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February 2016 Shevat - Adar 1 5776 Vol. 56 No. 37

Inside HaRuach

Rabbi’s Desk ........................... 2/3

Men’s Club ................................. 3

President’s Article ....................... 4

Sisterhood ............................. 5/6

Religious School ......................... 7

Preschool & Kindergarten .......... 8/9

Calendar ............................. 10/11

February Celebrations ............... 17

Yahrzeits ................................. 18

Todah Rabah ............................ 19

Highlights .................... Back cover

The SPIRIT of Beth Israel Congregation - Chester County, PA Member, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

HaRuach

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From the Rabbi’s Desk

Rabbi Cutler

Shalom

I have to say that I felt a little uncomfortable with the idea of being ‘installed.’ I remember my ordination day at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and the Dean, Rabbi Art Green, said to us, “You are being ordained to-day, but remember you won’t really become a rabbi until you have a community to serve.” So the big question is: “How many Jews does it take install a rabbi?” I guess the answer is… all of you. When I was interviewed by the Beth Israel search committee this past May I was asked the ubiquitous question: ‘Why did you become a rabbi?’ Then a follow up question is always: ‘why did you join the Navy as a chaplain?’ I think my answer to both was: ‘It was not a job but an adventure.’ Which was the recruiting tag for the US Navy 30 years ago. Oy, has it been an adventure both the Navy and the being a pulpit rabbi. There were some days that I preferred the adventure of being in a combat zone like Iraq or Desert Storm then the combat zone of being in a congregation. At least in Desert Storm or Iraq I had a body guard to protect me. In a congregation, oh well, you are on your own. All kidding aside it is all good. What I discovered about being a rabbi as well as a Navy chaplain is that you have no idea where the adventure will take you – looking for body parts with the mortuary affairs team in the destroyed part of the Pentagon after 9/11, discussing with a bar or bat mitzvah student the meaning of their Torah portion, eating MRE’s with a Marine right before he goes into battle, planning the funeral with someone who is terminally ill, sitting with pre-school students each Friday morning and lighting candles, saying Kiddush and hamotzi, reciting Kiddush every Friday night at an oneg and so on. Each day is literally a wondrous, spiritual and religious adventure. I know I made the right deci-sion. What I learned from being a rabbi is best illustrated by a personal story, my first congregation as a newly ordained rabbi and a Navy chaplain. After my ordination from RRC I went to the Philippines as a rabbi and a Navy chap-lain for Subic Bay Naval Station and the entire southwest Pacific. I arrived on a Wednesday and that first Friday, my very first Shabbat service as a newly minted rabbi, two people showed up. After being involved with a Jewish community for my entire life and envisioning hordes of people coming to services, to say the least, I was a bit dis-appointed. But what I realized from that very first moment is the positive influence that I can have on one person at a time – being with that person is where God is present. Each person is created in the image of God and for me to help, encourage, comfort, laugh and cry with each person I encounter I receive from them a gift, the gift of being in the presence of God. The Midrash teaches: “Moses was a shepherd for his father in law Yitro and one of the sheep wandered off. Mo-ses went to find the sheep and carried it back on his shoulders to the flock. God then said to the angels: “I will choose Moses to lead my people out of Egypt. Because of his concern for one sheep how much more would he be concerned for the entire House of Israel.” Navy chaplaincy, hospice chaplaincy, and being congregational rabbi is about caring for one individual at a time.

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Beth Israel Men’s Club

Join us as part of the Beth Israel Men’s Club, a hands-on auxiliary for the congregation. Beth Israel Men’s Club sponsors social and religious programs year round, as well as supports other congregational programs in many ways. Programs include:

Serving as ushers for High Holiday Services

Poker Nights

Guest speakers

Providing cooks and servers for community events

Sports events and field trips

Spring Clean up

Sukkah construction

All men affiliated with Beth Israel are welcome. See the congregational calendar or visit the Beth Israel web site for information about our activities. Please review the online Beth Israel calendar for the Men’s Club meeting schedule which began in September. We will often be meeting on Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m. followed by a discussion group open to all. We will also have our usual Monday evening socials . Events beginning this Fall will include a sports night and a Men’s night out. Join us for a “Brews with Jews” social. Join in, pitch in and have a good time. For additional information, con-tact Rob Greer at rgreer923@gmail.com or Drew Weintraub at taproom42@gmail.com.

