T E M P L E B E T H A B R A H A M

the
Volume 32,
67
Volume
31,Number
Number
March
February2012
2013
B E T H
A B R A H A M
Pu
iR
T E M P L E
Adar
/ Nisan5773
5772
Shevat/Adar
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directory
Temple Beth Abraham
Services Schedule
is proud to support the Conservative Movement by
affiliating with The United Synagogue of Conservative
Judaism.
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by Congregation Beth Abraham, 336 Euclid Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610.
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© 2013. Temple Beth Abraham.
The Omer is published by Temple Beth Abraham, a non-profit, located at
336 Euclid Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610; telephone 510-832-0936. It is
published monthly except for the months of July and August for a total of
ten issues per annum. It is sent as a requester publication and there is no
paid distribution.
Location
Monday & Thursday
Morning Minyan
Chapel 8:00 a.m.
Friday Evening (Kabbalat Shabbat) Chapel 6:15 p.m.
Shabbat Morning
Sanctuary 9:30 a.m.
Candle Lighting (Friday)
February 1
February 8
February 15
February 22
5:14 p.m.
5:22 p.m.
5:30 p.m.
5:37 p.m.
Torah Portions (Saturday)
February 2
February 9
February 16
February 23
Yitro
Mishpatim
T’rumah
T’tzaweh
To view The Omer in color, visit www.tbaoakland.org.
General INFORMATION
All phone numbers use (510) prefix unless otherwise noted.
Mailing Address 336 Euclid Ave.
Oakland, CA 94610
Hours M-Th: 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Fr: 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Office Phone 832-0936
Office Fax 832-4930
E-Mail [email protected]
Gan Avraham 763-7528
Bet Sefer 663-1683
STAFF
Rabbi (x 213)
Cantor (x 218)
Gabai
Executive Director (x 214)
Office Coordinator (x 210)
Bet Sefer Director (x 217)
Gan Avraham Director (x 219)
Bookkeeper (x 215)
Custodian (x 211)
Kindergym/Toddler Program
Volunteers (x 229)
Mark Bloom
Richard Kaplan
David Galant & Jay Goldman
Rayna Arnold
Virginia Tiger
Susan Simon
Barbara Kanter
Kevin Blattel
Joe Lewis
Dawn Margolin 547-7726
Herman & Agnes Pencovic
OFFICERS
President
Vice President
Vice President
Vice President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
i
Bryan Schwartz 814-1936
Mark Fickes 652-8545
Rachel Teichman 858-922-0145
Steve Grossman 834-3937
Laura Wildmann 601-9571
Flo Raskin 653-7947
Susan Shub 852-2500
Committees & organizations
If you would like to contact the committee chairs,
please contact the synagogue office for phone numbers
and e-mail addresses.
Adult Education Steve Glaser & Aaron Paul
Chesed Warren Gould
Development Steve Grossman & Flo Raskin
Dues Evaluation Susan Shub
Endowment Fund Herman Pencovic
Finance Susan Shub
Gan Avraham Parents Laura Kaplan &
Rachel Teichman
Gan Avraham School Committee Rebecca Posamentier
Israel Affairs J.B. Leibovitch
Membership Mark Fickes
Men’s Club Jeff Ilfeld
Omer Lori Rosenthal
Personnel Laura Wildmann
Public Relations Lisa Fernandez
Ritual Eric Friedman
Schools Rachel Teichman
Social Action Marc Bruner
Torah Fund Anne Levine
Web Site Liz Willner
Women of TBA Jeanne Korn
Youth Phil Hankin
Cover Art by Joni Tanis. See page 23 for more on Joni.
what’s happening
Join us for a CD Release Preview Party
& Learning Session -- Help Celebrate Cantor
Richard Kaplan’s New CD
Shirei Avraham
The Music of Temple Beth Abraham
chanted by Cantor Richard Kaplan.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
7:30 p.m. in the Chapel.
Join us as we learn and sing
several of the 18 songs on the CD
including Shabbat, High Holydays and
Festival music used in TBA services.
The Teen Scene
Sunday, February 3
6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Baum Center
Events begin with a light supper from
Oakland Kosher. This month we continue
with our Music programming. The final
session is on February 17.
Please contact Devorah Romano with any
questions or to sign up: [email protected]
or (510) 396-4285.
Women on the Move
Sunday, February 10
WTBA hikes happen the second Sunday of every
month. We meet at 9:45 and depart promptly at
10:00. Hikes end by 11:30.
We will meet at the Skyline
Gate on Skyline just south
of Snake and hike in
Redwood Regional Park.
For details, contact
Deena Aerenson at
(510) 225-5107 or
[email protected].
Sha’a b’Matana (An Hour’s Gift)
Join us for: TBA Gala Treats • With Jing Piser
Thursday, February 7, from 7-9 p.m.
TBA Social Hall
Sha’a b’Matana (An Hour’s Gift) is a new series
of monthly speakers, members of our TBA community,
who have volunteered to share their professional
expertise with you in an intimate, informal setting.
We hope you’ll come out, get some expert advice, and
enjoy a relaxed evening with other TBA members.
For future events please see page 9.
TBA Blood Drive
Sunday, February 10 in the TBA Social Hall
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Contact Charles Feltman for details
([email protected])
Cal Basketball!!! Sunday, Feb. 17
For more info see Men’s Club on page 7.
Kindergym
Sunday PlayDays:
2/17, 3/3 and 4/7 10:30 a.m.- noon
KINDERGYM SUNDAY PLAYDAYS
with Dawn for UNDER 3s
(per family: $9 members; $10 other);
Come join us with your baby and toddler as we climb, slide,
jump on our trampoline, rock on old fashioned horses, enjoy
music, singing, play dough, water and rice play, painting,
parachute, bubbles and so much more!
Weekday classes too!
I look forward to playing with your family!!
Contact Dawn at: www.tbaoakland.org/kindergym
or by phone at (510) 547-7726.
See additional WTBA and other
Adult Education activities on page 5.
1
from the rabbi
A Tribute to the Leader of Band
In one of the less kind responses to the congregational survey sent out last year, one of the general
comments was “Purim has become too much of a karaoke party” or something of the sort. I know
it wasn’t meant to be complimentary, but I took it as a compliment anyway. If our Purim band
was able to produce something that sounded close enough to the songs we were spoofing to make it
sound like karaoke, then that is quite a band.
These days you can stick in a Karaoke CD, download a Karaoke mp3 of a song, or even watch
Karaoke TV on your cable or satellite package, and the music will sound exactly like the song.
We’re spoiled, in a way. But to reproduce something similar from a live band of synagogue musicians, that’s nothing short of amazing.
I was recently listening to the top 50 songs of the last 10 years on some sort of countdown. I knew
most of them, as it turned out, because we had parodied so many of them for Purim. Over the past
decade we have told the story of Esther, Vashti, Mordecai and Haman to the music of Avril Lavigne,
Green Day, Outkast, Bowling for Soup, Britney Spears, Jason Mraz, Daniel Powter, LMFAO,
Maroon Five, Adele, Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and many more, in addition to classics
by the Beatles, Sonny and Cher, and the Troggs.
I got the idea from Rabbi Gerry Walter of Temple Shalom in Cincinnati, who put together a similar
band made up of rabbinical students when I was in school. I was one of the guitarists and singers,
and since that time, I have formed a band in every congregation I have ever served.
However, none of them have ever sounded quite like the
Temple Beth Abraham Band. Jonathan Ring and Michael
Aronson help me put the songs together each year, but this
year, we will not have the musical gifts of one of our other
collaborators, our lead guitarist and singer, the incomparable
Murray Davis. There was nothing like watching him from
the wings while he belted out Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts
Club Band. His crisp and lively guitar solos, soulful tenor
voice, and even more amazing spirit behind the voice that
went into that song caused us all to rejoice, which is what
we are supposed to do on Purim.
When Murray died of a sudden heart attack this past
December, I knew we lost not only an important member
of our congregation, but a good personal friend. Murray
was a mensch. Murray was a terrific husband, a caring
father, and a loyal friend. Murray was generous with his
time, his pocketbook, and his spirit. Zecher tzadik livracha, may the
memory of this righteous man be a blessing to us always.
We will miss him greatly, especially on Erev Purim, when someone other than Murray leads the
show off with the words “Several thousand years ago today…”
L’shalom,
Rabbi Mark Bloom
2
president’s message
The Murray Davis Legacy for Purim Celebrations to Come
By Bryan Schwartz
One of my daughter’s first words was “Romemu.” At first, I couldn’t tell what she was saying every
time we got into my car to drive to her day care. It sort of sounded like “meh-moo.” But, when
the TBA Rock and Roll Shabbat CD started on my car stereo one morning, and she start excitedly
shouting “meh-moo! meh-moo!” I realized that she was demanding to hear Murray Davis’ version
of Romemu prayer, again. For a while, she would reach the brink of tantrum unless I played that
one song, over and over again, until we reached the destination. Eventually it got to where she
would at least let me play the whole CD. Whenever I saw Murray, Z”L, I would joke with him
about being my daughter’s favorite rock star, curse him for making the CD that had been playing on repeat in my car for months (jokingly), and ask him to please, soon, make another album.
Tragically, he won’t.
In January, as I headed to my car to drive to Murray’s shiva memorial service, my almost five
year-old daughter asked where I was headed, and I explained that Murray was gone. “Where?”
she asked. “To the sky,” I answered. “But, who will lead Rock and Roll Shabbat now?” she said. “I
hope someone else will try,” I said, “but no one will do it like Murray did.” “That is very sad,” she
said.
Sad indeed that the man is gone who could capture such joy in a song, who is remembered by so
many friends, in so many parts of our community, for his sunny disposition that lit up our days.
Murray was a person you would always look forward to seeing, whether as a fellow congregant, a
neighbor, a youth sports team coach, or as a friend.
