sept 2010 ti bulletin

Elul 5770 Tishrei 5771 PAGE 1SEPTEMBER 2010

Temple Israel Bulletin

!"Religious School Starts—pages 1 and 4

!"Cookbook Kickoff Dinner—page 5

!"High Holy Day Food Drive & Mazon—page 7

!"Sukkah Tour—page 8

!"Volunteer opportunities—page 10

!"Children’s Clothing Swap—page 13

!"Wanna dance? - page 14

!"High Holy Day Service Schedule—page 20

IN THIS ISSUE

SCHEDULE OFSHABBAT SERVICES

EREV SHABBAT, September 3:6:30 PM: Family Shabbat evening serviceTorah Portion: Nitzavin-Vayelech, Deut.29:9-31:30, Haftarah: Isa. 61:10-63:9

EREV SHABBAT, September 10:7:30 PM: Friday Night Shabbat eveningserviceTorah Portion: Ha’azinu, Deut. 32:1-52,Haftarah: Hosea 14:2-10, Micah 7:18-20,Joel 2:15-27EREV SHABBAT, September 17:7:30 PM: Shabbat evening and Kol Nidreiservice.Torah Portion: Yom Kippur, Lev. 16:1-34,Lev. 18:1-30, Haftarah: Isa. 57:14-58:14

EREV SHABBAT, September 24:7:30 PM: Shabbat evening service with To-rah reading.Torah Portion: Shabbat Chol Ha-Mo’ed Suk-kot, Ex. 33:12-34:26, Haftarah: Ezek. 38:18-39:16

MAY THE NEW YEAR BRING SWEETNESS, HOPE, AND SHALOM TOOUR WORLD!

FIRST DAYOF RELIGIOUS SCHOOL:Orientation and Community Picnic

Sunday, September 19thGrades 1 and 2 begins at 10:15 a.m.Third Grade – Amitim begins at 9 a.m.

All classes end at 12:15Once the children are settled in their classes, there will be a parentorientation at 10:30 in the Social Hall, for a review:

• Mindy Myers will present the year’s content directions;• Introduction to the Religious School teachers;• Explanation of the new bar/bat mitzvah education program• Ending with Parent Volunteer Committees to meet in smallgroups and get assignments

At 12:15, Religious School families and the entire Temple IsraelCommunity are invited to a community picnic! The ReligiousSchool will provide the “grillin’s” and buns and drinks. We askpeople to bring a side dish and a dessert. It will be fun to reconnectwith old friends, make new friends, and catch up after the summer.

TEMPLE ISRAEL BULLETIN

FROM THE RABBI’S STUDYIn Jewish tradition the con-cepts of “years” and“teaching” are consideredlinked linguistically. Yearshave to do with cycles,with repetition and, asmany teachers will con-

firm, repetition is often a valuable method of learningas well as of teaching. Perhaps it’s not accidental,then, that we refer to the “cycle of the year” as theholidays and holy days come and go. In our traditionwe assign certain meanings to each of the Festivalsand holy days; there are specific lessons to be learnedboth by following the rituals for each one and bystudying the history and peculiarities of each one.

When we reach the time of Rosh Hashanah, the begin-ning of the cycle for the year itself, we begin to recite,rehearse, and repeat the messages and lessons that wehave recited, rehearsed and repeated for all the yearsprior. Especially at the New Year we revisit the ideasof starting over, returning to our better selves, of get-ting a fresh start, and so on. And this cycle happensevery year, year after year, like clockwork.

You could reasonably ask why, if we learned what wewere supposed to learn in times gone by, should wehave to do it all over again each year. For better or forworse, both the ancient rabbis and most of us whocame after them have come to the same conclusion:apparently we really didn’t learn the lessons so well,or we wouldn’t be making the same mistakes over andover again all the time. Even Mark Twain quippedonce: “Learn from the mistakes of others; you can’tlive long enough to make them all yourself!” Twain’sidea had less to do with living long enough and moreto do with learning from mistakes, whether our own orsomeone else’s.

The month of Elul, the month immediately precedingRosh Hashanah, is used in our tradition as a time ofpreparation for the hard work that commences in ear-nest on the eve of the New Year and continuesthrough until sunset on Yom Kippur day. Over and

over again we repeat the ancient words of equally an-cient prayers, all of which are intended to help us inte-grate into our psyches the concepts that we seem toforget as soon as Yom Kippur is over – if not before.The idea of repetition as part of a method of learningcomes into play here. If we repeat the ideas oftenenough, maybe they will sink in. Maybe, just maybe,we can learn a technique, a method, a way of remain-ing conscious and aware of our behaviors, thoughts,and actions “in real time” well enough that we canavoid making some, many, or all of the mistakes thatwe have made in the past.

