News and Announcements

Message from Our President

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Friends,

I LOVE spring!! I am energized by the season. The warmer weather, trees blossoming, flowers blooming, birds singing all make me smile, feel free of burdens and give me a “spring” in my step.

I took my favorite literature class in college during the spring term. The class focused on the Romanticism movement in English literature which was roughly between 1790 and 1850. I recall reading so much poetry that semester. Much of my reading was done outdoors, because – spring. My favorite Romanticism poet was and still is William Wordsworth. Some of his poems I liked so much I even memorized them.

Below is poem written by William Wordsworth that resonated with me in college and probably resonates more so now…with all that is happening in the world, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the pandemic, inflation, etc.

Although man continues to make a mess of the world nature is still sweet, beautiful, and holy to behold. The spring season reminds us of this each and every year.

May each of you enjoy a beautiful spring season with a light heart and a “spring” in your step.

Happy Passover and spring!

Tina Lyon
Congregation B’nai Israel Board President

Lines Written in Early Spring

William Wordsworth – 1770-1850

I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did nature link
The human soul that through me ran; And much it grieved my heart to think What man has made of man.

Through primrose tufts, in that sweet bower, The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopped and played: Their thoughts I cannot measure,
But the least motion which they made,
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan, To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.

If this belief from heaven be sent, If such be Nature’s holy plan, Have I not reason to lament What man has made of man?

Interfaith Alliance Spring Pilgrimage

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As part of the Interfaith Alliance Spring Pilgrimage, Temple B’nai Israel is hosting a movie night with desserts on Sunday, April 24 at 6:00 pm.

Our guests will join in breaking the Passover fast from unleavened bread. We will reflect on the meaning of Passover with fellowship, Mimouna, and watching again the film “Joachim Prinz: I Shall Not Be Silent” on the role of Rabbi Joachim Prinz in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Join us so that we may welcome our guests with a large attendance.

Please RSVP to the Temple.

 

The Interfaith Alliance invites you to join in a Spring Pilgrimage with the Abrahamic faiths in our community. Come to any of these celebrations of Lent, Easter, Passover, and Ramadan as we build community together. All are welcome.

The events below are at 12:00 pm on the specified dates:

March 30: Trinity UMC, 626 Norwood St.
April 6: St. James UMC, 213 N. Lanford Rd.
April 13: silver Hill UMC, 778 John B. White, Sr. Blvd.

Other Events:

April 10 Palm Sunday: First Presbyterian Church at 6:00 pm, 393 E. Main St. A Musical Meditation on Lent and Easter

April 23: St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at 11:15 pm to 1:30 am, 697 Asheville Hwy. Easter Vigil

Date and Time to be Announced: Islamic Society of Spartanburg, 377 Successful Way
During the month of Ramadan, April 2—May 2, join in a weekend evening meal to break the Ramadan fast with the Islamic Society.

 

Contract for Selling Chametz 5782

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Prohibition of Chametz

On Pesach it is prohibited to possess chametz (leaven). All chametz that will not be eaten or burned before Pesach must be sold to a non- Jew. All chametz utensils that will not be thoroughly cleaned by then, and are stored away in closets or rooms while preparing for Pesach. The storage area is locked or tape-shut, and leased to a non-Jew at the time of the sale. There are many legal intricacies in this sale, thus, only a competent rabbi should be entrusted with its execution. The rabbi acts as our agent both to sell the chametz to the non-Jew on the morning before Pesach starts and also to buy it back the evening after Pe- sach ends. Locking your chametz away and giving your Rabbi

the Signed Chametz Contract is an easy way of observing one of the most important laws in the Torah. (Contract follows below). Chametz which remains in the possession of a Jew over Pesach may not be used, eaten, bought or sold even after Pesach. It is customary to give tsedaka in the performance of this Mitzvah.

I, the undersigned, fully empower and permit Rabbi Yossi J. Liebowitz to act in my place and stead, and on my behalf to sell all Chametz possessed by me, knowingly or unknowingly as defined by the Torah and Rabbinic Law (e.g. Chametz, possible Chametz, and all kinds of Chametz mixtures). Also Chametz that tends to harden and adhere to inside surfaces of pans, pots, or cooking utensils, the utensils them- selves, and all kinds of live animals and pets that have been eating Chametz and mixtures thereof. Rabbi Yossi J. Liebowitz is also em- powered to lease all places wherein the Chametz owned by me may be found, particularly at the address listed below, and elsewhere.

