kol shalomjayson alonzo, hannah weile, corrine beals, alex goldman, scott lehrfeld, jordyn flahrety,...

KOL SHALOM August 2019

2 Kol Shalom August 2019

Inside this edition…

Letter from the Editor 2

From the Rabbi: Tisha b’Av 3

High Holy Days Schedule 4

It’s a Sababa! 5

Back 2 School Drive 6

Blind Date 7

In Our Congregation 8

Yahrzeits 9

Contributions 11

Latkapalooza 12

Your Jewish Legacy 13

Calendar of Events 15

Consider going green…

visit the CBS website to

access this edition of the

Kol Shalom online.

https://tinyurl.com/shalom1801

Fire

On a good summer day, some of us swim at the beach, others take hikes in the hills, and still others wait for evening to come and tell their stories around campfires. It is a time to be carefree and behold the blessings of nature and time.

But, as we enter the month of August, we, as a Jewish people, are faced with a somber holiday - Tisha b’Av, the 9th of Av, the day when many calamities befalling the Jewish people have taken place. In token, we come together this year on a Saturday night, August 10, to commemorate this day. Following a reading of Eicha, Lamentations, we will part and begin a day-long fast. Our Torah Scrolls will be missing, Our minyan will sound a somber tone, and no one will greet you on your entry and no one will acknowledge your exit.

Less than six days later, on Tu b’Av, the fifteenth of Av, August 15, we will celebrate love and happiness. On this day, we recite poems and blessings and cherish our bonds with loved ones, friends, and family.

Like the month of Av, summer is full of opportunities and challenges. It is up to each of us to decide whether the glass half full or half empty. I choose to see the glass for what it is - a chance to sip a cold drink and another day and to celebrate blessings.

B’Shalom,

Did You See That?

Do you have a new neighbor? Did you meet a new family at the J? Perhaps you are aware of a Jewish colleague where you work who is new to town. Did your kids just turn 18 or return from college to accept a new job and settle in Wilmington? Will you be our advocate and introduce these newcomers to CBS?

We have made it easy for you! Now, there is an exceptional prospective members brochure, hot off the presses, that will introduce our synagogue to newly arrived residents searching for a place to worship, learn, and form friendships. Thanks to the superb writing of Ellen Weingart and the phenomenal photographic artistry of Elisa Komins Morris, we now have a brochure containing a beautifully written description, coupled with a magnificent photo essay of life at CBS. You can help us grow by handing a brochure to someone you think may be interested in our shul. New brochures are available in the CBS office by contacting Jessica Wright or VP of Member Engagement Faith Silver.

August 2019 Congregation Beth Shalom 3

Last night I went to the Western Wall, remnant of the Temple left by Tisha b’Av. The stone-paved plaza was crowded with the diversity of the Jews, almost as expansive as humanity itself. Worshippers sat in circles on the ground and read, in the accents of our wanderings, the book of Lamentations … And yet for all the formal gestures of mourning, I didn’t sense genuine anguish. Some of the pious cried out the words, but that seemed to me an imitation of grief. It’s hard to mourn the exile when the exile has ended. True, not all Jewish prayers have been answered. We have returned, but the pervasive presence of Israeli soldiers protecting us at the Wall reminds us not only of our restored sovereignty but of continuing threat. Tisha b’Av has been only partly negated. Jewish tradition couldn’t imagine this limbo between return and redemption…

--Yossi Klein Halevi, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbors, pp 26-27

I have become enamored with author Yossi Klein

Halevi’s NY Times bestselling-book, Letters to My

Palestinian Neighbor, because of its nuanced,

complicated and sensitive take on Palestinian and

Jewish views regarding Israel. This sense of

dialectic stress is perfectly embodied in Halevi’s

passage quoted above, regarding his

commemoration of Tisha b’Av in Jerusalem.

