During this month falls what may be the most ignored holiday (at least by non-Orthodox Jews) on the Jewish calendar. But Shavuot, which begins at nightfall on May 14, does not deserve this unfortunate fate, and here I'm going to tell you why. First of all, tradition holds that Shavuot is the anniversary of reve-lation at Sinai, when (our stories tell us) the entire people of Israel, 600,000 strong – women, children and men – had a direct per-sonal revelation of Godhood which has
reverberated through-out time, from that day to this. Whether you look at the event with the tra-ditional frame – as the story of the formative interaction between God and the Jewish people, where God began to set forth the laws by which we are to live; or from a less lit-eral perspective - as the model of opening one-self (and one's commu-nity) to wisdom and interaction with the Divine Source, the idea of Revelation is a pow-erful one, a goal for spiritual practice and a necessary corrective in a world where humans so often seem to be without purpose or control. Second, Shavuot is strongly focused on learning, particularly of
Ruth as a Role Model for Our Time Rabbi Moti RieberRuth as a Role Model for Our Time Rabbi Moti RieberRuth as a Role Model for Our Time Rabbi Moti RieberRuth as a Role Model for Our Time Rabbi Moti Rieber
Lawrence Jewish Community NewsLawrence Jewish Community NewsLawrence Jewish Community NewsLawrence Jewish Community News
Lawrence Jewish Lawrence Jewish Lawrence Jewish Lawrence Jewish
Community Community Community Community
CongregationCongregationCongregationCongregation
www.LawrenceJCC.orgwww.LawrenceJCC.orgwww.LawrenceJCC.orgwww.LawrenceJCC.org
917 Highland Drive Lawrence, KS 66044
(785) 841-7636 [email protected]
Office Hours: Office Hours: Office Hours: Office Hours:
10am-4pm M-F
Rabbi Rabbi Rabbi Rabbi Office Hours Office Hours Office Hours Office Hours
Thursday 1-5pm
Rabbi:Rabbi:Rabbi:Rabbi: Moti Rieber Moti Rieber Moti Rieber Moti Rieber
(316) 680-7381
Board President:Board President:Board President:Board President:
Jonathan Paretsky
Office Manager:Office Manager:Office Manager:Office Manager:
Marty Stemmerman
MAY 2013MAY 2013MAY 2013MAY 2013 LAWRENCE JEWISH COMMLAWRENCE JEWISH COMMLAWRENCE JEWISH COMMLAWRENCE JEWISH COMMUNITY NEWSUNITY NEWSUNITY NEWSUNITY NEWS
“To be an inclusive and thriving center of Jewish spiritual, cultural and social life for the Lawrence area.”
Shabbat Shabbat Shabbat Shabbat
Service Times Service Times Service Times Service Times
Friday, May 3Friday, May 3Friday, May 3Friday, May 3
7:00pm7:00pm7:00pm7:00pm
with Rabbi Moti Rieber
Friday, May 10Friday, May 10Friday, May 10Friday, May 10
7:00pm7:00pm7:00pm7:00pm
With Shiray Shabbat
Friday, May 17Friday, May 17Friday, May 17Friday, May 17
7:00pm7:00pm7:00pm7:00pm
with Susan Elkins & Jack Winerock 8:00pm Speaker: 8:00pm Speaker: 8:00pm Speaker: 8:00pm Speaker:
Jacob Dorman, PhD
Friday, May 24Friday, May 24Friday, May 24Friday, May 24
7:00pm7:00pm7:00pm7:00pm
with Rachel Black, Cantorial Soloist
Friday, May 31Friday, May 31Friday, May 31Friday, May 31
7:00pm7:00pm7:00pm7:00pm
with Rachel Black, Cantorial Soloist
our classical, source texts. The evening of Shavuot is called “leil tikkun” (night of learn-ing), and it is a wonder-ful practice to stay up late studying Torah and other Jewish sources. It so happens that the Kansas City Jewish community has a com-munity-wide leil tikkun that will take place that night, information on which is found within this newsletter. I strongly encourage you to take part in this in-spiring practice. And the third point is, I think, of particular interest to our com-munity, with its rela-tively large number of interfaith families. It is the story contained in the Book of Ruth, which is traditionally
Cont. on page 5...