But, this email is not for sadness, but for joy, because Murray’s legacy will live on and be well
remembered. The last call I made to Murray, a few weeks ago, was to ask for his family’s help,
again, on our synagogue’s courtyard project – a project I knew he strongly embraced, to bring a
sunny, outdoor space to TBA’s members right off our social hall, to brighten our festive events, a
place to run and play outdoors for our children. Murray was one of the first people I called, along
with Joel and Jing Piser, to create the Piser-Davis match, to retire our debt from the last capital
campaign, and start this new one.
Now, the family of Murray and Virginia Davis (the Schwabs), in Murray’s honor, have pledged
to help TBA realize, soon, the vision of creating this sunny courtyard, in Murray’s memory – the
Murray Davis Courtyard. The family has pledged over $80,000 to assist in tearing down the house
at 333 MacArthur that interrupts our campus, between the sanctuary and the Baum Center, and
clearing the way for the Courtyard. This pledge completes the funding of the initial phase of the
capital campaign that I announced at 2012 High Holidays, with the Epstein-Applebaum-Ilfeld
matching campaign. And, Murray and Virginia’s family has pledged another $500,000, if we can
raise a matching $500,000 toward building the fully realized, Murray Davis Courtyard. Please
contact Rayna Arnold, [email protected], or call her at (510) 832-0936, to find out how you
can help.
Though nothing can replace a beloved parent, husband, son, and friend like Murray, this incredible generosity will ensure that his legacy lives on in a fitting tribute that brightens all our days
together. There are few things I look forward to more than celebrating Purim in future years on
the Murray Davis Courtyard at TBA, as we gather together with our children dancing around us,
feeling the joy that Murray continues to bring us all.
Thank you, Davis-Schwab family. Zichrono livracha – Murray’s memory will live as a blessing.
Please Join Us for Morning Minyan on Mondays and Thursdays
Join the regulars at our Minyan service, each Monday and Thursday usually starting at 8:00 a.m. The
service lasts about an hour, and is really a great way to start the day. As an added bonus, breakfast is
served immediately afterwards. To use the old expression – try it, you’ll like it. If not as a regular, just
stop in once or twice and see what it’s all about.
3
editor’s message
On Jewish Humor
(Borrowed Heavily from Wikipedia)
By Lori Rosenthal
There is a long tradition of humor in Judaism
dating back to the Torah and the Midrash
from the ancient mid-east. We are most
familiar though with Jewish humor that refers
to the more recent stream of verbal, self-deprecating, crude, and often anecdotal humor
originating in Eastern Europe and which took
root in the United States over the last hundred
years. Beginning with vaudeville, and continuing through radio, stand-up comedy, film, and
television, a disproportionately high percentage of American and Russian comedians have
been Jewish..
Jewish humor is rooted in several traditions.
The first is the intellectual and legal methods
of the Talmud, which uses elaborate legal
arguments and situations often seen as so
absurd as to be humorous in order to tease
out the meaning of religious law. Another is
the egalitarian tradition among the Jewish
communities of Eastern Europe in which the
powerful were often mocked subtly, rather
than attacked overtly—as Saul Bellow once
put it, “oppressed people tend to be witty.”
Jesters known as badchens used to poke fun at
prominent members of the community during
weddings, creating a good-natured tradition of
humor as a leveling device.
After Jews began to immigrate to America
in large numbers, they, like other minority
groups, found it difficult to gain mainstream
acceptance and obtain upward mobility. The
newly-developing entertainment industry,
combined with the Jewish humor tradition,
provided a potential route for Jews to succeed.
One of the first successful radio sitcoms, The
Goldbergs, featured a Jewish family. As radio
the
Omer
and television matured, many of its most
famous comedians, including Jack Benny, Sid
Caesar, George Burns, Eddie Cantor, Jack
Carter, Henny Youngman and Milton Berle,
were Jewish. The Jewish comedy tradition
continues today, with Jewish humor much
entwined with that of mainstream humor,
as comedies like Seinfeld and Curb Your
Enthusiasm indicate.
Types of Jewish Humor
Religious humor
As befits a community to which religion is so
important, much humor centers on the relationship of Judaism to the individual Jew and
the community.
Two Rabbis argued late into the night about
the existence of God, and, using strong
arguments from the scriptures, ended up
indisputably disproving His existence. The
next day, one Rabbi was surprised to see the
other walking into the Shul for morning
services.”I thought we had agreed there was
no God,” he said.”Yes, what does that have
to do with it?” replied the other.
Assimilation
The American Jewish community has been
lamenting the rate of assimilation and disappearance of their children as they grow into
adults.
Two Rabbis were discussing their problems
with squirrels in their synagogue attic. One
Rabbi said, “We simply called an exterminator and we never saw the squirrels again.”
The other Rabbi said, “We just gave them
all a bar mitzvah, and we never saw the
squirrels again.”
Or,
continued on page 11
March Omer theme: Passover
We cheerfully accept member submissions. Deadline for articles and letters is the seventh of the month preceding publication.
Editor in Chief
Managing Editor
Layout & Design
Calendars
B’nai Mitzvah Editor
Cover
Help From
4
Lori Rosenthal
Lisa Fernandez
Jessica Sterling
Jon Golding
Susan Simon
Joni Tanis
People like you!
Copy Editors Jessica Dell’Era, Nadine Joseph, Richard Kauffman, Jan Silverman, Debbie
Spangler
Proofreaders June Brott, Jessica Dell’Era, Charles Feltman, Jeanne Korn, Anne Levine,
Stephen Shub, Susan Simon, Debbie Spangler
Distribution Fifi Goodfellow, Hennie Hecht, Herman and Agnes Pencovic, Gertrude Veiss
Mailing Address 336 Euclid Ave. Oakland, CA 94610
E-Mail [email protected]
wtba, our sisterhood
WTBA Shabbat
Also in March, we will underwrite a parent education
evening with Rabbi Patricia Karlin-Neuman.
January 12 was our annual WTBA Shabbat, and what an
amazing service it was. From Psukei d’Zimra to Musaf,
from every single reading to the Hagbah, it was all female
powered beauty and spirituality.
I am particularly excited that these events are great not
only for those in my age group, or older, but for women of
all ages, and that some of our younger women are joining
WTBA to help lead us in new directions. WTBA is open
to ANY AND ALL new ideas.
By Jeanne Korn
Since the service was a bit long (and perhaps also because I
could NOT follow Alice Hale’s astounding drash!), I simply
bullet-pointed my remarks as WTBA President. So below is
what I really meant to say that day:
Today, we celebrate four generations of TBA women leading
us in prayer and learning.
We actually celebrate the fact that women CAN daven
on the bimah! That was not always true, even during my
lifetime, and we cherish and appreciate those women who
fought for us to do so. Some of them are sitting right in this
room.
This year, we’ve done a lot of celebrating
• We’ve learned and sung together in the Sukkah. • We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon Salon with the fabulous Jennie Chabon.
• We played, laughed, and shared over glasses of wine at
Girls Nights Out.
• We supported the schools with the back to school coffees and BBQ.
Your kids will leave you eventually, your parents will leave
you too, but your Sisters will always be there for you! So
help keep WTBA strong and vital, so it will be there for
YOU.
I extend my thanks and respect to these past presidents of
Sisterhood on the bimah. Thank you all for coming today
and for all you have done for us.
A HUGE thank you to Amy Tessler and Lynn Langfeld
for coordinating today’s service, as well as Outi Gould who
couldn’t be here today, and the rest of the board as well.
You are all amazing to work with, a great team, and I appreciate you all.
Alice Hale, thank you for your amazing d’var Torah.
Thanks to Mary Odenheimer and Treya Weintraub for preparing a delicious Kiddush luncheon.
And last but not least, thanks to the over 40 of you who
took part in today’s service. We have such an amazing pool
of talent in WTBA! Yasher koach to each and every one of
you. Shabbat Shalom.
• We partnered with Men’s Club for a hugely popular
Erev Xmas Sound of Music singalong.
• We commissioned a beautiful new lectern to complement our Torah table.
• We always provide chocolate at Simchat Torah; latkes
at Chanukah; apples and honey at Rosh Hashanah;
candlesticks to b’nai mitzvah students.
• Every woman taking part in this service is a member
of WTBA.
• When you become a member, you help us put on all
those programs.
• You become part of the extra special something that
TBA is about, and that we love about it.
So, I invite all of you to join us for Vashti’s Banquet on
March 3. It’s like a Middle Eastern spa day! You will NOT
be disappointed!
Join us for Girls Night on February 7, when Jing Piser will
lead us in preparing, and eating, some of her treats from
past Gala Gourmets. We are doing this in conjunction with
the new speaker series.
Join us for a special Girls Night in March. We will be creating our own Miriam’s cups for our seder table at a local
ceramics studio.
Girls Night Out-Save the Date-March 7
For Girls’ Night Out in March, we are organizing an
outing to a local pottery painting studio so that everyone can paint their own Miriam’s Cup for upcoming seders. Not only am I really excited to be coorganizing my first WTBA event with Julie Katz but
I’m excited about why. As a parent leaving the Gan
this year (after 9 years!!) I am finding that I will need
new ways to stay connected to the awesome women I
have met during my (long) GAN tenure. I’ve had the
misperception, and I know some who share this view,
that the WTBA group is primarily aimed at women
with kids in high school or even beyond. In no way
is this true and Julie and I are on a mission to change
this viewpoint and make sure that all TBA women,
whether single, married, with young or old kids feel
that WTBA is a gathering place for them. So even if
you’ve never been to a WTBA event before, consider
joining us March 7 as we mix it up bring in many
new faces to the WTBA scene. Details to follow.
- Jo Ilfeld
5
wtba, our sisterhood
SAVE THE DATE FOR WTBA’s 3rd ANNUAL
VASHTI’S BANQUET
Sensual Treats for Your Body and Spirit
In our “Harem Room”
Is There Room
for New Rituals?
On behalf of The Women of TBA (WTBA) and
Oakland Ruach Hadassah, we would like to invite
all East Bay Women to join our Rosh Chodesh
group. The group meets monthly on the Monday
closest to Rosh Chodesh, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
at rotating members’ homes.
