Program. She is the mother of three and a regular shul-goer with her husband, Warren.

by Ronnie Kleiman am most appreciative of participating in this honor – writing in our community Torah. My family has been a part of Chizuk Amuno for more than sixty years and this provides a continuum for me.

The “nun” – my letter – represents a miracle. As I prepared to write in the Torah, this miracle occurred: the inscription in an Etz Hayim humash next to the Torah parchment was in memory of my husband, Herbert. I will remember the possibility of miracles as I will recall this day. n

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Throughout her years at Chizuk Amuno, Ronnie participated in Sisterhood and served as Sisterhood president for 2 years. She also volunteered in the Judaica Shop and co-chaired the Judaica Shop committee. She has enjoyed learning in Judy Meltzer’s Wednesday book club for many years. She is thrilled to be able to “give back” to the community after years of Chizuk Amuno giving to her.

8 | HaZ’man ~ This Season

by David Mark 771…613…140. As Jews, and as members of Chizuk Amuno, these numbers hold a common meaning for all of us. Participating in the writing of a new

5

by Temrah Okonski n February 13, 2011, our family fulfilled the 613th commandment – we wrote in Chizuk Amuno’s new Torah. Like most families coming together on this day, reaching this point was quite a journey. We started our family in Washington State and were members of a small synagogue. The building was actually an old home, and the synagogue was serviced by a student rabbi who visited twice a month.

Upon moving to Maryland we searched for a synagogue that was inclusive, one that could meet our different life needs and foster our family’s Jewish identity. Sitting in the Sanctuary during the Mitzvah of Torah program I was reminded, once again, of all that Chizuk Amuno has done for us.

We sat amongst our dear Krieger Schechter teachers, staff, and friends. We sat close to our cherished Rosenbloom staff and friends, and we sat in view of our esteemed bat mitzvah mentors. I felt privileged and honored to be surrounded by so many

O

Torah, like those numbers, is monumental in its meaning and significance. When you stop to think about it, what experience can we attest to that compares to this? Certainly not writing a novel, a resume, or texting, exercises that we all may have done at some point in our lives. We are helping to write the foundation of our religion, the laws given from Hashem through Moses that guide every aspect of our lives. To say, then, that I was humbled by the experience of writing is an understatement.

For nearly 100 years my family has been members of Chizuk Amuno, celebrating b’nei mitzvah and weddings, participating in minyan, Shabbat, and holiday services, and attending religious school.

people who have touched our lives.

We inscribed the letter hay from the word, hashamayim, the sky. Every letter and every word in the Torah is special and it was a wonderful coincidence that our letter was from the word sky, where we often gaze with wonder, questions, and feelings of hope. The act of writing the letter was an overwhelming feeling. The four of us stood there, in that moment, connecting with our past while becoming intertwined with our future.

As Rabbi Druin explained, the first letter of the Torah is a bet, compelling us to approach life with questions. Though the future is an open-ended question, there is

Chizuk Amuno was my father’s home away from home; if Dad wasn’t there for daily minyan or Shabbat, people would worry – “Where’s Jack, is he ok?” My sister’s early schooling and experiences at Chizuk Amuno laid the foundation for her pursuit of Orthodox Judaism when she moved back to Baltimore. The spirit and memory of my father, mother, and sister filled my heart as I entered the chapel that Sunday evening with my wife and one of our sons. Together, with my family all around and a part of me, I felt proud, honored, and humbled that I had this unique opportunity to perform this mitzvah. Entering the synagogue and the chapel will forever hold a new and special meaning for me. n David and his wife, Kimberly, will be celebrating their 27th wedding anniversary in May. They have two sons – Jonathan, who lives in Federal Hill and works in Canton, and Joshua, who is a junior at the University of Maryland, majoring in engineering.

one thing that I know, and that is that our family will continue its journey in the arms of Chizuk Amuno. n The Okonski family lives in Ellicott City and are first generation members of Chizuk Amuno. Temrah and Gene have two children, Jerel, who attends KSDS and Mindra, who attended KSDS and is now involved in Kadima and RRS. Pesah 5771 | 9

Avodah

v s u c g

Binding Our Community E

very day, twice a day, we are reminded in the shema of the mitzvah of tefillin.

This ancient ritual reminds us of our connection to God and binds us together as a community. This year, for the first time, the Vav (7th grade) students at Rosenbloom Religious School learned about and experienced the mitzvah of tefillin in a whole new way. The students have been learning all about tefillin for two years. This year they had the opportunity to create their own sets. The Rosenbloom Religious School partnered with Scribe Rabbi Menachem Youlus to help each 7th grader, along with their parents, build their own set from the bottom up.

During this three month process, the students helped with sofrut, writing the text, building the boxes, and assembly.

Each meeting marked a separate step of the process—and a new skill learned. The families learned the meaning of each step and to appreciate the value of tefillin in a whole new way.