Someone once said that life “is what happens whileyou are making plans.” The High Holy Days, socalled because they are – at least theoretically – holierthan other days, are a time for serious, honest reflec-tion about who we are, a time when we stop planningand pause to reflect. They are also intended to be atime of learning about ourselves, or at least of beingreminded about who we are capable of being. Wasn’tit Oscar Wilde who said, “Be yourself. Everyone elseis taken.”? When we come before God for judgment,we are taught that we will not be asked why we werenot as great as Moses. Rather, we’ll be asked why weweren’t as great as we could be in our own right.

Of all world religions, Judaism is probably foremostin acknowledging the challenges of everyday realitywhile at the same time providing the means of copingwith our challenges. We don’t sugar coat; we don’thypothesize; we tell it like it is. In the end, despitehow anxious we might be because of how difficultthings are, our tradition is one of hope, hope repeatedover and over again in the belief that if we repeat itoften enough, we might actually learn how to makehappen what we hope and pray for. Not relying onGod alone, but on our partnership with each other andwith the Divine, the Holy Days give us an annuallearning opportunity to get back on track, to move inthe right direction again, to begin to see light at theend of the proverbial tunnel, and to live with hope inour hearts again.

Continued on page 3

Elul 5770 Tishrei 5771 PAGE 3

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEIn June, 2012, Rabbi Allen Bennettwill retire from Temple Israel after16 years of service. During theRabbi’s time here, he has broughtstability, developed strong relation-ships across the community, andhelped foster growth in programsthat serve all of our members, fromthe youngest to the oldest. Now we

stand poised to renew our community for the nextphase in Temple Israel's life.

Our Temple's Bylaws require that the President ap-point a Rabbi Search Committee to recommend a newRabbi to the Board of Directors. The Board of Direc-tors must approve a candidate and present the recom-mendation to the congregation. The congregationmust then ratify the selection by a two-thirds vote ofthe members present and in good standing at a congre-gational meeting. Of course, an enormous amount ofwork must be done to get us to that point.

I am honored to write to you as the Chair of the RabbiSearch Committee. The committee is comprised of adiverse and dedicated group of congregants: Walt Ja-cobs, Stacy Reid, Suzi Scher, Bill Schaff, Howard Si-dorsky, Patti Stein and Eric Strimling. This grouprepresents the wide range of our Temple's congre-gants, but at the same time is small enough to workeffectively and efficiently on behalf of the congrega-tion.

There are few occasions in the life of a congregationthat are as important and far-reaching as the choosingof a new Rabbi. As a congregation, our decisions willbe likely to shape Temple Israel for many years to

come. Navigating this transition will simultaneouslybe an awesome responsibility and a fabulous opportu-nity.

The Rabbi Search process affords us the chance tocollectively reflect upon and to articulate our vision,values, philosophy, history and identity as a part ofthe Jewish community. While we often engage in dia-logue about these important matters, there are rarelytimes when it is as essential to clearly communicatewhat we believe to be the identity of our Temple, andwhat we wish for it to be. It is critical for us to findthe rabbi who will best serve us and our needs. Yourinput will be vital in helping us to clearly define andexpress the uniqueness of Temple Israel to prospectiverabbinical candidates.

We appreciate that you are eager to learn about thesearch process and we are committed to providing in-formation about what we learn and our progressthroughout the search. We will announce the new spe-cial Rabbi Search section on our website when it isready to be unveiled. There you will be able to findthe latest news as it becomes available.

Please be sure to be an active participant in this vitaltransition in our congregation’s life. As the RabbiSearch Committee solicits your input, please take thetime to share your vision for Temple Israel. Together,we can write an exciting new chapter in the history ofTemple Israel of Alameda.

B’shalom,Cindy Berk

Continued from page 2

From my home to yours and in the spirit of these HighHoly Days, may your prayers be uttered in earnest,may they be heard on high as well as in your ownhearts, and may they give you the fortitude to face thefuture cheerfully and hopefully as well as the strengthto do what you can to turn your hopes and desires forgood into reality.

May you be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Lifefor a good year.

Shalom,Rabbi Allen B. Bennett


EDUCATION NEWSDear Temple Israel Commu-nity:

Hard to believe that the sum-mer is over and once again

we’re back to our regular schedules.

However, at the Temple Israel Religious School aregular schedule doesn’t mean a dull, boring schedule.On the contrary.

I spent the summer culling over books and researchingonline, designing really fabulous lesson plans for eachclass for every grade. The younger students will learnthe Hebrew letters and solidify learning using yogapositions that resemble Hebrew letters. Third graderswill learn about the 10 commandments then write theirown commandments on a homemade scroll. Fourthgraders will study the Jewish prophets using puppetsto act out the stories. Fifth graders will study Jewishsects – from Chasidim to Modern Orthodoxy to Re-form. They will read current events in the JerusalemPost, and discuss how some Israelis live on a kibbutzor a moshav. Sixth graders will cover several interest-ing units: Food – kosher dietary laws, and using He-brew to order food in a restaurant; a comparative relig-ions unit where students will report on different relig-ions and compare practices with Judaism; and a uniton the Holocaust and immigration. The small Amitimclass has big plans: it will be a year preparing for theirbar and bat mitzvahs – from learning the service’sprayers, to writing a drash, to feeling comfortable onthe bimah, to looking at coming-of-age ceremoniesfrom around the world.