Rabbi’s article continued The second thing I learned was the importance of being part of a Jewish community. It is the encounter with each other, the face to face connections that we create a Kehillah Kedoshah, by weaving together a tapestry of holy connections that becomes the very fabric of our lives. We, this holy community, then go out to touch indi-vidual lives to help, encourage, comfort, laugh and cry with each person that we encounter. We all become a na-tion of priests and a holy people. It is at that moment we encounter God because we pray with our smiles, our gentle touch, our hands, our feet and our hearts. One more thing I learned is to truly appreciate the dedicated volunteers of synagogues. When Moses was about to die, the midrash, describes him being wrapped in a tallit and praying: “’God of the spirits of all flesh please help me appoint a successor, a leader. Someone capable of addressing all the needs of the people.’ He waited to be shown a vision of Joshua but instead God showed him all the future generations, all the great leaders Jewish lead-ers until the Messianic era. God said to Moses: ‘Each of these individuals has but one disposition and one spirit. Only at the end of time will there arise a leader who will be able to carry the weight of the spirits of all the people. The midrash is a humble reminder to me that no one leader can possibly meet the needs of every individual in a community and it is the dedicated volunteers of this community that carry the greatest load to meet the vast and diverse needs. I am honored to be the thirteen rabbi, bar mitzvah, of Beth Israel Congregation of Chester County. To be part put of a community that is 112 years old is quite humbling and even more so the positive influence that your syna-gogue has made in greater Chester County, and untold number of hundreds if not thousands of lives is quite awe inspiring. Thank you for your confidence and letting me be part of your community. So how many Jews does it take to install a rabbi….

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President’s Article

Drew Weintraub and Rob Greer

The response others and I have received about the installation of Rabbi Cutler has been wonderful. Congregants said that it was full of energy, very uplifting and heartfelt. The speakers gave us insights to Rabbi Cutler’s work over his long career, and hopefully I did not detract from the joyous evening. But the root of the evening was our traditional Friday service. It was everyone who attended and participated in the service that ultimately made the evening so glorious. The great news… we have the power to have a service like that every Friday evening; it just takes a little effort for all of us to show up. The power of a large group praying together and celebrating Shabbat is a magnificent experiences that g-d gave us the opportunity to enjoy every week. It is up to us to take advantage for ourselves and for others. As I evaluate my performance over the last 18 months at Beth Israel I must admit that I did not always see the forest thru trees. I have mentioned in some of my speeches from the bema as well as a few articles that it is not easy being Jewish in Chester County. I was so concerned about the business inside the shul; I did not pay enough attention to our surrounding community. Rabbi Cutler and I met with our representative from the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Shelly Rappaport. We had a wonderful conversation and we have a lot to offer each other. Gratz College has reached out to Rabbi Cutler to see if we would be willing to host a Hebrew class here at Beth Israel. We quickly responded and Gratz College will now be offering a beginning Hebrew class on Mondays starting the end of February. Last Tuesday a few of us went to Philadelphia to a spinning class to help support the JNF and Jerusalem U. It was wonderful spending time with congregants, seeing so many young Jewish people, and spinning through a visual tour of Israel and other inspirational videos. I was talking with another congregant this week that took advantage of the $1,000 camp scholarship from the Jewish Federation. There are the summer movie shorts that our own Seymour Levin and the Kehillah of Chester County put on every summer. Beth Israel will make a greater concentrated effort to share all the events in our surrounding area. Please check out some of these websites when you have time and see what great Jewish events and programs are offered. https://www.jewishphilly.org http://bbyo.org http://www.gratz.edu

http://www.uscj.org

http://pjff.org

http://www.gershmany.org

http://www.nmajh.org

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Beth Israel Sisterhood

Maxine Endy

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The Sisterhood meeting in February is on the 5th at 7:30 pm. Please join us to help plan for next year!