It’s increasingly important that we recognize and remember the ingenuity and purposes of our ancient rituals. These rituals continue to root us in our Jewish faith and practice. In an era when technological advances are routine, it was humbling to see a 2,000 year old tradition re-awaken our students and their families and remind them of the strength of our history. n 10 | HaZ’man ~ This Season

2,000 Pieces of BBQ Chicken… and Counting

T

he Talmud talks about the 10 ingredients for creating an ideal community – “…a scholar should not reside in a city where

the following things are not found…”

This was the topic of the pre-dinner study session led by Rabbi Deborah Wechsler during the preparation of 2,000 pieces of chicken for Our Daily Bread. This year’s chicken prep was not without challenges – postponed once due to snow and in jeopardy on the rescheduled evening due to snow and icy conditions earlier in the day. Fortunately, Chizuk Amuno volunteers are tenacious when it comes to the mitzvah of feeding the hungry. Todah Rabbah to Jenny Baker and Wendy Davis (project leaders), Brian Crystal, Hillary Crystal, Marsha Gamerman, Leah Helman, Jody

Levy, David Sall, Nancy Sall, Maury Sall, Sophie Sall, Judy Spector, Marvin Spector, and Cheryl Snyderman. Special thanks to Netivon students and their teacher, Rachel Weitzner, for labeling all of the casseroles and loading the van. We want to express our appreciation to Chef Annie Hood, Karen Kopp, and Brian Dubin for their professional guidance and hard work with this important congregational effort.

The BBQ chicken and rice will provide two meals for the 700 men, women, and children in our community who rely on Our Daily Bread for sustenance each day. n

Completing the Mitzvah of Clothing the Naked – A Legacy of Love and Service

B

arbara and Bernard Gorban were married for nearly 60 years. Bernie was a lifelong member of Chizuk Amuno.

Barbara reports that Chizuk Amuno “was Bernie’s life” and he attended services almost every Shabbat. He was a proficient Haftarah reader and participated in many aspects of synagogue life. Before Bernie’s retirement in 1976, he taught French and Spanish at Northwestern High School. Many Chizuk Amuno members are former students.

After his death in 2009, Barbara donated Bernie’s business clothing to the IOU Clothing Drive. This drive collects clothing for agencies helping residents of Baltimore City facing unemployment and attempting to retrain for jobs. Barbara says it was difficult and wanted to keep the clothing in

the family, but Bernie was short and their grandson is 6’4” tall.

Since Bernie’s death, Barbara has become a regular at Shabbat services, at first saying Kaddish for Bernie and now because she enjoys coming to services. Barbara has made new friends in the congregation and her favorite prayer is V’Al Koolam.

She cherishes her relationships with her adult children, grandchildren, and friends. Barbara continues Bernie’s legacy and renews her

commitment to Chizuk Amuno through her own participation, presence, and her response to creating community through service to others. n

Pesah 5771 | 11

Preparing For Passover–A Guide to Meaning & Method April 2011 Nisan 5771

A

s we anticipate our Passover holiday we are what some people have called, “Eve of Pesah” Jews and people. We are poised like at no other time before this unique festival to consider the meanings of freedom and human dignity.

When we come to our Seder tables we know that there will be no hametz, no leavened foods or products. We will eat only matzah.

Yet as food, matzah can only be made of any grain that is able to become hametz.

For the Seder and the full eight days of Passover, matzah symbolizes every good intention or simple truth. Hametz represents every good intention exploited, every simple truth disguised. For this religious reason, and to connect our own homes and lives to the master story of our people’s history and sacred identity, we clean and prepare our houses and ourselves in order to celebrate Passover.

(As your Seder begins ask this question: What “matzah” have we brought with us tonight? What

12 | HaZ’man ~ This Season

“hametz” have we cleaned and removed from our own hearts or minds in getting ready to celebrate Pesah?)

Since matzah is made from five of the same grains that produce bread—wheat, barley, oats, rye, and spelt—matzah is anything that has the potential to become hametz. For fifty-one weeks each year we don’t attach value judgments to our daily bread. On Passover we live the cliché—we are what we eat! As Israel Zangwill taught, “On Passover Jews eat history and drink theology!”

In an attempt to re-enact the experience out of which our Jewish people and heritage emerged, we look to the simple and lowly fare of the slave. Slaves ate matzah. The slave’s is the most humble of lives.

In contrast, the taskmaster exalted himself and believed that others must do his bidding. His was a lavish style of food and life.

For Judaism the freedom and equality that we seek for all people requires that humility, not arrogance, remain our ideal way. We cannot live as people who serve our own wills alone. Fermented grain implies personal and social excess.

Unleavened bread suggests modesty. Passover teaches us that human arrogance is held in check by awareness of existence beyond ourselves.