Sunday, March 3 • 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
TBA Social Hall
Contact Jeanne Korn with questions
at [email protected].
SAVE THE DATE FOR A SPECIAL
Girls’ Night Out
Thursday, March 7
The meetings are facilitated by members of the
group. As a community of women, we explore
the emotional and intellectual themes that live in
Torah and connect to our lives. There is no cost to
participate and it’s fine to come intermittently.
We are studying the book, Lifecycles: Jewish
Women on Life Passages and Personal Milestones
(Volume 1) edited by Rabbi Debra Orenstein.
In her book, Rabbi Orenstein poses the question
“How the Jewish community might be enhanced
if it fully incorporated women’s experiences and
talents?”
This month’s meeting is on February 11, when
we will discuss Chapter 6: Invisible Life Passages.
Join us for a lively discussion as we focus on what
ritual and community can do to acknowledge and
support us in facing challenges, such as weaning
our children, terminal illness in ourselves or loved
ones, and raising a child with special needs.
The meeting will open with a short discussion
about the significance of the month of Adar.
MAKE YOUR VERY OWN
MIRIAM’S CUP
FOR YOUR PASSOVER TABLE!
Info to follow soon…
6
The schedule for the upcoming year is as follows:
Adar; March 8, Nissan; April 8, Iyar;
May 6, Sivan; June 10, Tammuz
Questions?
Contact Debbie Spangler at (510) 531-1105 or
[email protected] to get on the distribution
list for the upcoming meeting locations.
men’s club
The TBA Men’s Club presents:
Night Out at a
Cal Bears Game
Sunday, Feb. 17
It’s time for family basketball! Come join the TBA
Men’s Club for a great time at Haas Pavilion watching
one of college basketball’s most promising teams!
Come with your family (children included) and
hang out with your TBA friends. Cheer on the Cal
Bears as they battle USC in this PAC-12 Conference
showdown. For our group, this game includes participation in
the “High-Five Tunnel” for 7th graders and below
DAY:
TIME:
COST:
Sunday, February 17
6:40 High-Five Tunnel
7:00 Game Time
$20/person, adults and kids.
We have 60 seats; first come-first served
If there’s interest, we’ll meet at a nearby pub for snacks and
drinks beforehand!
RSVP to Jeff Ilfeld: [email protected], or call (510) 685-1349
Make checks payable to: TBA Men’s Club and mail to TBA at:
336 Euclid Ave., Oakland, CA 94610, attention: Men’s Club
7
men’s club
Men’s Club Purim Musings
By David S. Mendelsohn
There are 613 Commandments/Mitzvot in the Torah. One
would think that given the choice, we would all observe the
more enjoyable Mitzvot and leave the esoteric and difficult
ones for another day. Surprisingly, we leave the mitzvah of
celebrating the best Jewish Holiday of the year to the children.
Purim today for me is a crank of the grogger, listen
to a bit of Esther’s Megillah, nosh on a few too many
Hamantashen, deliver some Mishloach Manot and then I’m
done with Purim - back to business as usual. Now what
else was I supposed to do today?
At the Yeshivot I attended, Purim was the pinnacle of
the Jewish Holiday circuit. How much better can it get
when you and your friends enjoy a grand meal together,
are allowed and encouraged to let your hair down and do
taboo things like drink adult beverages and be irreverent
to the authorities. Without fear of reprisal, Purim Shpiels
contained great mocking of Yeshiva life and of the Rebbe’im
who laughed at themselves just as hard as anyone else.
Fond memories.
*******
On Purim we are commanded to have a Seudah – a feast
– where we gather with friends to eat and drink to our merriment. In 2007 and 2008, the Men’s Club threw a Purim
Seudah masquerade party in the TBA Social Hall. Clowns
performed while guests bedecked in all style of costumes
enjoyed a lively cocktail hour.
The sumptuous sit down dinner was prepared and served by
MC members and the entertainment was a Shul-wide talent show with singers, musicians, dancers and comedians all
taking the stage. (Oy Vey what talent we had!)
There were plenty of laughs and a tremendous feeling of
camaraderie. According to a Pew Research poll, the Men’s
Club shot up as the most popular group at TBA until
Pesach when the top spot was taken by the Chocolate Seder
people.
Despite the tremendously successful and critically acclaimed
“As good as the Gala but cheaper!” advertising campaign,
the ROI on the Seudah party was insufficient to sustain
itself and it sadly went the way of Haman and his sons.
*******
I have heard Purim and Chanukah mistakenly described
as minor Jewish Holidays. Did you know that after the
Mashiach comes, the Jewish people will only celebrate two
holidays. Which two? You’re thinking Rosh HaShanah and
Yom Kippur the two holiest days of the year right? Wrong.
Then it must be Shavuot the holiday celebrating our receiving the Torah, and Pesach the holiday commemorating
our redemption from Egypt and the birth as a nation, correct? Wrong. The two holidays we will celebrate after the
Mashiach comes is Purim and Chanukah - the only two
post Torah holidays. Midrash Mishlei 9.
A hint of the importance of Purim can actually be found
in the Torah where Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement,
is referred to as Yom HaKippurim. The Zohar says that
by utilizing a different vowel (eh instead of ee) under the
Kaf the enunciation turns into Yom K’Purim - a day like
Purim.
*******
Purim is celebrated on Adar 14. We are commanded to
increase our joy during the month of Adar. (Ta’anit 29a)
Let’s get busy people!
Chag Purim Sameach!
Top Ten Reasons for Celebrating Purim
By Kenneth Goldrich
1. Making noise in shul is a MITZVAH!!
2. Levity is not reserved for the Levites
3. Nobody knows if you’re having a bad hair day.
You can tell them
it’s your costume
4. Purim is easier to spell than Chanukah, I mean
Hanukah, I mean, KHanukah, I mean Chanuka, I mean
the Festival of Lights.
5. You don’t have to kasher your home and change all the
pots and
dishes.
6. You don’t have to build a hut and live and eat outside
(but you
could volunteer to build a new Purim booth for
next year’s Carnival)
7. You get to drink wine and drink wine and drink wine
and you don’t
even have to stand for Kiddush (I guess
you can’t!)
8. You won’t get hit in the eye by a lulav
9. You can’t eat hamantaschen on Yom Kippur
10. Mordecai - 1; Haman - 0!!!!
8
social action/community
Sha’a b’Matana
(An Hour’s Gift)
Join us for:
TBA Gala Treats
with Jing Piser
February 7 from 7-9 p.m.
TBA Social Hall
We will prepare and sample popular hors
d’oeuvres from past Gala menus. Recipes
provided.
Free childcare provided.
Please RSVP to [email protected] by
February 1 to ensure there’s enough food to
go around.
Sha’a b’Matana (An Hour’s Gift) is a new
series of monthly speakers, members of our
TBA community, who have volunteered to
share their professional expertise with you in
an intimate, informal setting. We hope you’ll
come out, get some expert advice, and enjoy
a relaxed evening with other TBA members.
This event it co-sponsored by WTBA.
The rest of the lineup include:
March 4: Starting a Small Business
(Rachel Teichman)
April 8: Time Management and Productivity
(Jo Ilfeld)
May 6: Understanding Employment Law
for Employers and Workers
(Bryan Schwartz)
June 3: Helping children play well together
(Tosha Schore)
Contact Tosha Schore directly with any
questions at [email protected].
JOIN A NEW
T B A C H AV U R A H !
Do you want to be a part of a smaller, more intimate
group within Temple Beth Abraham? Forming or
joining a chavurah could be what you’re looking for!
What is a chavurah?
From the Hebrew word for friend, a chavurah is a
group of people (singles, couples, families, or a mix
of these) who meet regularly (usually monthly in
each others homes) to experience Jewish life together.
Joining a Chavurah is one way to meet other TBA
members in a smaller, more personal setting.
What does a chavurah do?
Each chavurah is created to reflect the interests of its
members. There could be groups with any of the
following interests: socializing, Jewish study, Shabbat
gatherings, social action, holiday celebrations,
camping, hiking, music, sports, etc. The group could
meet with or without children.
Each chavurah is completely autonomous and can
decide as a group when, where, and how often
to meet. It is important for all members to be
committed to working together toward building the
community.
How large is a chavurah?
A chavurah is generally made up of between 5 and
10 families or individuals. It could include members
who already know each other, or a mix of some old
and new friends or acquaintances.
How do I join a chavurah?
The process of joining a chavurah is very simple. Just
fill out the questionnaire by February 15. Sometimes
it takes awhile to put together the right group, but
it’s worth while to wait for a group that’s a good fit.
How do I find out more?
If you are interested, email Amy Wittenberg, our
chavurah coordinator, at: [email protected] and
she’ll send you a chavurah questionnaire which you
can fill out online. Hard copies are also available in
the office at TBA.
You can also fill out the form ionline at: https://ccjds.
wufoo.com/forms/temple-beth-abraham-chavurahquestionnaire/.
9
mishloach manot
israel
Purim Food Baskets
Deadline for the Purim Food Baskets is February 8 - Please
help support the TBA Schools
One of the many mitzvot for the holiday of Purim is
Mishloach Manot, or the sending of gifts of food to friends.
The Parents of Bet Sefer and Gan Avraham are once again
offering you a wonderful way to send Mishloach Manot.
For Purim we are preparing a kosher package, filled with
tasty sweets, snacks and surprises for you to send to your
fellow congregants in your name. Forms were sent to
your house a couple of weeks ago. If you have not yet sent
in your completed form, please do so by February 8. If
you have misplaced or did not receive your form and want
another, please email Steve Grossman at [email protected].
All baskets will be delivered on Purim, Sunday, February 24.
