Gala to Honor Max Cooperstein Member Profile: Robinn Magid Deb

Transcription

“Honoring Tradition, Celebrating Diversity, and Building a Jewish Future”
Issue 147 · February/March 2015
Congregation Beth El is a
member of The Union for
Reform Judaism
Gala to
Honor Max
Cooperstein
PAG E 3
Member
Profile:
Robinn
Magid
PAG E 5
Deb Massey
Honored with
Education
Award
PAG E 9
IN THIS ISSUE
2
From the Rabbi
3Gala Tribute:
Taking It to the Max!
4 From the President
5Member Profile:
Robinn Magid
6
Events
8
Were You There?
Photos from
Beth El Events
9
Feature: Deb
Massey Wins Jewish
Education Award
10 L
ife Stories: Food in
Our Family
15 B’nei Mitzvah
16
BENS
17 Recipe
18 Torah Study
11 New Members
20 Tzedakah
12 Library
22 Calendar
13 Ways to Give
24 Gift Shop
13 Mazel Tov
CONGREGATION
BETH EL
1301 Oxford Street
Berkeley, CA 94709-1424
Phone: 510-848-3988
Fax: 510-848-2707
Youth and Family
Education Office
Direct Line: 510-848-2122
Nursery School Office
Camp Kee Tov Office
14 Youth Programs
Midrasha Office
Cover color printing generously sponsored by Thomas Lurquin
CLERGY & STAFF
FROM THE RABBI
Rabbi Yoel H. Kahn
ext. 215 · [email protected]
Rabbi Rebekah P. Stern
An Old-New Siddur
for Beth El
Norm Frankel
Executive Director
Debra Sagan Massey
Director of Education
by Rabbi Yoel Kahn
I OFTEN ASK MY STUDENTS: “What is the second most
important Jewish book?” (The most important Jewish book is the
Torah, of course!) Well, after fumbling around for a minute, we
often agree that it’s a well-known Internet search engine. Yet, a
more serious answer would be that the siddur is — after the Torah
— Judaism’s most precious and beloved text.
The siddur, the prayer book, is more than a collection of
prayers — it is a scrapbook of our people’s history and ideas.
The siddur is not the product of a particular individual or even a
generation; rather, it grew and evolved across centuries, with rabbis
and communities adding, changing and modifying (albeit rarely subtracting) prayers,
poems, songs and ideas.
Our siddur contains prayers that go back to the earliest days and memory of our
people — the Priestly Benediction and Miriam’s Song (Mi kamocha), to early rabbinic
texts (the core of the Amidah) from the first centuries of the Common Era, to 16th
century mystical imagination (Lecha Dodi), to prayers and passages created expressly
for our own Beth El edition.
Beth El’s prayer book, Siddur ha-Makom, is distinguished by several features: 1) our
faithfulness to the historical structure and texts of the liturgy; 2) our commitment to
Reform Jewish ideas and practice including, but not limited to, ensuring the presence
of texts that are by and inclusive of women; 3) our inclusion of diverse voices and texts,
reflecting a wide range of theological and Jewish imagery and ideas; 4) our inclusion
of powerful contemporary English-language poetry and prose; and 5) our goal of
accessibility for all of our members and guests. These values are not always easy to
reconcile, and we have struggled over several interim editions to balance these goals.
After eight years of “experimental” and “interim” editions, we are now ready
to move forward with the goal of publishing a hardback, permanent edition of our
Beth El siddur. We have considered the prayer books currently being used by other
congregations — including the official Reform siddur, Mishkan Tefilah, along with others
produced by individual congregations — and have realized that no extant siddur meets
our criteria for a Shabbat and Festival prayer book. (The Reform movement will soon
be publishing a new High Holy Days mahzor and we will need to decide in the next
C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 1 8
2 · T H E B U I L D E R · F E B R UA RY/ M A R C H 2 0 1 5
Maguy Weizmann-McGuire
Early Childhood Education Director
Zach Landres-Schnur
Camp Kee Tov & Youth Director
Tameka Young-Diaby
Bookkeeper
Juliet Gardner
Administrative Coordinator
Aliza Minkina
Rabbinical Assistant
Mimi Abraham
Communications Coordinator
Emily Schnitzer
Camp Kee Tov Admin. Coordinator
Allie Liepman
Youth and Family Education
Admin. Coordinator
Rabbi Jennifer Flamm
Midrasha Director
510-843-4667 · [email protected]
Odette Blachman
Gift Shop
Rabbi Reuben Zellman
Music Director
On Leave 2014-2015
Rabbi Ferenc Raj
Rabbi Emeritus
[email protected]
GALA TRIBUTE
Taking It to
the Max!
MAX COOPERSTEIN (Z”L) IS A LEGEND
around Congregation Beth El. He was known for
recruiting countless people to host Open Sukkahs
during Sukkot and being a b’nei mitzvah mentor.
He helped plan the annual Shabbaton and hosted
Chardonnay Shabbat during the summer months. He
pounded the pavement every year to solicit auction
donations for the Gala, which supports Youth and
Family Education (YAFE) programs. Max never
stopped making a difference in the lives of many.
But Beth El is not the only place where Max
is legend. He was known throughout the music
business in the 1950s and 1960s. He worked for Flash
Records, Chess Records and MGM Records, where
he contracted some of the best musicians of our
times. He had an incredible ear for music, and he
knew a great musician when he heard one. Wellknown performers such as Etta James, Bo Diddley
and Muddy Waters, and American Bandstand host
Dick Clark, all worked with Max.
We dedicate this year’s Gala to Max’s memory.
We hope to inspire this generation and future ones
with Max’s work and dedication. May the gift of
music, which Max gave the world, be appreciated
and cherished for years to come. Zichrono livracha:
May his memory continue to be for blessing.
CO N G R E G AT I O N B E T H E L · B E T H E L B E R K E L E Y. O R G · 3
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Whether Sharing News, a Nosh or Needs,
It Builds Community
by Paul Sugarman, President of the Board of Directors
THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE read my
columns in The Builder over the past nearly
two years may have noticed that I frequently
use the term “synagogue community”
when I refer to Beth El’s members. I do so
deliberately because I believe that those who
choose to join our synagogue are more than
just “members” of an organization, like one is
a “member” of the Sierra Club. We are instead
a group of individuals who pray together,
study together, celebrate joyous occasions together and support
one another in times of difficulty. Put simply, we are a community.
In this issue of The Builder we introduce two new columns
that, I hope, will strengthen the bonds among our community.
In the first — dubbed the “Mazel Tov” column, which appears
in this issue — we congratulate those members who were
recently recognized for a significant personal or professional
accomplishment or who celebrated a major lifecycle event.
What types of events do we intend to acknowledge
in this column? It’s difficult to come up with hard and fast
guidelines, other than “we’ll know it when we see it!” but some
accomplishments are clearly worthy of broad recognition within
the Beth El community: significant academic, professional
or community awards, appointment to the bench, becoming
tenured, or being elected to the governing board of a professional
society or governmental or nonprofit institution, to name just
a few. As for lifecycle milestones, I hope that our synagogue
community can share in the joy of weddings, the birth of a child,
and “special” anniversaries, among other lifecycle events, by
acknowledging them in the ”Mazel Tov” column.
So, the next time something celebratory occurs in your life,
please inform Mimi Abraham, our Communications Coordinator,
so your synagogue community can celebrate with you. We should
only be so lucky that our community experiences so many mazel
tov-worthy events that we run out of space in The Builder!
(For those celebrating a simcha, an age-old Jewish custom is
to mark the occasion by sponsoring an Oneg Shabbat on either
Friday evening or Saturday morning. Elsewhere in this issue is a
brief description of our new Oneg Shabbat sponsorship protocol,
detailing the available food and cost options. Sponsoring an Oneg
Shabbat is also a moving way to commemorate the anniversary of
a loved one’s death.)
The other column to debut in this issue is “The Chutzpah
List — If We Don’t Ask For It, Who Will?” Beth El’s senior staff has
a long shopping list of items they would love to acquire for use
in our Nursery School, Kadima, Chug Mishpacha, Camp Kee Tov
and Youth programs, and our facility staff likewise is always on
the lookout for items needed to help operate and organize our
synagogue building. But purchasing these items is often beyond
our budgetary means. So, in the hope that some of our members
may be able to help Beth El fill these needs, we intend to list such
items in the Chutzpah Column in each issue of The Builder. Please
consider making an in-kind donation of items on the list (new, or
in good used condition) to our synagogue community.
L’shalom.
Editor Bids Farewell
Elisabeth Wechsler stepped down as
volunteer Editor on January 1. We are
grateful for her dedication and service,
and wish her the best as she pursues new
volunteer opportunities.
This issue is my last as Editor of The Builder. I’ve enjoyed volunteering my publishing
experience to bring you news of Congregation Beth El. After serving for three and a
half years, I’m ready to move on and give others the opportunity to contribute their
ideas. Thank you to all the contributors, volunteers and readers.
—Elisabeth Wechsler
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Editor and Senior Writer
Elisabeth Wechsler
Communications
Coordinator
Mimi Abraham
Member Contributors
Alison Bernstein
Odette Blachman
Margie Gelb
Evie Groch
Robinn Magid
Anna Portnoy
Barbara Segal
Barry Silverblatt
Allan Sobel
Scott Spear
Copy Editors
Janine Baer
Mara Bernstein
Bonnie Cooperstein
Jeff Seideman
Your thoughts and opinions are important to us. If
you have a subject of interest to the Congregation,
write a letter or essay of a maximum of 500
words and submit it to Mimi Abraham at mimi@
bethelberkeley.org. No anonymous submissions will
be accepted.
