Shofar Nisan/Iyar 5770
Jewish Family Congregation www.jewishfamilycongregation.org
April 2010
From the Rabbi’s Desk When I was a kid growing up in Winnipeg, Canada, there was no Reform congregation in the city. In fact, there were some big Reform congregations in Toronto and Montreal, but none in the west. In my world, Reform was looked down on, considered almost not Jewish. I was, as a young adult, part of a group that established Temple Shalom in Winnipeg, about 44 years ago, because we were disgusted by the hypocrisy of some of the people leading the local Conservative congregations at that time, people who looked down on Reform Judaism for its leniency but in their own personal lives, actually behaved like Reform Jews. These people did not follow the dietary laws or the restrictions on driving and shopping on Shabbat that Conservative Judaism requires (and which Reform does not impose). They prayed exclusively in Hebrew, though they did not understand the language, and considered the Reform prayerbook pathetic, because, at the time, it was primarily in English. They mocked Reform Judaism because, at the time, it actively discouraged the wearing of kippot and tallitot. Some of the people who were very vocal in their rejection of Reform Judaism were my own family. Nonetheless, a small group of us began meeting in each other’s homes, just as the original reformers in Germany did, about 200 years ago. The group grew slowly, and finally got to be too large to hold services in homes, so we rented space. After a while, we hired a part-time rabbi, too. Our High Holy Days services drew substantial crowds. But our membership came mostly from people who were not born and raised in Winnipeg; people from eastern Canada or from the United States, who had been exposed to Reform Judaism before, became the core of our temple. As far as I know, even now, Winnipeg’s Reform congregation has trouble recruiting members because of the community’s bias against liberal Judaism, though Reform has changed in many ways since Temple Shalom began. From the Rabbi’s Desk The President’s Message Service Schedule Oneg Schedule Early Childhood Center The Religious School Social Action Committee JFCAdults
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Reform Judaism came into existence as a response to the way Jewish religious practice had ossified over the millennia. Many prayers, poems and hymns were added to the basic prayer service, and nothing was ever taken away, so that a Shabbat morning service could take four hours. Moreover, the services were conducted exclusively in Hebrew, which most German Jews, like the majority of today’s American Jews, did not understand. There was no sermon. The men and women sat separately, and the women could not participate in the service at all. And the services were conducted without any decorum, so that they sometimes felt chaotic and unsatisfying. And there were other issues, too. When they studied the prayers, those early reformers discovered that they were praying for the restoration of the Davidic monarchy Reform has matured over the 200 years since it was begun, and how it got where we are today is an interesting story.
and the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem (which implies the return of animal sacrifice). The former put their loyalty to their homeland at risk, and the latter offended their sensibilities. Reform caught on quickly in Germany, just as Protestantism had done 200 years earlier on the same fertile intellectual turf. It was exported to the United States with the emigration of German Jews in the middle of the 19 th century. These people valued Reform Judaism because it enabled them to remain identified as Jews while blending into the mainstream of American society. They prospered in this country, and built large urban temples for their spiritual homes. They brought rabbis from “the old country,” who translated the prayerbook into English, shortened the services by eliminating repetitions and certain prayers they found meaningless, and introduced the sermon, delivered in the
JiFTY Anniversaries/Birthdays Donations to JFC ECC Pictures RS Pictures Ask the Rabbi Kids Ask the Rabbi
JFC Classified
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Donations Form Summer Camp Reg Form Calendar
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URJ
Page 2 Jewish Family Congregation
111 Smith Ridge Road P.O. Box 249 South Salem, NY 10590 Phone: (914) 763-3028 Fax: (914) 763-3069 e-mail: jfc@bestweb.net jewishfamilycongregation.org
Rabbi Carla Freedman jfc@bestweb.net Cantor Kerry Ben-David cantorbd@aol.com
School Director Leslie Gottlieb lesliejo1960@gmail.com Early Childhood Center Director Fern Tannenbaum jfceccenter@gmail.com Temple Administrator Jolie Levy jfcoffc@gmail.com Board Of Trustees David Tillem, President 914-232-1630 Jeanette Sanders, Vice President; Bill Pink, Secretary; Andrew Serby, Treasurer; Carrie Kane Mark Lavin David Marceau Richard Mishkin Polly Schnell Nita Weissman Elisa Zuckerberg and Johanna Perlman, Past President
Shofar Editor Jolie Levy Shofar Publisher David Emmer
Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
April 2010
The President’s Message by David Tillem
SAVE THE DATE:
JUNE 5, 2010 - SPECIAL MUSICAL EVENING
NEW AND IMPROVED SHOPPING CARDS PROGRAM On Saturday evening, June 5, 2010, JFC will hold a special musical evening. We plan on having entertainment. We will also be auctioning, in addition to the traditional items, for example, restaurant dinners, etc., and several art projects prepared by JFC Religious School students. This evening will be the biggest fundraising event of the year at JFC. We plan to have a fun-filled evening. Save the date for yourself and friends, grandparents or others who might enjoy a night out. JFC is pleased to announce a NEW shopping card program which allows you to shop from home and includes many more vendors than previously offered. You simply create your own account using JFC's Enrollment Code to link your account to ours, pick your cards, and then you have the option to pay by check (which must be delivered to the JFC Office) or have your checking account automatically debited. Once you set up your own account, you may "reload" the existing cards. With the automatic account debit option, cards are reloaded by the next business day if placed before 3 p.m. You may place your orders any time you like. Twice each month, on the 15th and last day of the month, JFC will "release" all orders that have been paid for. New cards will then be shipped to JFC and will arrive in the JFC Office for pickup in 2-3 business days. Here are the very simple steps to follow: 1. BEFORE you go on line, please call the JFC Office (763-3028), or you may stop in the office, to obtain our Enrollment Code. This Enrollment Code will only be required once during the enrollment process. Due to security concerns, we will not e-mail or publish the Enrollment Code. 2. Go to www.ShopWithScrip.com. 3. On the left side you will see a green box that says "Family Sign Up." Click on "create account" and follow the simple instructions. Put in our Enrollment Code when prompted, and it will tell you that you have been linked to Jewish Family Congregation. You will need to confirm this. 4. After you place your cards in your cart and click on "checkout," you can then select
