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Richard Feynman and new beginnings and Genesis – Braysheet
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A Special Thank You from Mark Packer, Ritual Committee Chair
| High Holiday services posed especially demanding challenges this year. The pandemic required us to master digital media within a very short period, and for the first time in thirteen years the Rabbi was without cantorial support. For these reasons, we are deeply indebted to those congregants who joined us in the sanctuary and made such helpful contributions to our services, from Rosh Hashanah Eve all the way through N’ilah. Our thanks to Mauro Wilk for his technical expertise, and to Avi Liebowitz for his professional talents as the producer of our digital services. Thanks as well to Carrie Liebowitz and Sandy Gordin for lighting the evening candles as our holidays were beginning. Aliyot this year went to Jennifer and Bob Britanisky, Lorie Ederr, Gary Smiley, Mauro Wilk, and Dan Falcon. Our ark openers were Carrie Liebowitz, Jennifer Britanisky, Lynn Strait and Gary Poliakoff. A gracious nod goes to Hank Steinberg, who stoically held the Torah on Rosh Hashanah morning even as the ark doors were summarily shut behind him.Our Hagba Galilah were Bob and Jennifer Britanisky, Ira Greenfield, and Sandy Gordin. Readers included Les Mitchell and Lorie Ederr. Special thanks to Lynn Strait and Nancy Rosenberg for going well beyond the call of duty in the sheer number of passages they read, as well as their availability throughout all six services. Beautiful musical contributions were made by Courtney LeBauer, Brian Steinberg, Lorie Ederr, as well as Carl and Raeleigh McCarn. The shofars were sounded by Bob Britanisky and Rex Russell. And thank you to Alane, Olivia, and Sophia Russell for their contributions to the Havdallah service as Yom Kippur was drawing to a close. I want to thank as well the members of the Ritual Committee for contacting the congregants who participated in our services this year: Susan Abelkop, David Blumenfeld, Bob Britanisky. and Elaine Hyman. As always, our multitasker-in-chief, Sandy Gordin, was available throughout the holidays wherever and whenever she was needed. And alas, words cannot express our gratitude and appreciation for the extraordinary work that Rabbi Liebowitz did to provide spiritually meaningful and engaging services this year in the face of so many difficult challenges. During Yom Kippur, the Rabbi noted that every year, as the Passover Seder is ending, we all say: “Next Year in Jerusalem!” He then added that, as 5781 commences, may we all say: “Next Year in the Sanctuary!” Ein Groyse Dank and Amen!
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From the Heart with Rabbi Liebowitz
Dear Friends,
As I was raised in a Yiddish speaking home, I was blessed with various colorful expressions, most of which were a little bit R-rated. This one was not! Mitn derinin! It roughly translate as “In the middle of it all!” As in you finally settle down for dinner after a long day and Mitn derinin! The phone rings and it is a long-lost cousin who just so happens to be in the neighborhood and wants to come over a visit. Or, you have just paid all your bills for the month. You breathe a sigh of relief and Mitn derinin! The car breaks down. This expression was always followed by another expression, “I need this like a lochen cup that is to say like “a hole in my head!”
At this time of writing, Yom Kippur is just a mere six days away. I am mindful of all the efforts that have been made to make possible our services, albeit remotely. Mauro (and if you will forgive a filial boast) my son Avi have been techno wizards, allowing us to do the best we can with what are incredibly difficult times of the pandemic. I also wish to acknowledge Dr. Mark Packer, Sharon, and our President who were Johnny on the Spot showing up and supporting these liturgical efforts. A big shout out does go to Lynn Strait and Nancy Rosenberg who served tirelessly as readers. (Not to forget our Shofar sounder Dr. Britanisky!) A last note goes out to Jan, our office administrator who in addition to putting up with Rabbinical gyrations and improvisations made possible the mailings, emails, and more. There are others, board members, flower providers that warrant acknowledgement and thanks. I list only a few for fear of neglecting one or more.
Mitn derinin! No sooner does Yom Kippur draw to a close, we are bid to start preparing for Sukkot. What a crazy calendar! Yet from a spiritual point of view, the Yamim Noraim, the High Holy Days require the balance that is Sukkot, a holiday characterized by a certain degree of melancholy coupled with gratitude for what we have. We move from the harsh imperative to repent to a degree of acceptance of our human condition. (Ecclesiastes – Kohelet tempered our existential need to change with a mood-altering view that “all is vanity, like a breath,” which fades away.
One other yin to yang of these holidays is of course the fact that we deny sustenance on Yom Kippur but indulge on Sukkot, a holiday of abundance. (I look forward to your being with us on October 9th for our Sukkot Simchat Torah Drive in dinner and celebration. See page 7) This balance is quite needed in these unbalanced times. I once took a quiz in which a young man was a crossing a bridge. He noticed a sign that forbade anyone weighing more than a hundred and fifty pounds. He weighed a fairly light one hundred and forty pounds. He was on a mission to bring to the King three valuable jewels, each of which weighed five pounds each. Oy! What did he do? He crossed bridge juggling the three jewels so that at no time he held more than two of the jewels.