The change we make from hametz to matzah symbolizes that our efforts in life are in service of God and the values of God’s presence in our world.

On Passover we turn our basic need for food and nourishment into the symbolic agent through which we express our faith and personal values. Just as all matzah is potentially hametz, so are we, descendents of unpretentious slaves, potentially the hardened and

conceited of heart and mind. One week each year we return to the core ideals and basic visions of the goodness, honesty, and dignity our lives should reflect and toward which we work to guide our society.

The physical process of cleaning, preparing, and changing our homes and kitchens is intended to inform our spiritual identities.

Ritual and tradition without ethics is also ritual and tradition without deeper meaning.

Here are guidelines to help you kasher (make proper for Pesah) your home for Passover. Please call on Rabbis Shulman and Wechsler for any questions you may have and about how to best grow in celebrating the beautiful meanings and joys of the Passover holiday.  First, before you begin cooking for the holiday, remove from your kitchen foods that contain hametz — grains and their derivatives that you won’t be eating during the holiday. These include: breads, cakes, cookies, crackers, cereals, pasta, and the like.

All liquids containing grain alcohol should also be removed. Rice, corn, beans, and peas are also considered hametz and taken out from the kitchen.

You may store unopened packages and dry goods that you will want to use after Passover in another place, perhaps in the garage or a closet, or even in a kitchen cabinet that will remain closed throughout Pesah. These items should be “sold” before Passover to symbolically cancel your ownership of them. (You may do this by filling out the form on page 14.) It is customary to make a modest contribution to feed others as part of this “sale.” Many people also donate some of these foods to shelters and soup kitchens for the benefit of others. Please consider participating in Chizuk Amuno’s Food Drive at this season.  Second, thoroughly clean your kitchen—paying close attention to cupboards and drawers, the refrigerator and freezer, countertops and sink. Some people are careful to clean the grout between kitchen tiles, as well. Your stovetop should also be scrubbed clean.

Afterward, turn the burners on to full flame or heat for just a moment. After you clean your microwave oven, place a glass of water into it and turn the oven on until the water boils. A selfcleaning oven can be made ready for Passover by its normal cleaning method. Other ovens should be completely scoured and then run on high for a brief period after they are clean. Run your empty dishwasher through a complete wash cycle to prepare it for use.

When your kitchen is clean, pour boiling water over any exposed metal surfaces and then you’ll be ready to bring in your Passover foods and utensils.

Dishes, pots, and utensils especially reserved for Passover should be used. Many people use paper, plastic, and other disposable items to help keep costs down. Any utensils or pots made entirely

of metal that you use during the rest of the year may be placed in boiling water after they have been scoured and then used during Passover. All table glassware can be used after complete cleaning.

Earthenware, enamel, wood, porcelain, and plastic items cannot be made kosher for Passover. Towels and linens can be used after they have been thoroughly washed. Purchase new sponges for Passover.

Close away or store those things in your kitchen that you will not be using during the holiday.  Third, bring your kosher for Passover foods into your prepared and very clean kitchen! The only foods that require a “Kosher for Passover” label are: all matzah products and baked goods, processed foods, (canned, bottled, or frozen) wine, vinegar, liquor, oils, dried fruits, candy, chocolate flavored milk, ice cream, yogurt, and soda.

Many other products are labeled “Kosher for Passover” and it is always preferable to use them during the holiday.

Consumer warning: watch out for the vast variety of foods marketed and sold for Passover that strive to imitate hametz and that you probably won’t use or need anyway! Keep focused on the values of the holiday we are celebrating while remembering that it is a festive and special time. A good rule of thumb is, if I wouldn’t buy this during the other 51 weeks of the year, why do I need it now?  Fourth, do what you can to help others during your Passover preparations. In your family preparing the house and kitchen should be a joint effort—there is plenty for parents and children to do together.

On the Sunday night before the first Seder, carefully hide a few breadcrumbs around the house and send your children on a hunt to find them. This is known as Bedikat Hametz, a final search to rid the house of hametz. The old custom is to take a feather and wooden spoon, scoop the breadcrumbs into a paper bag, and then burn it all. The B’rakhot—blessings that are recited for this ritual—can be found in most Haggadot.

In addition to delivering your hametz for the use of others, consider making a contribution to the Passover Fund at Chizuk Amuno Congregation as well as Mazon: A Jewish Response To Hunger to provide food for those in need. This tzedakah is known in Jewish tradition as Ma’ot Hittim (Grain Money).  Finally, prepare your Seder celebration in advance of your family and friend’s arrival. Preparing a meaningful Seder is one of the most important needs we have as Passover approaches. Think about who will be present with you, how long they can sit, what ideas and activities will best interest and engage them, and how you can join together in retelling the story of our people’s Exodus from Egypt. A “talking Seder” of discussion, games, or activities and conversation that uses the Haggadah for the Seder’s order, prayers, and explanation of symbols works well!