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Religious School Chai-lights Joan Sharp

As part of our curriculum, we ask our third grade through Confirmation students to research a famous person

in Jewish history and give a presentation based on their research. Their choice of people is based on the time

period of history that they study in class.

Projects range from “wax museum figures” who give oral presentations, acrostic poems, mobiles, decorated

cereal boxes, board games, posters, tri-fold boards, to power point presentations.

Students in 6th grade through Confirmation will present their projects on Sunday, February 7th.

Students in 3rd – 5th grade will present on Sunday, March 6th.

We hope that you will join us to see our students’ hard work when they make their presentations.

It means a lot for our children to have parents and other congregation members come to view their presenta-

tions, so please save the dates!!!

Lastly, we hope everyone will join us as our Hey class (5th grade) leads the Friday evening service on Friday,

February 26th. There will be a dinner beforehand for everyone, sponsored by the Cohen Enrichment Fund.

The students have worked very hard and can’t wait to show everyone how well they can lead the prayers, so

we hope you will all attend and support our 5th graders! RSVP necessary for dinner – by February 22nd.

UPCOMING RELIGIOUS SCHOOL EVENTS:

Sunday, February 7 – Pre-K Parent Workshop – 10:00 – 11:00 am

Jewish history presentations – 6th, 7th grade, & Confirmation classes

Sunday, February 14 – No Classes: Presidents’ Day weekend

Sunday, February 21 – B.I. High (Chat & Chew with Rabbi Jon) – 1:00 pm

Friday, February 26 – 5th grade leads Friday evening Shabbat service/Dinner beforehand for all

Saturday, March 5 – Shabbat Across America – Save the date!

Sunday, March 6 – 3rd – 5th grade history presentations

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Preschool & Kindergarten News

Adrianne Liebman

Read and Observe: Picture Books to Help Develop Observation Skills by Yi-Chin Lan as it appears in

NAEYC for Families

Observation is an important science skill that includes far more than simply looking at an object. To observe, one needs to pay close attention to many details and then compare and analyze them. Here are nine picture books that you can read with your kids to help them sharpen their observation skills. 1. Spot It: Find the Hidden Creatures, by Delphine Chedru (ages suitable for years 3-6) Scour the rich repeat-ing graphics to find creatures such as the hamster who has lost her ball, soccer-playing earthworms, and a showy peacock. The brief clues provided in the text require your child to make comparisons in order to find the hidden creatures. 2. The Where’s Waldo? Series by Martin Handford (ages 3-6) Perhaps one of the most famous children’s book characters, Waldo always carries a walking stick and wears a red and white striped shirt, a bobble hat, and glasses. Handford frequently disguises Waldo by placing him in crowded scenes and surrounding him with other red and white striped objects. Little ones must pay close attention to find their real target. Spend some time developing a few strategies with your child to find Waldo quickly. 3. Changes by Anthony Browne (ages 4-6) You can always find something attention grabbing in Anthony Brown’s work. A good way to start reading this picture book is by asking your child what she notices about the book’s cover. The story begins as Joseph’s dad announces, “Things are going to change.” Invite your child to carefully observe the illustrations and see how many “changes” she can find. After you have finished the book, ask her which change she thought was the biggest. 4. Who is Driving? by Leo Timmers (ages 4-6) In this book children are tasked with the challenge of figuring out which animal will be driving a certain vehicle. Children must decide which of four different animals (e.g.., a lizard, a gorilla, a pig, and a donkey) wearing different types of clothing is appropriately dressed to drive a particular vehi-cle (e.g., a race car). Before your child guesses, ask him what clues he notices. Then turn the page to find the an-swer and discuss the results. 5. The Odd One Out, by Britta Teckentrup (ages 4-6) Before you begin reading, you might discuss with your child what the word odd means. In this beautifully illustrated picture book, readers need to find the “odd one out”. Each page offers a clue, for example, one page says, “Some cuddly pandas have put on a show, jiggling bel-lies as white as the snow. In among this entire hullabaloo, which panda has lost its shoot of bamboo?” As the pages progress, the animals become smaller and more numerous, making it that much harder for your child to find the outlier while also encouraging her to make more careful comparisons between animals. 6. Good Night, Gorilla. By Peggy Rathmann (ages 3-6) In this picture book, the gorilla takes the zookeeper’s keys

