CONGREGATION P’NAI TIKVAH

(Formerly Valley Outreach Synagogue)

Kol Kiruv

July 2013 Tammuz/AV 5773 Vol. 20—No. 1

Table of Contents

Cover Page

Rabbi’s Message

Cantor’s Notes

President’s Message

Sam Lieberman’s Message

When Artists Scapegoat …

Queen Elizabeth Mother In…

Women’s Rosh Chodesh

Jewlicious Learning

Mitzvah Envelopes

MiShebeirach

Updates & Fundraising

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Kidz Korner

Yahrzeits

Theo Bikel & Rabbi Mintz Dina Titus Mezuzah Hanging

Aleph Kallah is Coming

Rabbi’s Remarks on 6/2/13

Help the Homeless

Calendar at a Glance

Clergy and Staff

Rabbi: Yocheved Mintz

Cantor: Marla Goldberg

Accompanist: Timothy Cooper

Newsletter: D’vorah Turrentine,

Educator: Rabbi Mintz

Bookkeeper: Lynn Pisetzner

Office Administrator: ‘D’vorah Turrentine

pnaitikvahlv@aol.com

www.pnaitikvahlv.com

CPT on the Web:

www.pnaitikvahlv.org

Social Network with CPT:

www.facebook.com/

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GETTING TO KNOW YOU… With four home-hospitality Shabbat dinners at CPT members’ homes here in the greater Las Vegas valley and a Women’s Retreat up in Deer Valley, Utah, we’ll have several opportunities to get to know one another in beautiful settings. Truly enjoying Shabbat across the valley, we can welcome Shabbat July 5 at Sam Lieberman, just off the north end of the Strip; July 12th at Jennifer and Jerry Cohen’s , near Windmill and Maryland Parkway, July 19th at the home of Rabbi Yocheved Mintz, and July 26th at the home of Barbara and Andy Holland, in the Southwest part of the valley. Call the office 436-4900, to see if there’s still room at the home(s) of your choice. There’s still room for two more woman to “rough it” in the moun-tain home of the Rabbi, in idyllic Deer Valley. With this year’s theme being “Making Trouble: The Role of Women in the Shifting Paradigm of Contemporary Judaism.” Call the office to reserve your space. And our new CJO (Chief Jewish Officer), Barbara Hol-land, has issued a challenge to each of us: Each member brings in a new member. It starts with in-viting someone to sit down and shmooze. We have a special community. Let’s get the secret out there!

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During the month of July, we will substitute our bi-weekly services with

“Shabbat Around the Valley” —an opportunity to gather

for weekly Shabbat dinners. Joyous melodies fill the night

air as we enjoy lighting the candles, making Kiddush, saying

Ha-Motzi and enjoying delicious cuisine with fellow congre-

gants Strangers become friends as we linger together over

dessert, enjoying the warmth of a Shabbat together.

Services at Kraft-Sussman Chapel will resume on August 2, 2013

Rabbi’s Message to the Congregation

the point of contention for a good 3000 years. “And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell… together, for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell …together” was written about Abraham and his nephew Lot and their inabil-ity to share that area. Did you know that in 1948, the Bedouin who had ranged from areas as far north as Rechovot and Rishon L’Tzion, all the way down the coast, and deep into the desert, all the way to the Sinai, were fairly rapidly pushed into a triangular area from Beer Sheva to Dimona to in the Negev where they currently are Arad. In the 1960’s and ‘70’s, there was an effort to gentrify them, try-ing to move them into townships. Disregarding trib-al relationships and social difficulties in being forced to adapt an urban lifestyle. In the mid 1980’s, as part of the Camp David accords, the United States built the Nevatim air base right in the middle of the triangle, displacing several villages. Since that time, the population has grown, and while the rural villages have adapted from tents to houses, none of them have building permits, many have no electricity, running water, or sewage facili-ties. What a mess! Some of these miserable vil-lages are even considered “recognized” villages. The Begin-Prawer plan is the most recent attempt to bring some order to this balagan. While there’s not disagreement that there needs to be attention paid to the dire infrastructure problems faced by the villages, how to do so is at the crux of major internal disagreement. What do the Bedou-ins want? Merely to continue to live in a rural envi-ronment, to have access and rights to their land, and to be treated fairly under the law; and the Jew-ish residents of the Negev pretty much want the same…although to deny that there is some anti-Arab sentiment would be naïve. Is this process of resettling previously nomadic people a parallel to what happened to the Israelite people between the Exodus and the Davidic Kingdom of biblical times….or is it, as Theo Bikels points out on a poignant message (see the YouTube “Theodore Bikel: It Hurts that the Descendents of Anatevka Expel Israeli Bedouin”) that we have forgotten our own lessons of the past?