Pesah 5771 | 13

H

oliday services are warm and special times. We invite you to join the meaning, spirit, and beauty of celebrating Passover with your synagogue community.

Our Festival Services will begin at 9:15 a.m. on each of Passover’s four holiday mornings. We’ll share in prayer, celebration and reflection, and study Torah and Passover’s themes together. Our festival gathering will conclude with a holiday Kiddush.

Shabbat, April 23 | 3rd Hol HaMoed

Monday, April 18 | Erev Pesah

Sunday, April 24 | 4th Hol HaMoed

Shabbat Hol HaMoed of Pesah Morning Service We recognize our Madrikhim – B’nei Mitzvah Tutors Family Service Kiddush honoring our Madrikhim Study Session Minhah/Ma’ariv Havdalah

Shaharit – Siyyum B’khorim Fast of the First Born Minhah/Erev Pesah

7:00 a.m.

6:00 p.m.

Shaharit Minhah/Erev 7th Day of Pesah Candle Lighting

Candle Lighting First Seder Night

7:29 p.m.

Monday, April 25 | 7th Day Pesah

Tuesday, April 19 | 1st Day Pesah Pesah Festival Morning Service Candle Lighting Minhah/Erev Pesah Second Seder Night

9:15 a.m.

8:13 p.m.

6:15 p.m.

Wednesday, April 20 | 2nd Day Pesah Passover Festival Morning Service Minhah/Ma’ariv Havdalah

9:15 a.m.

7:45 p.m.

8:14 p.m.

Thursday, April 21 | 1st Hol HaMoed

Seventh Day of Pesah Festival Morning Service Family Service Minhah/Erev 8th Day Pesah Candle Lighting

9:15 a.m.

10:00 a.m. following Services 6:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

8:17 p.m.

9:15 a.m.

6:00 p.m.

7:35 p.m.

9:15 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

6:15 p.m.

8:19 p.m.

Tuesday, April 26 | 8th Day Pesah, Yizkor Eighth Day of Pesah Festival Morning Service Yizkor Memorial Prayers Family Service Parents wishing to join the Yizkor service in the Sanctuary are welcome to keep their children in the Family Service.

Minhah/Ma’ariv Havdalah Hametz may be eaten

9:15 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

7:45 p.m.

8:20 p.m. after 8:45 p.m.

Shaharit 7:00 a.m.

Minhah/Ma’ariv 6:15 p.m. Siyyum B’khorim-First Born Minyan

Followed by Breakfast, In Memory of Warren Komins Friday, April 22 | 2nd Hol HaMoed Siyyum B’khorim is a morning minyan and brief study session followed by a Shaharit 7:00 a.m. light breakfast, the last hametz meal before Passover. Attendance at this minyan Shabbat Hol HaMoed Pesah is a special mitzvah for all first-born males. First born daughters and everyone else Oneg Shabbat/Minhah 6:00 p.m. are also welcome!

Kabbalat Shabbat 6:15 p.m. The tradition of attending a Siyyum B’khorim marks the role of the first born of both Candle Lighting 7:33 p.m. Israel and Egypt in the Exodus story. It is also a moment to mark with gratitude the gift of freedom we will celebrate on Passover. Join in this final preparation for Passover on Monday, April 18 at 7 a.m. in the Hoffberger Chapel.

Sale of Hametz

A Place at the Table

Hametz may be sold by completing this form until 10 a.m.

Monday morning, April 18, 2011. Hametz that is sold reverts to your ownership when Pesah is concluded on Tuesday evening, April 26, 2011.

I/We hereby authorize Dr. Moshe Shualy as the agent of Chizuk Amuno Congregation to use the enclosed contribution in part to symbolically sell all leaven (hametz) in my/our possession.

The remainder of my/our contribution will be set aside as tzedakah for Ma’ot Hittim.

Be a host for Passover seder! We are often contacted by college students, local hospitals, and also congregants who would like to share a Passover seder. If you have room at your table for new friends, please be in touch with Rabbi Wechsler.

Signature and date Address and city

14 | HaZ’man ~ This Season

Be a guest for a Passover seder! We have wonderful seder experiences with new Chizuk Amuno friends waiting for you. If you are in need of a seder to attend for either first or second night, please be in touch with Rabbi Wechsler.

Special Passover Events Sunday, April 10 The Harold and Sybil Effron Memorial Lecture Program How to Lead a Seder in One Easy Lesson Rabbi Ron Shulman Sunday, April 10, 10 - 11:30 a.m.

Everything you need to know to have the best seder ever!

No Fee

Dunkin’ Pots and Pans On Sunday, April 10, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the Esterson Auditorium kitchen, we will help you kasher your silverware or metal pots and utensils. Items used during the year may be used for Passover, if they undergo a process of kashering called hag’alah.

Hag’alah involves immersing the item in a container filled with boiling water.