Rabbi Yossi J. Liebowitz has full right to appoint any agent or substi- tute in his stead and said substitute shall have full right to sell and lease as provided herein. Rabbi Yossi J. Liebowitz also has the full power and right to act as he deems fit and proper in accordance with all the details of the Bill of Sale used in the transaction to sell all my Chametz, Chametz mixtures, etc., as provided herein.

Signed: ______________________________________________ Date: ______________
Name: ________________________________________________ Address/es: __________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ City/ State/ Zip Country: ____________________________

Sisterhood News

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It was wonderful to be able to see and visit with so many of our members at our Sisterhood meeting on Sunday the 20th. It has been a long two years since we have been able to get together.

One of our topics was plans for the bake sale. It WILL be held this year on November 3. We will set up a web site to enable people to pre-order. there will also be a pre-pay part of this site. All items will be picked up under the portico. The general feeling was that no one should come into the temple who was not working on the sale. Post cards will be sent out in August from our list of previous customers, and we will also be advertising it on some community forums I do not anticipate the same volume of sales as we have had previously, but we will begin again.

There was a lot of interests in starting a Mahjong group. It would be on Sundays about noon. A couple of our sisterhood members have offered to teach those who want to learn how to play. They need to know how many would be interested in playing so tables can be set up and we will have enough sets for everyone. PLEASE CALL JAN AT TEMPLE to let us know if you would be interested in joining us. I will call you about a start date.

The first night of Passover is April 15. It is a time to retell our story and celebrate a ceremonial tradition. May your family share and continue to treasure our heritage and celebrate all we have today.

Peggy Ann Buchman

April Yahrzeits

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4/1 Jennie Abelkop

4/1  Henry Vogelstein

4/2  Minnie M. Zeidman

4/4 Dorothy Singer

4/4 Samuel Smiley

4/6  Herman Price

4/7  Aaron T. Kaplan

4/8  Sam Reichel

4/8  Getzel Robkin

4/9  Etta Goldman

4/9 Mary Vogelstein

4/9  Beckie Witz

4/10  Harry Liebowitz

4/10  Sharon L. Massey

4/11  Louis Blumenfeld

4/11 Fannie A. Levin

4/11 Israel Margolis

4/13  Anna P. Reichel

4/14  Sylvia S. Cooper

4/14  Blanche Lyon

4/15  Harry Packer

4/16 Richard J. Horn

4/16 Samuel Lazarowitz

4/17 Aladar Hischler

4/18 Helen Levenson

4/19 Nancy Geller

4/19 Samuel Packer

4/22 Jack Minsky

4/22 Samuel Witz

4/26 William M. Price

4/27 Sandra Greenfield

4/27 Bella Rabinowitz

4/27 Kurt A. Stern

4/27 Joseph Taffet

4/28 Anne Schultz

4/28 Andrew Blum

4/28 Morton Mooney

4/28 Marvin Sperling

4/29 Irving Unger

4/30 Pearl Skolnick

4/30 Goldie Stemberg

From the Heart with Rabbi Liebowitz

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“And Moses gathered all of the congregation together” (Exodus 35:1)

Dear Friends,

Unlike other colleagues who sought employment in Jewish organizations I chose early on to be a part of a Synagogue and Temple. I believed then as I do now in community, even in a time when institutions are either ignored, criticized, or simply abandoned. Places of worship are not alone in this regard. Civic organizations are also in the decline. Our hi-tech society has facilitated such disregard and at times, disrespect.

Some of my colleagues have even become “rent-a-rabbis.” Performing on the fly Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies, weddings, and funerals and more! What had been heartfelt community experiences are now commodities to be secured. This is the price we often pay for living in a commercial market-oriented society. Our hi-tech streaming services have not helped much either. So many can simply turn on the tube and switch it on or off to any broadcast they wish. There is a difference between viewing a community and being in community.