The “Bill on the Arrangement of Bedouin Settlement in the Negev” has been opposed by thousands of Jews across the world, concerned with human rights, including your rabbi, as a member of OHA-LAH, the clergy for Renewal Judaism, and as a member of T’ruah, formerly Rabbis for Human Rights—North America.

May we be passionate in caring for one another, whether it is in Israel or here at home.

L’Shalom,

Rabbi Yocheved Mintz 2

Chevreh:

We go into the summer months in a more relaxed mindset, ready to enjoy the barbeques and vacations and time with friends and family. And that’s as it should be...normally. But this summer the living is not easy… especially not in Israel. We are all aware of the threats from the neighboring countries, the spill-over from the civil war in Syria, the uncertainty from the Moslem brotherhood in Egypt, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hammas in the Sinai, and the growing nuclear specter from Iran. These are serious existential threats. But there are also threats from within that pose seri-

ous danger to the integrity of our precious Promised

Land. I’m thinking of the unfortunate power that the

ultra-Orthodox are currently holding viz-a-viz the gov-

ernance of the Kotel, the Western Wall. We have

been following, with vested interest, the struggles of

the Women of the Wall over the past two decades,

and are encouraged by the recent attempts by Natan

Sharansky that achieved legislation vouchsafing the

women who wish to pray at the Wall. Despite back-

lash by some charedim, the last two Roshei Chodesh

have seen the women protected by the police, not

arrested by them. The hope is that there will be a re-

vision of how the plaza is designated, so there will

continue to be a section for the Ultra-Orthodox, sepa-

rating men and women, but there will also be an equal

section for more liberal prayers, and egalitarian pray-

ers. All this is yet to be achieved, but progress has

been made.

Another current challenge from within revolves some-

thing with which we may be less familiar: the pro-

posed displacement of 30,000-40,000 Bedouin Israe-

lis in the Negev. Moving these indigenous people

from the villages where they have lived for genera-

tions would certainly break apart communities, threat-

en economic sustainability within these communities,

and possibly destroy the social structural stability of

the Bedouins.

Now, this is a tricky issue, because, as my colleague,

Rabbi Simcha Daniel Burstyn, points out, the political

desire to promote development is clashing with

“ethnic gerrymandering” in an area in which has been

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Cantor’s Notes:

“Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure, measure a year?

In Shabbatot, in Yomim Tovim

In challot, hamentaschen

In simchas, in shivas, in dancing, in song

In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure a year in the life?” (With apologies to writer of the musical Rent)

So, it has been a year since I officially became the Cantor of Congregation P’nai Tikvah. What a wonder-

ful year it has been. Yes, it has had its sorrows, but there have been many joys too. Of course, for me,

music has been the cement that has kept it all together.

It seems like every special day, whether happy or sad, we have includes two major things, food and sing-

ing. Two things I like a lot, especially the singing. (Okay and really great challah.) It is the music that

connects me to my neshama, my soul and helps me connect to God. My hope is that in this last year, and

in the coming year, I will continue to use my music to help you connect in that way as well.

Last week I was in Milwaukee, Wis. for a Bar Mitzvah of a very close family friend. The family belongs

to a Chabad congregation there. Different from our congregation, and yet the same, with many of the

prayers sung to the same melodies. I was able to connect to the prayers and people, even in a different

place, due to the music. I connected to the melodies I knew, and even the ones I did not know, because

music fills my soul.