and starts to unlock each animal’s cage. The color of each cage suggests which key the gorilla will need. Help your

child notice the clue by asking: “The gorilla has five different keys. Which one would unlock the elephant’s purple

cage?” The tile patterns below each cage also provide opportunities for asking your child to make observations.

Continued on next page

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Preschool Continued: 7. The I Spy Series by Jean Marzollo (ages 3-6) This series provides numerous opportunities for you to help im-prove your child’s observation skills. You might say something like “I spy something round, pink and shiny,” and then ask your child to figure out what it is you see. Or give your child hints, such as, “I spy four things that all have a letter on them, see if your child can carefully look for objects with those commonalities. 8. I want My Hat Back, by Jon Klassen (ages 4-6) A bear looking for his or her lost hat asks each animal he en-counters, “Have you seen my hat?: Each animal’s answer then appears in a different color (e.g. green text for frog). The cover of this picture book holds the most important clue-the color of the title is the color of the miss-ing hat. Before opening this book, ask your child: “Why is the title red? What might that mean? Encourage him to use that idea to successfully discover who stole the hat. Reading with your child is such a fabulous opportunity to bond, to increase language, observation skills, art and math skills as well as reinforce the joy of storytelling. It also provides the opportunity to teach turn taking skills in conversation. The suggestions in this article are just a small sampling of some of the things that you can do with these books. Never underestimate the number of activities that you can do with a book. It is so vitally important to read to your child each day. Upcoming Events in the Preschool/Kindergarten Feb. 2-March 17- Professional Development Workshops- Addressing Challenging Behaviors in Children. For more information, contact Adrianne at 610-458-4300 or biccpreschool @verizon.net. Open to the pub-lic. Feb. 22nd-26 Scholastic Book Fair- Come and purchase books for your children as well as a table of cookbooks and other interests for adults. We use the profits to purchase books for the classrooms at 40% discount. Open to the public. March 15th- Ladies Night out—Bingo Games (Cash prizes), Vendor Shopping Gallery and Decadent Des-serts. Tickets are 25.00 in advance or 30.00 at the door. Contact Adrianne at 610-458-4300 or biccpre-school@verizon.net for more info.

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LACHALL, COHEN & SAGNOR

H. MICHAEL COHEN Attorney at Law

Tel. (610) 436-9300 144 West Market Street Fax (610) 696-7962 West Chester, PA 19382-2985 Email: mcohen@lcslaw.com

HEBREW Gratz College

ALL LEVELS * SMALL CLASSES * EXPERIENCED TEACHERS *

CONVENIENT TIMES & LOCATIONS * COMPETITIVE TUITION

All courses run 12 weeks - Tuition: $325.00 per course

Classes will run based on received registration

Levels will be offered or added as needed

For class information or class placement contact:

Gili Bitan Hebrew Coordinator at gbitan@gratz.edu or 215-635-7300 x136

Beth Israel Congregation 385 Pottstown Pike, Eagle, PA 19480 Instructor - Leo Weinstock Mondays - 6:30 - 8:30 pm

Online Registration Mail In Registration Form

Call Hope Matles at 215-635-7300 x 172 to register by phone

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Thank you to everyone who helped us meet our goal for the Cohen Enrichment Fund. Due to your generosity, we reached our target and received the maximum match of $5,000! We could not have done it without the help of all of you.

Thank you to our very kind donor who enabled us to make our entry more welcoming by refinishing the front doors. They were in serious need of attention and we could not have done the job without their help.

ABOUT ONE HAPPY CAMPER

One Happy Camper (OHC) provides grants of up to $1,000 to families with children attending nonprofit Jewish overnight camp for the first time. Please visit: www.onehappycamper.org for more information and to register.