Volunteers needed on February 24 to prepare and deliver
Mishloach Manot baskets
We need over 60 volunteers on Sunday February 24 to help
assemble and then deliver food baskets to all TBA members. It’s a wonderful mitzvah that is a highlight for many
each year. Basket creation will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the
Social Hall and deliveries will start around 10:00 a.m. If
you would like to help make and/or deliver food baskets on
Israel Tidbitis
By June Brott
Here is some technology and human rights news from Israel:
Total Boox
With digital books, you pay first and read later. An Israel
entrepreneur wants you to not only read first but to pay
only for what you read.
Yoav Lorch developed his latest startup, Total Boox, a radical
rethinking of the electronic reading model. Total Boox tracks
the number of pages a reader views and tells whether you’re
skimming, then charges only for content actually read. Due
to launch in early 2013, Total Boox is a mobile app with an
Android version in beta and one for Apple on the way.
Hervana
Bill Gates recently gave a million dollars to an Israeli firm
for creating a breakthrough contraceptive suppository that
will be used by some 220 million women (according to
2nd Annual Erev Xmas Sing-a-Long
On December 24, over 125 congregants and friends of all
ages gathered in the Social Hall and sang along with The
Sound of Music. While singing, we enjoyed a luscious lasagna dinner prepared by Treya Weintraub and Steve Glaser.
Danny DeBare even led a group of fellow teens in a rousing
Do-Re-Mi! Todah rabbah to volunteers
David Weintraub, the DeBare family, Barry Barnes, Billie
Gentry, Rick Heeger, Judy Klinger, Hugo Wildmann, Ellen
Kaufman, and the Korn family, Jeff Ilfeld, and also to
WTBA and Men’s Club for sponsoring this fun evening!
10
erev xmas sing-a-long
February 24, please contact Amy Tessler at [email protected].
Do you want to donate food for this year›s baskets?
We are putting together 625 baskets for this year›s
Mishloach Manot. If you or a group of your friends want
to donate a snack or provide funds towards one of the
items, then please contact Steve Grossman at yoale@aol.
com or (510) 435-5885.
Do you have a college student and want a Mishloach Manot
basket sent to them?
We have a lovely tradition at TBA where we send Mishloach
Manot to all college students whether they live at home or
are away. It’s a great way to remind our students that we, at
TBA, are thinking of them. Please let us know where your
college student will be the week of February 24. If they
live with you or will be home on break on that date, we
will deliver their basket to them at your home; if they will
be at college, please send their address to Debby Barach,
[email protected], by February 15. The baskets will be
shipped out on Monday, February 25 by priority mail.
Any questions about the college Mishloach Manot program? Call: Debby Barach at (510) 482-9399 or email:
[email protected].
World Health Organization reports) in the developing
world who have no access to an effective method of birth
control.
Hervana founder, Rachel Teitelbaum, says Hervana (her
nirvana) is a non-invasive, long-acting, low cost, convenient
contraceptive free of health risks and medical procedures.
Tikkun Olam – A Boarding School for African Teen Refugees
After being captured, tortured, and enslaved by Bedouins,
and then slipping past trigger-happy Egyptian soldiers,
a number of boys escaping from Eritrea and Sudan have
found a safe home in Israel. Some 50 African teens live at
Tikkun Olam, a special boarding school for African teen
refugees at Nitzana, an Israeli kibbutz near the Egyptian
border. Until age 18, they receive housing, food, and education.
Yair Amir, Tikkun Olam Director, says student couldn’t
grasp the concept of democracy or presenting differing
opinions. On the eve of the US election, one boy asked, “If
Obama loses, will they shoot him?”
purim
continued from page 4
The rate of Jewish intermarriage is a serious problem.
Scientists estimate that unless something can be done to
stop intermarriage, in 100 years, the Jewish people will be
reduced to a race of gorgeous blondes.
Tales of the Rebbes
Some jokes make fun of the “Rebbe miracle stories” and
involve different hasidim bragging about their teachers’
miraculous abilities:
Three hasidim are bragging about their Rebbes: “My rebbe
is very powerful. He was walking once, and there was a
big lake in his path. He waved his handkerchief, and there
was lake on the right, lake on the left, but no lake in the
middle.” To which the second retorted, “That’s nothing.
My rebbe is even more powerful. He was walking once,
and there was a huge mountain in his path. He waved
his handkerchief, and there was mountain on the right,
mountain on the left, but no mountain in the middle!”
Said the third, “Ha! That is still nothing! My rebbe is
the most powerful. He was walking once on Shabbos (on
which it is forbidden to handle money), and there was
a wallet crammed full of cash in his path. He waved his
handkerchief, and it was Shabbos on the right, Shabbos on
the left, but not Shabbos in the middle!”
Eastern European Jewish humor
A number of traditions in Jewish humor date back to stories
and anecdotes from the 19th century. Stories from Chelm,
a town reputed in these jokes to be inhabited by fools, are
among the most popular. Chelm jokes were almost always
centred on silly solutions to problems. Some of these solutions display “foolish wisdom” (reaching the correct answer
by the wrong train of reasoning), while others are simply
wrong.
Chełm tales were told by authors like Sholom Aleichem and
Isaac Bashevis Singer. A typical Chełm story might begin,
“It is said that after God made the world, he filled it with
people. He sent off an angel with two sacks, one full of
wisdom and one full of foolishness. The second sack was of
course much heavier. So after a time it started to drag. Soon
it got caught on a mountaintop and so all the foolishness
spilled out and fell into Chełm.”
Here are a few examples of a Chełm tale:
In Chelm, the shammes used to go around waking everyone up for minyan in the morning. Every time it snowed,
the people would complain that, although the snow was
beautiful, they could not see it in its pristine state because
by the time they got up in the morning, the shammes
had already trekked through the snow. The townspeople
decided that they had to find a way to be woken up for
minyan without having the shammes making tracks in the
snow.
The people of Chełm hit on a solution: they got four
volunteers to carry the shammes around on a table when
there was fresh snow in the morning. That way, the
shammes could make his wake up calls, but he would not
leave tracks in the snow.
Or,
The town of Chełm decided to build a new synagogue.
So, some strong, able-bodied men were sent to a mountaintop to gather heavy stones for the foundation. The
men put the stones on their shoulders and trudged down
the mountain to the town below. When they arrived, the
town constable yelled, “Foolish men! You should have
rolled the stones down the mountain!” The men agreed
this was an excellent idea. So they turned around, and
with the stones still on their shoulders, trudged back up
the mountain, and rolled the stones back down again.
American Jewish humor
About Religion
One common strain of Jewish humor examines the role of
religion in contemporary life, often gently mocking the religious hypocrite. For example:
A Reform Rabbi was so compulsive a golfer that once,
on Yom Kippur, he left the house early and went out for
a quick nine holes by himself. An angel who happened
to be looking on immediately notified his superiors that
a grievous sin was being committed. On the sixth hole,
God caused a mighty wind to take the ball directly from
the tee to the cup — a miraculous shot.
The angel was horrified. “A hole in one!” he exclaimed,
“You call this a punishment, Lord?!”
Answered God with a sly smile, “So who can he tell?”
Jokes have been made about the shifting of gender roles (in
the more traditional Orthodox movement, women marry at
a young age and have many children, while the more liberal
Conservative and Reform movements make gender roles
more egalitarian, even ordaining women as Rabbis). The
Reconstructionist movement was the first to ordain homosexuals, all of which leads to this joke:
continued on page 18
11
cooking corner
Focus on TBA Caterer Steve Glaser
By Faith Kramer
This is the fourth in a series featuring the talented folks who
plan, shop and cook for the Temple Beth Abraham Kiddush
luncheons.
Cooking Saturday afternoon Kiddush luncheons
just adds up for Temple
Beth Abraham member
Steven Glaser. Glaser,
who has had a career in
accounting and finance
and is now a financial
planner and life insurance
agent, finds making the
meals a “labor of love”
which connects his past,
his congregation and his
community.
Glaser and his wife,
Deena Aerenson, joined
TBA about a decade ago
and Glaser has been feeding temple members his “very haimish approach to cooking” for the last four or five years, but
this is not the first time he has fed a synagogue crowd.
“When I was a kid I had an aunt who was a caterer. She
did Friday night bat mitzvah oneg shabbats and Shabbat
lunches and I would be running those things at the ripe old
age of 12,” he recalls.
Rebuilding Together in Oakland 2013
By Bella Gordon and Rachel Goldstone,
Volunteer Coordinators
We need your help on April 21 and 28!
Come join us in Tikkun Olam, repairing Oakland and
repairing the world one home at a time! Temple Beth
Abraham has been a long time supporter of Rebuilding
Together Oakland (RTO). We are happy to participate during this milestone year, RTO’s 20th anniversary. Temple
Beth Abraham will again join forces with Kehilla and
Temple Sinai to work together on a house project, helping
a low-income family in Oakland. We will be working on
two Sundays, April 21 and 28. Work on the home involves
painting, both interior and exterior, a total bathroom
remodel, a new kitchen floor, new furnace, and extensive
removal of blackberry vines in the back yard. We need
workers at all skill levels--unskilled workers are welcome.
Participants must be 14 years old. Please consider volunteering to work one or both days. If you can’t work at the
site, you might consider assisting in other ways such as food
pickup/drop-off.
12
community
He took a break from his financial career in the early 1990s
and started a catering company called A Tasteful Affair, but
found cooking for a living wasn’t what he wanted to do and
decided to focus on cooking at home and later at Temple
Beth Abraham.
He watched the original Julia Child cooking shows growing
up in Boston where they originated, but says his own cooking style, which he describes as “great ingredients messed
with in a minimal way,” was influenced more by northern
California’s Alice Waters.
“I like to garden, grown and eat stuff I grow,” he said. He
likes to feature vegetable, grains and “healthful foods” in his
Kiddush luncheons and says he thinks his soups are probably the most popular items he makes for TBA luncheons.
One of his newest soups is a roasted butternut squash recipe
developed by his cousin, TBA member Doree Jurow Klein.
Glaser mostly caters “regular” Saturday luncheons for the
100 or so members who attend (he does not usually do
catering for hire). Like many of the volunteer congregant
caterers at TBA, he worries not just about having enough
food (he did run out once) but also about having too much.
