The Menorah for December 2015

The Menorah
Temple Emanuel
600 Lake Hollingsworth Dr.
Lakeland, FL 33803
Service Times
Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m.
Sunday School at 9:45 a.m.
December 2015
The office hours are as follows:
Monday thru Thursday 9:00am to 2:00pm
Fridays 9:00am to 12pm
Board of Directors
Volume 15, Issue 1
Michael Riskin, President
Gary Schwartz, 1st VP
Tammy Serebrin, 2nd VP
Mark Scolnick, 3rd VP
Gary Rabin, Treasurer
Robin Sussingham, Recording Secretary
2015-2016 Board Members
April Eckert
Cat Eskin
Harris Estroff
Kevin Estroff
Jane Renz
Shelley Robinson
Gary Rabin
Heidi Sichelman
Marvin Wyman
Tammy Serebrin
Temple Emanuel
Our Torah studies beginning in January direct
our thoughts to the events that took place in the
desert after the death of Joseph. In fact, the
remaining four books of the Pentateuch concern
themselves with the events of only a forty year
duration. Genesis, on the other hand, which we
will have completed reading near the end of
December, concerns itself with ALL of Jewish
history from the creation of the world, through
Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob and Joseph….covering thousands
of years! And now we find the remainder of the Torah covering a period
of only 40 years!
600 Lake Hollingsworth Dr.
Lakeland, FL 33803
(863) 682-8616
[email protected]
Rabbi Kieffer’s email:
[email protected]
Mark Scolnick
Daniel Boston
Stephanie Kimbrough
Marc Rapke
Jodie Snyder
Gerald Cohen
Amy Blocher
Alan Shane
www.TempleEmanuelLakeland.com
Staff
Rabbi Bertram Kieffer, Spiritual Leader
Denise Fisher, Office Administration
Davida Israel, Caretaker
Events and Meetings for December and January
Friday Night Services 7:30pm and Saturday Services 9:30am
DECEMBER 2015
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Tot Shabbat 6:00pm to 6:45pm,
Religious School 9:45am Confirmation Glass/Adult Ed 11-11:45am (see class schedule)
Religious School Synaplex (#2) 9:00am to 2:00pm
NO RELIGIOUS SCHOOL - CHANUKAFEST AT 5:00PM
Board Meeting 7:30pm
NO SCHOOL - Winter Break
NO SCHOOL - Winter Break
Sun. to Thurs. 27-31
USY Convention in Baltimore
JANUARY 2016
Sun.
Wed.
Fri.
Sun.
Sat.
Sun.
Mon.
Tues.
Fri.
Sun.
Wed.
Sat.
Sun.
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December 2015
December 2015
Note from Rabbi Kieffer,
www.Facebook.com/Temple Emanuel Lakeland
Fri.
Sun.
Sat.
Sun.
Mon.
Sun.
Sun.
Volume 15, Issue 1
NO SCHOOL—Winter Break
Hadassah Activity
Tot Shabbat 6:00pm to 6:45pm, Regular Service at 7:30pm
Religious School 9:45am, Confirmation Class/Adult Ed—11-11:45am (see class schedule)
VICTOR AUDETTE BAR MITZVAH 9:30AM
NO SCHOOL (MLK WEEKEND)
Board Meeting 7:30pm
Book Club
Musical Shabbat (Tom Jones/Humperdinck Come to Shul)
Religious School 9:45am—Tu B’Shevat
Movie Night 7:00pm
Religious School Synaplex 9:00am to 2:00pm
NO SCHOOL—Mah Jong Tournament 1:00pm
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The question begs to be asked: what happened in those forty years that
merited so much biblical coverage?
Inside this issue:
Rabbi Kieffer’s Letter
Presidents Corner
1-2
2
Upcoming Events & Save the
Dates
3-5
Previous Events Pictures
6-7
1st Annual Mah Jongg
Tournament
8
Archives
9-10
Donations
11-12
Schmooze News & Updates
13
Yahrzeits
14-15
Birthdays and Anniversaries
16-17
Board of Directors
18
Events & Meeting Schedule
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What do the latter four books, i.e., Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy deal with in their texts?
