Our Latest Newsletter - Westchester Community for Humanistic

FEBRUARY, 2015
VOLUME 11, # 6
THIS MONTH
The New Year brings some changes to
WCHJ, including the unfortunate news
that our Rabbi, Frank Tamburello, has
Fri. Feb. 20, 7:30 PM
had to curtail his activities because of
Shabbat and discussion at the home
of Jack Billig and Judy North, 1 Hilltop problems with his health. We are
pleased that he will still be able to lead
Lane, White Plains. Members only.
some of our programs when he is able.
[email protected]
914-448-0180, Please RSVP
Sat. Feb. 7, 2:30 PM
Tu B’shvat Seder
Community Unitarian Church,
White Plains, refer to page 3 for
details.
Jewish History Buffs
on Sat.Feb. 28, 10:15 AM
at the home of Pat Hammer
12 Westway, Hartsdale, NY
[email protected]
693-3156 Please RSVP
(January’s meeting was cancelled
because of weather.)
As planned for last month we will
compare readings in Abba Eban’s My
People with Ari Shavitʼs report on the
settlement of Palestine and the 1948
war, and discuss the “New Historians”.
On the plus side, Rav Aliza Erber has
expressed willingness to become our fulltime rabbi. She has already participated
in several of our events, including our
summer Havdalah under the Stars last
July, injecting some Israeli spirit into our
regular program. Please go to page two
to read Rav Aliza’s letter of introduction.
On Jan. 23 we celebrated shabbat at Ann
Toffel’s home, with Rav Aliza officiating.
Because the first of a series of
snowstorms was heading our way, the
group included only a few brave souls,
but we all enjoyed the evening, which
included some discussion of the Exodus
and its possible interpretations. We had
a lively discussion and are looking
forward to monthly shabbats, with other
interesting topics on the menu. Ann’s
fruit and custard pie was, of course, a
very welcome addition to the evening.
Gloria Weil
WCHJ uses environmentally friendly products for our programs whenever possible.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Rabbi’s Corner
Shalom WCHJ Haverim:
2015
Board of Directors
Dmitry Turovsky .........................President
Ann Toffel.....................................Vice-President
Irving Kleiman
Treasurer
Janine Simon ............................... Secretary
Jack Billig ............................ Member-at-Large
Diane Steinfink ..................... Member-at Large
Committees
Ceremonial.......
Rabbi: Aliza Erber
[email protected],
914-761-2773
Education....................................Channing Stave
Jewish Education School..............Channing Stave
[email protected]
914-793-7770
Jewish History Buffs...........................Gloria Weil
[email protected]
914-235-2612
Hospitality......................................rotating
Membership ( Co-chairs)
Janine Simon and Barbra Baum
[email protected] 725-5431
[email protected] 725-1402
Programs.................................. Channing Stave
[email protected]
914-793-7770
Publicity Co-chairs
Charlotte Klein- advertising
[email protected]
914-218-8535
Gloria Weil- newsletter editor
[email protected]
914-235-2612
For general information or
questions
Please contact Dmitry Turovsky,
713-8828
[email protected]
or search our website, wchj.org
With much joy I would like to introduce myself to you,
as the new Spiritual Leader/Rabbi of the WCHJ.
I have enjoyed every moment I have spent with you so
far and look forward to many more times spent
together in services, text study, holidays and social
events. I also look forward to meeting each and every
one of you personally.
A little of my bio will reveal that although Dutch born,
I spent much of my early childhood in Israel. I came
to the USA at the age of 15. My upbringing was
completely secular, or we could call it Humanistic, as
is the case with most Israelis.
I went to school and became a Podiatric Medical
surgeon. I think because my father thought that
medicine was the most noble of professions.
I enjoyed my 20++ years in private practice while
raising my three children.
As a child of holocaust survivors I felt that I needed to
learn a lot more about my religion and heritage and
went to study at the ALEPH Seminary for Jewish
Renewal. I was ordained as a Rabbinic Pastor while
also studying at both Norwalk Hospital and Roosevelt
Hospital in NY under the umbrella of CPE to become
a certified chaplain. I have worked primarily as a
Hospice Chaplain at Phelps Memorial. My Institute,
BeYakhad, has offered meetings for senior adults as a
venue to explore Judaism, and we also teach and
prepare children for their Bar and Bat Mitzvah over
which I then officiate.
Finally, of-course as a Rabbi, I perform all the Jewish
life-cycles from baby naming to funerals.
I absolutely love being a [secular] Rabbi. I hope to
bring to WCHJ a lot of RUAKH (spirit),interesting
discussions, more traditional melodies and a joyful
presence.
With the best of good wishes to you all.
Please call me when you need me.
Rav Aliza 914-761-2773
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The Westchester Community for HUMANISTIC JUDAISM
INVITES YOU TO A
HUMANISTIC JEWISH TU B’SHVAT
EARTH DAY
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2:30 PM
Community Unitarian Church-468 Rosedale Avenue, WP
•
•
LIGHT SEASONALLY APPROPRIATE REFRESHMENTS
A NATURE THEMED SERVICE BY RABBI TAMBURELLO
•
A HUMANIST KIDDUSH
•
SHARED READINGS
•
MUSIC
•
COST- NON MEMBERS $10 pp( CHILDREN UNDER 13 NO CHARGE)
Make checks payable to WCHJ
Send to I. Kleiman, 165 West End Ave,apt.12D New York 10023
Please RSVP before February 1 to [email protected]
For more information visit website www.wchj.org
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WCHJ INTRODUCES MONTHLY SHABBAT
PROGRAMS
Beginning this month WCHJ will
hold Shabbat services once a
month at members’ homes. Our
new rabbi, Rav Aliza, will conduct
the services and choose a text for
study. The plan for the moment is
to explore the Torah from a
Humanistic point of view. Rabbi
Aliza will announce the topic
before we meet so we can
prepare ahead for a stimulating
evening.
