June 2018
Rabbi in the Community
The Rabbi led 41 people on the Pilgrimage of Peoples visit to Washington, DC including seven of our Temple members.
He also participated in the Ordination of Scott Neely of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church.
Along with the Spartanburg Green Congregations, the Rabbi sponsored the showing of the film Chasing Coral.
A Message from Our President
For those of you who do not know me, I’d like to share with you a little about myself. I am originally from Augusta, GA and grew up attending the Adas Yeshurun Synagogue. The majority of my working career was spent as a Human Resources professional. Most recently I served as Director of Human Resources at Converse College. My husband Steve and I moved to the upstate about 15 years ago from Beaufort, SC and have been members of Temple B’nai Israel since our arrival to the area. We have a daughter, Debby, who is 12 and two adult children, Sarah and Jonathan.
Having served on the Board for the past several years, I hope to bring that experience and my energy to make the next two years productive and meaningful for all of us. To that end, I recently attended the Scheidt Seminar sponsored by the Union for Reform Judaism with 80 newly elected presidents from across the country. It was a wonderful training opportunity and I returned home inspired and motivated! I plan to work with Rabbi Liebowitz and our Board to continue the tradition of making our Temple a place of inspiration, learning, fellowship, and fun.
While serving on the Board has given me the opportunity to meet a lot of people at Temple B’nai Israel, I don’t know as many congregants as I’d like. It is my goal to know as many of you as possible, and to that end, I will be reaching out by making phone calls. I would also like to find out about your talents and interests. We’re always looking for volunteers to help keep things going!
I’m truly honored to serve as Temple B’nai Israel’s president and look forward to hearing your ideas to ensure we continue to meet and improve the needs of our congregants.
Sandy Gordin
June Yarhzeits
6/1 Barney Gelburd
6/1 Rhoda Koshak
6/2 Marvin Frank
6/3 Marvin Adler
6/4 Barney Shinberg
6/5 Herman Klausner
6/7 Meyer Cohen
6/8 B. Herbert Shapiro
6/8 Beth Weinberger
6/9 Rosa Levy
6/10 Jacob Barash
6/10 Sidney Captain
6/11 Gittel Smith
6/11 John R. Steel
6/13 Shalom Baruch
6/14 Jessica M. Horn
6/15 Louis B. Freedman
6/15 Sarah Robkin
6/17 W. Zolley Lerner
6/19 Sanford Licht
6/19 Myron Parsons
6/20 Diane Ostrower
6/20 I. Harry Tanenbaum
6/21 Ernest Acanfora
6/21 Fay Friedberg
6/21 Bella Cohen Karsh
6/21 Richard Packer
6/22 Sidney Anderson
6/25 Abraham Gelburd
6/25 Lena From Reimer
June Anniversaries!
6/2 Heidi & Bob Moss
6/6 Arleen & Marvin Siegel
6/9 Marla & Hank Steinberg
6/11 Jennifer & Bob Britanisky
6/14 Karen & Robert Lyon
6/15 Helen & Greg Feldman
6/16 Lee & Milton Vogelstein
June 2018 Worship Schedule
June 1 & 2
Jerome Falcon Bar Mitzvah
June 8 & 9
Friday: 6:00 Kabbalat Shabbat-Dinner at Pi-Squared
June 15 & 16
Friday: 6:00 Kabbalat Shabbat-Dinner Out After
Saturday: Morning Service 9:30
June 22 & 23
Friday: 6:00 Kabbalat Shabbat-Dinner Out After
Saturday: Morning Service 9:30
June 29 & 30
Friday: 6:00 Kabbalat Shabbat-Dinner Out After
Saturday: Morning Service 9:30
From the Heart with Rabbi Liebowitz
Dear Friends,
I am a fan of billboards, succinct declarations of what makes known the sense of an institution’s mission. Whether they come from Churches, Synagogues or Mosques, they constitute a creative motto for what floats their boat ideologically. Thus, the above billboard which sums up both their concern for the hazards of excessive electronic communication and their attachment to the Golden rule found in Leviticus’s Holiness code and in other sources including Buddhism. There is a quip from a scene in the marvelous Jewish Canadian film “Lies my father told me!” The ragman emerging from his noisy and gossipy Old Montreal neighborhood offers a query to God: “Dear Lord, when you said in the Bible ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,” did you know about Mrs. Lefkowitz?’” Easier said than done are following the prescriptions of faith. Many of us will emphasize the faults of others while minimizing our own missteps. At times it is psychologically rewarding to put someone else down to raise up our own egos which are in need of bolstering. In a more global view, we need look no further than to consider the current political discourse in Washington to see how civility has taken a downturn.
I have a rabbinical colleague who had the good fortune to work as an intern for a Senator from Alaska. The Senator artfully said to him one day; “When one of us wishes to take issue with or demean the views of a fellow senator we refer to him as ‘My distinguished colleague’ from such and such state!” But when we really wish to put him down, we say “My MOST distinguished colleague from such and such state!’” All romanticizing aside, the days of “Have you no shame?” have long passed. To use the current parlance this is the new normal. Can we unring the sour notes from current bells being rung in the future? Has its contagion spread too far and gone too deep into our psyche? Does the internet with Facebook provide ugly and lasting opportunities that encourage everything from cyberbullying to rumor mongering about age, looks and more? I hope not.
As part of our Pilgrimage of Peoples interfaith and multiracial tour to three museums: Holocaust, Indian, and African – American, we included a visit with Congressman Gowdy and Senators Scott and Graham. They were as cordial as they were amiable and receptive. Most touching was Senator Scott’s and Congressman Gowdy’s review of their book Unity. It was wonderful to have a half dozen of our young people outfitted in Boy Scout attire to witness such warmth and sharing by two leaders of our nation. Nice to see the Golden Rule demonstrated in these difficult days.
Wishing one and all a wonderful summer in which you tweet others as you would want to be tweeted.
Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz D.D.