Congregation Beth El is a member of The Union for Reform Judaism
“Honoring Tradition, Celebrating Diversity, and Building a Jewish Future”
Shabbat Unplugged
Chanukah Celebration
& Latke Extravaganza
Friday, December 23
5:30 pm - Shabbat Unplugged Dinner & Latke Extravangaza
(latkes made by the Beth El Men’s Club)
6:15 pm - Chanukah Candle Lighting
6:30 pm - Shabbat Unplugged Service
followed by festive oneg, dreidel spinning and schmoozing
Save the date:
8th Annual Beth El Gala
ISSUE 129 • winter 2011
January 21, 2012
madmensch
In this issue
From the Rabbi Member Spotlight
President’s Message
Youth & Family Education
From the Executive Director Youth Groups
Nursery School
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p.3
p.4
p.5
p.6
p.8
p.8
Camp Kee Tov
From the Gift Shop
Adult Education
Social Action
Pantry Chug
Member Corner
Tzedakah
p.9
p.10
p.10
p.11
p.11
p.12-13
p.14-15
In The News
Midrasha
Thank You’s
Library
Calendars
Torah Study
p.16
p.17
p.17
p.18
p.19-23
p.20
CONGREGATION BETH EL
FROM THE rabbi
Mental Health
& Our Community
At Rosh Hashanah morning services this year, I spoke about naming
and recognizing the many ways that mental illness touches our lives and
community and the importance of becoming more inclusive of those living
with mental illness in themselves and the families. An excerpt is included
below; the complete version of this and all of Beth El’s High Holy Day sermons this year can
be found on our website at www.bethelberkeley/rabbikahn. One route to bringing greater
awareness of this issue is by participating in Beth El’s Listening Campaign; see page 11.
Rabbi Yoel Kahn
…Many of you, I know, cannot walk away from engaging with mental illness. In my short
tenure at Beth El, our children, our members, our parents and extended families have been
hospitalized or sought treatment for anxiety disorders, drug and alcohol addiction, suicide,
bipolar disorder, autism, schizophrenia, depression, eating disorders, ADHD, dementia and
psychic distress and pain of all kinds. You carry the wounds and scars of the past and you
wonder how you will move through the years ahead.
A little physical illness evokes a little sympathy; the more serious the physical illness, the
greater amount of concern, engagement and caring. But mental illness, it seems, is the
reverse. Who hasn’t benefited from being in therapy or counseling? We’re all fine with
talking about that and share referrals and accounts freely. But as a member wrote me:
Having cancer or other deadly illnesses and surviving is seen as a heroic effort. Sharing
the fact that you’ve been away because you attempted suicide and were hospitalized for
it and now are taking medication to address the underlying depression or anxiety can
cause people to become utterly silent, to change the subject, or to say, “I would never
have thought of you that way…you seem so… normal.” Even those who are willing to
hear a story from the past about hard times may be completely unwilling to accept that
mental health issues are chronic and overwhelming... There are scars so permanent that
just coping with reopened wounds feels like a victory.
The shofar, our rabbis teach, is a broken sound; it is the sound of Rachel crying for her
children, a wail of pain; an unusual sound which breaks through our defenses and summons
us to turn with compassion. The sound of the shofar returns each year; even as we seek to
heal the wounds and restore broken connections and relationships, the scars we bear may
not be fully healed, and new pain and new cries have become part of us since last Rosh
Hashanah.
We read in midrash Leviticus Rabbah: “Rosh Hashanah is the day of judgment… but when
the Shofar is sounded, God, gets up and moves, as it were, from the throne of judgment to
the throne of compassion.” As a community, we are very comfortable on the throne of
judgment. We can be analytical, dismissive and intolerant; we are quick to judge, turning
away from people whose mannerisms or speech or behavior makes us uncomfortable;
we avoid the people who want to bend our ear with their excessive and inappropriate talking;
we do not inquire and rarely welcome the conversation about illness or pain or grief which
does not appear to have resolution. I know about this very well because I engage in these
behaviors myself...
Let’s be forgiving of our own faults and others’ failings as well. But let me ask: can we, as
individuals and as a community, hear the shofar’s cry and move to the seat of compassion?
From that compassionate place, we can ask: What needs to be different in our programs, in
our services, in our Youth and Family Ed programs, for us to be an inclusive and welcoming
community? How can we make our Beth El community a safer place for those touched by
mental illness? What needs to change in me and in you?
2 | the builder: winter 2011
1301 Oxford Street
Berkeley, CA 94709-1424
Phone: 510-848-3988
Fax: 510-848-2707
Youth and Family Education Office
Direct Line: 510-848-2122
Nursery School Office
Direct Line: 510-848-9428
Camp Kee Tov Office
Direct Line: 510-848-2372
Midrasha Office
Direct Line 510-843-4667
CLERGY & STAFF
Rabbi Yoel H. Kahn
Senior Rabbi
ext. 215 - [email protected]
Rabbi Reuben Zellman
Assistant Rabbi & Music Director
ext. 228 - [email protected]
Norm Frankel
Executive Director
ext. 212 - [email protected]
Debra Sagan Massey
Director of Education
ext. 213 - [email protected]
Barbara Kanter
Nursery School Director ext. 219 - [email protected]
Zach Landres-Schnur
Camp Kee Tov Director
ext. 217 - [email protected]
Janice Baker
Accounting ext. 210 - [email protected]
Rebecca DePalma
YAFE Administrative Coordinator
& Youth Group Advisor ext. 214 - [email protected]
Juliet Gardner
Clergy Assistant
ext. 235 - [email protected]
Lenora O’Keith
Administrative Coordinator, Main Office
ext. 211 - [email protected]
EMILY SCHNITZER
Camp Kee Tov Admin. Coordinator
ext. 223 - [email protected]
Diane Bernbaum
Midrasha Director 510-843-4667 - [email protected]
Odette Blachman
Gift Shop ext. 240 - [email protected]
Rabbi Ferenc Raj
Rabbi Emeritus [email protected]
Member Spotlight
In each issue, we will profile a Beth El member or family to get to know them
better and learn about their experiences at Congreation Beth El. This issue, we’ll
get to know Jill Dodd is a long-time member of Congregation Beth El who has served in
various volunteer capacities over the years. Her husband, Martin Dodd, served as Congregation
president from 2003-2005, and her two daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth, now young adults, grew
up at Beth El, where they made lifelong friends and were imbued with strong Jewish identities.
Jill is an attorney who heads up both the Family Wealth Transfer Planning Practice Group and the Nonprofit
Practice Group at the San Francisco law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. In her practice, she has helped
many families prepare estate and gift plans, including philanthropic plans, as well as worked with charities
of all types and sizes, including private family foundations, community foundations, the San Francisco Jewish
Community Federation, schools and museums.
Jill is currently assisting Beth El in its planned giving campaign.
What is planned giving?
Planned giving simply refers to
any charitable gift other than a
present gift of cash. It can range
from the simple (for example, a
bequest in a will) to the highly
complex and technical (for
example, the establishment of
a new charitable entity) and
everything in between.
Why is planned giving
important for the Beth El
Community?
Planned giving is important
for Beth El because it is a way for the Congregation to obtain the
funding it needs to maintain and expand programming and to meet
the debt service on our building. And it’s a wonderful way for our
members to give back to the synagogue.
Describe the planned giving process.
The process begins with a donor’s passion for the charity he or
she supports. That’s what really matters. And then what I do in my
practice is guide donors through the options available to structure
their gifts so that the donor’s goals and the charity’s needs are met,
and to obtain the most advantageous tax treatment for the donor.
Describe some ideas about some simple planned giving vehicles?
The simplest planned vehicle is a pledge of a future gift. Martin and
I just made our pledge to the Capital Campaign, and there is a
one-page form to fill out. Other simple planned giving ideas are a
bequest in your will for either a specific dollar amount, or a certain
percentage of your estate. Through the end of 2011, you can roll
over up to $100,000 from your IRA directly to Congregation Beth
El and not pay income tax on the distribution. Another simple gift
would be to make Congregation Beth El the remainder beneficiary
of your IRA or other retirement plan at your death.
Have you had the opportunity to see the reality of the charitable
gifts you have helped to implement?
I’ve definitely been able to see the money in action. For example,
I represented the Magnes Museum in its recent merger with UC
Berkeley. From a legal perspective, it was a fascinating transaction.
I even had the opportunity to work briefly with another Beth El
member, Emily Marthinsen, who works at UC Berkeley. I am looking
forward to the opening ceremony for the new Magnes Museum on
Allston Way in downtown Berkeley. I’ve also represented donors who
made gifts of art collections to art museums, where I got to see the
collection, in place, at the museum, and know that I was one of the
parties responsible for making that gift happen. I represented the
Contemporary Jewish Museum in their tax-exempt bond transaction
to build their building in San Francisco, and I represented Tehiyah
Day School when it built a much-needed multi-purpose building that
created a community space for sports and simchas.
What do you enjoy about the Beth El community?
The Beth El community is, simply put, our village. We joined in
1988, and, over the years, have made close friends through our
involvement in the community. Both girls became Bat Mitzvah here,
and Elizabeth tutored Bar and Bat Mitzvah students throughout high
school, and was confirmed here. Both girls loved Camp Kee Tov
throughout their entire childhood and into middle school. Martin
and I were members of the 2003 Adult B’nai Mitzvah class, a true
high point of our lives. And, when we decided to renew our wedding
vows under the chuppah for our 30th wedding anniversary (it was
Rabbi Kahn’s first “wedding” as our new rabbi), we threw the best
party ever in our social hall, surrounded by our beloved Beth El
community. Beth El is our home away from home, and much of our
social life revolves around the Congregation and its members
Closing thoughts?
No matter what your income level, everyone has the opportunity
to be a philanthropist, and to contribute meaningfully to their
community, both as a volunteer and with whatever financial
contributions they are able to make. Many of us remember the
pushke boxes of our childhood—even if you put in only a few cents
each week, it was important to do so. And, as far as Beth El is
concerned, getting involved in our community has enriched our lives
immeasurably. Although Martin and I have supported a wide range
of Jewish and non-Jewish charities over the years, right now, we are
choosing to put the majority of our charitable dollars into Beth El’s
Capital Campaign. Given Beth El’s role in creating a strong, vibrant,
Jewish community in the East Bay, I can’t think of a better place for
our philanthropy.
www.bethelberkeley.org | 3
FROM THE PRESIDENT
a place to plug into jewish life
One of the great pleasures of being president of Congregation Beth El is that during the
High Holy Days, I get to sit on the bimah and look out over our gathered community. It is an
awesome sight. It reminds me of how blessed I am to be part of this amazing community. This
year, I also had the great pleasure of getting to hear from so many congregants about how
much they loved our High Holiday services and programs. I heard from people who loved
the music and the liturgy and who felt that it really helped them experience the spirituality
of the season. I heard about the huge crowds at the fabulous tot and family services. People came and asked
me to thank the rabbis for their thought provoking and inspiring teachings. We had great participation in our
supplemental programs like the listening campaign, the educational programs and discussion groups. Members
from all parts of our community stepped up to lead prayers, to chant from the Torah or the Haftarah and to do
all the running around that was required to allow our congregants to focus on the introspection and reflection
that is the center of the High Holidays. And I was most gratified by the large number of new people who told me
how wonderful it was to become part of such a warm, welcoming community. So thank you to all of our staff,
members and volunteers who made it all possible.