I am excited about all the learning possibilities and Iguarantee your child will be turned on!

The first day of Religious School is Sunday, Sept19th. Children in grades 1 and 2 should arrive at 10:15and go to the Peter Pan School. Students in grades 3 –7 should arrive at 9 a.m. Grades 3 and 4 should go tothe Peter Pan School. Grades 5 and 6 meet in the Tem-ple Israel annex classrooms. The Amitim class will

meet in the library. (If you forget this, no worries.There will be signs.)

At 10:30 – 12:00, the parent orientation will takeplace in the Social Hall. All parents are required toattend. It is at this meeting that you will be introducedto your child’s teacher, get the details of the year’sacademic directions, and divide into groups to learnhow you can volunteer to support the Temple IsraelReligious School (see page 1). At noon is a commu-nity-wide picnic. Please join us for schmoozing andeating.

An important note: We are interested in growing theschool. If you know of a family who might be inter-ested in enrolling their children, please pass theirname, phone number and email on to me and I wouldbe happy to give them a personal tour and speak tothem about the school. Thank you.

And just a quick reminder about the Alameda SukkahTour on Sunday, Sept 26th from 12:30 – 2:30. It’s agreat way to celebrate Sukkot. (see page 8 for details.)Many thanks to the families who generously agreed tobuild a sukkah and open their huts to ushpizin!

B’Shalom,Mindy Myers, Director of Congregational [email protected]; 510-593-5285


You’re Invited…To the Temple Israel 90th Anniversary Cookbook Kickoff Dinner

Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 6:00 PM in the Temple Israel Social HallDinner prices: $10.00/adult

$ 5.00/child$25.00/family (limit 2 adults)

Dinner will be prepared by members of the 90th Anniversary Cookbook Committee from recipes in the newcookbook. If you’d like to volunteer to help prepare the dinner, please contact Betty Riback at 337-0137.

Volunteers are also needed for set-up and clean-up…teens, this could count towards your community servicerequirement!

Reservations are required and must be received by September 19. Reservations will not be accepted afterSept. 19.————————————————————————————————————————————————-

RESERVATION FORMYou may fill out this form and return to the Temple office, or contact Alison Harris at [email protected] tomake your reservations.

Name(s) of attendees______________________________________________________

No. Adults__________ No. Children__________

Email address_________________________________ Phone #____________________


Introduce Your Young Child to JudaismWith ATot Shabbat Service

Welcome Shabbat with puppets, singing, prayer, and joy!A Shabbat service designed especially for children ages 1 – 8.

Older children are invited to help lead the service.Tot Shabbat services are led by Rachel Herrmann.

An Oneg Shabbat follows the brief service.

Mark your calendars for upcoming 2010/2011 Tot Shabbats:October 15, November 19, December 17, January 21, February 18, March 18, April 15, and May 20.All Tot Shabbats begin promptly at 6:30 pm in the Temple Israel sanctuary.Doors open at 6:15. New families and friends welcome!

Temple Israel is located at 3185 Mecartney, Alameda 510-522-9355

In response to both the everyday and significant challengesof life, JFCS/East Bay offers a range of counseling servicesto our community. We invite you to learn about the wayswe support diverse individuals, families, and couples byreading below.

JFCS/East Bay offers sliding-scale fees and flexible day-time and evening hours. We also accept Medi-Cal, Medi-care, and private insurance.

I n d i v i d u a l & C o u p l e s T h e r a p yJFCS/East Bay offers a variety of therapeutic approachesfor adults needing assistance navigating life's challenges.Clients come to JFCS/East Bay for help in exploring per-sonal, family, work, and other life issues. For couples in alldifferent kinds of relationships--married, unmarried,gay/lesbian, and interfaith--our counselors serve as caringguides and mediators.

P l a y T h e r a p y f o r C h i l d r e nWhen a child is facing an ongoing emotional issue or a cri-sis, play therapy can be an effective way for them to com-municate their feelings and thoughts. Therapists use play

therapy to help children express what is troubling themwhen they cannot describe their emotions verbally. Usingplay, our therapists can help a child address a range of sig-nificant issues, including frequent crying and tantrums;trouble getting along with others; eating or sleeping prob-lems; fear and worry; anger and aggression; or the death ofa loved one.

P a r e n t - C h i l d a n d F am i l y T h e r a p yOur staff works with families to help parents understandtheir child's temperament, behaviors, and development, allwith the goal of facilitating closer relationships. Our thera-pists respect both parental and child perspectives and helpthe whole family move toward better communication. If thefamily has experienced separation or divorce, parent-childor family therapy can be invaluable in strengthening bondsand assisting children through the process.