In the next year, more music will be sung. I’ll use familiar melodies and new ones, and we’ll continue to

connect. So, whether the music we sing is familiar or new, we can find that connection to our hearts and

souls. We’ll celebrate, have sorrows, and continue to sing:

“It’s time now, to sing out

Though the story never ends

Let’s celebrate

Remember a year in the life of friends”

(once more from Rent)

L’Shalom,

Cantor Marla Goldberg

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Message from the President:

For those of you who follow Facebook, you probably have read about my family’s adven-

ture in flying to Evansville, Indiana for my niece’s Bat Mitzvah. It was the first time in five

years that all of the brothers, sisters, children, and mom were together, the last being our

mother’s surprise 80th

birthday.

If we study our Torah, we will find that the “family” is the most important group of people,

often denoted as “tribes”. Think about it. After G-d created man and woman, G-d told

them to create a family (Genesis 1:28). From the Ten Commandments of honoring our fa-

ther and our mother (Exodus 20:12) to teaching our children about our faith in Deuterono-

my 11:19, “ and you shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you are sit-

ting in your house and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down and

when you rise…”

We all know how difficult it can be to have a family reunion and yet it feels good to see

members of our family and extended families. Mine is no different- we represent the en-

tire spectrum of beliefs from Orthodox to Reform, from both sides of the political spec-

trum. Needless to say, our discussions were lively…but then, we had time to reminisce of

our past, stories that the second generation of cousins had never heard and those “family

secrets” were shared as well as our goals and aspirations for the future.

Every family represents a microcosm of the community within which it lives. Our extend-

ed family is P’nai Tikvah. It is a community of individuals, bound by our faith, led by our

spiritual leader, Rabbi Mintz, supporting each other in times of joy and in times of crisis. It

is a community that kindles our spiritual growth as individuals. P’nai Tikvah is a shul

where one can feel the “Shabbat Fever” as we sing our prayers and songs with Cantor

Goldberg.

We invite you into our “livingroom”. Come join us in worship for our Shabbat Services and

for the High Holidays.

B’Shalom,

Barbara Holland

President

Message from the Past President:

Just a short note to express my gratitude and thanks for the beautiful Shabbat service that

took place in my honor on June 21st. I am grateful to those of you who were able to partici-

pate and I am deeply thankful for those of you who shared good wishes and made donations

to Congregation P’nai Tikvah in my name, and I thank the Board for the beautiful award

presented to me, and the fabulous Oneg Shabbat they prepared and served that evening. I

am so grateful to Steve Mintz for flying in from Minneapolis just to help make that special

Shabbat simply super! To my Mom and Dad, Sara and David Lieberman , I felt so honored

that you came in from Scottsdale and participated in the ruach-filled service.

It has been a meaningful 7 ½ years that we have shared together with the common goal of

building and sustaining CPT as a sacred community. My gratitude to Rabbi Mintz and fam-

ily, D’vorah and Palmie Turrentine, Cantor Jessica Hutchings, Cantor Jonathan Friedmann,

Cantor Marla Goldberg, Marijane Fredericksen, Accompanists Marek Rachelski, Tim

Cooper, and William Chenoweth, Lynn and David Pisetzner and the various Board mem-

bers with whom I have had the pleasure to serve and lead.

This is not goodbye, of course. I am happily remaining of the Board as Immediate Past

President and have complete confidence in Barbara Holland and her leadership team. She is

truly a woman of valor who will move the congregation forward in constructive and positive

manner. Moving forward, I will offer my support, counsel, and shoulder to lean on. Let’s

create our tomorrows together.

In gratitude,

Sam Lieberman

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Continued on page 7

When artists scapegoat Israel By IDO AHARONI

Last Updated: 12:45 AM, June 19, 2013 Posted: 10:48 PM, June 18, 2013

Editor’s note: The novelist Alice Walker recently wrote a public letter asking singer Alicia Keys to can-

cel a concert in Israel. Keys declined to follow the advice — but Israel’s consul general here in New

York has some words for Walker.

Dear Ms. Walker,

I am writing this letter to you with great pain, after encountering your name in the news, again, calling

for a boycott on my home and country.

Recently, you urged a popular American artist to boycott Israel. In your statement you claimed that

“under a campaign named ‘Brand Israel,’ Israeli officials use culture and arts to showcase Israel as a

modern, welcoming place.”

