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NON-PROFIT ORG.
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TAOS, NM
PERMIT NO. 8
Vol.8 Issue 4
Summer 2010/5770
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
A Survivor’s Story:
Excerpts from the Testimony of Cantor Kurt Messerschmidt
Taos Jewish Center
P.O. Box 149
1335 Gusdorf Road
Taos, NM 87571
As part of the Oral History Project, documented by the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine
Original interview by Katy Beliveau and Paula Sco lnik , No vem ber
18, 1987. Revised transcrip tio n by Nicci Leam o n, Ap ril 16, 2001.
Such a Deal Rummage Sale,
Sunday July 11, 9-3pm (see p.12)
TAOS JEWISH CENTER PO BOX 149 – TAOS, NM 87571
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January 1933, I can never forget. January 30th, the day the Nazis
came to power. The night before, I attended a concert or a theater
performance in the Judische Kultur Bund, which was the theater group
of fine arts which had been created so Jews would have their own
place to enjoy the arts. And I remember going by tramway, streetcar,
to the theater in the Kommandantestrasse. I mention this for some
people who hear this and may remember what this was. And standing
in the streetcar, all of a sudden, we were stopped. And there were
marching masses of people carrying torches. This was the great torch
march of the Nazis celebrating their taking over the power. And that’s
when my life took a complete turnabout.
And I hadn’t seen yet synagogues. But I got to my school, to my classroom, some of the children had arrived and were sitting in their seats
in tears. So all I could do is try to calm them down a little bit. It was an
unbelievable situation. Our own conference room had been ravaged. I
had in a big closet about ten instruments, musical instruments which I
owned and I had given to children and taught them every instrument
we had. I had to fill the afternoons when they didn’t have any place to
go home to, so we put on concerts and all these things. All this was
stolen.
I became a teacher and cantor in the city of Berlin. And my school was
the school in the Rykestrasse. I taught there. My wife at the time was
a student at that school, and she was about to be graduated shortly
after I had started. And I worked, I taught every subject imaginable.
But since I was a linguist also, I could specialize in what was the need
of the day. We had to prepare our children for emigration. So the number
one point was Israel, and England and America, so I taught, and of
course South America, so I taught in the school Hebrew, English,
Spanish, in addition to practically every other subject... And I think I
was never needed as much as in those years when I taught in that
school, because shortly after I had started, the factories were filled
with the parents of those children I was teaching. The children were
left to themselves and I had to be more than just teacher. I had to be
friend, I had to be father and mother, protector, everything in one person.
That brings me to 1938, November 9, the so-called Crystal Night... At
two o’clock in the morning of November 10, 1938, at the same time,
most of the synagogues all over Germany were set to flame. This is
really a holocaust. And being a linguist, holocaust means everything
burning, a conflagration, that is the meaning of the word holocaust. So
this was a holocaust in the literal sense of the word before we think of
what happened in Auschwitz.
My transportation in those days was bicycle. I had to ride about seven
miles to get to the school where I was teaching. And that morning, I
rode this bicycle through the city of Berlin and all I could see was broken
glass. All the stores, large and small, were completely ruined, in ruins.
There was a guard standing, standing guard in front of our school. And
at the corner there was a large group of non-Jewish children armed
with rocks just waiting for the children to come out... But I, there was
nothing that could be done, but the children had to get out. They had
to try to somehow get home. So I felt like Moses of old, leading the
children of Israel through the Red Sea. I stood up to my full height,
and looking directly at those children, and somehow I believe I was
-cont. p.4
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Editor’s Message
Dear Readers,
is the voice of the Taos Jewish community
and its friends, published quarterly by the
Taos Jewish Center. Submissions for
consideration, letters to the editor, and
requests to be added to our mailing list
may be sent to: Hakol, PO Box 149, Taos,
NM 87571, Tel. 575-758-8615, or
e-mailed to [email protected].
Contributors: Kathleen T. Burg, Joanne
Forman, Beth Goldman, Cindy Grossman,
Eli Halpert, Karl S. Halpert, Cantor Kurt
Messerschmidt, Holocaust and Human Rights
Center of Maine, Susan R. Ressler
Karl S. Halpert, Editor
Susan R. Ressler, Associate Editor
Copyright 2010, Taos Jewish Center
TAOS JEWISH CENTER is dedicated to
fostering a positive Jewish identity by
providing programs and services that
enrich the lives of the people it serves
in Northern New Mexico. The Center is
open to all who wish to explore and
participate in these experiences that
reflect and incorporate Jewish ethics,
culture, and observances.
It seems like all anyone wants to think or talk about is the fact that spring is here, the snows of
early May notwithstanding. It is said that without the desolation of winter we would not have the
splendor of spring. I am not sure this is true, but this thought does help us to get through the Taos
winter. What is so reassuring about the emergence of spring, in addition to the the pleasures of the
sun and flowers, the rushing rivers and brimming acequias, is the reassurance that conditions do
change. The straits we may find ourselves in, the challenges we may face, ultimately work themselves out. Oftentimes challenges present opportunities to do things better and to find new
rhythms. Spring is a rebirth and an emergence on a scale as huge as all of nature itself. If we open
our hearts and minds with the new and unfolding leaves, spring can be a powerful time for change.
This is, of course, one of the prevailing themes of Passover. It is no accident that Passover is
a springtime holiday, a tale of emergence, and an example of the elegant symmetry of our holidays.
How closely Judaism is tied to the seasons.
It nourishes the spirit to be still and present in this blissful change of seasons. The eastern
mystics say to “be here now”. The Talmudic version requires a few more words, stating that “it is
better for a person never to be born who thinks about only four things: what is above and what is
below, what was before and what will be afterward.” It is within this discipline that we experience
the forces that sustain us and enable us to effect change.
Our cover piece features a riveting transcription of an oral history by Kurt Messerschmidt, who
survived the death camps of the Holocaust, and our obituary features Miep Gies, also a survivor in
her own way. I was initially concerned that having such a focus on the Holocaust in this issue
would be excessive. However, both stories are ones of tenacious optimism in the face of despair.
Both Messerschmidt and Gies found themselves under the darkest shadow of humanity, only to
bear witness to our most caring and altruistic potential. And both of these folks not only survived,
but enriched and saved the lives of others immeasurably.
Spring brings change to the TJC as well, with Jay Levine assuming the presidency of the
Board of Directors, replacing out-going president Cindy Grossman who will remain on the Board.
Jay becomes the TJC’s fifth president.
Finally, I remind readers that hakol in Hebew means “the voice,” and it is truly my intent that
Hakol be your voice, the voice of contemporary thought and activity in northern New Mexico’s
Jewish community. I welcome your letters, your poems and stories, your feedback, your two cents
worth. Writers’ guidelines are found on page three, under the Table of Contents.
And a happy and safe summer to all. -Karl S. Halpert
Board of Directors:
Jay Levine, President
Thelma Phyllis Landis,
Vice President and Secretary
Nancy Tetenbaum, Treasurer
Peter Wengert
Richard Wallach
Cindy Grossman
Gary Atias
Staff:
Beth Goldman, Executive Director
Ariana Kramer,
Assistant to the Director
Kathleen Burg, Chesed Project Director
Photograph by Susan Ressler
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TJC News, from the Executive Director
I can’t believe summer is back. Each year the cycle of the seasons spins faster and faster. I’m
looking forward to more sunshine, bluer skies, rainbows, and the Farmer’s Market. We have a lot
going on at the TJC this summer, beginning with a changing of the guard. That is to say, Cindy
Grossman, after three very dedicated years, is stepping down from her role as President of the
TJC. On behalf of the entire community, I extend a very sincere thank you to Cindy for all that she
has given. I have learned so much and truly enjoyed working with her. During her term as
President, among many other things, Cindy was instrumental in the creation of the TJC Sunday
School, and she walked the TJC through a significant financial crisis. Cindy’s passion for Jewish
community never wavers, and although her term as President has ended, her commitment to and
involvement in the community will continue.
I am pleased to be able to say that coming up right behind Cindy, and ready to step up to the
plate, is the new President of the Board of the Taos Jewish Center, Jay Levine. Jay has been a
TJC Board member for two and one-half years, he is the moderator of the Wednesday night
Current Affairs discussion group, and he is one of the TJC’s computer gurus and webmasters.
Thank you, Jay, for being ready and willing to lead the TJC through the summer and into 5771.
Blessings to you in your new role.
Also in store this summer are many great activities and events for members and friends of the
TJC. On the first Sunday in June, Wally Kuerschner-Burton will hold the inaugural meeting of a new
book group called “Other Worlds,” and on June 11, Ziva Moyal will lead a Kabbalat Shabbat.
Kabbalot Shabbat, community gatherings to welcome the Sabbath, begin with heartfelt chanting
and Shabbat blessings, and continue with interesting conversation, scrumptious potluck dishes,
and sometimes end with a story or two from the Baal Shem Tov. They have become a beautiful
tradition at the TJC.
On the third Tuesday of each month throughout the summer, Ziva will continue to lead monthly
healing chant circles. The Program Committee has a very interesting event planned for June 23,
“Seeking Constructive Dialogue on Israeli-Palestinian Relations,” as well as a compelling film
screening of “The Longing” on July 8.
Don’t miss the pancake breakfast for the Chesed Project on July 10 at the Masonic Lodge, and
then the next day, stop by the “Such a Deal Rummage Sale.” We don’t yet know where the sale will
be held, but as soon as the location is identified, we’ll let you know via email. The location can’t be
set until closer to the date because we depend on the grace of a landlord with vacant property.
Many thanks to Bob and Isabelle Draper for donating the space in which we are currently collecting
items for the sale. If you didn’t make it to last year’s sale, you probably heard how great it was. This
year we began collecting items even earlier, and so far the selection is impressive!!
The Community Picnic on July 18 is described on page 10. It may be the highlight of the summer,
particularly with the talent show and treasure hunt. “G-d on Trial,” a film that has at its heart many
universal questions of faith and philosophy, will be shown on August 12 followed by a discussion.
As the summer winds down, Rabbi Min Kantrowitz will head up to Taos from Albuquerque to
bring us a High Holy Day preparation workshop. Over the years, Rabbi Min has provided many
inspiring teachings for our community, and we are so grateful that she has plans to return to Taos.
August will close with a summer brunch and Annual Meeting on the last Sunday. You may
remember that the Annual Meeting has usually taken place in November. The Board changed the
TJC’s bylaws last winter so that the Annual Meeting could be held closer to the fiscal year’s end.
The Annual Meeting usually lasts about an hour and it includes a presentation on the TJC’s fiscal
health, a review of the highlights of the previous year and a forecast for the upcoming year. There
is also time for Q and A. This year the annual meeting will be on August 29, and it will be combined
with a summer brunch. We hope to have guest entertainment as well. Brunches at the TJC have
always been extremely popular, so make your reservations early. Have a wonderful summer, pray
for rain, and stop by and say hello. Hope to see you soon. -Beth Goldman
Vision Statement:
The TJC is a Jewish community that embraces and invites all
to build relationships in a vibrant, welcoming home.
14
The Taos Jewish Center is a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico.
Inside This Issue
A Survivor’s Story
1,4,+
Editor’s Message
2
TJC News
3
Hakol Submission Guidelines 3
President’s Message
4
The Chesed Project
5
Todah Rabah
8
Tributes
9
Miep Gies
9
Community Picnic
10
Hakol Subscription Policy
10
Film Screenings
11
Taos Minyan
11
TJC Wish List
11
Volunteer at the TJC
11
NM Link Job Oppty.
11
Summer Events
12,13
TJC Library News
13
Our Sponsors
13-15
Hakol Submissions
We invite community members to send us
your letters, essays, creative writing and
visual art for publication in Hakol . We are a
quarterly journal of news, art and commentary. Our deadlines are always the 15th of
October, January, April and July.
Letters to the Editors should be 300
words or less, and essays such as short stories,
memoir, Jewish travel and political commentary
between 400-800 words. Please do not add
fancy formatting or attempt design layout.
Photographs or drawings should be jpeg
files at 300ppi resolution. Please do not email
us small picture files, as print quality requires
higher resolution. If you send us your photos,
we will be glad to scan them for you and will
treat them with the utmost care. Please
include an SASE for their safe return.
Please send your submissions on a CD
to Hakol, PO Box 149, Taos, NM 87571, or
e-mail to [email protected]. We reserve the
right to edit and publish at our discretion.
3
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President’s Message
This my final Message as President of the Taos Jewish Center. As
our fine Editor, Karl Halpert will attest, it has been quite a challenge
for me to “stick to the deadlines” and get my articles in on time.
However, the TJC has meant more than simply deadlines and/or
being organized. Much of it has been about thinking in terms of the
“big picture;” asking what is in the best interests of the Taos Jewish
Center community?
I approach my “final” month with mixed feelings. On the one hand,
I feel that it is time for other voices to be heard, other energy to be
prominent, other goals to be achieved and perhaps other directions
to be followed. On the other hand, I worry about where my energy
and voice will be directed. My experience — and I hope and pray that
the community’s experience as well — has been very gratifying and
satisfying. I have had the opportunity to meet, work with, and get to
know many people whom I otherwise would not. At the risk of being
redundant, let me just say that together we have accomplished a
great deal in the name of the Taos Jewish Center.
I would like my final Message to be one of thanks, appreciation,
and gratitude to the entire Taos Jewish community and beyond. If I
venture to name names, I know I will omit some, but there are a few
that are essential.
First, our committed Staff and Board of Directors: Executive
Director Beth Goldman, her Assistant Ariana Kramer, Chesed Project
Director Kathleen Burg, Vice President and Secretary Phyllis Landis,
Treasurer Nancy Tetenbaum, as well as Board Members Jay Levine,
Gary Atias, Richard Wallach and Peter Wengert.
I would be remiss if I did not include just one more: my husband
Bruce Grossman. Without his help, support and devotion, I would not
have had the courage and confidence to take on this responsibility.