Deadline for the next issue: February 18, 2015
Letters, essays and guest articles may be edited for
length, content and style.
MEMBER PROFILE
Is Volunteerism
Genetic? Ask
Robinn Magid
by Elisabeth Wechsler
Left to right Joshua, Dan, Beth, Nathan, Robinn, and Aaron
is Robinn Magid,
currently a Trustee of the Board of Directors. Her first volunteer job was president of the Beth El
Sisterhood in 1993. Even though she was a new mother at the time, Robinn observed the leadership
need and quickly offered her help. This joyful approach has been her modus operandi for many other
contributions over the 30 or more years she has been involved with Beth El. Fortunately for the
congregation, she has no trouble saying “yes” when an important need is expressed.
ONE OF CONGREGATION BETH EL’S MOST DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS
Robinn is comfortable with people of all generations and
considers herself a “project person” who especially appreciates
deadline-free projects that are compatible with her extensive
responsibilities for parenting, elder care and volunteering. She
also considers herself the “church mouse” who knows where
everything is, as well as the history of Beth El.
Robinn has been married to immediate past president
Dan Magid for 31 years and is the mother of four children. She
served on the Board of Directors in various positions for 17 years
continuously. Her role models were her parents and her in-laws,
Marian (z”l) and Albert Magid, who were also involved in many
volunteer aspects of Beth El. For many young people, becoming
part of such an illustrious family could have been intimidating, but
not for Robinn. She jumped right in and has remained an active
volunteer for the past 21 years.
Her bachelor’s degree in economics from UCLA taught her
project management skills and, after refining them at IBM (where
she taught herself programming), a Las Vegas hotel/casino, and
then the international CPA firm Grant Thornton, Robinn applied
those principles to the often challenging volunteer positions she
has undertaken at Beth El. During what became her last career
position, she transferred to San Francisco from Nevada when Dan
went to work at Albert’s company, Aldon Computer Group (now
part of Rocket Software) in Emeryville.
During a particularly stressful time in the synagogue’s new
construction (2000–2001), Robinn volunteered as pro bono
executive director for nine months while the previous director was
on administrative leave. Robinn recalls that period as especially
challenging because Beth El was seeking permits from a resistant
city council and neighborhood, and she was pregnant with her
fourth child. Concurrently, she served as synagogue treasurer and
managed the staff payroll, among other financial duties. “They
joked that I should sleep in the back room instead of going home
because there was so much work to do,” she recalled.
No matter how difficult the job, however, Robinn has always
shown grace under pressure. For her, contributing to the Beth El
community is one of the high points of her life. “I feel so lucky
to be part of this community,” she said, describing herself as a
traditionalist who treasures continuity. Robinn commented that
she loves the idea of “re-purposing Jewish things” to fit a more
contemporary world, but “I don’t want to change things so much
as to make them unrecognizable to our tradition.”
Her other volunteer positions at Beth El in addition to being
treasurer and Sisterhood president have included vice president
C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 1 9
EVENTS
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Oh, Today We’ll Merry,
Merry Be!
It’s that time of year; don your costume
s and
ready your gragger...Purim is here! On
Erev Purim,
Wednesday, March 4 at 6:30 pm, we’l
l read
the whole megillah — the Book of Esth
er – from
beginning to end. Join in this fun com
munity
mitzvah by signing up for a part. You
can read just
a couple verses or you can read many;
you can
chant or you can choose to just read alou
d; funny
voices and costumes are encouraged,
but definitely
not required! We will provide texts, reco
rdings,
and any help you might need. You don
’t need
to have great Hebrew — just the com
mitment
to prepare and read a few lines. Interest
ed
or have questions? Contact Steve Kur
zman at
[email protected] or 415-425-077
7.
On Thursday, March 5 at 5:00 pm, join
the
YAFE community for our annual Purim
Shpiel (Purim
Play) and celebration! We invite everyon
e to come
in costume and join us in the sanctuar
y. We’ll hear
a short part of the Megillah and watch
the staff
perform a Purim Shpiel. Following the
play, we will
have family-friendly activities — inclu
ding making
graggers, puppets and mishloach man
ot (gift
baskets). Bring a box of macaroni and
cheese to use
as a gragger, and then it will be collected
in our food
bins to give to the local food bank.
“Let all who are hungry, come and eat!
”
“Let all who are in need, celebrate t
he Passover!”
Pesach 5775 begins Friday evening,
April 3.
Pesach 2nd night community seder
at Congregation
Beth El on Saturday, April 4 from 6:0
0–9:00 pm.
Join us for a festive Pesach celebration
and delicious
catered kosher-for-Pesach meal. We are
never too old, nor
too young to learn and retell the story
of liberation. Through
song, ritual and discussion, we will rete
ll the Pesach story,
making connections to our own lives
and our world.
Members: adults $54; young adults (30
and under) $36;
children $18
Guests: adults $72; young adults (30 and
under) $36;
children $25; college students with ID
$18. Through the
generosity of anonymous Beth El mem
bers, no one will be
turned away because of inability to pay.
Childcare is provided
for children 5 and under.
Join us for an adult daytime seder on
Tuesday, April 7 at
11:00 am.
Please register by Monday, March 30, at
bethelberkeley.org/pesach.
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TRAINING
Training
for Shiva
Leaders
Men’s Club
n
“Reform California”—O
Rabbi Stern Introduces
kah
7:00 pm, Rabbi Rebe
Thursday, February 12 at
ve program on “Reform
Stern will lead an interacti
understanding of this
California.” Come gain an
the
ting social justice across
dynamic movement promo
ts
en
discussion. Refreshm
state and participate in the
will be served.
r
ry Weintraub as Voluntee
Men’s Club to Honor Jer
ef-th
Men’s Club Volunteer-o
of the Year—The Annual
be
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Year Shabbat service hono
d
0 pm. Make plans to atten
on Friday, March 27 at 7:3
;
ard
vice and the Oneg afterw
the dinner before the ser
are
future e-updates. We
details will be included in
less work on behalf of the
honoring Jerry for his tire
entire congregation.
ily
e Men’s Club Annual Fam
A’s Play the Yankees—Th
30
y
Ma
A’s will be Saturday,
Day Baseball Game at the
ur
yo
not too early to make
vs New York Yankees! It’s
only $17 and include a $6
plans to attend. Tickets are
food voucher. Go A’s!
[email protected] or 510Contact Allan Sobel at ab
or for more information.
878-2726 to order tickets
SHIVA, THE INTENSE DAYS
OF MOURNING FOLLOWING A
FUNERAL, is often considered one
Volunteer of the Year
Jerry Weintraub
P H OTO BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC
S
Ongoing Programs
Rosh Chodesh—Held monthly, near
the New Moon. Thursdays, February
19
and March 26 at 8:00 pm. Gather with
Rabbi Stern for womanly reflection,
learning and conversation.
Life Stories—An interactive program
: write a guided autobiography or mem
oir
while sharing with a group.
Tuesdays: February 2, March 2 & 16,
2:30–4:30 pm.
Thursdays: February 5, 12, 19 & 26, 7:00
–9:00 pm.
For more information, please contact
Marilyn Margulius, mmargulius@
comcast.net or 510-525-5010. Fee: $50
.00.
of the wisest aspects of the Jewish
tradition. During shiva, the family
members stop their ordinary lives to
honor the life of the loved one who has
died and to make room to experience
the full range of loss and grief.
Shiva takes place in the embrace
of a caring community; our tradition
teaches that “comforting the bereaved”
is one of those mitzvot that has no
limit to its fulfillment. Customarily, a
short service is held at the mourners’
home each evening of the shiva period
(historically, a week; today, shiva is
observed from three to seven days).
The Ritual Committee is training
a group of member volunteers to lead
shiva services. This two-part program,
to be led by Rabbis Yoel Kahn and
Rebekah Stern, will be taking place on
two Sunday afternoons, February 8
and February 22, from 2:00 pm–4:00
pm. If you are interested in joining
other members as part of a shivaleading team, please contact Ritual
Committee Chair Alison Bernstein at:
[email protected].
Lunch & Learn—Second Thursdays mon
thly at 12:00 pm. February 12: “New
Developments in Space Exploration”
presented by Marc Davis and March
12:
“Global Anti-Semitism” presented by
Seth Brysk. Bring a bag lunch. Dessert
and
beverages will be provided. Contact Har
ry Margulius, [email protected]
or 510-525-5010.
Roots & Branches—Sundays, Februa
ry 8 and 22; March 1, 8, 22 and 29, 9:15
am. Rabbi Kahn’s open-ended, ongoing
exploration of the texts and ideas of the
Jewish tradition.
Hannah Arendt Reading Group—Tue
sdays monthly on February 3 and
March 3 at 7:00 pm. Book discussion
series focusing on the writings of
philosopher and political theorist Han
nah Arendt.
EVENTS
Were You There?
Moments from recent events at Congregation Beth El
Chanukah Bazaar, December 7
(left to right) Merchandise for sale;
coordinator Robinn Magid; Susan and
Bruce Carter and Marilyn Margulius
P H OTO S BY B I L L Z A R C H Y
Yitzhak Rabin Exhibit, December 7
Congregation Beth El and the Jewish
Federation of the East Bay hosted an
exhibit on the life and legacy of former
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Beth El Men’s Club
Chanukah Latkefest,
December 19
(left to right) Allan Sobel grates a
lot of potatoes; John Lewis (front)
and Bruce Carter fry ’em up; Emily
Schnitzer keeps the table full.
