| Congregation Beth Am of San Antonio
Events February 2012 Shevat-Adar 5772 Bulletin as PDF Archived Bulletins |
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Shabbat Shirah
to Bring Songs with Betty
Simmons The first Shabbat
in February will be “Shabbat Shirah” – the Torah portion that contains the
“Song of the Sea” offered by the Israelites rescued from Egypt and the Haftarah
containing the victory poem of Deborah. In honor of these songs, Beth Am will
enjoy a special song-filled service on Feb. 4, led by Betty Simmons. Wendy
will be giving a dvar Jan. 21, 2012, on the eight levels of tzedakah and on Danny
Siegel's approach to tzedakah. Let’s Hear Your Ideas! Please share any ideas you
have for ongoing tzedakah projects in which Beth Am can participate. What
issues are most pressing? What can we, as individuals and as a congregation, do
to help? Send your suggestions to
Debbie Maltz, our tzedakah coordinator, at 822-2345. Shabbat Kiddush to Honor Tu
B’Shevat Stan and Wendy Drezek are planning a mini-Tree Seder oneg on Saturday, Feb. 4, in honor of the birth of their grandchildren, Rafael and Alessandra. The oneg will include the four seasonal-colored wines and assorted fruits representing the sephirot, and 4 short readings for Tu B'shvat.
Rabbi Monty to
Join Us for Purim Rabbi
Monty Eliasov will be coming to Congregation Beth Am for our Purim celebration
at the home of Gary Kurzban and Teresa Ruiz on Wednesday evening, March 7, at 7
p.m. Children and adults are urged to wear costumes and bring noisemakers as
well as dairy/pareve goodies to share. Who Ya Gonna
Call? Since
Congregation Beth Am is lay-led, we have no “administrator.” So we provide this
helpful reference list: Dues
payments and contributions: Rhoda Rappaport, 492-2173. To
give a kiddush: Gary Kurzban, 320-9038. To
give a d’var Torah, read or chant Torah or Haftarah: Peter Janes, 912-3069 To
serve as a gabbai: Nancy Oseasohn, 637-0808. To
offer tzedakah project ideas: Debbie Maltz, 822-2345. To
put information in this bulletin: Marion Bernstein, 493-1801. To
be added to the congregational e-mail list: Steve Blauer, 830-899-4946. Meetup Beth Am “Mensches” Have you checked out our “Meetup” site yet? Find out more about
the folks you meet at shul, learn about upcoming events, and voice your
opinions about what matters to you. The site may be found at http://www.meetup.com/San-Antonio-Jewish-BethAm/. Please add your name
and help us build our community. If we all participate, this is a wonderful and
efficient way to stay in touch. Keepin’ it Kosher,
Beth Am Style By keeping to ovo-lacto vegetarian menus, Beth Am is able to insure most aspects of kashrut (keeping kosher). When Beth Am began, we had several vegetarian members and wanted to make all feel welcome. Some people find it easier and less expensive to keep kosher when they need only one set of dishes, silverware, and cookware. Fish (but NO shellfish) are permitted with dairy meals, so we enjoy lox, tuna salad and herring. Where we differ from Orthodox practice falls in three areas: (1) Cheese which contains rennet is not considered kosher, but we accept all cheese. (2) Gelatin which comes from animals is not kosher and is often found in foods like candy. (3) Grape juice, often found in other beverages and in jellies, is only kosher with a hechsher (kosher certification). For those who keep strict kashrut, we try to provide sufficient kosher items at our onegs and kiddushes and to let them know which articles are certified. All Saturday services are at 10 a.m in the Fellowship Hall, UUC, 7150 IH-10 West unless otherwise noted. Feb. 4: Beshalach/Shabbat
Shirah Gabbai: Mark Shiver; Shaliach Tzibbur: Marion
Bernstein; Torah: Karen Berkowitz; Haftarah: Lenny Kestenbaum; D’var Torah:
Marianne Kestenbaum; Kiddush: Stan & Wendy Drezek in honor of Tu B’Shevat Feb. 11: Yitro
Gabbai: Terri Foose; Shaliach Tzibbur: Marion Bernstein, Torah: Gary Kurzban; Haftarah: Svetlana Gofman; D’var Torah: Henry
Bernstein; Kiddush: the Bernsteins Feb. 18: Mishpatim
(Shabbat Shekalim) Gabbai: Gary Kurzban; Shaliach Tzibbur: Marion Bernstein; Torah: Meredith Fox; Haftarah: Col. Bernard Pusin; D’var Torah: Rona
Aduna; Kiddush: Helene Bachmann Feb. 25: Terumah
Gabbai: Jenn Janes; Shaliach Tzibbur: Marion Bernstein; Torah: Peter Janes;
Haftarah: Judith Miller; D’var Torah: Nancy Oseasohn; Kiddush: Terri Foose Programs for Jewish Elders Golden Manor Jewish Senior Services will be offering a weekly session to Jewish residents at the Madison on Monday afternoons at 3. They need volunteer guest speakers who would teach a one-time class for this “Jewish Living” series If you are interested or have programming ideas, please call Sherie Trakhtenbroit at 302-6946. DON’T WASTE GOOD FOOD!
If you’re planning a party or reception, don’t throw away the
leftovers. Donate them to Second Servings at the San Antonio Food Bank.
