Congregation B'nai Shalom
Traditionally Speaking
August, 2004
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Congregation B'nai Shalom Traditionally Speaking |
From the President
Message from Rabbi Glass
Programming
Sisterhood
Ritual
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FROM
THE PRESIDENT
- ROB CHEIFETZ
G-d helps those who help themselves.
Clearly, life would be a lot easier if we could just sit back and wait for good
things to miraculously happen to us. No need to study in school. No need to
“work” at our jobs. Simply wake up in the morning, go to the mailbox, and open
up the big envelope stuffed with cash. Nice and simple and easy.
Biblically, Yaakov is the poster-child for hard work. He worked many long years
for his father-in-law (Lavan), never once calling out to G-d to fix everything
and make it all right. Even though he had been promised success, he worked hard
to get the things (and people) he wanted. For example, Yaakov struck a deal with
Lavan to receive a portion of the flock he tended: Yaakov would take the spotted
sheep, and Lavan would keep the solid-colored sheep. Rather than rely on a
miracle (apparently, spotted sheep are not the norm), Yaakov set to work to make
things happen for himself. He took some sticks, carved spots into them, and
placed those sticks in the sheep’s water trough. Good science? No, but the
effort was there -- and G-d appreciated the effort and Yaakov prospered.
Now to our shul. We have been given an opportunity to succeed, to grow to our
full potential as a Traditional shul. But it has taken lots of effort to get to
this point, and will require more for us to achieve our goal. Among (many) other
things, we have spent the last year interviewing Rabbis and conducting due
diligence, and have found a Rabbi who is an excellent fit for our Congregation.
Rabbi Glass is a Modern Orthodox Rabbi, a talented musician, a brilliant guy,
and a mensch. He and his wife, Israela, have five children (their eldest just
celebrated his Bar Mitzvah). And they really like our shul and our community.
Economic realities being what they are, however, there are some pieces that we
both need to work out before we can make our relationship permanent.
So, we and Rabbi Glass continue to work hard. Rabbi Glass is actively searching
for work outside the shul to supplement the stipend we currently can offer to
him. And we are hard at work trying to attract new members to our shul and raise
the funds to make Rabbi Glass and his family feel financially safe and secure in
our community. G-d willing, our effort will pay off and the Congregation will
reap the reward.
As a mutual show of good faith, Rabbi Glass and we have committed to spend the
High Holidays together. And the holidays should be WONDERFUL. In addition to
being a brilliant Rabbi/teacher, Rabbi Glass is a talented cantor, and (from the
due diligence reports we received) a “world-class” shofar blower. Coupled with
our gifted High Holiday Cantor, Dr. Hagay Amir, we will (G-d willing) all be
blessed with what should be the most beautiful and enriching Holiday services
around.
May our High Holiday services set the tone for the rest of our year, which we
hope will be equally beautiful, rewarding, and successful. Shalom; L’Hitraot.
The High Holidays are my favorite time. I love the soul-searching poetry of
the special prayers for those days, I love the soaring melodies and the
recurrent theme that "here we are dealing with something really important!" High
Holidays is the time when EVERYBODY comes... No matter what someone does the
rest of the year, come High Holidays--he or she makes a definitive statement:
"today I am a fully committed Jew!" On the High Holidays we are all at our very
best.
During the High Holidays, and the lead up to them, we emphasize the importance
of repentance. The Hebrew word for repentance is "teshuvah." Literally the word
means "returning." To repent as a Jew does not mean to do the impossible, to be
something that one is not, to join some cult or subscribe to some strange
ideology. To repent is simply "to come home." On the High Holidays we come home.
We become more authentic, more true to our deepest essential beliefs.
I am delighted to be spending the High Holidays with you and I look forward to
sharing many wonderful moments of education and inspiration together with you.
May we all be inscribed in the book of life, with happiness, blessing and good
health!
Rabbi Jonathan Glass
After a brief one year absence, our SHUL PICNIC is back. On August 1st from
11-3, picnic goers can enjoy good food, good fun, and prizes for the kids,
games, and so much more. Along with that, it was decided to add a car wash to
the mix, to help pay for those hot dogs and other expenses. It is a great excuse
to get wet on a hot summer day and enjoy time with your family and friends.
Before the holidays, we will have one more Friday night Shabbat dinner. We
promise to "mix up" the menu a little. While chicken and potatoes are always
good, we will be trying some new fun dishes. As soon as we secure a date, look
for more information via email and word of mouth. If you have not attended a
Friday night dinner in a while, please try it. The food and conversation can't
be beat. And of course our Friday night service is one of a kind.
I receive all kinds of flyers for group outings. I file them away in the "that
sounds like fun" pile. Well, I would like some feedback on how I can turn it
into "I sure am glad we went to that with my shul buddies" file. Anything from
movies, to shows downtown, to Spertus Museum events, to minor league baseball
games all intrigue me. But please let me know what YOU would want to do, what
interests you?
The D.E.L. program will be returning after the holidays with goal to have a
program a month. If you have any ideas, connections, or any other information,
please let me know. I think last year was just the tip of the iceberg with great
speakers about the issues in Israel, important health issues like colon cancer,
and the other fine programs we brought in. Let's keep the momentum rolling!
Young Judaea will be returning in the fall to give our kids an option for Jewish
Youth group programming. They have promised to be more aggressive in providing
activities and education to meet our kid's needs and to hopefully increase
attendance in these events. Of course this all starts with a good word from
parents to urge them to try it. Please look for information soon about the
calendar for the upcoming year.
It's not too early to pay your sisterhood dues. When you pay your shul bill,
just write on it that that you want to pay sisterhood first. The shul office
will take care of the rest for you. It's that easy! Or, if you want to make it
even simpler, for $180.00 (payable over 2 years), you can become a life member.
Then, you never have to try to remember if you paid your sisterhood dues for
that year.
So, come on and "get involved." Join sisterhood, come to our meetings, and
you'll meet new and "old" friends. We're sure you'll enjoy yourself.
Any questions, contact Jody Kanter.
As of the time this bulletin is going to print, we are very busy sorting
through all the donations for the rummage sale. We’re hoping to be able to tell
you in the next bulletin how successful we were on July, 18th, the day of the
rummage sale. Thank you to everyone who donated their time and goods to this
wonderful fundraiser.
Last year our L‘Shana Tova greetings project (flyers that were left on the seats
for Rosh Hashannah listing names of all families who participated) was very
popular and will be repeated this year. A form will be sent out to all members
asking for $5.00 to be on this list.
The ritual committee has been very busy getting things ready for the High
Holidays. We need everyone’s help in order to have the days run smoothly. Please
call the Shull office to volunteer to: set-up and/or take-down chairs in the
sanctuary, usher, run Junior Congregation, remind people of their aliyahs, and
set-up and/or take down the Sukkah.
For the month of August, there will be no Wednesday night or Friday night
minyans. Please contact me if you are in need of a minyan and one will be
arranged.