News and Announcements
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 Pesach 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 empowered 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: ____________________________
Let My People Stay
URJ offers a guide for addressing immigration at our Seders. Click on the link below for suggestions:
Passover: History
The name Pesach is derived from the Hebrew word pasach, which means “passed over,” which is also the source of the common English name for the holiday. It recalls the miraculous tenth plague when all the Egyptian firstborn were killed, but the Israelites were spared.
The story of Passover originates in the Bible as the telling of the Exodus from Egypt. The Torah recounts how the Children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt by a Pharoah who feared them. After many generations of oppression, God speaks to an Israelite man named Moses and instructs him to go to Pharoah and let God’s people go free. Pharoah refuses, and Moses, acting as God’s messenger brings down a series of 10 plagues on Egypt.
The last plague was the Slaying of the Firstborn; God went through Egypt and killed each firstborn, but passed over the houses of the Israelites leaving their children unharmed. This plague was so terrible that Pharoah relented and let the Israelites leave.
Pharoah then regretted his decision and chased the Children of Israel until they were trapped at the Sea of Reeds. But God instructed Moses to stretch his staff over the Sea of Reeds and the waters parted, allowing the Children of Israel to walk through on dry land. The waters then closed, drowning Pharoah and his soldiers as they pursued the Israelites.
The Torah commands an observance of seven days of Passover. Many Jews in North America and all Jews in Israel follow this injunction. Some Jews outside of Israel celebrate Passover for eight days. The addition of a day dates back to 700-600 B.C.E. At that time, people were notified of a holiday’s beginning by means of an elaborate network of mountaintop bonfires. To guard against the possibility of error, an extra day was added to many of the holidays. Today, a dependable calendar exists, allowing Jews to know when holidays start and end. However, the process remains ingrained in Jewish law and practice for some Jews living outside of Israel today.
Soup, Salad and Shabbat
Friday, March 23 at 6:00 pm
Join us for dinner!
There is no charge, but please RSVP so that we will have enough for everyone.
L’Chaim for our March Mensch of the Month, Dot Frank!
We honor Dot Frank as our first Mensch of the Month.
Dot is a Greer, S.C. native who married Marvin Frank in 1950. She became active in Temple B’nai Israel in January of that year, and converted to Judaism a year later in the old synagogue on Dean Street. Dot was the first conversion officiated by Rabbi Wrubel, who later remarried Dot and Marvin in a traditional Jewish wedding on January 7th, 1951.
An extremely energetic young woman, Dot graduated from Spartanburg General Hospital’s nursing program in 1950. She worked outpatient for four years then began a thirty-nine-year career with Orthopaedic Associates.
Working did not keep Dot from being very active with her congregational family. She was a founding member of Temple B’nai Israel Sisterhood in 1950. Dot recalls that both women and men were active in the synagogue back then, but within their own separate groups. The congregation served not only as a place of worship but provided all social activities for the Franks. Families were very busy with dinners, game nights, entertainment and all Temple functions.
Dot was active in fundraising, participating in the very first Sisterhood Bake Sale. She has baked and worked at each Bake Sale for 67 years! The bake sales started with cheesecakes, and the Sisterhood maintained both a meat and dairy kosher kitchen.
As the variety of baked goods grew, Dot perfected her recipes for strudel and Miami sweet rolls. A patron of the bake sale identified the Miami sweet rolls “butterflies.”
From that point on, Dot’s butterflies became a favorite. Both of her delicious recipes are in the Sisterhood cookbook, entitled “A Little Bit of This & A Little Bit of That.”
Dot reminisced about the ladies with whom she became like a sister, their “girls’ beach trips,” and the weekend family get-togethers.
“I have had a wonderful life because of the Jewish community,” Dot says. “I appreciate how welcoming the community was and still is. The Rabbi is such a caring and kind man. My family and the Jewish community are the center of my life. The congregation is about family, common values and goals.”
Rabbi’s Brown Bag Lunch
Wednesday, March 21 at 12:00
3 Israeli Women & Their Poetry How the Religious Creeps Into Secularism
March Board Meeting
The next board meeting is scheduled for Sunday, March 18 at 11:00 am. Please contact Sandy Gordin if you cannot attend.
Breakfast Schmooze for March
Join us Wednesday, March 14 any time between 7—9 am at Select for the monthly Breakfast Schmooze.