Sababa Limos and Latkes,
December 6
BBYO Connect put on a super fun
scavenger hunt around Berkeley in
a limo followed by a latke dinner.
P H OTO S BY E M I LY S C H N I T ZER
Deb Massey receives the 2014 Shomrei HaKabbalah Award
for Exemplary Contributions to Jewish Education by the
Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Foundation of
the East Bay at a lunch for Jewish educators in January.
FEATURE
P H OTO BY M O L LY S H A P I R O
Deb Massey Wins Jewish Education Award
by Evie Groch
DEBRA SAGAN MASSEY, OR “DEB” as we know her, is
Congregation Beth El’s Director of Education and is a unique,
highly qualified and multi-layered individual. After years of
service in Jewish life and education, Deb was awarded the
2014 Shomrei HaKabbalah Award for Exemplary Contributions
to Jewish Education by the Jewish Federation and the Jewish
Community Foundation of the East Bay at a lunch for Jewish
educators in January.
Deb’s involvement in Jewish education goes back to her
high school days in Los Altos, her participation at Congregation
Beth Am and the positions she held at Camp Swig as a camper,
counselor and associate director. A product of the Reform
Movement and liberal Jewish parents, she grew up celebrating
Shabbat, Jewish holidays and giving to the community. From her
parents she learned how to strike a balance between taking care
of others and nurturing her own family.
The satisfaction Deb derives from working with others stems
from her collaborative leadership style. She pays respect to the
varied styles in which others lead, each building on a different
strength. Deb continues to learn from others since “we can’t all be
specialists in everything.”
Her outreach to students is purposeful. She recognizes
that they are attending Kadima as an after-school option and
believes their experience should be defined by respect for their
peers and staff. To this end, Deb makes it a point to remember
their names, since “that’s the doorway” in this very public job.
This is also how she draws others in, even those she sees on the
sidelines who may not feel totally welcome.
And does she think she has the responsibility to serve as
a role model? Yes, she does, noting that her parents served
as role models for her. By helping out at homeless meals and
offering opportunities for others to be involved, Deb feels
that she and her husband, Oren, are role models for their sons
Ari and Zev — as well as the
rest of the community —
demonstrating what we can
do for one another.
The Jewish values at
Deb’s core and the ones she
shares at home and in her
community are kavod (respect),
b’tselem Elohim (in the image
of God) and hachnasat orchim
(welcoming of guests). She
believes there is always room at
P H OTO BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC S
the table in their house and in
our synagogue.
Honoring Deb Massey
Deb is humbled by this
We will honor Deb on the
award and confesses that she
occasion of her receiving the
nominated other educators
Shomrei Kabbalah Award at
since “everyone does so
our Shabbat YAFE service on
many great things.” She’s not
Friday, February 27. Dinner is
really sure why she’s the one
at 5:30 pm; services begin at
receiving the award, but she
6:15 pm,
followed by an Oneg in
does understand that you don’t
Deb’s
honor.
Please join us! Watch
always immediately see the
for
details
in
upcoming
e-updates.
effect you have by what you do.
Obviously others have
seen the effect she has. Beth El
is honored to have among its staff such a wonderful person with
an abundance of talent and skills. As congregants, we are proud of
Deb Massey’s accomplishments and richly deserved recognition.
LIFE STORIES
Clockwise from far left
Barbara Segal’s mother;
Barbara with her daughter;
Jen (Segal) Vered with her son
P H OTO S CO U R T E S Y O F B A R B A R A S EG A L
Food in Our Family
by Barbara Segal
MY MOM WAS THE QUEEN OF THE KITCHEN! She
planned the menus, cooked every meal from scratch and was very
proud of what she served her family and friends. When I married,
at age 21, I literally knew nothing about preparing food. Mom never
shared her highly esteemed role in the kitchen with anyone else.
So there were phone calls from Ann Arbor to New York
during the first months of my marriage. “Mom, what’s a CLOVE
of garlic?” When I was trying my first attempt at making pot roast
for dinner, “Mom, what kind of meat do I buy for pot roast? What
does it mean to sear the meat? How do you know when the pot
roast is ready?” And more questions: “When I bought a chicken
today there were things stored inside…what are those things?
What’s the difference between tomato sauce and tomato paste?”
When my parents came to visit us in Michigan, I decided
to make a special meal for them. I was very interested in Asian
food as well as traditional Jewish food. I had begun to purchase
cookbooks and often borrowed them from our local library. It was
an unusual meal to say the least: hot and sour soup with matzo
balls was our first course. It was quite tasty.
Though Mom often cooked traditional Jewish food, both of
my parents went out of their way to use food to show that they
were not really connected to Judaism. Whenever they entertained,
she served shrimp. Clams oreganato were a favorite item, as well.
I loved that Italian-flavored bread crumb topping but never liked
those clams. My mother also made delicious baked ham and other
very-non-Jewish foods.
When Mom moved to California after my Dad died in 1985,
she lived with us for a while until her house was ready. I decided
to have a party to introduce her to my friends. We put together a
lovely potluck dinner and all had a wonderful time. After everyone
left and I was cleaning up, Mom approached me and asked,
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you feeling well?” I had no idea what she
was talking about. I told her, “I am fine. Why do you ask?” She
responded, “Well, you must be feeling sick if you couldn’t cook
the whole meal.” She had never before experienced a potluck
dinner. Mom became part of our social life and was often invited
to the homes of my friends. She was a quick learner and always
asked, “What would you like me to bring?”
Following in my mother’s footsteps, I have always cooked
from scratch and presently own over 300 cookbooks. Yet, I still
look for new recipes. When we went camping with our children
along the Oregon coast, we picked huckleberries and added
them to the pancake batter I had made at home to make a
delicious breakfast. There was also Peet’s coffee made over the
open fire.
My Mom always made chopped liver and I remember how
she combined the livers, onions and hard-boiled eggs in a wooden
bowl with a hand-held chopper. Now, I am the one making
chopped liver for Pesach; I use my electric food grinder and I add
a secret ingredient: soy sauce
As a child, I was a very picky eater and never liked meat. Mom
would cut the meat into small pieces and tell me that if I didn’t eat
the meat I would not grow tall. I rarely ate the meat — and I guess
her prediction was correct.
Mom always wrapped everything in waxed paper. When I
cleaned out her house after she died in May 2002, I took home
many frozen rolls. Twelve years later, I am still using her supply. I
like to think that she is right beside me in my kitchen.
NEW MEMBERS
Welcome to Our New Members!
We welcome the following people to our Beth El community
Compiled by Jerry Iserson
Rachel Berkowitz &
José Villagrana
Rachel Berkowitz is originally
from South Florida and
moved here in June 2013
from Atlanta after finishing
her master’s degree in public
health at Emory University.
José Villagrana is originally
from Santa Maria, CA and has
been living in the Bay Area
since the summer of 2011,
working on his PhD in English literature at UC Berkeley; José’s
doctoral work focuses on Renaissance devotional poetry. The
couple met as undergrads at Northwestern University and were
engaged a year ago. Rachel works as a public health practitioner,
currently at both the Alameda County Public Health Department
supporting community development in East Oakland and at
Highland Hospital supporting a patient-provider advisory council
within its Adult Medicine Clinic. She is hoping to pursue her
PhD in public health in the future, focusing on global health and
community development. Rachel’s other interests include art
and music (singing and piano). José enjoys music (guitar) and
aviation. They both also like to take long walks in new places. In
exploring congregations, Rachel and José were looking for an
inclusive congregation that values exploration and questioning of
Jewish teachings and faith, as well as Jewish traditions. The Beth
El community seems to fit those characteristics very well. “We are
both interested in exploring and learning more about the various
adult education opportunities at Beth El,” says Rachel. She said
that she may also join the choir.
Marcia Golner &
Michael Tilford
Marcia was born in Berkeley
and has lived here (with a
few brief adventures) all of
her life. Her husband Mike
Tilford is originally from
Nebraska. Marcia was drawn
to Congregation Beth El
because she was raised here
and had her bat mitzvah
here. When they were alive,
both her parents, Dorothy
and David Golner, were very
involved in the congregation; her dad was a past president and her
mom was very active in the Beth El Sisterhood. “It makes me feel
close to them in spirit to have joined,” says Marcia. She worked as
an executive assistant/office manager for most of her career, and
she is happy to have retired last year. Mike is a senior construction
director for Ross Dress for Less. Marcia has been volunteering
in the synagogue office for the past couple of months and is
enjoying working with Beth El staffers very much. “It’s a pleasure
to put my administrative skills to use!” says Marcia.
Rahel Smith and
Caroline Boyden
Rahel Smith and Caroline
Boyden currently live in
Albany, having both lived in
and around Berkeley for the
last 20 years. Rahel grew
up here in the East Bay, and
Caroline grew up in San Diego. While they remain enthusiastic
members of Or Zarua, the
East Bay Reconstructionist
Havurah, Rahel was looking
for a congregation with regular services and larger infrastructure,
and Beth El seemed like a great fit. Caroline is a web developer
at UC Berkeley, and Rahel is the Director of Finance and
Administration for Kevah. They write “We are both avid game
players (Ticket to Ride, Dominion, etc.) and would be delighted to
get to know more of y’all over games, which are perfect for lazy
Shabbat afternoons.”