His solution is to make a little more than he thinks he’ll
need and donate any leftover unserved food to the Cityteam
Oakland food program. He says other TBA caterers also
donate leftovers whenever possible.
“We can get fresh leftovers served that night or the next
day” to help feed the hungry, he says. Glaser encourages
TBA members to eat what they want, but not put more on
their plate than they can eat. “If you put it on your plate,
we can’t donate it.”
Thank you to all who came out last year to make this project such a success. We want to thank the Board of Trustees
and the Mollie Hertz Interfaith Outreach Fund for making
this year’s project possible. We hope to see many of you
joining us for this rewarding community project! cooking corner
Doree Jurow-Klein’s Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
(Adapted from a recipe by Steve Glaser) Serves 8-10
4 lbs. whole butternut squash
(1 or 2 depending on weight)
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
3 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. salt plus additional to taste
2 tsp. minced fresh thyme
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
6 Tbs. plus 2 Tbs. olive oil
6-7 cups vegetable stock
1 large onion, finely chopped 2 garlic
cloves, minced
Ground black pepper, to taste
¾ cup of milk or half and half
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds and fibers. Place squash halves cut side up on
a baking sheet. More than one sheet may be required. Whisk together balsamic vinegar, honey, 1 tsp. salt, red pepper
flakes, thyme, and 6 Tbs. olive oil until they emulsify and are well combined Brush squash with marinade.
Roast squash, brushing with extra marinade every 10-15 min. After 30-35 minutes, turn squash halves over to continue cooking cut side down for another 10-15 minutes until slightly soft. Remove and let cool before removing skin from
squash. May be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated until needed.
Heat remaining olive oil in a stock pot. Add onion and garlic. Cook 6 minutes or so until golden. Add squash and stock.
Cook over a medium flame uncovered about 30 minutes. Let cool and puree with an immersion blender or in batches in
blender. Return to pot. Add milk. Gently reheat. Add salt and pepper to taste. If desired, reduce down any leftover marinade and drizzle on top of individual soup bowls before serving.
Makes about 2 dozen
Steven Glaser’s Chocolate Macaroons
Butter or oil for greasing cookie sheet
6 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate
2 egg whites
1/8 tsp. salt
½ cup sugar
1 package (14 oz.) Baker’s sweetened, shredded coconut
½ tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheet with butter or oil. Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave. Using
an electric mixer, beat egg white with salt and slowly add the sugar until the eggs form stiff peaks. Gently fold in coconut
and then vanilla. Fold in the melted chocolate.
Use a tablespoon to drop batter on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Macaroons store well in the freezer.
Steven Glaser’s Guacamole with Mint
Serves about 16 as a dip
4 ripe avocados
2 to 4 jalapeno or serrano peppers, minced with seeds
½ cup of cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbs. finely chopped shallot
Juice from 2 or 3 limes
Handful of fresh mint, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Peel and mash the avocados and leave at least one pit in the bowl to prevent the guacamole from browning. Mix in
chopped peppers, tomatoes, shallots. Stir in lime juice. Mix in mint. Taste and add more peppers if desired. Add salt and
pepper to taste. Remove pit just before serving.
Faith Kramer blogs her food at www.clickblogappetit.com. Her cooking column appears twice a month in the j. weekly. You can
contact her directly at [email protected].
volunteer bulletin board
Give a new parent an hour to shower
A perfect mitzvah for those with daytime
flexibility. Volunteers needed to provide short
daytime sits free of charge to our new moms
and dads allowing them to shower, get a
haircut or just take a walk.
Interested sitters should contact us at
[email protected].
Welcome a New Member
Do you have time to help deliver TBA’s
new members baskets?
If so, please contact Rebecca Skiles
at [email protected]
or (510) 836-7407.
13
gan avraham
bet sefer
midrasha
What’s Happening at the Gan in February
Bet Sefer: A Very Busy Place
Our spring holiday season begins a bit early this year. We
will celebrate Purim in February with the exciting characters and story, the special symbols and traditions, yummy
hamantaschen and spirited songs. Young children relate
to the king and queen and good and evil behavior in our
slightly modified version of the Purim story. We try to
emphasize the strengths of Mordechai and Esther and concentrate less on what happens to Haman in the end.
We have so much going on at Bet Sefer these days that I’m
thinking of simply moving into my office. Here’s a bit of a
recap on what has been going on.
By Barbara Kanter
Our celebration culminates with our Purim play on Friday
morning, February 22. Children come to school in costume with their groggers. All of our families are invited
to enjoy our silly performance featuring the Gan Avraham
teachers and a special performance by Rabbi Bloom.
In February our teachers attend the East Bay Jewish Early
Childhood Conference. The Jewish Early Childhood
Educator Council of the East Bay (the directors of the East
Bay Jewish preschools) plans this annual conference. Over
one hundred early childhood educators from the East Bay
Jewish preschools gathered for a day of learning. This day
of learning for teachers contributes to and stimulates our
professionalism. Our faculty’s commitment to and concern
and involvement with our own professional growth contribute to our high quality program.
February is also the beginning of enrollment for the coming
school year. We complete enrollment for the returning children and begin enrolling new children for the 2013-2014
school year. If you or anyone you know is interested in
enrolling at Gan Avraham, please contact me soon.
By Susan Simon
School resumed after winter break on January 8. The next
day, our 5th graders began the process of selecting dates for
their bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies. On January 10, our
7th graders concluded their study of friendship with a lovely
dinner with their families where we were all privileged to
hear the mishnayot (teachings) that the students created
about friendship. Then on January 11, our 2nd grade families celebrated with their Share A Shabbat service where we
learned about Parasha Vaera, followed by a yummy potluck
dinner.
The following week, our 6th grade students celebrated their
completion of their unit on Sifrei Kodesh (holy books)
where they demonstrated their new knowledge of the
Tanakh, Mishna, Talmud and Shulchan Aruch, preceded, of
course, by dinner.
And to continue on with the eating theme, the following
Tuesday, our 5th graders celebrated the end of their unit on
Kashrut by cooking dinner for their parents in our annual
and much anticipated yearly cooking experience. Finally,
on January 31, our 4th graders and their families celebrated
the end of their unit on the Shema and V’ahavta with wonderful activities demonstrating their new fluency with and
understanding of the prayers. And yes, we also ate dinner.
Now on to our preparations for Purim!
Midrasha in Berkeley’s Annual Fundraiser
Midra-Shabang
Sunday, March 10
5-8 p.m. at Congregation Beth El, Berkeley
Drinks, dinner, music, and bidding.
Join us to launch our Hineni Campaign. We’re shooting for the stars with a
$100,000 fundraising campaign as we build an innovative retreat and experiential
education program for all East Bay Jewish teens. This year really IS different from all other years.
Information is on the Midrasha website, www.midrasha.org,
or call the Midrasha office, (510) 843-4667 or e-mail [email protected].
14
pesach candy order
We are now taking orders for Pesach candy!
Sure, Pesach seems far away, but it’s time to start planning. Our schools are selling BARTON’S CANDY for
Pesach. Placing your orders through our schools raises money for our students.
There are two easy ways to order. You can fill in the order form on the back of this flyer and return it and your
payment to the Euclid Avenue office no later than February 22. Your candy will be delivered to the school and we
will notify you when it comes in.
Or you can place your order online at www.misschocolate.com. If you order online click on the online store
and for the student ID put in our school code – 703571 – all of your purchases will be credited to Temple Beth
Abraham schools. Online orders will be sent directly to your home.
Thanks for your support! ~ Susan ([email protected])
Want to sponsor a Kiddush?
Share your simcha with the congregation
by sponsoring a Shabbat Kiddush.
Contact Executive Director:
Rayna Arnold for available dates.
[email protected] or call (510) 832-0936.
15
youth programs
Please Join Us for TBA’s Youth Services
Shabbat Mishpacha is for
preschool-aged children
and their families.
This service is held on the
first Shabbat morning of each
month (except February this
year). It is parent-led and there
are snacks following the ageappropriate service.
In Kitah Gimmel classroom.
February 16, 10:15 a.m.
Upcoming dates are:
- March 2
- April 6
T’fillat Y’ladim is designed for
children in Kindergarten,
1st & 2nd grade
and their families.
This service is held on the
third Shabbat morning of each
month and will bridge the gap
for those students who are too
old for Shabbat Mishpacha
and too young for
Junior Congregation.
In the Chapel.
February 16, 10:15 a.m.
Junior Congregation is
designed for children in
3rd through 6th grade.
This service is held on the
first Shabbat morning of each
month. Build your child’s
sense of community, reinforce
what they learn in religious or
day school, and foster their
interest in Jewish practice
by making youth services
a regular part of your
Shabbat schedule.
In the Chapel.
February 2, 10:15 a.m.
- May 4
- June 1
Keflanu: Shabbat Fun and Games for 3rd - 6th Graders
We would like to invite 3rd – 6th graders to join their friends in the Baum Youth Center
following Shabbat services on the 1st and 3rd Shabbat of the month.
Upcoming dates: February 2 & 16
After the service join together for lunch in the social hall. About 20 minutes after motzi,
the Rabbi will announce the chaperone is ready for check-in at the Baum Youth Center!
Have fun with Shabbat appropriate games and activities…
• basketball • board games • jump rope • foosball • ping pong • or even just shmooze
Parents: We ask that an adult accompany the child/children to the Baum Youth Center –
the chaperone will sign your child in and an adult pick-up at the Baum Youth Center –
For the safety of the youth, we ask that they not leave the site on their own.
16
la’atid
Skating with La’atid
By Lisa Fernandez
TBA’s youth group bundled up in hats and gloves on Jan. 13 to enjoy another fun-filled La’atid event, this time at the
Oakland Ice Center. More than two dozen kids skated ‘round and ‘round, with no real bumps or bruises to report. Instead,
there was lots of fun and friendship. Thanks again to Phil and Dina Hankin for organizing and leading our youth.