It is impossible to overestimate the value of being a caring, welcoming community. I got to experience this first
hand in a variety of ways during my typically fabulous trip last week to Israel. The trip didn’t start out well. On my
second day there, I had an excruciatingly painful kidney stone attack. As the pain continued to worsen I decided
to go to the hospital. However, I was not in a hotel with a front desk and lots of people to help out. Rather, on this
trip, I had decided to rent an apartment. I did not know who to call for help. So, I went downstairs to ask Lynn
Glassman, the apartment manager, which hospital I should go to and for the number of a taxi company. I had
met Lynn for just a few minutes when I arrived.
When I told her my situation, she insisted on taking me to the hospital. It turned out she volunteered at Shaarei
Tsedek hospital and proceeded to guide me through the admissions process and got me to a doctor almost
immediately. She then spent the next four and a half hours with me at the hospital making sure that I was getting
appropriate care. She did not leave until around midnight when they admitted me and checked me into a room
for the night. I was released from the hospital the next day but Lynn insisted on checking in on me regularly for
the rest of the trip to see how I was doing. Lynn had turned what could have been a frightening, awful situation
into something very different. But the warmth and welcoming didn’t stop there.
Once I had recovered, I proceeded with the main objective of the trip. My cousins and I had brought their elderly
father Jerry (88 years old) for his (and their) first trip to Israel. Going to Israel had been a lifelong dream for him.
I took them to the Kotel (the Western Wall) for Simchat Torah. As we wheeled Jerry in his wheelchair down the
ramp towards the Wall, a group of young Orthodox Jews in their black hats and coats came up to greet us. They
asked Jerry for his Hebrew name and proceeded to include him in their Simchat Torah service. They patiently
guided him through the prayers and then at the end, they coaxed him out of the chair and got him to dance with
the Torah. The joy Jerry and his sons felt was, in their words, ‘life changing’. The young Orthodox Jews then took
us for a tour of the Wall and answered all of my cousins’ questions about their Orthodox lifestyle. For a couple
of secular Jews from Marin County, it was an eye-opening experience. Although they are clear that the Orthodox
lifestyle is not for them, their perception of Orthodox Jews has been forever altered.
We had many more welcoming experiences in places like the Shuks (markets), restaurants, synagogues, tourist
sites and museums. Being made to feel part of the family is a big part of what makes a visit to Israel so special.
In the same way as the people in Israel, our community makes visitors to Beth El feel welcome. During High
Holiday services a young woman approached me to tell me that in her job she moved around a lot so she had
been to a wide variety of synagogues over the last seven years. She said she had never been to a synagogue
that was as open and welcoming as Beth El. To me, there is nothing more valuable and meaningful in life than
creating a caring community. I think that was G-d’s objective in giving us the Torah. Sometimes it can be hard
work but it always pays off. In the coming year, just like at High Holidays, I hope you will all be able to feel the
blessing of being part of this Kehilla Kedusha – this holy community. Kein Y’hi Ratzon.
Dan Magid
President, Board of Directors
4 | the builder: winter 2011
YOUTH AND FAMILY EDUCATION
Not Standing
Idly By
YAFE Calendar
Debra Sagan Massey, RJE - Director of Education
Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Barbara
Coloroso speak out about bullying. Barbara is
a well-known author of the book, “The Bully,
The Bullied and the Bystander.” For an hour I
was enthralled at her descriptions of human
behavior, and her insight into bullying. Why are some kids
targeted? Why do children bully others? And most importantly,
what can we teach our children to do to stop the taunting?
The underlying message that I came away with is that we want
to empower our children to not stand idly by when others are
being targeted. This does NOT mean endangering themselves in
any way. It means being an ally to the person who is targeted. It
means creating a safe place for those who are being threatened.
Bullies are empowered by those who follow their lead. If we teach
our children NOT to go along with the bully and their destructive
behavior, then we are removing the bully’s power. This is a lesson
that can be translated from the preschool playground to the
teenager’s quad, and even to adult social circles.
We want to nurture a culture of caring--to raise children who
are empathetic and kind. Our community, our homes and our
synagogue need to model the type of behavior that we want our
children to emulate. It is my goal as Director of Education, that
our Youth and Family Education programs are safe places for all
children. This includes our Nursery School, Camp Kee Tov, Youth
Group activities and of course, our Kadima and Chug Mishpacha
programs. We need your partnership as parents to make this a
reality. We need you to communicate with us if you feel that your
child is being targeted. We need your support to help remove
power from the child who is bullying others. I encourage you to
buy a copy of Barbara Coloroso’s book (I have a copy at Beth El if
you would like to borrow it) and help to empower our children so
that they understand that they must not idly stand by when others
are suffering.
We make the world a better place by working together. I urge
you to choose a family activity that actively helps others--such as
signing up for Beth El’s monthly Homeless Meal, or volunteering
in an elder care facility. Let’s work together to help to build
compassion and teaches our youth to be kind to others. I am so
grateful for your continued partnership in Jewish education, and
look forward to our creating a better world together.
november 2011
11/5
B’nei Mitzvah Shabbat Morning Family Program;
10:15 am
11/6
6th/7th Grade Family Tzedek Project at Urban Adamah
4:00-5:45 pm
11/10 All-School Service, parents are encouraged to
come at 5:40 pm
11/11 Shabbat Unplugged*; 5:30 pm-Dinner, 6:15 pm-Service
11/22 Multi-Faith Thanksgiving Service and Celebration at Saint John’s Presbyterian Church in Berkeley
11/22-27 NO CLASSES- THANKSGIVING VACATION
*What is a Shabbat Unplugged?
A musical service, open to the whole community.
december 2011
12/1 All-School Service, parents are encouraged to
come at 5:40 pm
12/3 Shabba-Tot Services at 11:00 am
12/3 B’nei Mitzvah Havdallah Family Program; 4:00-6:00 pm
12/4 6th/7th Grade Family Tzedek Project with the Elderly
12/6 5th Grade Home for Dinner Family Program*, 6:00-8:30
12/8 6th/7th Grade Field Trip to CJM, 4:00 pm
at North Berkeley BART
12/9 Shabbat at Home, 5:30 pm at Beth El
then dinner in homes
12/11Ruach (4th/5th grade) Chanukah Celebration
12/15Education Committee Meeting (open to all) 8:00 pm
12/23 Shabbat Unplugged Chanukah Celebration & Latke Extraveganza; 5:30 pm-Dinner (latkes made by the Beth El Men’s Club), 6:15 pm-Chanukah Candle Lighting, 6:30 pm-Service followed by festive oneg, dreidel spinning and schmoozing
12/20-1/2 NO CLASSES-CHANUKAH VACATION
january 2012
1/3 Kadima Resumes; B’nei Mitzvah Speech Class
(1/2 the class)
1/5 All School Service, parents encouraged, 5:40 pm
*5th grade
teacher
Elianna
Friedman
cooks with
students
at the
launch of
our Home
for Dinner
program.
1/7 Chug Mishpacha Resumes
1/7 Shabba-Tot Morning Services, 11:00 am
1/10 6th Grade Shalom Bayit Program
1/14 NO CHUG MISHPACHA- MLK Weekend
1/21 Adult B’nei Mitzvah and GALA
1/26 6th Grade Family Program: 6:30-8:00 pm
1/28 5th Grade Home for Dinner Family Program; 5:30 pm
www.bethelberkeley.org | 5
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Project Reconnections
This past year Congregation Beth El participated
in a program called the Year of Civil Discourse
sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations
Council (JCRC). The JCRC awarded Beth
El a grant to participate in the Year of Civil
Discourse through a program called Project
Reconnections. With the expert guidance of Rachel Eryn Kalish, a
skilled facilitator, a cohort of 25 Beth El members met in a series
of workshops designed to develop the skills necessary to engage
in civil discourse on controversial subjects.
The project enabled us to bring together a group of Beth El
members with a wide range of diverse views on the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. We learned that many of our members from
across the political spectrum were reluctant to speak about Israel.
We succeeded in building an environment where we all felt safe
and welcome to speak and listen to each other about the middle
east conflict and our role as American Jews in this dialogue.
To the right is an article by one of our participants, Stephen
Rothman, summing up his perspective on Project Reconnections. I
would like to encourage other participants in Project Reconnections
to share your thoughts in future Builder articles.
Our Israel Committee, revitalized by the positive dialogue
encouraged by Project Reconnections has begun plans for several
follow up events this year including:
November 16, at 7:30 pm, Beth El, together with The New Israel
Fund and several East Bay synagogues, is co-sponsoring a lecture
by Gershom Gorenberg, an Israeli journalist and historian on the
Crisis in Israeli Democracy.
December 6th at 7:00 pm we will have an open meeting of Project
Reconnections. All Beth El members are welcome to join us for
this session. This will be an opportunity to model the skills of civil
discourse that the cohort has worked on.
The Israel Committee, chaired by Miriam Rabinovitz and Laurie
Swiadon, is planning several more events in the coming months.
Please contact Miriam or Laurie if you are interested in joining the
committee or helping to plan/organize an event.
Norm Frankel
The New Israel Fund and Congregation Beth El
invite you to join us for:
Israeli Democracy:
How It Broke
and How to Fix It
Featuring renowned author
and journalist
Gershom Gorenberg
Wednesday, November 16
7:30 pm at Beth El
Book signing to follow.
RSVP by emailing [email protected]
or call 415-543-5055.
Visit www.bethelberkeley.org for more
information or to view event flyer.
Beth El Movie
Night
and
Chanukah Bazaar Sneak Preview
Saturday, December 10
Beth El will host “Movie Night at the Shul” on Saturday, December 10 and
open the Chanukah Bazaar for shopping the same evening for some
early holiday shopping! An Israeli film (title and time to be announced),
will be shown and pizza will be served. Come shop and be entertained!