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February Celebrations

Birthday Wishes

Best Wishes to All of Our February Celebrants!

1 Linda Jacowitz 1 Megan Rabin 16th 1 Kathryn Solomon 3 Vaughn Schmerling 1st 4 Megan Kitchen 10th 5 Sharon Zislis 5 Melissa Adlersberg 5 Sharon Zislis 7 Matthew Young 8 Paul Zislis 9 Robbie Sharp 9 Samantha Surden 3rd 14 Barry Greenspan 15 Joanie Sharp 15 Avery Surden 7th 17 Daryl Goldberg 19 John High 20 Eden Shames 13th 22 Stuart Miller 22 Sean Young 17th 24 Jason Hodess 27 Scott Featherman 29 Mandy Scott

12 Edward and Doris Goldring 60th

Anniversary Wishes

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Yahrzeits

The following will be remembered on Feb. 5 & Feb. 6: 6 Shevat 27 Michael Baer 7 28 Myer Frank 8 29 Eliezer Daniel 8 29 Abraham Goldstein 8 29 Michael Jaffe 8 William Jordan 8 29 Ida Skolnik 9 30 Louis English 9 30 Rose Green 9 30 Marilyn Natsil 9 30 Cecil Starkman 10 Adar-1 1 Tamar Fogel 11 2 Adolph Rosenblum 11 2 Lena Waldman 12 3 Minnie DeKosky 12 3 Morris Gosule The following will be remembered on Feb 12 & Feb 13: 13 4 Rose Endy 13 4 Anna Orshansky 13 4 Benton Resnik 13 4 Hannah Schwartz 14 5 Harry Kleeman 14 5 Mitchell Pomerantz 14 5 Henry Skolnik 14 5 Harry Sussman 14 5 Stanley Von Greenby 15 Donald LeCates 15 6 Jacob Paley 15 6 Gladys Yager 16 7 Mitchell Barron 17 8 Albert Magen 17 8 Irving Silverman 17 8 Sylvia Wallace 19 10 Jay Boviard 19 10 Sylvia Fleisher 19 10 Leon Poch The following will be remembered on Feb. 19 & Feb. 20: 20 11 Miriam Jacobs 20 11 Clara Schwartz 21 12 Simon Blechman 21 12 Maurice Hirsh 21 12 Elinor Levin 21 12 George Shafrin 22 13 Joseph Altman

22 13 Adam Gottlieb 22 13 Leah Leet 22 13 Rebecca Osser 22 13 Irving Sundheimer 22 13 Miriam Wiseman 23 14 Nathaniel Lieberman 23 14 Oscar Reiter 23 14 Max Siegel 23 14 Mollie Steinberg 23 14 Louis Sugarman 23 14 Louis Trachtenberg 24 15 Estelle Kauffman 24 15 Rose Linisberg 24 15 Solomon Riebman 24 15 Benjamin Sampson 25 16 Isaac Braunstein 25 16 Loni Fischer 25 16 Libby Gold 25 16 Rose Lennett 26 17 Rose Goldstein 26 17 Edith Skolnik 26 17 David Wallace

The following will be remembered Feb. 26 & Feb. 27: 27 18 Esther Mulnik 27 18 Horace Tracton 28 19 Anna Blechman 28 19 Mordicai Kramer 28 19 Vivian Levy 29 20 Arthur Baer 29 20 Bertha Edelman 29 20 Peg Kauffman 29 20 Elaine Larson 29 20 Helen Rockmuller 1 March 21 Sarah Altman 1 21 Gerson Blankfield 1 21 Mishael Selig 2 22 Ruth Braverman 2 22 Pat Endy 2 22 Bertha Feldman 2 22 Bernard Katz 2 22 Leonard Rosenthal 3 23 Robert Duitch 3 23 Harold Greenberg 3 23 Ida Jacoby 3 23 Leon Miller 3 23 Sophie Shafrin 4 24 Abraham Apfelbaum

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Todah Rabah Tzedakah is a mitzvah, a unique privilege granted to every Jew. Remembering friends and family in this manner is an appropriate way to show our feelings towards both our loved ones and our community. We

want to thank the following for their contributions.