The LJCC
extends our gratitude
to Michael & Rita
York Hennecke
for the Lovely
Seder dinner
they prepared for us
on March 26.
Todah Raba!
LJCC Community SederLJCC Community SederLJCC Community SederLJCC Community Seder
March 26, 2013March 26, 2013March 26, 2013March 26, 2013
Cont. on page 4...
Page 2
CALENDAR
LAWRENCE JEWISH COMMUNITY NEWS
2 Emily Winerock 16 David Eichler
3 Charyse Herman 22 Harold Herman
4 Lauren Hoopes 24 Josie Naron
5 Pat Bates 24 Evan Mielke
5 Frances Horowitz
25 Daphne Fautin
9 Forest Lassman 28 Clara Kundin
10 Micah Salkind 30 Jeremy Shawl
12 Sarah Shapiro 30 Caden Merz
Yahrzeit May Calendar
Mi Schebeirach
Stanley Elkins Regina Rothenberg
Judith Bleicher Karen Heintzen
Blanche Rombach Malca Bat’ Sarah
We are currently taking names of those in need of healing for Mi Schebeirach. Names will be read during Friday’s Shabbat services, and will stay on the list for 4 weeks unless otherwise requested. Please let the office know by Friday at noon if you know of someone you would like to be included on the Mi Schebeirach list.
Thursday, May 2 6:15pm Zumba
Friday, May 3 7:00pm Shabbat Service with Rabbi Moti Rieber
8:00pm Oneg, TBD
Sunday, May 5 9:30am-12:30pm
LJCC Religious School (last day before summer break)
Monday, May 6 7:30pm Table Tennis Club
Tuesday, May 7 6:15pm Zumba
Wed., May 8 6:00pm JCW Annual Dinner, Oriental Bis-tro
Thursday, May 9 3:00pm Study Group with Rabbi Moti
6:15pm Zumba
Friday, May 10 7:00pm Shabbat Service with Shiray Shabbat
8:00pm Oneg, TBD
Monday, May 13 7:30pm Table Tennis Club
Tuesday, May 14 6:15pm Zumba
Thursday, May 16 6:15pm Zumba
7:00pm LJCC Board Meeting
Friday, May 17 7:00pm Shabbat Service led by Susan Elkins & Jack Winerock Oneg, TBD
8:00pm Talk by Jacob Dorman
Saturday, May 18 10:00am Max Gottschamer Bar Mitzvah
Sunday, May 19 3:30pm JCW Membership Meeting
Monday, May 20 7:30pm Table Tennis Club
Tuesday, May 21 6:15pm Zumba
Thursday, May 23 11:30am LJCC serves LINK
3:00pm Study Group with Rabbi Moti
6:15pm Zumba
7:30pm Adult Ed with Rabbi Moti
Friday, May 24 7:00pm Shabbat Service with Rachel Black, Cantorial Soloist
8:00pm Oneg, TBD
Monday, May 27 7:30pm Table Tennis Club
Tuesday, May 28 6:15pm Zumba
Thursday, May 30 6:15pm Zumba
Friday, May 31 7:00pm Shabbat Service led by Rachel Black, Cantorial Soloist
8:00pm Oneg, TBD
Saturday, June 1 12:30pm Women’s Luncheon at Marisco’s
May Birthdays
28 Arlene & Terry Slocum
May Anniversaries
Natalie Frost May 5, 1988 Hal Ettinger May 7, 2009
Ethel Esther Roitman May 8, 1989
Timothy Kliewer May 12, 2011
Dorothy Rosenthal May 14, 2006
Lillian Bear Klotz May 21, 1934
Samuel R. Raffelock May 26, 1967
Mollie Leban May 26, 1979
Alex Frost May 28, 2005
Why Table Tennis? Why the LJCC? Jonathan Paretsky
Page 3 LAWRENCE JEWISH COMMUNITY NEWS
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
The LJCC is not the only major Lawrence cul-
tural institution of which I serve as president; I also
moonlight as president of the Lawrence Table Tennis
Association, which meets Monday evenings in the JCC
social hall.