Being TJC President quickly became a labor of love, and with that,
the “work” aspect was not nearly as daunting as I had once anticipated.
Last, but far from least, I want to again thank Jay Levine, who will
be taking on the role of President, beginning July 1, 2010. I am sure
he will bring many skills and abilities to the TJC with his individual
style and aplomb. If you do not know Jay, he has been moderating
the Current Affairs Program every Wednesday afternoon for over two
years. Kind reader, I hope you will quickly learn who Jay is and
continue to make your own presence known at the TJC. Cindy Grossman
Editor’s Note: Cindy has been an outstanding leader at the TJC since
we all met at the Taos Bakery back in 2002. As founding board
members, she and I tackled a lot of the early projects together, setting
policy and other activities around our little non-profit start up. As a
teammate, she is the best. Readers should know how much of the
success of the TJC is to Cindy’s credit. Her legacy includes financial
stability and the “heymish” atmosphere we all so enjoy.
The Schocken Guide to Jewish Books
Exploring the Sacred Tongue
Joanne Forman, for the TJC Library Committee
Studying Hebrew with Judah Botzer
The wonderful thing about books is that you are not going to run out!
And this certainly true for books about Judaism. No matter how much
you know or don’t know, there is something for you in the excellent
Schocken Guide to Jewish Books, which is in our TJC Library.
Edited by Barry W. Holtz, it covers every aspect of Judaism; the
chapters include: The Bible and its World, The World of the Talmud,
The Jewish Middle Ages, The European Experience, The American
Jewish Experience, The Holocaust, Israel and Zionism, Jewish
Mysticism, Jewish Philosophy medieval and modern, Jewish Women’s
Studies, Hebrew Literature, Yiddish Literature, The Jewish Novelist in
America, and The Bar-Bat Mitzvah.
The only startling omission I could find was that of the late
American novelist Norman Mailer. I can’t imagine why.
Just leafing through, I noted Daniel Fuch’s 1930s trilogy, the novel
Williamsburg; Susan Weidman Schneider’s Jewish and Female, and
Bert Metter’s Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah. This vastly helpful book can
keep you reading for the rest of your life.
If you would like to make a donation to the TJC Library, some titles
the Library Committee would like to see added to the collection are:
Survival in Auschwitz, The Reawakening (The Truce), Shema, If Not
Now, When?, Moments of Reprieve, The Mirror Maker, The Monkey’s
Wrench, The Drowned and the Saved, The Other People’s Trades,
The Sixth Day and Other Tales, The Search for Roots, and more. G-d spoke and the World became. Hebrew letters, words and concepts
permeate the totality of our existence. This ongoing Hebrew class
welcomes new students and meets Thursdays, from 5:30-7pm. Join
Judah Botzer in a journey through Hebrew’s beautiful rhythms and
concise expression. Basic prayers, fundamental concepts and joyous
songs will be drawn upon. “My objective,” says Judah, “is to inundate
students with the sacred words and expression of the Jewish people... I
want to give you the tools and building blocks of Hebrew thought so
that the letters and words themselves will begin to communicate with you.”
Judah Botzer is fluent in colloquial and liturgical Hebrew and has a
deep appreciation for the mysteries veiled in Biblical Hebrew. He brings
to his teaching the unique synthesis of Jewish culture, history and
religion that he has gained from immersion in both Jewish-American
and Israeli society. Judah began his study of Hebrew in kindergarten,
and received a classic Jewish education from Park Synagogue, the
largest Conservative congregation in the world, where he served as
Torah reader and Hebrew teacher. Judah received a teaching degree
from the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies. He subsequently spent
15 years living in Israel where he used Hebrew as his primary language.
The cost is $7 for TJC members, and $10 for non-members. The class
is structured to accommodate beginner and intermediate students. For
questions about the course, contact Judah at 575-751-0779. Our Thanks to the Following Taos Jewish Center Sponsors
A Survivor’s Story, co nt. fro m p .1
convincing at that particular moment. They did not throw a stone.
They let our children go by. After that, a dear colleague of mine who
did not survive Auschwitz, Rudy Zonnenfeld, a sports coach, and I
took our bicycles and toured the whole city. I took that whole city in,
piece of glass after piece of glass. I saw the synagogues burn. In the
Friedrichstrasse there was one small tobacco store, and the owner
was a very old Jewish gentleman. And the SA, not the SS, the SS
were the ones in the black uniforms, the SA was the ones in the
brown uniforms, the brown shirts, were standing there forcing this
man, who could hardly stand, to pick up the glass pieces. And the
people were all standing around saying nothing. But nobody moved.
So the two of us put our bikes down and went to pick up the glasses
for this man. Now, we full well knew what could have happened. In
those days, it would have been easy for them to arrest us and send
us off. Thirty-eight in June, it was the first action against Polish Jews
and this was already November. So we had already things going on
before the war. But nobody dared say anything. And it seems that
some of the people standing there very silently and very cautiously
agreed to what we were doing.
Then I came to what used to be my, what was my school before we
were relocated, the synagogue in the Rykestrasse. Saw flames
coming up. But lo and behold, the firemen were there with their hoses.
They were hosing... But I realized soon what they were doing. The
4
synagogue was in the back yard. The front of the building was part of
the whole block, and they had to protect the adjoining buildings from
the fire from spreading, to make sure the job was well done. I, after I
had seen that, the whole day, I don’t know how I could go on living.
But you can. And at that point, I think my will to live and to outlive
everybody became so strong that I think it helped me later on.
I kept teaching in that school while the transports were going on. My
classes, the numbers of children began to shrink. In June 1942, the
whole Jewish school system, the system the Nazis had helped create,
was closed down because now it was time to start with the final
solution. So the moment this happened I knew my number was up, I
was ready to be transported.
So we came to Theresienstadt, Terezin, in Czechoslovakia... We
were picked up from our house by truck and were shipped to one of
those transit camps. They were synagogues and school buildings
where people to be shipped out, sorry, it’s horrible to say so, were just
assembled and were pushed off. I went to, Grosse Hamburgerstrasse
was one of those camps. We stayed there two or three days. It was a
Friday night. During this Friday night service, I had a guitar, a lute
with me. I conducted services for the people. And we were singing.
And later on I will point out that my singing ability helped in many,
many ways. It gave us strength and, well, I'll come back to this later.
-cont. p.6
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Announcements and Summer TJC Events
“Other Worlds” Book Group, June 6
A new book group, “Other Worlds,” will meet the first Sunday of every
month beginning June 6, from 2-4pm at the TJC. (The following month,
since July 4 falls on the first Sunday, we will meet on July 11 instead.) The
group’s focus for the first six months will be writings that relate to the
Middle East, such as People of the Book, The Woman Who Named God,
My Father’s Paradise, and The Saffron Kitchen.
Please join us at our first meeting on Sunday June 6, when we will be
discussing People of the Book. Suggestions for further selections for the
group are welcomed. Call Wally for more information, 758-0473. “Such a Deal” Rummage Sale, July 11
On Sunday July 11, from 9-3pm, the TJC is having a rummage
sale that you won’t want to miss.
Stay tuned for more news and the sale location.
Clean items in working order are now being accepted.
Call Marc Kaplan, 770-1454, for drop off location or pick up.
Monthly Healing Chant Circle
High Holidays Workshop, Aug. 22
3rd Tuesday each month, 5:30-6:30pm
With Rabbi Min Kantrowitz, 1-3pm
The power of healing in chants has been known for a very long time.
On the third Tuesday of each month, join us from 5:30-6:30pm as we
use sacred verses from the Bible with prayerful melodies to express
ourselves and to reach the deepest and closest place where G-d (the
Creator, Higher Power) can be found within. The practice of chanting is
joyful and feeds our hearts and souls. Join Ziva Moyal and the TJC
chant circle for chants in Hebrew and English. Hebrew translation and
transliteration will be provided. No knowledge of Hebrew is needed. This workshop is designed to help us prepare for the High Holidays by
deepening our preparations for the turning of the year, for returning to
our most true selves, to get ready to stand before the Holy One. It
assumes that attendees are committed to doing deep inner work in
preparation for renewal and transformation. We will study text, chant
and meditate, revisiting the year that is about to depart and developing
our kavanot (intentions) for the year to come.
June 15, July 20, & August 17. Your donation supports TJC programs.
Rabbi Min Kantrowitz serves as a Rabbi for Jewish Family Services of
New Mexico and travels widely throughout the state. She is the author
of Counting the Omer: A Kabbalistic Meditation Guide, an innovative
meditation guide, published by Gaon Books of Santa Fe, that follows
Kabbalistic teachings day by day, giving the reader suggestions for
each of the forty-nine days of meditation in the period of the Omer.
As the Director of the Jewish Community Chaplaincy Program of
Jewish Family Services of New Mexico, Rabbi Kantrowitz provides
spiritual support and pastoral care services to the Jewish community in
the state. She is a sought after speaker and teacher, having conducted
services, workshops, and lectures throughout the United States and
Europe.
Rabbi Kantrowitz is a very warm, caring rabbi whose teachings
come from the heart and go to the heart. We are fortunate to have her
come again this year to share her teachings with us. The workshop will
take place on Sunday, August 22 from 1pm to 3pm.
Suggested donation: $10 ($7 members). Israeli-Palestine Relations, June 23
Israeli-Palestinian relations have been a topic of concern for many
Taoseños, and the subject of countless conversations, both private and
public. Why does our Taos community continue to raise the subject?
And how do we talk about it? Does it matter? The Taos Jewish Center
recently held a three-part series exploring divergent explanations and
viewpoints on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. “Seeking Constructive
Dialogue” continues the TJC’s commitment to engage the broader
Taos community in discourse centered on this issue. The format will be
interactive and highly engaging. Come prepared to listen and to share.
Wed. June 23, 5:30-7:30pm. Suggested donation $5/ $3 members. Chesed Pancake Breakfast, July 10
Brunch & Membership Meeting, Aug. 29
On Saturday July 10,from 8-10am, join us for a pancake breakfast
to benefit The Chesed Project.
Join us on Sunday, August 29 at 11am, for the TJC Annual brunch and
Membership Meeting. In the past, the Annual Meeting has taken place
in November. But the Board of Directors has officially changed the
meeting date to correspond with the first quarter of the fiscal year.
Thus, this August brunch and Membership Meeting replaces the former
November meeting. So join us in August for this free event, have a
great brunch, and get an update on the state of affairs of the TJC.
Reservations are required by August 20th. All TJC members and
prospective members are encouraged to attend. Breakfast takes place at the Masonic Lodge,
corner of Camino de Santiago and Gusdorf Roads.
Please check with Kathleen Burg at the TJC for tickets.
12
Chesed Project: Strategies for Cognitive Health
The number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s continues to rise
in the United States. Unless a considerable change happens, by
2050 almost a million new cases will be diagnosed every year — one
case every thirty-three seconds.
How do those numbers break down for New Mexicans? By 2025,
approximately 43,000 residents will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
The actual numbers are higher because not all Alzheimer’s cases are
diagnosed. Research shows that Hispanics and Native Americans
are more likely to develop the disease, which means it really affects
our Taos families. Some reasons why these groups are at a higher
risk include less access to health care and early detection, or improper
management of other conditions linked to Alzheimer’s such as diabetes,
high blood pressure or obesity. Language and cultural barriers also
exist. Elderly couples who speak little English and who have always
taken care of themselves and their families have a difficult time asking
for help. (We now have available a number of manuals, articles and
resource lists in Spanish.) In addition, respect for elders is extremely
high in the Hispanic and Pueblo cultures, and families tend to protect
their loved ones by concealing the true nature of their illness. An
easy way to explain a loved ones changing behavior is “oh grampo,
he’s loco poquito!”
The Chesed Project offers services for the memory impaired and
their caregivers, and has done so for over three years through
Apoyos, our support group for family caregivers, and Artstreams, our
Alzheimer’s community engagement activity. I see the devastating
impact Alzheimer’s has on Taos families. Family members feel
tremendous grief for the loss of a loved one whose personality no
longer exists. As Doris, a member of our Caregiver Support Group
says, “If I could have my husband back for just a moment. I miss his
touch, our conversations, our relationship so much!”
It has become clear to me that we all need to look at ways we
can prevent or delay this disease on a personal level and for our
community’s sake, and the sooner the better. The good news is there
Chesed Project Events
Ongoing at the TJC:
Rosen Method (gentle) Exercise set to music:
Tuesdays from 9:30-10:30am (with Susie Verkamp).
Memoir Writing: Thursdays, from 1:30-3pm.
Scrabble: 2nd & 4th Thursdays, 1:30pm-3pm.
Brain Game! Bring your board!
Restorative Yoga (limited movement): Wednesdays,
from 1-2pm (with Michele Marien).
Caregivers Support Group: 2nd Tuesday of the
month, from 5-6pm.
Artstreams: from the well of memory: last Wed. of
the month at galleries and museums, 1-2:30pm. Call to
participate.
For more information about cost, schedule, new
events or to register or confirm, call Kathleen at 758-8615.
are actions that can be taken that may lead to better cognitive health.
As Steven De Kosky, Alzheimer’s expert, Senior Vice-President and
Dean of the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine has found
through his research, “Many people do not realize they have the
power early on to reduce the risk of developing dementia.”
Believing that prevention and public awareness are key to slowing
the onset of Alzheimer’s, Chesed emphasizes strategies for cognitive
health as part of our programming. Our classes already provide
benefits through socialization, exercise and learning new skills. What
are some other strategies? As more research emerges, it has clearly
shown that good nutrition is essential to maintaining cognitive health.