And yet, when emergencies come up, such as the horrible Tree of life murders, non-members who contribute nothing by way of time or resources knew where to go, where to sit in a sanctuary they did not help to create, one which is situated beneath the lighting that they have not paid for, nor of the vacuuming and cleanup that sustains a sanctuary as a place of holiness. The same is true when other needs are to be fulfilled by a congregation or by a rabbi. I deeply understand how annoyed some members must feel when a funeral is asked for and when the services are secured for a nominal contribution. The nonmembers get the same dedication and compassion as members who have for decades supported the synagogue. It is hard for such members to feel anything but resentment. We are stuck between enhancing the temple structure and advocating for the compassion and the charity that it houses. We would look terrible were we to turn people away. It would be a betrayal of the holiness we are to embrace.

Some time ago, someone in the general community asked my counsel and my time which in good measure is the synagogue’s time. Curiously, the individual said, “You’re my rabbi!” How that ownership was declared is puzzling to me as it came from someone who had not ventured into the Temple for years, not for a service, not for study, and not for charitable participation in the community. I hope that you would know that I limit my response to one of acknowledgement, a small smile for what was meant as a compliment.

As for the members, I would be remiss if I didn’t note that a synagogue is not merely Bricks and Mortar, furniture and lighting and heat for its members. No matter how beautiful or how endowed, a synagogue is only as strong as the mission it upholds by those who are “the Jews in the pews!” A synagogue is called by three names; Bet Midrash – a House of study,

Bet Tefilla – a House of prayer, Bet Knesset – a House of gathering. These three are the pillars of what synagogue life is all about. Without it, we have an edifice complex, worshipping stone and mortar, forgetting what it was built to

contain. Without it, we have created a museum and not a Temple. You may notice that the Hebrew letters KufKuf – precede the name of synagogues. It stands for Kehila K’dosha, a holy congregation, for as scripture records, “Unless the Lord builds the House, its builders toil in vain!” (Psalm 127)

Yossi Liebowitz, Rabbi

A Message from Our President

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Friends,

One of the most interesting gifts I gave my father was a beekeeping starter kit. I ordered the kit from the Sears catalog around 1986. My father had mentioned beekeeping would be an interesting hobby, and I thought the gift would motivate him to set up some hives on our farm. Before he set up the hives, my father met with a beekeeper who lived a couple of miles from our home. The beekeeper mentored my father and told him which books and magazines to purchase about beekeeping.

Along with my father, I read the books and could hardly wait for the magazines to arrive. I learned much about bees and beekeeping. Beekeeping was mesmerizing to me. One of the most thrilling things about bee-keeping, besides having raw honey, was how a beekeeper could order honeybees and have them delivered by the United States Postal Service. The mail carrier would have to drive around with a contained swarm of bees in their vehicle until they ventured to our home. I am sure the mail carrier would change their usual route and put our house first on his list of deliveries to not endure hearing bees buzzing all day on their route. The bees were delivered in a wooden frame which was covered with a screen like you see on a screen door or porch. I would be charged with task of feeding the bees several times a day by brushing sugar water on the screen of their container, until my father arrived and suited up in his beekeeping safety gear and put the bees in their hive on our farm.

Learning about and watching bees taught me several life lessons. I learned the importance of working well with others. Every bee has a job and if each bee does their job and cooperates the hive thrives, if not, the hive dies. I learned to plan for the future. Bees make extra honey to feed the hive during the winter, they plan ahead so their hive can continue grow- ing. I learned to do good without a reward in mind. Bees are selfless. If one or two scouts know where some colorful flowers are, they don’t hoard the pollen for themselves so they will look like heroes to the other bees. They go to their hive and do a wiggle dance that tells all the bees exactly where the beautiful flowers are, so they can go gather pollen, too. Overall, bees work to create a vibrant community that is achieved through communication, planning ahead and doing the selfless hard work necessary to thrive.

Our Temple community is much like a beehive. We are each a bee in the hive. Like bees, we need to communicate, work, plan and cooperate to keep our Temple vibrant and growing. Selfless contributions make our Temple a wonderful place to be.

I appreciate each of you. Thank you for your membership. Please continue to help our Temple thrive and grow.

I wish you a wonderful March and happy spring. Whenever you see a honeybee during the upcoming warm months, think about all the things they do for us and all the lessons they teach to be contributing members of our beloved Temple.

Tina Lyon Board President

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