La’atid A Youth Group For 4th-7th Graders!
Save these dates! Get on the mailing list for up to date program information today!
February 10 • March 24-Chocolate Seder • April 21 • May 19
We look forward to another great year with TBA’s La’atid group!!
To RSVP or if you have questions, contact your trusty advisors,
Dina and Phil Hankin at [email protected].
17
purim
continued from page 11
At an Orthodox wedding, the bride’s mother is pregnant. At a
Conservative wedding, the bride is pregnant. At a Reform wedding, the rabbi is pregnant. At a Reconstructionist wedding, the
rabbi and her wife are both pregnant.
Often jokes revolve around the social practice of the Jewish
religion:
A man is rescued from a desert island after 20 years. The news
media, amazed at this feat of survival, ask him to show them his
home.
“How did you survive? How did you keep sane?” they ask him,
as he shows them around the small island.
“I had my faith. My faith as a Jew kept me strong. Come.” He
leads them to a small glen, where stands an opulent temple,
made entirely from palm fronds, coconut shells and woven
grass. The news cameras take pictures of everything — even
a torah made from banana leaves and written in octopus ink.
“This took me five years to complete.”
“Amazing! And what did you do for the next fifteen years?”
“Come with me.” He leads them around to the far side of the
island. There, in a shady grove, is an even more beautiful temple. “This one took me twelve years to complete!”
“But sir” asks the reporter, “Why did you build two temples?”
“This is the temple I attend. That other place? Hah! I wouldn’t
set foot in that other temple if you PAID me!”
About Jews
Jewish humor continues to exploit stereotypes of Jews, both
as a sort of “in-joke”, and as a form of self-defence. Jewish
mothers, “cheapness”, hypochondria, and other stereotyped
habits are all common subjects. Frugality has been frequently singled out:
An old Jewish beggar was out on the street in New York City
with his tin cup.
“Please, sir,” he pleaded to a passerby, “could you spare seventythree cents for a cup of coffee and some pie?”
The man asked, “Where do you get coffee and pie for seventythree cents in New York? It costs at least a dollar!”
The beggar replied, “So who buys retail?”
Or,
What did the waiter ask the group of dining Jewish mothers?
“Pardon me ladies, but is ANYTHING all right?”
Or, about traditional roles of men and women in Jewish
families:
A boy comes home from school and tells his mother he got a
part in the school play.
“That’s wonderful!” says the mother, “Which part?”
“The part of a Jewish husband,” says the boy, proudly.
Frowning, the mother says, “Go back and tell them you want a
speaking role!”
18
Or, this haiku on parenting:
Is one Nobel Prize
so much to ask from a child
after all I’ve done?
About Christianity
Many Jewish jokes involve a rabbi and a Christian clergyman, exploiting different interpretations of a shared textual
background. Often they start with something like “A rabbi
and a priest...” and make fun of either the rabbi’s interpretation of Christianity or (seeming) differences between
Christian and Jewish interpretation of some areas.
A Catholic priest says to a rabbi, “It seems to me that, since the
Creator made pork, He must have made it for some purpose.
Therefore, it must be a sin not to use it, don’t you think? So,
will you finally eat some pork?”
The rabbi replies, “I will try some — at your wedding, Father.”
Israeli humor
Israeli humor featured many of the same themes as Jewish
humor elsewhere, making fun of the country and its habits.
Israelis’ View of Themselves:
An Israeli, a Brit, a Russian, a Vietnamese, and an American are
sitting in a restaurant. A reporter comes by and asks, “Excuse
me, but can I get your opinion on the recent grain shortage in
the third world?”
The Brit asks: “What’s a ‘shortage’?”
The Vietnamese asks: “What’s ‘grain’?”
The Russian asks: “What’s an ‘opinion’?”
The American asks: “What’s the third world?”
The Israeli asks: “What’s ‘excuse me’?”
Israeli Personal Ads:
Shmuel Gabbai, 36.
I take out the Torah Saturday morning.
Would like to take you out Saturday night.
Please write POB 81.
Couch potato latke in search of the right applesauce.
Let’s try it for 8 days. Who knows?
POB 43.
Jewish male, 34, very successful, smart, independent, self-made,
looking for girl whose father will hire me.
POB 43.
continued on page 19
Bat Mitzvah
life cycles
Irene Partsuf, February 16
Hi, I’m in the seventh grade at Oakland Hebrew Day School. I love going to school.
At my school, we not only learn general subjects, but also Judaic subjects. Some of my
favorite classes are English and Social Studies, and the Jewish classes that I enjoy learning the most are Hebrew and Chumash. At OHDS is also where I first established my
sense of Judaism. As I learned different prayers, Hebrew, Jewish history, about the
state of Israel, and all about Jewish holidays, my Jewish identity only grew stronger.
Being in a Russian-Jewish family is another part of my life. Because of this I have been
introduced to Russian culture, literature, music, Russian food, and many amazing
people I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
I love listening to all kinds of music, from Taylor Swift to Green Day. I also like to play
tennis, swim, draw, hang out with friends, and read.
My Bat Mitzvah parasha is Terumah, from the book of Shmot. This parasha is about the
building of the Mishkan. It talks about the Mishkan’s measurements, which materials to use,
and the details of putting it together. I hope you will come to my Bat Mitzvah on February
16 to hear me talk about the significance these details have on our Jewish lives.
Welcome New Members
Rebecca Sternberg & Gary Bernstein. Their children
Nathaniel, Jordan & Asher Bernstein
A note to new members:
We would like to introduce you to the TBA
community in an upcoming newsletter. Please send
a short introduction of you and your family, with a
digital photo, to [email protected]. Thanks!
Jokes
“Don’t worry about it Mom, I’ll send Air Force One to pick
you up and take you home. And a limousine will pick you
up at your door.”
The Christians have Halloween (or All Saints Eve).
“I don’t know. Everybody will be so fancy-schmantzy, what
on earth would I wear?”
continued from page 18
Submitted by Charles Feltman
They all dress up as characters for that event.
We only have a Purim imitation (I stutter).
“Oh Mom, replies Susan, “I’ll make sure you have a
wonderful gown custom-made by the best designer in
New York.”
Did you hear about the Jewish dairyman who tried breeding new cattle varieties?
“Honey,” Mom complains, “you know I can’t eat those rich
foods you and your friends like to eat.”
He crossed a Gurnsey with a Holstein and the offspring was
a Goldstein.
The President-to-be responds, “Don’t worry Mom. The
entire affair is going to be handled by the best caterer in
New York, kosher all the way.”
As a result instead of saying “moo” it said “nu?”
The First Jewish President!!!!
Submitted by Fran Weiner (Lori Rosenthal’s Mother)
The year is 2016 and the United States has elected the first
woman as well as the first Jewish president, Susan Goldfarb.
She calls up her mother a few weeks after election day and
says, “So, Mom, I assume you will be coming to my inauguration?”
“I don’t think so. It’s a ten-hour drive, your father isn’t as
young as he used to be, and my arthritis is acting up again.”
“Mom, I really want you to come.”
So Mom reluctantly agrees and on January 20, 2017, Susan
Goldfarb is being sworn in as President of the United
States. In the front row sits the new President’s mother,
who leans over to a senator sitting next to her. “You see that
woman over there with her hand on the Torah, becoming
President of the United States??”
The Senator whispers back, “Yes I do.”
Mom says proudly, “Her brother is a doctor.”
19
life cycles
February Birthdays
1
10
17
Miriam Ilfeld
Ann Rapson
Hannah Reback
Nancy Rose
Sarah Bookin
Sherry Marcus
David Sasson
Eric Jones
Maya Sherne
2
11
Joanne Goldstein
Rebekah Kharrazi
Lauren Manasse
Liam Sondreal
Joni Tanis
Roslyn Aronson
Loryn Hudson
Benjamin Kaplan
Elise Hannah Schleuning
Lisa Tabak
3
Carolyn Bernstein
Arjun Bornstein
Amy Friedman
Max Gochman
Leah Hagar
Jing Weng Hsieh
Jacob Raskin
4
Akash Bornstein
Maya Marcus
Jason Prystowsky
5
Dan Maidenberg
Sarah Marcus
6
12
13
Larry Miller
14
Paul Diliberto
Mira Gellman
Allan Gordon
Karen Klier
Mark Liss
Jake Moore
Elizabeth Satz
Jesse Teichman
Alexander Finkelstein
James Kleinmann
Yonathan Wolf
7
16
Tonia James
Mia Lowell
Barbara Rose
Cecile Schlesinger
Avi Eliahu
Steve Fankuchen
Eliav Feiger
Allison Hagey
Deren Rehr-Davis
David Rosenthal
Josh Sadikman
Michael Falco
Noah Kincaid
Ari Rosenblum
19
Daniel Harvitt
Victoria Reichenberg
20
Julie Katz
Art Nieto
Jessica Sterling
Julia Johnson
Dawn Margolin
Susan Sasson
Jeremy Weiss
Stuart Zangwill
9
18
Jacob Liron
21
Joseph Charlesworth
Rita Frankel
Ward Spangler
22
Judith Klinger
Debbie Spangler
23
Aaron Bornstein
Amit Bornstein
Ari Goldberg
Nicolas Louis-Kayen
15
25
Joshua DeBare
26
Philip Hankin
Oren Jacob
27
Gabriel Acevedo-Bolton
Julian Goldstein
28
Marc Bruner
Paula Hamilton
Jonathan Ring
Isabella Scharff
Is your birthday information wrong or missing from this list? Please contact the TBA office to make corrections.