I pray and hope that all of you will find balance in the days ahead, given all the challenges we face. May it be so that our heritage which has stood the test of time will bring you a sense of purpose and peace in the days ahead, health and happiness to as well!
B’ shalom,
Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz, D.D.
Message from our President
Every new year begins with our most fervent wish for peace. In a region of the world that sadly has known too little of this through the millennia, positive developments are taking place that we hope will bring our brothers and sisters in Israel and throughout the Middle East closer to that goal. The following article was written by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, after the agreement between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain was signed.
Today’s White House ceremony celebrating the normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain has been long in coming and is a welcome step toward a future in which Israel is a fully accepted member of the international community. While it solves few of the complex issues at the heart of a future comprehensive Middle East peace agreement it still signals an important shift that we pray will lead to many more significant shifts toward peace.
All those who played a role in crafting the accord: Israeli, Bahraini, Emirati, and American officials and leaders alike, are to be congratulated for preferencing a peaceful future over a hostile past. We commend President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu for prioritizing efforts to expand the list of Israel’s regional partners, committing the necessary resources and time to make today’s agreement possible. The UAE’s Minister of State, Yousef Al-Otaiba, the country’s ambassador to the US, deserves much credit for his Hebrew op-ed in which he starkly challenged Israel to choose between annexation and normaliza- tion. Israel chose normalization over the disastrous effects of annexation, we strongly hope permanently. In the coming months we hope Israelis and Palestinians can directly engage in the hardest and most critical discussions that will move the region forward towards the future we desperately need.
May the new year about to begin, 5781, be a year of peace for all peoples.
Warmest regards,
Sandy
October Birthdays
10/4 Sandy Gordin
10/4 Heidi Moss
10/7 Ansley Lyon
10/7 Robert Nabow
10/12 Raeleigh McArn
10/14 Jon Lewson
10/14 Harry Price
10/17 Ira Greenfield
10/18 Tom Barnet
10/23 Jeffrey Cohen
10/23 Thomas Friedheim
10/23 Robert Lyon
10/25 Paul Friedberg
10/26 Carl McArn
10/27 McCoy Gerber
10/31 Cashlin Bost
10/31 Roxanne Gheorghiu
October Yahrzeits
10/1 Elaine London
10/1 Moshe Weisz
10/4 Pearl Tanenbaum
10/5 Sydelle B. Bronstein
10/6 Edward Gray
10/7 Katie Cohen
10/7 Morton Massey
10/7 Bella Price
10/7 Joe Rex
10/9 Barry M. List
10/9 Minnie Sandler
10/11 Jennie H. Cohen
10/11 Mark A. Fleishman
10/11 Harry From
10/11 Philip Weintraub
10/11 William M. Wimpy
10/12 Linda Rosenberg
10/12 Joel Tanenbaum
10/13 Bernard Litoff
10/16 Allen London
10/17 Sigmund Litoff
10/18 Abraham Rabinowitz
10/19 Abraham Katz
10/19 Dora Price
10/20 Marian Unger
10/21 Dora Steinbrock
10/22 Pearl Bernstein
10/22 Jane Teszler
10/23 Debby Gordin-Markel
10/23 Guenther Mortge
10/24 Etta Flaum
10/24 Anne K. Finke
10/25 Bertha Finke
10/25 Ruth Levy
10/25 Matthew Poliakoff
10/25 Harris Rabiner
10/25 Beatrice S, Traub
10/26 Herman J. Mittle
10/27 Robert H. Gilpin
10/27 Samuel Miller
10/27 Wm. Pressman
10/27 Sol Weinberger
10/31 Philip Gelman
10/31 William W. Schwart
Service Schedule for Yom Kippur
Kol Nidre, Yom Kippur Eve: Sunday, September 27, 2020, 7:30 pm
Yom Kippur Morning: Monday, September 28, 2020, 10:00 am Traditional Musaf
2:00 Zoom session discussion with Rabbi Liebowitz, Who by Fire-Who by Water? Do we still believe in the idea of Reward and Punishment? (Look for the link to be sent out via email.)
Yom Kippur Afternoon: Monday, September 28, 2020,
3:30 Story Time & Family Service Via Zoom
4:00 pm Torah Service
4:30 pm Afternoon Martyrology 5:15 pm Yizkor
6:00 pm Neilah
Shabbat Shuva Sercies
This Friday’s service will be held via Facebook live at 6:00 pm, Shabbat Shuva, the Sabbath of Return. Go to the Congregation B’nai Israel Facebook page to watch the service live.
Service Schedule for Rosh Hashanah
Erev Rosh Hashanah: Friday, September 18, 2020, 7:30 pm Traditional Musaf
Rosh Hashanah Day 1 Morning: Saturday, September 19, 10:00 am Traditional Musaf follows
1:00 Story Time & Family Service with Religious School-FB Live 2:00 Zoom session discussion with Rabbi Liebowitz, How can we
find Rosh Hashanah renewal at a time of fear? (Look for the link to be sent via email.)
*Rosh Hashanah Day 2: Sunday, September 20, 2020, 10:00 am
