January, 2021 Tevet/Shevat 5781
Volume 78, Issue 5
Shofar
“Where Judaism Lives”
Temple Beth El
Temple Beth El is affiliated with:
Thursdays @ 6:30 PM
Rabbi’s Introduction to Judaism Class Fridays @ 6:00 PM
Shabbat ShaZoom Fridays @ 6:30 PM
“Shabbat Shmooze”: Pre-Service Zoom Social Half-Hour
Fridays @ 7:00 PM Shabbat Service Saturdays @ 4:30 PM
Jewish Text Study Saturdays @ 5:30 PM
Havdalah
Services in our Zoom Room, 661 322 7607and by livestream on Facebook
Thursday, January 10, 24 & 31 Religious School
Tuesday, January 5 @ 6:00 PM Religious Practices Meeting Tuesday, January 12 @ 7:00 PM
Board Meeting
Sunday, January 24 @ 3:00 PM Sisterhood Meeting
Sunday, January 31 @ 1:00 PM Sisterhood Legacy Writing
Rabbi Jonathan Klein
Rounding the Corner into 2021:
Pandemic-Free Living?
Finally, the new year brings glimmers of hope through vaccine efforts that this complicated, difficult epoch living through a Pandemic—never again, please!—will conclude and we might be able once again to gather communally at our synagogue on Loma Linda. Won’t that be a blessing? One day at a time: January and February are anticipated to be particularly brutal times for COVID patients, with ICU bed shortages and the ongoing financial anguish that has hurt so many people and decimated entire industries. Not an easy season…but still, we seem to be approaching the dawn of a new era. We hold our friends, families, neighbors, and selves in prayer for health and wellbeing.
Soon, we will find ourselves asking questions about this past year. We will reflect on the impacts this year has had on us and upon our loved ones. Our American tradition of “New Year Resolutions” might feel more than ever like our Selichot tradition of writing letters to ourselves asking, “Who am I? Who do I want to be?” More than ever, we may ask ourselves very specific 2020 questions:
· How did this pandemic shape who I have become? How am I different today than I was before COVID-19? What are the lessons I learned about myself and others?
· What are the pluses that may have emerged from this pandemic?
· How has the pandemic interfered with my life trajectory? How can I reclaim that trajectory? Is the trajectory I imagine today the same as the one I imagined a year ago?
· What will I be happy to cast out once we can resume our in-person activities? What will endure?
· Who entered my life in 2020? Who exited? Which 2020 relationships might I hold onto post-COVID? Which might need to phase out for me to be a healthy person?
· How has an international health crisis affected my sense of my own health?
Most of us it seems are saying “Good Riddance” to 2020; I for one cannot say that it was entirely a bust…If it weren’t for the unfolding of events of this year, I might not have had the good fortune of becoming your rabbi for 2020-2021, the blessing of meeting so many of you over the past few months. I am extremely grateful that Temple Beth El has welcomed my ideas, explored new innovative worship and learning directions with me, and blessed Tera and me with new friendships that I know go well beyond the professional role in which you have welcomed me. Rather than a burden, Temple Beth El has been a Mechayeh, a source of extreme joy in my life, and I cannot thank you enough.
So as we close out 2020 and enter 2021, now is the time to ask ourselves, as we do during the Yamim Nora’im, the Days of Awe, “Ayeka!” Where are you? How has your life progressed, how has your ambition or vision of self been truncated, and how will 2021 be the fulfillment of your dreams for yourself, for your community, and for the world?
May all of us go ,ליח לא ליחמFrom Strength to Strength,
Dear Chevrei,
Chanukah has been a wonderful experience this year. We got some
educational Chanukah how-to's from the Rabbi that was well attended. The children experienced a memorable Chanukah service. We got to light our candles in our Zoom rooms as a community. We also got to see the lighting of the Menorah outside the Brust Family home. Times are different and so are our experiences but we are all here to experience them together!
The Latke Brunch was a great success! Thank you to our Latke Brunch
Committee with all their many hours of organizing, preparing the food, cooking and then serving. We served 127 meals!
The 8 Krazy Kilometers/2K Latke Loop was a wonderful success this year. Virtually from anyway in the world many participants have enjoyed this event! I know I loved walking at the Preserve this year. I believe there was 180 participants as I wrote this letter.
Yasher Koach to both of these Committees for the exceptional job of making this year a success! Both of these committees have worked tirelessly for many hours and the advertising on TV Channels 17 and 23 reached out to the community at large!
Our Judaica Gift Shop has been open on several Sundays these past months. Gail and Steve Magnus have many beautiful items to purchase. Please take out the time to visit and purchase your Judaica supplies and gifts. Many memories will be made to give or receive those beautiful items. Yasher Koach Gail and Steve for dedicating your time in the shop.