(The Beth El Chanukah Bazaar officially opens on Sunday, December 11
from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm - see back page for more information.)
6 | the builder: winter 2011
Israel Agonistes
Stephen Rothman - Professor Emeritus, University of California, San Francisco
Recently my wife and I participated in a group process at Beth El
sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council designed
to see if people with widely differing views about Israel could
talk and listen to each other in a respectful way. With occasional
exceptions, despite great differences of opinion, we were able
carry out a dialogue in a courteous fashion.
But there were two limitations to the conversations. In the first
place, most of the material discussed ranged narrowly, from a
far left to a moderately left wing point of view, leaving important
attitudes, even those of the Prime Minister of Israel unexamined.
Second, the emphasis on courteous discourse prevented us from
engaging in debate over different points of view, and in most
cases even prevented us from establishing the boundaries of our
differences. This was intentional, an attempt to avoid potentially
contentious issues.
a Jewish heritage, but I do not see myself as a member of a
particular people. Indeed, my Jewish connections are backward
clannish impediments that put me at odds with the universal
brotherhood of man.
5. Permanence of Israel. Israel has become a great military and
economic power, and its future is ensured. Those who think
otherwise are merely suffering from the traditional Jewish fear of
destruction. It no longer applies.
6. Irrelevance of Israel. I am a modern American Jew and my
place in American society is secure. I harbor no fears of antiSemitic attack and have no need for a safe harbor. As such Israel
has no relevance to my life or those of my children.
Needless to say, there can be no resolution of differences or even
knowledge of what differences really exist without engaging the
subject matter itself. Toward advancing such a conversation I
came to see the issues as being roughly divided into six categories
that I thought reflected differences in our group and between age
groups. The six categories are as follows:
1. Memory. Many look at the ancient travails of the Jewish people
as not relevant to their lives. Depending upon their age, most
have no knowledge, no less experience, with the recent history of
the Ashkenazi and Sephardim, from the Shoah, to the founding of
Israel, the war of Independence, the Six-Day war, the Yom Kippur
War, or the story of the Soviet Jews. And without memory, without
history there can be no understanding of Israel (or anything else
for that matter).
2. Enemies. Some believe that while the Jews once had enemies,
Hitler et al.; they no longer do. And that those who believe that
there are people who indeed want to annihilate Israel, are merely
being paranoid.
3. Balance. This is a complicated version of moral relativism. Yes,
the Arabs have killed many Israeli civilians, women and children,
and continue to send rockets into Israel to kill and maim, but who
are the Israelis to throw stones? They oppress Arab residents of
the West Bank and mistreat Arab-Israelis. When you look at it
realistically, aren’t Israelis just racists occupying other people’s
land? And Israel is no model democracy. Religious orthodoxy has
enormous power and prevents desirable socially liberal goals, not
to mention the presence of corruption in and out of government.
Israelis certainly do not stand on the moral high ground, and
unless and until they do, their claims ring hollow. For them to be
taken seriously, they must be a virtuous society. And until then,
they, not downtrodden Arabs, are the villains.
Rehearsals: Wednesdays November 9, 16, 30;
December 7, 14 • 7:00 - 8:45 pm
Multi-Faith Thanksgiving Celebration:
Tuesday, November 22 • 7:00 pm
at Saint John’s Presbyterian Church in Berkeley
Songs of Miracles Holiday Show:
Thursday, December 15 • 7:30 pm
Join the Chorus in preparing music for Berkeley’s Multi-Faith
Thanksgiving and for our FABULOUS holiday show with the
Stars of Glory Gospel Ensemble. You can join the chorus
for one or both performances. The chorus is always open
to new singers--any member of Beth El who loves to sing is
encouraged to join us! The commitment is only one “season”
at a time, and musical background is not necessary. In
addition to sheet music, rehearsal CDs will be available to
all singers. Questions? You are encouraged to email Rabbi
Zellman, Beth El’s Music Director or call 510-848-3988 x228.
4. Peoplehood vs. Universality. There once was the Jewish people,
but today in the modern world such tribal associations are both
primitive and obsolete. I may be an adherent of Judaism or have
www.bethelberkeley.org | 7
YOUTH GROUPS
Where do Youth Groups fit?
Rebecca DePalma - Youth Group Advisor
Jewish youth groups provide opportunities for students to
experience Judaism with their peers. It is an all-inclusive, positive
atmosphere for teens to come to, when other areas of life may
be less accepting. Our wonderful youth group board plans events
for their peers, invites every eligible person to attend, and works
tirelessly at the events to make sure everyone feels included. They
also make sure that we are experiencing relevant Jewish content
to what is happening in their lives. Our youth groups experience
and investigate Jewish practices together.
Youth group is more than an opportunity for students to participate
in their Jewish community outside of class. Our students’ teenage
years are an essential time for them to build their identities. Teens
often have fewer options available to them in eighth grade than
when they were in kindergarten. Youth group gives them the
chance to make the decisions of what they want to do, how they
want to do it and to take responsibility for it, too. Teens create and
lead activities to get to know each other and themselves better in
a safe environment. For these reasons, we hope that your family
will find a way to help our youth group fit into your priorities.
If you want to get involved or have any questions or concerns,
please contact me at [email protected] or 510-8482122 ext. 214
Youth Group Calendar
WINTER
events
Why encourage your student to join their youth
groups? Your child already comes to Beth El
twice a week for classes, plays soccer, piano,
does karate and has homework every night.
What is the worth of this additional activity on
top of everything else?
December 11
Ruach Chanukah Party
1:00-4:00 pm
th
4 & 5th graders only
December 17-18
Sababa Overnight
7:00 pm-9:30 am
6th-8th graders only
NURSERY SCHOOL
Learning about & celebrating chanukah
Barbara Kanter - Nursery School Director
October and early November was the time
for our annual Back-to-School nights. During
these evenings, parents participated in
classroom activities and learned what to
expect from their children during the coming
year and how our school curriculum supports
and encourages the development of their children. Each of our
three classes had its own special evening for parents and teachers
to get together.
The Nursery School will be very busy in December learning
about, preparing for and celebrating Chanukah. The story,
songs, symbols, foods, and traditions of Chanukah provide many
exciting experiences and activities for young children and their
families. Our Chanukah activities will culminate with our All
School Chanukah Shabbat on Friday, December 16 at 12:30 in
the beit midrash/chapel. We invite all nursery school families to
join us for candle lighting and singing.
We are accepting applications for our 2012-2013 school year.
Please call the Nursery School office at 848-9428 ext. 219 or
email me at [email protected] to request a brochure,
8 | the builder: winter 2011
information and an application. Congregation members receive
priority enrollment status. We will have an informational meeting
about the Beth El Nursery School for prospective families on January
11 at 7:30 pm. After the meeting, we will make appointments for
parents to observe the school. These visits will take place in late
January and early February.
We congratulate Jodi Gladstone, an Alef Class teacher, on
completing the Gratz College Certificate Program in Jewish
Early Childhood Education in September. This program is part
of a community-wide effort to establish innovative professional
development for Bay Area early childhood Jewish educators. The
program emphasizes mindful and reflective practice through a
Jewish lens. Jodi was a member of the first cohort of only 11
teachers selected from the greater Bay Area. We are also very
proud to announce that Nicole Booz, a Gan Katan teacher, is a
member of the second Gratz cohort that began in September. We
are the only East Bay preschool to have teachers as members in
both of the first two cohorts.
CAMP KEE TOV
“I Love Kee Tov and Want to Stay All Year”
Zach Landres-Schnur - Camp Kee Tov Director
Picture this: an adorable 6-year-old, standing
with her friends and counselors on a sunny
summer day, trees in the background, grass
below. Accompanying her bright eyes and a
toothy smile is a sign made of red construction
paper and held at the bottom with a popsicle
stick that reads, “I love Kee Tov and want to stay here all year.”
Don’t we all! Good news, though, is that there are many ways to
stay connected to Kee Tov year ‘round.
Kadima, Beth El’s midweek educational program, is a great place
to see Kee Tov friends and counselors alike. Running on Tuesdays
and Thursdays, Kadima is a perfect forum to engage with all
those friends you made at Kee Tov in a fun, educational setting;
learning has never been more exciting! We kick things off with
Camp Kee Tov staff running the snack bar before classes begin
and many more staff and alumni are teachers and Madrichim
(Hebrew for “guides,” they serve as teaching assistants, Hebrew
tutors and office assistants.)
While not as consistent as Kadima, the High Holidays were a
great way to reconnect with our favorite Kee Tovers! With so many
current and former campers and counselors around Beth El for
the holidays, it was great to reminisce about the past summer,
get excited for the upcoming year and start planning those epic
theme days! And while a traditional Rosh Hashanah or Yom
Kippur service doesn’t exactly scream KEE TOV, seeing so many
long-time Kee Tovers engaged in the service, honored with an
aliyah or even reading from the Torah is very special! Often we
think of Kee Tov as singing Jewish songs, being covered in paint
on Messy Day and playing amazing, creative games outside in
the summer. That’s awesome, by the way! But to also see these
same people, with a deeper Jewish heritage than you’d gather
in a summer-time conversation truly illustrates how well-rounded
many in the Kee Tov family are.
To keep the Kee Tov feeling going strong--and to help with
camp withdrawal--we will have our annual Camp Kee Tov
reunion Shabbat on Friday, December 16 (see below). Reuniting
counselors, campers and parents, we’ll gather during the winter
holiday season for a festive, energetic and ruach-filled Shabbat
that will bring the magic of camp to December.
See? We can have Kee Tov all year long!
Camp Kee Tov
Summer 2012
Registration opens Wednesday, December 14
at 10:00 am at www.campkeetov.org!
Session 1: June 25 - July 20, 2012
Session 2: July 30 - August 24, 2012
Beth El members and returning Camp Kee Tov families will be given priority
registration by being guaranteed a spot at camp until February 1, 2012.
SAVE THE DATE
Camp Kee Tov Reunion Shabbat
Friday, December 16 • 6:15 pm
Miss your favorite counselors? Want to rock out with Eric Schoen? Haven’t felt that ruach since
the summer? Come join us on Friday, December 16 for the Camp Kee Tov Reunion Shabbat!
Eric Schoen will lead a Kee Tov-style shabbat service beginning at 6:15 pm, followed by a
ruach-filled oneg! We can’t wait to see you all there!
www.bethelberkeley.org | 9
FROM THE GIFT SHOP
We’ve traveled all the way to the New York Gift Show, home of the world’s finest selection of gifts and accessories, to bring you the
best possible choices for this holiday season. Remember to do all your holiday shopping at the Beth El Gift Shop... New merchandise
is already arriving and beginning to grace our gallery shelves. The season culminates with the Beth El Chanukah Bazaar, a more than
50-year-old tradition at our shul! Be sure to join us on Sunday, December 11, 2011 between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm in the Beth El
social hall. It’s a neighborhood tradition filled with shopping and shmoozing, and all proceeds benefit the programs and other events
that you love so much at Beth El!