Some of you may wonder what table tennis has
to do with Jews. In American society, the impression
is that table tennis is mostly an Asian sport. While this
impression ignores the great Swedish players who
dominated world singles and team play in the 1990's,
or the Byellorussian Samsanov, who was ranked first
in the world just a few years ago, or the 2003 Austrian
world champion Werner Schlager, it also ignores the
history of American table tennis and the Jewish play-
ers who built the game into the second-largest profes-
sional sport in the world.
In 1898, Max Nordau coined the term
"muscular Judaism" at the Second Zionist Con-
gress, calling for a regeneration of the Jewish people
through physical fitness. Jews increasingly turned to
sports as a means of self-assertion and cultural pride.
Table tennis was just becoming popular in the 1920's
and 30's, and there were no established rules to sys-
tematically exclude Jews as there were in other sports.
Jews flocked to the game and became its dominant
figures.
Half of the table tennis clubs in Poland during
the interwar period were affiliated with organized
Jewish sporting movements. Hungary's eight-time
world champion Laszlo Bellak traveled the globe put-
ting on exhibitions to popularize the game. Richard
Bergmann won seven world championships, first
representing Austria, and then after the 1938 An-
schluss to Germany, representing England. Five-time
world champion Viktor Barna also fled the Nazis,
returning to the continent as a parachutist for the
British army. Angelica Rozeanu of Romania won a
never-equaled six consecutive world singles champi-
onships before retiring and moving to Israel. The Pol-
ish champion Alojzy Ehrlich spent four years in
Auschwitz and survived because a Nazi guard recog-
nized him and pulled him from a group assigned to
the death chambers.
In the United States, Leah Neuberger, Sol
Schiff, Bernie Bukiet, and Ruth Aarons were among
the players who took the national team to both
men's and women's world championships. Dick
Miles was the U.S. champion ten times from 1945 to
1962. I had the good fortune of getting to know
Marty Reisman, a world-championship finalist in
the 1950's, towards the end of his life. He proudly
told me that a linguist had consulted with him
about Yiddish colloquial usage for a book on Yiddish
slang.
And the Jewish contribution to the American
sport is not just a thing of the past. At the age of 15,
in 2009 Michael Landers became the youngest
player to win the men's national singles title.
Eleven-year-old Estee Ackerman was disqualified
from her championship round at the 2012 national
tournament because the event fell on a Saturday. "I
practiced and trained for six months for this," she
said. "Ping pong is important to me, but my religion
of Judaism is also very important to me."
While Asia represents a powerful force in
modern table tennis, Jews have played at least as
important a role in turning the parlor game of the
late Nineteenth Century into the world sport of to-
day. And I would even include the great Korean
player Joo Se Hyuk, but that's probably cheating.
LJCC Pledge Forms
In the past few weeks, you should have received a
pledge form for the LJCC 2013-14 Fiscal Year. If you
have not yet done so, please return this form as soon as
possible. This pledge information helps us to make
budgetary decisions for the fiscal year we have just
entered. We are also asking for your current contact
information, which will be included in an updated LJCC
Directory. Contact the office with any questions.
APRIL CONTRIBUTIONS
Page 4 LAWRENCE JEWISH COMMUNITY NEWS
General Fund
Hilda Enoch
In honor of those who helped with our Com-
munity Seder; Rabbi Moti, our cooks extra-
ordinaire, Rita & Michael, all those who
helped in the kitchen, before and after. It
was a wonderful evening, bringing us all to-
gether!