The Mediterranean Diet, rich in dark, leafy vegetables, olive oil,
red wine or grapes, poultry, fish, nuts, and low in red meat, butter
and fatty dairy products is often used as an example. People who
adhered to this diet had a 38% - 67% lower risk of getting
Alzheimer’s according to a study by Nikolaos Scarmeas, Associate
Professor of Neurology at Columbia University Medical Center. (In
my family, we have begun to incorporate more vegetables and less
meat, which my husband gamely accepts, although he comes from a
very different culinary background).
A few strategies that can boost our mental faculties include:
1. Sit in a place outside your house, such as on a park bench or
in a café. Stare straight ahead and don’t move your eyes.
Concentrate on everything you can see including your peripheral
vision without moving your eyes. When you have finished, write a list
of everything you saw. Then try again and see if you can add to your
list. This activity should help reinvigorate the controlled release of
acetylcholine in your brain, which is crucial to focus and memory.
2. If you’re right-handed, use your left hand for daily
activities (or vice-versa). Start with brushing your teeth left-handed, until you have perfected it. Then try more complex tasks, such as
eating or writing. Think of all the new neurons that are released
learning new tricks. (I have tried to write with my left hand. It wasn’t
pretty and it was incredibly slow. However, I noticed as my penmanship slowed, my writing actually improved with clearer and better
observations.)
3. Set your television volume down a little lower from where you
normally have it set. By concentrating, you can follow it just as
successfully as when the volume was higher. As soon as that setting
gets easy, turn it down another notch. The reason: Many people raise
the volume because their listening has become a little fuzzy.
Matching TV volume to a conversational level can help you catch
every word when talking with others (from Posit Health).
Dementia doesn’t necessarily have to be in our future. Please
consider these preventive strategies, check out others and pass
them on. Kathleen T. Burg, Chesed Project Director
5
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Page 6
A Survivor’s Story,
So in Theresienstadt, so from these camps, we were led on foot to a
tramway. By tramway, all we had was one rucksack, one bundle,
that's all you were allowed to have for all your belongings. And by
tramway we were driven to the Anhalterbahnhof... And there we
were placed into regular trains, not, no cattle cars as later on. Those
were real trains. And, well, as upset as we were, but this wasn’t too
bad. I’d like to shift back one moment. At the beginning of the Polish
campaign in 1939, a dear friend of mine, a non-Jew, Walter
Kleinhammer, went to war of course and came back from Poland
after one month. He had already gained a leave of absence
because he was a superb soldier... a high-ranked officer. He came
to my street. I was just leaving the house. I see him and immediately
withdrew. How could I endanger this man? He was not allowed to
speak to a Jew. He made it a point to motion me to him and told me,
Kurt, I have seen things which are beyond description. But I’m going
to describe them for you briefly. And he described how trainloads,
they didn’t have big gas chambers yet, trainloads full of Jews upon
arrival were stopped and gassed... inside these trains. So it wasn’t
as sophisticated a system as they developed later. And he described
a number of other things. He said, leave, there is no, no choice for
you, you have to try to get out at any cost as immediately as possible.
And he himself said, I don’t even know how to live with this myself. A
week later, this man had to go back to the front. And one week after
that, his parents, who lived in the same house, slipped through my
door a little notice. Their son had been killed in action by the bullet
he was looking for. So this man was not a Nazi. So there are some
of those also.
We arrived in Terezin. We could keep our clothes. The hair was not
shortened. We could keep the few belongings we had. Only they
took the lute I had, the guitar they took away... I will describe the
arrival at the barracks I was assigned to. It was the Hanover
Cazander. Huge attics with the cross beams and all of this. And
millions of fleas, bedbugs, and other insects of all kinds, which is
discouraging but you don’t think too much about this at the moment.
There was a young man in our group, very sensitive, very small in
stature, very white face, all, well, almost half alive, very spiritual
appearance, who was desperate. And his will, will power broke
down to a point that this is the first really shocking thing I experienced
even in lovely Theresienstadt. The next morning, this young man
had died from the bites of the insects all over. The whole body was
completely red, and he had died. This was something brand new to
me, but apparently there must be an explanation because unless
you have that inner resistance, even beasts, little beasts like this,
senseless.
So we were then very, very careful and tried to continue living... I
had made up my mind, whenever entering a camp, the thing the
Nazis wanted us for, if for anything, would be work. As long as you
were able to work, they would find a place for you. So I always
volunteered for the hardest things there were. This wasn’t too hard,
but I had to work outside of the ghetto, digging trenches for the
waterworks... A few days after my arrival, the guitar, the lute was
returned to me because they had heard that I was a cantor and a
singer. ...Terezin was... a propaganda camp. This was a camp that
6
co nt. fro m p .4
Hitler created to show the world how well he treats Jews, so they had
to show a few things... And some people entertained, and I was one
of them, used the lute and sang Yiddish folk songs, entertaining people.
Then all of a sudden, there was a quartet of people. It was a double
quartet who had arrived months before me, and they knew liturgical
music and sang all kinds of classical stuff. This was wonderful for
me. I was a cantor. I introduced myself to them. I knew all their
music. And we started conducting services. This was not objected to
because they had to prove they that really meant what they said, this
is a special camp. So we conducted services during the summer out
of doors, only on Friday nights, and during the winter in very small
attics which were crowded to bursting of course. If anybody ever
prayed, had reason to pray, it was us.
Let me skip to the end of Terezin for me. [It was] Yom Kippur, the
highest holiday of the Jewish calendar which ends a ten-day period
of penitence... In Terezin, it was marvelously organized. The railroad
station was right at the outset or partially into the ghetto. The trains...
went every day out, in, out, in, constantly. And we knew it because
we heard the train whistles. And every night somebody from the
Jewish autonomy administration came to the house elder, presented
a list to him which he had to fill in. Each little block had to have ready
for the next morning for transport a certain number of people. Quite a
job. And we got used to it, because we knew that those house elders
had to do it so that nobody really rebelled too much against this.
There were other kinds of things, of rebellion which I will skip for now.
We knew when trains came back that there were little messages to
be found inside. We knew that the people who were sent away to
wherever... were forced to write postcards to the people who stayed
back, to tell them how beautiful everything is, so they should volunteer to come. But the postcards that came were written in code...
Every seventh letter, then every sixth letter and so on, there was an
arithmetical series. And we knew. These messages all said the
same, Don’t come, don’t believe what they tell you, this is terrible,
this is the end. So we all knew. Even after knowing this, we still kept
hoping.
Now on the first day of Rosh Hashanah in 1944, [we] conducted the
services, and lo and behold, we were left in peace. No whistles. The
whistles stopped. Now we knew, through some outside information
which some people brought in via radio or somehow, that the
Russian front was coming closer. So whenever anything of this sort
happened, of course, we were greatly encouraged. And the second
day of Rosh Hashanah, not one whistle. The transports had stopped.
I don’t know whether I ever in my life, or anybody who was there,
repented and prayed as much as we did during these ten days. And
on the tenth day... on Yom Kippur itself, I was given the honor of conducting the service with this choir in the Sokolonya. The Sokolonya
was a huge, very modern, beautiful building which was, until a few
months prior to this date, outside of the ghetto. It was used by the
non-Jewish population for concerts and marvelous events. For some
reason, it was just before the High Holy Days incorporated within the
ghetto. So we were allowed to use this tremendous hall, capacity of
two thousand or more people. The Day of Atonement was a very
sunny day. It was warm so we opened all the windows. And around
TJC Special Film Screenings & Discussions
The Longing: The Forgotten Jews of South America (2007)
Thursday July 8, 7:30-9 pm
Directed by Gabriela Böhm
Not Rated - 87 Minutes, Color, in English and Spanish with English subtitles
A handful of South Americans are eager to affirm their Jewish faith. Their ancestors Spanish Jews - were forced to convert during the Inquisition. Even after centuries of living in the
New World as Catholics and intermarrying, their families still managed to secretly pass down
some Jewish traditions from one generation to the next. These practices convince them that
they were originally Jews and fuel their desire to convert back to Judaism.
Set in Ecuador, this award-winning documentary recounts the true story of scattered
“conversos” attempting to regain their birthright. Using the Internet, they individually located an
American rabbi from Kansas City committed to helping “lost Jews” throughout the world reclaim
their identities. For two years they studied online, following the rabbi’s conversion course. Now
they come together for the first time to meet the rabbi in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Upon arriving, he
finds the local Jewish community, comprised almost entirely of central European, orthodox
emigrants, uncooperative at best. The only congregation in the city is suspicious of the conversos’
claim to Jewish roots, even locking the Temple doors against these outsiders. Ultimately, the
rabbi is able to convince several resident Jews to reluctantly participate in a beit din and the
conversions take place.
The new converts are joyful, but face an uncertain future. Once again, they are dispersed
and isolated in Catholic towns where they receive little support from established Jewish communities, which question the religious authenticity of the rabbi’s conversions.
The film “Examines the matter of descendants of South American crypto-Jews and the
problems they face in attempting to return to the Jewish faith. Recommended” --EMRO
Winner, Best Documentary, Long Island Latino Film Festival
Winner, 2009 Telly Award for Religion/Spirituality
Winner, 2009 Best Latino Film at the Santa Fe Film Festival
Peter Wengert will lead the discussion. Suggested Donation is $7 ($5 for TJC members).
G-d On Trial
Taos Minyan
Torah Study and Shabbat Services take
place every Saturday, beginning 9am at
the TJC.
We use the New Reform Siddur:
Mishkan T’filah, Gates of Prayer for
Shabbat (which includes transliteration).
Newcomers welcome!
Volunteer at the TJC
Turn the TJC’s backyard into a
Patio and Play Area;
Put the TJC on Facebook;
Create our Email Blasts;
Join the TJC Phone Tree;
Occasional Office Help Needed;
Please call Beth for more information.
TJC Wish List
Table cloths for our 72" x 30"
wide tables;
Jewish-themed children’s books
in good condition;
Narrow writing table for the library
approx. 36" long x 20" wide;
Small lace cloths for lecterns;
Paper shredder
Thursday August 12th, 7:30pm
A film to make you think and one which could truly upset many people. Set in Auschwitz, a
group of prisoners decide to place G-d on trial for breaking his covenant with the Jews. The
question becomes, Is G-d responsible for the murderous actions of the Nazis in their attempt to
eradicate the Jews? How could He allow this to happen?
The selection for those chosen for death is to happen later in the day. Who is to be chosen?
Why is this happening? Is it a punishment for straying from G-d’s laws, a sacrifice, a test of
faith, a cleansing or purification as in the Flood, a consequence of free will, or indifference as in
Job?
There are those who argue that G-d does not exist, those that argue that G-d has deserted
the Jewish people, and those that argue that G-d does exist.
The ending is shocking and reveals no answers, but leaves us with questions about our
relationship with G-d.
Bill Westbury will lead the discussion. Suggested Donation is $7 ($5 for TJC members). Looking for a part-time job? Interested in making some extra money?
The New Mexico Jewish Link is seeking an individual to help sell advertising in the
Taos area. Call Anne Grollman, Advertising Manager, at 505-348-4472 or email her at
[email protected] for more details.
Are you on the TJC email list?
Call or email the TJC to be added to the
list to receive reminders of upcoming
and/or unpublished events:
tjc@newmex. com
TJC Office Hours:
The TJC office, library, and gift shop are
open on Mondays from 10-5pm
and by appointment. There is usually
someone in the TJC daily; please call
ahead for the hours. For a calendar of
events call 758-8615 or see
www.taosjewishcenter.org
11
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2:56 PM
Page 7
TJC Community Picnic, Sun. July 18
This year we are planning the TJC Community Picnic at the Rio Bravo campground — we have
reserved the group shelter there for this event. Please join us at your convenience on Sunday
July 18 from 11am to 5pm, and bring your favorite dish to share. The TJC will provide paper
plates, bowls, cups, napkins and plastic ware, as well as two large “Igloo” containers with ice
tea and homemade lemonade. Wine and beer are permitted for those so inclined. A few lawn
chairs would add comfort for some of us. Games and “horsehoes” will be available.
We are planning a small treasure hunt for the children, and are hoping that everyone will
join in with some form of entertainment throughout our stay at the river. Do you have a special
talent to share? Of course you do! So get ready to share it at this event. Music, poetry, jokes,
story telling are all great contributions. But, we also encourage those little known talents you
may possess — Can you tie extraordinary knots? Speak a foreign language? Walk on your
hands? Say “she sells sea shells on the seashore?”. Anything goes! The multi-age talent show
will take place at 2pm sharp. Be there, or forever wish you had been!
Now for what you can expect at the site:
-10 picnic tables and benches within the shelter
-1 grill and fireplace in the shelter; 3 grills and 1 fireplace on the outside edge of the shelter
-one electrical outlet (close to one of the picnic tables)
-one water pump close to the shelter (well water, drinkable)
-numerous garbage cans, including one for glass and one for aluminum
-plenty of parking
-handicapped parking, ramps and handicapped bathroom facilities (with showers)
-one small grassy area, by the shelter, underneath a large shade tree
with a low wall on one side (excellent for parents with young children)
-easy/safe kayak or inner tube access to the river
-willows between the group shelter and river, providing safety for young children
as well as private places for those who would enjoy that (available both
downstream and upstream from the site)
-bike riding for young children is also a possibility, with the proper
oversight and boundaries set by parents
As you might guess by now, we are hoping for a big, multi-age turnout for this event!
Participants in the many groups of the TJC — the Hebrew Class, Chesed Project, Board of
Directors, the Sunday School, the Minyan, Current Affairs, the Kabbalah/Chanting Class and
the Book Group “Other Worlds” (newly forming) — are especially encouraged to attend.
This event will offer a delightful opportunity for us all to enjoy each other’s company while
surrounded by a spectacular natural setting! See you there! HAKOL NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION POLICY
In order to conserve resources, the Taos Jewish Center Board of Directors has created a
new policy for printing and mailing Hakol, our quarterly newsletter. All TJC members in good
standing will continue to receive Hakol at no charge via US mail. Non-members are being
asked to subscribe at a nominal cost. We will continue to feature an electronic version at
www.taosjewishcenter.org so that everyone, regardless of membership status, can enjoy Hakol.
