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From the Heart with Rabbi Liebowitz

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Dear Friends,

Each Shavuot marks for me (and I suspect for many colleagues) the end of the season. Not until Tisha B’Av a fast day in late July or early August will there be any holiday demands. Yet, we do look forward to our Friday night services which will be followed by dinner out for those who are inclined. Shavuot has taken on additional meaning as it coincided with the loosening up of Covid – 19 safety measures. (If you are inoculated.) As such, our outdoor services will give way to indoor once more, starting with our annual summer Lasagna Shabbat dinner. 

I have already begun to cogitate about High Holy Day services which the Board will re- view in late summer for the safest way to proceed. Keep tuned!

In the meantime, we will continue with hybrid in house services with steaming, somewhat reluctantly as a certain habituation has set in. For some it is a convenience that has its upside and its downside. Such is the residue of what was a very, very difficult year.

In Yiddish there is an expression Shpilkes in Tuchus often shortened to Shpilkes. (My mother would often say when I was impatient; “Er haut a Bissel Shpilkes”). It was the linguistic equivalent of “ants in your pants” or “pins and needles” or simply fidgety. Shpilkes! As things have opened up there is a burst of activity due to the Shpilkes endured by millions.

Let us hope we never have to experience it ever again.

Yossi Liebowitz, Rabbi

A Message From Our President

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Summer! It seems summer is the time of the year where everything slows down. I am not sure if it’s the routine of school being out in the summer or it’s the southern heat that slows the pace. Either way, I am grateful for the ease of which summertime allows the heartbeat to slow and take in some enjoyable moments with family and friends.

Happily, for those of us fortunate enough to have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by now, this summer seems to be one to look forward to more than many summers in the past.

There is much I am looking forward to this summer now that I feel it is safer to socialize and eat out. One thing I am looking forward to is seeing many of you once again at our Temple as we embark upon having in person services along with continuing Facebook Live services. Please be aware of our mask guidelines based upon current CDC recommenda-

tions. You can find our guidelines in this issue of Temple Topics. The Temple Board is continuing to monitor the CDC recommendations and will make adjustments to our mask guidelines as needed.

I am also looking forward to being with my family and pets, summer reading, and just relaxing a minute or two and reflect- ing on the past year and what lessons it held.

What are you looking forward to as we approach this new season with less mask restrictions and more confidence to be with family and friends? I hope it is all you imagine and more!

I wish you all a safe, happy, and fun summer with those you care most about!

Tina Lyon
Board President, Congregation B’nai Israel

 