Heather Frost
With thanks to Michael & Rita and all who
made our Community Seder a success
Lois Schneider
In honor of Blanche Rombach
Einstein’s Stores
In memory of Bob & Melda Einstein
Sally Lieberman
Dinah & Fred Lovitch
In honor of Bob Buddemeier and the
extraordinary job he did as Treasurer
Rabbi & Cantorial Fund
Dinah & Fred Lovitch
In memory of Hadassah Singer
Suzanne Lange
Rabbi Discretionary Fund
Leni & Neil Salkind
read on this holiday. The Book of Ruth is the story of a young woman, Ruth, who upon the death of her husband decides to accom-pany her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Naomi's native Israel. I par-ticularly like this book because it gives narrative confirmation of cer-tain practices that we otherwise would only know from legal material, such as levirite marriage and the gleaning of the corners of the field. But it's also interesting for what it doesn't include – a lengthy con-version process. Ruth essentially joins the Jewish people by commit-ting her life to Naomi and with these words: “For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my peo-ple, and your God my God.” She then lives just like everyone else, taking care of her mother-in-law and eventually marrying the wealthy landowner, Boaz. Ruth's path is considered so righteous that at the end of the story the Biblical author posits her as the ancestor of King David, and thus of messianic redemption itself. I have a great deal of admiration for the non-Jewish partners of our Jewish members who choose to take part in our activities and to be part of the community. I always try to include them fully in all the activities I lead. I know it can be uncomfortable and foreign (heck, it is to many of us!), but I also know that - especially for those who are, as the term goes, “unchurched” - the community support, intellectual curiosity, and spiritual development that we are trying to encourage here are available to everyone who chooses them, whatever their eth-nicity or spiritual background. After all, the heroines of our story didn't keep reminding everyone – or more importantly, reminding themselves – that Ruth wasn't Jew-ish by birth. Once she had committed, she was just like everyone else. We too should be less concerned about the boundaries that divide us, and more open to the opportunities we all can share. In that way will redemption come.
CONTRIBUTIONS
Ruth as a Role Model… cont. from page 1
Registration for the All Night Shavuot Program is due by May 8.
To access the registration information for this event, go here: http://lawrencejcc.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/2013-flyer-shavuot.pdf
Board Resolution Recommending Extending the Employment
Relationship with Rabbi Moti Rieber
At the Annual Meeting in June, 2012, the con-
gregation gave the LJCC Board of Directors au-
thority to enter into a one-year contract of up to
25% employment with Rabbi Moti Rieber. Exten-
sion of that contract will require the approval of
two-thirds of the voting members.
The Board of Directors has worked extensively
with Rabbi Moti. In addition, individual Board
members and officers have worked with the
Rabbi, and the Board has received both written
and informal spoken comments about the
Rabbi’s relationship with the congregation.
The Board recommends offering Rabbi Moti
Rieber an additional year of employment. The
Board further recommends that the congrega-
tion approve giving the Board the flexibility of
offering Rabbi Moti an increase in salaried time
from the current 25% appointment, up to 33%
appointment.
Treasurer’s Island Bob Buddemeier
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of Manischewitz. I think there, in a nutshell, you have the explanation
for the paucity of famous (or even any) Jewish pirates. We have a news-laden issue this time
around (sometimes we tend to forget that this is a NEWSletter), so I will make an effort to cut
short my usual ramblings. So, on to today's pithy theme (don't bother, I've heard that joke before),
which is organizational maturation. LJCC has been stuck in the middle phase for so long that it
seems like adolescence is merging directly into senescence. We are far past the era of the found-
ing fathers and mothers, when a small and tightly-knit community operated in extended-family
mode. The organization now contains mostly second cousins and step-children, with quite a bit
less intensity of bonding. At the same time, we are not numerous enough to constitute a clan or even a tribe (idiom not-
withstanding), and certainly not an effective non-familial alliance.
An example in point is the office – we have moved over the years from volunteers through paid volunteers through
part-time employees hired on a fairly ad-hoc basis to the point where our office personpower is professional, full time or
nearly so, and hired on an objective search-and-interview basis. And things are working a lot better for it. A recent and
still ongoing experiment suggests strongly that an arguably qualified administrator or executive director would make a big
difference in many ways – but we can't afford one, even though we have gotten past the office manager barrier. The or-
ganization is of a size and membership where volunteerism is still vital, but is by itself inadequate for overall success.
The latest (and recurring) focal point of these issues is once again the Blintz Brunch. The common cries of who will do
it, why not, what if nobody does, and so on, reverberate through the building and the larger community. People talk about
maybe we won't have one, how hard they worked last year, etc. Folks, listen to your treasurer: we must have a blintz
brunch. Does the narrowly defined blintz brunch itself make us a lot of money, especially in view of the work involved?