Building Fund To Gloria Hirshorn & Family, In memory of your husband, Marvin Sondra Abrams and David Kleiner Thank you to all who remembered my birthday Sondra Abrams To Gary and Susan Levin, In memory of Gary’s father Barry and Sandy Milberg Nancy and Steve Goldberg Don and Anne Suss Shelly Kramer and Family To Sonia Cohen, In memory of your husband, Martin Eva and Martin Skolnik Choir Fund To Gary and Susan Levin, In memory of Gary’s father Barbara and Irv Hendel Craig and Michele Steiner To Allan and Maxine Endy, Happy 30th anniversary Roz and Allan Cohen and Ivy and Jon Egger To Robin and Jerry Napiecek, Mazel Tov on the birth of your grandchild Roz and Allan Cohen and Ivy and Jon Egger To Ivy and Jon Egger, In honor of you both Roz and Allan Cohen and Ivy and Jon Egger To Robin Napiecek, In honor of you Roz and Allan Cohen and Ivy and Jon Egger To Roslyn and Allan Cohen, In appreciation of you Bernice and Barry Berger In loving memory of my father, Joel Jacoby Bernice and Barry Berger Yarzheits In memory of George Miller Fred and Barbara Wattenmaker In memory of Mary Mobley Irma Bailey In loving memory of Robert’s father, Fred Lenox Barbara and Robert Lenox In memory of Rachel Levin Seymour Levin In memory of my brother, Samuel Riebman Doris and Edward Goldring

In loving memory of my mother, Freda Selig Barbara and Robert Lenox Cohen RS Enrichment Fund In appreciation for Alyssa Dubrow’s Bat Mitzvah The Dubrow Family Lecture Series Fund To Gary and Susan Levin, In memory of Gary’s father, Travis Roz Goldstein and Tony Dyckman Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund To Rabbi Cutler, In honor of your installation Don and Anne Suss Sisterhood’s Yahrzeit Floral Fund In memory of my dear husband, Robert Shelly Kramer and Family In memory of mother and grandmother, Mae Stein Shelly Kramer and Family In memory of father and grandfather, Sid Stein Shelly Kramer and Family

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Rabbi ................................................. Jon Cutler

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Co-Presidents .... Rob Greer and Andrew Weintraub

Executive Vice President ...................... Mark Segal

Vice President, Finance .............. Nadine Dinerman

Vice President, Program ............... Halle Schonherz

Treasurer ........................................ Stuart Miller

Secretary ........................................ Heidi Walker

Immediate Past President ........... Cindy Blair-Miller

Evelyne Blair-Miller, Maxine Endy, Paul Fanaroff,

Linda Glazer, Roz Goldstein, Barb Hendel,

Morris Kauffman, Robin Kerollis-Napiecek, Gary

Levin, Mandy Scott, Martin Skolnik, Neal Stone and

Paul Zislis

TRUSTEES

Ed Margolis, Jeff Pickholtz, Don Suss

Pre-School Director ................... Adrianne Liebman

Religious School Director ..................... Joan Sharp Office Manager/HaRuach Editor ....... Debbie Barbato

Choir Director .................. Robin Kerollis-Napiecek

__________________________________ BETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION of CHESTER COUNTY

385 Pottstown Pike (Rte. 100) Eagle, PA

P.O. Box 678 Uwchland, PA 19480

(610) 458-8550

biccsyn@verizon.net

www.bethisraelpa.org

February Highlights

Sisterhood Meeting ............................ 2

Shabbat Yeladim ............................... 5

Zumba & Mah Jongg .......................... 7

Synagogue Board Meeting .................. 9

Mah Jongg ...................................... 14

RS Committee Meeting ..................... 18

Cutler Chat & Chew ......................... 21

Zumba & Mah Jongg ........................ 21

5th Grade Shabbat & Dinner ............. 26

Zumba & Mah Jongg ........................ 28