Hakol will be printed and mailed as a TJC membership benefit four times per year.
Hakol and our calendar of events will be available on the TJC website at no charge.
Non-member subscriptions for four issues of Hakol, delivered via US mail, are
available for only $36. To subscribe make checks payable to TJC, write Hakol in the
check memo, and mail to the TJC at 1335 Gusdorf Rd., Ste. R, Taos, NM, 87571.
If you are unable to access Hakol in any of the above ways, please contact the TJC
for further assistance. We want to make sure everyone has access to Hakol.
10
through all the windows were people standing outside because the
whole ghetto was praying that this was it. And so the entire day, Yom
Kippur is a day when you pray for 24 hours and you fast for 24 hours.
Of course, the fasting was a very easy thing for us to do. At the end
of the Yom Kippur service there is a signal given by the sound of the
shofar, the ram’s horn. On Rosh Hashanah, the shofar is blown first
to get people to pay attention, to take stock of yourself, repent, pray...
On Yom Kippur, at the end, the ten days are over... the hope is that
your prayers were answered... This shofar tone, it is called the great
shofar tone, the Tekiyah Gedolah, should... give you hope.
-This sculpture dates from the 11th century and depicts King David playing the lute. It is
part of the south-facing facade of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia,
Spain, which is located on a famous pilgrimage route, active since the Middle Ages.
10583JCC_News:HakolSprFINAL
Now, if you did everything right, this is your signal for forgiveness
from on high and life could go on. Of course, we had prayed so
desperately that we were only too happy to grab this signal as the
intended sign of hope. And the shofar was blown by a very, very old
gentleman. He had been the cantor in Berlin, and when I knew him
he was very tall in appearance, white hair, Cantor Levy. He was then
in his high seventies. And the man stood up and blew the shofar, and
it was beautiful. And we all started to almost inhale the sound until
suddenly, mingled in, I shudder when I remember this moment,
mingled in with this beautiful sound was a sound slightly off key. At
that moment the whistle blew, the transports resumed, and the very
next morning... my brother and I were on the transport to Auschwitz.
This of course posed many, many questions. What a letdown. Many
people broke down completely, lost every faith because such a disappointment was too much for an average or above average person
to suffer, to tolerate. I don’t know how I did it. We were numb. But
obviously I must have taken the other road, not to lose faith. How
else would I have ended up continuing as a cantor and leader of
worship? And I cannot explain it. There are many things I cannot
explain. The arrival in Auschwitz was an unbelievable shock. We
were still in our civilian clothes, and we looked out of the window and
there were people with those striped uniforms... When they took their
hats off, their heads were clean-shaven. No idea what we went into. I
had a little idea. And all of a sudden, all of the things I had doubted
and didn’t want to know, all of a sudden it was crystal clear. This was
Auschwitz, this was Auschwitz-Birkenau. We... had to leave everything in the wagons, in the cars in the train, had to line up in front of
the commission that was described on many occasions. Left, right,
we went through all of this. And then we finally got to the first big
stop. Once we knew we had survived so far, now you began to live
from hour to hour, from day to day. And each hour to hour, each day
to day through all the Auschwitz days was a miracle. Many miracles
happened. I believe in miracles. I’ll come back to this a little later if
we have enough tape.
Arrival in Auschwitz. The eternal standing in line begins now. We
were standing in line in front of the first shower area. ...[It] was getting
a little dark. I could see, all of a sudden, what up to this point I had
only smelled. The stench of burning flesh was unbearable, but you
couldn’t miss it, it was unfortunately identifiable. This was the nose.
When, as it got a little darker the eyes got into the act, because I
could see huge, huge flames shoot up to heaven. Huge. I’d never
seen anything like this. So it was all obvious and all very clear to me,
and I had to recuperate from this first impression first.
We had been given the cloth, the striped clothes and wooden shoes.
No stockings... It shows again the diabolical intent. They didn’t give
us stockings, but they gave us pieces of prayer shawls which we
were forced to use instead of stockings. A prayer shawl is something
very sacred to an observant Jew. They knew where to hurt you, not
just physically. So you had to start fortifying yourself not against the
physical things that might happen to you, but against the psychological.
And this was, I think, even more shocking than anything else. But we
had to do it.
I stayed in Auschwitz maybe just one week. I was fortunate. Those
who were not eligible for work somewhere else would, immediately
would perish, there was no question of it because Auschwitz was just
an annihilation camp, a liquidation camp. That’s what they called it
proudly, that’s all it was. But as long as you were able to work, and
were lucky of course, there might have been a chance. The first
night, the second night, we were in barracks. It was completely flat
cement floor. It was a very, very cold night. It was below freezing that
night... The kapos went to work. They took pails of water, that night
I’ll never forget, and poured it on the cement. And in the morning at
least 40 were frozen dead to the ground. That's another way. They
had many ways of doing those things.
Then came the big decision day, who will live, who will die, who will
stay, who will go to another camp. And both my brother and I were
lucky to be selected to be shipped out. Where were we shipped? To
a camp named Golischau, an infamous death camp. It was a quarry.
We were actually shipped out for work, and we were selected
because we looked as if we would be able to work. ...No matter
what my situation in life was, I always either sang or hummed or
remembered some melodies or composed in my mind. ...I had a
kapo who was a criminal. We called them the professional criminals.
They had a green triangle. We were called the political ones, Jew or
political with a red triangle. With the green triangle... he probably had
-concludes, p. 8
7
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2:56 PM
Todah Rabah
Todah Rabah to Ziva Moyal and Peter
Wengert for hosting a welcoming dinner
for Mark Rudd, Robert Efroymson and
their families. Our thanks to the Sagebrush
Inn for providing discounted accommodations for the TJC’s guest speakers.
Todah Rabah to Susan Esther Braune for
creating a beautiful and meaningful Purim
celebration. Thank you also to Wally
Kuerschner-Burton and Ariana Kramer for
creating a remarkable Persian setting.
Todah rabah to Dynamic Delight
special guests and hosts Mirabai Starr,
Marianne and Ron Furedi, Ed and Shelly
Middleman, and Harvey Buchalter.
Baby-Namings and More
Baby-namings, Brits, Anniversaries or
Birthday Parties: call the TJC to rent our
space for your special occasion. Special
member rates. Call for more information.
Peace
Coffee . . .
In 2003, JJ Keki, a Ugandan coffee farmer
walked door to door asking his Jewish,
Christian, and Muslim neighbors to put
aside old differences and come together.
The coffee farmers were struggling to make
a living; with the help of Laura Wetzler from
the US-based organization Kulanu, they
formed the Peace Kawomera Cooperative.
Farmers now sell directly to Thanksgiving
Coffee Company, and receive prices four
times higher than before. This has enabled
them to send children to school, start savings
accounts, and reinvest in their farms.
Together, the farmers have succeeded in
doing something that none could have done
alone.
You can help this effort, and support
the Taos Jewish Center, by purchasing
“Delicious Peace” coffee at the TJC.
8
Page 8
A Survivor’s Story,
co nt. fro m p .7
Miep Gies, 1910 - 2010
been in prison for murder or something like this, and he would have been sent to the Russian
front. And that, of course, he was deathly afraid of so he was very happy to do his killing right
here and then. And he was very, very good at it. When we marched, if anybody walked half a
step out he was shot on the spot. We marched to cabbage fields, and in desperation somebody
grabbed a cabbage, was killed immediately. Dogs were not with the kapos but they had all the
weaponry that was needed.
Condolences to Lorraine and Ira Schwartz
on the passing of Lorraine’s mother, Ann
Weinstein Rubin. May her memory be a
blessing.
Condolences to Gaila Sennitt and Bob
Fitzgerald on the passing of Gaila’s mother,
Ann. May you find comfort in her memory.
But a very strange thing happened. I had noticed that this guy had an irritable flicker in his eyes
at certain moments. So there was some mental condition, that was very obvious to me. And
whenever this happened, I knew he was just waiting to shoot somebody. And I timed it right. It
happened. So I was humming and he came by somewhat closer. And I hummed and he
stopped and listened. He went off but he came back again, I hummed a little more. And it was
around midnight. There was just one little coal fire burning. He said, Stop everybody, take five.
In Germany, they say ‘take fifteen.’ And he allowed everybody to gather around the fire. Now,
that was wonderful. We didn’t know why he did that. He said, You, sing. And, well, I sang
something.
So whenever I felt he hadn’t done anything bad for a while, maybe the time is up for me to sing,
I started humming. And, sure enough, at least four times a week or so he called a big break for
everybody in order to listen to me. And I didn’t hold back. My voice was, of course, part of my
professional equipment. But I thought only of the moment, and I had the marvelous feeling that I
was doing, with my voice, something very unusual. I was actually saving lives. And that gave
me such a wonderful feeling that I felt, to use a biblical comparison, I felt like young little David
who played for King Saul when he was plagued by evil spirits. And that, as I said before, the
experience in Theresienstadt, when all of a sudden my world ended and all the faith should
have stopped, it came back, it gave me strength in a different way. Cantor Kurt Messerschmidt and his wife Sonja survived and were reunited in Bielefeld,
Westphalia on Yom Kippur 1945. They emigrated to the United States where Messerschmidt
served as the cantor of Temple Beth El in Portland from 1951 to 1985. For the complete
transcript and more information:
The Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine
Michael Klahr Center
University of Maine at Augusta
46 University Drive
Augusta, Maine 04330-1644
207-621-3530
For six years from 1965 to 1971, formative years of my childhood, Cantor Messerschmidt held a
large presence in my life and studies at Temple Beth-El. Prior to that, in the 1950’s he worked
with my grandfather Harold Karl Halpert, a pianist, in presenting musical events at Temple Beth
El. Cantor could play any musical instrument with little effort, his voice seemed almost too
beautiful for this world, and he greeted his students with clear and penetrating eyes and a smile
to match. He had read all the classics, spoke a dozen languages, and was a formidable chess
player. He is in now in his nineties and still lives seven houses down the street where I grew up.
This is an excerpt from his contribution to the Oral History Project of the the Holocaust and
Human Rights Center of Maine.
This excerpt was originally printed in the May 2010 issue of The Voice, a Publication of the
Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine. I am grateful to Dr Robert Bernheim of the
Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine and Deena Schoenfeld, Editor of The Voice for
their permission to re-print the article, and especially to Cantor Messerschmidt for sharing a
portion of his extraordinary story and for inspiring so many people for nearly a century. - Editor
Tributes
Condolences to Beth and Jay Levine on
the passing of Beth’s mother, Sara Blotner
Billet. May her memory be a blessing.
In memory of Sara Korman and Mike
Korman from Bonnie and Bob. May their
memory be a blessing.
In memory of the yahrzeit of our sister,
Sue-Ellen Eckman, from Lynn Levin and
Beth Goldman.
Mazal Tov to Rita Halpert on the achievement of her B.A. Degree in Psychology
from Bard College, from a proud Abba.
Illustration by Eli Halpert
Miep Gies, born Hermine Santruschitz, will not be a familiar name to many. Yet millions are
aware of her legacy. She was directly responsible for readers throughout the world learning of
the Holocaust through the eyes of a young Anne Frank. Ms. Gies was the Dutch Catholic
woman who, with her husband, hid Anne Frank and seven others in a secret room above Anne’s
father Otto Frank’s spice trading enterprise. In order to prevent the Jewish-owned business from
being confiscated, ownership was transferred to Miep’s husband, Jan Gies. Beginning in July of
1942, the Franks, the van Piels, and Miep’s dentist Dr. Pfeffer spent the next two years of their
lives in hiding - fed, protected and nurtured by the Gieses. Miep brought Anne her first high
heeled shoes. Although Miep would disclaim any heroism or bravery, she bore the daily risk of
near certain death if caught. “There is nothing special about me,” she stated. “I have never
wanted special attention. I was only willing to do what was asked of me and what seemed
necessary at the time.”
Tipped off by an informer whose identity remains unknown to this day, the Nazis, along with
the Dutch police, raided the house and arrested everyone except for Miep, whom the police
inexplicably spared. After the arrest, Miep gathered the writings left behind by the soldiers and
locked them away for Anne’s return. Anne, of course, did not return.
Miep never read the diary, claiming that even a teenager’s privacy was sacred. Ironically, if
she had read the work, she would been compelled to destroy it. “I didn’t read Anne’s diary
papers.... It’s a good thing I didn’t because if I had read them, I would have had to burn them,”
she said in a 1998 interview. “Some of the information in them was dangerous.” Anne’s father
Otto, the lone survivor of the group, recovered the diaries and went on to publish them, entitled
The Secret Annex.
Miep was the last surviving member of the now famous household in Amsterdam, passing
away on January 12, 2010 at the age of 100. Through unimaginable bravery and thoughtful
safekeeping of the pages, The Diary of A Young Girl survived to be translated into 65 languages
and read by millions.
“I stand at the end of the long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did and more much more - during those dark and terrible times years ago, but always like yesterday in the
heart of those of us who bear witness.” Mazal Tov to Esther Fichtelberg on your
acceptance to Boston Conservatory. Enjoy
Boston!
Mazal Tov Alyssa Atias on your high school
graduation. Have a wonderful year at
UNM-Albuquerque.
Mazal Tov to Margarita Denevan on your
80th birthday. May you live to 120.
Monthly Healing Chant Circle
Tuesdays: 6/15, 7/20, and 8/17;
5:30-6:30pm;
No Hebrew knowledge necessary.
Eli Halpert is an award-winning artist,
and many have noticed and commented
on his unique illustrations appearing in
Hakol over the years. Eli recently graduated
from Otis College of Art and Design with a
BFA in Communication Arts. He lives and
works in Los Angeles as an illustrator
specializing in character design. Visit his
website at www.elihalpert.com.