LIBRARY
More New Books to Offer Our Readers
by Scott Spear, Library Chair
Donations to the Aaron Plishner and Rabbi George Vida Funds make it possible to buy new books. Here are some recent additions:
Writing in Tongues: Translating Yiddish
in the 20th Century by Professor
Anita Norich tells the story of the
complexities of translating Yiddish
literature and what it means to write in
a minority language in decline, arguing
that these works and their translations
form an enlightening conversation
about Jewish history and identity.
Jewish Identity in
Modern Art History, edited by Catherine
Soussloff, collects 10 essays on its topic,
illuminating the formative role of Jews
as subjects of art-historical discourse,
simultaneously introducing the idea of
cultural identity in the production of
scholarship. This panoply of essays reaches
far, to art historians such as Meyer Schapiro
and Aby Warburg, and to artists such as
Judy Chicago, Eleanor Antin and Morris Gottlieb.
Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution
by Yehudan Mirsky is yet another in Yale’s
series of Jewish biographies, here telling
of the first Chief Rabbi of Jewish Palestine,
founding theologian of religious Zionism,
who combined strict traditionalism and an
embrace of modernity. David Shatz calls
the book “the most extensive personal
and intellectual biography of Rav Kook in
English.”
Robert Alter has translated some more of
the Bible. His Ancient Israel—the Former
Prophets does this for Joshua, Judges,
Samuel and Kings, with copious notes and
commentary that pinpoint exactly what is
happening at crucial moments in the text of
these books, which, with Deuteronomy, tell
our story from Sinai to Exile.
In David, King of Israel, and Caleb in
Biblical Memory, Jacob Wright closely
analyzes the stories of the great king in
relation to war commemoration, comparing
him with the great hero Caleb, who appears
in Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, ben
Sira, Josephus and the Quran. David Biale
says the book “gives the most convincing
answer to why the biblical authors produced
a character of Shakespearean complexity.”
Susannah Heschel calls it a “landmark book
in biblical scholarship.” Marc Brettler: “bold and original work.”
Susan Niditch says the book has “exquisite literary sensitivity,
historiographic sophistication.”
Judaism in Transition: How Economic
Choices Shape Religious Tradition
by Carmel Chiswick, an economics
professor and Jewish mother, offers
an analysis of the impact of economic
forces on American Jewish life, how
tradeoffs produce the brand of Judaism
predominant in America today.
What makes a work of art uniquely Jewish?
This question is explored by 18 writers in
The Art of Being Jewish in Modern Times,
edited by Barbara Kirschenblatt-Gimblett
and Jonathan Karp. It concerns music,
dance, theater, film, museums, sculpture,
painting, architecture and more in a richly
illustrated volume with contributions by
scholars in several countries on three
continents, illuminating aspects of Jewish
history and identity often ignored and
unsuspected.
WAYS TO GIVE
MAZEL TOV
WE EXTEND OUR WARM CONGRATULATIONS
to members of our synagogue community who were
recently recognized for a significant personal or professional
accomplishment, or who celebrated a major lifecycle event:
Mazel Tov to Judy Appel, who was elected President of the Board
of Education of the Berkeley Unified School District.
Mazel Tov to former Beth El President Martin Dodd, who was
elected to the National Board of Directors of the Union of Reform
Judaism (URJ). Martin is the first member of Congregation Beth El
to serve on the URJ Board.
Congregation Beth
El’s Chutzpah List
If We Don’t Ask for It, Who Will?
Do you have an unused digital camera? How about a
tablet? The following items listed are our “wish list.” If you
are no longer using these items, we could put them to
excellent use for the benefit of the congregation. Please
contact Norm Frankel if you’d like to make a tax-deductible
donation of a gently used (or new) item on this list:
Digital camera
Tablet
HDMI cables
SVGA cables
iMac Apple computer system
Conference call speaker phone system
Video security system with server
CD players
Laptop
Sponsor an Oneg
YOU CAN CELEBRATE YOUR SIMCHA or remember
loved ones with your Beth El community by hosting a Shabbat
Oneg on a Friday night or Shabbat morning.
Your sponsorship will be acknowledged in the e-update
and from the bimah. Beth El members will be able to join you
in your celebration or honor the memory of your loved ones.
Please go to our website and click on “Ways to Give” and
then “Oneg Sponsorship.” Read the description of how to
sign up, then follow the link to select your menu choices and
make payment. Your donation to Beth El will cover the cost of
food, preparation, serving and cleanup, and will help support
our programs.
To speak to someone regarding Oneg sponsorship,
please contact Aliza Minkina in the Beth El office at
[email protected].
Mazel Tov to Jennifer Gorovitz, who was honored with the
Landres Courage for Dignity Award bestowed by Keshet,
the nation’s largest organization working for LGBT equality
and inclusion in all areas of Jewish life. The award recognizes
individuals who display public courage as allies to support the
full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people or
others whose dignity is at stake.
Mazel Tov to Beverly and Richard Eigner on the celebration of
their 50th Wedding Anniversary and to their daughter, Danielle
Eigner, on the naming of her sons, Caleb Richard and Jakob Lucas.
Mazel Tov to Debra Sagan Massey, Beth El’s Director of Youth
and Family Education (YAFE), who was selected by her peers
to receive the 2015 Jewish Federation of the East Bay’s Shomrei
HaKabbalah award for “exemplary contributions to Jewish
education.” (See related article on page 9.)
Mazel Tov to Oren J. Massey, Executive Director of Edah, a
Hebrew language after-school program in Berkeley, for receiving
the Pomegranate Prize by The Covenant Foundation. He was
one of five nationally recognized young Jewish Leaders honored
in November 2014 for bringing “fresh new ideas and abundant
energy to the field of Jewish education.”
Mazel Tov to Marv and Gwen Pearlstein on their marriage during
the Thanksgiving weekend in Florida. Marv and Gwen celebrated
their ufruf on the bimah at Beth El earlier in November.
Mazel Tov to Jeff Golden and Samantha Wolfe on their recent
marriage. Also to Jeff’s parents, Vivian and Sandy Golden.
YOUTH PROGRAMS
Next Year in
Jerusalem!
by Debra Sagan Massey
HAVE YOU BEEN WONDERING when you will get to go to
Israel? Have you always wanted to go but not been sure how it
would happen? Well, this is the year to make the dream become
a reality! Beth El and Camp Kee Tov are running a family trip
December 20, 2015–January 1, 2016. This trip is a great way to
see Israel for the first time, or the umpteenth!
The trip is organized by Keshet, the Center for Educational
Tourism in Israel, which specializes in multigenerational trips.
There will be parallel programming for adults and kids throughout
the trip, while also allowing quality time for families to be
together. We will have Israeli youth counselors plan special
activities for the kids and our Kee Tov staff to provide the ruach
(spirit) that will make it so special.
If you are interested in learning more about this unforgettable
experience for your family, please join us for our informational
evening on Sunday, February 22 at 4:00 pm. More details will be
announced in the e-updates.
L’shalom.
Register for Camp Kee Tov 2015
Summer 2015 registration opens for Beth El members on
Monday, December 1 at www.campkeetov.org.
Session 1: June 22–July 17
Session 2: July 27–August 21
Beth El members have exclusive opportunities to register
from December 1–16. General registration opens December 17.
All registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Midrashabang—A
Night in Tel Aviv Set
for Sunday, March 22
by Rabbi Jennifer Flam
Executive Director of Berkeley Midrasha
JOIN MIDRASHA and Berkeley’s families, faculty, alumni and
community supporters at our annual party to support Midrasha’s
work with Jewish teens. We will also celebrate and honor this
year’s honoree, Yossi Fendel, and his contributions to our
community. Yossi has been a member of the Midrasha community
for over 25 years — first as a student, then faculty member and
now Board President. He is living proof of Midrasha’s “menschmaking” capacity.
He will be stepping down after this year and moving to
Israel to spend a year with his family. So, mark your calendars
to join us at this year’s Midrashabang—A Night in Tel Aviv on
Sunday, March 22 at 5 pm — an evening of great food, drinks,
music and fun! Help the Board of Midrasha in Berkeley honor
Yossi’s work and send him off in style. More details will follow in
future e-updates.
B’NEI MITZVAH
The congregation is cordially invited
to attend the service and kiddush
following to honor these bar and bat
mitzvah candidates:
RACHEL ARONSON will be called to
the Torah as a bat mitzvah on Saturday,
February 14 at 10:15 am. Rachel is the
daughter of Daniel and Heidi Aronson.
ELIJAH PERLSTADT will be called to
Eyes on YOU(th)
the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday,
February 21 at 10:15 am. Elijah is the son
of Lori and Doug Perlstadt.
by Anna Portnoy, President of the Sababa Board
I BEGAN ATTENDING BETH EL when I was in first grade.
Initially, I thought that it was something I had to do, but it was
only two hours a week, so I thought “what the heck?” But as my
first year unfolded, I learned how much fun it could be and it
became something that I looked forward to. In third grade I met
one of my very good friends at Beth El, whom I never would have
known because we were in different school districts, and she
remains one of my best friends today.
After that, Beth El became my second home and those two
days became the highlight of my week. I wasn’t the only person
in a classroom who didn’t have a Christmas tree but instead,
a chanukiah. Beth El was a place to fit in and be a part of the
community.
In sixth grade I was exposed to Sababa, which is a youth
group for sixth to eighth graders where the kids plan and run
different events throughout the year. I decided to run for the
Sababa Board and had a great first year. I ran again the next year
after that and again this year when I ran for the presidency. We
have only held a few events so far, but I have already had a great
time working with the other sixth, seventh and eighth graders to
plan the events.