As it happens, I’m the founding head of Israel’s brand-management team and the originator of the

Brand Israel movement you refer to. Let me tell you the real story of Brand Israel:

For decades, dozens of countries, cities and regions all over the world have engaged in a “branding”

process — a comprehensive attempt to present an attractive image of a place, which should lead to

increased tourism, foreign investment and export. “I Love New York” is part of one such campaign.

No other country has ever been criticized for engaging in this common practice of courting tourists and

businesses. Only in Israel’s case is it — for some reason — deemed a demonic exercise of the “Israeli

propaganda machine.”

This is even more ridiculous, when the Israeli government sponsors award-winning films with self-

critical viewpoints that often deal with the conflict that the critics claim we are trying to hide. An odd

“propaganda machine” indeed.

So why is it that in your view, the Jewish state has no right to promote itself, dress up for its tourists

and appeal to millions, while entities like Iran and North Korea, not to mention Gaza under Hamas,

avoid your harsh words and condemnations?

Why is it considered a ploy in our case, when it is a worthy and normal endeavor when everyone else

does the same?

Here’s a strange twist: A well-known American author, who prides herself of the protection of freedom

and pluralism, is trying to deprive millions of Israeli music fans of their right to enjoy music.

Let’s admit: You do not think Israel has the right to be presented positively. You displayed your own

inability to relate to Israel other than through the prism of the conflict with its neighbors.

Have you done anything about Syria? Ninety thousand dead, 1.5 million refugees. Full-blown civil war.

Israel, like many other places on Earth, experiences a variety of issues and challenges — some relat-

ed to our society, others to the geopolitics of a changing region. Israel should not be viewed solely

through the prism of its problems, nor should any other country.

Israel is a vibrant nation, with hard-working people who make the world a better place on a daily basis.

Our legendary foreign minister, the late Golda Meir, was one of the first leaders to reach out to the

“newly decolonized” nations of Africa immediately after their independence, to join hands in sharing

our respective experiences as young nations.

Meir’s work and legacy still thrive all over the developing world, spreading the light that is Israel, and

for the benefit of making people’s lives better.

This legacy was manifested not too long ago when Israelis from all walks of life received word of the

earthquake in Haiti. In just a few hours, planes were packed with supplies and manpower to help in

the relief efforts. Israel was one of the first countries to arrive in Haiti after the earthquake, and we

immediately got to work in order to set up entire field hospitals, complete with pre-natal units, in the

hardest hit areas.

While Israeli search-and-rescue teams went to the wreckage to look for survivors, our doctors were

delivering new life and providing a new hope for survival. After the wreckage was cleared, teams of

doctors and engineers traveled once again to Haiti to help with the efforts to rebuild.

We all know that there is a dire need in the world today for greater understanding and mutual respect

between peoples and nations. Once we start excluding others unjustly and immorally, it can only

serve to harm the greater good.

Let’s use our words carefully, to build bridges, not destroy them. To bring healing, not pain. Ms. Walk-

er, Israel is a country of history and wonder, surprises and values. It is a source of light. Let it — and

us all — shine.

Ido Aharoni is Israel’s consul general in New York.

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Queen Elizabeth’s Mother-in-Law, Princess Alice’s Mother-in-Law, Princess Alice

Saved Jews during the Shoah

Princess Alice was born in Windsor Castle in 1885, as Princess Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie. Her parents were

Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse, granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The Princess was related to

most European royal families.

When she was a young child, her deafness was diagnosed and by the age of eight she had become a fluent lip reader. This

handicap may have made her especially sensitive to the underprivileged and outcast.

Princess Alice married Prince Andrew of Greece in 1903. The couple had five children: four daughters and a son – the

future Duke of Edinburgh and consort to Queen Elizabeth II of England.

During World War II, Princess Alice lived in the Athens palace of her brother in law, Prince George of Greece, and

worked with the Swedish and Swiss Red Cross. She found herself in the difficult situation of having sons-in-law fighting

on the German side and a son (the future Prince Philip) in the British Royal Navy.