9
10583JCC_News:HakolSprFINAL
5/13/10
2:56 PM
Todah Rabah
Todah Rabah to Ziva Moyal and Peter
Wengert for hosting a welcoming dinner
for Mark Rudd, Robert Efroymson and
their families. Our thanks to the Sagebrush
Inn for providing discounted accommodations for the TJC’s guest speakers.
Todah Rabah to Susan Esther Braune for
creating a beautiful and meaningful Purim
celebration. Thank you also to Wally
Kuerschner-Burton and Ariana Kramer for
creating a remarkable Persian setting.
Todah rabah to Dynamic Delight
special guests and hosts Mirabai Starr,
Marianne and Ron Furedi, Ed and Shelly
Middleman, and Harvey Buchalter.
Baby-Namings and More
Baby-namings, Brits, Anniversaries or
Birthday Parties: call the TJC to rent our
space for your special occasion. Special
member rates. Call for more information.
Peace
Coffee . . .
In 2003, JJ Keki, a Ugandan coffee farmer
walked door to door asking his Jewish,
Christian, and Muslim neighbors to put
aside old differences and come together.
The coffee farmers were struggling to make
a living; with the help of Laura Wetzler from
the US-based organization Kulanu, they
formed the Peace Kawomera Cooperative.
Farmers now sell directly to Thanksgiving
Coffee Company, and receive prices four
times higher than before. This has enabled
them to send children to school, start savings
accounts, and reinvest in their farms.
Together, the farmers have succeeded in
doing something that none could have done
alone.
You can help this effort, and support
the Taos Jewish Center, by purchasing
“Delicious Peace” coffee at the TJC.
8
Page 8
A Survivor’s Story,
co nt. fro m p .7
Miep Gies, 1910 - 2010
been in prison for murder or something like this, and he would have been sent to the Russian
front. And that, of course, he was deathly afraid of so he was very happy to do his killing right
here and then. And he was very, very good at it. When we marched, if anybody walked half a
step out he was shot on the spot. We marched to cabbage fields, and in desperation somebody
grabbed a cabbage, was killed immediately. Dogs were not with the kapos but they had all the
weaponry that was needed.
Condolences to Lorraine and Ira Schwartz
on the passing of Lorraine’s mother, Ann
Weinstein Rubin. May her memory be a
blessing.
Condolences to Gaila Sennitt and Bob
Fitzgerald on the passing of Gaila’s mother,
Ann. May you find comfort in her memory.
But a very strange thing happened. I had noticed that this guy had an irritable flicker in his eyes
at certain moments. So there was some mental condition, that was very obvious to me. And
whenever this happened, I knew he was just waiting to shoot somebody. And I timed it right. It
happened. So I was humming and he came by somewhat closer. And I hummed and he
stopped and listened. He went off but he came back again, I hummed a little more. And it was
around midnight. There was just one little coal fire burning. He said, Stop everybody, take five.
In Germany, they say ‘take fifteen.’ And he allowed everybody to gather around the fire. Now,
that was wonderful. We didn’t know why he did that. He said, You, sing. And, well, I sang
something.
So whenever I felt he hadn’t done anything bad for a while, maybe the time is up for me to sing,
I started humming. And, sure enough, at least four times a week or so he called a big break for
everybody in order to listen to me. And I didn’t hold back. My voice was, of course, part of my
professional equipment. But I thought only of the moment, and I had the marvelous feeling that I
was doing, with my voice, something very unusual. I was actually saving lives. And that gave
me such a wonderful feeling that I felt, to use a biblical comparison, I felt like young little David
who played for King Saul when he was plagued by evil spirits. And that, as I said before, the
experience in Theresienstadt, when all of a sudden my world ended and all the faith should
have stopped, it came back, it gave me strength in a different way. Cantor Kurt Messerschmidt and his wife Sonja survived and were reunited in Bielefeld,
Westphalia on Yom Kippur 1945. They emigrated to the United States where Messerschmidt
served as the cantor of Temple Beth El in Portland from 1951 to 1985. For the complete
transcript and more information:
The Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine
Michael Klahr Center
University of Maine at Augusta
46 University Drive
Augusta, Maine 04330-1644
207-621-3530
For six years from 1965 to 1971, formative years of my childhood, Cantor Messerschmidt held a
large presence in my life and studies at Temple Beth-El. Prior to that, in the 1950’s he worked
with my grandfather Harold Karl Halpert, a pianist, in presenting musical events at Temple Beth
El. Cantor could play any musical instrument with little effort, his voice seemed almost too
beautiful for this world, and he greeted his students with clear and penetrating eyes and a smile
to match. He had read all the classics, spoke a dozen languages, and was a formidable chess
player. He is in now in his nineties and still lives seven houses down the street where I grew up.
This is an excerpt from his contribution to the Oral History Project of the the Holocaust and
Human Rights Center of Maine.
This excerpt was originally printed in the May 2010 issue of The Voice, a Publication of the
Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine. I am grateful to Dr Robert Bernheim of the
Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine and Deena Schoenfeld, Editor of The Voice for
their permission to re-print the article, and especially to Cantor Messerschmidt for sharing a
portion of his extraordinary story and for inspiring so many people for nearly a century. - Editor
Tributes
Condolences to Beth and Jay Levine on
the passing of Beth’s mother, Sara Blotner
Billet. May her memory be a blessing.
In memory of Sara Korman and Mike
Korman from Bonnie and Bob. May their
memory be a blessing.
In memory of the yahrzeit of our sister,
Sue-Ellen Eckman, from Lynn Levin and
Beth Goldman.
Mazal Tov to Rita Halpert on the achievement of her B.A. Degree in Psychology
from Bard College, from a proud Abba.
Illustration by Eli Halpert
Miep Gies, born Hermine Santruschitz, will not be a familiar name to many. Yet millions are
aware of her legacy. She was directly responsible for readers throughout the world learning of
the Holocaust through the eyes of a young Anne Frank. Ms. Gies was the Dutch Catholic
woman who, with her husband, hid Anne Frank and seven others in a secret room above Anne’s
father Otto Frank’s spice trading enterprise. In order to prevent the Jewish-owned business from
being confiscated, ownership was transferred to Miep’s husband, Jan Gies. Beginning in July of
1942, the Franks, the van Piels, and Miep’s dentist Dr. Pfeffer spent the next two years of their
lives in hiding - fed, protected and nurtured by the Gieses. Miep brought Anne her first high
heeled shoes. Although Miep would disclaim any heroism or bravery, she bore the daily risk of
near certain death if caught. “There is nothing special about me,” she stated. “I have never
wanted special attention. I was only willing to do what was asked of me and what seemed
necessary at the time.”
Tipped off by an informer whose identity remains unknown to this day, the Nazis, along with
the Dutch police, raided the house and arrested everyone except for Miep, whom the police
inexplicably spared. After the arrest, Miep gathered the writings left behind by the soldiers and
locked them away for Anne’s return. Anne, of course, did not return.
Miep never read the diary, claiming that even a teenager’s privacy was sacred. Ironically, if
she had read the work, she would been compelled to destroy it. “I didn’t read Anne’s diary
papers.... It’s a good thing I didn’t because if I had read them, I would have had to burn them,”
she said in a 1998 interview. “Some of the information in them was dangerous.” Anne’s father
Otto, the lone survivor of the group, recovered the diaries and went on to publish them, entitled
The Secret Annex.
Miep was the last surviving member of the now famous household in Amsterdam, passing
away on January 12, 2010 at the age of 100. Through unimaginable bravery and thoughtful
safekeeping of the pages, The Diary of A Young Girl survived to be translated into 65 languages
and read by millions.
“I stand at the end of the long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did and more much more - during those dark and terrible times years ago, but always like yesterday in the
heart of those of us who bear witness.” Mazal Tov to Esther Fichtelberg on your
acceptance to Boston Conservatory. Enjoy
Boston!
Mazal Tov Alyssa Atias on your high school
graduation. Have a wonderful year at
UNM-Albuquerque.
Mazal Tov to Margarita Denevan on your
80th birthday. May you live to 120.
Monthly Healing Chant Circle
Tuesdays: 6/15, 7/20, and 8/17;
5:30-6:30pm;
No Hebrew knowledge necessary.
Eli Halpert is an award-winning artist,
and many have noticed and commented
on his unique illustrations appearing in
Hakol over the years. Eli recently graduated
from Otis College of Art and Design with a
BFA in Communication Arts. He lives and
works in Los Angeles as an illustrator
specializing in character design. Visit his
website at www.elihalpert.com.
9
5/13/10
2:56 PM
Page 7
TJC Community Picnic, Sun. July 18
This year we are planning the TJC Community Picnic at the Rio Bravo campground — we have
reserved the group shelter there for this event. Please join us at your convenience on Sunday
July 18 from 11am to 5pm, and bring your favorite dish to share. The TJC will provide paper
plates, bowls, cups, napkins and plastic ware, as well as two large “Igloo” containers with ice
tea and homemade lemonade. Wine and beer are permitted for those so inclined. A few lawn
chairs would add comfort for some of us. Games and “horsehoes” will be available.
We are planning a small treasure hunt for the children, and are hoping that everyone will
join in with some form of entertainment throughout our stay at the river. Do you have a special
talent to share? Of course you do! So get ready to share it at this event. Music, poetry, jokes,
story telling are all great contributions. But, we also encourage those little known talents you
may possess — Can you tie extraordinary knots? Speak a foreign language? Walk on your
hands? Say “she sells sea shells on the seashore?”. Anything goes! The multi-age talent show
will take place at 2pm sharp. Be there, or forever wish you had been!
Now for what you can expect at the site:
-10 picnic tables and benches within the shelter
-1 grill and fireplace in the shelter; 3 grills and 1 fireplace on the outside edge of the shelter
-one electrical outlet (close to one of the picnic tables)
-one water pump close to the shelter (well water, drinkable)
-numerous garbage cans, including one for glass and one for aluminum
-plenty of parking
-handicapped parking, ramps and handicapped bathroom facilities (with showers)
-one small grassy area, by the shelter, underneath a large shade tree
with a low wall on one side (excellent for parents with young children)
-easy/safe kayak or inner tube access to the river
-willows between the group shelter and river, providing safety for young children
as well as private places for those who would enjoy that (available both
downstream and upstream from the site)
-bike riding for young children is also a possibility, with the proper
oversight and boundaries set by parents
As you might guess by now, we are hoping for a big, multi-age turnout for this event!
Participants in the many groups of the TJC — the Hebrew Class, Chesed Project, Board of
Directors, the Sunday School, the Minyan, Current Affairs, the Kabbalah/Chanting Class and
the Book Group “Other Worlds” (newly forming) — are especially encouraged to attend.
This event will offer a delightful opportunity for us all to enjoy each other’s company while
surrounded by a spectacular natural setting! See you there! HAKOL NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION POLICY
In order to conserve resources, the Taos Jewish Center Board of Directors has created a
new policy for printing and mailing Hakol, our quarterly newsletter. All TJC members in good
standing will continue to receive Hakol at no charge via US mail. Non-members are being
asked to subscribe at a nominal cost. We will continue to feature an electronic version at
www.taosjewishcenter.org so that everyone, regardless of membership status, can enjoy Hakol.
Hakol will be printed and mailed as a TJC membership benefit four times per year.
Hakol and our calendar of events will be available on the TJC website at no charge.
Non-member subscriptions for four issues of Hakol, delivered via US mail, are
available for only $36. To subscribe make checks payable to TJC, write Hakol in the
check memo, and mail to the TJC at 1335 Gusdorf Rd., Ste. R, Taos, NM, 87571.
If you are unable to access Hakol in any of the above ways, please contact the TJC
for further assistance. We want to make sure everyone has access to Hakol.
10
through all the windows were people standing outside because the
whole ghetto was praying that this was it. And so the entire day, Yom
Kippur is a day when you pray for 24 hours and you fast for 24 hours.
Of course, the fasting was a very easy thing for us to do. At the end
of the Yom Kippur service there is a signal given by the sound of the
shofar, the ram’s horn. On Rosh Hashanah, the shofar is blown first
to get people to pay attention, to take stock of yourself, repent, pray...
On Yom Kippur, at the end, the ten days are over... the hope is that
your prayers were answered... This shofar tone, it is called the great
shofar tone, the Tekiyah Gedolah, should... give you hope.
-This sculpture dates from the 11th century and depicts King David playing the lute. It is
part of the south-facing facade of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia,
Spain, which is located on a famous pilgrimage route, active since the Middle Ages.
10583JCC_News:HakolSprFINAL
Now, if you did everything right, this is your signal for forgiveness
from on high and life could go on. Of course, we had prayed so
desperately that we were only too happy to grab this signal as the
intended sign of hope. And the shofar was blown by a very, very old
gentleman. He had been the cantor in Berlin, and when I knew him
he was very tall in appearance, white hair, Cantor Levy. He was then
in his high seventies. And the man stood up and blew the shofar, and
it was beautiful. And we all started to almost inhale the sound until
suddenly, mingled in, I shudder when I remember this moment,
mingled in with this beautiful sound was a sound slightly off key. At
that moment the whistle blew, the transports resumed, and the very
next morning... my brother and I were on the transport to Auschwitz.
This of course posed many, many questions. What a letdown. Many
people broke down completely, lost every faith because such a disappointment was too much for an average or above average person
to suffer, to tolerate. I don’t know how I did it. We were numb. But
obviously I must have taken the other road, not to lose faith. How
else would I have ended up continuing as a cantor and leader of
worship? And I cannot explain it. There are many things I cannot
explain. The arrival in Auschwitz was an unbelievable shock. We
were still in our civilian clothes, and we looked out of the window and
there were people with those striped uniforms... When they took their
hats off, their heads were clean-shaven. No idea what we went into. I
had a little idea. And all of a sudden, all of the things I had doubted
and didn’t want to know, all of a sudden it was crystal clear. This was
Auschwitz, this was Auschwitz-Birkenau. We... had to leave everything in the wagons, in the cars in the train, had to line up in front of
the commission that was described on many occasions. Left, right,
we went through all of this. And then we finally got to the first big
stop. Once we knew we had survived so far, now you began to live
from hour to hour, from day to day. And each hour to hour, each day
to day through all the Auschwitz days was a miracle. Many miracles
happened. I believe in miracles. I’ll come back to this a little later if
we have enough tape.