S c h o o l - A g e d a n d T e e n S e r v i c e sJFCS/East Bay is proud to provide targeted services forfamilies as the children progress through the school years.Our programs nurture your teen's self-esteem and help him

Continued on page 14

HELP AVAILABLE FROM JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDREN’S SERVICES


Our annual High Holy Day food drive will begin on ErevRosh Hashanah and continue through Yom Kippur.

Collection barrels will be in the Temple lobby. Please bringyour donations of non-perishable canned and packagedfoods during that time. We ask, for safety’s sake, that youbring nothing in glass containers and no packages thathave already been opened.

Items in demand – canned tuna and other canned meats,canned soup and stew, canned vegetables, canned fruit inits own juices; boxes of breakfast cereal; canned beans,small bags of rice and pasta sealed in original packaging;granola bars; juice boxes or juice in plastic bottles; cannedmilk.

The Alameda Food Bank has been serving island resi-dents in need since 1977. It has two locations – a modularfacility on Thau Way near the Webster tube and a ware-house at Alameda Point. Due to the economy, there hasbeen a 60 percent increase in demand over the last coupleyears. Clients include families with young children, sen-iors, unemployed adults, disabled people, and others whoare hungry or food insecure. Clients must show proof oflow income and Alameda residency to qualify.

Look in the lobby for an information cardabout the Food Bank’s work in Alamedaalong with collection barrels soon. If youhave questions, please contact Carol Parkervia the office or Temple directory.

START GATHERING YOUR NON-PERISHABLE FOOD DONATIONS NOW

YES, I (we) will partner with MAZON to honor our tradition ofproviding nourishment to those who are hungry.Enclosed is my tax-deductible donation.

!$_____!"$2500 !"$1000 !"$500 ! $250 !"$100 ! $36 ! $18!A check payable to MAZON is enclosed!Please charge my credit card

Credit Card #_____________________________ Exp. ________

Name(s)_____________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________

City, State, Zip _______________________________________

Phone ______________________________________________

Email ______________________________________________

Name of Congregation, City, State ___________________________________________________________________________

You can also donate online at www.mazon.org or by phone.10495 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 100Los Angeles, CA 90025Tel 310.442.0020 / 800.813.0557 Fax 310.442.0030

MAZON IS Corners of OurFields • Hunger Relief • Food Pan-tries • Social Justice • Tikkun Olam• Soup Kitchens • Advocacy •Home Delivered Meals for Seniors• Tzedakah • Self-Empowerment •Nutrition for Children • Suste-nance • Food Banks • THEJEWISH COMMUNITY’SRESPONSE TO HUNGER


Sukkah Tour of AlamedaSunday, September 26, 12:30 – 2:30pm

What better way to celebrate Sukkot than with a tour of 6 unique sukkahs!

Temple Israel members, Religious School families and friends are invited to visit 8 different beautifully-built and uniquely decorated sukkahs. The sukkahs are located in the back or side yards of 6 individualhomes on Harbor Bay Island and the main island of Alameda.

Visitors are welcome to admire the handiwork, and partake in traditional Sukkot food: apples dipped inhoney, which will be offered in each sukkah.

You can visit 1 sukkah or all 6. There is no specific order to visit the sukkahs. And there is no cost; simplyjoyousness and celebration!

Here are the Alameda addresses and hosts:• Lee and Alison Harris: 126 Cumberland Way

• Laura Grunbaum and Gary Waldman: 66 Shannon Circle• Ron Soltz and Susan Huang:1536 Versailles Ave

• Rowena Manlapaz and Evan Ackiron: 1604 Versailles Ave.• Eric and Lauren Strimling: 407 Haight Ave.

• Rona Rothenberg and Yehuda Ben-Israel: 1307 Broadway


2010 brings big changes for Midrashain Oakland!! Here are some of the newthings coming your way this schoolyear:

Over the summer we have moved intoTemple Sinai’s newly completedbuilding, and after two years of havinga ‘virtual’ office, we now have filecabinets, supply closets, computer sta-tions, phone lines, walls and windows!What a thrill to have all our materialsaccessible and in one location, and tobe available to you and to each other ina more concrete and consistent man-ner.

We are starting the school year withnew classrooms in the new building!No longer will our students share theirclassrooms with the preschool stu-dents, with white boards that have artpasted on them, and pint-sized over-flow chairs. We will have bulletinboards, white boards, space for teach-ers to store ongoing projects and sup-plies right in the room, and plenty ofspaces for special programs. What anexciting transitional time!

Our Retreat program has undergone amajor overhaul over this past summer.After many years of being run by theCJLL (Center for Jewish Living and

Learning), and subsidized by the Jew-ish Federation and Foundation, theretreat program is changing hands, andthe Midrashot are collaboratively tak-ing over ownership. While the CJLLcontinues to provide free support to theorchestration of the programs, we arenow at the helm, and are working, withmuch more modest support from theFederation, to make the programs af-fordable, and viable in the long term.