With all these wonderful events there was also sadness among our Congregation. We lost our dear members Susan Cohn, Beverly Weisman and Ann Peterson-Saslaw. May their lives be a blessed memory.
Please take the time to keep in touch with your dear loved ones. In these very trying times communication is important. So reach out to those that in your life that you hold dearly. Yasher Koach to all the Congregants of Temple Beth El for all you do to keep Us thriving! "More than the Jewish people have kept Shabbat,
Shabbat has kept the Jewish people!” Temple Beth El where Judaism lives! Shalom,
Ilene Schechter
Returning Soon
Mondays
11:30 A.M.
For Info Contact:Ilene Schechter @ (661) 332-1212
17 Greg & Rose Broida 39th 23 Ahron & Linda Hakimi 23rd
2 Lawrence Zanoff 5 Miriam Stull 8 Jenny Seibert 11 Pamela Elisheva 11 Zachary Escobedo 12 Gretchen Bloch
13 Kathleen Arnold-Chambers 14 Beth Freedman
14 Kenneth Hugo 17 Adison Gartenlaub 20 Emma Goss
21 Shulamit Shroder 26 Laura Wolfe
27 Douglas White 28 Mark Hugo 29 Jay Greenstein 30 Leah Bank
WOTBE Book Club is currently reading Miriam’s Kitchen: A Memoir by Elizabeth Ehrlich. Our next Book Club meeting to discuss this book will be Sunday, January 10th at 1:00 p.m. via Zoom. If you have not already ordered your copy of the book, please do so at one of the following retailers:
Amazon , Barnes & Noble , Thrift Books , Ebay.
Further information to come via WOTBE email and TBE facebook Mishpacha and Young Jew-ish Families.
Contact Amanda Garza with any questions via email at [email protected] or home phone (661) 873-7938 or cell phone (661) 637-9508.
We look forward to your participation. -- Amanda Garza
Support Temple Beth El
Help us sustain our robust vision for Jewish life by contributing to any of the following funds:
General Contributions: Tree of Life
Prayer Book Plates Memorials
Memorial Book Kol Nidre
High Holy Day Seats Caring Committee Specific Funds:
Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund
Camperships
https://templebethelbakersfield.org/donation/
provides these options for your contribution.
Rabbi Klein is offering an Introduction to Judaism class via Zoom, geared toward beginners and intermediate learners: 18 sessions (see below for schedule), 2 hours per session 6:30-8:30pm, starting January 7thand concluding May 13th:
Registration is live at www.tinyurl.com/TBEIntroToJudaism
If we resume in-person gatherings, the class will decide by majority vote whether to hold sessions online or in person.
$0 (members/Associate Members); $54 (non-members interested in membership); or $108 (everyone else)
First half hour will be Q&A on ANY JEWISH TOPIC; the remaining 1.5 hours will focus on the topics below.
Students must purchase their own books; a limited number of copies are also available for sale through Rabbi Klein.
Financial hardship grants available for those unable to afford enrollment and/or book expenses.
Require reading includes sections of Telushkin’s Jewish Literacy and more (see below)
Potential Jews by Choice and Adult B’nai Mitzvah will meet simultaneously with individuated guidance and assignments.
The following books will be utilized. Blue bold are required texts, others highly recommended:
Telushkin, Joseph. Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the
Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History. William Morrow, 1991, 2001, or 2008. (I
created a chart with all three versions' assigned readings). If you cannot find a new copy or prefer to save some money, I have 1991 editions for $10 each.
JPS Hebrew-English TANAKH. Jewish Publication Society, 1988. Get a bilingual one. Everyone should have a Jewish Hebrew Bible!
Sonsino, Rifat and Daniel Syme. Finding God: Selected Responses, Revised
edition. Behrman House, 2002. Essays on significant Jewish thinkers’ responses to the
questions: Is there more than one way to perceive of God? How can we know God? What does God “want” from us? Please check that you are purchasing the latest edition. If you can only find the older version, Finding God: Ten Jewish Responses, we can
accommodate by payment of an additional printing fee of $18.
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath. Farrar Straus Giroux, 1951. A classic work; republished many times (optional for students on a budget).
Knobel, Peter, ed. Mishkan Moeid: A Guide to the Jewish Seasons, New York:
CCAR Press, 2013. or Gates of the Seasons (CCAR Press, out of print). Also available in a PDF electronic version. A survey of the sacred days of the Jewish yearly cycle.