June Anniversaries

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6/2 Heidi & Robert Moss

6/6 Arleen & Marvin Siegel

6/9 Marla & Hank Steinberg

6/11 Jennifer & Bob Britanisky

6/14  Karen & Robert Lyon

6/15  Shirley & Gary Koshak

6/20 Susan & Larry Abelkop

6/20 Beth & David Blumenfeld

6/23 Mary & Andrew Poliakoff

6/25 Lisa & Ray Frye

6/29 Elaine & Stan Hyman

6/30 Karen & Roger Fuller

June Yarhzeits

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6/4  Meyer Cohen

6/5  Herman Klausner

6/5  Beth Weinberger

6/6  Rosa Levy

6/7  Jacob Barash

6/7  Sidney Captain

6/8  Gittel Smith

6/8 John R. Steel

6/10 Shalom Baruch

6/12 Louis B. Freedman

6/12 Sarah Robkin

6/14 Jessica M. Horn

6/14 W. Zolley Lerner

6/16  Myron Parsons

6/17  Harry Tanenbaum

6/18  Ernest Acanfora

6/18 Fay Friedberg

6/18 Bella Cohen Karsh

6/18 Richard Packer

6/19 Sidney Anderson

6/22 Abraham Gelburd

6/22 Leah From Reimer

6/22 Milton Vogelstein

6/23 Betty Freed

6/24 Marvin Singer

6/25 Edith Silverman

6/25 David M. Spigel

6/26 Charles Simmons

6/27 Lucy Britanisky

3/29 Maurice Abelsky

6/29 Dorothy Cohen

6/29 Ida Litoff

6/30 Sandor Teszler

From the Heart with Rabbi Liebowitz

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Dear Friends,

In the 1970’s there was a huge number of aspirants for the
rabbinate. For every single applicant to the Hebrew Union College, which
my seminary in Cincinnati accepted, there were three others that were
rejected. Some didn’t make it in because of the difficult psychiatric review
(one such applicant thought the rabbinate was a stepping stone to being the
Messiah), or because their intellectual acumen was deficient; or some
personal skills seemed to be wanting. At our Hebrew Ulpan in Israel it was inevitable that we would err in some embarrassing way as we labored in to converse in Hebrew. The usual quip of derision went; “Boy we would like to meet the other three candidates they re- jected instead of you!”

This of course leads me to think about the idea of being chosen. The academy awards are upon us in a modified Covid form this year. Nevertheless, the usual anticipations remain as to who will be the Best Actor, Best Actress and so forth.

Just a few years back to take away the sting of ruthless competition the new language, ever so politically correct went from Best Actor to Best performance by an Actor. Shel Silverstein (writer of The Giving Tree, and the song A Boy Named Sue) once reflected on winning with this poem:

As Shavuot is upon us this month, the Jewish people celebrate their “closeness!” We stood at Sinai, received the Ten Commandments, or according to one tradition all of the 613 command- ments. We became an “Am Seguah!” a treasured people to God. The book of Deuteronomy poetically concludes with a boast that when God decided the boundaries of nations, He/She began with Israel first. Over the years we have had to walk a narrow path between a triumphal posture of superiority (as in how many disproportionate Nobel prizes Jews win?) and a more modest view that being Jewish meant an embrace of responsibility (as in it hasn’t always been such an honor being chosen – the old jest, “Please God choose someone else for a while!).

We had a modest film night last month about Gefilte fish and Passover. (Thanks to Lorie Edder!) Delightful, poignant and sentimental, it reviewed the multi-generational annual Passover gathering of a rather large Jewish family whose roots went back over a century. The culinary preparations were both fun to watch and cringe worthy. Our cultural disposition seems to foster a relentless competitive urge to assert the best way to do this or to do that! (Especially when it comes to recipes and spices to use or not to use: that is the question!) Do think of that when you enjoy the annual Bible and Blintzes? 

Tamping down the competitive impulse, the Prophet Amos announced:

“Are you not like the Cushites to me, O people of Israel?” declares the Lord. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir? Amos 9:7 All people everywhere have their gifts to celebrate. All of us are winners in one way or another.

Happy Shavuot
Yossi Liebowitz, Rabbi

A Message from our President

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This spring has been incredibly busy for me. Along with helping an adult child move out of a college dorm, plus all the other things I find myself responsible for, much of my time has been allotted to focusing on my aging mother and her increasing need for assistance in daily life and activities.

I have spent many hours of each day this spring managing a move for my mother and her constant care. This has been a tremendous and unexpected change for both of us.

The readjustment of how I am now using my time each day has made me consider the usage and passage of time in a myriad of ways. Am I spending my time productively, is it purposeful, is it satisfying? So many questions.

As I ponder these questions, my mind keeps coming upon the saying “to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven” and the Pete Seeger’s song from the 1950’s taken from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 called “Turn! Turn! Turn!” The lyrics of the song suggest there is a time for everything life presents, from helping a young adult child move back home from college to helping an aging parent move away from their home. Strangely for me, or maybe not so strangely, both moves are occurring at the same time. This occurring in tandem has also given me pause to consider time and its passage.

I have included the lyrics of the Pete Seeger song in this month’s message. What time is it for you, us, your family? After reading and thinking about the lyrics it is my conclusion that no matter what time it is, it is the right time for the purpose at hand.

Tina Lyon
Board President, Congregation B’nai Israel

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