The first chapter of the Book of Exodus describes how the family of Jacob
moved down to Egypt and settled in the land of Goshen where they had
lots of children and thrived economically. Things were great for the
Hebrews and everything in their way of life was on the upswing. We are
told that a new Pharoah arose over the land who got nervous that the
Hebrews were multiplying and becoming too powerful and that he
conspired with some of his inner advisors to confiscate the lands and
riches of the Hebrews and to consign the Hebrews to a life of slave labor
on behalf of the state.
The first 15 chapters of the Book of Exodus give us details about the
enslavement, the emergence of Moses as a leader of this unorganized
band of descendants of Jacob, and the eventual exodus from Egypt with
its ensuing opportunity to become free people. We indeed were free
people as individuals but we were not yet a free people!
After we were freed from slavery in Egypt, who were we? What defined
us as a people? What differentiates us as Jews from other people? Aahhh!
Now we get why 80% of the Torah starts from here!
(continued on Page 2)
December 2015
The Menorah
(Continued from Page 1)
As we study the Torah week to week and discover our codes of morality as taught by Moses and we
learn details about such things as trying to act in a priestly manner, the role that rituals and
repetition of rituals play in our identity as a people as presented in the Book of Leviticus; we learn
about the constant challenges to authority within our people from people like Korach as we learn in
the Book of Numbers; we learn about respecting the land, our environment, about kindness to
strangers and concern for the unfortunate, respecting scholarship and the performance of good deeds
as presented to us in the Book of Deuteronomy, a picture begins to manifest itself as to who we are
and what we are about.
My friends, each generation has to sign up anew as Jews. To what extent will we identify ourselves
with our past as a Jewish people? How will we blend tradition with modernity? What will we teach
our kids both by our words and our actions? History is a wonderful thing but it’s only relevant if we
learn from it and apply its teachings to today. Freedom is great…..or….not!
As our families gather during this season and we get to count our blessings for the love that is part of
our lives, Dianne and I and our entire family hope that the coming secular year of 2016 will be a year
of health, happiness, and discovery for you and your loved ones.
Rabbi Bertram U. Kieffer, D.D.
Presidents Corner
Welcome to Temple Emanuel. I hope that you find this edition of The Menorah to be a useful
resource into the programs and services we offer at our congregation. At Temple Emanuel, we
strive to be a vibrant and engaged community inspired by our connections with each other. We
hope that you will be inspired to meet and engage with our terrific Rabbi Kieffer and his wife
Dianne and perhaps become involved. We offer resources for our children through our
Educational Programs, our Bar and Bat Mitzvah training courses, and through our Religious
School. This past year we have made some tweaks to our education system and have rolled out
some exciting and reimagined religious and cultural programming as a result of these efforts.
We also offer opportunities for lifelong learning for all generations as well as opportunities to
develop meaningful relationships with other members of our congregation. These opportunities
take many forms whether by volunteering to help plan a special event, a Mitzvah day with others,
or simply by sitting down and grabbing a cup of coffee and making friends and one of our many
social events.
If you have any questions, we are here to help. So no matter how you navigate your Jewish journey, whether on-line or in person, please consider Temple Emanuel a helpful tool in your life-long
passage. Please visit us at http://templeemanuellakeland.com/ or like us on Facebook to get the
most up to the minute information about what is happening at Temple Emanuel.
I hope you and your family have a Happy Hanukah and we will look forward to seeing you at the
Temple soon!
Michael Riskin
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Save the Date December 2015
Our Jewish Communion:
Religious Identity and Growing
Up Jewish in Polk County
The Menorah
* Bring Friends
December 12 - from 9 - 2
Torah Yoga - armchair Yoga with a Hanukkah twist
The Matzav - a group discussion on the current Israeli situation
Jewish Spirituality - a short, spiritual session in English
led by Rabbi Bert Kieffer
Torah at the Inprov - Let’s act out this week’s
Torah portion
Traditional Shabbat Service
You be the Judge - What does the Torah say about
real life current problems
Shabbat Lunch, Birkat Hamazon &
Maccabia—
* Activities for All Ages
* Celebrate Hanukkah
with your Temple
Lots of games and races Golf, Chess, Tennis, Volleyball,
Baseball, Gaga and more; bring your own clubs,
racquets, mitts & bats!
Family!
Come at whatever time works for you! Stay as long as you would like!
Wear clothing suited to your activities & choose the activities that you
would like to take part in … Shabbat shouldn’t be one size fits all! Come
& explore Synaplex at Temple Emanuel & find out what fits …YOU!