The Rescue of Rachel Cohen and her Children

The Greek royal family had been well acquainted with the family of Haimaki Cohen, a Jew and former member of Parlia-

ment, from Tricala, in northern Greece. In 1941, when Germany invaded Greece, the family fled to Athens – then still

under Italian rule, where the Anti-Jewish policy was more moderate. However the period of relative safely lasted only

until September 1943, when following Italy's surrender to the Allies, the Germans occupied Athens and the hunt for Jews

began. By that time Haimaki Cohen had died. His widow, Rachel, and her five children were looking for a place of ref-

uge. The family's four sons wanted to cross to Egypt, and join with the Greek government in exile that was in Cairo. But

the trip proved too hazardous for Rachel and their sister. Princess Alice heard of the family's desperate situation and of-

fered to shelter Rachel and her daughter, Tilde, at her home. They were later joined by another son who was unable to

make the journey to Egypt and had to return to Athens. The Cohen’s stayed in Princess Alice's residence until liberation.

There were times when the Germans became suspicious, and Princess Alice was even interviewed by the Gestapo. Using

her deafness, she pretended not to understand their questions until they left her alone. In January 1949, the princess

founded a nursing order of Greek Orthodox nuns – the Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary. She decided to with-

draw from the world and moved to the island of Tinos. Following the colonels’ coup d’état in Greece

in 1967 she went back to England and moved to Buckingham Palace to be close to her son and his

family. She died in London in December 1969, aged 84. Not long before her death Princess Alice

expressed the wish to be buried in Jerusalem, next to her aunt, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna,

who, like Princess Alice, had become a nun and had founded a convent. The Grand Duchess Fyodo-

rovna was killed during the Russian revolution and her remains were buried in the Church of Maria

Magdalene in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem.

In 1988, nineteen years after her death, Princess Alice’s coffin was transferred to the crypt in Geth-

semane on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. In 1993 Yad Vashem bestowed

the title of Righteous Among the Nations on Princess Alice. A year later, her children,

Prince Philip – the Duke of Edinburgh – and Princess George of Hanover traveled to Yad

Vashem and planted the tree in her honor. During the ceremony, Prince Philip said: “I suspect that it

never occurred to her that her action was in any way special. She was a

person with deep religious faith and she would have considered it to be a totally human action to fel-

low human beings in distress."

www.yadvashem.org/righteous_new/Alice.html

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For details regarding current CPT fundraisers or suggestions for future fundraising opportunities, please contact Dale Gardner cabinutsky@aol.com

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Women’s Rosh Chodesh Group

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ANNUAL CPT WOMEN’S RETREAT Thursday July 25th—28th

Come and join us at Deer Valley Utah in Rabbi’s condo:

A wonderful opportunity to refresh and renew, to re-soul

and re-Jew. We’ll enjoy the galleries of Park City and the

beauty of summer in the Uinta Mountains. We will eat,

pray and play. Contact the office at 436-4900 so we can

take advantage of Southwest web airfare of $99 each way

plus $100.00 to cover costs of the retreat. We would like to

fly on SW flt#1964 departing LAS at 8:35am and arriving

SLC at 10:50am —Returning on SW Flight #3406 depart-

ing SLC at 1:25pm arriving LAS 1:45pm. Please feel free

to check other airlines to compare prices.

There is room for five more participants. Please contact

the Rabbi for additional inquiries.

Mitzvah Envelopes:

Mitzvah envelopes are given out at services with

the hope that they will be filled

out and returned with a donation

for the congregation. Honoring or

remembering loved ones, giving

tzedakah for a MiShebeirach,

simply being thankful for meaning-

ful services, and any other reason

you can think of helps the congregation’s sustaina-

bility and funds future

Jewlicious Learners

Summertime and our Jewlicious Learn-

ers are involved in all sorts of summer

activities. Performing, swimming,

sports, traveling, and, yes, learning.

Rabbi Mintz is offering one-on-one

Skype Summer Hebrew Enrich-

ment….and, while we currently are

working with pre-Bar/Bat Mitzvah stu-

dents, she offers the basics to incom-

ing students too.