Arrival in Auschwitz. The eternal standing in line begins now. We
were standing in line in front of the first shower area. ...[It] was getting
a little dark. I could see, all of a sudden, what up to this point I had
only smelled. The stench of burning flesh was unbearable, but you
couldn’t miss it, it was unfortunately identifiable. This was the nose.
When, as it got a little darker the eyes got into the act, because I
could see huge, huge flames shoot up to heaven. Huge. I’d never
seen anything like this. So it was all obvious and all very clear to me,
and I had to recuperate from this first impression first.
We had been given the cloth, the striped clothes and wooden shoes.
No stockings... It shows again the diabolical intent. They didn’t give
us stockings, but they gave us pieces of prayer shawls which we
were forced to use instead of stockings. A prayer shawl is something
very sacred to an observant Jew. They knew where to hurt you, not
just physically. So you had to start fortifying yourself not against the
physical things that might happen to you, but against the psychological.
And this was, I think, even more shocking than anything else. But we
had to do it.
I stayed in Auschwitz maybe just one week. I was fortunate. Those
who were not eligible for work somewhere else would, immediately
would perish, there was no question of it because Auschwitz was just
an annihilation camp, a liquidation camp. That’s what they called it
proudly, that’s all it was. But as long as you were able to work, and
were lucky of course, there might have been a chance. The first
night, the second night, we were in barracks. It was completely flat
cement floor. It was a very, very cold night. It was below freezing that
night... The kapos went to work. They took pails of water, that night
I’ll never forget, and poured it on the cement. And in the morning at
least 40 were frozen dead to the ground. That's another way. They
had many ways of doing those things.
Then came the big decision day, who will live, who will die, who will
stay, who will go to another camp. And both my brother and I were
lucky to be selected to be shipped out. Where were we shipped? To
a camp named Golischau, an infamous death camp. It was a quarry.
We were actually shipped out for work, and we were selected
because we looked as if we would be able to work. ...No matter
what my situation in life was, I always either sang or hummed or
remembered some melodies or composed in my mind. ...I had a
kapo who was a criminal. We called them the professional criminals.
They had a green triangle. We were called the political ones, Jew or
political with a red triangle. With the green triangle... he probably had
-concludes, p. 8
7
10583JCC_News:HakolSprFINAL
5/13/10
2:56 PM
Page 6
A Survivor’s Story,
So in Theresienstadt, so from these camps, we were led on foot to a
tramway. By tramway, all we had was one rucksack, one bundle,
that's all you were allowed to have for all your belongings. And by
tramway we were driven to the Anhalterbahnhof... And there we
were placed into regular trains, not, no cattle cars as later on. Those
were real trains. And, well, as upset as we were, but this wasn’t too
bad. I’d like to shift back one moment. At the beginning of the Polish
campaign in 1939, a dear friend of mine, a non-Jew, Walter
Kleinhammer, went to war of course and came back from Poland
after one month. He had already gained a leave of absence
because he was a superb soldier... a high-ranked officer. He came
to my street. I was just leaving the house. I see him and immediately
withdrew. How could I endanger this man? He was not allowed to
speak to a Jew. He made it a point to motion me to him and told me,
Kurt, I have seen things which are beyond description. But I’m going
to describe them for you briefly. And he described how trainloads,
they didn’t have big gas chambers yet, trainloads full of Jews upon
arrival were stopped and gassed... inside these trains. So it wasn’t
as sophisticated a system as they developed later. And he described
a number of other things. He said, leave, there is no, no choice for
you, you have to try to get out at any cost as immediately as possible.
And he himself said, I don’t even know how to live with this myself. A
week later, this man had to go back to the front. And one week after
that, his parents, who lived in the same house, slipped through my
door a little notice. Their son had been killed in action by the bullet
he was looking for. So this man was not a Nazi. So there are some
of those also.
We arrived in Terezin. We could keep our clothes. The hair was not
shortened. We could keep the few belongings we had. Only they
took the lute I had, the guitar they took away... I will describe the
arrival at the barracks I was assigned to. It was the Hanover
Cazander. Huge attics with the cross beams and all of this. And
millions of fleas, bedbugs, and other insects of all kinds, which is
discouraging but you don’t think too much about this at the moment.
There was a young man in our group, very sensitive, very small in
stature, very white face, all, well, almost half alive, very spiritual
appearance, who was desperate. And his will, will power broke
down to a point that this is the first really shocking thing I experienced
even in lovely Theresienstadt. The next morning, this young man
had died from the bites of the insects all over. The whole body was
completely red, and he had died. This was something brand new to
me, but apparently there must be an explanation because unless
you have that inner resistance, even beasts, little beasts like this,
senseless.
So we were then very, very careful and tried to continue living... I
had made up my mind, whenever entering a camp, the thing the
Nazis wanted us for, if for anything, would be work. As long as you
were able to work, they would find a place for you. So I always
volunteered for the hardest things there were. This wasn’t too hard,
but I had to work outside of the ghetto, digging trenches for the
waterworks... A few days after my arrival, the guitar, the lute was
returned to me because they had heard that I was a cantor and a
singer. ...Terezin was... a propaganda camp. This was a camp that
6
co nt. fro m p .4
Hitler created to show the world how well he treats Jews, so they had
to show a few things... And some people entertained, and I was one
of them, used the lute and sang Yiddish folk songs, entertaining people.
Then all of a sudden, there was a quartet of people. It was a double
quartet who had arrived months before me, and they knew liturgical
music and sang all kinds of classical stuff. This was wonderful for
me. I was a cantor. I introduced myself to them. I knew all their
music. And we started conducting services. This was not objected to
because they had to prove they that really meant what they said, this
is a special camp. So we conducted services during the summer out
of doors, only on Friday nights, and during the winter in very small
attics which were crowded to bursting of course. If anybody ever
prayed, had reason to pray, it was us.
Let me skip to the end of Terezin for me. [It was] Yom Kippur, the
highest holiday of the Jewish calendar which ends a ten-day period
of penitence... In Terezin, it was marvelously organized. The railroad
station was right at the outset or partially into the ghetto. The trains...
went every day out, in, out, in, constantly. And we knew it because
we heard the train whistles. And every night somebody from the
Jewish autonomy administration came to the house elder, presented
a list to him which he had to fill in. Each little block had to have ready
for the next morning for transport a certain number of people. Quite a
job. And we got used to it, because we knew that those house elders
had to do it so that nobody really rebelled too much against this.
There were other kinds of things, of rebellion which I will skip for now.
We knew when trains came back that there were little messages to
be found inside. We knew that the people who were sent away to
wherever... were forced to write postcards to the people who stayed
back, to tell them how beautiful everything is, so they should volunteer to come. But the postcards that came were written in code...
Every seventh letter, then every sixth letter and so on, there was an
arithmetical series. And we knew. These messages all said the
same, Don’t come, don’t believe what they tell you, this is terrible,
this is the end. So we all knew. Even after knowing this, we still kept
hoping.
Now on the first day of Rosh Hashanah in 1944, [we] conducted the
services, and lo and behold, we were left in peace. No whistles. The
whistles stopped. Now we knew, through some outside information
which some people brought in via radio or somehow, that the
Russian front was coming closer. So whenever anything of this sort
happened, of course, we were greatly encouraged. And the second
day of Rosh Hashanah, not one whistle. The transports had stopped.
I don’t know whether I ever in my life, or anybody who was there,
repented and prayed as much as we did during these ten days. And
on the tenth day... on Yom Kippur itself, I was given the honor of conducting the service with this choir in the Sokolonya. The Sokolonya
was a huge, very modern, beautiful building which was, until a few
months prior to this date, outside of the ghetto. It was used by the
non-Jewish population for concerts and marvelous events. For some
reason, it was just before the High Holy Days incorporated within the
ghetto. So we were allowed to use this tremendous hall, capacity of
two thousand or more people. The Day of Atonement was a very
sunny day. It was warm so we opened all the windows. And around
TJC Special Film Screenings & Discussions
The Longing: The Forgotten Jews of South America (2007)
Thursday July 8, 7:30-9 pm
Directed by Gabriela Böhm
Not Rated - 87 Minutes, Color, in English and Spanish with English subtitles
A handful of South Americans are eager to affirm their Jewish faith. Their ancestors Spanish Jews - were forced to convert during the Inquisition. Even after centuries of living in the
New World as Catholics and intermarrying, their families still managed to secretly pass down
some Jewish traditions from one generation to the next. These practices convince them that
they were originally Jews and fuel their desire to convert back to Judaism.
Set in Ecuador, this award-winning documentary recounts the true story of scattered
“conversos” attempting to regain their birthright. Using the Internet, they individually located an
American rabbi from Kansas City committed to helping “lost Jews” throughout the world reclaim
their identities. For two years they studied online, following the rabbi’s conversion course. Now
they come together for the first time to meet the rabbi in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Upon arriving, he
finds the local Jewish community, comprised almost entirely of central European, orthodox
emigrants, uncooperative at best. The only congregation in the city is suspicious of the conversos’
claim to Jewish roots, even locking the Temple doors against these outsiders. Ultimately, the
rabbi is able to convince several resident Jews to reluctantly participate in a beit din and the
conversions take place.
The new converts are joyful, but face an uncertain future. Once again, they are dispersed
and isolated in Catholic towns where they receive little support from established Jewish communities, which question the religious authenticity of the rabbi’s conversions.
The film “Examines the matter of descendants of South American crypto-Jews and the
problems they face in attempting to return to the Jewish faith. Recommended” --EMRO
Winner, Best Documentary, Long Island Latino Film Festival
Winner, 2009 Telly Award for Religion/Spirituality
Winner, 2009 Best Latino Film at the Santa Fe Film Festival
Peter Wengert will lead the discussion. Suggested Donation is $7 ($5 for TJC members).
G-d On Trial
Taos Minyan
Torah Study and Shabbat Services take
place every Saturday, beginning 9am at
the TJC.
We use the New Reform Siddur:
Mishkan T’filah, Gates of Prayer for
Shabbat (which includes transliteration).
Newcomers welcome!
Volunteer at the TJC
Turn the TJC’s backyard into a
Patio and Play Area;
Put the TJC on Facebook;
Create our Email Blasts;
Join the TJC Phone Tree;
Occasional Office Help Needed;
Please call Beth for more information.
TJC Wish List
Table cloths for our 72" x 30"
wide tables;
Jewish-themed children’s books
in good condition;
Narrow writing table for the library
approx. 36" long x 20" wide;
Small lace cloths for lecterns;
Paper shredder
Thursday August 12th, 7:30pm
A film to make you think and one which could truly upset many people. Set in Auschwitz, a
group of prisoners decide to place G-d on trial for breaking his covenant with the Jews. The
question becomes, Is G-d responsible for the murderous actions of the Nazis in their attempt to
eradicate the Jews? How could He allow this to happen?
The selection for those chosen for death is to happen later in the day. Who is to be chosen?
Why is this happening? Is it a punishment for straying from G-d’s laws, a sacrifice, a test of
faith, a cleansing or purification as in the Flood, a consequence of free will, or indifference as in
Job?
There are those who argue that G-d does not exist, those that argue that G-d has deserted
the Jewish people, and those that argue that G-d does exist.
The ending is shocking and reveals no answers, but leaves us with questions about our
relationship with G-d.
Bill Westbury will lead the discussion. Suggested Donation is $7 ($5 for TJC members). Looking for a part-time job? Interested in making some extra money?
The New Mexico Jewish Link is seeking an individual to help sell advertising in the
Taos area. Call Anne Grollman, Advertising Manager, at 505-348-4472 or email her at
[email protected] for more details.
Are you on the TJC email list?
Call or email the TJC to be added to the
list to receive reminders of upcoming
and/or unpublished events:
tjc@newmex. com
TJC Office Hours:
The TJC office, library, and gift shop are
open on Mondays from 10-5pm
and by appointment. There is usually
someone in the TJC daily; please call
ahead for the hours. For a calendar of
events call 758-8615 or see
www.taosjewishcenter.org
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Announcements and Summer TJC Events
“Other Worlds” Book Group, June 6
A new book group, “Other Worlds,” will meet the first Sunday of every
month beginning June 6, from 2-4pm at the TJC. (The following month,
since July 4 falls on the first Sunday, we will meet on July 11 instead.) The
group’s focus for the first six months will be writings that relate to the
Middle East, such as People of the Book, The Woman Who Named God,
My Father’s Paradise, and The Saffron Kitchen.
Please join us at our first meeting on Sunday June 6, when we will be
discussing People of the Book. Suggestions for further selections for the
group are welcomed. Call Wally for more information, 758-0473. “Such a Deal” Rummage Sale, July 11
On Sunday July 11, from 9-3pm, the TJC is having a rummage
sale that you won’t want to miss.
Stay tuned for more news and the sale location.
Clean items in working order are now being accepted.
Call Marc Kaplan, 770-1454, for drop off location or pick up.
Monthly Healing Chant Circle
High Holidays Workshop, Aug. 22
3rd Tuesday each month, 5:30-6:30pm
With Rabbi Min Kantrowitz, 1-3pm
The power of healing in chants has been known for a very long time.