* Dinner Served
* Learn Israeli Dancing
Sunday, February 21 from 2-3:30pm
Annie Pfeiffer Chapel
on the Florida Southern College
campus.
This presentation is sponsored by a
Service Grant from The Florida
Humanities Council Community
Strings
and
Shabbat
Friday,
December 18
During our Shabbat Service, we
will enjoy a musical interlude
with songs lead by
Susie Blevins
accompanied by
Norma Jo Vaillette
on Violin
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Join us after Services at a special
Oneg which is sponsored by
Susie Blevins
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December 2015
The Menorah
Upcoming Events:
Birthdays in December
Temple Emanuel’s Tot Shabbat !
January 8
from 6 - 6:45 PM in Renz Hall
A special Shabbat experience for
children under age 7 and their families.
Join us for pasta, singing,
“Treasures of Shabbat” Pirate Puppet Show and help us
celebrate Shabbat !
Please call the office and let us know you will be joining us!
Bring your friends!
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Shelley Robinson
Leonard Rabin
Beverly Fox
Joshua Max Audette
Barbara Cohen
Richard Ross
Elaine Fleisher
Annie Spiro
Donald Kaplan
Jessica Shoffner
Victor David Audette
Alan Joseph
Robert Trohn
Kayla Dougherty
Ariel Vugman
Birthdays in January
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Alexandra Michelle Eckert
Maxine Weiss
Anne Weiner
Max Glenn Estroff
Robin Sussingham
Isaac Selig
Arthur Alvarez
Korina Masters
Shelley Epstein
Dr. Joel Freid
Stuart Neuberger
Dr. Ilan Abramowitz
Daniel Sussingham
Dr. Monte Sichelman
Traditional Shabbat Service at 7:30 PM in the Sanctuary
Thank G-d it’s
Shabbat!*
TGIS*- Musical
Shabbat
Traditional Shabbat Prayers
set to the melodies of
“Please Release Me”, “It’s Not Unusual”, “Delilah”,“Quando, Quando”,
“Love Me Tonight” and much more…
as performed by our own dynamic
Rabbi “Engel” Bert Kieffer
Anniversaries in December
Anniversaries in January
 3 Stuart and Carolyn Neuberger
 23 Harvey and Myrna Garbow
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If you are a Temple member and
you would like us to announce
your birthday or anniversary,
please email the information to the
Temple office
[email protected] or
call the office (863) 682-8616.
David and Shelley Robinson
Moshe and Lizandra Izsak
Robert and Amy Morris
Harris and Linda Estroff
Drs. Monte & Heidi Sichelman
A great way to honor someone on their birthday or anniversary or any other simcha, or to remember them as you observe their Yahrzeit is to sponsor an Oneg Shabbat or Kiddush lunch in their
honor or memory.
Cost of sponsoring a regular Oneg Shabbat is $36 and a regular Kiddush lunch is
$108 for up to 40 people. If any additional food is desired such as a birthday or anniversary cake
or additional foods are desired or for more than 40 people, there will be an additional charge.
Call Tammy Serebrin at 863-838-2583 to book a date and
for further information.
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December 2015
The Menorah
(Proceeds go to the Religious School Fund)
Help Temple Emanuel’s Religious School
and send your family and friends happy mail by
sending Nachas Notes.
Please check name(s), as indicated on this form,
for those you wish to receive Nachas Note. Then
indicate below, YOUR name and phone number.
Mail this form, along with check ($5.00 for each
name checked) to Rhoda Goldsmith, 3105 Boger
Blvd. West, Lakeland, FL 33803
Nachas notes are cute postcards (postage
included) with birthday or anniversary greetings.
We also have Nachas Note Cards for holidays.
Nachas Notes are sent by Temple volunteer,
Rhoda Goldsmith.
Name:
Phone:
Please do not send your order to the Temple office—this
will delay processing.