Please note: Baking utensils cannot be kashered. Silverware or pots must be made entirely of metal. Items must be thoroughly cleaned prior to kashering. Items may not be used 24 hours prior to kashering.

Please line up by the Esterson kitchen at the door off the driveway. Bring a laundry hamper and clean towel to take your items home, as we do not have room for storage and drying. You will also be able to pick up bedikat hametz kits, sell your hametz, and donate Ma’ot Hittim. RSVP to Judy Simkin at ext. 232.

Special Judaica Shop Hours Please note: On Sunday, April 10 the Judaica Shop will be open extended hours from 9:15 a.m. until noon to accomodate your Pesah shopping needs. For a complete schedule of regular hours, please see the ad on page 20.

Pre-Passover Food Drive Please note: We need volunteer drivers on Sunday, April 10 at 10:30 a.m. for food delivery. For complete details regarding the Food Drive, please see the back cover.

Pre-Pesah Shabbat Dinner Friday, April 15 6:00 p.m. Oneg Shabbat / Minhah 6:15 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat 7 p.m. Dinner Your kitchen is already pesadik. What do you do?

Join us for a Pre-Pesah Shabbat dinner!

Your RSVP must be received by Friday, April 8.

Name Phone

No. of people $ Number of adults, $25/person, CAC members:

/

$28/person, CAC non-members:

/ ­­ Number of children (5-12yrs), $15/child, CAC members:

/

$16 non-members:

/ ­Number of children (0-5yrs), $10:­­

/

$ Amount enclosed

Chef Annie’s Fabulous Brisket at Your Seder!

It’s Time to Order!

Let us help you make your holiday preparation a little easier.

Chef Annie will be preparing her fabulous brisket and root vegetable gravy just for your seder.

All you have to do is heat and serve.

Just $60 for a 3 lb. container Pick up will take place on Monday, April 18 until 3 p.m. in the Stulman Auditorium kitchen.

For further information, please call Jenny Baker, 410/486-6400, ext. 227.

Orders must be received by

Friday, April 1— no late orders will be accepted.

Please send your check made payable to Chizuk Amuno Congregation to: Chizuk Amuno Congregation, Attention: Passover Brisket, 8100 Stevenson Road, Baltimore, MD 21208

Pesah 5771 | 15

Goldsmith Early Childhood Education Center Hebrew Immersion Class Explores the Seven days of Creation It all began as they sang and wished one another Shavua Tov, a good week, after celebrating their first monthly Havdalah service. The kids were learning a song that named the working days of the week and Shabbat as a day of rest using the following words: yom - day, avodah - work, mehnuha - rest.

This led to talking about creation and thanking God for all that he created. The kids busily worked together to create each day that Elohim (God) bahrah (created) using

The Congregational Life Committee hosted our second club social in December. One hundred fifty people came out to enjoy music by Three of a Kind, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Earthrise, and David Madoff. Each group highlighted the magnificent talent of our synagogue community, including (in addition to David) musicians Jonny Lewis, Leslie Pomerantz, Jeff Snyder, and Jeremy Schon. Chef Annie provided a great spread and DiWine Spirits set up beer, wine, and bourbon tasting. Thanks to Brotherhood for helping to organize the music.

16 | HaZ’man ~ This Season

different art materials. When they got to the seventh day, they welcomed Shabbat and rested, just like God did. They truly enjoyed the whole process of learning and creating.

P.S. Morah Orly Purrio and Morah Sara Berman’s class recently added a fish to their science center and the kids voted to name it Hamishi, fifth, because God created fish on the fifth day.

Parent Association Council – Linking Our Schools and Synagogue Communities The PA Council assisted with two meaningful outreach programs in December. The Krieger Schechter 2nd Grade Annual Toy Drive partnered with the Goldsmith Early Childhood Education Center and Rosenbloom Religious School for our most successful collection of gently used toys ever! The donations filled two vans and part of a large truck. They were sent to the Community Assistance Network, which distributed the toys, books, and electronics to children who would otherwise not receive presents during the December holiday season.

The PA Council also coordinated a school/synagogue collection of 380 socks and $100 (from KSDS Middle School tzedakah funds) that were used for winter survival kits for Baltimore’s homeless. The assembly of the kits took place on Community Mitzvah Day, coordinated by THE ASSOCIATED and Jewish Volunteer Connection every December 25.

Many thanks go to the families that sent in donations for these projects. It demonstrates our community unity and the true meaning of helping others.

Our next big event is the Purim Carnival, coming up on Sunday, March 20. Be sure to join us for this fun day at Chizuk Amuno. Tickets can be purchased in advance through our school offices.