Knobel, Peter, ed. Navigating the Journey: The Essential Guide to the Jewish Life Cycle, New York: CCAR Press, 2018 or Gates of Mitzvah (CCAR Press, Out of Print) And here are the sessions on the following page:
Intro to Judaism Calendar
5781/2021
1/07 Tanakh Part I: Torah 3/18 God/G-d/Gd: Theology and Middot/Ethics 1/14 Tanakh Part II: Prophets, Writings 3/25 Mitzvot, Kashrut & Jewish Law
1/21 Jewish History: Post-Biblical to Modern 4/01 Lifecycle Part I: The Three B’s of Judaism
1/28 Denominations and Sub-communities 4/08 Lifecycle Part II: Weddings, Marriage, Divorce
2/4 Holidays Part I: Shabbat, Holy Time 4/15 Lifecycle Part III: Death and Dying 2/11 Holidays Part II: Passover, Season of our
Freedom
4/22 Lifecycle Part IV: Becoming a Jew 2/18 Holidays Part III: Yamim Noraim and Sukkot,
All the Days of Awe
4/29 Anti-Semitism: The Shoah, Pogroms and Blood Libel
2/25 Purim (no class 5/06 Israel: Jewish Nationhood 3/04 Holidays Part IV: Purim, Shavuot, Tu
BiShvat...Other Holidays
5/13 It’s a Wrap! Clean-up and Siyyum, Ideally in person
3/11 Prayer and the Prayer Book
Contributions (11/18-12/29)
Memorials/Yahrzeit
Andy & Ella Abrams
In memory of Ann Peterson-Saslaw, Susan Cohn & Beverly Weisman Greg & Rose Broida
In memory of William Solomon & Alfonso Gonzales
Brent Eastep
In memory of Hy Davis Joe Fram & Bonnie Birch
In memory of Ann Peterson-Saslaw Timothy Fromm
In memory of Rita Fromm Ronald & Laura Lauria
In memory of Morris Gintzler and Milton Gintzler
Etta Robin
In memory of Michelle Kleiman Ilene Schechter
In memory of Seymour Schechter Robert & Marcy Smith
In memory of Marylin Smith & Faith Parris Lawrence & Karen Zanoff
In memory of Raymond Zanoff
Caring Committee
Ann Diamond
In memory of Abraham Kessler & Eva Kessler Timothy Fromm
Ronald & Laura Lauria
Building Fund
Irvin Pike & Pamela Elisheva Fencing
Rabbi Discretionary Fund
Andy & Ella Abrams Leonard & Carla Epstein
In memory of Burton Epstein Alan Freisleben
Amy & John Knight
In memory of Edward Schwartz,
Katherine Knight, Marjorie Joan Atencio, Shulamit Shroder & Joshua Canepa
January 2021 Yahrzeits
01/01 Shabbat Service Yahrzeits
Frieda “Fritzi” Greenberg, aunt of Sylvia Neal z”l 01/01-Tevet 17
Thomas Lauria, father of Ronald Lauria; grandfather of Amanda Garza 01/01
Gerald Lewis, husband of Etel Lewis 01/01
Bernice Black, mother of Diane Andrews 01/02
David Davis, remembered by the congregation 01/03
Celia Fingeroff Aronson, grandmother of Kathleen Arnold-Chambers 01/03-Tevet 19
Danny Benjamin Lipco, brother of Sharon Lipco z”l & Lisa Levine Lipco 01/03-Tevet 19
Ruth Morales, mother of Linda Morales 01/05
Esther Siegel, grandmother of Sharon Rhodes 01/05
Morris Gintzler, great-uncle of Laura Lauria; great-great-uncle of Amanda Garza 01/07
01/08 Shabbat Service Yahrzeits
William Adler, uncle of Heidi Allison 01/08-Tevet 24
Nathan J. Goldman, uncle of Marsha Parr 01/09
Bernard Levy, brother-in-law of William Wolfe 01/11
Allen Harris, brother-in-law of Arline Pike z”l; uncle of Irvin Pike 01/12
Claude Denis Neuman, step-brother of Heidi Allison 01/12
Richard Ribner, cousin of Sylvia Neal z”l 01/12
Nathan Strauss, grandfather of Judy Strauss 01/12-Tevet 28
Fishel Leht, father of Etel Lewis 01/13
Louis M. Lewis, father of Beverly Weisman z”l 01/13
Arthur Rich, brother-in-law of Charlotte Abrams; uncle of Andy Abrams 01/13
Carol Rosenbaum, mother of Joy Spicer; grandmother of Tiffany Mayer 01/13
Ilene Levy, sister of William Wolfe 01/14
01/15 Shabbat Service Yahrzeits
Richard Schulman, father of Marc Schulman 01/15
Mildred Solomon, aunt of Jackie Rudnick z”l 01/15
Louis Grosher, uncle of Sonia Simrin z”l 01/16
Harriett Wolfe, mother of William Wolfe 01/16
Raymond Zanoff, father of Larry Zanoff 01/16