Not really, but --- the silent auction does make a lot of money, the bake sale sells out every year, the gift shop makes
money – and none of those could happen without the draw of the customer base of the Blintz Brunch. This is a bit of an
arm-wave because of the complexity of LJCC-JCW financial interactions, but I reckon that the extended BB accounts,
brings in $10,000, which is maybe 8% of our $120,000 annual budget. Is that all, you say? It seems like an undesirable but
bearable loss. Well, you will get all this in detail next month, but salaries and wages and allied services currently account for
probably (waving the other arm) maybe 60% of the annual budget. Essential maintenance, utilities, supplies, etc. eat up
another chunk. So out of that original 120,000, we are left with perhaps $30K uncommitted to apply to all of our wishes
and dreams. The $10K loss is now more like a 30-40% cut in what we have laid the base for doing with our other expendi-
tures. Now it’s a big number, right? Damn right – context is everything.
So I will not entertain questions on the detailed arithmetic at this time, but trust me, the options are these: we do a rea-
sonably successful Blintz Brunch, or we accept a very big cut in our discretionary spending (= standard of living). QED?
Page 5 LAWRENCE JEWISH COMMUNITY NEWS
TREASURER’S REPORT
Annual Meeting June 9, 2013 10am-noon The LJCC annual meeting will be held on Sunday, June 9, 10-12 in the LJCC social hall. Refreshments and child
care will be provided. All members of the larger community are welcome to attend, but only members of LJCC may
vote. Membership for this purpose is established by making a payment or pledge toward 2013-2014 dues. Pay-
ments and pledges will be accepted at the meeting.
A draft agenda with explanatory material and any positions taken or recommended by the Board will be mailed
and e-mailed to all members in late April or early May. The official meeting packet with agenda, reports, and sup-
porting information will be mailed in late May. At any time before the meeting, members are invited to ask ques-
tions or offer opinions to any of the Board members. We urge all members to inform themselves on the issues in
advance so that the meeting can run smoothly and efficiently.
Page 6 LAWRENCE JEWISH COMMUNITY NEWS
NEWS
� JCW Annual Membership Dinner WEDNESDAY, MAY 8th, 6:00pm The end of the year JCW Membership
Dinner will be held at Oriental Bistro on 23rd Street. We will order from the menu. Our speaker will be
Rebecca Rovit, assistant Prof. in theatre at KU. Topic "Cultural Dislocation and the Jewish Kulturbund
Theatre in Nazi Berlin". Feel free to invite a friend. Reservations are requested for all attending dinner,
call Loraine Lindenbaum 843-4308.
� Talk by Jacob Dorman, PhD, Friday, May 17 8:00pm Join us after services on Friday, May 17, as Jacob
Dorman presents information from his book, Chosen People: African Americans and the Rise of Black
Judaism, which chronicles religions that teach that ancient Israelites were black and that today’s African-
Americans are their descendents.
� Adult Education: Jewish Views of the Afterlife. Thursday, May 23 at 7:30 pm. Rabbi Moti's three-part
series on death from the Jewish perspective concludes with an exploration of Jewish ideas about the
afterlife. Some intriguing and surprising findings await you as we explore texts and concepts of this little
known area of the Jewish psyche.
� The LJCC congratulates Free State junior, Josie Naron, who was chosen by the Lawrence-Douglas County
Health Department as the inaugural Douglas County Youth Health Champion. Josie is the daughter of
Marilyn & Greg Naron. Read about Josie here: http://wellcommons.com/news/2013/apr/09/lawrence-teen-named-inaugural-douglas-county-youth/
LJCC AnnouncementsLJCC AnnouncementsLJCC AnnouncementsLJCC Announcements
RSVP
IS REQUESTED
BY MAY 30.