Due to these changes in the retreat pro-gram, there have been some significantshifts to the look of the retreats. First,the retreats are moving from CampNewman to Walker Creek Ranch,which will allow for many new pro-gramming opportunities, hopefullyallow for better retreat dates, andwhich will be more cost efficient forour families. Second, all our studentswill be retreating on the same week-ends. There will continue to be sepa-rate tracks for different grades that areage appropriate, but by having all ourretreats in the same space on the samethree weekends, we are able to expandour leadership opportunities while of-fering savings to our families on retreatcosts. Third, the structure of signingup for retreats has changed. Now stu-dents can sign up only for the retreatsthey choose, instead of signing up forall three of the retreats. We hope that

being able to sign up for one or twopackage deals, as well as the usualthree retreat package, will work betterfor families who might have a conflictwith a particular date.

This will be a transitional year for theretreat program, so please anticipatesome bumps. For many years it hasbeen running only because the Federa-tion was able to underwrite it so sig-nificantly. We are working hard on theprogram in the hopes that in the longterm it will become more independ-ently sustainable for our families andfor the Midrashot.

Some of your favorite things from theretreats and our time up at Merritt Col-lege won’t be changing though. We’llstill have a great outdoor space forbreak time on Tuesdays, Marshall willstill be making movies, Loal will stillbe doing ‘secrets’ with our 9th graderetreat students, Havdalah will still bea weekend highlight, and your friendswill still be here on Tuesday nights,excited to see you! Oakland Midrashawill still have all the things you loveabout it, but with the addition of won-derful new spaces, and a streamlinedretreat program. We’re excited aboutall this new year has to offer and arelooking forward to sharing it with you!

MESSAGE FROM OAKLAND MIDRASHA


Last year JCRC volunteers served four dinners at the Greater Richmond Interfaith Project (GRIP) family shelter in coa-lition with members of the Muslim community. Meals were prepared and served to over 200 men, women and children.This year, we hope to increase our meal service to every other month or six dinners. The East Bay JCRC is always look-ing for more helping hands with this important project.

If you want to learn more about the JCRC, feel free to contact me (Felice Zensius 865-4329). I am currently serving on theEast Bay JCRC as Temple Israel’s representative. You can also check out the JCRC on the web at www.jcrc.org.

If you have concerns regarding anti-Semitism or anti-Israel activity in your schools or neighborhood, feel free to contactEast Bay JCRC Regional Director, Myrna David at (510) 318-6417 or by email at [email protected]. The East Bay JCRC ishere to serve and be a resource for you. Let us know your thoughts. Shanah tovah from the JCRC!The East Bay JCRC is a beneficiary of the Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Foundation of the East Bay.


Leveraging Our Resources – Volunteering our Skilland Talent

Our Temple has a valuable asset which many non-profit organizations can only dream of acquiring. Al-though we are a relatively small congregation, ourTemple has an energetic, committed and growing coregroup of volunteers. More help is continually needed,however, to keep our Temple running smoothly. Eachweek Moshe’s List is e-mailed to the congregationoffering volunteer opportunities. Here is a currentsampling of postings.

SEEKING:

Webmaster Assistant – Help update Temple websitecontent and photos from home. Contact Josh [email protected]

Rides to Temple – Drivers needed to give rides toservices sometimes on Friday nights. Can you help?C o n t a c t T e m p l e O f f i c e o f [email protected] or call 510-522-9355

Children’s Clothing Swap Volunteers – Help createsignage, set-up or staff event Sunday Oct. 17th. Con-

tact [email protected]

Green Team– Want to help make the Temple moreenvironmentally friendly? Join others working to“green” our building and practices. Contact EricStrimling [email protected]

Holiday Expo Crew – Volunteers needed to staff thisone-day fundraising event November 14. Variousshifts available. Recruiting crew now. Contact [email protected]

WANTED:

Six Comfortable Chairs – for Temple library table.Contact Patti Stein [email protected]

Tchotchkes - to consign at a local shop. Money raisedgoes into the Temple’s General Fund. We can pick-upyour items from you. Contact: Kimberlee [email protected]

Kitchen Towels – for Temple kitchen. Used ok, butmust be in good condition. Bring to kitchen.

MOSHE’S LIST MONTHLYROUND-UP

THE MIDWAY SHELTER COOKING PROJECTThe Women of Temple Israel are proud to have been preparing dinner once a month for the residents of theMidway Shelter for the past several years. Many religious and community organizations in Alameda take partin this activity, so that the women and children who are putting their lives back together at the Shelter get anourishing, healthy dinner each day.

In August, Bev Blatt, Nancy Freed, Mary Gold, Alison Harris, Judy Jacobs, and Doris Weiner Gluckman pre-pared and delivered baked ravioli in marinara sauce, green salad, brownies, and juice. We always have agood time visiting with each other and catching up on each others’ lives while wecook! And, as Mary Gold frequently says, “Many hands make work light”!