Menorahs (Chanukiot), candles, dreydels and chocolate gelt are just the tip of the iceberg! You will find games, books, decorations,
party goods, gift wrap, and many unique gifts. We carry a great variety of jewelry both Judaica and costume-type, crafted by Israeli
artists. Our customers have also discovered our Ahava body products made with minerals from the Dead Sea make soothing and
luxurious gifts for the season.
Bring your family and friends, browse around and stay for lunch to enjoy latkes and other goodies. Of course, you don’t have to wait
for the Bazaar, everything will be available at the Gift Shop beforehand. Shop anytime during regular shul business hours: Monday
through Friday and at other times by appointment. When the synagogue is open for business...so is the Gift Shop!
If you would like to volunteer to help with serving the lunch, shlep the merchandise before or after the bazaar, please call Odette
(510-526-4917). For personalized gift shop service, call Odette or Robinn (510-524-2297), and we’ll be delighted to help you!
Odette and Robinn
[email protected]
ADULT EDUCATION
UPCOMING DISCCUSIONS f WORKSHOPS
Roots and Branches: Texts and Ideas of the Jewish Tradition “The Prophets”
November 13 and 20, December 4 and 11 • 10:00-11:30 am
Join Rabbi Yoel Kahn for an open-ended, on-going, ever-changing exploration of the core ideas and texts of the Jewish tradition. This fall, we will
study the prophet Ezekial along with the Twelve “Minor” Prophets (can you name them?), looking at their place in Jewish history, their impact on
later Jewish ideas and their meaning for today. This on-going class is open to everyone. Class is free; drop-ins welcome! No prerequisites, no prior
knowledge required.
Jewish Book Group
Wednesday, November 9 • 7:00 pm • The Little Disturbances of Man by Grace Paley
Wednesday, December 14 • 7:00 pm • To The End of The Land by David Grossman
Join Professor Naomi Seidman, Director of Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, for a discussion series on Jewish literature.
Lunch & Learn Series
“In pursuit of life long learning”
November 10 • Noon • FDR and the Holocaust (Presented by Bob Brandfon, Professor Emeritus)
December 8, 2011 • Noon • Illustrated Lecture on Antarctic Science and Life in the Antarctic Scientific Community (Presented by Dr. Spencer Klein)
Please bring a bag lunch. Dessert and drinks will be provided. Lunch and Learn events are open to the entire congregation and community,
young and old. Bring a friend!
New Year’s Eve Havdalah
Saturday December 31 • 6:00 pm
Join all your Beth El friends as we prepare to ring in the New Year! Suggested Donation: $10,00.
For more information about these or any other Adult Education events, please contact Beverly Eigner at [email protected] or call 510-549-3800.
10 | the builder: winter 2011
SOCIAL ACTION
Shm’a Beth El:
Social Action and
Community Service
at Beth El
The Listening Campaign
Beth El members support social justice activities and perform
community service not only through our congregational programs,
but beyond. This year, the Social Action Committee will be
connecting our members who are interested in similar issues. Our
goal is to create networks of Beth El members working together
on tikkun olam in settings that each of us find compelling. If you
are currently involved in a social action or community service
activity or there is a particular issue about which you would like to
learn more, please contact Emily Marthinsen (emilymarthinsen@
comcast.net or 510-528-1972 in the evening).
We are hoping that our activists will volunteer to “be a buddy”
to other Beth El members; and that groups of Beth El members
will represent our congregation in social action and community
service activities in our own town, in the Bay Area, nationally and
globally. We are already creating networks of people interested
in working on immigration reform and immigrants rights, youth
homelessness, jobs for youth, neighborhood safety, faith-based
organizing and African women’s rights. Please contact Emily if
you are interested in learning more about any of these.
As promised, the Listening Campaign kicked off during Yom
Kippur, with two House Parties at Beth El, which proved to be greatly
rewarding for both participants and facilitators. This initiative is
designed to bring the diverse voices of our congregation together
so that we can learn from each other and harness the power of
our whole community toward social justice for our members, our
city, our state, our country and our world.
After holding an inter-generational party in the Beth El Sukkah,
we will continue the campaign by arranging House Parties by
neighborhood.
Congregation Beth El members should expect an email invitation
by November. House Parties will be held through January, and
the Committee will present its findings on March 16 (Shabbat).
Meet your Beth El neighbors and build community by attending;
ask participants--they will tell you how rewarding their experience
was!
For more information about the Listening Campaign and hosting
or attending a House Party, please contact a member of the
subcommittee:
Maxim Schrogin: [email protected]
Cathy Stevens: [email protected]
Adele Amodeo: [email protected]
FROM THE PANTRY CHUG
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
2 cups plain yogurt
Mix all the ingredients. Deep fry one tablespoon
of batter per soofganiyot. Fill with jam or dust with
powdered sugar and serve hot.
soofganiyot
makes 12-16
For more information or to join the
Pantry Chug, contact Debbie Leon
at [email protected]!
We love this recipe because
the soofganiyot taste similar to
New Orleans beignets!
www.bethelberkeley.org | 11
MEMBER CORNER
WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBER
NANCY BRUNN
Carrie & Justin Katz
Scott Cohen & Andrea Balazs
Hale Kronenberg
Dennis Corburn
Rachel & David Metz
Nancy, Sabina and Jonathan Brunn are San Francisco natives, looking
to move to the East Bay soon. Currently, Nancy is a full time single mom
planning to rejoin the workforce after moving. Nancy’s best friend of 20 years,
Alicia, is also very involved in the family. Prior to being a full time mom, Nancy
worked as a housing advocate for people with developmental disabilities. “I
am passionate about full inclusion of people with disabilities in all areas of life,
as well as the full inclusion of LGBT families, such as our own,” Nancy said. The
twins, Sabina and Jonathan, are 3 years old and love attending the Aleph
class at Beth El Nursery School. The family has just started getting involved
in activities related to the nursery school and look forward to joining other
synagogue activities.
Both Andrea Balazs and Scott Cohen are bilingual (Spanish and English).
Scott, who has lived in California for 20 years, is a native of Maine. As a
general pediatrician he started a non-profit organization that provides
funding and education to lay midwives in Latin America to reduce maternal
and infant mortality (www.globalpediatricalliance). Andrea, a Berkeley
native, has an environmental science and marketing background and
works as a professional photographer. They have two children: Lucas (3) and
Sofia (16 months). Hobbies for Scott include hiking, playing harmonica and
wilderness travel. Andrea enjoys gardening, backpacking/hiking and art.
Dennis Corburn moved to California four years ago from Atlanta, where he
sang with his synagogue choir and with a semi-professional group called
the Atlanta Male Jewish Choir. Dennis’s work life dealt with technical sales
support engineering for several high tech companies and started in New
York City where he and his wife, Karen, both grew up. Work took them to
the northern suburbs of New York City, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and
Atlanta. Finally the Corburns’ grand kids brought them to San Ramon to be
near their families. Since his arrival Dennis has continued his interest in singing
with several choral groups in the area as well as with the Livermore Opera
and the Alameda Light Opera. He looks forward to lending his voice to
Beth El.
Ana & Pascal Forest
Ana (Duckler) Forest grew up in Berkeley, attended Camp Kee Tov, and
worked there every summer during her teen years. She met her French
husband, Pascal, on a bus in Israel, over 25 years ago. After 16 years in the
Bay Area together, the Forests moved to a tiny village in the French Alps and
enjoyed skiing, picking wild blueberries, hiking, renovating their farm house,
and becoming bilingual. They were members of Communauté Israélite
Libérale de Genève in Geneva, where Adam and Benjamin were enrolled
Talmud Torah classes last year. Every summer the Forests brought the boys
back to Camp Kee Tov and finally decided to return to Berkeley permanently
in July. One of the first things they did was join Beth El. Ana & Pascal work in
real estate, as they did previous to their “sabbatical” years in France.
Daniel Gottheiner & Aliza Cohen
Aliza Cohen and Daniel Gottheiner are both educators. Aliza works at
Brandeis Hillel Day School in San Francisco teaching fine arts. Daniel teaches
8th grade physical science at Albany Middle School and he relishes being
able to work in the community where he lives. Daniel and Aliza both grew up
in the Bay Area and met at a Jewish youth group during high school. After
living in Boston for two years they were married in 2006 and promptly moved
to Shanghai where they taught at an international school. After traveling
in Asia, they returned to the Bay Area, settling down in Albany. Aside from
spending time with family, Aliza’s interests include painting and any DIY
project. She loves sewing, working with felt, and recently took a ceramics
class. She spent time this summer pickling different things and making jam.
She loves to cook! Daniel can be found listening to music, playing guitar with
his son (Raphael, 2), being outside in nature, and playing disc golf. They are
excited to be joining the Beth El community.
David Green
David Green works as a geriatric care manager primarily in Walnut Creek
but has clients in Alameda County as well. He lives in Berkeley and enjoys
backpacking, running, tennis, cooking, and eating out. (He lives near Solano
Avenue and comments, “it’s too easy to find good food a short walk from the
front door.) Daughter Emma is in 5th grade and “for the moment” identifies
ice skating as her favorite activity. Sushi is without a doubt her favorite food.
David says he has been made to feel most welcome at Beth El.
12 | the builder: winter 2011
The Katz family is very happy to be joining the Beth El community. Justin
grew up in and has lived in the East Bay for most of his life. Carrie was born
in New York and grew up in Atlanta, but has lived in the Bay Area long
enough to feel like a native. The two met in 1996 while forming a band and,
in fact, are still performing and recording with their group today! They now
live in the Richmond hills, where Elias (7) and Malachi (5) both currently
attend Crestmont School, and have also been part of Kee Tov for the past
two summers. In addition to being musicians, Carrie is a body-oriented
psychotherapist with a private practice in Berkeley, and Justin does concert
production in San Francisco. They enjoy art, traveling, camping, gardening,
bike rides, and playing with their hermit crabs, Bolt and Chuck.
Welcome back Hale Kronenberg, who was a member of Beth El from 20012008. Hale is an estate planning attorney with an office in Berkeley and lives in
El Cerrito with his wife, Madeline. They have four grown children. Hale recently
retired from California Continuing Education of the Bar after 22 years, where
he was an editor and manager of an estate planning and business practice
group. Hale keeps busy by serving on the Financial Advisory Board of the El
Cerrito City Council and as a member of the El Cerrito Lions Club. He also is a
writing coach at El Cerrito High School and a volunteer tax preparer at an IRS
low-income clinic in San Pablo.