On the third Tuesday of each month, join us from 5:30-6:30pm as we
use sacred verses from the Bible with prayerful melodies to express
ourselves and to reach the deepest and closest place where G-d (the
Creator, Higher Power) can be found within. The practice of chanting is
joyful and feeds our hearts and souls. Join Ziva Moyal and the TJC
chant circle for chants in Hebrew and English. Hebrew translation and
transliteration will be provided. No knowledge of Hebrew is needed. This workshop is designed to help us prepare for the High Holidays by
deepening our preparations for the turning of the year, for returning to
our most true selves, to get ready to stand before the Holy One. It
assumes that attendees are committed to doing deep inner work in
preparation for renewal and transformation. We will study text, chant
and meditate, revisiting the year that is about to depart and developing
our kavanot (intentions) for the year to come.
June 15, July 20, & August 17. Your donation supports TJC programs.
Rabbi Min Kantrowitz serves as a Rabbi for Jewish Family Services of
New Mexico and travels widely throughout the state. She is the author
of Counting the Omer: A Kabbalistic Meditation Guide, an innovative
meditation guide, published by Gaon Books of Santa Fe, that follows
Kabbalistic teachings day by day, giving the reader suggestions for
each of the forty-nine days of meditation in the period of the Omer.
As the Director of the Jewish Community Chaplaincy Program of
Jewish Family Services of New Mexico, Rabbi Kantrowitz provides
spiritual support and pastoral care services to the Jewish community in
the state. She is a sought after speaker and teacher, having conducted
services, workshops, and lectures throughout the United States and
Europe.
Rabbi Kantrowitz is a very warm, caring rabbi whose teachings
come from the heart and go to the heart. We are fortunate to have her
come again this year to share her teachings with us. The workshop will
take place on Sunday, August 22 from 1pm to 3pm.
Suggested donation: $10 ($7 members). Israeli-Palestine Relations, June 23
Israeli-Palestinian relations have been a topic of concern for many
Taoseños, and the subject of countless conversations, both private and
public. Why does our Taos community continue to raise the subject?
And how do we talk about it? Does it matter? The Taos Jewish Center
recently held a three-part series exploring divergent explanations and
viewpoints on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. “Seeking Constructive
Dialogue” continues the TJC’s commitment to engage the broader
Taos community in discourse centered on this issue. The format will be
interactive and highly engaging. Come prepared to listen and to share.
Wed. June 23, 5:30-7:30pm. Suggested donation $5/ $3 members. Chesed Pancake Breakfast, July 10
Brunch & Membership Meeting, Aug. 29
On Saturday July 10,from 8-10am, join us for a pancake breakfast
to benefit The Chesed Project.
Join us on Sunday, August 29 at 11am, for the TJC Annual brunch and
Membership Meeting. In the past, the Annual Meeting has taken place
in November. But the Board of Directors has officially changed the
meeting date to correspond with the first quarter of the fiscal year.
Thus, this August brunch and Membership Meeting replaces the former
November meeting. So join us in August for this free event, have a
great brunch, and get an update on the state of affairs of the TJC.
Reservations are required by August 20th. All TJC members and
prospective members are encouraged to attend. Breakfast takes place at the Masonic Lodge,
corner of Camino de Santiago and Gusdorf Roads.
Please check with Kathleen Burg at the TJC for tickets.
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Chesed Project: Strategies for Cognitive Health
The number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s continues to rise
in the United States. Unless a considerable change happens, by
2050 almost a million new cases will be diagnosed every year — one
case every thirty-three seconds.
How do those numbers break down for New Mexicans? By 2025,
approximately 43,000 residents will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
The actual numbers are higher because not all Alzheimer’s cases are
diagnosed. Research shows that Hispanics and Native Americans
are more likely to develop the disease, which means it really affects
our Taos families. Some reasons why these groups are at a higher
risk include less access to health care and early detection, or improper
management of other conditions linked to Alzheimer’s such as diabetes,
high blood pressure or obesity. Language and cultural barriers also
exist. Elderly couples who speak little English and who have always
taken care of themselves and their families have a difficult time asking
for help. (We now have available a number of manuals, articles and
resource lists in Spanish.) In addition, respect for elders is extremely
high in the Hispanic and Pueblo cultures, and families tend to protect
their loved ones by concealing the true nature of their illness. An
easy way to explain a loved ones changing behavior is “oh grampo,
he’s loco poquito!”
The Chesed Project offers services for the memory impaired and
their caregivers, and has done so for over three years through
Apoyos, our support group for family caregivers, and Artstreams, our
Alzheimer’s community engagement activity. I see the devastating
impact Alzheimer’s has on Taos families. Family members feel
tremendous grief for the loss of a loved one whose personality no
longer exists. As Doris, a member of our Caregiver Support Group
says, “If I could have my husband back for just a moment. I miss his
touch, our conversations, our relationship so much!”
It has become clear to me that we all need to look at ways we
can prevent or delay this disease on a personal level and for our
community’s sake, and the sooner the better. The good news is there
Chesed Project Events
Ongoing at the TJC:
Rosen Method (gentle) Exercise set to music:
Tuesdays from 9:30-10:30am (with Susie Verkamp).
Memoir Writing: Thursdays, from 1:30-3pm.
Scrabble: 2nd & 4th Thursdays, 1:30pm-3pm.
Brain Game! Bring your board!
Restorative Yoga (limited movement): Wednesdays,
from 1-2pm (with Michele Marien).
Caregivers Support Group: 2nd Tuesday of the
month, from 5-6pm.
Artstreams: from the well of memory: last Wed. of
the month at galleries and museums, 1-2:30pm. Call to
participate.
For more information about cost, schedule, new
events or to register or confirm, call Kathleen at 758-8615.
are actions that can be taken that may lead to better cognitive health.
As Steven De Kosky, Alzheimer’s expert, Senior Vice-President and
Dean of the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine has found
through his research, “Many people do not realize they have the
power early on to reduce the risk of developing dementia.”
Believing that prevention and public awareness are key to slowing
the onset of Alzheimer’s, Chesed emphasizes strategies for cognitive
health as part of our programming. Our classes already provide
benefits through socialization, exercise and learning new skills. What
are some other strategies? As more research emerges, it has clearly
shown that good nutrition is essential to maintaining cognitive health.
The Mediterranean Diet, rich in dark, leafy vegetables, olive oil,
red wine or grapes, poultry, fish, nuts, and low in red meat, butter
and fatty dairy products is often used as an example. People who
adhered to this diet had a 38% - 67% lower risk of getting
Alzheimer’s according to a study by Nikolaos Scarmeas, Associate
Professor of Neurology at Columbia University Medical Center. (In
my family, we have begun to incorporate more vegetables and less
meat, which my husband gamely accepts, although he comes from a
very different culinary background).
A few strategies that can boost our mental faculties include:
1. Sit in a place outside your house, such as on a park bench or
in a café. Stare straight ahead and don’t move your eyes.
Concentrate on everything you can see including your peripheral
vision without moving your eyes. When you have finished, write a list
of everything you saw. Then try again and see if you can add to your
list. This activity should help reinvigorate the controlled release of
acetylcholine in your brain, which is crucial to focus and memory.
2. If you’re right-handed, use your left hand for daily
activities (or vice-versa). Start with brushing your teeth left-handed, until you have perfected it. Then try more complex tasks, such as
eating or writing. Think of all the new neurons that are released
learning new tricks. (I have tried to write with my left hand. It wasn’t
pretty and it was incredibly slow. However, I noticed as my penmanship slowed, my writing actually improved with clearer and better
observations.)
3. Set your television volume down a little lower from where you
normally have it set. By concentrating, you can follow it just as
successfully as when the volume was higher. As soon as that setting
gets easy, turn it down another notch. The reason: Many people raise
the volume because their listening has become a little fuzzy.
Matching TV volume to a conversational level can help you catch
every word when talking with others (from Posit Health).
Dementia doesn’t necessarily have to be in our future. Please
consider these preventive strategies, check out others and pass
them on. Kathleen T. Burg, Chesed Project Director
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President’s Message
This my final Message as President of the Taos Jewish Center. As
our fine Editor, Karl Halpert will attest, it has been quite a challenge
for me to “stick to the deadlines” and get my articles in on time.
However, the TJC has meant more than simply deadlines and/or
being organized. Much of it has been about thinking in terms of the
“big picture;” asking what is in the best interests of the Taos Jewish
Center community?
I approach my “final” month with mixed feelings. On the one hand,
I feel that it is time for other voices to be heard, other energy to be
prominent, other goals to be achieved and perhaps other directions
to be followed. On the other hand, I worry about where my energy
and voice will be directed. My experience — and I hope and pray that
the community’s experience as well — has been very gratifying and
satisfying. I have had the opportunity to meet, work with, and get to
know many people whom I otherwise would not. At the risk of being
redundant, let me just say that together we have accomplished a
great deal in the name of the Taos Jewish Center.
I would like my final Message to be one of thanks, appreciation,
and gratitude to the entire Taos Jewish community and beyond. If I
venture to name names, I know I will omit some, but there are a few
that are essential.
First, our committed Staff and Board of Directors: Executive
Director Beth Goldman, her Assistant Ariana Kramer, Chesed Project
Director Kathleen Burg, Vice President and Secretary Phyllis Landis,
Treasurer Nancy Tetenbaum, as well as Board Members Jay Levine,
Gary Atias, Richard Wallach and Peter Wengert.
I would be remiss if I did not include just one more: my husband
Bruce Grossman. Without his help, support and devotion, I would not
have had the courage and confidence to take on this responsibility.
Being TJC President quickly became a labor of love, and with that,
the “work” aspect was not nearly as daunting as I had once anticipated.
Last, but far from least, I want to again thank Jay Levine, who will
be taking on the role of President, beginning July 1, 2010. I am sure
he will bring many skills and abilities to the TJC with his individual
style and aplomb. If you do not know Jay, he has been moderating
the Current Affairs Program every Wednesday afternoon for over two
years. Kind reader, I hope you will quickly learn who Jay is and
continue to make your own presence known at the TJC. Cindy Grossman
Editor’s Note: Cindy has been an outstanding leader at the TJC since
we all met at the Taos Bakery back in 2002. As founding board
members, she and I tackled a lot of the early projects together, setting
policy and other activities around our little non-profit start up. As a
teammate, she is the best. Readers should know how much of the
success of the TJC is to Cindy’s credit. Her legacy includes financial
stability and the “heymish” atmosphere we all so enjoy.
The Schocken Guide to Jewish Books
Exploring the Sacred Tongue
Joanne Forman, for the TJC Library Committee
Studying Hebrew with Judah Botzer
The wonderful thing about books is that you are not going to run out!
And this certainly true for books about Judaism. No matter how much
you know or don’t know, there is something for you in the excellent
Schocken Guide to Jewish Books, which is in our TJC Library.
Edited by Barry W. Holtz, it covers every aspect of Judaism; the
chapters include: The Bible and its World, The World of the Talmud,
The Jewish Middle Ages, The European Experience, The American
Jewish Experience, The Holocaust, Israel and Zionism, Jewish
Mysticism, Jewish Philosophy medieval and modern, Jewish Women’s
Studies, Hebrew Literature, Yiddish Literature, The Jewish Novelist in
America, and The Bar-Bat Mitzvah.
The only startling omission I could find was that of the late
American novelist Norman Mailer. I can’t imagine why.
Just leafing through, I noted Daniel Fuch’s 1930s trilogy, the novel
Williamsburg; Susan Weidman Schneider’s Jewish and Female, and
Bert Metter’s Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah. This vastly helpful book can
keep you reading for the rest of your life.
If you would like to make a donation to the TJC Library, some titles
the Library Committee would like to see added to the collection are:
Survival in Auschwitz, The Reawakening (The Truce), Shema, If Not
Now, When?, Moments of Reprieve, The Mirror Maker, The Monkey’s
Wrench, The Drowned and the Saved, The Other People’s Trades,
The Sixth Day and Other Tales, The Search for Roots, and more. G-d spoke and the World became. Hebrew letters, words and concepts
permeate the totality of our existence. This ongoing Hebrew class
welcomes new students and meets Thursdays, from 5:30-7pm. Join
Judah Botzer in a journey through Hebrew’s beautiful rhythms and
concise expression. Basic prayers, fundamental concepts and joyous
songs will be drawn upon. “My objective,” says Judah, “is to inundate
students with the sacred words and expression of the Jewish people... I
want to give you the tools and building blocks of Hebrew thought so
that the letters and words themselves will begin to communicate with you.”
Judah Botzer is fluent in colloquial and liturgical Hebrew and has a
deep appreciation for the mysteries veiled in Biblical Hebrew. He brings
to his teaching the unique synthesis of Jewish culture, history and
religion that he has gained from immersion in both Jewish-American
and Israeli society. Judah began his study of Hebrew in kindergarten,
and received a classic Jewish education from Park Synagogue, the
largest Conservative congregation in the world, where he served as
Torah reader and Hebrew teacher. Judah received a teaching degree
from the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies. He subsequently spent
15 years living in Israel where he used Hebrew as his primary language.
The cost is $7 for TJC members, and $10 for non-members. The class
is structured to accommodate beginner and intermediate students. For
questions about the course, contact Judah at 575-751-0779. Our Thanks to the Following Taos Jewish Center Sponsors
A Survivor’s Story, co nt. fro m p .1
convincing at that particular moment. They did not throw a stone.
They let our children go by. After that, a dear colleague of mine who
did not survive Auschwitz, Rudy Zonnenfeld, a sports coach, and I
took our bicycles and toured the whole city. I took that whole city in,
piece of glass after piece of glass. I saw the synagogues burn. In the
Friedrichstrasse there was one small tobacco store, and the owner
was a very old Jewish gentleman. And the SA, not the SS, the SS
were the ones in the black uniforms, the SA was the ones in the
brown uniforms, the brown shirts, were standing there forcing this
man, who could hardly stand, to pick up the glass pieces. And the
people were all standing around saying nothing. But nobody moved.