Brotherhood Honors Their Blue Yarmulke Man-of-the-Year In January, Michael Freilich was honored as the Chizuk Amuno Brotherhood Blue Yarmulke Man-of-the-Year. This honor is bestowed upon a member of the Brotherhood who has shown outstanding spirit, participation, and leadership over an extended period. Michael, a 15 year member of the Brotherhood, has held almost all board positions of responsibility, including President, and has been instrumental in developing programming for the Brotherhood.

During his term as president of Chizuk Amuno Brotherhood, Michael served on the Board of the

Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs Seaboard region. Michael currently serves as the vice president of Programming for FJMC Seaboard.

Michael has been instrumental in developing and training with the FJMC Keruv program, which helps Brotherhoods effectively integrate members whose families include intermarried couples.

ohtcv ohfurc

B’rukhim Habaim • Welcome to Our New Members Danielle Goldstein

Hannah and Martin Magram

Amanda and Joshua Weinberg

Ann and Frank Gorton

Megan and Joshua Schermer

Sybil and Herbert White

Eddie and Nanette Greenberg

Rebecca and Eric Scherr

Vanda and Marshall White

Tracy and Eric Hochberg

Marilyn and Sonny Spector

Deborah Cardin and Jonathan Willis

Pauline and Marc Lapin

Melanie and Lorne Yasbin

We are happy to welcome those who have most recently chosen to join our Chizuk Amuno family.

If you have friends or family who may be interested in joining Chizuk Amuno, please call our Membership Coordinator, Cheryl Snyderman, 410/486-6400, ext. 300.

Pesah 5771 | 17

Sisterhood Wins Award of Excellence Chizuk Amuno Sisterhood received the Emerald Jewel in the Crown award at the 2010 International Women’s League for Conservative Judaism convention this past December. This award recognizes participation in three categories during the two years between July 1, 2008

and June 30, 2010. Our planning and completion of events in Education/Programming, Community Service/ World Affairs, and Women’s League Activities qualified us for the highest award in the crown.

Each attendee at the convention was asked to contribute to a collection for Books for Baltimore.

This program raised over $50,000 and provided 13,000 books for students in Baltimore City schools.

Visit www.youtube.com and search for “Women’s League Books for Baltimore” to view a thank you from the teachers and students as they received their books.

Please join us in continuing our record of excellence in serving the Chizuk Amuno community. As we celebrate our 125th Anniversary, we look forward to many years of growth and support of our synagogue. A special celebration will take place on Wednesday, May 25. Watch for details in the next HaHodesh~This Month at Chizuk Amuno and on the Sisterhood page of the Chizuk Amuno website. For information about Sisterhood activities and membership, contact Charlee Sterling, 410/902-6255 or cmlsterling@gmail.com.

Keeping Busy With the Israel Engagement Committee The Israel Engagement Committee has embarked on an ambitious range of programs which have drawn a tremendous response from the Chizuk Amuno community. The goal of our committee is to further enhance our community’s connection to Israel with opportunities to learn more and connect with her culture and people in new ways.

We kicked off the year with an Israeli song Sing-Along on Hol HaMoed Sukkot. The KSMS choir and Kol Rinah serenaded a large audience, who then joined in the singing, filling the courtyard with the music of Israel.

Israeli food in the Attman Sukkah topped off the evening.

In the fall, we presented a panel of teens from Chizuk Amuno in conversation with Shinshinim, representatives from our sister-city of Ashkelon. The Ashkelon representatives are spending this year working with our community prior to their army service. This panel

shed a light on the different challenges faced by young people in our two communities, and explored how our high school-aged members feel about Israel. In January, we hosted a presentation on water issues in Israel and the surrounding nations, presented by our own Ellen Rosenberg. More than 60 people turned out on a chilly Sunday morning to celebrate Tu B’Shevat, the new year of the trees, and learn more about this important issue that will come to be increasingly important in the future of the Middle East.

Our First Annual Israel Film Festival has been another winter highlight. Hundreds have welcomed the opportunity to watch Israeli movies and socialize over refreshments. The films have offered something for everyone – the romantic comedy A Matter of Size about Israeli Sumo wrestlers, the police thriller Ajami, and the final film, I Was There in Color, a documentary

about the founding of the State of Israel. Our attention has now turned to Israel’s 63rd birthday. On May 10, we will host the Baltimore Zionist District’s communitywide celebration, with special activities for children, a live concert of Israeli music, Israeli edibles, and a special tefillah service for Yom Ha’atzmaut. Every Shabbat in our prayer for Israel we thank God for the modern miracle that is the State of Israel. On May 10, we will gather our voices in song and prayer, accompanied by musicians from our community and our schools’ choirs, to give thanks for what Israel has brought to all our lives. We hope all will join us for this special chance to celebrate !

Check out our bulletin board, across from the Sisterhood Judaica shop, for more information about Israel Engagement Committee upcoming events.