the method of payment. You may bring a check to the JFC Office or use PrestoPay. PrestoPay is similar to PayPal. You enroll in their program and provide your checking account information. Your account will be automatically debited, and your information is now attached to your account for future use. Choosing that option is most expeditious and will ensure that your order will be available for immediate release. JFC will be notified that your order has been placed and paid for. It will then be released on the next order date. I urge you to visit the website. You will be amazed at the extensive list of vendors available with this scrip program. JFC will be creating an order form in the near future with a sampling of this list, but for the complete list please see the website. Also, take a look at the monthly specials where some vendors offer a higher percentage for a limited time. The use of Shopping Cards is a form of fundraising for JFC. It costs you nothing to use a Shopping Card than to use your regular credit card or cash at the store or vendor. You pay no premium. JFC receives a percentage -- varying from merchant to merchant -- for each scrip purchase you make. Are you planning a home renovation? Home Depot, Lowes and other building supply and decorator supply companies are available. See the restaurant list. It is extensive. Traveling? Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and other hotels are available. American Airlines is on the list of participating vendors. Do you eat? Well, A&P is now available, along with Stop & Shop, Shop Rite and others. We have no excuse for failing to use Shopping Cards. It's easy. It costs you nothing more than you would otherwise spend. And you help JFC financially, day in and day out. B'Shalom,
David Tillem
Nisan/Iyar 5770
Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
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SERVICE SCHEDULE Friday, April 2/ Nisan 19
7:30 pm
Exodus 33:12-34:26 (Passover reading)
Tuesday, April 6/ Nisan 22
5:30 pm 6:15 pm
Afternoon service, Yizkor Post Pesakh Pizza Party*
Friday, April 9/ Nisan 26
7:30 pm
Saturday, April 10
10:00 am
Parshat Sh’mini Debra Monaco chants Torah Guest Speaker: Dr. Joel Hoffman Bar Mitzvah of Alex Monaco
Friday, April 16/ Iyar 3
7:30 pm
Saturday, April 17
10:00 am
Friday, April 23/ Iyar 10
7:30 pm
Saturday, April 24
10:00 am
Friday, April 30/Iyar 17
7:30 pm
Saturday, May 1
10:00 am
Parshat Metzora Judy Vandervelden chants Torah Yom HaShoah** observed Bat Mitzvah of Pia Vandervelden Parshat Kedoshim Yom Ha-Atzmaut*** observed Bnai Mitzvah of Daniel &Morgan Minnock Parshat Emor Kindergarten/First Grade Service Bar Mitzvah of Joshua Strongin
* Bring your own (veggie or dairy) pizza and beverage‌JFC will provide paper goods ** Holocaust Memorial Day *** Israel Independence Day
ONEG HOSTS April 2
Eric & Andrea Stegman Paul & Peri Stevelman
April 9
Neal & Karen Blum Gary Mathias & Amy Armitage
April 16
Steven & Melissa Goodstein Andrew & Rose Melinek
Please find a substitute if you cannot host your assigned Oneg. Please contact the JFC Office with the names of the new hosts. BOARD HOST Carrie Kane (914) 248-5254
April 23
Allen Gabor & Lisa Papernik Alan & Lisa Sheptin Edmond & Debra Verbeke
April 30
Kindergarten/1st Grade Class Gary Mathias & Amy Armitage Andrew & Rose Melinek
Please contact your Board Host if you have any questions.
CHOIR If you are interested in joining the choir, or for more information, please contact Kathy Storfer at kstorfer@aol.com We welcome all adults 13 or older!
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
April 2010
Early Childhood Center By Fern Tannenbaum
Chag Pesakh Sameach! Happy Passover! It is most likely still Passover as you are reading this article. Perhaps you are crunching on a matzoh now as you take a few moments from your busy day to reconnect with JFC. It has not been long since we had our Early Childhood Seder at the ECC filled with our children and their families. It was a slightly abbreviated Seder, but it contained all of the important parts from dipping the parsley into salt water and naming the ten plagues, to singing Dayenu. We even had a teacher search for the afikomen which was hidden, and to the delight of the children, in a place where it couldn’t be found. Thankfully with a few hints, our teacher found the afikomen, unwrapped its cover and shared the broken piece, enabling us to bring the wonderful Seder to its conclusion. The children consider this game to be another fun activity, but the adults realize this is a tradition passed from generation to generation. Under the wrapping appeared to be just a piece of matzoh, but it really is a symbol of the Jewish religion, our belief in God, gratitude for our freedom, and a connection between us as a people. It is always easier to take something at face value, nevertheless, to find true meaning requires study, reflection and the search for understanding. As Jews we appreciate this exercise because our holidays, like Passover, provide us with opportunities to find meaning. To appreciate our early childhood classrooms, one also needs to look beyond the surface. The first image someone sees when stepping inside our early childhood classrooms is groups of children happily playing together. At first glance a visitor might think that all the children do each day is play. However, as the visitor stays longer, she would hear the conversations between the teacher and the children that help the children to gather information, build individual skills, practice their language and grow their vocabulary. As the daily schedule unfolds, many different activities that the children engage in are revealed. One child uses assorted colored teddy bears classifying them by size and color, children in the block area build their skills of shape identification, organization and planning and exploring the physical sciences of balance and gravity. In the sandbox there are children comparing the volume of different cups of sand and discovering the sand’s qualities. In dramatic play children are taking on roles and creating their own play scripts while building their communication skills. At the easel, a child is planning his designs, strengthening his fine motor skills, experimenting with brush strokes and colors as well as developing self-expression. All of these activities appear quite enriching to the visitor but as she continues watching, she also notices the children interacting with each other. The children are taking turns, negotiating, solving problems and learning how to work together as partners and friends. In addition, she observes how Jewish life is incorporated into their activities. Before Passover many builders in the block area erected Pharaoh’s palace and the pyramids. In dramatic play, the table was set for the Seder and became the focus
of the children’s play. One artist at the easel made a painting of matzoh. Through the daily activities, the children are learning very important social skills and life skills. Learning about being Jewish is not just taught, but is seamlessly incorporated into all of the children’s activities. Spending a day in the classroom, the visitor sees the children enjoying a snack and conversation together. She also notices a hand decorated box just outside the room filled with food that the children brought to donate to The
Northern Westchester Community Center. Learning the Jewish value of feeding the hungry and not just feeding themselves is incorporated into their curriculum with the help of the Early Childhood Committee. Linda Lederman and Meredith Rudin organized this Tzedakah project to enable our children to practice the mitzvah of giving Tzedakah. This month on April 12th, Linda Lederman and Meredith Rudin are organizing another Tzedakah project, a clothing drive for new or gently used children’s clothing for the community center. The children will learn about this Tzedakah project at our weekly Shabbat service and will be given the responsibility to collect and sort the clothing. Please join our ECC by contributing children’s clothing. Not only will you be helping the children in need at the community center but the ECC children will learn that they can encourage others to give Tzedakah. Although the visitor may be fictitious, everything she saw is true. Just like the Matzoh, there is more to the ECC than meets the eye. Our learning is not just children’s play, it is children’s work. The children are having fun and as any visitor will discover they are learning too. May you continue to enjoy a Healthy and Happy Passover.
Thank You From The ECC A special thank you from the ECC to Alexis Johnson, Ph.D., a JFC member and a kind and generous soul, for presenting an outstanding three workshop series called “Wise Parenting.” Because of the workshops, the ECC parents learned much from Alexis and her wisdom. In addition, the school made extra money to buy extra materials to benefit our children.