Even here, or especially here in Wilmington, so far

removed from the Western Wall, it is very difficult

to tap into the anguish of mourning the destruction

of the Temple. On Saturday evening, August 10, at

9 pm, you will walk into a candle-lit chapel. The

ark will be open and empty. Many of your

congregants will be seated on the floor. We will

chant the haunting trope which accompanies the

book of Lamentations, Eicha, in Hebrew. We will

refrain from greeting each other after services are

over. In short, we will embrace every tradition

associated with Tisha B’Av to inspire an atmosphere

of sadness and loss, due to the destruction of the

Temple in 586 BCE, again in 70 CE, and all the

subsequent calamities which have befallen the

Jewish people in their 2,000-year exile.

But as Halevi aptly writes, it’s not “genuine

anguish.” We have a State of Israel. We have

sovereignty over every part of Jerusalem. The focal

point of our prayers is no longer called the “wailing

wall,” as that sense of longing for something we have

no access to has been addressed – it’s called the

Western Wall now. Yet with the absence of a true

peace with the Palestinians, with abuse of

Palestinians under Israeli control, with the desire of

many Palestinians to be rid of a Jewish state

including the denial of any significant Jewish

connection with the Land of Israel, with the need of

obviously armed soldiers to keep praying Jews safe –

Halevi is correct. There is return but there is no

redemption – so Tisha b’Av still serves a purpose.

Today this holy day marks both how far we have

come as a Jewish people, but also how far we still

need to go in order to be truly free and safe.

Please join us for Tisha b’Av services on Saturday

night, August 10, at 9:00pm and again on Sunday

morning, August 11, at 9:00am, as we chant from

Eicha and remember some of the saddest moments in

Jewish history

Tisha b’Av by Rabbi Michael Beals

COMING THIS NOVEMBER

- watch our website for details! -


High Holy Days - Schedule of Services

HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT? HAVE YOU CONSIDERED DOING IT? HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT OTHERS DOING IT?

If you enjoy lunch after Shabbat Services, kibitzing with your shul friends over rugelach, or simply catching up on the latest, we would love your help to host a kiddush or festive oneg. Contact Sue Midanek, [email protected], for more information and available dates.

Selihot Saturday, September 21 Musical Program 7:00pm

Cemetery Visitation and Service Sunday, September 22 Foulk Road Cemetery 1:00pm

Erev Rosh HaShanah Sunday, September 29 Main Service 8:00pm

Rosh HaShanah Day I Monday, September 30 Main Service 8:30am Torah Service 9:30am Family Service 10:30am - 12:30pm Children’s Service 10:30am - 11:30pm Shofar Service 11:00am Tashlich Service 1:20pm (Brandywine Park near Wilmington Hospital)

Rosh HaShanah Day II Tuesday. October 1 Main Service 8:30am Torah Service 9:30am Children and Family Service 10:30am - 12:30pm Shofar Service 10:40am

Shabbat Shuvah Friday, October 4 6:30pm Saturday, October 5 9:30am

Kol Nidrei / Erev Yom Kippur Tuesday, October 8 Main Service / Candle Lighting 6:15pm President’s Appeal 8:00pm (approx.)

Yom Kippur Wednesday, October 9 Main Service 9:00am Torah Service 10:15am Children’s Service 10:30am - 11:30am Family Service 10:30am - 12:15pm Yizkor Service 12:15pm Minḥah Service 5:30pm Ne’ilah Service 6:35pm Ma’ariv Service 7:15pm Final Shofar / Havdalah 7:30pm Break-the-Fast 7:30pm (Reservations required to attend Break-the-Fast)

Sukkot / Simhat Torah Day I: Monday, October 14 9:00am Day II: Tuesday, October 15 7:30am Day III: Wednesday, October 16 7:30am Day IV: Thursday, October 17 7:30am Day V: Friday, October 18 7:30am Day VI: Saturday, October 19 9:30am Day VII: Sunday, October 20 9:00am Day VIII: Monday, October 21 9:00am Simhat Torah: Tuesday, October 22 9:00am


CBS congratulates the twenty-four teenagers who were honored this spring as the first Sababa honorees. Sababa is a program to keep post-B'nei Mitzvah youth connected with Congregation Beth Shalom through high school graduation and, perhaps, beyond. (It replaces what used to be known as the Confirmation Class.) The plan is to build value in Jewish teens coming together at CBS for social and educational programs.