Member Birthdays and Anniversaries
Birthdays in November
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Carolyn Neuberger
Melody Eckert
Ramon Quintana
Mark Scolnick
Mimi Chernick
Myrna Glass-Quintana
Michelle Estroff
Jennifer Audette
Jillian Robinson
Dr. Marvin Odro
Jane Kaplan
William Sadowsky
Ira Serebrin
Benjamin Joseph Vickers
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Gabriella Pinheiro S Ruiz
William Blocher
Josh O’Connor
Susan Alvarez
Donna Gorell
Irma Cole
Dr. Jordan Eckert
Joy Leviten
Anniversaries in November
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Kevin and Michelle Estroff
Ruth and Charles Vickers
Jim and Lori Dougherty
Stephen and Deborah Herman
Dr. Jordan and April Eckert
Michael and Nyrka Riskin
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December 2015
The Menorah
Donations (Continued)
With great joy and pride,
Scott & Jennifer Audette
welcome you to join them as their son,
Victor David Audette,
is called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah.
Friday evening, January 15, 2016
& Saturday morning, January 16, 2016
Many thanks to Baila Miller who gave a wonderful program
at Temple Emanuel
on Sunday November 15
about the history of Russian, Cantorial and Klezmer
music and its influence on the music of modern times.
Kol Nidre Appeal Pledges
Ilan and Doraida Abramowitz
Bertha Alvarez
Saul and Evelyn Berger
Jerry and Gail Blumengarten
Michael and Beth Dennis
Lori and Jim Dougherty
Jordan and April Eckert
Catherine Eskin and Michael Barickman
Harris and Linda Estroff
Edwin and Kathryn Friedlander
Neil Glazer
Harvey and Myrna Garbow
Joan Greenbaum
Stephen and Deborah Herman
Moshe and Lizandra Izsak
Max and Miriam Joseph
Donald and Jane Kaplan
Mavra Kear
Korina Masters
Stuart and Carolyn Neuberger
Althea Miller
Brian and Jane Renz
Michael and Nyrka Riskin
Richard Ross
Gary and Arlene Schwartz
Michael Sedloff and Norma Jo Vaillette
Ira and Tammy Serebrin
Marilyn Signer
Raymond and Jodie Snyder
Sonny Spiwak and George Berger
Victor and Annie Spiro
Beverly and Jack Stephens
Chris and Robin Sussingham
Jonathan Trohn
Bernard and Martha Wildove
Marvin Wyman
Barry Zalman
Thanks also to Baila’s brother and his wife, Temple members,
Harry and Marlene Wlodowski
who provided the delicious homemade goodies reception that followed.
High Holiday Honors
Many thanks to those who made the Rosh Hashanah reception such a memorable occasion.
A loving thank you to my children and grandchildren who sponsored it in honor of my
90th Birthday.
My thanks also to those who baked, worked in the kitchen and helped with the serving.
Ada and her kitchen crew. Jennifer Audette, Barbara Cohen, Irma Cole and Mark Scolnick, Beth
Dennis, Lori Dougherty, April Eckert, Cat Eskin, Myrna Garbo, Cheri Glogower, Debby Herman,
Lizandra Izsak, Miriam Joseph, Stephanie Kimbrough, Joy and Dan Leviten, Sharon Lakin, Shari
Levitats, Bonnie Odro, Joan Rabin, Jane Renz, Shelley Robinson, Arlene Schwartz, Heide Sichelman, Sonny Spiwak, Robin Sussingham, Doris Trohn, Norma Jo Valliete, Maxine Weiss and Marlene and Harry Wlodawski
Robert and Sarah Behr
Jordan and April Echert
Harris and Linda Estroff
Kevin and Michelle Estroff
Paul and Cheri Glogower
Dr. Moshe and Lizandra Izsak
Morris Kutner
Dan and Joy Leviten
Eric and Ana Lipson
Marc and Phyllis Pechter (Heidi Sichelman’s Parents)
Gary Rabin
Gerald and Joan Rabin
A special thanks to Linda Estroff and Tammy Serebrin who is the Grand Poobah of everything
Upstairs and Downstairs at Temple Emanuel.
Marilyn Signer
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Jane and Brian Renz
Michael Riskin
Shelley Robinson
Ira and Tammy Serebrin
Heidi Sichelman
Marilyn Signer
Raymond and Jodie Snyder
Jack and Beverly Stephens
Doris Trohn
Aleksander Vugman
Richard and Maxine Weiss
Marvin Wyman
December 2015
The Menorah
Donations
Monies received from February16, 2014. through N, 2015. Temple Emanuel thanks everyone who has made financial contributions to The Temple in
honor or memory of Temple family and/or friends.