Mazel Tov
20
Ila Rosalie, daughter of Jereme and Summer Albin
February Yahrzeits
life cycles
May God comfort you among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem
Nancy von Kugelgen
Pearl S. Goodman
shevat 21
Milt Weiner
Melissa Anne Powers
February 1
Phyllis Goldberg
Cora Coulter
Thomas W. Cain
Lloyd Silver
Marjorie Kauffman
David Okh
Joel LaLone
Gertrude Yarman
Adar 13-18
Ruth Roth
February 23-28
shevat 22-28
Mabel Stevens
Sheba Widlan Bookin
February 2-8
Matilda Bloom Holzman
William Groskopf
Bernice Righthand
Marion Morris
Celia Kessler
Erwin Barany
Daniel Shuster
Ann Krause
Harold Tott Frankel
Milton Weintraub
Langeld Shirley
Gertrude Kingston
Harry Simon
Daniel King
Irwin Weintraub
Adar 6-12
Martin Polon
Al Rothman
Sidney Jerome Zywotow
February 16-22
Allan Stone
Olga Banks
Sara Goldberg
Joseph Gould
Shirley Handloff
Celia Goldstein
Samuel Aaron Grinberg
Rachel Levy
Leonard Baum
Bernard Pollack
Isador Margolin
Sylvia Hertz
Irving Goronkin
Edith Gruber
Samuel Jaffe
Sam Wolf
Latifa Naggar
Arthur Yarman
Joseph Zuckerberg
Ury Rath
Charles Bernard Bernstein
shevat 29-Adar 5
David Roach
Arnold Liss
February 9-15
William Tenery
John Miller
William Brinner
J. Leon Bloch
Phyllis Zangwill
George Fankuchen
Saadia David
Sue Kraft
Dorothy Glasser
Charles Marcus
Elaine Reisman
Joseph G. Kay
Goldie Brody
Edythe Schultz
Helen Aldeff
Morris Lerman
Willliam Miller
Eric Baum
Ida B. Edelson Riskind
Lilly Shoehalter
Tillie Elsenberg
Jacob Saidan
Recent Deaths in Our Community
Rose Dancer, mother of Linda (Fred) Knauer
Murray Davis, husband of Virginia, father of
Corey, Milo, and Max
MEMORIAL PLAQUE
Anyone wishing to purchase a memorial plaque,
please contact Pinky at the synagogue office at extension 229.
21
donations
Charity is equal in importance to all the other commandments combined.
Centennial Project Fund
Ronn Berrol & Joan Korin, in honor of
Avshalom Berrol’s Bar Mitzvah
Ronn Berrol & Joan Korin, in memory of
Barbara Korin
Ronn Berrol & Joan Korin, in memory of
Sheldon Berrol
Steven Glaser & Deena Aerenson
Bryan Schwartz & Alicia Cernitz-Schwartz
Centennial Match Fund
Charles Bernstein & Joanne Goldstein
Mark Fickes & William Gentry
Philip & Dina Hankin
Jonathan & Joy Jacobs
Robert Klein & Doreen Alper
Paul & Florence Raskin
Elizabeth Simms
Morris & Audree Weiss
Howard Zangwill & Stacy Margolin
Jeanette Jeger Kitchen Fund
Norman & Jo Budman, in memory of Edith
Budman
Fifi Goodfellow, memory of Becky Singer
Peter & Helen Loewenstein
Misia Nudler, Annie Swartz birthday &
recovery wishes to E DeKoven daughter
Misia Nudler, in memory of Miriam Nudler
Barbara Oseroff, in memory of Nathan
Denenberg
333/Courtyard Project Fund
Richard & Naomi Applebaum
Barry Barnes & Samantha Spielman
David Bassein
Judy Berkowitz
Joshua & Heidi Bersin
Leon & Judy Bloomfield
Daniel & Anne Bookin
Aaron Bukofzer & Julie Rubenstein
Robert DeBare & Esther Rogers
Barry & Cheri Feiner
Reuven Glick & Marci Gottlieb
David Goldstein & Sharon Shoshani
Fifi Goodfellow
Rabbi Arthur Gould & Carol Robinson
Steven & Penny Harris
Eric & Linda Horodas
Jeff & Johanna Ilfeld
James Kleinmann & Lara Gilman
Phillip & Andrea LaMar
Charles & Edna Levine
David & Stephanie Mendelsohn
Ron & Adele Ostomel, in memory of Pola
and Sam Silver
Josh & Rebecca Posamentier
22
Sheldon & Barbara Rothblatt
Karen Schoonmaker
Bryan Schwartz & Alicia Cernitz-Schwartz
Wendy & Marvin Siver, in honor of Avshi
Berrol’s Bar Mitzvah
Wendy & Marvin Siver, in memory of
George Hochman
Cindy Sloan
Rebecca & Will Sparks
Mark & Lori Spiegel
Ben Stiegler & Barbara Gross
Jesse & Rachel Teichman
Steven & Victoria Zatkin
Gan Class of 1997 Memorial
Garden Fund
Joshua & Allison Bernstein
HH Day Appeal - General
Jereme & Summer Albin
Michael & Liat Bostick
Gene & June Brott
Kenneth & Julie Cohen
Renat Engel
Scott & Danielle Gerber
Peter Gertler
Noah Goldstein & Jenny Michaelson
Warren & Outi Gould
Eric & Linda Horodas
Randall & Jan Kessler
Phillip & Andrea LaMar
JB Leibovitch & Judy Chun
Stuart Liroff
Elan & Roberta Masliyah
Barbara Oseroff
Kelsi & Drew Perttula
Betty Ann Polse
Larry & Deborah Reback
Joan & Richard Rubin
Joseph & Bernice Sender
Judy Shalev
Gary Sherne & Sandra Frucht
Paul Silberstein & Karen Glasser
Alan & Cheryl Silver
Pavel & Jennifer Slavin
David & Judith Stein
Ben Stiegler & Barbara Gross
Freya Turchen
Ronald & Vicki Weller
HH Days Appeal - Endowment
Jereme & Summer Albin
Barry Barnes & Samantha Spielman
Michael & Liat Bostick
Gene & June Brott
Kenneth & Julie Cohen
Peter Gertler
Noah Goldstein & Jenny Michaelson
Warren & Outi Gould
Eric & Linda Horodas
Randall & Jan Kessler
Phillip & Andrea LaMar
JB Leibovitch & Judy Chun
David & Angelina Levy
Stuart Liroff
Elan & Roberta Masliyah
Kelsi & Drew Perttula
Betty Ann Polse
Larry & Deborah Reback
Joan & Richard Rubin
Joseph & Bernice Sender
Judy Shalev
Gary Sherne & Sandra Frucht
Paul Silberstein & Karen Glasser
Alan & Cheryl Silver
Pavel & Jennifer Slavin
David & Judith Stein
Ben Stiegler & Barbara Gross
Martin Stone & Jan Leuin, in memory of
Murray Davis
Freya Turchen
Ronald & Vicki Weller
General Fund
Anonymous
Anonymous, in honor of Gabriel for Bar
Mitzvah & Outi Gould for tutoring
Anonymous, in honor of Misia Nudle
Rayna & Saul Arnold
Barry Barnes & Samantha Spielman
Herbert & Harriet Bloom, Ben Nathan
Yahrzheit
Kenneth & Ann Cohn, Rose Rosenberg
Yahrzeit
Jeremy Goldman & Eliza Hersh, in Susan
Simon and Dawn Margolin’s honor
Rabbi Arthur Gould & Carol Robinson, in
memory of Joe Gould and Louis Robinson
Steven & Penny Harris, in memory of
Evelyn Harris
Alison Heyman
Alfred & Anne Hyman, in memory of
Marres Gelfand
Alice & Leslie & Jan & Randy Kessler, in
memory of Leslie Kessler
Seymour Kessler
Adele Mendelsohn, in memory of Al
Mendelsohn
Adele Mendelsohn, in memory of Carolyn
Lichtenstein
Adele Mendelsohn, in memory of Harvy
Steinberg
Alan S. & Eve O. Rosenfeld, Hannukah gift
in honor of Lynn & Marshall Langfeld
donations
Bryan Schwartz & Alicia Cernitz-Schwartz
Josephine Schwartz, in honor of Vera
Zatkin’s 90th birthday
Martin & Roberta Schwartz
Andrea Share
Kiddush Fund
Leonard & Helen Fixler, in memory of
Miriam Nuder
Hennie Hecht, happy anniversary Harley
& Wendy Hecht
Sidney & Ethel Shaffer, in honor of Anne
Strow Birthday
Minyan Fund
Etoile Stella Campbell, in memory of
Raphael, Zotlra and David Benistry
Fifi Goodfellow, in memory of Herb
Goodfellow and Raymond Naggar
Camper/scholarship Fund
Esther Novak & John Chendo
Jesse & Rachel Teichman
Playground Fund
Wendy & Marvin Siver, In honor of
Charlie Levine’s Bar Mitzvah
Rabbi Discretionary Fund
Herbert & Harriet Bloom, in memory of
Ben Nathan
Herbert & Harriet Bloom, memory of
Mark S. Bloom
Jonathan Carey
Lawrence Dorfman, in memory of Joseph
and Shirley Dorfman
Justin Graham & Victoria Reichenberg
Booker Holton & Elaine Gerstler, in
memory of Booker Holton Sr.
Jessie & Susan Kasdan, Yahrzeit
Bernard & Sterna Kasdan
C. J., M.D. Leidner
Lucienne Levy, in memory of my sister
Vicky Misan
Lauren Manasse & Matthew Smith, thanks
to Rabbi for help in their wedding
Barry & Hana Rotman
Judy Shalev
Cantor Discretionary Fund
William & Sharon Ellenburg, in memory
of Arthur Braverman
Harlan & Pearl Kann, in memory of
Meyer Kranz
Freya Turchen, in memory of Geraldine
Turchen
Hertz Interfaith Fund
Gerald & Ruby Hertz, in memory of Sally
Simon
“How wonderful it is
that no one need wait a
single moment to start to
improve the world.”
Anne Frank
A Legacy Gift Lasts Forever
Include TBA in your Estate Planning so that your message
to your family is loud and clear:
The existence of Temple Beth Abraham is important to me
and for the future of Jews in Oakland.
Contact TBA’s Executive Director Rayna Arnold for further details
(510) 832-0936 or [email protected].