David and Rachel Metz have lived in Berkeley since 2002. Dave comes from
Milwaukee and Rachel was born in Michigan but grew up in Los Angeles.
They met at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, and were
married 10 years ago. Dave is a partner in a California-based firm that does
public opinion research for political campaigns; Rachel is the policy director
for Alameda County Health Services. Their son Marc (almost 8) and daughter
Maddie (6) attend Rosa Parks elementary school in Berkeley. You can
catch them most weekends on the Albany-Berkeley soccer fields and in the
evenings at Picante. Both children are huge fans of Camp Kee Tov (as are
their parents) and they are glad to be members of Beth El.
Dev Millstein & Rachel Adams
Rachel Adams and Dev Millstein live in El Cerrito and have a daughter, Rani,
who is 2 and a newborn, Isaac. They are room reps for Gan Katan. Rachel
does research on fungi in indoor air at UC Berkeley and Dev is a research
scientist at Lawrence Berkeley, studying energy policy and air quality. Dev
grew up in Berkeley and attended Beth El Nursery school, while Rachel was
raised in Little Rock, Arkansas and moved to San Francisco after college.
Jocelyn Newman
Jocelyn Newman, although originally from New York, was mainly raised in
San Francisco. She was a singer in the San Francisco Girls Chorus and the
San Francisco Symphony Chorus before going on to study voice and choral
conducting at College of Marin and UC Santa Barbara. She moved back up
to the Bay Area in 2000, and works at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business
in MBA recruiting--managing companies coming to campus to interview
students. Jocelyn has been involved in Israeli folk dancing, Burning Man and
taught herself how to crochet from a book. She became involved at Beth
El when her co-worker and Beth El member, Lisa Feldman, invited Jocelyn
to join Rabbi Zellman’s Torah cantillation class. She’s read Torah twice on
Shabbat, joined the Beth El Chorus and, finally, joined Beth El itself.
Eileen Rosenfeld
After spending her entire life in the Chicago area, Eileen Rosenfeld moved to
California last December from Skokie, Illinois. She now lives in Albany. Eileen
spends weekdays picking up her oldest granddaughter from school and has
“greatly enjoyed being closer to her daughter (Debbie), son-in-law, and two
grandchildren, who are also members of Beth El. Eileen says “it’s amazing to
not have to ever deal with a Chicago winter again!” Her other daughter lives
in Columbia, Missouri.
Gayle Saldinger & Ed O’Neil
Gayle Saldinger and Ed O’Neil have lived in Alameda for 20 years. Gayle
grew up in Berkeley and her family belonged to Beth El. Ed works in health
policy and Gayle does pro bono college counseling with disadvantaged
kids. They have two older sons, Daniel (22) and Ben (19), but Joshua (14) is the
only one still living at home. He is a 9th grader at Encinal High in Alameda,
plays water polo and is a Boy Scout. Everyone in the Saldinger-O’Neil family
loves the outdoors and traveling.
MEMBER CORNER
RS!*
B’NAI MITZVAH
Jen Shonholtz Ramm & Andy Ramm
Jenifer Shonholtz Ramm and Andy Ramm live in Kensington and have
two children: Griffin,7 and Amelia, 2. Andy is director of audio product
management at Avid Technology, and Jen is a freelance photography
producer and web creative manager. The Ramms got to know Congregation
Beth El this summer when Griffin went to Camp Kee Tov and had a “great
time.” He’s now in religious school with many of the friends he made at
camp. Before joining Beth El, The Ramms’ friends who are members, said so
many positive things about the congregation. And even in the short time
they’ve been members, the Ramms have experienced it for themselves and
look forward to getting to know more people in “this wonderful community.”
Ed Sklar & Jennifer Levin
Ed Sklar is originally from New Jersey and Jennifer Levin grew up in the Bay
Area. They moved to Berkeley from San Francisco in 2008. Both are attorneys
and met at USF law school. Jennifer now has a small private practice, having
worked as a public defender for 12 years. Ed is a partner at Lozano Smith,
which represents school districts and other public agencies. Max (9) and
Quinn(7), attend Berkeley Arts Magnet School, and Max is enjoying Hebrew
School at Beth El. They also have a younger son, Ezekiel (1).
The congregation is cordially invited
to attend as our daughter, Emma
Waldman is called to the Torah as a
Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, November 12,
2011 at 10:15am. Kiddush will follow.
Jed Waldman & Laura Harnish
The congregation is cordially invited
to attend as my son, Jaime FalconeJuengert is called to the Torah as a Bar
Mitzvah on Saturday, November 19,
2011 at 10:15am. Kiddush will follow.
Laurie Juengert
Bruce Simon
Bruce Simon was born and raised in Philadelphia and has lived in Berkeley
for the past 15 years. He currently is education director at the Bay Area
Discovery Museum in Sausalito. His daughter, Rosie, is in fifth grade and son,
Isaac, is in third grade at Rosa Parks Elementary. The family enjoys cooking
together, hiking and backpacking, and reading. Bruce is an avid cyclist and
said that the kids often “declare car-free days” when they cycle together
around Berkeley.
Allan & Elaine Sobel
The congregation is cordially invited to
attend as our son, Ellis Lee is called to
the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday,
December 3, 2011 at 10:15am.
Kiddush will follow.
William Lee & Amy Resner
Mike Talkovsky
The congregation is cordially invited to
attend as our son, Jacob Libenson is
called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on
Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 9:15am
at Beth Israel. Kiddush will follow.
Ross Libenson & Susie Marcus
Michelle Tirella-Green & Andre Ventura
The congregation is cordially invited to
attend as our daughter, Ella Hoffman is
called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on
Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 10:15am.
Kiddush will follow.
Carol Hoffman & Jim Matson
Allan and Elaine Sobel are both retired. Previously, Elaine was an elementary
school teacher and Allan was in health-care management. They moved
to Oakland from Thousand Oaks, California, to be close to their grandson,
Reuben, and help their daughter, Abby, and her husband, Joel, with
childcare. Their other daughter, Rebekah, and her husband, Joel, live in
Washington, D.C. with their son, Ethan. Allan and Elaine look forward to
volunteering for the monthly Homeless Meal and possibly other activities at
Beth El.
Mike Talkovsky is a Berkeley native, and lives in North Oakland with his
daughter, Mia, and their dog, Mozie, who is a schnauzer/border terrier mix.
He said that they are excited to join Beth El and “to be part of this wonderful,
diverse, Jewish community.” Mike works in private practice as an educational
therapist, supporting children who struggle in school, as well as their families.
He says he is passionate about helping children improve their reading, writing,
math and study skills. Mike has a Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and a
Masters degree in Education from Holy Names University. The family’s hobbies
include tennis, skiing and biking.
Michelle Tirella-Green grew up in Boston and Andre Ventura was raised
in Rio de Janeiro. They live in Alameda with their blended family of Maria
(12), Emma (10), and Deco (9). Michelle is the Director of Early Childhood
Education/ PJ Library Coordinator at the Jewish Federation of the East Bay,
and loves kick boxing and writing. Andre works in construction and plays
soccer regularly. They enjoy outdoor activities with their family and dancing.
Michelle and Andre have lived in the Bay Area for about 13 years.
Libby Trumbull & Lisa Zeiler
Libby Trumbull and her daughter, Hannah, had been members of Beth El for
several years and have just rejoined. Libby’s partner, Lisa Zeiler, decided to
join Beth El so that Lisa’s son Ariel could begin his education there. Hannah
began Hebrew school there in 6th grade, became a bat mitzvah, and is now
16 (a junior at Albany High). Lisa has been playing guitar and singing at Beth
El on Saturday mornings, at Chug, and she also plays at other synagogues
in the area. She is a guitar teacher to children and adults. Libby teaches
kindergarten at Thousand Oaks Elementary in Berkeley. The family lives in
Albany. Libby and Lisa have been together for four years and became
engaged last spring.
*Compiled by Beth El member Elisabeth Wechsler.
The congregation is cordially invited
to attend as our son, Sam Clewans is
called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 10:15am.
Kiddush will follow.
Harry Clewans & Kelley Meade
The congregation is cordially invited to
attend as our son, Aaron Sanstad is
called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on
Saturday, January 28, 2011 at 10:15am.
Kiddush will follow.
Alan Sanstad
& Katherine Haynes-Sanstad
www.bethelberkeley.org | 13
TZEDAKAH
ARJMAND ADULT EDUCATION FUND
Vivian Clayton
Dan & Robinn Magid
Homayoun Arjmand in memory of Haniny Arjmand
Peter & Nancy Bickel in loving memory of Madeleine Korb
Phyllis Zisman in honor of Stan & Miriam Schiffman’s
50th wedding anniversary
Phyllis Zisman for the speedy recovery of Wilma Rader
Phyllis Zisman for the speedy recovery of Cathy Stevens
Phyllis Zisman in honor of the engagement of Robby Roller
& Shayna Fleishman
Phyllis Zisman in memory of Saul Wollins
ANNUAL APPEAL 5772
Rebecca Abravanel & Kim Beeson
Susan Amdur
Mike & Sue Austin
Bruce & Susan Carter
David Fields
Gary Feiner
Grossberg Abrams Foundation
Batya Kalis
Spencer Klein & Ruth Ehrenkrantz
Stan Lappen
Fran Layton
Stephen & Wilma Rader
Lily Rasovsky & Miriam Wolfson
Nurit Robinson
Lea Salem & Lisa Ochs
Rhonda Sarnoff
Alana Siegel
Ruth & Scott Spear
Jonathan & Joy Weiner
Jessica Wolfson
Alexander & Izabella Zheleznyak
CAMP KEE TOV SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Jewish Federation of the East Bay
Sondra & Herb Napell in memory of Barbara Matkowsky Gorin
GAGA PIT DONATION
Anonymous
Polly Bergtraun
Elizabeth Friedman Branoff & Steven Branoff
The Dar Family
Mark Davis, Judy Chang and Aaron Davis
Michael & Anna Fogelman
Rabbi Kahn & Dan Bellm
Jim Offel & Nancy Lewin-Offel
Katherine Haynes Sanstad & Alan Sanstad
Samantha Spielman & Barry Barnes Jr.