TEMPLE GENERAL FUND
Sol and Mary Feldman in memory of Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller
Richard and Maxine Weiss in memory of Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller
Harris and Linda Estroff in memory of Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller
Max and Miriam Joseph in memory of Emanuel Josephowitz
Max and Miriam Joseph in memory of Harry Aaron
Michael and Beth Dennis in memory of Anna Josephowitz
Michael and Beth Dennis in memory of Emanuel Josephowitz
Althea Miller in memory of Albert Sofness and Harold Sofness
Richard Ross in memory of Harry Ross
Brian and Jane Renz in memory of Arthur B. VanGelder Jr.
Michael and Beth Dennis in memory of Clement R. Dennis
Roy Dribbon in memory of Elaine Dribbon
Brian and Jane Renz in honor of Ira Serebrin’s Birthday
Roberta Gordon in memory of Bernie Gordon and
Irene Goldberg
Robert and Sarah Behr for “Put the Shtelt to the Metal”
“Meshuga for Mah Jongg”
First Annual Tournament Fundraiser
11:30—12:30
Lunch & Rules
12:30—1:30
Round 1
1:45—2:45
Round 2
3:00—4:00
Round 3
Sunday, January 31st, 2016
Temple Emanuel, 600 Lake Hollingsworth Dr. Lakeland, FL
33803
$25 Registration Fee
Followed by Prizes, Dessert & Coffee
Includes 12 games of Mah Jongg, lunch,
dessert, coffee & prizes!
Registration Form (Mah Jongg Tournament)
Name ______________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________________
Rabbi Discretionary Fund
Dr. Ronald and Arlene Krusch in memory of Rose Fleet
City ___________________________ State _________ Zip ___________
Phone ____________________________ Email ____________________
Nachas Notes
Gerald and Barbara Cohen
Richard and Maxine Weiss
Brian and Jane Renz
Charity Fund
Ilan Abramowitz
Donations in honor of Marilyn
Signer’s 90th Birthday
Paul and Cheri Glogower
(Charity Fund)
Hope and Ron Rosenberg
(Building Fund)
Norman and Rebecca Slakman
(Temple Fund)
Stella and Carrie Toro
(Temple Fundy)
Richard and Maxine Weiss
(Temple Fund)
Sonny Spiwak
(Temple Fund)
Oneg/Kiddush Fund
Marc and Phyllis Pechter in honor of
Heidi Sichelman’s Birthday
Robin Sussingham in honor of
Doris Trohn’s Birthday
Building Fund
Marvin Wyman in honor of
Brian Renz’s Birthday and
Tammy Serebrin’s Birthday
Educational Endowment Fund
Sharon Stone in memory of her daughter Jenny Stone Brown
Registration Cut-off Date is January 15, 2016
Questions? Contact Myrna 863-213-4542 or Lizandra 863-670-7698
 Print and mail registration form and fee
(made payable to Temple Emanuel) send to :
Temple Emanuel, 600 Lake Hollingsworth, FL 33803
Mondays
Join us for
1:00 p.m.
MAH JONGG
Renz Hall
If there are unintentional omissions, please contact the office and we will make those corrections in the next newsletter.
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December 2015
The Menorah
Honorable “Mentch”en
Laurel Friedman-Aytes, daughter of Temple members Barry Friedman and Sharon Hodges, was
awarded a doctorate in communication from the University of California San Diego on Nov. 12.
Laurel’s doctoral work focused on health communication and her dissertation looks at issues surrounding tuberculosis treatment policy in the California-Mexico border region.
Laurel, who was born in Tampa and grew up in Lakeland, is a 1998 graduate of Harrison Arts Center. She has an associates degree in photography from Daytona Beach Community College, a multidisciplinary bachelors degree from the University of South Florida with concentrations in anthropology, communication and photography, and a masters in communication from UCSD.
She and her husband, Ayhan Aytes, had their first child on November 23rd, a girl Ela Deniz. They
are currently in San Diego and plan to return to their home in Istanbul, Turkey, in January.
Mazel tov to Temple member Richard “Dick” Ross has became a great grandfather. The baby’s
name is Ava Francine Ross.
Mazel tov to Temple member Robert Behr who was appointed to his new position as CEO of Florida
Natural Growers in September. The Ledger wrote a wonderful front page article about Bob in the
November 16 issue of the newspaper.
