May 27-June 1, 2006 – Iyar 29-Sivan 7, 5766

Happy Jerusalem Day, Memorial Day

and Shavuot

To start the presentation – click here

Thursday, June 1, 2006 - Erev Shavuot

TIKKUN LAYL SHAVUOT

Spirituality, Religion, Ethnicity and Identity:

Does one have to be “religious” to be Jewish?

with Temple Sholom of Greenwich and

Fellowship for Jewish Learning

8:00 p.m. beginning with Ma’ariv, led by Cantor Littman

Followed by dessert and then an evening of learning with Rabbi Joshua Hammerman,

Rabbi Mitch Hurvitz and Rabbi Phil Schechter

Delicious desserts will be served!

Friday, June 2, 2006 - Shavuot, First Day

Services 9:30 a.m.

Jr. Congregation 10:30 a.m.

At the end of services we will unroll a Torah so that,

once again, all ages can receive the Torah at Sinai.

Kabbalat Shabbat 6:30 p.m.

Tot Shabbat 6:45 p.m.

Shabbat Shavuot, June 3, 2006 - Shavuot, Second Day

Services 9:30 a.m.

TWELFTH ANNUAL ELDERS DAY

Honoring

Steffi & Larry Bloch and Marlene & Don Adelman

Luncheon to follow

Yizkor

We will also honor Bert Madwed

for years of dedicated service to our Jr. Congregation

and sending off Kulanu students headed to Israel

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Temple Beth El, Stamford, Connecticut

Send your friends and relatives the gift of Jewish awareness -- a Shabbat-O-Gram each week, by signing them up at www.tbe.org. To be removed from this mailing list, sent e-mail request to office@tbe.org. If you have signed up and are not receiving our e-mails, check your spam filter to make sure that TBE is not being “spammed out.”

Contents of the Shabbat O Gram:

(Click to scroll down)

Just the Facts (service schedule)

The Rabid Rabbi

Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunities

Ask the Rabbi

Spiritual Journey on the Web

Required Reading and Action Items (links to key articles on Israel and Jewish life)

Announcements (goings on in and around TBE)

Joke for the Week

Quote for the Week

"Of the 10 measures of beauty that God hath bestowed upon the world,

nine of these fall to the lot of Jerusalem."

-The Talmud

JUST THE FACTS

Friday Evening

Candle lighting: 7:56pm on Friday,- Havdalah is at 8:55 pm on Saturday evening. For candle lighting times, other Jewish calendar information, and to download a Jewish calendar to your PDA, click on http://www.hebcal.com/. To see the festivals of other faiths as well, go to http://www.interfaithcalendar.org/

Kabbalat Shabbat: 6:30 PM – OUTDOORS (Weather permitting) – a decision will be made by midday on Friday. Right now the forecast is extremely “iffy” for tonight. If it can’t be outdoors, the service will be in the sanctuary.

Tot Shabbat – 6:45 PM, in the chapel

For those who can’t get enough of Tot Shabbat, Nurit conducts Tot Shabbat Morning at 10:30 am every Saturday morning. All are welcome to attend.

Shabbat Morning: 9:30 AM – Mazal tov to Michelle Greenman who will become Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat morning.

Children’s services: 10:30

Torah Portion: Bamidbar - Numbers 1:1 - 4:20

1: 2:1-9
2: 2:10-16
3: 2:17-24
4: 2:25-31
5: 2:32-34
6: 3:1-4
7: 3:5-13
maf: 3:11-13

Haftarah Shabbat Machar Chodesh (special for day before the new month) I Samuel 20:18 - 20:42