Iren Suhami
Jeremy Throner
Mauricio & Katherine Vieira
14 | the builder: winter 2011
GENERAL FUND
Monty Garretson
Edward Holly
Julie Matlof Kennedy & Patrick Kennedy
Enid Pollack
Fran Alexander in loving memory of Ernie Alexander
The Backman-Pollack Family in celebration of Danny Scher’s
60th birthday
The Backman-Pollack Family in honor of the birth of daughter
Lilith to Jennifer Schindel & Charlie Rockman
The Backman-Pollack Family in memory of Hannah Scher
The Backman-Pollack Family in memory of Rabbi Avi Levine
The Backman-Pollack Family in memory of Bernard Sarnat
The Backman-Pollack Family in memory of Shirley Bernstein
Odette Blachman in honor of Barbara Blachman’s 80th birthday
Stu & Judy Berman in memory of Harry Berman
Diane & Ed Bernbaum in memory of Larry Amsterdam
Florence Borkon in loving memory of Dorothy Rosenberg
Max Cooperstein in gratitude for his wife Bonnie’s recovery
Max Cooperstein in honor of his wife Bonnie’s birthday
Max & Bonnie Cooperstein in honor of Sam Rudnick’s birthday
Max & Bonnie Cooperstein in honor of Lloyd Morgan’s birthday
Juliette Hassid in memory of Nessim Graziani
Juliette Hassid in memory of Joseph Hassid
Juliette Hassid in memory of Victor Mizrahi
Tony Hecht in memory of Sidney Robert Hecht
Estie & Mark Hudes in memory of Leah Glick
Charles & Marilyn Krovetz in memory of Ida Gradolph
Diane Krovetz & Mark Fleschler and Family in memory of Ida
Gradolph
Debbie & Jeff Leon in memory of Gordon Sanstad Sr.
Debbie & Jeff Leon in honor of Lilah Wolfson-Hecht’s baby
naming
Janet Lipkin in memory of Barry Shapiro
Desmid Lyon in memory of Larry Frankel
Steven & Katherine Resnik in memory of Steven’s parents,
Bernard & Selma Resnik
Marcel & Margrit Schurman in memory of Israel Turkavka
Robert & Elizabeth Sharf in loving memory of Rosslyn Sharf
Aleksandr Shirman in memory of his wife Bella
Nancy Turak & Marc Davis in honor of Julia Brady
Nancy Turak & Marc Davis in honor of Lilah Emunah WolfsonHecht’s Hebrew naming ceremony
Nancy Turak & Marc Davis in in honor Ruth Ehrenkrantz, Abi
Rudnick, Peggy Lipson and the Ritual Committee
Sybil & Steven Wolin in honor of the 10th anniversary of Jessica
Wolin & Matthew Rosen
John & Nilou Yadegar in memory of Jahangir Yadegar
HOMELESS MEAL PROGRAM
Anonymous
Ruth & Michael Botchan
Barbara Fierer & Bob Brandfon
Robert Kessler & Sally Benjamin
Allen King
Joan Alexander in memory of Janet Sachs
Adele Amodeo in memory of Norman Graup
Adele Amodeo in memory of Hsiao-ti Catherine Falcone
Bob Goldstein & Anna Mantell in honor of Joel Zebrack’s
birthday
TZEDAKAHTZEDAKAH
(continued)
Nasrine Greene in memory of Rachel Pirnazar
Dorit & Aharon Hochbaum in honor of Larry & Bobby’s 50th
anniversary
Sondra & Herb Napell in memory of Emanuel Matkowsky
Thom & Betty Seaton in honor of Ruth Spear
The Shonkoff family in honor of Jen & Eric Gorovitz for their
generosity towards individuals and our community
Nancy Turak & Marc Davis in honor of all those who participate
in the Homeless Meal
Joe Zicherman in memory of Miriam & Nelson Zicherman
Joe Zicherman in memory of Ina Zicherman Blumenthal
MARIAN MAGID FUND
Dan & Robinn Magid
Phyllis Zisman in memory of Naomi Wollins Goldberg
MUSIC FUND
Andy Dale
Karen, Stuart, Lisa & Lisa in honor of Max Cooperstein’s birthday
Karen, Stuart, Lisa & Lisa in honor of Bonnie Cooperstein’s
birthday
Melanie Aron & Michael Dine in honor of Rabbi Zellman
Nicolas Babin & Hetty Rodriguez in appreciation of Rabbi
Zellman
Phyllis Zisman in memory of Larry Amsterdam
NURSERY SCHOOL FUND
Grossberg Abrams Foundation
Dev Millstein & Rachel Adams
Lester & Esther Cohen in honor of their grandson Lucas Cohen
Honey Massey in honor of her grandson Ari Massey
ONEG/KIDDISH FUND
Marilyn & Harry Margulius in memory of Bill Kurzman
Madelyn Stone in memory of Sidney Stein
RABBI YOEL KAHN’S DISCRETIONARY FUND
Peter & Nancy Bickel in loving memory of Madeleine Korb
Bruce & Susan Carter in honor of Rabbi Kahn’s birthday
Greta Camel in appreciation of Rabbi Kahn and Beth El for
teaching her grandsons, Noah & Jacob Amme
Max & Bonnie Cooperstein in honor of their aliyah at Rosh
Hashanah
Andy Dale in appreciation of Rabbi Kahn
Martin & Selma Graham in memory of Laddie Graham
Yonit Levy in memory of Helen & Joseph Levy
Wilma & Stephen Rader in appreciation of the Beth El community
Amy Resner in memory of Gerald Resner
Stephen Rothman in memory of Bertha Rothman
Stephen Rothman in memory of Abraham Rothman
Katherine Haynes Sanstad & Alan Sanstad in appreciation of
Rabbi Kahn
The Shonkoff family in honor of Rabbi Kahn for his thoughtful
leadership of the community
RABBI EMERITUS’ DISCRETIONARY FUND
Anonymous
Larry & Esther Thal
Peter & Nancy Bickel in loving memory of Madeleine Korb
Clif Erickson & Ellie Goldstein-Erickson in honor Rabbi Raj for
conducting a ceremony in honor of the marriage of Jacob & Kate
Erickson
Lloyd & Lassie Ulman in memory of Ruth & Harry R. Ulman
RABBI VIDA LIBRARY FUND
Peter & Nancy Bickel in loving memory of Madeleine Korb
Valerie Gutwirth & Elio Gizzi in memory of Lillian Leavitt
SOCIAL ACTION FUND
Bob & Sara Kupor in memory of their parents
TORAH STUDY
C. Lynne Horiuchi
Bob & Sara Kupor in memory of their parents
YOUTH & FAMILY EDUCATION FUND
Alison Fisher & Matt Oshry
Herschel & Judith Langenthal Philanthropic Fund
Robin & Ed Wenrick
Fran Alexander in memory of Henry Alexander
Laura, Harry & Marilyn Margulius, Edivan & Lucas Dos Santos
in memory of Rebecca Dale
It’s
Turkey
Drive
Time!
For the past 12 years Beth El has supported the
Alameda County Food Bank in feeding hungry
people during the holiday season through its
annual Turkey Drive.
Flyers and envelopes have been mailed.
Just $20 provides a holiday dinner for four
people. Please consider giving to this worthy
cause by sending in your donation as early as
possible. We’d like to send a great big check to
the Food Bank by mid-November.
Thank you for your kind support!
www.bethelberkeley.org | 15
IN THE NEWS
Beth El Member Marc Davis Wins
Prestigious Astronomy Award
Elisabeth Wechsler - Beth El Member
After some 30 years, Professor
Marc Davis and three other
astronomers are set to
receive gold medals from
the Peter and Patricia Gruber
Foundation for their computer simulations that convinced the
world of the existence of “dark matter.”
The awards were presented October 24 in Munich and also
carried a cash prize of $500,000 to be split among Marc, George
Efstathiou (the director of the Kavili Institute for Cosmology at
Cambridge, England), Carlos Frenk (the director of the Institute
for Computational Cosmology at Durham University in England),
and Simon White (a director of the Max Planck Institute for
Astophysics in Garching, Germany). The four winners will give a
lecture at the awards ceremony.
The prize was announced on June 1 by the 10-year-old Gruber
Foundation, which cited the four astronomers “for their pioneering
use of numerical simulations to model and interpret the largescale distribution of matter in the universe.” Their work “galvanized
support for ‘cold dark matter’ as the dominant form of matter in
the universe and has thus been instrumental in the crafting of
our current cosmological paradigm,” the foundation said in a
statement. The Gruber Prize recognizes both the discovery method
that the team introduced as well as the collaboration’s subsequent
discoveries. Curiously, dark matter remains elusive in the search
to find out exactly what it is.
16 | the builder: winter 2011
Aside from teaching astronomy at UC Berkeley, Marc still actively
performs research in this field. His 1980’s findings are really
a precursor to current work, with greatly improved computer
capability. The older work was performed on computers with less
power and capacity than an average laptop today.
Marc is married to Nancy Turak and they have two sons, 25 and
29. They have been members of Beth El for over 25 years, and
Nancy is currently vice-president for membership.
Homeless Meal Receives
“Reader’s Choice” Award!
Ruth Spear - Homeless Meal Chair
The “J” Readers’ Choice Awards for Social Action singled out
Congregation Beth El this year for the Homeless Meal. Thanks to
all of you who continue to make the Homeless Meal a monthly
success.
The meal is served on the third Sunday of every month in the
social hall at Beth El. We are known among our guests as the
“chicken church” or “chicken shack.” Here is how you can help:
• Volunteer to help cook or serve the meal by signing up
at http://dinner.pagepoint.com or sign up through the
“BE Involved” link on the Beth El web page.
• PHYSICIANS: help our guests and mentor a medical student.
Volunteer for the monthly Suitcase Clinic from 2:00-5:00pm.
Malpractice coverage is provided by Lifelong Medical Care,
after short credentialing process. Medical students are
from UCB/UCSF Joint Medical Sciences Program and UCB
undergrad public health students as clerks. Contact Adele
Amodeo (at the web site listed above) for more information.
• Donate money for the meal by making donations at the Beth
El office, designated for the Homeless Meal. All costs for the
meal come from donations. The synagogue budget does not
pay for any part of the meal.
• If you know of any foundations that would give us a grant
let us know.
• Drop off your clothing discards in the two barrels in the
upstairs education wing to be given away at the meal. We need
mostly men’s clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, underwear,
sox, and hotel toiletries.
If you have any questions, contact Ruth Spear or Adele Amodeo
through the above website.
page
MIDRASHA
name
the 1st semester
Diane Bernbaum - Director
This has been a semester with a lot of wonderful
new programming, and a lot of “firsts.” On
our Berkeley campus here are a few: Because
many of our teachers participated in a two-day
training for retreat staff, we replaced ordinary
classes on October 23 with a “Midrasha
Extravaganza.” Students got to spend their morning screening the
film “Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story,” and heard firsthand about the subject from Midrasha alum Yeshaiah Goldfarb
who has worked in the Giants’ front office for 10 years. Other
students chose to learn about Jewishness and Blackness in the
music of Irving Berlin with musicologist Kimberly Gelbwasser.