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The Religious School by Leslie Gottlieb
As it has been said that Reform Judaism changed the ment to their Jewish studies and heritage. practice of understanding Torah in terms of “being” into The parameters of the fund, recently approved by the that of “becoming.” According to the Jewish scholar Leo JFC Board of Trustees are as follows: Trepp, Judaism, with the advent of reform, could be seen That all monies collected be part of a fund that is to be as an evolutionary process. I am proud to be part of a distributed on a need and/or merit/interest- based stanmovement with an emphasis on the first syllable of that dard to be determined by the selection committee/ That word. Reform Judaism is, for me, a living breathing chang- the selection committee be made up of: Carla Freedman, ing entity, and it allows freedom of interpretation and ex- Leslie Gottlieb, Barbara Stern (currently on the URJ Campression. pership Committee) and Jane Emmer (Eisner Camp AmThe parent organization for JFC, as you know, is the bassador) ---in charge of disbursing funds without being Union for Reform Judaism. The URJ summer camps, all of restricted to a time-bound schedule (distribution can be them, help to synthesize the religious school and home made at any point in the year and not all the money in the experiences--- and attendance for our children at these fund must be used within a given time frame/year)/ That camps helps to foster a love of community, heritage, Jew- this fund will only be used to support URJ camps as JFC is a ish values and tradition. Most of the camps push very hard URJ affiliate and because these specific camps (and affilifor campers to visit Israel at some point during their proated URJ Israel programs) and we share practices and obgram and this is a truly wonderful thing for our kids to visit jectives that are consistent/ That a scholarship application Israel when they are young enough to soak it all in (in the be created and required to be completed by parents seekcompany of their peers) yet old enough for it to have its ing a scholarship (we will modify an existing model already proper resonance spiritually. Last summer, several JFC being used by Eisner/Crane Lake Camps)/ That there be no students went to Israel for a month and they have brought set amount that can or cannot be issued to a specific stuback with them an enthusiasm that dent. It will be the determination of Reform Judaism is...a living breathing the committee to decide this dehas spilled into the classrooms as changing entity, and it allows freedom pending on funds available and some of them teach for us now. For those who have had this rich competing requests. Families can of interpretation and expression. experience from years spent at a reapply year after year./ That the Jewish summer camp, and for some from visiting Israel, Stern family scholarship money ($500/year for Eisner and the resulting connection is a wonderful seed that replants Crane Lake Camps, specifically) not necessarily be coitself in new places over and over again. mingled with the funds collected by JFC/ That the fund be It is because of this close-knit relationship between part of JFC’s list of available funds with which one can doJFC’s Religious School and the Jewish summer camp exnate/ That the fund be for all campers, not just new campperience that we are very happy to announce a new fund ers/ That the students applying must be Religious School that our synagogue will sponsor. The JFC-URJ Camp Fund members of camping age and their families are JFC memhas been created so that any JFC student who enrolls in bers in good standing/ That the funds collected be used in one of the affiliated summer camps can apply for a JFC subsequent years if they are not used in a particular school scholarship. We don’t expect to be able to mange the bulk year/ That the Religious School keep an accounting of the of the tuition costs by any means, but with the official URJ funds available/ That we will help facilitate matching camp scholarships already in place, we are hopeful that grants available from: the URJ Campership Scholarship the additional help from us could mean the difference for Fund, from the UJA “Happy Camper Fund” and from the some families. In any event, it will be an honor for us to Grinspoon Family Awards program—as well as others if confer a merit (or need-based) scholarship for any JFC stu- they should become available. dent who meets the criteria. To be clear, the scholarships As the camp season is slowly approaching (Eisner Camp will be need and merit-based and we are in the process of actually does an online day by day countdown for the kids creating a proper form for our constituents, specifically. and it even includes the minutes and seconds until camp You will be hearing more about this in the months to folbegins!!) and the Religious School calendar is quickly comlow. At this point, with the fund only being advertised… ing to a close…let me wish all of our kids a happy and safe we cannot offer financial assistance beyond the Stern summer no matter what you decide to do with the time Family camp scholarship already in place. If you are inter- off. Surely there are innumerable valuable ways to have ested in that, please speak to me or Rabbi Freedman at fun in the sun as a kid. I hope you all find the right fit and your convenience. we hope this fund eventually helps those who have comHere is the mission statement of the JFC Camp Fund: mitted to one of the many URJ camps. To reinforce the concept that Jewish education is a As you go along your way, please remember to contribtwelve month process and that the URJ camp (& URJ Isute to the JFC-URJ Camp Fund as you would to any other rael experience) offers an extension and enhancement to on the JFC list of funds. Thank you in advance of that conthe JFC Religious School overall learning objectives and tribution. experiences for students who demonstrate a commit-
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
April 2010
Now Registering for Fall 2010
Limited Spaces Available for 2’s, 3’s and 4’s Don’t let your child miss out All registration forms are available on our website: www.jewishfamilycongregation.org Click on Education, then ECC
Samuel D. Friedlander Attorney and Counselor at Law
is pleased to announce the establishment of an office for the practice of law at 2010-2011 Religious School Registration All forms available now at: www.jewishfamilycongregation.org
26 Village Green, Suite 11 P.O. Box 543 Bedford, NY 10506-0543 (914) 205-3327
Registration periods: (rates increase each period)
sdfriedlander@cs.com
Early: Feb. 10-Mar. 17 Regular: Mar. 18-May 11 Summer: May 12-Aug. 31
Commercial and Construction Litigation Criminal & Traffic Defense Personal Injury Probate & Estate Administration
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
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The JFC Social Action Committee by Debbie Lavin
MIDNIGHT RUN IS APRIL 17!
CALLING ALL B’NAI MITZVAH KIDS
JFC will be sponsoring a Midnight Run on April 17. Please help us by donating your gently used men's clothing -especially jeans, hoodies, sneakers and belts. We can also use shirts, socks and NEW jockey-style underwear. Backpacks are especially appreciated as well. Make it a habit to bring something when you come to the Temple! Travel-size toiletries are also needed -especially deodorant, disposable razors and shaving cream. The Collection Box is in the entryway of the Temple. To volunteer, please call or email: Debbie Lavin 232-0756 DebbieLav@aol.com Jeanette Sanders 763-0311 Crotonjan@aol.com
The Tzedakah of the Month For
APRIL is
"MIDNIGHT RUN� Selected by the
JFC Social Action Committee Want to help? Call Debra Lavin (232-0756) or Jeanette Sanders (763-0311)
JFC and the Midnight Run Need You! TO:
Collect gently used: Jeans Sneakers Backpacks Sweatshirts Belts
FROM: Extended Family, School Friends, Teammates, etc. FOR:
MIDNIGHT RUN April 17 and June 12
Please bring all donations to JFC and put in the boxes in the entryway.