See a weekly commentary from the UJC Rabbinic Cabinet, at www.ujc.org/mekorchaim. Read the Masorti commentary at http://www.masorti.org/mason/torah/index.asp. University of Judaism, JTS commentary is at: http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/. USCJ Torah Sparks can be found at http://uscj.org/item20_467.html. UAHC Shabbat Table Talk discussions are at http://uahc.org/torah/exodus.shtml. Other divrei Torah via the Torahnet home page: http://uahcweb.org/torahnet/. Test your Parasha I.Q.: http://www.ou.org/jewishiq/parsha/default.htm. CLAL’s Torah commentary archive: http://click.topica.com/maaaiRtaaRvQhbV2AtLb/. World Zionist Organization Education page, including Nehama Liebowitz archives of parsha commentaries: http://www.moreshet.net/web/index.asp?f=1 For a more Kabbalistic/Zionist/Orthodox perspective from Rav Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Israel, go to http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/index.html. For some probing questions and meditations on key verses of the portion, with a liberal kabbalistic bent, go to http://www.jewishealing.com/learning.html or, for Kabbalistic commentaries from the Zohar itself, go to http://www.kabbalah.com/k/index.php/p=zohar/weekly/intro. To see the weekly commentary from Hillel, geared to college students and others, go to http://www.hillel.org/hillel/NewHille.nsf/FCB8259CA861AE57852567D30043BA26/DF7D129F15B3DF0885256AB80058E9C3?OpenDocument. For a Jewish Renewal and feminist approach go to http://rabbishefagold.hypermart.net/Torah1.html . For a comprehensive Orthodox viewpoint from the Israeli rabbi, Yaakov Fogelman, go to the Torah Outreach Program at http://israelvisit.co.il/top/previous.shtml. Guided meditations for each portion by Judith Abrams at http://www.maqom.com/kavannah.pdf

For online Parsha quizzes from Pardes in Israel, go to http://www.pardes.org.il/online_learning/parsha_quizzes/ Torah for Kids: http://www.torah4kids.net/ Weekly Lesson of Popular Israeli Rabbi Mordechai Elon: http://www.elon.org/archives/archives.htm - and his parsha sheets: http://www.mibereshit.org/special/download_eng_pdf.htm From Bar Ilan University: http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/; http://www.torahproductions.com/weekly_article.jsp

Sunday Morning – Rosh Hodesh Sivan: 9:30 in the chapel (regular minyan) and 10:00 in the sanctuary. Mazal tov to Rebecca Poser, who becomes Bat Mitzvah this Sunday morning at the 10:00 service.

Monday Morning – Memorial Day: Minyan at 9:00 AM

Thursday evening (June 1): Shavuot services at 8:00 PM, followed by Tikkun Layl Shavuot learning session (see below)

Friday morning (June 2): Shavuot services at 9:30 AM, featuring the reading of the Ten Commandments. Children’s services with Nurit at 10:30. At the conclusion of both services, we’ll gather in the sanctuary to unroll a Torah, enabling everyone to “receive” the Torah personally.

Friday evening: Shabbat and Shavuot services at 6:30, OUTDOORS, weather permitting.

Tot Shabbat at 6:45 PM in the lobby.

Shabbat and Shavuot 2^nd Day: Services at 9:30, including Book of Ruth, Yizkor, Elders Day (see elsewhere for details) followed by a pizza and blintz lunch! Children’s services at 10:30. We’ll be honoring the Adelmans and Blochs and thanking Bert Madwed for his years of service (and services).

THE ENTIRE HEBREW BIBLE (AS WELL AS OTHER JEWISH SOURCES) CAN BE FOUND WITH SIDE-BY-SIDE TRANSLATION AT

http://www.mechon-mamre.org/

Morning Minyan: Weekdays at 7:30, Sundays at 9:30 AM

This Monday – Memorial Day – minyan begins at 9:00 AM

TO ENSURE A “GUARANTEED MINYAN” FOR THE DAY OF YOUR YAHRZEIT – GO TO THE ROSNER MINYAN MAKER AT WWW.TBE.ORG AND ALSO CONTACT ME AT RABBI@TBE.ORG.

We’ve had several people coming lately who are saying kaddish following recent deaths in the family. We want to make sure we have a minyan each day. Your presence any morning is greatly appreciated!

The Da Vinci Code

Some have been asking me what I spoke about in my discussion of the Da Vinci Code last Shabbat. Essentially, I responded to the age-old question, “Is it good for the Jews,” and I came out on glass-half full side. My comments were directed to the book more than the movie and are reflections on the themes and content, rather than a critique of the acting and directing (love ya’ Ron Howard!). I will not jump on the bandwagon of piling yet more abuse on Audrey Tautou’s accent and Tom Hanks’ hair. There are too many other valid issues to discuss.

Some negative factors include:

n The book is based on a canard regarding the “Priory of Sion” that originated in the head of a noted 20^th century French anti-Semite, Pierre Plantard (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Plantard).

n While the conspiracy theory that unfolds in the novel is far more threatening to the Church than to Judaism, any conspiracy theory attacking the integrity of one religious system is, indirectly, an attack on all religious institutions.

n Because of the nature of this conspiracy theory, and because of its references to “Zion,” (Sion), a connection can be drawn to that other best selling conspiratorial forgery, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” which has been the cause of so much Jewish suffering to this day. Plantard could himself have drawn that connection.

n Religion and secret societies are never a good mix….

