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Rabbi Carl M. Perkins |
Peter Seresky , President |
April 6, 2008, Sunday, Rosh Chodesh Nisan, 5768 |
| Cantor Emeritus Harry Gelman | Gil Brodsky, Editor |
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Mazal Tov and Yasher Koach to CJP Board and Executive Committee member Jessica Hamermesh on winning this year’s Circle of Excellence Growth Award. The award is a community-wide recognition of a new volunteer leader who has been active for approximately five years and has demonstrated a unique and noteworthy commitment to CJP.
... and to Arline and Sy Wertheim on the birth of their granddaughter, Rose Isabelle Wertheim, born April 1st to their son and daughter-in-law David and Jodie Wertheim.
Passover this year begins on the evening of Saturday, April 19th and continues through Sunday, April 27th, concluding at approximately 8:30pm. The sedarim are held Saturday and Sunday, April 19th and 20th.
Yom Tov Services begin at 9:00am on the 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 8th days of Passover. On Shabbat morning, April 26th, the 7th day of Passover, we will have a special program of Passover children’s services at 11:00am. Children, of course, are warmly invited to attend our other adult Passover services with their parents. Yizkor will be recited on the 8th day, April 27th.
Passover Wine Sale: The Temple Aliyah Sisterhood is once again offering a wide selection of Passover wines to order from the convenience of your home. Click here for online wine lists and ordering options. The ordering deadline is this Tuesday, April 8.
Judaica Shop: Special merchandise for Pesach—and all at 15% off! Seder plates, matzah plates, matzah covers, afikoman bags, and more, either on hand or purchased through our special order catalog! Gift shop open Sundays now through April 13th, 10:15-11:30, or by appointment with our Gift Shop coordinator, Nancy Magier. Come and shop!
Selling (mechirat) Hametz: This year, hametz may be sold on Sunday mornings following 9:00 minyan on April 6th and April 13th or by returning the hametz sale form to the synagogue office by 9:30am on Friday, April 18th. Although there is no requirement to make a contribution at the time of selling one’s hametz, you are encouraged to do so, and all funds received will be donated to Mazon, the national Jewish organization devoted to feeding the hungry, and to Yad Chessed, a Boston Jewish charity that helps the needy in the Greater Boston area and in Israel.
Hametz Collection: We are once again collecting unopened hametz (non-Passover food) which will be donated to Needham Community Council’s Food Pantry. Special for Passover: canned and unopened non-perishable items of any kind may be deposited in the religious school lobby until April 15th. Please note this date as all contributions must be removed from the synagogue on April 16th.
Temple Tots Pre-Passover Party on April 13: Come start off your Passover festivities by joining with other young families as we sing, learn, and create our own seder plates. Bring your babies, toddlers, and preschoolers and experience Passover through fun, educational, and age-appropriate activities. Fun starts at 3:45.
Counting Down To Passover—April 13: In preparation for Passover, our Religious School will hold a morning of learning and activities open to all religious school and day school students.
Siyyum HaB’chorim—Thursday, April 17: Generally, the first born of our people fast on the morning before Pesach to commemorate their being spared the fate of the first-born Egyptians. First-borns may eat, however, if they are participating in a Seudat Mitzvah, the festive repast that accompanies the performance of certain mitzvot. One such mitzvah is Talmud Torah (study). Thus, when the study of a significant portion of material is completed, it is customary for all present to celebrate with a meal. All first-borns who participate in the ceremony may eat. The Siyyum HaB’chorim will take place this year on Thursday, April 17th, at 7:00 am, after which we will serve coffee and our final bagels before the holiday.
Cookbook: Looking for a new recipe for your Passover Seder? Looking for a perfect hostess gift when you go to someone else’s seder? Temple Aliyah Sisterhood’s cookbook, Even More Delicious, is still available and makes a great addition to any cook’s library. Books are only $25, and all proceeds support the Sisterhood. You can pick up a copy at the Temple Office or Gift Shop.
Pesach Schtick: Start with Who Let the Jews Out?, then check out You-tubes Manischewitzville and Matzah Man.
Passover ditty: Looking for a new Seder song for your little ones? Try Charoset (a hit with the Music with Margie crowd).
Torah and Chocolate this Friday night, April 12
Leviticus: Join us for a taste of the sweetness of Torah while enjoying some chocolaty treats at our third Torah & Chocolate, this Friday, April 11 at 6:15 PM. We’ll start with services (led by Rabbi Berkman and his wife, Rabbi Audrey Marcus-Berkman), followed by dinner (by Motti again) and discussion for adults on major themes of Leviticus, and separate activities for children, also related to Leviticus.