Help Repair Mother Earth (Tikuun Olum)! Join us for the bi-annual JFC Roadside Cleanup on Sunday, April 18, at 9:15 a.m. Meet at the bagel store in the Cross River Shopping Plaza (free bagel with a schmeer to the first 100 participants!). We'll clean "our" stretch of road from the Cross River Shopping Plaza to the Bouton Mobile Station and be done by 11:30 a.m. Please bring work gloves and wear sturdy shoes/boots. Text your name AND "Roadside Cleanup YES" to Andrew Kaplan (914-924-8748) or send an email to Andrew at kap5963@yahoo.com.
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
JFC Adults This month we have the opportunity to be led through an extraordinary exhibition geared to adults at the Katonah Museum of Art by our own John Mucciolo, an extremely knowledgeable docent and artist. We will tour The Art of Contemporary Puppet Theater and view one or more of the three films that use puppets. While The Art of Contemporary Puppet Theater is not explicitly “Jewish” it does contain plenty of content of a Jewish sensibility. For example, there is a story relating to the exile of Walter Benjamin, the German-Jewish philosopher and social critic forced to run from the Nazis. And a story of a man whose job it was to destroy books confiscated in the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 to ban the literary culture of the country. Then there is featured South African artist William Kentridge, who can also be seen at The Museum of Modern Art in a new retrospective of his work. “There’s no question that he’s influenced by his Jewishness,” said Judy Hecker, who co-curated the MoMA show. “This notion of the oppressed and the oppressor — the Holocaust must have something to do with that,” she said, then noted his prominent family background. Both his parents were leading figures in the battle against apartheid, a fact that rarely goes unmentioned. Once considered the exclusive province of shamans, puppets have been used for centuries to bring stories to life. The Art of Contemporary Puppet Theater performs such magic, illuminating the power of puppet theater to give form to the internal and otherwise invisible worlds of emotions and ideas. Puppet theater fuses the visual and performing arts, incorporating painting, sculpture, text,
April 2010
By Jeanne Shanin, Adult Program Coordinator music, movement, and technology. The exhibition features sophisticated and often daring work by contemporary puppeteers, painters, film, and media artists, including Eric Bass/Sandglass Theater, Janie Geiser, Liz Goldberg, Chris Green, Dan Hurlin, William Kentridge/ Handspring Puppets, Ralph Lee, Mabou Mines, Roman Paska, Brian Selznick, Julie Taymor, and Hanne Tierney, with short films by Genevieve Anderson, Laura Heit, and Scott Shoemaker. Last month’s Israeli Wine Tasting was a huge success. Matthew Meister and Dafne Sanchez-Aldama, David and Carrie Kane, Donn and Abby Henshaw, Gail Ascher, Rabbi Carla and I sampled great cheeses and crackers along with an array of wines that mostly impressed us, especially a couple from the Golan, a volcanic plateau which is the coldest region in Israel. Excellent quality for the price, Matthew observed. The previous month a crowd of us watched the quirky Cohen brothers’ Academy Award nominated “A Serious Man,” a look at their 60’s Jewish upbringing in Minnesota. Some loved the film, others left saying “huh??” Since it was Purim, I just had to bring my bag of costume accessories and most everyone found something to wear. Thanks to Alan and Jan Sanders for hosting the evening, with Andrew and Dana Kaplan, Harold and Ruth Ossher, David and Carrie Kane, Doris Hettmansberger, Susan Westlake, Curt Shulman, Lila Gordon and her daughter attending, along with Cantor Kerry and Rabbi Carla. Please keep the ideas coming for future events. Write me at jfcadults@gmail.com. Todah Rabbah from the Religious School to…
All of the RS parents who helped with the model seders last month
Everyone who participated last month (our youth group and the Mizrahi family!!) in the seder at Temple Shaaray Tefila for adults who are developmentally disabled
Max Lerner (JFC Kaufman family
member) who will, again, volunteer to speak to our 6th graders about his experience during the Holocaust
Helaine & Rachel Mizrahi for helpJFC Purim Carnival, Feb. 28, 2010 Our very own Sean Kaplan makes the front page of a local newspaper.
ing with the seder at Shaaray Tefila for developmentally disabled adults in March
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
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JFC ď ˘ Adults presents: The Art of Contemporary Puppet Theater
Saturday, April 17 Tour this exhibition geared to adults with John Mucciolo, artist and docent. The power of puppet theater is that it gives form to the internal and otherwise invisible worlds of emotions and ideas. It fuses the visual and performing arts, incorporating painting, sculpture, text, music, movement, and technology. The exhibition features sophisticated and often daring work by contemporary puppeteers, painters, film, and media artists. Katonah Museum of Art 134 Jay Street - Route 22 - Katonah, NY (914) 232-9555
3:45 pm Tour begins Admission $5
5:00 pm Join us for dinner at Willy Nick’s Restaurant & Bar 17 Katonah Avenue, Katonah (914) 232-8030
RSVP: jfcadults@gmail.com or call Jeanne Shanin at (914) 763-5650
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
JiFTY JiFTY's Shul-in got rescheduled, which means you have another chance to SIGN UP!!!!!!! The new date for the Shul-In is May 1-May 2. Those who already signed up, please fill out a new sign-up sheet, and for those who did not sign up, please sign up for our new Shul-In date! Contact Zia Waldman for a sign-up sheet or with any questions. (zia.waldman@gmail.com)
Our next meetings will be April 8th and April 22nd. All 8th through 12th graders are encouraged to come!!
April 2010
Nisan/Iyar 5770
Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
YAHRZEITS Aaron Auerbach Murray Augustus Daniel Berlin Leo Bloch Leon Gold Muriel Gould Felicia Israel-Mucciolo Anna Jacobson Goldie Kardish
Harold Plotka Thelma Reichenthal Bernard Resnik Herman Rosenthal Milton Rubin Freda Salmon Hetty Weaver Carole Wolff
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BIRTHDAYS Gila Acker Peter Acker Carl Albert Neil Alexander David Amerling Paul Amerling Alexandria Andrade Richard Auerbach Michael Berland
Michael Braunschwieger
Please call the JFC Office when any relevant information arises or changes so all Birthday, Anniversary and Yahrzeit listings are accurate and up to date. JFC can only list names/dates that have been reported to us.
ANNIVERSARIES Michael & Alyssa Fisher Bruce & Gail Fischberg Donn & Abby Henshaw Andrew & Rose Melinek Robert & Barbara Strongin Ellen & David Tillem Martin & Tracey Weisberg
Kenneth Carson Kayla Clott Adam Cohen Nora Dockter Cyndi Dodes Evy Drawec Ellen Elias Jake Eliot Salz Gail Fischberg Amy Friedlander Carly Goldstein Max Goodstein Lawrence Gottlieb
Jama Hansonbrook Robin Helburn Rachel Kalter Sarah Kaplan Douglas Kaufman David Kurzweil Rita Landman William Lauder Annie Malamet Rose Melinek Allie Moss Tomo Okamoto Linda Paulding Jacob Raimondi Samantha Shulman Leslie Simon Julia Sklarin Jeremy Smith Paul Stevelman Beth Tessler Zara Tillem Susan Valente Cole Verbeke
Please consider celebrating significant birthdays and anniversaries with a leaf on our Simcha Tree of Life. Call the JFC Office for details.