Sababa students in 10th-12th grades are eligible to be recognized at a Shabbat service (Sababaton) and be included in a class photo displayed in CBS hallway that honors previously honored teens. All the teens honored are members of Congregation Beth Shalom, are post B'nei Mitzvah, and have continued their commitment to either the synagogue or the wider Jewish and secular communities.

Due to an intensely busy spring calendar, sixteen of those teens were able to be in attendance and were recognized at two Shabbat services (June 1st and June 8th). Eleven of these very accomplished teens posed for the Sababa 2019 group photo with Rabbi Michael. You will be able to see that picture for many years to come. Sababa honorees who were not able to attend the group photo session this year are invited to be in next year's photo shoot if they choose to do so.

Special thanks to all CBS staff for helping to make Sababa possible and to congregants Andy Sherman and Mark Lipman for taking the group photo and making sure our wall of honor is brought up-to-date.

The Sababa honorees for 2019: Jacob Adelman Jordyn Flaherty Alan Lehrfeld Jayson Alonzo Julia Frank Scott Lehrfeld Rachel Appelbaum Meredith Friedland Kayla Saliman Ariella Beals Alex Goldman Avery Steffen Jack Berkowitz Meredith Haines Carter Steffen Josh Bernstein Micah Harlev Ezra Walter Sam Bernstein Ellie Huffmanparent Hannah Weile Ethan Cooper Lily Huffmanparent Corinne Wiley

It’s A Sababa (Delicious!) by Michael Sigman

Pictured below (L to R): Ariella Beals, Jayson Alonzo, Hannah Weile, Corrine Wiley, Ezra Walter, Alan Lehrfeld, Rabbi Beals, Alex Goldman, Scott Lehrfeld, Jordyn Flahrety, Julia Frank, and Joshua Bernstein. Photo credit: Andy Sherman


Several years ago, Jim Midanek moved from California to Delaware. The first weekend he was in Wilmington with his son Ben. They went to synagogue to meet people in the Jewish community and to do a little "shul shopping." At one point, Jim cane to Congregation Beth Shalom where he met a congregant named Seth Bloom. Seth was warm and welcoming. Soon after, Jim and Seth became fast friends. During one of their conversations, Seth learned that Jim was single. Having heard this, Seth was determined to fix his new friend Jim up with another friend and hopeful companion. At a holiday "break-the-fast" dinner, Kathy Bloom shouted to her sister, Debbie Nachlis, "How about fixing Jim up with Sue Bee?" (Debbie Nachlis and I have been camp friends for forty-five years!). To this, Debbie asked Jim, "Do you like Springsteen?" and when he replied, “Yes,” Debbie thought, “OK ... but when is Sue ever going to come from the DC area to Wilmington for a date?” Well as luck would have it, the very next day Sue drove to Wilmington to be with her friend Debbie. Unaware of the conversation at the dinner the previous night, when Sue arrived, Debbie told her, "We are fixing you up on Saturday night with Jim." - I replied OK, but in my head, I was thinking who the

heck is Jim? On Saturday morning I met him at Beth Shalom. Following services, at the kiddush we spoke a little bit but were seated too far apart to really engage in conversation. Later that evening, we went out and neither of us wanted the night to end. And so the adventure had started!

We saw each other four times in three days and felt a real passion and true connection. For a year and a half we traveled going to and from Potomac, MD and Wilmington along I-95 - now that's dedication! On December 15, 2017 Jim popped the question. I, being totally surprised, immediately said “yes!!!!” A few months later, in February, I moved to

Delaware and in June my house in Potomac sold. My friend Debbie is an amazing support in our new town and I am treasuring the moments I spend with her. Since that first blind date, Jim and I traveled the entire East Coast on many car trips which gave us a lot of time to develop a deeper love and adoration for each other. Jim's support of me and UMTTR (You Matter) is unending. Our love of Judaism has been a spiritual journey and has only increased our bond. Jim sits on the Board of Directors and I help with the garden and kiddush. Together, we live in North Wilmington right near both the Nachlis and Bloom families. And now my friends, you know the story about Jim and Sue. We look forward to hearing your stories, too. Love, Sue

Blind Date by Susan Rosenstock Midanek

“Since that first blind

date, Jim and I traveled

the entire East Coast on

many car trips which

gave us a lot of time to

develop a deeper love

and adoration for each

other.”