George Carl Shattenburg, uncle of Pamela Elisheva 01/17
Margaret Anne Christenson, mother-in-law of Irene Christenson 01/18
Craig Rich, nephew of Al z”l & Charlotte Abrams; cousin of Andy Abrams 01/19
Lois Schulman, mother of Marc Schulman 01/19-Shevat 6
01/15 Shabbat Service Yahrzeits (cont’d)
John Gruber, husband of Drina Fried 01/21
Louis Schwalbendorf, grandfather of Larry Fish 01/21
01/22 Shabbat Service Yahrzeits
Jay J. Arnold, father of Kathleen Arnold-Chambers 01/22
Henry Black, uncle of Diane Andrews 01/22
Bonnie K. Johnson, sister of Marsha Parr 01/23
Hulda Magnus, mother of Steven Magnus; grandmother of Elliott Magnus 01/23
Bernice Katzell, mother of Ellyn Widelock; grandmother of Jenna Odlin 01/24
Saul David Larks, father of Anita Singer 01/24
Leonard Mansky, brother-in-law of Pearl Davis 01/25
Patricia Thorley, sister of Ann Peterson-Saslaw z”l 01/25
Irving Steelman, uncle of Terry Skinner 01/26
Stanley Witer, step-father of Elaine White 01-27
01/29 Shabbat Service Yahrzeits
Carol Lander, mother of Tera Klein 01/31
Harvey Abarbanell, father of Ross Abarbanell 02/01
Lillian Bridges, aunt of Karen Briefer 02/01
Barnett Larks, uncle of Anita Singer 02/02
Francisco Reyes, father of Ricardo Reyes 02/02
Ira Schenkman, father of Richard Schenkman 02/02
Bessie Jenkins, grandmother of Terry Skinner 02/03
Frances Bregman, step-mother of Irene Christenson 02/04
Rosa Maria Cohen Arazi, sister of Ana Genel z”l; aunt of Janet Blumberg 02/04
Milton Rudnick, husband of Diane Rudnick, brother of Marcus z”l & Phil Rudnick &
Miriam Stull, uncle of Joshua & Daniel Rudnick & Libbie Mahan; brother-in-law of Marcia Rudnick
02/04
Sylvia Rudnick, sister of Marcus z”l, Milton z”l & Phil Rudnick & Miriam Still; aunt of
Joshua & Daniel Rudnick & Libbie Mahan 02/04
Prayer Book Bookplates
In Honor or In Memory of...
Bookplates are available for only $18 each. To order, make check payable to Temple Beth El, “attention: Bookplates”.
Please include any special wording and the manner in which you want your name to appear.
Questions? Call Lorrie at the office: (661) 322-7607
We offer our deepest condolences
to the families of
Ann Peterson-Sawlaw
&
December, 2020
Kislev/Tevet 5781
1 6:00 PM Shabbat ShaZoom 6:30 PM Schmooze 7:00 PM Shabbat 2 4:30 PM Jewish Learning 5:30 PM HavdalahAll worship via Zoom and Facebook Live
3 4 5
6:00 PM Religious Practices Meeting 6 Hebrew School
7 8
6:00 PM Shabbat ShaZoom 6:30 PM Schmooze 7:00 PM Shabbat 9 4:30 PM Jewish Learning 5:30 PM Havdalah 10 Religious School 1:00 PM Book Club
11 12
7:00 PM
Board Meeting
13
Hebrew School 14 15 6:00 PM
Shabbat ShaZoom 6:30 PM Schmooze 7:00 PM Shabbat 16 4:30 PM Jewish Learning 5:30 PM Havdalah
17 18 19 20
Hebrew School 21 22 6:00 PM
Shabbat ShaZoom 6:30 PM Schmooze 7:00 PM Shabbat 23 4:30 PM Jewish Learning 5:30 PM Havdalah 24 Religious School 3:00 PM Sisterhood Meeting
25 26 27
Hebrew School 28 29 6:00 PM
Shabbat ShaZoom 6:30 PM Schmooze 7:00 PM Shabbat 30 4:30 PM Jewish Learning 5:30 PM Havdalah 31 Religious School 1:00 PM Sisterhood-Legacy
Own Your Piece of Real Estate
for Eternity
Temple Beth El maintains its own dedicated section at Greenlawn Memorial Park on River Blvd. New plot price is $2,875. Plan ahead and buy yours today. Contact Barry Goldner for details and purchasing at (661) 301-9000.
Memorial Plaques
Temple Beth El provides a sanctuary for yoursacred prayers, a social hall for special celebrations, a library to study our heritage, a school to teach our eternal values and ways to remember ones who are no longer with us. One way we honor those who helped shape our lives is by adding a made-to-order bronze Memorial Plaque to the walls of the Temple foyer.
Contact Andy Abrams:
(661) 589-3778 or [email protected]