You’ll benefit the city’s hungry and enjoy a tax advantage with no
liability involved. |
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Congregation Beth Am welcomes Helene Bachmann as our newest
member. If you know of someone interested in joining our congregation,
please tell them to contact Rona Aduna, our membership chair, at
641-1844. |
Adult
Education
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Religious School Schedule and
Information For information, contact Terry Ruiz, 826-4890. B’nai Mitzvah Policy - Download Bnai Mitzvah Policy |
| THANK YOU!
To those who
provided a Kiddush in January: Debbie Maltz, Nancy Oseasohn (twice!), and the
Gofman family.
To Steve Blauer for creating padded boxes to hold the havdalah spice box that the Drezeks so thoughtfully donated to the congregation. Now the spice box is protected and more likely to survive storage between uses. |
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Mazal Tov! To
Stan and Wendy Drezek, who just became grand-parents to twins, Alessandra and
Rafael, daughter and son of Rebekah. Send your news to Marion Bernstein at hlb@texas.net |
| CONTRIBUTIONS Congregation Beth Am is
grateful for the following generous contributions: Terri
Foose in honor of the new grandchildren of Stan & Wendy Drezek. Irv
Loev in honor of Wendy and Stan Drezek. Contributions Always Welcome! Contributions to Congregation Beth Am may be sent to Rhoda Rappaport, 16942 Summer Creek, San Antonio, TX 78248. |
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The
JRF can be proud of the 2011 National Jewish Book Awards. The awards are given
out annually by the Jewish Book Council to honor outstanding books of Jewish
interest. The newly-established Myra
H. Kraft Memorial Award in Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice will be
presented to Rabbi David A. Teutsch
for his book, “A Guide to Jewish Practice: Everyday Living.” Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and
Dr. Tikva Frymer-Kensky (who had
taught at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College) won in the Women’s Studies
category for “The JPS Bible Commentary: Ruth.” The awards will be presented
March 14 in New York. What is Reconstructionism
anyway?” Many in the Reconstructionist community have been asking such
questions for years. Now the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) is
proud to respond with a new interactive online course. Judaism Through a
Reconstructionist Lens is a self-guided program available to anyone who
wants to learn more about the movement. You can try a sample unit by visiting www.rrc.edu/distancelearning/reconlens/judaism-through-a-reconstructionist-lens-sample-unit. Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer, Ph.D., RRC ’82, the director of
multifaith studies and initiatives at the College, guides participants through
the online program. A full year of access to the course costs $4.95. Registration is
available online only. Learn more by visiting http://www.rrc.edu/node/1225. I Hebrew Fee Loan Has Money Available For
Emergencies With monies available, we are here for you. NO interest is EVER charged and our monthly payments are quite affordable. If you are interested in details please call either HFLA-SA @210-734-HFLA (4352) or Hinda Greenberg - President, at 210-834-6918. Cemetery Plots Offered
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| CONDOLENCES
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| YAHRZEITS
Please
help us keep our Yahrzeit list up to date. You don’t have to
know the Hebrew dates – just provide the secular date and year and let us
know whether it was before or after sundown. We can look up the Hebrew
date for you. Send info to
Marion Bernstein, hlb@texas.net 8
Shevat (Feb 1) Red Davis, uncle of Mark Shiver 8
Shevat (Feb 1) Leslie Saunders, uncle of Michele Saunders 9
Shevat (Feb 2) Leon Cahan, husband of Marga Speicher 10
Shevat (Feb 3) Florence E. Bender, mother of Marjorie Gregerman 11
Shevat (Feb 4)12 Sophie Friedman, mother of Rona Aduna 17
Shevat (Feb 10)12 Udo Fuith step-father of Jennifer Janes 17
Shevat (Feb 10)12 Emmett Guderian, grand-father of Andy Gravin 20
Shevat (Feb 13)12 Harry Gripon, father of Helene Bachman 22
Shevat (Feb 15) Max Katz, father of Vivian Weinstein 22
Shevat (Feb 15) Gilbert Bernstein, father of Henry Bernstein 27
Shevat (Feb 20) Jacob Berkowitz, father of Karen Berkowitz 27
Shevat (Feb 20) Billie Steinmann Duncan, mother of Dana Shuster 3
Adar (Feb 26) Marga Haas, wife of Eric Haas |
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You, Too,
Can Do a D’var Torah What
is a d’var Torah? Typically, the d’var is a
sermon given during religious services. The format tends to be a lecture
followed by discussion. Less frequently, someone reads a short story or
teaches how to do something, such as how to do the priestly blessing.
Please encourage discussion and participation by all present who indicate
interest in doing so. You may give a brief summary of the Torah portion of
the week (the parashat ha-shavua)
and then
focus on specific aspects of the
portion, such as how to find its relevance in our lives. Occasionally, the
focus is on the Haftarah portion for that week, a holiday, life cycle
event, or customs - such as mourning practices. This is our time to study
Torah. Even taking “Torah” broadly, this is not the place for personal
anecdotes or political speeches.
How long? The dvar tends to last no more than
ten minutes. Please be attentive to the time. If we are running late,
shorten your d’var accordingly. Try to make the time in advance of
services to clue the service leader (shaliah tzibur) about what you
will cover so that person does not discuss the same
area. |