Please RSVP for dinner no later than April 8 to Julie Richmond. Indicate the number of adult chicken or vegetarian meals ($18 each) and children's meals ($9 each). Send a check made out to Temple Aliyah to the Temple office c/o Julie Richmond, Family Ed. This is a kid-friendly event! All ages welcome!
Make your plans now for participating in this year’s Mitzvah Day, on Sunday, May 4. There are many great programs for your participation. Check them all out online.
Rosh Chodesh Group — this Monday, April 7
New participants are always welcome at our Sisterhood’s on-going Rosh Chodesh Group. Join us for our Rosh Chodesh Nisan meeting for a discussion of “Leah: Feeling Blessed”, from Sarah Laughed by Vanessa Ochs. Please be in touch with Lynn Dennis for more information or to RSVP.
Women’s Support Group — First meeting Wednesday, April 9
On this Wednesday evening, April 9th, following the evening minyan, we are offering a gathering for women who are currently coping with serious health challenges which will provide opportunities to share mutual concerns and identify specific needs. This group will be led by Nancy R. Smith, LICSW, who is an experienced clinical social worker. It is expected that the meeting will last for approximately 90 minutes, and may evolve into a group that will meet on a number of occasions. Child care may be arranged if it is needed. There is no charge for this meeting.
If you are interested in participating, or know of others who may be interested, please contact Amy Lassman.
Sign Up for USY Skydiving Event
On Sunday, April 13th, Sr. USY will be departing from Temple Aliyah at 3 pm to Nashua, NH, for an exhilarating ride—indoor (i.e. SAFE!) skydiving! Space is limited; there are only 11 spots open, so register ASAP! After our session at Sky Venture, we will be heading to nearby Fun World for some Kosher style snacks and bowling/arcade games before departing for home. Cost is $65/person, which includes an instructional lesson, 5-6 minutes in the flight chamber and transportation to and from Nashua. Please bring spending money for snacks and games at Fun World. We will be returning to Temple Aliyah at 9:30 pm.
For more information contact Courtney Ackerman.
Prozdor Teens (new & returning): Just a reminder that April 10th is the registration deadline for signing up for Prozdor for the coming year. Please keep in mind that in addition to both the Sunday morning and Tuesday evening sessions at Hebrew College, there is a Monday night option here at Temple Aliyah as well. If you are registering for the Monday night program … or interested in continuing … or beginning … the Monday night option, or need more information about it, please send us an email ASAP, to let us know.
Both Sides of the Family: The Keruv (Interfaith/Jewish By Choice) Committee would like to encourage the Temple Aliyah community to attend a two-person play entitled: “Both Sides of the Family”. The play will be performed by the Charendon Theater Company of Cleveland, Ohio on April 13, 2008 from 2-4 pm at the Turtle Lane Showplace in Auburndale. The performance will be followed by questions and answers with the actors. The Temple Aliyah Keruv Committee will then go out for coffee to discuss the play. All are welcome! The play will be presented free of charge to the public, courtesy of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Free childcare will be provided for 4-8 year olds but pre-registration is required by April 7, because space is limited.
This event is being organized by our own Elana Kling Perkins.
While the play is free of charge, it is recommended that you reserve seats. Please email Fredie Kay at fkay@verizon.net as soon as possible to make reservations.
Mixed Blessings: The Keruv Committee is also spreading the word about the film “Mixed Blessings,” which is a movie about interfaith families. The movie will be shown at the Newton Free Library, Druker Auditorium, Wednesday, April 9, at 7 pm and is free to the public. “Mixed Blessings” explores the religious struggles and challenges that take place within the more than one million families raising children in Jewish-Christian interfaith families in the U.S. The film shows the intimate and often emotional processes four couples encounter as they try to come to terms with their own spiritual and religious beliefs and how those beliefs get passed down to their children. The screening, sponsored by Temple Emanuel, will be followed by a Q & A period.
The annual Holocaust Memorial Program, sponsored by Temple Aliyah and Temple Beth Shalom, will be held at Temple Aliyah on Wednesday, April 30, immediately following evening minyan. Our guest speaker is Joshua Rubenstein, Northeast Regional Director of Amnesty International, and editor of the new book, “The Unknown Black Book,” compiled from survivors’ testimonies from the former Soviet Union during World War II.