In addition to being on the Sababa board, this year was my
first year of being a madrichah (teacher’s aide) at Beth El. I work
with second and third graders on different days and it is very
enjoyable. I often saw the madrichim when I was younger and
thought they were so amazing, because they were like teachers,
but at the same time they were kids like me. Now I am in the
reverse position and it has been a great experience so far.
I became a bat mitzvah at Beth El last summer, which was
an amazing experience for me. All the people I got to work with,
including Rabbi Kahn and my tutor, Sacha, made it so much
less stressful. This allowed me to enjoy the process and truly
appreciate this important event in my life.
I am so happy to be part of Congregation Beth El; it has been
a second home for me, where there are always teachers and
friends for me if I need them.
ADRIANA SCHURMAN will be
called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah on
Saturday, February 28 at 10:15 am.
Adriana is the daughter of Michele and
Philip Schurman.
TALIA COLE will be called to the Torah
as a bat mitzvah on Saturday, March 7 at
10:15 am. Talia is the daughter of Felicia
Cole and Dean Amundson.
JESSICAH ROSS will be called to the
Torah as a bat mitzvah on Saturday,
March 21 at 10:15 am. Jessicah is the
daughter of Heidi and Andy Ross.
MAX SKLAR will be called to the Torah
as a bar mitzvah on Saturday, March 28
at 10:15 am. Max is the son of Jennifer
Levin and Edward Sklar.
BENS
Kids deliver challot to local businesses
P H OTO S BY A N D R E A B A L A Z S
BENS & YAFE Calendar
February
2
3
7
10
Parents’ Cafe, 9:00 pm
Tu B’shevat Family Celebration, 5:00–6:00 pm
Beth El GALA!
B’nei Mitzvah Parents Meeting, 6:15–7:00 pm
10 Parenting workshop with Rabbi Stern: “Through
Their Eyes: Jewish Mindfulness, Childlike Awe and
Wonder,” 7:30–9:30 pm
13 BENS closed
14 NO CHUG MISHPACHA — PRESIDENTS’ DAY
WEEKEND
16 BENS closed
17 No Kadima
19 Kadima Open; Makeup December storm day
26 All-school T’fillah
27 Shabbat YAFE: Tot Shabbat (5:00 pm), Dinner
(5:30 pm), Family Shabbat service (6:15 pm)
March
2
5
6
13
14
14
15
24
26
27
Parents’ Cafe, 9:00 pm
Kadima Purim Celebration, 4:00–6:00 pm
All-school Shabbat & Purim Parade
Shabbat YAFE: Tot Shabbat (5:00 pm), Dinner
(5:30 pm), Family Shabbat service (6:15 pm)
6th Grade Family Learners’ Service and Potluck
Lunch, 10:15 am–2:00 pm
Saturday Night Live: Parents’ Night Out
Work Party Day for Gan Dvorim & Gan Alonim
Parenting workshop with Rabbi Stern: “Passover
How-To: Rituals and Parenting for Passover,”
7:30–9:30 pm
All-school T’fillah
Pesach Family Celebration, 12:00–1:00 pm
BENS Programs Cultivating
Community, Giving and
Respect for Nature
by Maguy Weizmann-McGuire, Director of Early Childhood Education
LAST YEAR WAS AN AMAZING ONE AT BENS, and we look forward to 2015 being
just as productive. The past three months have felt euphoric, magical and, at times, tiring.
We encourage you to come and see the results of our hard work!
Since September, we have made many remarkable alterations to our indoor and
outdoor spaces, enriched our curriculum and planned family events that strengthen our
community ties. Many of these events, such as Work Party Days, Shabbat Family Dinners,
Tot Shabbat/YAFE, Professional In-Service Training Days, Parent Education Workshops
with guest speakers, and the recent holiday celebration were inspired and led by our staff,
especially by Jodi Gladstone, BENS Jewish Resource Specialist.
As we continue to develop meaningful programs for our community, two in particular
are worth mentioning. The first is “Challah-It Forward.” The idea was borrowed from Daniel
Barash, who performed Jewish-based stories using shadow puppets. His “Challah in the
Ark” story inspired Jodi Gladstone and her classroom community to create “Challah-It
Forward,” a program in which children (with the help of teachers and parents) prepare and
bake challot to be distributed monthly to local merchants (until the end of June). Last month,
Gan Hadar children and their parents visited six of the chosen local stores and presented
beautifully wrapped, fresh-from-the-oven challot. How magical is that?
The second program involves monthly trips to Urban Adamah by our Threes (Gan
Galim) and Fours (Gan Hadar) classrooms. As a way to connect the children and families
to Jewish values (gratitude, sharing and harvest) and this year’s theme, Shomrei Adamah
(guardians of the Earth), each classroom along with its teachers and parents experience the
magic of the earth and plant and animal life, bringing the concept back home to be explored
in their own environments.
From January through March we are focusing on the recruitment of new families,
completing the construction of our outdoor playground and enriching our family holiday
celebrations with meaningful activities.
RECIPE
Almond Crisps
by Marjorie Gelb
LAST-MINUTE HOUSE GUESTS are a blessing because
they give you an excuse to make the laziest cookie on the planet.
Start to finish in 35 minutes, this recipe is just an adaptation of
the classic Almonds Florentine that has been published by many
great pastry chefs, including David Lebovitz and Flo Braker. So,
when someone rings the bell and you have not planned ahead
nor hit the store in days, scout your well-stocked pantry for some
almonds, sugar and egg whites, and you’ll be sharing tea and
biscuits in no time.
Makes 30 or more crisps. These go fast so you might want to
double the recipe.
Serves 8.
Ingredients
2 egg whites
²⁄3 cup powdered sugar, plus a little more for sprinkling at the end
A pinch of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
8 ounces almond slices (about 2½ cups)
Cooking Directions
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with
parchment.
2. Place egg whites in a bowl and beat them with a wire
whisk to break them up. Beat in the powdered sugar until it’s
well combined. It may still have some lumps. Add salt, vanilla and
almond extracts and beat again.
3. Fold in the almond slices with a rubber spatula. Make sure
the slices are covered with the sugar-egg mixture.
4. Spoon slightly rounded tablespoons of the mixture onto
the parchment. Flatten them with a fork. They can be close
together but should not be touching.
5. Bake for 13–15 minutes, switching the pans in the oven halfway through. The mixture should be tan all over but not burnt. If
the edges look like they’re done but the middle is still very pale,
turn off the oven and leave them in for a couple of minutes more.
They need to be brown on top and bottom so they are crisp when
cool. Take out the pans and let them rest for a couple of minutes.
Remove the crisps and cool on a wire rack.
6. Just before serving, sprinkle with a little powdered sugar
(place some sugar in a sieve and rub it through like snow flakes).
TORAH STUDY
From the Rabbi
CO NTI N U ED FRO M PAG E 2
Torah Study
Torah Study meets on
Saturdays at 9:15 am in the
Beit Midrash. All are welome!
For questions or to sign up
as a presenter, contact Jerry
Weintraub at gdweintraub@
yahoo.com.
2/7/2015
Parashat Yitro
Exodus 18:1–20:23
Naomi Janowitz
2/14/2015
Parashat Mishpatim
Exodus 21:1–24:18
Stuart Berman
2/21/2015
Parashat Terumah
Exodus 25:1–27:19
Moshe Maler
2/28/2015
Parashat Tetzaveh or Esther
Exodus 27:30–30:10
Renee Passy-Zale
3/7/2015
Parashat Ki Tisa
Exodus 30:11–34:35
Alison Bernstein
3/14/2015
Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei
Exodus 35:1–40:38
Rabbi Yoel Kahn
3/21/2015
Parashat Vayikra
Leviticus 1:1–5:26
Wilma and Stephen Rader
After eight years of “experimental” and
“interim” editions, we are now ready to
move forward with the goal of publishing
a hardback, permanent edition of our Beth
El siddur. There are many, many questions,
ranging from page design and font size to
which prayers and texts to include and which
to leave out.
couple of years whether to acquire it for High Holy Days use.) We believe that our own
volume is in the best interests of our synagogue.
This spring, the Ritual Committee will begin work on this project. There are
many, many questions, ranging from page design and font size to which prayers and
texts to include and which to leave out. How much are we able to spend on securing
permissions? Will an English text that feels “fresh” to us now still speak to us in five or
15 years? What is the proper balance between received texts (which themselves have
been evolving for hundreds of years) and new ones? When do we want to offer choices
and when do we want to all (literally) be on the same page? Should we even be thinking
about a printed book or rather simply ask everyone to bring their social media device to
the synagogue and access our “siddur site”?
This is an exciting project, and we would welcome your participation — as a
proofreader, contributor, designer or schmoozer (that’s the group of people who sit
around and think about the big questions!). We expect this work to unfold over the
next 18 months. If you would like to participate in the editorial or the production
aspects of this project, please contact Ritual Committee Chair Alison Bernstein
([email protected]).
The congregation will have opportunities to look at page designs and other aspects
of the volume before it goes to press. We welcome your participation, suggestions
and comments. Our goal is to produce a volume of beauty and meaning that will bring
together the best of our ancient tradition and our own creativity — nurturing and
deepening our individual and communal spiritual practice and linking us to Jews of
generations past and the wider community today.
L’shalom.