Midrasha faculty member Day Schildkret led a meditation session
and also taught a class on Jews and Revolution. At the same
time 8th graders spent the morning in a disabilities awareness
workshop, listening to speakers talk first-hand about their
disabilities or those of people they work with, screening portions
of the films “Perspecticles” and “How Difficult Can this Be?” and
seeing what traditional Jewish texts tell us about disabilities.
Everyone left the morning really glad they had come.
Second, for the first time this year Midrasha in Berkeley is initiating
a Havdalah outreach program to some of our partner synagogues
where some of the Midrasha teens and staff bring the celebration
of Havdalah to the religious school students and their parents.
The idea was started by our colleague Devra Aarons at Contra
Costa Midrasha. She thought that for many teens at Midrasha,
their favorite part of the program is Havdalah on retreats and she
wanted to bring some of that excitement to younger students at
our partner synagogues so that religious school students would
have a glimpse of what to look forward to at Midrasha. At the time
of this writing we’ve had our first event (a smashing success) and
have two others scheduled. If we haven’t come to your synagogue
this year, reach out to us and ask us to come next semester.
The four Midrasha campuses have also tried some new innovative
programming together. We realized last year that eighth graders
may need a little bit of an orientation to our retreat program, so
we have planned a wonderful “Tasty, Backwards Adventure: A
Sneak-Peek at the Midrasha Retreats with Burritos, Blindfolds and
The Beastie Boys.” Eighth graders from all four campuses will
get to meet each other on the afternoon of December 11 (when
the older Midrasha students are on a two -day retreat of their
own) and experience the highlights of a Midrasha retreat, all in
reverse order, as they travel together on a bus to a movable feast
of sample Midrasha retreat activities. (I hate to tell you more and
spoil the surprises we have in store for them.) Another thing the
four campuses did together was to plan an afternoon at the Urban
Adamah farm. You should have seen our kids making pesto from
basil they harvested, using a bicycle-powered blender.
Planning all the details for these new programs has taken a lot
of time, but it has also been very energizing. That’s what keeps
the job of directing this great school so engaging. Each year is
filled with new horizons, new programs to plan and new logistical
challenges to solve. It keeps me young, I guess.
Thank you!
This year Congregation Beth El members
had many opportunities to sit in a sukkah.
A number of members opened their homes
to the community over the holiday. We
would like to thank the following members
for their gracious hospitality and wonderful
sukkah building skills. It was a pleasure to
be invited to your beautiful sukkahs:
Arella Barlev
Alex and Michelle Bergtraun
Emily and Bill Martinsen
Stacy Shulman
Dawn and Jay Marlette
Susan Camel
Alan Sanstad and Katherine Haynes Sanstad
Richard and Beverly Eigner
Oren and Deb Massey
Rabbi Yoel Kahn and Dan Bellm
Daniel and Robinn Magid
Jeanne Wiegelmann Alfandary and Shai Alfandary
Anna and Michael Fogelman
www.bethelberkeley.org | 17
LIBRARY
NEW
BOOKS
IN THE
LIBRARY
Scott Spear - Library Chair
Donations to the Plishner and Vida Funds make it possible to have
new children’s and adult’s books. Here are some more:
The Oracle of Stamboul is the first novel of Michael Lukas, who
attended religious school, Kee Tov, and Midrasha and was bar
mitzvah here at Beth El. The SF Chronicle calls the book a “Turkish
Delight.” The heroine is Jewish.
Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza,
by Dina Hoffman and Peter Cole, tells the story of the discovery of
the greatest find of Jewish manuscripts of all time, in the ibn Ezra
Synagogue of Old Cairo, and of the scholars who have worked
on them, and of the stories these documents tell about a thousand
years of Jewish society. Some are poignant. For example, one of
the documents was the last letter written by Maimonides’s brother
before he was killed by bandits in Yemen.
In Beginnings: The First Love, the First Hate, the First Dream…
Reflections on the Bible’s Intriguing Firsts, Meir Shalev, prizewinning Israeli author, probes the firsts in the Bible: first kiss, first
animal, first weeping, first laugh, and so on, uncovering surprising
nuances and implications. Learn here, for example, of the first
mention of love in the Bible, the first of hate.
Jews at Home: the Domestication of Identity, ed. by Simon
Bronner, is a collection of cultural studies using Jewish home life
on four continents as a way of understanding Jewish identities,
something called, in the introduction, “living room Judaism.”
What makes a home Jewish? What makes Jews feel at home in
their environment? These questions and others are considered
from many points of view, expressed in history, literature, art,
popular culture, and so on.
Palaces of Time: Jewish Calendar and Culture in Early Modern
Europe, by Elisheva Carlebach, the Salo Baron Professor of
Jewish History, Culture, and Society at Columbia University, called
a “remarkable and pioneering study” and a “brilliant tour de
force,” is a study of the measure and meaning of Jewish time from
the 15th century on in Europe and of the tensions and conflicts
with the different measures and meanings of time of the majority
culture. The book also has beautiful pictures.
Anne Frank was not the only young person who kept a diary
during the Holocaust. Fourteen Holocaust diaries by Jewish young
people, in Poland, Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania,
and Romania, are contained in Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’
Diaries of the Holocaust, ed. by Alexandra Zapruder.
18 | the builder: winter 2011
The Black Jews of Africa: History, Religion, Identity, by Edith
Bruder, tells the stories of 14 groups of African Jews, throughout
the continent, where synagogues have been formed spontaneously
in western, eastern, and southern Africa, constituting a new kind
of African Judaism, creating distinct Jewish identities.
The Third Pillar: Essays in Judaic Studies, by Geoffrey Hartman,
is a collection of 13 Essays, divided into “Bible,” “Midrash” and
“Education.” Elie Wiesel says, “this is Geoffrey Hartman’s best
and most insightful book.” Cynthia Ozick says, “In the form,
substance, intellectual brio, and imaginative reach of these essays,
Geoffrey Hartman has no peer. And to say it (almost) otherwise:
in learning and originality, two characteristics that are only very
rarely found paired, he is matchless. You may read him solely as
a scholar if you wish, but once you stir in the ‘creative,’ you will
have something or someone else: a poet.”
The Bible Now, by Richard Friedman and Shawna Dolansky, both
noted biblical scholars, tells what the Bible says–and does not
say–about homosexuality, abortion, the status of women, capital
punishment, and the earth. The authors resort to historical-critical
methods, philological and literary analyses, text criticism, source
criticism, redaction criticism, archaeology, anthropology, and
ancient languages.
The World According to Itzik: Selected Poetry and Prose,
collects works of Itzik Manger, the only English translation of this
Yiddish writer who lived in Romania, Poland, France, Canada
and Israel. If you are interested in Yiddish literature or like good
stories and poetry, or both, this is for you. If you dislike good
literature, avoid it.
The Beth El Men’s Club & Adult Education Committee
invite you to hear
Professor
Michael Nacht
Israel and the Arab Spring
Wednesday, January 18 • 7:00 pm
in the Beit Midrash
Professor Nacht is a specialist in U.S. national security
policy. He has had three tours of government
service, most recently as Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Global Strategic Affairs in the Obama
Administration. He is currently a Thomas and Alison
Schneider Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman
School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley.
calendar
midrasha
November 2011 / Cheshvan-Kislev 5772
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
1
2
7:00p Israel
Committee Meeting
6:30p Lehrhaus/
Beg. Modern Hebrew
7:30p Ritual
Committee
7:30p Midrasha
Board Meeting
6:00p Madrichim
Training
NS - Nursery School
YAFE - Youth and
Family Education
Wednesday
5:00p Sababa
Meeting
Thursday
3
6:00p 5th Grade
Home for Dinner
Launch
Friday
4
6:30p Persian
Shabbat Oneg & Talk
4:00p 6th/7th Grade
Tzedek Project #2
at Urban Adamah
7
8
6:15p Parent B’nei
Mitzvah Class with
Dan Magid
6:30p Gala Planning
Committee
7:00p Nursery School
Committee
7:00p Adult Edu.
Committee
10
11
7:00p Chorus
Rehearsals
5:40p All School
Service - Parents
Invited
6:15p Shabbat
Unplugged Service
7:00p Jewish Book
Group
7:45p Lehrhaus/
Int. Modern Hebrew
9:15a Torah Study
10:15a B’nai Mitzvah
Shabbat Morning
Program
9
6:30p Lehrhaus/
Beg. Modern Hebrew
5
8:30a Early Minyan
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
7:45p Lehrhaus/
Int. Modern Hebrew
6
Saturday
12:00p Lunch & Learn
Series
5:30p Shabbat
Unplugged Dinner
6:15p Garden
Committee Meeting
12
8:30a Early Minyan
9:15a Torah Study
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
Bat Mitzvah Emma Waldman
7:30p Executive
Committee
13
11:30a Pantry Chug
14
1:30p Hadassah
Event
15
6:15p Parent B’nei
Mitzvah Class with
Dan Magid
7:00p Program
Council
7:00p Beth El Kevah
16
17
7:00p Chorus
Rehearsals
6:00p Marketing
Committee
7:30p Gershon
Gorenberg Lecture
6:00p Sababa
Meeting
6:30p Lehrhaus/
Beg. Modern Hebrew
4:15p Pantry Chug
Baking Session
18
6:15p Yismechu:
Shabbat Evening
Chanting Service
2:00p Homeless Meal
Medical Clinic
21
22
YAFE CLOSED
23
7:00p Multi-Faith
Thanksgiving
at St. John’s
Presbyterian Church
5:00p Homeless Meal
9:15a Torah Study
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
Bar Mitzvah Jaime FalconeJuengert
7:45p Lehrhaus/
Int. Modern Hebrew
20
19
8:30a Early Minyan
11:00a Hebrew Story
Time
24
THANKSGIVING
Offices & Schools
CLOSED
25
26
THANKSGIVING
HOLIDAY
THANKSGIVING
HOLIDAY
Offices & Schools
CLOSED
Chug Mishpacha
CLOSED
6:15p Shabbat
Evening Service
8:30a Early Minyan
9:15a Torah Study
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
27
28
29
30
6:30p Lehrhaus/
Beg. Modern Hebrew
7:00p Chorus
Rehearsals
7:45p Lehrhaus/
Int. Modern Hebrew
www.bethelberkeley.org | 19
TORAH STUDY
Virginia Woolf. Isaac Newton. Rabbi Hillel.