We wish a Happy Birthday to all of the following congregants who are celebrating their August birthdays:

Ben Abramson, Molly Adelman, Felisha Alderson, David Alonzo,

Rachel Appelbaum, Rachel Bailey, Abraham Bailis, Steven Bernhardt,

Jenny Biener, Andrew Blumberg, Barbara Blumberg, Beth Bonsall,

Robert Brown, James Davis, Steven Dombchik, Erin Draper,

Michael Dukart, Leonard Dwares, Nathalie Einhorn, Rachel Epstein,

Pamela Finkelman, Laura Freedman, Sharon Freedman, Allen Friedland,

Mark Furman, Ari Garber, David Geller, Wayne Geller, Lyla Ginsberg,

Wilma Glassman, Leslie Goldenberg, Jake Grant, Suzanne Grant,

Mitchell Greenberg, Nathan Gross, Noah Haines, Laurie Hazen,

Alyson Holob, Eli Horden, Stacy Horowitz, Jessica Imber,

Matthew Jacobs, Barry Kanofsky, Shelley Kanofsky, Karin Karel,

Jonathan Kass, Charles Kaufmann, Jonathan Kaufmann,

Richard Kletter, Howard Kristol, Lawrence Lehrfeld, Ari Jayne Levin,

Irvin Levin, Judith Lewis, Russ Lichterman, Ely Longwill,

Andrew McDermott, Livy Mezei, Irene Millius, Benjamin Milunsky,

Jessica Neipris, George Neuman, Vered Nohi, Joshua Pezzner,

Ryan Platt, Bryna Rappaport, Jay Rappaport, Frances Ratner,

Robert Respler, Garry Rodriguez, Adele Ross, Deborah Ross,

Harriet Sachs, Sharon Saliman, Allison Saran, Jesse Saran,

Stephanie Saran, Linda Seidenstat, Russell Silberglied, Miriam Silton,

Sandra Solomon, Melissa Tal, Audrey Tonkinson, Marilyn Weiner,

Michele Weiner, Ellen Weingart, Ginger Weiss

Congregants’ Birthday Celebrations

3 Anita & Edward Sobel

4 Paula & Bruce Epstein

5 Riva & David Brown

7 Ellen & Robert Meyer

8 Harriet & Alfred Remsen

11 Phyllis & Alan Fink

11 Beth & Barry Moskow-Schnoll

12 Eva & Howard Weissman

14 Kathy & Seth Bloom

17 Jill & Ralph Downard

17 Peri & Joseph Berman

17 Suzanne & Stuart Grant

17 Lauren & Thomas Martin

20 Renee & Tom Felder

20 Harriet & Marvin Sachs

21 Elissa Green-Beals & Rabbi Michael Beals

21 Rhoda & Steven Dombchik

21 Carolyn & Philip Fuhrman

22 Phyllis & Norman Aerenson

23 Nancy & Jay Blumberg

24 Meredith & Daniel Rosenthal

25 Debbie & Jerome Nachlis

25 Faith & Paul Silver

26 Tamara & Mark Albom

26 Carol & Barry Brown

26 Barbara & Stuart Felzer

27 Barbara & Robert Cohen

28 Debra & Charles Goodman

29 Shelly & Martin Mand

29 Marilyn & Samuel Weiner

30 Frances & Steven Ratner

30 Elisa & Bret Morris

31 Michele & Nick Dicicco

31 Anna & Joseph Zahn

August

Anniversaries

Mazel Tov

… to Shira Beals on her recent experience to Fulda, Germany as part of the Wilmington Children’s Chorus.