Donations to JFC Last Month General Fund Doris Hettmansberger Suzanne Sunday
Religious School Scholarship Fund IMO Milton Rubin and Harlan Hettmsnsberger IMO Judith Eydenberg
Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund Debra & Edmond Verbeke Leslie & David Moss
IHO Hayley's Bat Mitzvah IMO Melvin Moss
Religious School Director’s Fund Debra & Edmond Verbeke
IHO Linda Paulding on the occasion of Hayley's Bat Mitzvah
Robyn & Adam Cohen Ellen & Allen Goldstein
Music & Choir Fund Debra & Edmond Verbeke
IHO Kathy & Paul Storfer, David Kane on occasion of Hayley's Bat Mitzvah
Simcha Leaf Debra & Edmond Verbeke
IHO Hayley's Bat Mitzvah
Midnight Run Suzanne Sunday
Does your company match charitable donations? JFC is a non-profit organization, and your contributions may qualify!
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
Please Support our Advertisers
April 2010
Nisan/Iyar 5770
Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
April 2010
. . . The Early Childhood Center . . . . . . The Green Room . . .
. . . The Blue Room . . .
. . . The Nature of Things . . . . . . The Yellow Room . . .
Nisan/Iyar 5770
Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
. . . The Religious School . . .
ISRAEL MAP DAY
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
April 2010
THE RELIGI invites the JFC Congrega community at large to join us for
from 9:30 - 11:30 am
5th Annual TIKVA Walk of Hope
May 2, 2010
a national event to support TIKVA Children‟s Home in Odessa, Ukraine. TIKVA is a Jewish orphanage that houses over 200 homeless or abandoned children. TIKVA, in Hebrew…means…hope.
Help to “save a child” which costs $7,500 annually. You can raise funds and make a donation on the day of the walk--or-- you can walk just to be part of the experience as we try to raise awareness for this important project. We will meet at the synagogue; registration will run from 9:00-9:30 am. We will be using local country roads around JFC (West Lane, etc). There will be two walk routes: a one (1) MILE ROUND-TRIP and a THREE (3) MILE ROUND TRIP. (See map.) All members of JFC, the ECC, and the South Salem (and neighboring) community are encouraged to join us on the 2nd of May. Parents must chaperone all children under 16 years of age, and Religious School teachers will be responsible for all Gr. 4-6 students. (Original Registration Forms for students in Grs. 4-6 will obviate the need for an additional permission slip. ) Please return the form on the bottom of this page if you plan to participate and are not enrolled in Grs. 4-6 of the Religious School, or call the JFC Office (914-763-3028) to leave your name and the Short number of people in your “walking” party. Thanks so much for helping us perform this mitzvah!
PLEASE BRING A WATER BOTTLE. FREE REFILLS! (Grade 7 students should strongly consider adding this project to their long list of mitzvah projects. You can help supervise along with our adult staff. We hope all our Youth Group Members will participate as well.)
Walk of Hope May 2, 2010
IN THE EVENT OF RAIN, WE WILL HAVE REGULAR SUNDAY CLASSES.
Long
Walk of Hope Donation Form The ____________________________ Family will participate in the May 2nd Walk of Hope. There are ____ walkers in our party. We may be reached at ________________________. We will donate $__________ on the day of the walk (checks should be made payable to JFC Religious School and include the address of the donor), AND we will also try to get sponsors to support our effort. Thank you!
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OUS SCHOOL tion, ECC Families and the two events on Sunday, May 2nd
from 11:30 am - 12:00 pm
“Let Us Play” Kickball Game (Students vs. Teachers/Parents)
“These children are afraid everyday every hour of the day. Wherever they go and whatever they do, they must think about what they will do if an alarm sounds. The question is always „Where will I hide?”
Dinah Houri, Sderot School Teacher
Let Us Play! Participate in JNF‟s Let Us Play! event at your school to support the JNF Sderot Indoor Recreation Center. Jewish students across the United States will work together toward a common goal: continue to provide the children of Sderot with a safe and secure place to play, away from the danger of falling rockets. Since opening on Purim 2009, the JNF Indoor Recreation Center has had over 500 visitors every day! Your support will provide the kids of Sderot with the much needed sports equipment, toys, games, books, art supplies, and therapy sessions so they can continue to have a safe place to play.
Play for Sderot! Students can participate by playing games and sports at your school. They can ask friends and family to sponsor their participation, collect tzedakah, or make one of their Chanukah presents a gift for the children of Sderot. After the TIKVA Walk of Hope scheduled for May 2 from 9:30-11AM, all of the participating walkers from JFC (parents, students, teachers, friends of the community, etc.) will have the chance to play kickball on our lawn in order to continue our support of the Jewish National Fund‟s “Let Us Play” program. We have already sent the JNF over $1,200 to help build an indoor safe playground of Sderot. We‟ll send them another contribution from our school tzedakah account in honor of our game on the 2nd of May. Wear your play clothes and help us help the children of Sderot, Israel enjoy a safe place to play until there comes a time when they will know war no more. Thank you!!!