Mazel Tov to Marilyn Signer on the birth of her fifth Great-grandchild, Eva.
Within Conservative Judaism yahrzeits are calculated from the Hebrew calendar.
Names are recalled the Friday before the yahrzeit date.
Yahrezits in November, December & January (cont.)
December 19-December 25
Stanley Friedman, Joseph Jerusalem, Iving Kirshman, Julius
Kirshman, Ida Ross, Rose Eskow, Paul Kirshman, Abe Tonkel, Scott Goldberg, Frances
Leviten, Esther Schwartz, Bernard Engleman, Louis Ginsburg, Alfred Goldberg, Sadie Lerner,
Hannah Moskowitz, Sadie Roch Lerner, Cyrus Wolfson
December 26-January 1
Joseph Ingber Ambar, Nellie Bloch, Thomas Adam Ginsburg, Betty Goldring, Leah Smith,
Martin Spiro, Dr. Joseph Freedman, Jeanne Blumengarten, Edith Cynthia Fishman, Nathan
Gilbert, Sidney Kasavana, Israel I. Marcus, Mania Kalisiak, Bertha Kenet, Helene Mandel,
Hyman Schneider, Charles Wolk, Jennie Salkowitz
January 2-January 7
Gladys Spitzer, Nathan Kaplan, Rose M. Schwartz, Zelda Silverman, Evah Leah Wolfson,
Sidney Banchik, Morris Fox, Frank Levine, Benjamin Palestine, Lawrence Safferstone, Hilda &
Ernst Straus, Harris Wishnatzki
January 8-January 15
Alex Friedman, Shepe Goldberg, Philip Trohn, Howard Wein, Samuel Blumberg, Mary Booker,
Jennie Brownstein, Samuel Gamce, Irving H. Senft, Rae Weiss, Norman Wolf, Allen Weinstein,
Jennifer Rae Kochan, Frank Golub, John Steven Kaplan, Joseph Slakman, Simmie Cohen, Bill
Prebler, Dr. Herman R. Slakman, Howard Cohn, Dorothea May Teicher, Aleksander Kaplan,
Janet H. Sinder
January 16-January 22
Irene Cole, Abraham Silverstein, J. Herbert Wolfson, Herman Greenbaum, Edward Safer, Elias
Birk, Irving Gilbert, Abraham Schwartz, Frances G. Holober, Evelyn Miller, Bernhardt Trohn,
Sydney Schwartz
January 23-January 31
Eli Levitt, Harry Moskovitz, Frank R. Rauschkolb, Mollie Wolf,
Nathan Blumengarten, Samuel Estroff, Sylvia Claire Klein, Sally
Wasserman, Abraham Benkovitz, Yetta Cohen, Moshe Kenet, Joseph
Licht, Sam Weiner, Freda Dudkin, Samuel A. Novak, Ceyl
Ostrowsky, Ethel Friedman, Bertha Roch, Milo Berthe
(From left) Judy, Todd, Joan
and Sandy Estroff, c. 1960
Al and June Arnold in front of
their home in Lakeland, c.1960
Hilda& Jerry Weiner take a turn on the
floor during his Bar Mitzvah , 1963
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December 2015
The Menorah
Within Conservative Judaism yahrzeits are calculated from the Hebrew calendar.
Names are recalled the Friday before the yahrzeit date.
Yahrezits in November, December & January
November 1-November 6
Elaine Dribbon, Ethel Lamport, Edward Charles Leviten, Harry H.
Blumberg, Alfred Rovell, Leo Kaplan, Morris Selig, Harry Ginsburg, Bessie Schneider, Sanford
Davis, Tova Izsak
November 7-November 13
Esther Hammerman Blate, Mildred Estroff, Irene Greenburg, Sallye Finman Horowitz, Kismet
Neuman, Abraham Pincus, Stanley Kochan, Russell Rabin, Anna Josephowitz, Ruth Fishbein
Barber, Bernard Gordon, Dora Herman, Edythe Schwartz, Solica Levy, Rosa G. Breidenbach,
Sigmund Breidenbach, Abraham H. Friedman
November 14-November 20
Nathan Rodnesky, Benjamin Grossman, Jonah Kisler, Nathan Lipshitz, Lena DeLieme
Heertje, William B. Jacobs, Carolee Kirshman, Gladys F. Lowy, Molly Gantzman, Joseph
Wishnatzki, Martin Fridovich
November 21-November 27
Herman David Goldstein, Clara Aaron, Charles Diner, William Henry Estroff, Muriel Greif,
Barney Kenet, Yetta Levitt, Morris Robinson, Sidney Goodwin, Celina Kaplan, Nat J.