So the two of us put our bikes down and went to pick up the glasses
for this man. Now, we full well knew what could have happened. In
those days, it would have been easy for them to arrest us and send
us off. Thirty-eight in June, it was the first action against Polish Jews
and this was already November. So we had already things going on
before the war. But nobody dared say anything. And it seems that
some of the people standing there very silently and very cautiously
agreed to what we were doing.
Then I came to what used to be my, what was my school before we
were relocated, the synagogue in the Rykestrasse. Saw flames
coming up. But lo and behold, the firemen were there with their hoses.
They were hosing... But I realized soon what they were doing. The
4
synagogue was in the back yard. The front of the building was part of
the whole block, and they had to protect the adjoining buildings from
the fire from spreading, to make sure the job was well done. I, after I
had seen that, the whole day, I don’t know how I could go on living.
But you can. And at that point, I think my will to live and to outlive
everybody became so strong that I think it helped me later on.
I kept teaching in that school while the transports were going on. My
classes, the numbers of children began to shrink. In June 1942, the
whole Jewish school system, the system the Nazis had helped create,
was closed down because now it was time to start with the final
solution. So the moment this happened I knew my number was up, I
was ready to be transported.
So we came to Theresienstadt, Terezin, in Czechoslovakia... We
were picked up from our house by truck and were shipped to one of
those transit camps. They were synagogues and school buildings
where people to be shipped out, sorry, it’s horrible to say so, were just
assembled and were pushed off. I went to, Grosse Hamburgerstrasse
was one of those camps. We stayed there two or three days. It was a
Friday night. During this Friday night service, I had a guitar, a lute
with me. I conducted services for the people. And we were singing.
And later on I will point out that my singing ability helped in many,
many ways. It gave us strength and, well, I'll come back to this later.
-cont. p.6
13
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TJC News, from the Executive Director
I can’t believe summer is back. Each year the cycle of the seasons spins faster and faster. I’m
looking forward to more sunshine, bluer skies, rainbows, and the Farmer’s Market. We have a lot
going on at the TJC this summer, beginning with a changing of the guard. That is to say, Cindy
Grossman, after three very dedicated years, is stepping down from her role as President of the
TJC. On behalf of the entire community, I extend a very sincere thank you to Cindy for all that she
has given. I have learned so much and truly enjoyed working with her. During her term as
President, among many other things, Cindy was instrumental in the creation of the TJC Sunday
School, and she walked the TJC through a significant financial crisis. Cindy’s passion for Jewish
community never wavers, and although her term as President has ended, her commitment to and
involvement in the community will continue.
I am pleased to be able to say that coming up right behind Cindy, and ready to step up to the
plate, is the new President of the Board of the Taos Jewish Center, Jay Levine. Jay has been a
TJC Board member for two and one-half years, he is the moderator of the Wednesday night
Current Affairs discussion group, and he is one of the TJC’s computer gurus and webmasters.
Thank you, Jay, for being ready and willing to lead the TJC through the summer and into 5771.
Blessings to you in your new role.
Also in store this summer are many great activities and events for members and friends of the
TJC. On the first Sunday in June, Wally Kuerschner-Burton will hold the inaugural meeting of a new
book group called “Other Worlds,” and on June 11, Ziva Moyal will lead a Kabbalat Shabbat.
Kabbalot Shabbat, community gatherings to welcome the Sabbath, begin with heartfelt chanting
and Shabbat blessings, and continue with interesting conversation, scrumptious potluck dishes,
and sometimes end with a story or two from the Baal Shem Tov. They have become a beautiful
tradition at the TJC.
On the third Tuesday of each month throughout the summer, Ziva will continue to lead monthly
healing chant circles. The Program Committee has a very interesting event planned for June 23,
“Seeking Constructive Dialogue on Israeli-Palestinian Relations,” as well as a compelling film
screening of “The Longing” on July 8.
Don’t miss the pancake breakfast for the Chesed Project on July 10 at the Masonic Lodge, and
then the next day, stop by the “Such a Deal Rummage Sale.” We don’t yet know where the sale will
be held, but as soon as the location is identified, we’ll let you know via email. The location can’t be
set until closer to the date because we depend on the grace of a landlord with vacant property.
Many thanks to Bob and Isabelle Draper for donating the space in which we are currently collecting
items for the sale. If you didn’t make it to last year’s sale, you probably heard how great it was. This
year we began collecting items even earlier, and so far the selection is impressive!!
The Community Picnic on July 18 is described on page 10. It may be the highlight of the summer,
particularly with the talent show and treasure hunt. “G-d on Trial,” a film that has at its heart many
universal questions of faith and philosophy, will be shown on August 12 followed by a discussion.
As the summer winds down, Rabbi Min Kantrowitz will head up to Taos from Albuquerque to
bring us a High Holy Day preparation workshop. Over the years, Rabbi Min has provided many
inspiring teachings for our community, and we are so grateful that she has plans to return to Taos.
August will close with a summer brunch and Annual Meeting on the last Sunday. You may
remember that the Annual Meeting has usually taken place in November. The Board changed the
TJC’s bylaws last winter so that the Annual Meeting could be held closer to the fiscal year’s end.
The Annual Meeting usually lasts about an hour and it includes a presentation on the TJC’s fiscal
health, a review of the highlights of the previous year and a forecast for the upcoming year. There
is also time for Q and A. This year the annual meeting will be on August 29, and it will be combined
with a summer brunch. We hope to have guest entertainment as well. Brunches at the TJC have
always been extremely popular, so make your reservations early. Have a wonderful summer, pray
for rain, and stop by and say hello. Hope to see you soon. -Beth Goldman
Vision Statement:
The TJC is a Jewish community that embraces and invites all
to build relationships in a vibrant, welcoming home.
14
The Taos Jewish Center is a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico.
Inside This Issue
A Survivor’s Story
1,4,+
Editor’s Message
2
TJC News
3
Hakol Submission Guidelines 3
President’s Message
4
The Chesed Project
5
Todah Rabah
8
Tributes
9
Miep Gies
9
Community Picnic
10
Hakol Subscription Policy
10
Film Screenings
11
Taos Minyan
11
TJC Wish List
11
Volunteer at the TJC
11
NM Link Job Oppty.
11
Summer Events
12,13
TJC Library News
13
Our Sponsors
13-15
Hakol Submissions
We invite community members to send us
your letters, essays, creative writing and
visual art for publication in Hakol . We are a
quarterly journal of news, art and commentary. Our deadlines are always the 15th of
October, January, April and July.
Letters to the Editors should be 300
words or less, and essays such as short stories,
memoir, Jewish travel and political commentary
between 400-800 words. Please do not add
fancy formatting or attempt design layout.
Photographs or drawings should be jpeg
files at 300ppi resolution. Please do not email
us small picture files, as print quality requires
higher resolution. If you send us your photos,
we will be glad to scan them for you and will
treat them with the utmost care. Please
include an SASE for their safe return.
Please send your submissions on a CD
to Hakol, PO Box 149, Taos, NM 87571, or
e-mail to [email protected]. We reserve the
right to edit and publish at our discretion.
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Editor’s Message
Dear Readers,
is the voice of the Taos Jewish community
and its friends, published quarterly by the
Taos Jewish Center. Submissions for
consideration, letters to the editor, and
requests to be added to our mailing list
may be sent to: Hakol, PO Box 149, Taos,
NM 87571, Tel. 575-758-8615, or
e-mailed to [email protected].
Contributors: Kathleen T. Burg, Joanne
Forman, Beth Goldman, Cindy Grossman,
Eli Halpert, Karl S. Halpert, Cantor Kurt
Messerschmidt, Holocaust and Human Rights
Center of Maine, Susan R. Ressler
Karl S. Halpert, Editor
Susan R. Ressler, Associate Editor
Copyright 2010, Taos Jewish Center
TAOS JEWISH CENTER is dedicated to
fostering a positive Jewish identity by
providing programs and services that
enrich the lives of the people it serves
in Northern New Mexico. The Center is
open to all who wish to explore and
participate in these experiences that
reflect and incorporate Jewish ethics,
culture, and observances.
It seems like all anyone wants to think or talk about is the fact that spring is here, the snows of
early May notwithstanding. It is said that without the desolation of winter we would not have the
splendor of spring. I am not sure this is true, but this thought does help us to get through the Taos
winter. What is so reassuring about the emergence of spring, in addition to the the pleasures of the
sun and flowers, the rushing rivers and brimming acequias, is the reassurance that conditions do
change. The straits we may find ourselves in, the challenges we may face, ultimately work themselves out. Oftentimes challenges present opportunities to do things better and to find new
rhythms. Spring is a rebirth and an emergence on a scale as huge as all of nature itself. If we open
our hearts and minds with the new and unfolding leaves, spring can be a powerful time for change.
This is, of course, one of the prevailing themes of Passover. It is no accident that Passover is
a springtime holiday, a tale of emergence, and an example of the elegant symmetry of our holidays.
How closely Judaism is tied to the seasons.
It nourishes the spirit to be still and present in this blissful change of seasons. The eastern
mystics say to “be here now”. The Talmudic version requires a few more words, stating that “it is
better for a person never to be born who thinks about only four things: what is above and what is
below, what was before and what will be afterward.” It is within this discipline that we experience
the forces that sustain us and enable us to effect change.
Our cover piece features a riveting transcription of an oral history by Kurt Messerschmidt, who
survived the death camps of the Holocaust, and our obituary features Miep Gies, also a survivor in
her own way. I was initially concerned that having such a focus on the Holocaust in this issue
would be excessive. However, both stories are ones of tenacious optimism in the face of despair.
Both Messerschmidt and Gies found themselves under the darkest shadow of humanity, only to
bear witness to our most caring and altruistic potential. And both of these folks not only survived,
but enriched and saved the lives of others immeasurably.
Spring brings change to the TJC as well, with Jay Levine assuming the presidency of the
Board of Directors, replacing out-going president Cindy Grossman who will remain on the Board.
Jay becomes the TJC’s fifth president.
Finally, I remind readers that hakol in Hebew means “the voice,” and it is truly my intent that
Hakol be your voice, the voice of contemporary thought and activity in northern New Mexico’s
Jewish community. I welcome your letters, your poems and stories, your feedback, your two cents
worth. Writers’ guidelines are found on page three, under the Table of Contents.
And a happy and safe summer to all. -Karl S. Halpert
Board of Directors:
Jay Levine, President
Thelma Phyllis Landis,
Vice President and Secretary
Nancy Tetenbaum, Treasurer
Peter Wengert
Richard Wallach
Cindy Grossman
Gary Atias
Staff:
Beth Goldman, Executive Director
Ariana Kramer,
Assistant to the Director
Kathleen Burg, Chesed Project Director
Photograph by Susan Ressler
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NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
TAOS, NM
PERMIT NO. 8
Vol.8 Issue 4
Summer 2010/5770
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
A Survivor’s Story:
Excerpts from the Testimony of Cantor Kurt Messerschmidt
Taos Jewish Center
P.O. Box 149
1335 Gusdorf Road
Taos, NM 87571
As part of the Oral History Project, documented by the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine
Original interview by Katy Beliveau and Paula Sco lnik , No vem ber
18, 1987. Revised transcrip tio n by Nicci Leam o n, Ap ril 16, 2001.
Such a Deal Rummage Sale,
Sunday July 11, 9-3pm (see p.12)
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January 1933, I can never forget. January 30th, the day the Nazis
came to power. The night before, I attended a concert or a theater
performance in the Judische Kultur Bund, which was the theater group
of fine arts which had been created so Jews would have their own
place to enjoy the arts. And I remember going by tramway, streetcar,
to the theater in the Kommandantestrasse. I mention this for some
people who hear this and may remember what this was. And standing
in the streetcar, all of a sudden, we were stopped. And there were
marching masses of people carrying torches. This was the great torch
march of the Nazis celebrating their taking over the power. And that’s
when my life took a complete turnabout.
And I hadn’t seen yet synagogues. But I got to my school, to my classroom, some of the children had arrived and were sitting in their seats
in tears. So all I could do is try to calm them down a little bit. It was an
unbelievable situation. Our own conference room had been ravaged. I
had in a big closet about ten instruments, musical instruments which I
owned and I had given to children and taught them every instrument
we had. I had to fill the afternoons when they didn’t have any place to
go home to, so we put on concerts and all these things. All this was
stolen.
I became a teacher and cantor in the city of Berlin. And my school was
the school in the Rykestrasse. I taught there. My wife at the time was
a student at that school, and she was about to be graduated shortly
after I had started. And I worked, I taught every subject imaginable.
But since I was a linguist also, I could specialize in what was the need
of the day. We had to prepare our children for emigration. So the number
one point was Israel, and England and America, so I taught, and of
course South America, so I taught in the school Hebrew, English,
Spanish, in addition to practically every other subject... And I think I
was never needed as much as in those years when I taught in that
school, because shortly after I had started, the factories were filled
with the parents of those children I was teaching. The children were
left to themselves and I had to be more than just teacher. I had to be
friend, I had to be father and mother, protector, everything in one person.
That brings me to 1938, November 9, the so-called Crystal Night... At
two o’clock in the morning of November 10, 1938, at the same time,
most of the synagogues all over Germany were set to flame. This is
really a holocaust. And being a linguist, holocaust means everything
burning, a conflagration, that is the meaning of the word holocaust. So
this was a holocaust in the literal sense of the word before we think of
what happened in Auschwitz.
My transportation in those days was bicycle. I had to ride about seven
miles to get to the school where I was teaching. And that morning, I
rode this bicycle through the city of Berlin and all I could see was broken
glass. All the stores, large and small, were completely ruined, in ruins.
There was a guard standing, standing guard in front of our school. And
at the corner there was a large group of non-Jewish children armed
with rocks just waiting for the children to come out... But I, there was
nothing that could be done, but the children had to get out. They had
to try to somehow get home. So I felt like Moses of old, leading the
children of Israel through the Red Sea. I stood up to my full height,
and looking directly at those children, and somehow I believe I was
-cont. p.4