Positives:

n Or are they??? Jewish folklore has a wonderful notion of a “secret society.” According to the folktale, in each generation there are 36 people so good and so righteous that it is for their sake that the entire world survives. If even one of them is missing, the world would come to an end. The two Hebrew letters for 36 are the lamed, which is 30, and the vav, which is six. Therefore, these 36 are referred to as the Lamed-Vav Tzadikim. This most unusual Jewish concept is based on a Talmudic statement to the effect that in every generation 36 righteous "greet the Shechinah," (the Divine Presence) (Sanhedrin 97b; Sukkah 45b).

n The Shechinah, God’s feminine, nurturing and saving presence, plays a role in the Da Vinci Codes, for above all, the book’s main thrust is not to attack religion per se, but to attack and discredit patriarchal domination of religious institutions over the past two millennia. Judaism has also seen recent efforts to restore the feminine to its proper place in religious sensibility – and even to the notion of divinity itself. That is a major point behind the current resurgence of interest in Kabbalah, which does precisely that, portraying God not as exclusively male, but as a balance of male and female qualities.

n The Shechinah is mentioned in the book, along with other Kabbalistic concepts such as Gematria (numerology), anagrams and the Sephirot (the emanations of God, male and female, of which the Shechinah is one). Regarding numerology, 36 (Lamed Vav) is also considered a lucky number in that it corresponds to “double chai ,” 2 X 18 (hence all those $36 donation checks). The Hebrew letters of the word “chai,” (“life”) add up to 18.

n Rabbi Isaac Meir Alter of Ger, wrote that each Jew is placed on this earth to repair one thing that no one else can fix. At each hour there is a special thing that can be repaired only then, which would not be possible to mend at any other time. We just have to figure what it is that we’re supposed to mend. Since we can’t possibly know, we have to try to make every choice the right one, and since we have no way of knowing when our particular time has come, we just can’t afford to waste a moment. The notion that every human being is a potential “messiah” is far more democratic than having an actual messianic lineage. Anyone – everyone – can save the world. Jews see every person as a potential messiah – and every “messiah” as a fully actualized person, but still a human being in every respect; all human beings are created in the divine image, all are children of God.

The Da Vinci Code enables us to more fully appreciate our Jewish values in comparison/contrast to the fictitious world offered up in the novel, a world where institutional religion reeks of conspiracies, corruption, masochism, secrecy, murder and the lust for power. It is also a world that restores the long lost sanctity of the feminine and discovers the divine in humanity (the human being is the holiest of holy grails) – that is where religion and spirituality truly become one.

Why is this book so mega-popular? Because, unfortunately, the book’s cynicism validates the feeling all too many people have about all institutionalized religion. And it is popular also because, fortunately, so many crave the idealized faith presented here, a world where religion and corruption aren’t seen as synonymous, but where the God of true wisdom (hence the name “Sophie”) and love prevails.

And if that were to happen, that would most certainly be good for the Jews!

BTW, the topic of “spirituality vs. religion” will be discussed in detail at our Shavuot Eve program this Thursday night!

Memorial Day, Immigration Reform and Emma Lazarus

In honor of Memorial Day and keeping in mind the current debate over immigration reform, i reprint here the famous poem, “The New Colossus,” by Emma Lazarus. Her poem, engraved on a tablet within the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands (http://www.libertystatepark.com/emma.htm), reminds American Jews (and most Americans) that we are all the children of refugees. Many of our ancestors had no choice but to seek our these shores. Others were turned away, with tragic consequences. Emma herself was not an immigrant (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/lazarus.html) and she struggled openly with her Jewish identity while fighting the anti-Semitism of the time. The entry about her in the Jewish Virtual Library concludes, regarding “The New Colossus,” “Her best-known contribution to mainstream American literature and culture, the poem has contributed to the belief that America means opportunity and freedom for Jews, as well as for other "huddled masses." Through this celebration of the "other," Lazarus conveyed her deepest loyalty to the best of both America and Judaism.”

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

COMING THIS FALL!!