Schneider, Charles Burghauser, Carl Lesnick, Lillie Signer, Sylvia Wolf
November 28-December 3
Sergio Alvarez, Myer A. Blate, Edgar I. Mehrlust, Julie Aaron, Julia Rauschkolb, William
Sunailitus, Kate Estroff Malkove
About the Archives - Celebrating Memory
By Cat. Eskin
As many of you may already know, the Temple Emanuel Archive (TEA) has been honored over the last few
months. First, by a grant from the Southern Jewish Historical Society (SJHS), an organization founded in
1977 with the expressed purpose of fosteringscholarship about the experience of southern Jews. They boast
an annual conference,
academic journal, and active grant and award programs, which have helped to move southern Jewish history from the margins of the American Jewish narrative into the mainstream. Many of you probably already
know that the earliest settlements of Jews were in the Southern United States. I was pleased to join their
ranks in 2010 and present on our temple at one of their conferences in Columbia, SC in October of 2011. Encouraged by the wonderful scholars and enthusiasts connected with the Society, I applied for a Scott and
Donna Langston Archival Grant to help our little archive transcribe some of the over 100 (!) distinct interviews in the collection. In particular, I asked for help with the “Growing Up Jewish” interviews which were
already available (I had interviewed several people with the “Growing Up Jewish” purpose as far back as
2009). The grant monies will likely help with over 20 transcriptions (some are already partially transcribed),
allowing these important historical records to be more publicly available.
The committee which approved the Langston Grant encouraged me (well, the TEA) to apply for a Florida
Humanities Council grant, which aid organizations like ours. I am pleased to announce that I applied at the
beginning of September and we were approved before the end of the month! The grant from the Council
(funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities) will financially support several areas of the TEA’s
mission and also allow some new partnerships. The most exciting will be a public presentation in the
Spring—February 21, 2016; 2-3:30pm in Annie Pfeiffer Chapel on FSC’s campus—which will include the Director of the Jewish Studies Program at UF, Dr. Jack Kugelmass and our own Robin Sussingham as moderator. I’ll be offering more details soon (it will be called “Our Jewish Communion”: Religious Identity and
Growing Up Jewish in Polk County). The grant also includes funding for more interviews, more transcriptions and an archive/cataloging consultant to help organize and make more available our collections. This
last has helped the TEA form a cooperative relationship with the Polk County History Center which will
both provide one of the consultants and offer an exhibit on Jews in Polk County at the Bartow Courthouse
Museum they operate (May and June 2016). Finally, we will begin the process of making some items visible
on-line through our own website.
I am so pleased to be able to see our years of collecting bear fruit. The Temple Emanuel family—those who
are with us still and those who helped both the Archive and the Temple itself emerge and flourish—can be
proud of our contributions to Southern Jewish history, the history of Florida, and the more general work of
improving the world through
education and tolerance. Tikkun Olam!
December 4-December 11
Barbara Brown, Mack Freid, Max Izove, Ralph Laub, Murray Garbow, Clara Gilbert, Hyman
Gittlewitch, Charles Holober, Herb Spiwak, Shirley “Tibe” Kasavana, Sara Lesnick, Ida
Wildove, Ethel Sedloff, Elliot Schick, Eli Chapnik, Frances P. Wolfson
December 12-December 18
Murray Horowitz, Marion Marcus, tilly Stecherl, Nat Wolf, S. Harvey Greenspan, Rose
Leibovitz, Lillian Kaplan, Tillie Moskovitz, Dora Pincus,Wilfred Wolfson, Harry Zelonky
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The mothers (and at least one dad!) of the
confirmation class lend a hand in the kitchen,
c.1962
9
Melvin and Selig Estroff at their home on
South Florida Avenue, c.1931
December 2015
The Menorah
Sukkot 2015
Sukkah Hop 2015
Pet Shabbat in October 2015
Thanksgiving Interfaith Service
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