Classes for the Fall will take place on

Monday afternoons at the Rabbi’s

home, from 4:15 to 6:00, beginning Au-

gust 26 and continuing Sept 9, 16,23,

and 30; October 6, 21, 28,; November

4, 11, 18, and 25; December 2, 9, and

16; January 6,13, and 27; February

3,10, and 24; March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31;

April 7, and 28; May 5, 12.19 and June

2. Registration now open.

MITZVAH ENVELOPES

Roz Tessler -In memory of Yetta Tessler Susan & Rick Bindhamer Arlene Waters David Aris Anita Lewy -In honor of Rabbi Mintz's birthday -In honor of Sam Lieberman -In honor of Barbara Holland & CPT New Board Jennifer Cohen -In honor of Rabbi Mintz's birthday Marlene Silverman -In honor of Sam Lieberman D’vorah & Palmie Turrentine -In honor of Sam Lieberman Rabbi Yocheved Mintz -In honor of Sam Lieberman -In honor of Barbara Holland and new Board -In honor of Doris & Palmie Turrentine’s new grandson -In honor of Ann Mandell’s new grandson -In memory of Alan Mintz -In memory of cousin Daniel Mintz Lynn & David Pisetzner -In honor of Sam Lieberman Marvin & Lesley Korach -In honor of Sam Lieberman

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Mi Shebeirach/”Get Well” Wishes to…

Marie Ackerman Marjorie Lieberman Davida Lewin Schermer D’vorah Turrentine Edith Rome Gary Paykel Elliot Bender Paul Bodner Rocky Fazio Guy Fazio Olivia Bender Gittel bat Libba Heika Libba Heika bat Sima Wendy Linker Rabbi Rob Bonem Edward Rueben Patti Lade Fran Fine Jerry Cohen Susan Bindhamer Danny Lev Aaron Shopnick Rozlyn Alexander Marilyn Kapel Marion Loeb Karl Reynolds Tony Reed Peter Hernandez Lou & Sonny Mayron Barbara Raben Phyllis Zuckerman Rabbi Stephen Robbins Craig Goodrich Connie Rivshun Gavriella bat Yisraella v’Yosef Torrey Barrett

UPDATES and

Fundraising Opportunities

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Box Tops For Education are an Easy Way to Support P’nai Tikvah’s Jewlicious Learning Program!

Box Tops for Education is a very simple way for you to contribute to CPT’s Jewlicious Learning pro-gram every time you shop! Clip box tops from hun-dreds of products. Each box top is worth 10 cents for the program, and some products are offering double and triple box tops! Bring them to services with you and place them in the “Box Tops for Edu-cation” box. For a complete list of products bearing the Box Tops for Education symbol, go to: http://www.boxtops4education.com .

All Box Tops should be brought to Shabbat Ser-vices or sent to Dale Gardner cabinutsky@aol.com

On’gai Shabbat— Time to Sign up!

We still have a few openings left for those of you who want to celebrate a simcha or commemorate the memory of a loved one by sponsoring an Oneg Shabbat. And for you foodies who want to get your Bobby Flay or Gordon Ramsey on, there’s still time! Check the schedule below; an opening is your opportunity: Month of July—Shabbat Around the Valley

August 2 Sponsor Needed Caterer Needed

August 16 Annie & Joey Goodrich Annie & Joey Goodrich Call the office at (702) 436-4900 or email Doris Turrentine at cptdoris@aol.com for more information or to book your date now!

Note URL for Congregation P’nai Tikvah , As well as Facebook and Twitter Addresses

Make our web address, www.pnaitikvahlv.org , a favorite! Social networking with our shul is easier than ever! “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pnaitikvahlv and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnaitikvahlv . Thanks to Cindy Fox, Jon Axelrod, and Danielle Holland—CPT’s social network mavens—for keeping us current!! Any-one else wish to volunteer? Just call 436-4900 to be our new maven!

TORAH STUDY

THIS MONTH:

There will be no Torah Study for the month of Ju-

ly it will resume on August 3rd in the home of

Rabbi Mintz.

Please call the office (702) 436-4900 or email

Rabbi Mintz at gkmintz@aol.com to RSVP.

BE A BIRD DOG??

If you refer someone to a car dealership, on behalf of CPT,

we can receive a referral fee. This is a wonderful and easy

way to do a mitzvah for CPT . More information contact

Doris 869-2700.

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Happy July

Birthday!!