3/28/2015
Parashat Tzav
Leviticus 6:1–8:38
Sara Farrow
Member Profile: Robinn Magid
CO NTI N U ED FRO M PAG E 5
for fundraising, ritual committee chair,
nominating committee member (three
times and the chair twice), design team
member for the Oxford Street building,
long-range planning committee and
archives committee member, gift shop
co-chair with Odette Blachman for the
last 21 years, Chanukah bazaar chair for
22 years, and member of Chevra Kadisha
(traditional burial society). In addition,
she served on the multi-year major capital
campaign for Beth El’s new building and
made numerous in-person solicitations
herself, which resulted in 75 pledges and a
homemade pear pie.
Born in Chicago, Robinn was raised
in an actively Jewish family in Orange
County, CA, five miles from Disneyland (a
big part of her life growing up because she
could let her hair down there). Her father
was treasurer of their Reform synagogue
in Santa Ana and her mother was active in
B’nai B’rith International.
Robinn was a dedicated leader even
in high school, serving as president of the
youth group, which gave her a seat on her
synagogue’s board of directors in 1977.
She became the first youth representative
from her synagogue to participate
and vote in the UAHC Biennial in San
Francisco that year. Important issues were
considered by the UAHC, now called the
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) that year,
such as the question of URJ becoming a
Zionist organization and whether to admit
the first openly homosexual congregation
and the first humanist congregation.
Robinn is proud to have voted with the
majority for Zionism, and for admitting
the gay congregation, but against the
humanist congregation. During the
Biennial, Egypt’s president, Anwar Sadat,
made his historic visit to Israel, resulting in
a momentous and unforgettable summer
in Robinn’s life.
The next year, as a freshman at
UCLA, Robinn had another life-changing
experience: she met her future husband,
Dan, and they have been together ever
since — a total of 36 years. They realized
as they became friends that they shared
the same goals. “We just wanted to be
around each other.” Some of their values
have evolved together — especially their
level of Jewish observance, Robinn said.
They were married in 1983 by Beth El
Rabbi Avi Levine (z’’l) in Newport Beach.
One unusual project
that Robinn took on was
overseeing the repair of
two early 19th-century
Torah scrolls that
survived the Holocaust.
She says, “The ultimate
honor for me is to carry
one of these restored
scrolls around the
congregation during the
Torah service to make
it possible for people
to kiss them. Beth El
for me is l’dor va’dor of
community.”
She and Dan decided that their first rule
was “never to go to bed angry.” Of course,
she said, “this has sometimes led to very
late-night discussions!”
Their oldest son, Josh, graduated
from Columbia University in June 2014
with two bachelor’s degrees and a
certificate in business management. Beth,
their only daughter, is a junior majoring
in psychology and theater arts at Case
Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Their second son, Aaron, started at Case
Western Reserve in September as a
freshman, planning to study engineering,
physics and computer science. (Both
Albert and Marian Magid’s families were
originally from Cleveland, a factor that was
a draw for the grandchildren.)
Robinn and Dan’s youngest son,
Nathan, became bar mitzvah at Beth El
in October 2014 and is an active board
member of Sababa, the youth group
for teens at Beth El. Robinn remembers
Nathan actually shedding tears when he
occasionally couldn’t attend Kadima, Beth
El’s after-school religious school program;
he loved it so much.
One unusual project that Robinn took
on “as point person” was overseeing the
repair of two early 19th-century Torah
scrolls that survived the Holocaust. The
scrolls are on permanent loan to Beth
El (it’s rare to have two loaned to one
synagogue) from the Czech Scroll Trust,
based in Westminster Abbey, London.
One scroll was requested by our late
rebbetzin, Emmie Vida, and the other by
our former Rabbi Leo Abrami. Emmie was
a Holocaust refugee and Rabbi Abrami
was a child survivor.
Robinn said, “The ultimate honor
for me is to carry one of these restored
scrolls around the congregation during
the Torah service to make it possible for
people to kiss them. Beth El for me is l’dor
va’dor (from generation to generation)
of community.” Beth El has a total of five
Torah scrolls, and these Czech scrolls are
always dressed in embroidered mantles
to make them easily identifiable by the
congregation.
Asked if Robinn ever has free
time, the self-proclaimed “workaholic
volunteer and mother” laughed and
said, “Well, my time is unstructured so I
have some flexibility, but I don’t actually
have free time.” Still, she and former
Beth El president Andy Ganes recently
took over responsibility for Beth El’s
cemetery documentation and care. They
are inventorying burial sites, discussing
ways to repair gravestones and hoping to
provide benches for visitors.
One of her few demanding nonBeth El projects is her Jewish genealogy
pursuit. She is a long-time volunteer and
board member of JRI Poland (jri-poland.
org), a nonprofit whose mission is to
provide access to surviving Polish Jewish
vital records. With this resource, Robinn
has been able to trace her own family 12
generations, from the early 1700’s through
the Holocaust, documenting the fate
of hundreds of her relatives. She often
speaks and writes on this topic and is well
known in the Jewish genealogy world as
an expert in her specific area of interest.
Our community is very fortunate
in having such a dedicated and talented
volunteer in its midst.
TZEDAKAH
AARON PLISHNER CHILDREN LIBRARY
Linda Marchena, in honor of Mike Klayman
Joel & Karen Zeldin, in memory of Fae Dash
Phyllis Zisman, in memory of Naomi Wollins Goldberg
ADULT EDUCATION
Deborah Brill Place & Martin Place
Dorothy Rice, in honor of Rabbi Rebekah Stern
Anne & Fred Rosenthal
David Schatsky, in honor of Katherine Sanstad Bat Mitzvah
Harvey Schochet & Kathleen Kerr Schochet,
in honor of Pearlstein-Gold wedding
Betty & Thom Seaton, in honor of Beverly and Richard Eigner
Allen & Elaine Sobel, in honor of the birth of Ziv Frankel
Sandler Statdler, in honor of Beverly and Richard Eigner
Cathy Stevens
Isabel Stusser, in honor of Beverly and Richard Eigner
Marc Davis & Nancy Turak
Sharon Caplow Todd
Joel Meltzer & Susan Weinstein, in memory of Louis Meltzer
Vadjiheh Yadegar, in memory of Yadegar Yadegar
Cynthia Brand, in memory of Allan Gorelick
Bonnie Cooperstein, in memory of Allan Gorelick
Paul Dresnick, in memory of Allan Gorelick
Leah Emdy, in memory of Max Cooperstein
Harold Friedman, in memory of Allan Gorelick
Lenore & Phil Garon, in honor of Susan Zarchy’s Bat Mitzvah
Estie and Mark Hudes, in memory of Allan Gorelick
Monica Kamio, in memory of Allan Gorelick
Sidney & Gerry Lipton, in memory of Allan Gorelick
Gail & David Offen-Brown, in memory of Allan Gorelick
HOMELESS MEAL PROGRAM
Sylvia Schwartz, in honor of Beverly and Richard Eigner
Barbara & Steve Segal, in honor of Beverly and Richard Eigner Rachel Amsterdam & Benjie Achtenberg,
in memory of Joseph Amsterdam
Phyllis Zisman, in memory of Allan Gorelick
Stu & Judy Berman
ALLAN & TYBIL SMITH KAHN FUND
Clarke & Maria Daniels
Thomas Lurquin
Martin & Jill Dodd, in memory of Marian Magid
Michael & Merle Fajans
B’NEI MITZVAH TZEDAKAH FUND
Rose & Jack Gansky, in memory of Abe Cooperstein
Betsy Ami
and Chaim Cooperstein
Dave Huebner & Sandy Bacskai,
Diane Kaplan & Robert Goldstein,
in honor of the 2013-2014 B’nei Mitzvah Class
in memory of Allan Gorelick
Michelle & Alex Bergtraun,
Steven & Kate Goode, in honor of Barry and Erica Goode
Kenneth Goode, in honor of Erica & Barry Goode
Alicia Park & Lee Bernstein
Jean Henderson, in memory of Samuel L. Blacker
Bonnie Cooperstein, in honor of Lev Ami’s Bar Mitzvah
Sally Benjamin & Robert Kessler
Deirdre & Adam Duhan
Claire Ungar & George Lavender,
Salesin-Lingenfelter Family,
in honor of Rabbi Rebekah Stern
Ilana Novak
Gefen Gladstone