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ASK THE RABBI Question: How are decisions made in Judaism, since we don’t have a pope or a College of Cardinals? Answer: Actually, decisions are made in various ways, because, as you point out, we do not have a single leader who can make rules, and we don’t have a body of senior leaders to do that, either. After the fall of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, there arose academies of leaders who went about the business of reshaping (or, if you like, re-forming) Judaism to meet the new reality. These early rabbis created rituals for all Jews to follow, wherever they lived, so Judaism was able to survive the destruction of the Temple, which had been both the focus and the locus of Jewish ritual life. The Passover seder is a good example of this. Prior to the fall of the Temple, the Passover seder featured the eating of the sacrificed lamb, along with matzah and bitter herbs. But after it was no longer possible to offer sacrifices in the Temple, the rabbis created a sequence (order, which is what the Hebrew word seder actually means) of rituals to concretize the instructions of the Torah about remembering the exodus from Egypt. This resulted in drinking four cups of wine, the cup of Elijah, certain handwashing practices, the various elements of the seder plate, and the eating of ritual foods accompanied by appropriate blessings. When people had questions about the new religious practices, they addressed them to their local rabbi who may have brought the questions to the next meeting of the academy; there the sages would resolve such matters, and the answers would have been preserved in written recordings of the discussions, as well as communicated to the original questioner. Later, around 200 CE, Rabbi Judah the Prince compiled all such answers into a document organized by topic, in six sections; this became the Mishnah. But of course the questions continued (we are talking here about Jews, after all!). And so, around 600 CE, the discussions of questions arising from the Mishnah was published; this was called the Gemara, meaning “completion,” and at the time was thought to be the end of the discussions. But new questions continued to arise. The practice, after the academies in Israel and Babylon closed, was to ask the question of the local rabbi; that man (of course...) could either resolve the matter himself or forward the question to some authority whose learning he thought greater. The answer, whether from the local rabbi or someone else, though, was binding; one cannot shop around for an answer one likes better! Some famous rabbis published their written responses as a collection of decisions, which then became authoritative because of the respect the Jewish world had for such men. Maimonides is perhaps the best known of those whose decisions became widely accepted. This is known as The Responsa literature. Today this practice continues, especially in the Ortho-
dox world, where individual scholars are sought out for their learning in particular areas. In the Conservative community, there is a Committee on Laws and Practices, within the Rabbinical Assembly (the “union” of Conservative rabbis), which issues decisions that are meant to be binding upon all Conservative Jews; it seems that many Conservative Jews do not feel bound by these decisions (e.g., following the dietary laws), despite the rabbinical expectation that they will be. In the Reform world, we also have a committee of our rabbinical organization (the Central Conference of American Rabbis) which receives questions and provides answers. However, their decisions are not binding on anyone, because Reform Judaism highly prizes the autonomy of the individual. This committee published its decisions every few years in a volume of Reform Responsa. The rabbis on this committee study what Jewish law and tradition have to say about the question at hand, and then also bring modern scientific knowledge, contemporary moral thinking and other relevant ideas to the discussion. For example, a question about the ordination of women as rabbis came up in the early part of the 20th century, and the rabbis of the committee at that time decided against this possibility; when the question returned in the 60s (I think), the committee approved of the possibility. Jewish law and tradition had not changed, of course, but public sentiment in favour of “women’s liberation” had clearly influenced the debate. So reading Reform Responsa offers us a window on the values and the thinking of the time in which they were written. The result of these various mechanisms for deciding religious practice and procedures is the diversity we see in the Jewish community at large, and in the Reform community in particular. Thus, it is never possible to say “all Jews do...” or even “all Jews believe...” . In the Reform world, each adult is supposed to decide for him/herself which practices to follow (dietary laws? wearing a kippah or tallit? one day of Rosh HaShanah or two?). And similarly, each congregation is supposed to arrive at its own decisions on these and other matters. So, when it comes to religious practices, each Reform Jew is his/her own “responsa committee”. The official position of our movement is that each individual is supposed to study the question at hand (dietary laws, ritual garb, etc) and learn what the tradition has to say, rather than just make a decision based on what is convenient or easy. If Reform Jews actually followed this approach, we would have a very religiously educated community. That, and the profound respect for individual autonomy, were the motivating forces behind the Reform practice of individual decision making. While it is certainly true that having a single leader empowered to make decisions is easier to understand, it is not true that this necessarily produces uniform belief or practice amongst that leader’s followers. This is clearly (Continued on page 19)
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ASK THE RABBI (cont’d) (Continued from page 18)
true amongst American members of the Roman Catholic Church, who do not follow the teachings of the pope or the church on matters such as birth control, and apparently do not agree with the pope or the church on ideas like priestly celibacy, the ordination of women, and perhaps even abortion. It may very well be that, as a system for religious decision making, the Reform Jewish approach is best suited to the times we live in, if we can live with the array of different practices that result.
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Kids Ask the Rabbi
Question: I am reading a book about a boy who is getting ready for his Bar Mitzvah, and he finds out that he isn‟t even Jewish, because his mother isn‟t Jewish. What‟s that all about? Answer: A long time ago, our leaders noted that their communities were often attacked by raiders who were not Jewish. This sometimes resulted in deaths and injuries, and even rape, leaving young women pregnant, but unmarried. And of course, these young women had no information about the father of the child they would later give birth to. So those rabbis decided that, if the mother was Jewish, then the child would be too. This allowed the child to remain with the mother and be part of her family and her community. It was a very practical solution to a very nasty problem (and a choice which clearly was made long after the Torah was written, since, from the Torah, we know, for example, that Joseph‟s wife was Egyptian, but her children are counted amongst the 12 tribes of Israel...as Ephraim and Menasseh). And this rule applied across the Jewish world for many centuries. In the 20th century, for the first time in our history, there was a lot of intermarriage, especially here in the United States. This means that Jews married non-Jews in very large numbers. This was a consequence of the freedom we experienced in America to live anywhere we wanted to, to go to school with non-Jews and to be friendly with nonJews throughout our lives. All of that was wonderful, yet it did lead to a very high rate of intermarriage. If a Jewish woman married a non-Jew, her children, according to the old rule, would be Jewish, and that was that (of course, both parents would have to decide that their child would be raised and would live as a Jew, but from the perspective of Jewish law, the child would be considered a Jew). But if a Jewish man married a non-Jew, his child would not be considered Jewish, according to Jewish law. And in Orthodox and Conservative communities, that is that...unless the mother converts to Judaism before the child is born, or unless the child is converted. In Reform communities, we saw many Jewish fathers and their non-Jewish wives willing to raise their children as Jews, even though Jewish law says that the children were not Jewish. This led to a decision, in 1984, to accept the right of a fa-
ther to transmit Jewish identity to his children biologically, just as Jewish women have done for hundreds and hundreds of years. Thus, in a Reform congregation (like ours), at least in the United States, a child born to a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother, can be considered a Jew, as long as the child is raised exclusively as a Jew, and attends Religious School at the family‟s synagogue. So, in the book you are reading, the story seems to take place in a Conservative congregation, where the boy discovers that, since his mother isn‟t Jewish, neither is he. He must undergo a formal ritual of conversion to become Jewish, and he can then proceed with his preparation for Bar Mitzvah. At JFC we have a number of families who are intermarried, and who have chosen to raise their children as Jews, regardless of the faith of the non-Jewish parent. And we are proud of these families‟ commitment to Judaism, so we welcome them and their children, and we are honoured by the dedication of the non-Jewish parents to the Jewish education and identity of their children. The Jewish community is enriched by the presence and active involvement of these families. Sometimes, practices of long standing outlive their usefulness, and I think the restriction of Jewish identity to the child of a Jewish mother is one of them. It is interesting to note that there seems to be an active discussion within the Conservative movement about the same issue, and we will have to watch and see what happens there.
REFORM JUDAISM…While Standing on One Foot*** Where did Reform Judaism begin? And…why? What defines Reform Judaism? What are the core beliefs of Reform? What are the core values of Reform? If you have ever wondered about questions like these, you will want to attend Rabbi Freedman’s one-nightonly program about the origins, principles and practices of Reform Judaism. If you have ever needed to explain your affiliation with a Reform congregation…or anticipate that you might need to do so in the future, this session is a must for you. Please join us on Tuesday, April 20 at 7:30 pm for a lively and informative discussion about the Reform movement in Judaism. ***be sure to ask what this refers to when you attend the program!