WCHJ WANTS YO
Relax- no marching required, and
certainly no guns allowed.
But we really do need you. Irv Kleiman
has held the post of treasurer for
almost 10 years, and would still
continue to do so if his eyesight were
not giving him a hard time.
For the moment the meetings are
You don’t need to be an accountant- all
only open to members.
you need is a computer and the ability
*************************
to count beyond 100. There is a
IN MEMORIAM
THE WCHJ Board would like to
offer their deepest sympathy to
Lourie Wasserman on the death
of her husband, Steven.
Laurie is a a relatively new
member of WCHJ and we hope to
get to know her better during the
rest of this year. Laurie’s address
is 1085 Warburton Ave.
Yonkers, 107091 for those who
would like to drop her a note.
The family will be sitting shiva
Sunday afternoon, Feb 1. Dmitry
and Olga Turevsky plan to visit
then.
computer program that will do the rest,
including filling out government tax
returns.
Irv will continue to be available to
support the person who takes over this
very important but not very timeconsuming job.
Please step up to the plate (and try to
ignore my mixed metaphor.)
Contact our president, Dmitry:
914-713-8828 or [email protected]
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Judaism is Elementary
(by David Wolpe-spiritual leader of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles)
I am a great fan of mystery novels. I have read more than I can count,
along with books about the history of the genre, and have many favorites.
Part of the joy is that mysteries both illuminate extremes of human
character and satisfy our craving for justice, usually with a clever puzzle
thrown in. From Poeʼs Dupin, often reckoned the first fictional detective,
through Holmes and the golden age of Bentley, Christie and up to Rex
Stout, P.D. James, Connolly and Jo Nesbo today, the detective usually
represents, however imperfectly, the thirst for what is right.
Of course there is almost always a murder. The detective seeks justice but
the plot is predicated on injustice. You cannot open a mystery novel and
assume you will find well-adjusted families and honest businesses and
whistle-clean characters. The mystery novel at its heart is very Jewish. The
world is always broken and restoring what we can is our task. The detective
in this sense is generalized to each Jew. We are deputized to find the
wrong and seek to redress it, with tools of reason, intuition and right
conduct. “Justice, justice you shall pursue,” we are told (Deut. 16:20). It is
our task to rise from lethargy and make the world better; as Holmes would
say, the game Is afloat.
(contributed by Rhoda Kleiman)
Here is your chance to put Rabbi Wolpe’s words into action:
CHILDRENʼS LITERACY PROGRAMS
The Family Service Society of Yonkers is looking for adult volunteers to give
an hour or two a week to mentoring children in the Yonkers schools. “We are a non-profit, intergenerational organization serving children in
Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Elmsford and White Plains. We are now opening
new programs in Yonkers and need additional mentors to fill our programs. As you may know, prior to becoming a division of Family Service Society of
Yonkers, our organization was the Jewish Council of Yonkers, an
organization with a long history of service to the community.”
Call or write Viveca Teuber, 914-423-5009,914-233-1402, www.jcy-wcp.com
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!
!
!
!
92Y @ MJH
Wednesday, February 11, 7 P.M.
Lincoln and the Jews
With Gary P. Zola, Hebrew Union College, and
Jonathan Sarna, Brandeis University
From the time of Abraham Lincoln's presidency to the present
day, American Jews have viewed him as a sympathetic figure.
Two leading historians of American Judaism consider how
Lincoln acquired his exceptional status.
JEWISH TRIVIA
From :” Eating Delancey:A Celebration of Jewish Food”-!
Jordan Schaps
By Aaron Rezny and
“You know how they butcher kosher meat,
right?” Ms. Rivers asks. “The cows aren’t
slaughtered. They’re nagged to death.” You
don’t have to be Jewish to get heartburn.
!
!
!
!
An Introduction,by Joan Rivers
“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for 30 years
she served the family nothing but leftovers,” Calvin Trillin is
quoted as saying. “The original meal has never been found.”
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DATES AT A GLANCE 2015
Sat. Feb 7, 2:30 PM
Tu Bʼshvat
CUC*
Sat. Feb 20, 7:30 PM
Shabbat evening
J. Billig and J.Northʼs
Sat. Feb. 28,10:15 PM Jewish History Buffs
Pat Hammerʼs
Sat.March 7, 2:30PM
Purim
CUC*
Tues Mar 31, 7 PM
Model Seder
CUC*
Sat. April 18, 2:30 PM
Ya Shoah- Film on Theo. Hezl CUC*
* CUC- Community Unitarian Church
Executive Board Meetings:
Feb.7, 1 PM, CUC
DIRECTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY CHURCH
468 Rosedale Ave. White Plains, NY
Take the Hutchinson River Pkwy. to exit 25, which is North
Street. Follow the signs to White Plains, left if you are
going,south, onto North St. At first traffic light left onto
Rosedale Ave.
The church is one block down on the right. Look for red sign at
entrance.
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Coming from Mamaroneck Ave. to Rosedale Ave, turn right at
the gas station and continue on Rosedale for about a mile to the
red sign.
Tentative programs for 2015
PURIM
PASSOVER Model Seder, 7 PM
YOM HASHOAH Film- Life of Theodore Herzl
SHAVUOT Art Show and Norah Ephron
ANNUAL MEETING and LUNCHEON
March 7
March 31
April 18
May 23
June 20
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