We cook on the third Wednesday of each month. Four or five volunteers areneeded, and if you’d like to help, please contact Alison Harris at 521-3375 or [email protected].


SEPTEMBER 2010


October 2010


“With clarity, passion, and outstanding scholarship, David Hartman addresses the spiritual and theological questionsthat face all Jews and all people today. From the perspective of traditional Judaism, he helps us understand the varie-

century Jewish practice and shows that commitment to both Jewish tradition and to pluralism can

-who is commit-

ted to helping make room for and celebrate the religious and cultural diversity present in the modern world, and whobelieves that a commitment to Israel and to Jewish particularity must be organically connected to the rabbinic teach-

Have you heard of the Jewish Community RelationsCouncil (JCRC)? The JCRC is the public affairs armof the organized Jewish community. The mission ofthe JCRC is to identify key issues of importance tothe Jewish community and provide educational pro-grams and advocate for those issues. The Bay AreaJCRC represents upwards of 70 synagogues and Jew-ish organizations. The East Bay Council includesrepresentatives from most of the synagogues in Ala-meda and Contra Costa Counties as well as membersof the East Bay Jewish community at-large. TheJCRC seeks to provide service to the Jewish commu-nity, build Jewish communal identity and engage theJewish community in activism.

The East Bay JCRC has just begun a new term forfiscal year 2010 -11. Our new chair, Lenny Kristal,has been an Israel activist for many years and willbring renewed energy and ideas to the Council. Weare expecting to put more time into Israel advocacythis year in light of some of the anti-Israel activitythat has been impacting our community.

You may have heard of the “BDS” Movement, whichstands for boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israel.It is a concerted effort to de-legitimize the state ofIsrael, hurt Israel economically and undermine U.S.support. In recent months, there was a divestmentresolution taken up at UC Berkeley which was tabledand another one taken off the agenda in the city ofRichmond. Your JCRC played a key role in keepingthese resolutions from moving forward by mobilizingthe community to defend Israel.

Many steps will need to be taken to counteract theBDS movement. We have already formed sub-committees to look at improving pro-Israel communi-cations, forming strong relations with churches, laborand government and trying to promote Israel in thearts. If you have contacts and/or knowledge in any ofthese areas, we could use your assistance.

While the JCRC is ramping up Israel advocacy, wewill continue some of the social action projects fromthe past.

Continued on page 9

JEWISH COMMUNITYRELATIONS COUNCIL

EAST BAY UPDATE – FALL, 2010


Big Band Concert/Dancein Alameda the LastWednesday of theMonth

Come and listen/dance to Dave‛s Swingtime Big Band playing the hits from the 30‛s to the60‛s. Eighteen piece big band plus a female vocalist performs east and west coast swing,rumbas, waltzes, cha chas, tangos, night club two-step and a few surprises!

Wednesday, September 298:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Temple Israel 3183 Mecartney Road$5.00 donation

For further details call Dave at 510-521-1349 or

Email: [email protected]

Directions:

From I-880 take High Street exit into Alameda crossing the High Street Bridge. At the 5th stoplight turn left ontoOtis Drive. Take the right lane across the bridge; immediately after the bridge take the right fork onto IslandDrive. Go approximately 2/3 of a mile and the shopping center will appear on the right. Make a right onto Me-cartney Road at the stop sign, and turn right into the shopping center (at the Union 76). Take the first left(before reaching CVS Drugs); parking lot ends at Temple Israel.


or her make healthy choices. We provide individual coun-seling sessions for youth on topics such as depression,body image, divorce, academic and social struggles, addic-tion, and sexuality. Parent-child therapy sessions can focuson communication techniques and relationship building.

Counseling for LGBT Community MembersJFCS/East Bay's therapists are available to provide guid-ance on the range of issues experienced by LGBT individu-als of all religions and affiliations. We have expertiseworking with people who are exploring their sexual or gen-der identity for the first time as well as people in all stagesof transitioning. JFCS/East Bay is also committed to pro-viding guidance for couples as they explore their readinessto enter into long-term committed relationships. Our pro-fessional mental health staff will help you and your partnerexamine the various issues that may arise for you, and yourfamilies, as you move toward this level of commitment.

F a m i l y M e d i a t i o nJFCS/East Bay provides mediation services for familiesseeking to resolve child custody issues, develop visitationschedules, or modify current parenting plan schedules. Wealso can help families implement their parenting plans in apositive manner. Our co-parent counseling can assist par-

ents who are separated and raising children in two house-holds work together to promote the best interests of theirchildren. Additionally, we offer mediation services foro t h e r f am i l y a n d n e i g h b o r d i s p u t e s .

O l d e r A d u l t C o u n s e l i n gIndividual, couples, and family counseling can help olderadults, their families, and their caregivers cope with theinevitable stresses that comes with aging. Our skilled staffhelps seniors manage changes in independence or health;the death of a loved one; isolation due to illness or disabil-ity; or moving from a life-long home. We also assist adultchildren with the psychological demands of caring for anaging family member.