Shabbat Re-imagined

Save the date for our Grand Opening:

Oct 27-28

For more information, go to www.starsynagogue.org

If you are interested in participating in our steering committee or would like an info packet, contact me at rabbi@tbe.org

Here’s how one Synaplex rabbi describes it:

Making Shabbat "Fit"
-An Introduction to SYNAPLEX™
by Rabbi Fred Greene

If there is one thing I have learned, it is that one size does not fit all. Anything that I have ever purchased claiming to be "one size fits all" is a fraud; or more to the point, it does not satisfactorily meet my needs. I am forced to use a product or participate in an experience that does not meet my needs or address my concerns. So, why should we expect that synagogues will be successful where so many were not? Congregation B'nai Israel is one of those places that strives to meet people where they are at -- working hard to be a congregation that offers meaningful connections for its seniors and for families with young children, for singles of all ages and young adults. It tries to address our needs as individuals looking for community through prayer, learning and exploring life together.	sdasd	To help us along this part of our congregational journey, I am delighted to let you know that Congregation B'nai Israel is one of thirteen synagogues in the United States that has received a grant from STAR (Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal) to participate in its Synaplex™ Initiative. Synaplex™ seeks to enable Jewish individuals and families to celebrate Jewish life through a menu of innovative options in the realms of prayer, study and social and cultural programs during Shabbat in the synagogue. If Shabbat is the Jewish "prime time," then we are going to begin to offer a wider variety of opportunities to connect to Shabbat and others in our diverse, thoughtful Jewish community. STAR will help strengthen what we already do well - expand our programming to respond to congregants' spiritual journeys, intellectual interests and desire for community. STAR will do so by helping us learn more about marketing, planning, assessment and governance-the key ingredients for any nonprofit organization's success. Over the next several months, watch for information about Synaplex™ Shabbat Experiences and we hope you come down and check it out!
If Shabbat is the Jewish "prime time," then we are going to begin to offer a wider variety of opportunities to connect to Shabbat and others in our diverse, thoughtful Jewish community.

Find out more about our plans for Synaplex at a public forum on Tues. June 13 at 7:30.

We will be looking for lots of volunteers to own a little piece of this big project…

Let’s bring lots of positive energy to TBE!

Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunties

 
Beth El Cares
Cathy Satz (968-9191; csscounsel@yahoo.com)
Cheryl Wolff (968-6361; cwolff@optonline.net)
BETH EL CARES co-chairs
 
 
HELP ME HELP OTHERS WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY WHO NEED OUR ASSISTANCE
BY DONATING TO PERSON TO PERSON.
 
Person to Person located in Darien, Connecticut 
is an organization that collects new or worn items such as
clothing for babies, kids and adults. 
They are looking for donations for only Spring and Summer items. 
Needy families in emergency situations will go to Person to Person for assistance. 
Person to Person services the Stamford, Norwalk and Darien areas.
 
You may donate clothing, food (canned items) and only brand new unopened toys.
 
We will be bringing a large donation of items on the first of every month. 
Please help me with any donations that you would like to make. 
I would greatly appreciate it. 
I am hoping you can help me with this for my Mitzvah Project because it is
important for us to help others who may need it.
 
This is how you can help: 
Please bring your donation to my house, 116 Wedgemere Road, 
or e-mail coopbry@aol.com to make arrangements for us to pick it up. 
We will do this during June, July and August.
 
Thank you so much for helping the needy. Eric Cooper 968-9591
 

TBE Job Search Strategy Group: JUNE- JULY 2006

Sudden or involuntary unemployment  is difficult under any circumstances and the ensuing job search is always a challenging process: confusing, unpredictable and demoralizing. Even more so, if you are doing it alone -- Research shows that job seekers, as well as career changers who meet regularly with others in a similar position succeed quicker in finding a new job, than those who don’t.

Donna Sweidan, a career coach and counselor in Stamford and TBE member, will facilitate a 6-week program that will both educate an engage you. Each 90-minute session will consist of two parts. The first half she will introduce a crucial step in the job search process according to the Five O’clock Club method. The second 45 minutes will allow the job hunters to discuss and get feedback and advice on their own searches, listen and learn from others, and build their professional networks.

Donna has facilitated numerous “Job Search Strategy groups” in her work as a career counselor. Before starting her own business, Careerfolk, she was the Founding Director of Career Services at The New School in New York. Her clients have ranged from 17 to 71 years of age and their interests have varied just as much.

She is graciously offering this valuable seminar to her TBE family free of charge. No advance registration is required, but it would be helpful to know who is coming (and whether that time works for those who need these sessions). To discuss this or for more information, contact Donna directly at donna@careerfolk.com.

Sunday, June 4, 2006

The Bennett Cancer