… to Benjamin Bear and Trent Works on their respective conversions to Judaism.

… to S. Mordechai Furman and Meredith Weiss for playing in the Brandywiner’s production of The Producers.

… to Hannah Weile on playing the lead role in the University of Delaware’s Community Music School’s production of School of Rock.

Do you have a mazel to share? If so, send it to

[email protected] with the subject: Mazel Tov

and we will gladly add your mazel tov to our list.

Thanks and Mazel Tov!


May Their Memories Be For a Blessing With Reverence We Record the Following Yahrzeits

8/1/2019 (29 Tammuz) Micheal Cherrin Ludwig Obstfeld Bruce Stargatt Samuel Taub Arthur Wolf Joseph Zucker 8/2/2019 (1 Av) Sylvia Hurschman Jean Drowos 8/3/2019 (2 Av) Rose Orgiefsky Selma Sommers 8/4/2019 (3 Av) Nathan Brandes Mark Hass Jeannette Podolsky Elsie Eisner Wachtel 8/5/2019 (4 Av) Henrietta Miller Sylvia Skolnick Louis Levy 8/6/2019 (5 Av) Aaron Matter 8/7/2019 (6 Av) Jacob Berman Wilma Kass

8/8/2019 (7 Av) Hannah Brown Louis Jacobs Fannie Rosenfeld Edith Schwarz Hyman Sommers 8/9/2019 (8 Av) Fred Goldstein 8/10/2019 (9 Av) Edna G. Cohen Myer Goldman Melvin Jacobson Jack Stape Moshe Tomases 8/11/2019 (10 Av) Saul Harad Jack Spinner William Ziering 8/12/2019 (11 Av) Samuel Hochman Mollye H. Sklut 8/13/2019 (12 Av) Eugene Baker Herman Berger Dorothy Berkowitz Sam Eisenstat Annette K. Goldberg Joseph Herson Harold Holob

8/15/2019 (14 Av) Eda Fruchtman 8/16/2019 (15 Av) Toby Colton Irvin Goldberg Robert Lewis Sadie Taub Alfred Waterland 8/17/2019 (16 Av) David Aaron Ralph Tomases Pauline Silber 8/19/2019 (18 Av) Maurice Siegelman 8/20/2019 (19 Av) Bessie Cohen Ida Goldstein Mildred Polakoff Deborah Regal 8/21/2019 (20 Av) Walter Cloud Freda Evans Muriel Gottesman Harry Harrison Boris Israilov Phyllis Lipsky Robert Silberglied

We Loving Recall we remember those who departed us too soon

Congregation Beth Shalom expresses condolences to the families and friends of

Jerome K. Grossman, age 66, on July 3, survived by his wife, two children, and two grandchildren.

Dr. Felix Boffa, age 89, on July 9, survived by four children and seven grandchildren.

Robert Freedman, age 69, on July 10, survived by his wife, three children, and four grandchildren.

Hamakom yenachem etchem b'toch she'ar aveley Tzion v'Yerushalayim

May the Lord comfort and sustain you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.


May Their Memories Be For a Blessing With Reverence We Record the Following Yahrzeits

8/22/2019 (21 Av) Miriam Byron I. Paul Drowos Julius Finkelman Martin Kantar Evelyn Laiken Helen Raphaelson 8/23/2019 (22 Av) Freda Klein Jeno Lieberman Rosemarie Parent Jack Portnoy Lena Spivack 8/24/2019 (23 Av) Rose Weiner 8/25/2019 (24 Av) Simon Ger Steven Guzik Chris Kowtna Sue Margolin

8/26/2019 (25 Av) Morris Weinreb 8/27/2019 (26 Av) Forest Ballard Philip Sawyer Steven Turnauer 8/28/2019 (27 Av) Jay Dolinger Ruth Holob Etta Mamberg Floyd Rice Ruth E. Schwartz 8/29/2019 (28 Av) Alan Abrams Martin Beale Raie Tammer Beals Anne Garber Leonard Kanofsky Beatrice Kuller Mildred Langerman Louis Turnauer