KIDZ KORNER for July

HAPPY JULY BIRTHDAYS

Domenique Wright Minao Kamegai Joey Goodrich Lynda French Marie Ackerman Alexandra Goodrich Paula Deal Emma Barton Tim Lockett Barbara Finkelberg Hedda Abbott Rick Bindhamer

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Gayla & John Wennstrom July 3 Lesley & Sam Wagmeister July 25

July 6

July 7

July 11

July 15

July 16

July 17

July 20

July 22

July 25

July 28

July 30

July 30

Phyllis & Stan Zuckerman’s

66th Wedding Anniversary

Memorial plaques are available for your consideration,

To honor the departed,

To inspire the living.

To be remembered in the hearts of those we leave

behind is,

In a sense, to live forever.

For further information, call the Synagogue office at

702-436-4900

Mitzvah donations also appreciated

YAHRZEITS

FOR JULY

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How To Get Through Life

Sleep as much as you can ....

Read books that you enjoy...

Play with simple things...

Do whatever you want --

Whenever you want…

Look for affection when you need it...

Get serious once in a while...

Forget about diets…

Show some affection…

Get angry once in a while....

Change your looks…

Above all, be happy,

Regardless of what

Your challenges may be…

Have a great life!

May your troubles be less,

Your blessings more,

And may nothing but happiness

Come through your door.

Morris DeLee -Remembered by Michael DeLee Evelyn Fried -Remembered by April Long Don Mandell -Remembered by Ann Mandell Neal Paykel -Remembered by Gary Paykel

Remembering Friends and Family: If you know of someone who can use a little cheer in their life because of illness or a death in their family-or a simcha -mazel tov celebration; the "Sunshine La-dy” Phyllis Zuckerman would like to send a card. Please contact her at:(702)617-0585 or phyllistan@cox.net

The happiest of people don’t necessarily have

the most of everything;

they just make the most of everything they

have.

Until next time, remember

Life ends when you stop dreaming

Hope ends when you stop believing

Love ends when you stop caring

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(L-R) Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel, Congresswoman Dina Titus, Rabbi Yocheved Mintz and Rabbi Sanford Akselrad

Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel, Rabbi Yocheved Mintz and Rabbi Sanford Akselrad re-cently officiated at the Mezuzah Hanging in the District Office of Congresswoman Dina Titus (a gift from Elliot Karp and the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas.

The Florence Melton School of Adult Learning A Soiree Featuring Theodore Bikel and Honoring Rabbi Yocheved Mintz

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ALEPH is proud to announce..... Kallah 2013

Kol Echad:

Connecting With the Divine, Within & Around Us

July 1-7, 2013 Franklin Pierce University -- Rindge, NH

Join us in picturesque Southern New Hampshire on beautiful Pearly

Pond at the foot of Mount Monadnock. This year, you will enjoy a

retreat-like setting where Kallah is also a vacation.

From mountaintop davvening to lakeside classes, this will be the one

Kallah you'll want to be sure to attend!!

Who Comes to the Kallah? Religious

background and current practice run from

a to z (assimilated to zealous!); singles, couples

and families, with and without children;

GLBTQ and straight; healers, teachers,

artists, authors, information technologists,

mothers, judges, students, religious leaders,

consultants, accountants, business owners,

designers, fundraisers, and mediators and more.

Everyone comes to the Kallah for a different reason:

community; rediscovering Judaism; experiencing Jewish

Renewal; learning with a specific teacher; spirituality; learning

in general; davenning (prayer); meeting a lifemate/soulmate…

the list goes on. Whatever YOUR reason, we hope that you will

join us at the Kallah.

Note: On June 21st, the congregation honored Sam Lieberman. With the wonderful music of Steven Mintz and

Cantor Marla Goldberg, our service was so full that Rabbi Mintz opted to not deliver her prepared remarks and,

so, we are sharing them here:

In Honor of Sam Lieberman: A Blessing in Our Lives

Sam has often called us “The Little Congregation that Can,” which, of course, immediately

conjures up a scruffy little locomotive valiantly attempting to ascend a hill, muttering “I think

I can, I think I can.”

Come to think of it, Sam’s absolutely right, with one addition….we’re also laying the track as

we go along, forging our own direction on a shifting landscape. We live in very exciting and

very challenging times and the paradigm for Jewish congregations is shifting, as well.