SUZY RIEBER
Maxwell GottschamerMaxwell GottschamerMaxwell GottschamerMaxwell Gottschamer
Abigail Shira RieberAbigail Shira RieberAbigail Shira RieberAbigail Shira Rieber
Page 7 LAWRENCE JEWISH COMMUNITY NEWS
NEWS
Don’t Forget Don’t Forget Don’t Forget Don’t Forget
Grocery Grocery Grocery Grocery
Certificates!Certificates!Certificates!Certificates! Grocery Certificates make your Food
& Gas budgeting easy while also bene-
fiting the LJCC! Certificates are
available for Dillons, HyVee, Check-
ers & The Merc, and spend just like
cash, not only for groceries and gift
items at these stores, but also for
gas at HyVee, Dillons, & Kwik Shop.
LJCC Board President Jonathan Paretsky 785-832-8993 [email protected]
Vice-President Terri Rosen 785-843-3224 [email protected]
Treasurer Bob Buddemeier 785-842-6263 [email protected]
Recording Secretary Anne Schulman 785-749-4544 [email protected]
Past President Steve Hurst 785-766-0029 [email protected]
Members-at-Large Rachel Black [email protected]
Ivy Briggs 785-832-0243 [email protected]
Judy Green 785-842-8473 [email protected]
John Hoopes 785-331-7473 [email protected]
Artie Shaw 785-843-9272 [email protected]
JCW Board Representative Heather Frost 785-312-0507 [email protected]
JCW Board President Loraine Lindenbaum 785-843-4308 [email protected]
Vice Pres. & Programming Jill Kleinberg 785-749-2120 [email protected]
Past President Martha Taylor 785-841-3328
Treasurer Susan Elkins 785-842-9948 [email protected]
Recording Secretary Shelley Skie 785-760-3448
Corresponding Secretary Beth Bey 785-843-0569 [email protected]
JCW Gift Shop Herb Friedson 785-841-3328
Assistant Treasurer Heather Frost 785-312-0507 [email protected]
Lawrence Jewish Community Vegetable Garden
Jen Geller, LJCC Religious School Teacher
A new and exciting community project is under construction! This week, the
Board approved a proposal for the beginnings of a community vegetable garden
on the south side of the building. This project will provide a fun opportunity for
all ages in the community to work and learn together, while working towards
the larger vision of providing fresh produce to community members in need.
We will begin this spring with a series of pots and small raised and elevated
beds, growing tomatoes, herbs, and a few other summer harvest plants. The
religious school will be assisting with some of the initial planting as part of a
lesson on Judaism's relationship with the land.
Our goal is to get as many people involved as possible and make this a multi-
generational, community-wide effort that everyone can be proud of. We hope
to garner interest from all ages, including college students, the middle school/
high school age group, and any interested members who want to share their
time and experience with the community.
We will be gathering and transporting materials to the LJCC this week, and
working on construction of the garden this weekend. Your help is
needed! Whether you only have an hour to spare, or you are inspired to help
take charge in this communal vision, we want you to be involved.
♦ Have a green thumb?
♦ Have old pots, soil, gardening tools, etc. that you would like to donate?
♦ Would you be willing to help water the garden once a week?
♦ Do you know anyone who would be interested in being involved?
♦ Do you have great ideas and positive energy?
If you are interested in helping get this project off the ground, please contact
Jennifer Geller at [email protected].
Interested in Membership at the Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation? Members’ dues support Jewish life in Lawrence. We want to continue to offer religious services, including High Holiday services; religious school; adult education; holiday celebrations; and lectures and social activities sought by our membership. Our dues are established by each member on the basis of his/her financial situation. For those able to conform to them, we offer suggested guidelines, which are 1.5% of gross income. Single-parent families and new members for the first year are 1%. Associate Membership for those who live outside of Lawrence or pay dues to another congregation is $216 per year. Contact the Treasurer, Bob Buddemeier. if you have questions or wish to explore alternative arrangements. To become a member, please print the following information and send with your check to: LJCC, 917 Highland Drive, Lawrence, KS 66044. NAME ADDRESS
CITY STATE ZIP
PHONE E-MAIL
Lawrence Jewish
Community Congregation
917 Highland Drive
Lawrence, KS 66044
Return Service Requested
Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Lawrence, KS 66044 Permit No. 79