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JEWISH FAMILY CONGREGATION
STARS 5769-70
(Shabbat Together AND Religious School) Attend the same number of services that corresponds to the grade level in which you are currently
enrolled (kindergartners can opt for attendance for at least one service just like their first grade friends). Check off the box on your original full-page S.T.A.R.S. form that corresponds to the service you attend. (Be sure to also throw a check in the square when it’s your class’ service and Oneg.) Keep filling in the chart all school year long, and you may end up surprising yourself by attending more than the required number. The remaining 6 services are listed here, so plan early and join us for as many services as you can!! Still 1 special Double Point service! At the end of the school year, you will be asked to bring in or mail your form. Special recognition will be given to those who made the commitment. For those who complete the program, you are welcome to join us on May 16 for the S.T.A.R.S. party. REMAINING SHABBATOT: April □ 2 □ □ □ □
9 16 23 30
Shabbat Hol Hamoed Pesakh Double Points
S.T.A.R.S. Party (Grs. K-6) Sunday, May 16 10:00am-12:00pm
Grs. K & 1 Pot Luck Yom HaAtzma’at Service
Join the JFC
ALL-S.T.A.R.S.
May □ 7
Have you seen our newly Reopened Gift Shop? It is across from the Oneg Room, and it has many Judaica items for all occasions. Stop in and take a look! If you are interested in purchasing any items, please let the JFC Office know.
JFC CLASSIFIED Printer For Sale - HP Deskjet 5550. $30 or best offer. Contact Lisa Katz at 914-533-2374 or lskatz0116@aol.com. Secretary Needed - The law offices of Michael H. Schwartz, P.C., located in White Plains directly across from the train station, is looking for a parttime employee, with high energy, to work 20-25 hours per week. This is a secretarial position, with no experience necessary. On-the-job-training will be provided. Applicant must have a good phone voice. Job entails answering phones and calling back prospective clients, typing, filing, scanning and setting up new client files. If interested, please contact Bonnie Schwartz at 914-629-3727 or email at mhs101@optonline.net. THE JFC SHOFAR WILL NOW FEATURE A CLASSIFIED SECTION TO BE USED AS A FUNDRAISER. ALL ADS ARE A FLAT $18 AND MAY NOT EXCEED 50 WORDS. THEY WILL RUN FOR ONE MONTH ONLY. To place an ad, submit the text and your payment to the JFC Office by the 15th of the month. You may email the text to jfcoffc@gmail.com and either drop off or mail your check (payable to JFC). Credit card payments are also accepted.
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Tutoring High School and Middle School SAT and ACT Prep. Michael Horwitz, Ph.D., M.A., M.S., LMHC Professor of Academic Strategies Instruction (914) 533-1141 Mikewitz@aol.com
You are cordially invited to the Annual Julian Y. Bernstein Distinguished Service Awards ceremony, honoring
John and Barbara Stern
for their outstanding service to the Jewish Family Congregation and
Have you checked out The JFC Blog yet?
Hon. Samuel Fredman
Go to www.jfc.rjblogs.org
Wednesday, May 12, 7:30pm
with the Rabbi Amiel Wohl Lifetime Achievement Award
Jewish Community Center of Harrison 130 Union Avenue ~ Harrison, NY 10528 ASL interpreting will be provided Kosher Dairy Dessert Reception follows ceremony 914/328-7001 margo@wjconference.org http://www.wjconference.org
From the Rabbi’s Desk(cont’d) (Continued from page 1)
vernacular, English. They seated men and women together, introduced a mixed choir, and allowed the women to participate, at first peripherally and then centrally, in the service. Reform spread quickly in this country too. Reform has matured over the 200 years since it was begun, and how it got where we are today is an interesting WJCS Holocaust Survivor Groups story. But there are still people who look down upon ReSeek Members form, and places where Reform struggles to achieve a foothold. The amazing thing is that, in Israel, where the The WJCS Second Generation Orthodox control Jewish religious life, Reform (or, as it is Holocaust Survivor Group is called there and in Europe, Progressive Judaism) is growlooking for new members. The ing and spreading, because it provides a meaningful altergroup meets the third Tuesday of the month from 7 - 9 PM at WJCS native to the strict Orthodox brand of religious observance (141 North Central Avenue, Hartsthat is officially offered. dale) to discuss how growing up as a child of surviReform Judaism has a core of intellectual honesty, a vors has impacted their lives. WJCS is also starting deep commitment to the values of the prophets of ancient a Third Generation Group for grandchildren of Israel, profound respect for individual autonomy, and it is survivors who are interested in learning more about comfortable in the 21st century. their family history and the Holocaust. This group But many people who are members of Reform congrewould meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 7- 9 PM at Hartsdale. Anyone interested in ei- gations know very little about this. People join congregather group can contact Facilitator Halina Rosenkranz tions because they are nearby; because their neighbours are members; because they like the building, the times at 949-6761 X541. WJCS Partners in Caring is presenting Being In- when the Religious School meets, the rabbi...but rarely because of the values upon which the congregation is formed & Making Choices: How To Think About Health Care Decisions for You & Your Loved Ones on built. These may be good reasons to join a temple, but there can and should be more to it than that. Tuesday, April 13 from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM at Come and learn about the origins, principles and pracBet Torah, 60 Smith Avenue, Mt. Kisco. Guest speaker will be Connie Zuckerman, Health Care At- tices of the branch of Judaism that you are connected torney/Bioethicist. Presentation is free and open to with. On Tuesday, April 20 at 7:30 pm, we’ll have a disall RSVP to Susan Kronish at 914-761-0600 ext. cussion about Reform Judaism, and how it got from where 147 or skronish@wjcs.com. it began to where it is today.