Rabbi Ferenc & Paula Raj
Sacha Kopin
Andy & Heidi Ross
IRAC
David Salesin
Michelle & Alex Bergtraun
CAMP KEE TOV SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Jean Henderson, in memory of Norton R. Langley
Sondra Napell, in memory of Emanuel Matkowsky
Elisabeth Feldman
Arthur & Carol Goldman
Robert & Linda Walker
CHEVRA KADISHA FUND
MA TOVU
Mona
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
BREAKFAST
Linda Gerson
Estie and Mark Hudes
Sandra Luft
Moshe Maler & Susan Frankel
Molly Aaronson-Gelb & Jonathan Spector
Anthony & Madelyn Stone
GENERAL FUND
Frances Alexander, in memory of Dora Waterman Connolly
and William Connolly
Madison Arent
Shoshana Berger, in memory of Stanley Berger
Stu & Judy Berman
Odette Blachman, in honor of B’not Mitzvah—
Katherine Sanstad, Susan Zarchy, Susan Sugarman
and Jennifer Robinson
Martin & Jill Dodd, in memory of Irma Seigel, Nancy Dodd
and Anna Silverman Shahan
Martin & Jill Dodd, in memory of Elaine Dodd-Heun
Steven Joseph & Corey Hansen-Joseph,
in memory of Sol Joseph
Juliette Hassid, in memory of Sami Hassid
Stacey & Edward Holly
Mike Klayman, in honor of Katherine Sanstad Bat Mitzvah
Laura Taub & David Kline
Alexandra Koltun
Janet Lipkin, in memory of Barry Shapiro
Julie & Patrick Kennedy, in memory of Carl Gallop
Rosa Mayeri, in memory of Noor Yashar
Adam & Susan Metz
Michael & Susan Austin
Rabbi Kahn & Dan Bellm
Stu & Judy Berman
Dr. Ralph & Gail Bernstein
Bill Falik & Diana Cohen
Elliot Cravitz & Miriam Schultz
Martin & Jill Dodd
Spencer Klein & Ruth Ehrenkrantz
Lisa Feldman
Rose & Jack Gansky
Marlene Getz & Bob Gilden
Arthur & Carol Goldman
Andy Kivel & Susan Goldstein
Howard & Alice Gruber
Marc Derewetzky & Jennifer Kawar
Amy Oppenheimer & Jennifer Krebs
Leo & Rebecca Levenson
Eugene & Robin Millstein
Paul Steckel & Marlene Morris
Ethan Andelman & Laura Mytels
Marv Pearlstein
Harry Pollack & Joanne Backman
William Schechner
Ellen Singer-Vine & Ed Singer
MARIAN MAGID MEMORIAL FUND
Frances Alexander, in memory of Ernest Alexander
Jean Henderson, in memory of Marilyn Hemmings
Jeff & Debbie Leon, in honor of B’not Mitzvah—
Rosa Mayeri, in memory of Yahya Mayeri
MEMORIAL PLAQUE FUND
Stan & Miriam Schiffman
MEN’S CLUB
Allen & Elaine Sobel, in memory of David Biatch
MITZVAH COMMITTEE
Donna Breger Stanton, in memory of Frances M. Breger
Leah Emdy, in memory of Minnie Adler
Jim & Marcia Emery, in memory of Max Cooperstein
Estie and Mark Hudes, in honor of B’not Mitzvah—
Karen Harber & Maxim Schrogin, in honor of
Susan Sugarman’s Bat Mitzvah
Cathy Stevens, in honor of Susan Zarchy’s and
Susan Sugarman’s B’not Mitzvah
Renee Passy Zale, in memory of Isaac Passy
Phyllis Zisman, in memory of May Schere
MUSIC FUND
Marc Davis & Nancy Turak, in honor of all
High Holiday participants
Phyllis Zisman, in honor of B’not Mitzvah—
Phyllis Zisman, in memory of Esther Zisman
NURSERY SCHOOL FUND
Bonnie Cooperstein, in honor of Beverly and Richard Eigner
Leah Emdy, in honor of the birth of Sequoia Miriam Gardner
David & Nurit Garner, in memory of Johnny Jess Garner
Barbara & Steve Segal, in memory of Rosa Mayeri
PRAYERBOOK FUND
Nora Wagner
PROJECT NECHAMA
Jessica Wolin, in memory of Samuel Menachem Rosen Wolin
RABBIS’ DISCRETIONARY FUND
Robert Bonem
Janet Byron, in memory of Blanche Reiman
Janet Byron, in honor of Rabbi Kahn
Mona Cain
Bruce & Susan Carter, in honor of B’not Mitzvah—
Bert Cohn, in appreciation of memorial services
for Holly Cohn
Juliet & Peter Gardner, in honor of the Rabbis and staff of
Congregation Beth El
Sandy & Vivian Golden, in appreciation of Rabbi Kahn
Diane Kaplan & Robert Goldstein
Daniel Ray & Ellen Gould, in honor of Rabbi Rebekah Stern
Sharon Beth Levy, in memory of Anne and Aaron Ziegman
Dante & Jennifer Lombardi,
in honor of Leo Lombardi’s Bar Mitzvah
Thomas Lurquin
Robinn & Daniel Magid
Pam & Art Mahoney, in honor of marriage of
Gwen and Marv Pearlstein
Lea Salem & Lisa Ochs, in memory of Herman Blumental
Gail & David Offen-Brown, in memory of Samuel Offen
John & Susan Prausnitz
Zena Ratner, in memory of Ida Levine
Marcel & Margrit Schurman, in memory of Mina Turkavka
Cathy Stevens, in honor of Beverly and Richard Eigner
Marc Davis & Nancy Turak, in memory of Frederick Weil
Steve Weitz, in memory of Tristano Palermino
and David Glassberg
TORAH STUDY
Bruce & Susan Carter, in honor of Beverly Eigner
Jeff Gilman
Annual Appeal
Donate to
Beth El!
We gratefully acknowledge all of our donors to Beth El’s Annual Appeal. Donations to the
Annual Appeal help support our wonderful synagogue programming, community activities
and diverse membership.
Harry and Lee Abrams
Abravanel-Beeson Family
Daniel & Nancy Altman
Susan Amdur
Betsy Ami
Adele Amodeo
Ethan Andelman &
Laura Mytels
Joyce Appelbaum
Madison Arent
Deirdre Arima
Michael & Susan Austin
Rachel Berkowitz &
Jose Villagrana
Odette Blachman
Joel & Rochelle Blumenfeld
Henry Brady &
Patricia Kates
Elizabeth & Steven Branoff
Jeffrey & Susan Brand
Pamela & James Brandman
Barbara Brenner
Janet Byron
Mona Cain
Susan Austin &
Michael Charlson
Jonathan Cherin &
Catherine Pfister Cherin
Karen Cilman
Felicia Cole &
Dean Amundson
Bonnie Cooperstein
Michael & Pamela Crane
Clarke & Maria Daniels
Marc Derewetzky &
Jennifer Kawar
Martin & Jill Dodd
Keith & Dana Dubinsky
Ruth Dunham
Lynn Eden & Ruth
Schoenbach
Ruth Ehrenkrantz &
Spencer Klein
Leah Emdy
Robert Epstein & Amy Roth
Ellie Goldstein-Erickson
Michael & Merle Fajans
Elisabeth (Lisa) Feldman
David Fields &
Anita Roger Fields
Daniel Fishman
Anna & Michael Fogelman
Susan Frankel &
Moshe Maler
Matthew & Lisa Friedman
Andy & Lauren Ganes
Rose & Jack Gansky
Nurit & David Garner
Molly Gerstein-Gales &
Christopher Gales
Aleksandra Gertsvolf
Marlene Getz &
Robert Gilden
Jim Gilbert & Susan Orbuch
Jodi & Gordon Gladstone
Ellen Goldstein &
Jack Holleman
Josh & Barbara Goldstein
Sharon Goldfarb &
Brad Glasser
Ann Gonski & John Scott
Avrum Gratch
Laura Harnish
John Hartog &
Margaret Hand
Anthony Hecht &
Michelle Wolfson
David Hoffman &
Joan Sarnat
Stanley Hoffman
Mark & Estie Hudes
David Huebner &
Sandy Bacskai
Jerry Iserson &
Nancy Silverman
Timothy &
Rochelle Johnson
Steve Joseph &
Corey Hansen-Joseph
Ilan & Marlene Keret
Mike Klayman
Jessica Lehman
Leo & Rebecca Levenson
Neil & Jane Levy
Margeaux Lieberman &
Daniel Weinberg
Michael & Barbara Liepman
Stacey Shulman
Brian & Wendy Lukas
Thomas Lurquin
Desmid Lyon
Daniel & Robinn Magid
Alexandre Makler &
Anna Brock
William & Emily Marthinsen
Rosa Mayeri
Eugene & Robin Millstein
Mark Mogill &
Maribel Paterno-Mogill
Lloyd Morgan
Calvin & Alisa Morrill
Marlene Morris &
Paul Steckel
Dr. Sondra Napell
Allen & Pamela Nudel
Julie & Ted Obbard
Amy Oppenheimer &
Jennifer Krebs
Faramarz Pakzad &
Jaleh Pirnazar
Brian Parker &
Leyna Bernstein
Marv Pearlstein
Julie & Eddie Pledger
Harry Pollack &
Joanne Backman
Daniel Portnoy
Jennifer Rader
Ferenc & Paula Raj
Leslie Reckler &
Cameron Moore
Amy Resner & William Lee
Jena Resner & Jon Loran
Steven & Katherine Resnik
Dorothy Rice
Michael Richards
Mayer & Linda Riff
Ron & Trang Robinson
Rony & Gideon Ross
Elana Roston TTEE
David Rothenberg &
Lorraine Sandoval
Sylvia Rubin
Abigail & Craig Rudnick
Bruce Saldinger &
Lynne Royer
Suzanne & Bob Samuels
James & Judith Sanders
Alan Sanstad
Katherine Sanstad
David Schatsky
Stan and Miriam Schiffman
Marcel & Margrit Schurman
Steven & Barbara Segal
Sheila & Rachel Siemons
Barry Silverman
Thalia & Laurence
Silverman
Jonathan Simon &
Christina Spaulding
Joshua & Ruth Simon
Jonathan Simrin
Edward Sklar &
Jennifer Levin
Jeff Sloan
Amy & Steven Solomon
Jonathan Spalter &
Carissa Goux
Scott & Ruth Spear
Alan & Paula Statman
David & Jane Stern
Rebekah Stern &
Sean Holcombe
Julie Stone-Evans
Paul & Susan Sugarman
Sara Sunstein
Laurie Swiadon
Arthur Swislocki &
Ann Manheimer
Steve Tabak & Blair
Kilpatrick-Tabak
Aryeh Weinstein &
Erica Michelstein
Gerald Weintraub
Vadjiheh Yadegar
Ms. Beth Zeitman
Alexander &
Izabella Zheleznyak
Phyllis Zisman
Congregation Beth El’s L’Dor Vador Legacy Circle
We gratefully acknowledge the members of Congregation Beth El’s newly formed L’Dor
Vador Legacy Circle. These members have made a planned gift for the Congregation.