Meets Shabbat Morning (Saturday)
in the Beit Midrash at 9:15am
November 5, 2011
Parashat Lech-Lecha - Genesis 12:1-17:27
Led by Lloyd Morgan
November 12, 2011
Parashat Vayera - Genesis 18:1-22:24
Led by Bob Goldstein
November 19, 2011
Parashat Chayei Sara - Genesis 23:1-25:18
Led by Jane Levy
November 26, 2011
Parashat Toldot - Genesis 25:19-28:9
Led by Maxim Schrogin
December 3, 2011
Parashat Vayetzei - Genesis 28:10-32:3
Led by Marc Davis
December 10, 2011
Parashat Vayishlach - Genesis 32:4-36:43
Led by Rabbi Yoel Kahn
December 17, 2011
Parashat Vayeshev - Genesis 37:1-40:23
Led by Katherine Haynes Sanstad
December 24, 2011
Parashat Miketz - Genesis 41:1-44:17
Led by Michele Horaney
December 31, 2011
Parashat Vayigash - Genesis 44:18-47:27
Led by Moshe Maler
January 7, 2012
Parashat Vayechi - Genesis 47:28-50:26
Led by Barry Levine
January 14, 2012
Parashat Shemot - Exodus 1:1-6:1
Led by Dan Bellm
January 21, 2012
Parashat Vaera - Exodus 6:2-9:35
Led by Jeff Brand
January 28, 2012
Parashat Bo - Exodus 10:1-13:16
Led by Bob Brandfon
20 | the builder: winter 2011
Whether expressing themselves through arts, athletics, academic achievement
or community service, JCHS students are inspired to challenge themselves,
discover their values, and imagine their futures. Our rich curriculum braids
together Humanities, Jewish Studies, and Math/Science, preparing our
graduates to attend top universities across the country and to apply the
lessons they learn here to their lives beyond our walls.
OPEN HOUSE
October 30 & December 4
2:00- 4:00 p.m.
Please RSVP
www.jchsofthebay.org/openhouse
415.345.9777 x124
Advertise
in the Builder!
Email [email protected]
for more infomation.
LOOKING FOR
A NEW CAR?
Temple Beth El member and green vehicle specialist
Marc Korchin is now working with Toyota of Berkeley
(in Albany, next to Target). If you or someone you
know is looking for a new
or used vehicle, contact
Marc at 510-703-0337 or
[email protected]
page
calendar
name
December 2011 / Kislev-Tevet 5772
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
1
NS - Nursery School
5:40p All School
Service - Parents
Invited
YAFE - Youth and
Family Education
7:00p Israel Comittee
Meeting
Friday
2
Saturday
3
6:15p Shabbat
Evening Service
8:30a Early Minyan
7:00p Under 40 Friday
Night Event
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
9:15a Torah Study
Bar Mitzvah - Ellis Lee
11:00a Shabba-Tot
Service
5:30a B’nai Mitzvah
Havdallah Family
Program
6:30p Sababa/BBYO
Limos & Latkes
4
4:00p 6th/7th Grade
Tzedek Project #3
with the Elderly
5
6
6:00p 5th Grade
Home for Dinner
Program
7:00p Israel
Committee Discord or Discourse
7:30p Ritual
Committee
7
8
9
5:30p Shabbat at
Home
8:30a Early Minyan
7:00p Chorus
Rehearsals
4:00p 6th/7th
Grade Field Trip
to Contemporary
Jewish Museum
6:15p Shabbat
Evening Service
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
7:30p Midrasha
Board Meeting
6:15p Youth
Committee Meeting
5:00p Sababa Mtg.
6:30p Lehrhaus/
Beg. Modern Hebrew
12:00p Lunch & Learn
Series
11:00a Chanukah
Bazaar
12
13
7:00 Board Meeting
7:00p Nursery School
Committee
1:00p Ruach
Chanukah
Celebration
7:00p Adult Edu.
Committee
14
6:00p Finance
Committee Meeting
6:30p Lehrhaus/
Beg. Modern Hebrew
7:00p Chorus
Rehearsals
9:15a Torah Study
Bar Mitzvah Jacob Libenson
at Beth Israel
11:00a Hebrew Story
Time
7:45p Lehrhaus/
Int. Modern Hebrew
11
10
7:00 Movie Night
& Bazaar Prieview
15
7:30p Beth El Chorus:
Songs of Miracles
Holiday Show
at the JCC East Bay
8:00p Education
Committee Meeting
- open to all
16
17
6:15p Yismechu:
Shabbat Evening
Chanting Service
8:30a Early Minyan
6:15p Camp Kee Tov
Reunion Shabbat
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
9:15a Torah Study
7:00p Sababa
Overnight
7:30p Jewish Book
Group
7:45p Lehrhaus/
Int. Modern Hebrew
18
2:00p Homeless Meal
Medical Clinic
19
NS - WINTER BREAK
20
1st Night of Chanukah
NS - WINTER BREAK
5:00p Homeless Meal
YAFE - WINTER BREAK
7:00p Program
Council
21
22
23
4th Night of
Chanukah
5th Night of
Chanukah
NS - WINTER BREAK
NS - WINTER BREAK
NS - WINTER BREAK
YAFE - WINTER BREAK
YAFE - WINTER BREAK
YAFE - WINTER BREAK
YAFE - WINTER BREAK
8:30a Early Minyan
5:30p Latkefest
- Shabbat Unplugged
Dinner
9:15a Torah Study
2nd Night of
Chanukah
3rd Night of
Chanukah
6:15p Latkefest
- Shabbat Unplugged
Service
25
26
27
CHRISTMAS DAY
CHRISTMAS DAY
OBSERVED
NS - WINTER BREAK
6th Night of
Chanukah
7th Night of
Chanukah
Offices & Schools
CLOSED
8th Night of
Chanukah
YAFE - WINTER BREAK
24
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
28
29
30
NS - WINTER BREAK
YAFE - WINTER BREAK
YAFE - WINTER BREAK
YAFE - WINTER BREAK
YAFE - WINTER BREAK
8:30a Early Minyan
6:15p Shabbat
Evening Service
9:15a Torah Study
NS - WINTER BREAK
NS - WINTER BREAK
31
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
6:00p New Year’s Eve
Havdalah
www.bethelberkeley.org | 21
DONATE TO BETH EL!
I
t is a Jewish tradition to give Tzedakah to commemorate life cycle events and other occasions. Are you celebrating a
birthday, engagement, anniversary, baby naming, Bat/Bar Mitzvah or recovery from an illness? These are just a few
ideas of appropriate times to commemorate with a donation to Beth El. These tax-deductible donations are greatly
appreciated and are a vital financial supplement to support the wonderful variety of programs and activities that we offer at
Congregation Beth El. Thank you for your support.
CONGREGATION BETH EL Fund Contributions
This contribution of $_________ is □ in Memory of* □
in Honor of*
*
Please credit the fund checked below:
ContributionAcknowledge
From:To:
Address Address
□ General Fund - Use Where Most Needed
□ Aaron Plishner Children Library
□ Arjmand Adult Education Fund
□ Blachman Emergency Fund
□ Building Fund
□ Camp Kee Tov Scholarship Fund
□ Chevra Kadisha Fund
□ David Cotton Memorial Swig Fund
□ Ellen Meyer Childcare Fund
□ Endowment Fund
□ Freed Flower Fund
□ Homeless Meal Program
□ Israel Scholarship Fund
□ Bar Lev Landscape Fund
□ Marian Magid Memorial Fund
□ Men’s Club
□ Mitzvah Committee
□ Music Fund
□ Nursery School Fund
□ Oneg/Kiddush Fund
□ Prayerbook Fund
□ Rabbi’s Kahn’s Discretionary Fund
□ Rabbi Emeritus’ Raj’s Discretionary Fund
□ Rabbi Vida Library Fund
□ Religious School Fund
□ Social Action Fund
□ Youth Groups Fund
□ _________________________________________
Thank you for your generosity. Please make checks payable to Congregation Beth El
and mail to 1301 Oxford Street, Berkeley, CA 94709
22 | the builder: winter 2011
calendar
midrasha
January 2012 / Tevet-Shevat 5772
Sunday
1
NEW YEAR’S DAY
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Offices & Schools
CLOSED
YAFE - Kadima
Resumes
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
7:30p Ritual
Committee
Bat Mitzvah Ella Hoffman
7:30p Midrasha
Board Meeting
7:00p Israel
Committee Meeting
6
Saturday
3
Nursery School
Resumes
5
Friday
2
NEW YEAR’S DAY
OBSERVED
4
Thursday
6:15p Shabbat
Evening Service
7
8:30a Early Minyan
9:15a Torah Study
11:00a Shabba-Tot
Service
8
9
10
7:00p Nursery School
Committee
11
7:30p NS Information
Evening
12
13
6:15p Shabbat
Evening Service
14
MLK HOLIDAY
WEEKEND
7:00p Adult Edu.
Committee
Chug Mishpacha
CLOSED
7:30p Executive
Committee
8:30a Early Minyan
9:15a Torah Study
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
Bar Mitzvah Sam Clewans
15
16
5:00p Homeless Meal
Offices & Schools
CLOSED
2:00p Homeless Meal
Medical Clinic
MARTIN LUTHER KING
JR. DAY
17
7:00p Program
Council
18
7:00p Men’s Club
Speaker - Michael
Nacht
19
6:00p Madrachim
Training
20
6:15p Yismechu:
Shabbat Evening
Chanting Service
21
8:30a Early Minyan
9:15a Torah Study
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
Adult B’nai Mitzvah
Celebration
6:00p GALA
22
23
24
7:00 Board Meeting
25
26
6:00p Sababa
Meeting
27
6:15p Shabbat
Evening Service
28
8:30a Early Minyan
9:15a Torah Study
10:15a Shabbat
Morning Service
Bar Mitzvah Aaron Sanstad
11:00a Hebrew Story
Time
29
30
31
NS - Nursery School
YAFE - Youth and
Family Education
www.bethelberkeley.org | 23
congregation beth el
1301 Oxford Street
Berkeley, CA 94709-1424
Congregation Beth El invites you to our annual
Chanukah Bazaar
Sunday, December 11
11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Cafe with latkes, gourmet coffee
and other delicious treats!
Menorahs • Jewelry • Jewish Music
Books • Toys and Games for all ages
Gift Certificates • Party Supplies
and much more...
The place to shop for all your holiday gift needs!
The first night of Chanukah is
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Bring your friends! Shop early!
Open to the community. All are welcome.
Cash • Checks • Visa •Martercard