Please join us on Saturday moning, May 3, for our special Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah service. Join us in a service with participation by this year’s enthusiastic graduates.
Please note the next pre-service meditation will take place on Saturday, May 10. We will be meeting from 9:15-10:15 in the Board Room.
Save the date for Sisterhood's annual Donor Dinner on Wednesday, May 14, 2008. We will welcome back Rabbi Gustavo Suazski to discuss, “A Scribes Path.” Please join us to find out what leads a person to become a scribe. Invitations by mail to follow. Please contact Stacy Ross with any questions.
Save the date — Sunday, June 22 — for a tribute to Cantor Gelman
Join us to honor Cantor Gelman, wish him happy retirement, and celebrate his years of service. Plans are underway for a special program. Please look for photos you may have of the Cantor and drop them off in the office envelope with your name on the back. All will be returned.
If you are interested in working on this program, please contact Sharon Feldman.
Rabbi Surazski will be visiting our community during the third week in May, with several opportunities to meet him, including opportunities for private sessions to participate in the writing of our Torah. We will continue on Sunday, June 8, with the new Torah scroll dedication, coinciding with Shavuot.
A mailing went out in the recent Pulse detaililng these events. In addition, look for a special emailing from the Morashah committee with all of the details.
Our religious school’s Daled Class recently participated in the regional zimriyah, held right here at TA.
Send a worthy neighbor to Israel: The Birthright Israel Project is sponsoring a special program entitled “Let My Parents Go.” Kids from all over the country who have taken part in this wonderful program, and whose parents have not yet been to Israel, have produced short videos about their own parents and why they also be given a free trip. One such video is by Jonathan Kleiman, who wants to send his parents Jeff and Eileen Kleiman. Check out the special web site, browse the you-tube videos, and vote (we hope you’ll vote for the Kleimans).
Read Rabbi Perkins’s sermon from March 22, parashat Tsav, Crimes versus Sins, in the wake of the recent Spitzer scandal.
We are starting a new feature in our ComingUp emails, announcing the names of new members who have just joined the Temple.
Please welcome to the Temple Aliyah ranks the following new member families:
Ted Cohen and Meda Turetsky and their children Matthew (23) and Rebecca (20)
Daphna and Michael Fields and their children Maya (10) and Gabriel (8)
Rachel Herschenfeld and Aaron Deykin and their children Jonah (11), Ilana (8) and Raphael (7)
If you happen to meet them, please give them a warm TA welcome to our community!
Interfaith Passover Seder For Darfur: The Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur Interfaith Seder will bring together participants from diverse backgrounds to raise awareness about the genocide in Western Sudan. The connection between the ancient Israelite freedom story and the current crisis in Darfur is an obvious one: both are examples of the struggle of a people for liberation from the oppression of a tyrannical regime that seeks to destroy it because of fear, bigotry, and selfishness. Passover offers us an opportunity to think deeply about the plight of the Darfurian people, using the rituals and symbols of Passover. The seder will take place on Sunday, April 13th, from 4-6 pm, at Temple Israel, Plymouth St. and Longwood Ave., Boston. This event is open to all, free of charge. For more information, please contact Barbara Palant.
Do you want to learn Hebrew, but feel you just don't have time? Learn a semester of Hebrew in one to two months at Hebrew College’s Summer Institutes. We offer a variety of Hebrew language courses that meet your interests and skill level. Learn to speak, read and write Modern Hebrew. Tuition: $600 (four times a week); $400 (one or two times a week). Ulpan, 9 levels, beginner to advanced: Classes meet once (Friday mornings) or two to four times a week (mornings or evenings).
Develop your ability to read modern and classical Hebrew texts, write and speak Hebrew. Classes available for credit or non-credit. Summer Hebrew special: non-credit, $1250 per course. On campus: Classes meet Monday–Thursday, 9:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m.; Courses are one month long, beginning June 16 and July 21. Online: Classes run May 29–August 7.
For more details and how to register, Click here. If you would like to consult with the Director of our Hebrew Language Department, please call 617-559-8812 or email Tzilla Barone.
Broadway in Needham: Come meet the citizens of River City, Iowa and “fast-talking Professor Harold Hill” as Temple Beth Shalom presents The Music Man. Two shows at Newman School auditorium on Sunday, May 4th, at 2:00 and 7:00 pm. Tickets ($20.00) are available on line at www.ticketstage.com/TBSN or at the door. For ticket info, call Ken Willis at 781-449-4315. Reserved seating, order early for best seats!