Project Mitzvah: Celebrating as a Community Any given year at Chizuk Amuno we celebrate dozens of b’nei mitzvah; we come together as a community to help parents and families celebrate our young adults entering into the brit, covenant, of our rich heritage. These celebrations mark moments in time for the individual, the family, and our kehillah kedushah, holy community, that we all work so hard to create and perpetuate. The b’nei mitzvah experience reflects a long far-reaching process.

We could say that the process begins when a child is born, but it extends farther than that - it extends to the experience of our parents, grandparents, and beyond. It is ultimately an acknowledgement of something that has been around longer than any of us.

It is important to remember that the b’nei mitzvah has very little to do with the day itself. Rather, it is the experience that it represents—an acceptance and 18 | HaZ’man ~ This Season

acknowledgment of ones role in our community. Months are spent shuttling to and from lessons, crafting a d’var Torah, and meeting with the clergy. A very important step in the process is participation in Project Mitzvah, our Chizuk Amuno program designed for b’nei mitzvah families to prepare and learn together. This program helps reinforce the notion that the bar and bat mitzvah is not only about the individual but also about the family and greater Jewish world. We come together in Project Mitzvah to explore questions like: Why do we celebrate a bar or bat mitzvah? How is it a rite of passage and why do we continue to celebrate this tradition? We come together to celebrate the opportunity to reach this moment and celebrate the experience.

This year, for the first time, we have reshaped the b’nei mitzvah preparation experience to focus around

Shabbat, the cornerstone of our Jewish world. We have come together twice so far this year to pray, eat, and learn together. At our most recent meeting in January, we joined with the larger CAC community to celebrate a special interactive learning Shabbat in the Sanctuary.

There, Rabbis Shulman and Wechsler answered questions from the bimah and taught throughout the Shabbat morning service.

We will continue to meet throughout the year to learn, volunteer, and pray. In doing these things we are able to demonstrate by example—it is not just the day of the bar or bat mitzvah itself that is important, but all the learning leading up to it and the commitment to mitzvah that follows.

Torah Writing Volunteer Opportunity If you experienced the beauty of that special moment when you wrote in our new Torah, then you understand how that time was enhanced by the assistance of a volunteer.

Several Chizuk Amuno members have volunteered to help make each writing session run smoothly. If you are interested and available to assist for future sessions (note the complete schedule on the inside back cover), please contact Lynn Tucker at ltucker331@hotmail.com (subject: TORAH WRITING VOLUNTEER) or call 410/828-8310 – daytime only.

Celebrate

Your Life Cycle Events at Chizuk Amuno!

For more information about

Bris

catering and room rental options, including

Baby Naming Bar / Bat Mitzvah

our beautiful and versatile

Aufruf

In Memoriam

Krieger Auditorium,

Wedding

It is with sadness that we at Chizuk Amuno mark the recent passing of our dear friend and colleague, Rhoda Toney. Rhoda served as a receptionist in the Administrative Office for 20 years. We remember her pleasant manner, her warm smile, and her dedication.

please contact Jenny Baker, ext. 227

Birthday

or jbaker@chizukamuno.org.

Anniversary

On March 8, 9, and 10, the Krieger Schechter Middle School held its annual Learning Festival. During the festival the entire Middle School pauses from its regular curriculum to dedicate time to a single topic. The theme this year was Service...service to community, to the country, and to the planet. Toward that focus, speakers joined us from agencies such as Baltimore County Police, various volunteer fire stations, and the State's Attorney's office. In craft sessions, students made matzah covers and seder plates to be donated to senior centers, they knitted blankets, and learned about various international relief programs. A particular highlight of the Learning Festival were the off-site visits: Frisky' Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary, The Howard County Conservancy, the US Capitol (where 7th Graders met with Senator Ben Cardin), Irvine Nature Center, Temple Emanuel in Reisterstown (for packing lunches), and the Stadium Place Senior Center.

Chizuk Amuno Sisterhood Baby and Kid’s Gear and Clothing Sale (Infant to Toddler) Sunday, April 10, 2011, 8:30 a.m. -1 p.m.

Chizuk Amuno Congregation, Garden Lounge Live a “greener” lifestyle. Clean out your house.

Make some extra cash. Raise funds for Chizuk Amuno Sisterhood.

To volunteer or sell items, please contact Sara Hoffman, gotbabyjunk@gmail.com.

Photo courtesy of Len dePas

Krieger Schechter Middle School Learning Festival

Chizuk Amuno Congregation Cemeteries Serving our synagogue community with sensitivity and caring in the selection of individual and family cemetery plots.

Perpetual Care, always our standard.

Pre-need purchases help to relieve stress on families during times of crisis.

For information please contact:

Arlington Cemetery North Rogers Avenue Barbara Lichter 410/486-6400, ext. 248 blichter@chizukamuno.org

Garrison Forest Cemetery Garrison Forest Road at Crondall Lane Marsha Yoffe 410/486-6400, ext. 309 myoffe@chizukamuno.org Pesah 5771 | 19

Come take a stroll on Schechter Street A Fanciful Festival Celebrating 30 years of excellence at Krieger Schechter Day School Sunday, March 27, 6 - 9:30 p.m.