B e r e a v e m e n t S e r v i c e sFor relatives and friends who have suffered the loss of aloved one, our weekly support group and individual coun-seling sessions offer heartfelt guidance through the feelingsof loss, isolation, and anger, and help participants learnhow to live with the grief process.

Jewish Family & Children's Services of the East Baywww.jfcs-eastbay.org

(510) 704-7475


CONTRIBUTIONS

General Fund

Rob & Jerri Kaplan In memory of Renée StehmanJerry & Nati Rabinovitz In memory of Jack MihalovichRachel Rendel In appreciation

Prayer BooksLily Schneider In honor of Harry Hankin’s 95th birthday

Kofman Campership FundMary & Arthur Gold In honor of Elaine Kofman’s 75th birthday

These donations were received between July 10—August 10


YAHRZEITS

September 3Clara Lander 8/28 Elul 18Georgia Beigel 8/29 Elul 19Judah Cohen 8/29 Elul 19Barbara Gold 8/29Elise Harrosh 8/29 Elul 19Edward I. Kushner 8/29Tina Wong 8/29Clyde Nelson 8/30Rose Jaffe 8/31David Minovitz 8/31Sam Stoller 8/31William Cohen 9/1Christina Marquez 9/1Judel Gold 9/2Sol Greenberg 9/2Ann Sobol 9/2 Elul 23Joseph Weiner 9/2Rose Charnak 9/3Mary Glick 9/3Louis Solomon 9/3September 10Sarah Brown 9/4 Elul 25Dorothy Weiss 9/4 Elul 25Woolf Burnstein 9/5Georgia Stahl 9/5Karl Blumenstein 9/6Harriet Brown 9/6 Elul 27Harry Schonberg 9/8Ronald Altman 9/9Philip Greenspan 9/9Grace Teller 9/9Norman Brasel 9/10Samuel Braun 9/10September 17David Ellman 9/11 Tishrei 3Milton Jaffe 9/11Selma (Sally) Lewin 9/11Betty Malakoff 9/11Irving Katz 9/12 Tishrei 4Jacob G. Goldfarb 9/13Meyer Kaplan 9/13 Tishrei 5Paul Schiff 9/13Bertha Carlow 9/14Star Kaplann 9/14Zelda Pollack 9/14John Salinas 9/14

Joseph Schlusberg 9/14Ellen Cohen 9/15Webster F. Phillips 9/15Angelita Corcos 9/16 Tishrei 8Leo Dorfman 9/16Tillie Fiene 9/17Molly Lertzman 9/17Irving Silberberg 9/17 Tishrei 9Michael Wachtel 9/17Bessie Wong 9/17September 24Mendel Bas Leib 9/18 Tishrei 10Moishe Ben Nisan 9/18 Tishrei 10Arthur Hurwitz 9/19Rhonda Charney 9/20 Tishrei 12Glenn-David Engel 9/20Aaron Lertzman 9/20Helen Rendel 9/20 Tishrei 12Michael Gary Cohen 9/21Arthur Kesner 9/21Samuel Wolf 9/21 Tishrei 13Morton Bauman 9/22George Dubner 9/22 Tishrei 14Jennie Goldfarb 9/22Fred Klein 9/22Harriet Spier 9/22Morris Gladstein 9/23Milton Hartstein 9/23Hannah Wolff 9/23 Tishrei 15Rose Kapler 9/24Fanny Weiss 9/24October 1Annette Louis 9/25 Tishrei 17Edwin Meyerhoff 9/26Woodrow Parker 9/26Mina Reznik 9/26Beverly Fass 9/27Samuel Jacobs 9/27Louis Shuster 9/27Hyman I. Krongard 9/28 Tishrei 20Florence Dines 9/29Maxine McIntosh 9/29Selma Schiller 9/30


CELEBRATIONS

BIRTHDAYSJack Becker 9/1 6thSamantha McDonough 9/1 9thLeah Wagner 9/1 28thEvan Ackerman 9/4 13thLeah Ackerman-Hurst 9/4Jason Berk 9/4 18thAri Burrows 9/9 10thIrene Partsuf 9/9 10thSusan Huang 9/10Sarah Schaff 9/10 16thAnne Garfinkle 9/11Ariel Magidson 9/11 15thRichard Heaps 9/12Michele Marcucci 9/12Bill Cooper 9/13 27thRandy Friedman 9/14Kathy Paget 9/14Brian Harris 9/16 18thLauren Helfand 9/16

Lily Kupa 9/17 9thEdward Kofman 9/19Kara Levine 9/19Devin Cardenas-Berkowitz 9/21 7thArlene Johnson 9/22Laura Paget 9/22 24thSandra Sidorsky 9/22Nicole Culajay 9/23 16thRoger Becker 9/30Jeffrey Soskin 9/30 26thBrooke Sussman 9/30

ANNIVERSARIES

Daniel & Laura Levy September 6 24th anniversaryElana & Jan Vitek September 8 9th anniversarySteve Ellson & Michele Marcucci September 13 12th anniversaryCurt & Lori Mandell September 18 27th anniversaryGeorge & Svetlana Lozovik September 23 43rd anniversaryMel Waldorf & Jessica Lindsey September 24 10th anniversary

MAZEL TOV!