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Summer Fun At Jewish Family Congregation REGISTRATION FORM Summer 2010
Child’s Name:________________________Gender M/F_________Nickname:_______________________ Birth date:_______________________ Street Address:____________________________________________________________________ Mailing Address:___________________________________________________________________ Home Phone:________________________________ E-mail:_______________________________ Fall 2010 my child will be attending: (check one) 3 year old class:________ 4 year old class: _______ Kindergarten: _______ School :______________________ Parent name:____________________ Daytime Phone:__________________ Cell:_____________ Parent name:____________________ Daytime Phone:__________________ Cell:_____________ Siblings
Name:_________________________birthdate:________________________________ Name:_________________________birthdate:________________________________ Name:_________________________birthdate:________________________________
Local emergency contacts: Name:__________________________ Phone#_____________________ Cell:_________________ Name:__________________________ Phone#_____________________ Cell:_________________ Child’s Doctor_______________________________________Phone#_______________________ Allergies:_________________________________________________________________________ Special Needs/Services (past or present): ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ My child will attend JFC Summer Fun: Camp hours are 9:30-12:15. Week of 6/28: _____________ Week of 7/5: _____________ Week of 7/12: _____________ Week of 7/19: _____________ Week of 7/26: _____________ Week of 8/2: _____________
3 day/5 day 3 day/5 day 3 day/5 day 3 day/5 day 3 day/5 day 3 day/5 day
(circle one) (circle one) (circle one) (circle one) (circle one) (circle one)
If we run camp week of 8/9 would you be interested?_____________ The fee for JFC Summer Fun is $210 per week/ 5 day, $180/3 day. A $50 per week non-refundable deposit is required with this form. The balance must be paid no later than April 15, 2010. If you have any questions, or would like more information please call:
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Publication Date: February 2, 2010
April 2010 Contact: Joe Rinaldi, Director of Publicity Thomas Dunne Books, 646-307-5565
AND GOD SAID How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning By Dr. Joel M. Hoffman Praise for Dr. Joel M. Hoffman, Ph.D. “It is of course truism that ‘every translation is an interpretation.’ Joel Hoffman has taken his cue from that truism to go deeper into the wonder, difficulty, and frequent mistakes of modern translations of the Bible. I am especially taken by his rich probe of the elusiveness of the term for ‘soul’ (nephesh) and our many long-standing misconstruals of the term. Hoffman is wise and gentle as he exhibits the issue of distortion by way of translation. Short of all readers learning Hebrew, Hoffman’s work is the best gift for a careful reader of a text that defies easy contemporary rendering.” -Walter Brueggemann, author of The Prophetic Imagination “And God Said dares to face the problem that centuries of mistranslation have made the Bible – including our most familiar understandings – less available to us. Hoffman asserts the underlying sameness of all human languages to decode and recover the clarity of the Bible’s original messages. He unites Biblical scholarship and translation theory, embracing modern science and modern linguistics, to help us understand what the Prophets and our forebears were doing and how they wrote. He retrieves what the Bible really was and what it can be for us now.” -The Very Reverend Dr. James A. Kowalski, Dean, The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine “A wise and important book, and a lot of fun to read.” -Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People “Attentive readers will find this book to be valuable for properly understanding the Bible.” -Publishers Weekly Dr. Joel M. Hoffman, a linguistics and translation expert, is consumed with proper translations of the Bible and other historical religious text. He is the author of In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language and the chief translator for the 10-volume series, My People’s Prayer Book. His new work, AND GOD SAID: How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning is an accessible explanation of what the Bible originally meant before poor translation masked the meaning of the text. It is a fun and academically responsible look at the numerous and severe translation mistakes that have led to misunderstandings of the most vital parts of the Bible. AND GOD SAID guides the reader through the nature of translation, how we know what the ancient text means, how we convey those ancient meanings to English, some of the mistaken approaches that led to common but inaccurate translations, and the correct translations for many familiar quotations. Along the way, the book touches on topics as diverse as the law, morality, the nature of human life, and much more. Whether the missteps in translation are simple mistakes in familiar English or more substantial, Hoffman notes they are nonetheless widespread, including: The Ten Commandments don’t forbid coveting (or killing) The Ten Commandments allow some killing The “virgin birth” from Isaiah that Matthew quotes isn’t about a virgin at all The “shepherd” in “The Lord is my shepherd” doesn’t mean what most people think it does The “heart and soul” of Jesus’ most important commandment doesn’t mean “heart” and “soul” The “jubilee” year in Leviticus has nothing to do with jubilation or celebration The first line of the Bible is not about what God did, it’s about when God did it Eve didn’t give Adam an apple The lovers in Song of Songs are not married or even engaged The image of “king” isn’t what most people think Appropriate for both progressive and traditionally religious readers, the book should also appeal to those interested in language and translation as well as crossover scholarship. AND GOD SAID is easy to read, enjoyable and contains information not available elsewhere. Dr. Hoffman sheds light on the original intention of the text, uniting the topics of religion, language and linguistics to offer the first modern understanding since the Bible was written. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Joel M. Hoffman, Ph.D., is the author of In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language and is the chief translator for the 10-volume series, My People’s Prayer Book (winner of the National Jewish Book Award) and for My People’s Passover Haggadah. He writes a bi-weekly column on Hebrew for The Jerusalem Post. He has held faculty appointments at Brandeis University and at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and serves as Director of Education at Temple Israel of Northern Westchester. AND GOD SAID: How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning By Dr. Joel M. Hoffman, Ph.D. Publication Date: February 2, 2010 Price: $25.99, Cloth Pages: 256, includes 2 tables ISBN # 0-312-56558-9
April 2010 - Nisan/Iyar 5770 Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu 1
Fri 2
Sat 3
SPRING RECESS NO ECC/RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
5
4
6
NO ECC/RELIGIOUS SCHOOL Office Closed
11 Grs. 4-6
12 ECC
Yom Hashoah 5/6 Study Grp Gr. 6 Trip Permission slips due
19 ECC
Road Cleanup 9:15-11:30am
Gr. 7
25 Grs. 4-6
26 ECC JiFTY Shul-in Registration Forms due Last Day
Gr. 6 Holocaust Speaker 11:00 am12pm
ECC
JiFTY Shul-in Registration Begins [Early rate thru 4/21]
13 ECC
14 Parent— Teacher Conferences No ECC for Ritual 7:45pm Children
Gr. 7
18 Gr. 4-5 Israel Birthday Celebration Gr. 6 NYC Trip to Museum
NFTY Spring Kallah
Office Closed Yizkor Post Pesakh Pizza Party
7
20 ECC Trip to Israel
Yom Ha’atzma’ut 5/6 Study Grp
Last 5/6 Study Grp
10 Pack 7:30
27 ECC
Gr. 6 Class of 2011 Parent Meeting 7-9PM
21 ECC JiFTY Shul-in Registration Early rate ends
28 ECC
Board Mtg
Service 7:30 Tot Shabbat
8
9 ECC
K-3 SMP CC YG RS Staff Mtg 6:15-7:15 pm
15
K-3 Israel Birthday Celebration SMP CC
22
Service 7:30 Tot Shabbat
16 ECC
Service 7:30 Tot Shabbat
23 ECC NFTY Spring Kallah
K-3 SMP CC
Service 7:30 Tot Shabbat
29
30 ECC
K-3 SMP CC YG
K-Gr 1 Service & Oneg ECC 4’s invited Service 7:30 Tot Shabbat
10 Gr 7 ‘10 9-9:45 am Bar Mitzvah Of Alexander Monaco
17 Gr 7 ‘10 9-9:45 am Bat Mitzvah Of Pia Vandervelden
24 Gr 7 ‘10 9-9:45 am B’not Mitzvah Of Daniel & Morgan Minnock NFTY Spring Kallah
Jewish Family Congregation 111 Smith Ridge Rd/Rte. 123 P.O. Box 249 South Salem, NY 10590
CURRENT RESIDENT OR
Non Profit Organization Postage PAID White Plains, NY Permit No. 9022