8/30/2019 (29 Av) Leo Gold Mildred M. Kasser Ronald Kaufman Evelyn Stander Marjory Stone 8/31/2019 (30 Av) Sybil Berger David C. Cooper Hedwig Freimark Saul Hyman Doris Reding Joseph Rhodes

Sara Berman’s Closet - August 25

Take a trip to the National Museum of Jewish History with the

CBS Sisterhood and catch the end of Sara Berman's Closet

exhibit! On Sunday, August 25, we’ll meet at Siegel JCC

Parking Lot at 1:00pm to drive together (or you can meet us

there...) Purchase tickets (discount online: www.nmajh.org) or

at the door and tour on your own. Afterwards, we’ll have an

CBS Sisterhood Board Meeting at Jane's Philly condominium

with tea and pastries. All are welcome!


With Gratitude We gratefully acknowledge the donations made to CBS from June 1 to June 30, 2019.

AL BERLIN MINYAN FUND In Memory of Bertha Kantar Claire and Barney Kantar

Esther Green Claire and Barney Kantar

Stanley Rubin Weile Family

Samuel Garber Garber Family

Isabella Greengold Florence Budovitch

Myer Budovitch Florence Budovitch

Leonard Hirschfield Carol & Jeffrey Roth

Joel Cohen & Sidney Cohen Donna Miller

Jack Matter Susan & Jack Stoltz

In Appreciation of Hayim Weiss for his Board service Claire and Barney Kantar

Meredith Weiss for the Women’s Seder Claire and Barney Kantar

Debra Goodman for Passover Claire and Barney Kantar

Jodie Pezzner for her Presidency Claire and Barney Kantar

BRIAN DOMCHIK FUND In Memory of Leanora Miller Edwin Lyn

CONGREGATIONAL FUND In Memory of Oscar Koralek Alan & Leslie Koralek

Hannah Braunstein Faith Tomases and Family

Naomi Klein Faith Tomases and Family

Andrew Miller Jack & Marion Jacobs Janet & Abe Bailis

Jack Matter Anita Aronson

In Honor of Shira Butts graduation and Periodontry award Bob and Ellen Meyer

Happy Birthday and Good Wishes Diane Wolf Debra Goodman

LEWIS-GREENBAUM FUND In Memory of Hannah Greenbaum Jeffery, Judy, and Liza Lewis

In Honor of Jeffery Lewis’ birthday Allen and Stacey Friedland Larry and Linda Kornreich

CANTOR’S DISCRETIONARY FUND In Honor of The birth of Eden Noah Claire and Barney Kantar HEBREW SCHOOL FUND In Memory of Lawrence Lobel The Levy Family and The Dagastein Family

Louis Wirosloff Claire Wirosloff

Mollie Kreuger Claire Wirosloff

In Honor of Meri Weiss The Platt Family LIBRARY FUND In Honor of Diane Wolf’s Birthday Claire and Barney Kantar RABBI’S DISCRETIONARY FUND In Honor of Hayim and Meri for all they do Sue Midanek

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Wilmington, DE Permit No. 77

CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM 1801 Baynard Blvd • Wilmington, DE 19802 Phone: (302) 654.4462 / Fax: (302) 543.7150 www.bethshalomwilmington.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEXT KOL SHALOM DEADLINE

IS AUGUST 2, 2019 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kol Shalom is the newsletter of Congregation Beth Shalom, an egalitarian-Conservative congregation affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. To submit articles, photos, and announcements, please e-mail: [email protected] or mail them to the address noted above. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RABBI Rabbi Michael S. Beals [email protected]

CANTOR /

EDUCATION DIRECTOR Cantor Elisa Abrams [email protected]

DIRECTOR OF

ADMINISTRATION Matthia McCracken [email protected]

PRESIDENT Barney Kantar [email protected]

kol shalomjayson alonzo, hannah weile, corrine beals, alex goldman, scott lehrfeld, jordyn flahrety,...

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