You are never too young to plan for the future!
Thank You to our Legacy Donor, Steve Glaser.
About Our Cover Artist
Joni Tanis is the artist for the cover of this month’s Omer. Her passion lies in making sculpture, and Joni has exhibited
her work in San Francisco, Oakland and most recently in Sacramento. In addition to sculpture, she has been working on a
series of modern floral drawings available in limited edition Giclee prints. These prints were recently shown and sold in a
Rockridge artisan show and Joni donates them to our annual Schools auction each year. She has a BFA in sculpture from
SUNY at Purchase and an MFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland.
For her livelihood Joni has been catering and party planning and selling her artwork. She also enjoys gardening, floral
arranging, home organizing and interior decorating.
Joni, her husband Alan O’Neill, and their son Harry joined Temple Beth Abraham in 2007 when Harry began Bet Sefer.
He is now entering fifth grade.
23
24
3
Purim
24
shushan Purim
25
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
15
Adar
Gan and office closed
9-10a Minyan (Chapel)
Elliot Lenik Bar Mitzvah
President’s day
18
16
Adar
9
Adar
2
Adar
4p-6p Bet Sefer
'' 6:43p
4-6p Bet Sefer
4p-6p Bet Sefer
4p-6p Bet Sefer
25
Shevat
26
19
12
5
6
13
20
27
9a Weekly Text Study
(Woodminster Cafe)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
6:15-7:15p Confirmation Class
7p BBYO-AZA and BBG
17
Adar
9a Text Study (Woodminster Cafe)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
6:15-7:15p Confirmation Class
7p BBYO-AZA and BBG
7:30p-9p Music CD Release by
Cantor Kaplan!
10
Adar
9a Weekly Text Study
(Woodminster Cafe)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
6:15-7:15p Confirmation Class
7p BBYO-AZA and BBG
3
Adar
9a Weekly Text Study
(Woodminster Cafe)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
6:15-7:15p Confirmation Class
7p BBYO-AZA and BBG
26
Shevat
7
14
21
28
4p-6p Bet Sefer
6:15p Zayin Dinner Class
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
18
Adar
4p-6p Bet Sefer
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
Fast oF esther
11
Adar
4p-6p Bet Sefer
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
4
Adar
4p-6p Bet Sefer
7:30p Girls Night Out
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
27
Shevat
1
8
15
'' 5:37p
22
6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat
9:15a Gan Purim Play
9:30-10:30a & 10:45-11:45a
Kindergym
12
Adar
6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat
7p East Bay Minyan (Baum YC)
9:30-10:30a & 10:45-11:45a
Kindergym
5 '' 5:30p
Adar
6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat
Bet Sefer Gimmel Share A Shabbat
9:30-10:30a & 10:45-11:45a
Kindergym
28 '' 5:22p
Shevat
6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat
Unplugged Service
9:30-10:30a (one class today)
Kindergym
21 '' 5:14p
Shevat
Always check the Congregational E-mail or the Weekly Shabbat Bulletin for more up-to-date information. Please note any corrections care of Rayna Arnold at the TBA office.
2
9
T’rumah
16
T’tzavveh
23
9:30a-12p Shabbat Services
6:15p Rock n Roll Purim
Megillah Reading
6:38p Havdalah (42 min)
shabbat Zachor
erev Purim
13
Adar
6:31p Havdalah (42 min)
9:30a-12p Shabbat Services
Bat Mitzvah of Irene Partsuf
6
Adar
6:23p Havdalah (42 min)
9:30a-12p Shabbat Service
10:15a Junior Congregation
12p Keflanu-Get together grades 3-6
shabbat shekalim
29 Mishpatim
Shevat
6:15p Havdalah (42 min)
9:30a-12p Shabbat Services
Bar Mitzvah of Micah Bloom
10:15a Shabbat Mishpacha
Yitro
22
Shevat
February 2013
Calendars in The Omer are produced 30-60 days in advance using the best data available from the TBA Administration Staff. This calendar is also available at our website www.tbaoakland.org
10a-12p Adult Education program
5p CityTeam in Oakland –
Feeding the hungry
14
Adar
10a-12p Adult Education program
10:30a-12p Sunday Kindergym
5:30p Teen Scene (Baum YC)
17
8
Adar
7
Adar
rosh chodesh
11
4
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
9:30-10:30a
Rosh Chodesh Celebration (contact
Amy Tessler for location)
10
1
Adar
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
24
Shevat
Blood Drive
10a-12p Adult Education program
rosh chodesh
30
Shevat
10a-12p Adult Education program
23
Shevat
Shevat 5773 / Adar 5773
25
3
10
17
31
20 '' 5:37p
Nisan
PeSaCh 6
4
11
18
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
Gan Closed through Pesach
Office Closes at 1p (through Wed.)
25
FaSt oF the FiRStboRn
eRev PeSaCh
14 '' 7:07p
Nisan
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
7
Nisan
Rosh Chodesh Celebration (contact
Amy Tessler for location)
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
9:30-10:30a
29
Adar
7:30-8:30p Professional Presentaiton-Starting a Small Business with
Rachel Teichman
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
22
Adar
4p-6p Bet Sefer
No Bet Sefer
PeSaCh 1
15
'' 6:43p
Nisan
4-6p Bet Sefer
8
Nisan
4p-6p Bet Sefer
RoSh ChodeSh
1
Nisan
23
Adar
26
19
12
5
13
20
PeSaCh 2
27
No Weekly Text Study
No Kindergym
No Confirmation Class
7p BBYO-AZA and BBG
8:09p Havdalah (42 min)
16
Nisan
9a Weekly Text Study
(Woodminster Cafe)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
6:15-7:15p Confirmation Class
7p BBYO-AZA and BBG
9
Nisan
9a Weekly Text Study
(Woodminster Cafe)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
6:15-7:15p Confirmation Class
7p BBYO-AZA and BBG
2
Nisan
6
9a Weekly Text Study
(Woodminster Cafe)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
6:15-7:15p Confirmation Class
7p BBYO-AZA and BBG
24
Adar
7
14
21
15
22
29
6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat
PeSaCh 4
18 '' 7:11p
Nisan
6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat
9:30-10:30a & 10:45-11:45a
Kindergym
11 '' 7:04p
Nisan
6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat
7p East Bay Minyan (Baum YC)
9:30-10:30a & 10:45-11:45a
Kindergym
4 '' 6:58p
Nisan
No Kindergym
No Bet Sefer
8
6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat
Dalet Share A Shabbat
PeSaCh 3
28
'' 5:51p
9:30-10:30a & 10:45-11:45a
Kindergym
26
Adar
6:15p-7:15p Kabbalat Shabbat
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
No Kindergym
17
Nisan
4p-6p Bet Sefer
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
10
Nisan
4p-6p Bet Sefer
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
3
Nisan
4p-6p Bet Sefer
7:30p Girls Night Out
8a-9a Minyan (Chapel)
10-11a & 11:15a-12p Kindergym
25
Adar
1
9:30-10:30a & 10:45-11:45a
Kindergym
19 '' 5:44p
Adar
Always check the Congregational E-mail or the Weekly Shabbat Bulletin for more up-to-date information. Please note any corrections care of Rayna Arnold at the TBA office.
Shabbat PaRah
Ki Tissa
2
9
Va-yikra
16
Tzav
23
PeSaCh 5
Pesach
30
8:12p Havdalah (42 min)
9:30a-12p Shabbat Services
19
Nisan
8:05p Havdalah (42 min)
9:30a-12p Shabbat Services
Bat Mitzvah Maya Marcus
Shabbat haGadol
12
Nisan
7:59p Havdalah (42 min)
9:30a-12p Shabbat Services
Bat Mitzvah Batya Jaffe
5
Nisan
6:52p Havdalah (42 min)
9:30a-12p Shabbat Service
Shabbat haChodeSh
men’S Club Shabbat
27 Va-yak•hel/P’kudei
Adar
6:45p Havdalah (42 min)
9:30a-12p Shabbat Services
10:15a Shabbat Mishpacha
10:15a Junior Congregation
12p Keflanu-Get together grades 3-6
20
Adar
March 2013
Calendars in The Omer are produced 30-60 days in advance using the best data available from the TBA Administration Staff. This calendar is also available at our website www.tbaoakland.org
5p CityTeam in Oakland-feeding the hungry
La’atid Chocolate Seder
24
13
Nisan
7-8p Parent Education Speaker-Rabbi Karlin-Neumann
10a-12p Adult Education program
6
Nisan
10a-12p Adult Education program
dayliGht SavinG time beGinS
28
Adar
10a-12p Adult Education program
10:30a-12p Sunday Kindergym
Vashti’s Banquet
21
Adar
Adar 5773 / Nisan 5773
Temple Beth Abraham
327 MacArthur Boulevard
Oakland, CA 94610
Periodicals
Postage
PAID
Oakland, CA
Permit No. 020299
TBA SCHOOLS AUCTION
Save the Date
Hola TBA! Por favor, save the date for our next Schools Auction, to be held
on May 5. Our theme, what else? Cinco de Mayo!
If you're wondering how to get involved or how to help be part of a
fantastic community event that raises money for the Gan and Bet Sefer,
please contact auction chairs, Lauren Kaplan at [email protected]
or Jenny Michaelson at [email protected].
May
5
what’s inside
TBA Directory..........................i
What’s Happening...................1
From the Rabbi........................2
President’s Message.................3
Editor’s Message......................4
Women of TBA........................5
Men’s Club..............................7
Social Action/Community........9
Community...........................10
Israel.....................................10
Erev Xmas Sing-a-long...........10
Purim....................................11
Cooking Corner.....................12
Community...........................12
Volunteer Bulletin Board.......13
Gan Avraham News..............14
Bet Sefer News......................14
Midrasha...............................14
Pesach Candy Order..............15
Youth Programs.....................16
La’atid...................................17
Life Cycles.............................19
Donations..............................22
Calendar................................24