Chizuk Amuno Congregation

Sisterhood Judaica Shop Currently Featuring Our Huge Selection of Pesah Items Seder Plates • Matzah Covers • Kiddush Cups Lots of Popular Gift Items for the Youngsters and Young-At-Heart on your List Books • Toys • Kitchenware Collections (aprons, cookbooks, serving pieces) Plus! The Woman of Valor collection has arrived!

This popular ceramic grouping never stays long on shelves so take advantage of its availability now.

Shop Hours: Sunday: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Monday: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m., 2 - 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday: 10 a.m. - noon, 2 - 6 p.m. • Friday: 10 a.m. - noon

Goldsmith Early Childhood Education Center of Chizuk Amuno Congregation

O

ur award-winning Jewish early childhood

education program and our exciting summer camp feature full-day options and flexible scheduling.

Now accepting applications for Summer Camp, June 20 - August 12 and Fall 2011 Preschool.

8100 Stevenson Road, Baltimore, MD 21208 410/486-8642 • gecec@chizukamuno.org Michelle Gold, GECEC Director Elise Harrison, Camp Director/GECEC Assistant Director

J ew i s h I d e n t it y • E xploration • C re at i v i t y • E n co u r ag e m e n t • I n d i v i d ua l i t y • E xpression 20 | HaZ’man ~ This Season

Torah Writing

If you have not yet registered for the important mitzvah of writing a Torah, please call 410/486-8641, complete the form under the “Giving� section on our website: www.chizukamuno. org, or return the completed form below to Chizuk Amuno Congregation, 8100 Stevenson Road, Baltimore, MD 21208, Attn: Torah Writing Project. m Monday, April 4, 2011 m Tuesday, April 5, 2011 m Wednesday, June 1, 2011 m Thursday, June 2, 2011 m Sunday, September 11, 2011 m Monday, September 12, 2011 m Tuesday, November 22, 2011 m Wednesday, November 23, 2011 m Sunday, December 11, 2011 m Monday, December 12, 2011 m Sunday, January 22, 2012 m Monday, January 23, 2012

Morning

Contact Information Name Phone (day and evening)

E-mail

Afternoon

Evening

14

Non Profit Org. US Postage Paid Baltimore, MD Permit No. 544

Chizuk Amuno

C O N G R E G AT I O N

1871~2011

A

R I S E

&

C

TIME SENSITIVE M ATERIAL please deliver promptly

R E AT E

C HIZUK A MUNO’ S 1 4 0 TH A NNIVERSARY

Give the gift of a professional look ...

8100 Stevenson Rd. • Baltimore, Md 21208 www.chizukamuno.org

INTERVIEW OUTFITS UNLIMITED

(I.O.U.) CLOTHING DRIVE

SUNDAY, MAY 1 • 9 A.M. - NOON

CHIZUK AMUNO CONGREGATION

PRE-PASSOVER TO BENEFIT COMMUNITY AGENCIES

.oFvx¨ ig© l¨k¨ l§ rri« © A«¦ U§ nE © ,L ,Lc¨ «¤¨i z`¤ g« © zFR «¥ You open Your hand, and Your favor sustains all the living.

—Psalm 145

Please drop off cleaned, gently worn professional clothing on hangers and accessories for men and women.

Volunteers will be on hand in the Louis A. Cohen Family Chapel Lobby to accept donations and help unload cars.

Receipts will be available.

Volunteers are needed to transport items.

Donations take place on weekdays and Sundays.

If you drive a van, SUV, or truck and would like to do a mitzvah, please contact Miriam Foss.

Questions? Call Miriam Foss, mfoss@chizukamuno.org or 410/486-6400, ext. 281.

A service initiative made possible by the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Gemilut Hasadim Endowment Fund

sunday, April 3 - Wednesday, April 13 F OOD W ISH L IST :

Beef stew, canned fruits, canned meats/tuna, canned vegetables, dish soap, disposable salt and pepper shakers, ketchup and mayonnaise, laundry detergent, macaroni and cheese, metal forks, napkins, paper lunch bags, pasta and sauce, peanut butter and jelly, plastic baggies, plastic ware, rice, stove top stuffing, sugar, tea bags, toilet paper

Monetary option: In lieu of food, monetary donations will be accepted and donated to kosher funds.

Make checks payable to Chizuk Amuno, Attn. Food Drive.

For more information, call Miriam Foss, 410/486-6400, ext. 281 Please drop off your sealed, not-for-Passover food in bins located in the Louis A. Cohen Family Chapel Lobby and the Administrative Lobby.

Please check expiration dates.

A service initiative made possible by the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Gemilut Hasadim Endowment Fund