To the Magidson family on the birth of granddaughter Eliana Ruth Marx!

To Mary and Arthur Gold on the marriage of Mary’s daughter Ida Kennedy to Michael Atkinson.

To Burt and Myra Litvack on the marriages of their daughter Emily to Jon Silverstein and son Justin to MischaFarey.



The Temple Israel Bulletin is a monthly periodical.Deadline for articles is the 10th of the month for the fol-lowing month’s issue. Comments can be directed to theTemple office: 3183 Mecartney Rd., Alameda, CA94502-6912, Phone 510-522-9355, Fax 510-522-9356,email: [email protected].

RABBI: Allen B. Bennett,[email protected]

DIRECTOR OF CONGREGATIONAL LEARNING:Mindy Myers

[email protected]

ADMINISTRATOR: Linda [email protected]

PRESIDENT: Cindy [email protected]

The TI Times is a weekly email publication sent to theTemple Israel membership with email addresses. If youwould like to receive the TI Times please contact the Tem-ple office at: [email protected]

OFFICE HOURSRabbi Allen B. Bennett is generally in the office:

10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays,9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays,9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Fridays,and Sundays during Hebrew and ReligiousSchool hours.

The office is open from Noon until 1:00 PM on Mondayand Tuesday and 9:00 AM—2:00 PM Wednesdaythrough Friday.Because the Rabbi may be involved in meetings, other ap-pointments, tutoring students, etc., during the times he is inthe building, it is best to make an appointment before com-ing in.

YOUR TEMPLE ISRAEL BOARDOF DIRECTORS

President - Cindy BerkTreasurer—Jacob LustigEducation & Community Programs – Beth MagidsonFundraising— Kimberlee MacVicar, Jen Whatley, &Suzi ScherPersonnel—Betty RibackOperations – Eric StrimlingDirectors at Large - Mike Riback , Carol Parker

WELCOME NEWMEMBERS!We welcome the following new members to the Temple Israel family:

Please help make these new members feel a part of the Temple Israel family! Introduce yourself, and offer to help themfind committees and groups within the Temple to meet their needs.

!" Elana and Jan Vitek and their children Sophia andElise

!" Matt and Mirna Lessinger!" Ivan Goldwasser and Melissa Raber and their chil-

dren Bella and Elise

!" Steve Ellson and Michele Marcucci and their chil-dren Wyatt and Evin

!" Jeffrey Heyman!" Pauline and Ken Schindler!" Eric Cohen


UPCOMINGACTIVITIES AND EVENTS

RELIGIOUS SCHOOL BEGINSSept. 19, 9:00 AM—Noon: See page 1 for information

COOKBOOK KICKOFFSept, 25, 6:00 pm: Congregational dinner and your first opportu-nity to purchase the new cookbook! Reservations required. Seepage 5.

MINYAN AND BAGEL BREAKFASTSept. 26, 9:30 AM: Join us for davenning followed by a deli-cious bagel brunch

SUKKAH TOURSept. 26, 12:00 PM—3:00 PM: See page 8 for full information

BIG BAND NIGHTSept. 29, 8:00 PM: NOTE THE DATE CHANGE! Dance tothe Big Band sound of Dave Altschuler’s Swingtime Band. A$5.00 donation at the door is requested. See page 14 for informa-tion.

GIFT CARDSSales Table open during all Temple Israel committee meet-ings and during Religious School!

HIGH HOLY DAY SERVICESCHEDULE

SELICHOTSept. 4:, 9:00 PM: Reception

10:00 PM: Service

ROSH HASHANAHSept. 8, 7:30 PM: Erev Rosh Hashanah ServiceSept. 9, 9:00 AM: Family Service

10:15 AM: Morning Service1:30 PM: Tashlich Service

Sept. 10, 10:00 AM: Second Day Morning Servicefollowed by potluck luncheon

YOMKIPPURSept. 17: 7:30 PM: Shabbat evening/Kol Nidrei

ServiceSept. 18, 9:00 AM: Family Service

10:15 AM: Shabbat/Yom KippurMorningService2:30 PM: Torah Study4:30 PM: Afternoon Service5:30 PM: Yizkor Service6:30 PM: Ne’ilah Service7:30 PM: Break-the Fast

SUKKOT/SIMCHAT TORAHSept. 28, 7:00 PM: Simchat Torah ServiceSept. 29, 10:00 AM: Festival Morning Service

with Yizkor

sept 2010 ti bulletin

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