Daniel & Nancy Altman
Max* and Odette Blachman
Martin and Jill Dodd
Richard and Beverly Eigner
Arthur and Carol Goldman
David* and Dorothy* Golner
Barry and Erica Goode
John Hartog
Rabbi Yoel Kahn and Dan Bellm
Patrick Kennedy and Julie Matlof Kennedy
Spencer Klein and Ruth Ehrenkrantz
Jeff and Debbie Leon
The Magid Family
Jim Offel and Nancy Lewin
Jeffrey M. Seideman and Elisabeth Meyer Wechsler
Paul and Susan Sugarman
*Of blessed memory
If you have provided for the Congregation with a bequest in your estate plan but
have not yet informed us, please let us know by contacting Norm Frankel, Executive
Director. We welcome the opportunity to begin to thank and acknowledge you.
It is a Jewish tradition to give tzedakah to
commemorate life cycle events and other
occasions. Are you celebrating a birthday,
engagement, anniversary, baby naming,
bat/bar mitzvah or recovery from an illness?
These are just a few ideas of appropriate
times to commemorate with a donation to
Beth El. These tax-deductible donations are
greatly appreciated and are a vital financial
supplement to support the wonderful
variety of programs and activities that we
offer at Congregation Beth El.
Please make checks payable to
Congregation Beth El and mail to
1301 Oxford Street, Berkeley, CA 94709
or visit bethelberkeley.org/give/donate.
This contribution of $
in memory of* in honor of*
is
*
Please credit the fund checked below:
General Fund — Use Where Most Needed
Aaron Plishner Children’s Library
Allan and Tybil Smith Kahn Memorial Fund
Arjmand Adult Education Fund
Building Fund
Camp Kee Tov Scholarship Fund
Chevra Kadisha Fund
David Cotton Memorial Swig Fund
Homeless Meal Program
Israel Scholarship Fund
Bar Lev Landscape Fund
Marian Magid Memorial Fund
Men’s Club
Mitzvah Committee
Music Fund
Nursery School Fund
Oneg/Kiddush Fund
Prayerbook Fund
Project Nechama Fund
Rabbis’ Discretionary Fund
Rabbi Emeritus Raj’s Discretionary Fund
Rabbi Vida Library Fund
Social Action Fund
Youth and Family Education Fund
Youth Group Fund
Contribution:
Acknowledge:
From:
To:
Address 1:
Address 2:
Thank you for
your support!
CALENDAR
F E B R UARY 2015 · S H ’ VAT–ADAR 5775
S U N D AY
1
M O N D AY
T U E S D AY
2
3
2:00 pm Library Committee
2:30 pm Life Stories
5:00 pm Tu B’Shevat Family
Celebration
6:30 pm Tu B’Shevat Seder
7:00 pm Hannah Arendt
Reading Group
7:30 pm Education
Committee Meeting
8
9
10
9:15 am Roots and
Branches
2:00 pm Shiva Leader
Training
6:15 pm B’nei Mitzvah
Parents Meeting
6:30 pm Conversational
Hebrew for Adults
7:30 pm Executive
Committee
7:30 pm BENS Parent
Workshop: Through Their
Eyes
15
16
2:00 pm Homeless Meal:
Medical Clinic & Dental
Clinic
5:00 pm Homeless Meal
BENS & Office Closed
Presidents’ Day
22
9:15 am Roots and
Branches
2:00 pm Shiva Leader
Training
4:00 pm Israel Trip
Information Night
W E D N E S D AY
F R I D AY
S AT U R D AY
5
6
7
7:00 pm Ritual Committee
7:00 pm Israel Committee
5:00 pm Talmud Study
6:15 pm Shabbat evening
Service
8:30 am Early Minyan
9:15 am Torah Study
10:15 am Chug Mishpacha
10:15 am Shabbat Service
6:00 pm Gala
6:30 pm Sababa Movie
Night
11
12
13
14
7:00 pm Finance
Committee
7:00 pm House Committee
7:30 pm Lehrhaus’ Intro to
the Jewish Experience
12:00 pm Lunch & Learn
7:00 pm Reform California
with Men’s Club & Rabbi
Stern
BENS Closed: ECE
Conference
6:15 pm Shabbat Evening
Service
No Chug Mishpacha
9:15 am Torah Study
10:15 am Shabbat Service:
Rachel Aronson Bat
Mitzvah
17
18
19
20
21
No Kadima
7:00 pm Program Council
Kadima open; Makeup
December storm day
7:00 pm People of the Book
8:00 pm Rosh Chodesh
6:15 pm Yismechu Shabbat
Evening Service
9:15 am Torah Study
Elijah Perlstadt
23
24
25
26
27
28
Hebrew for Adults
7:00 pm Board of Directors
5:40 pm All School T’fillah
6:15 pm Sababa Board
Meeting
7:30 pm Rabbi Uri Regev
Lecture
5:00 pm YAFE Tot Shabbat
5:30 pm Shabbat YAFE
Community Dinner
Evening Service
7:00 pm Oneg in Honor of
Deb Massey
9:15 am Torah Study
Adriana Schurman Bat
Mitzvah
4
T H U R S D AY
CALENDAR
MARCH 2015 · ADAR – N I SAN 5775
S U N D AY
M O N D AY
T U E S D AY
W E D N E S D AY
T H U R S D AY
F R I D AY
S AT U R D AY
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9:15 am Roots & Branches
10:00 am BENS Makes
Mishloach Manot
Hebrew for Adults
7:00 pm Hannah Arendt
Reading Group
7:00 pm Ritual Committee
Meeting
Erev Purim
6:30 pm Maariv Service
7:00 pm Community Dinner
7:30 pm Megillah Reading
4:00 pm Kadima Purim
Celebration
7:00 pm Israel Committee
9:00 am BENS All School
Shabbat
6:15 pm Shabbat Evening
Service
9:15 am Torah Study
Talia Cole Bat Mitzvah
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
9:15 am Roots and
Branches
Hebrew for Adults
7:30 pm Executive
Committee Meeting
7:00 pm Finance
Committee
12:00 pm Lunch & Learn
5:00 pm YAFE Tot Shabbat
Community Dinner
Evening Service
7:00 pm Oneg & Activity
9:15 am Torah Study
10:15 am Shabbat Service
10:15 am 6th Grade Family
Learners’ Service and
Potluck Lunch
5:00 pm BENS Saturday
Night Live – Parents’
Night Out
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
2:00 pm Homeless Meal –
Medical Clinic
4:00 pm Homeless Meal
Hebrew for Adults
7:00 Program Council
7:00 pm People of the Book
6:15 pm Yismechu Shabbat
Evening Service
9:15 am Torah Study
Jessicah Ross Bat Mitzvah
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
9:15 am Roots & Branches
5:00 pm Midrashabang —
A Night in Tel Aviv
Hebrew for Adults
7:00 pm Board of Directors
7:30 pm BENS Parents
Workshop: Passover How-To
7:00 pm BENS Pesach
Art Night
5:40 pm All-school T’fillah
8:00 pm Rosh Chodesh
Group
12:00 pm BENS Pesach
Celebration
6:00 pm Men’s Club Dinner
7:30 pm Men’s Club
Shabbat Service
9:15 am Torah Study
Max Sklar Bar Mitzvah
29
30
31
No Midrasha
CONGREGATION BETH EL
1301 Oxford Street
Berkeley, CA 94709–1424
Nonprofit Org
US Postage
Paid
Berkeley CA
Permit #207
Inside this issue
Sponsor an Oneg
page 13
Men’s Club Shabbat on Friday, March 27
page 7
YAFE trip to Jerusalem in December 2015
page 14
Midrashabang on Sunday, March 22
page 14
FROM THE GIFT SHOP
We Got Gelt!
Chanukah Bazaar a Success
We want to thank our long list of volunteers and loyal customers for their help in bringing
the Chanukah Bazaar to a successful conclusion. We are happy to report that receipts
added up to $5,775. We also acknowledge and thank the Beth El staff, as well as the
custodians and Jose, our facilities manager, for their gracious cooperation. We are also
grateful to the Israel Committee, who each year schedules a movie night in conjunction
with our evening bazaar setup so we can offer an additional shopping opportunity to our
valued congregants. We could not have had a festive and profitable bazaar without all of
you! Oh, and our latkes were even more popular than we expected, and so we apologize
that we ran out! Thanks for the compliment, and we hope to make an even larger batch
next year!
As we often remind our members, all gift shop profits benefit our synagogue, so thank
you for remembering the Beth El Gift Shop as your first stop for Judaica and all-occasion
gifts. We hope you’ll remember us all year round, not just for the Chanukah season. We
are always glad to serve you!
Shopping at the Beth El Gift Shop is a friendly, relaxed experience. We are open
Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, with holidays excepted, of course. We
can also arrange for appointments at other times; just call Odette 510-526-4917 or email
us at: [email protected] to arrange for one. Credit cards are accepted as well as
cash and checks, and remember, while buying quality products you will be helping Beth El
meet its financial goals.
—Odette and Robinn · [email protected]; 510-848-3988
P H OTO BY B I L L Z A R C H Y

Gala to Honor Max Cooperstein Member Profile: Robinn Magid Deb

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