Over the years during which Sam was our “Fearless Leader,” we’ve met in a community cen-

ter, two churches, and, for the past two years in this welcoming chapel. We’ve longed for a

permanent home, and yet, wisely, I think, remained a synagogue without walls, in order to put

our fiscal resources into programming and services, rather than bricks and mortar. We’ve de-

veloped a sweet Tot Shabbat, a vibrant Torah Study group, two cohorts of B’nei Simchat

Chochmah, a Women’s Rosh Chodesh group…We’ve celebrated Havdallah under the stars,

Tashlich in the park, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Tu BiSh’vat, Purim, Pesach, and

Shavuot in a number of locales. We get together for Shabbat dinners, sometimes meet for a

bite before services, and we are there for one another during times of simcha/joy as well as

times of tzurot/deep sadness.

And, though we stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us, and our communi-

ty was actually established in 1993, it wasn’t until 2005/2006 that we established a Board of

Directors and secured our 501c3 status. Going from a “Task Force” concept to a Board of

Directors, with a change of mindset and leadership, it was Sam Lieberman who was our

Nachshon, willing to figuratively wade into the waters of it that the Board members have tak-

en more prominent participation in congregational programs and events; and everyone has

grown in understanding the responsibilities of governance of this holy congregation. We are

so very grateful.

Sam is no stranger to leadership roles, though. He has served as in leadership roles in Las

Vegas for over 27 years. He sits as Chair on the UNLV College of Liberal Arts Community

Advisory Board, has served as Chair of the Nevada State Democratic Party; he has headed up

the volunteers for the Las Vegas Marathon; and is currently Director of Government and

Community Affairs for PDQ Printing and is the Government and Community Affairs Special-

ist for Easter Seals. He may be retiring as President of the CPT Board of Directors, but you

know what retiring is….changing ones tires to go faster in another direction. Stay tuned for

the exciting new directions towards which Sam will be heading.

Sam has been the engineer on our little locomotive and he’s handled the challenges with

equanimity, skill, wisdom, and a wry sense of humor. “Lo alecha ha’m’lachah lig’mor” It is

not incumbent upon you to complete all the work , our sages teach…..”yet,” the maxim con-

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has helped us chug part way up the mountain.

He has seen the potential of this community and has nurtured us…and he has been there for

me, your rabbi, as sounding board, as moral support… as a good friend. And, oh yes, he is

often referred to as the 5th Mintz son.

This evening we have welcomed Shabbat together, honored our beloved Shmu and have felt

the warmth of this very special community. We’re a holy community of people who re-

spect one another, who pray, dance, sing, learn, do acts of lovingkindness, and genuinely

care for one another. And that’s a pretty precious commodity nowadays. Sam Lieberman

has helped us build a community based on shared Jewish values and a community in which

every person is valued and special.

Therefore, I’d like to end my remarks this evening with one of the readings we have in our

supplement booklet is entitled Psalm 55, based on a poem by Danny Siegel. I invite you to

open your supplement to page 3 and read it with me:

Happy are we whose synagogue is small

Because we love each Jew

Because we have to

Because we do

Happy are our children

Who sit in sixes and fours

Learning Torah

Doing Mitzvot

Because the rabbi knows them well enough

To know them.

Happy are our homemade caterings

Our On’gai Shabbat

Our learning around the rabbi’s table

Happy the soul who enters this space

Wherever it may be

Wherever are we

To meditate, sing, or sit in peace

Happy are we whose room is a shul

And whose temple is home.

Blessings and deep thanks to Sam Lieberman, for leading us up the mountain…

And we now turn the wheel over to our new C.J.O. (Chief Jewish Officer), Barbara Hol-

land, and the new Board of Directors, to take “the little congregation that can” to new

heights.

Ken y’hi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

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Independence Day Shabbat Summer

CALENDAR AT A GLANCE:

July 4 Independence Day

July 5 Shabbat Around the Valley—Hosted by Sam Lieberman

July 11 CPT Board Meeting 7:00pm—7:00 pm at Sam Lieberman’s

July 8 Simchat Chochmah 7:00 pm

July 12 Shabbat Around the Valley—Hosted by Jennifer Cohen

July 15 Simchat Chochmah 7:00 pm

July 16 Tish’a B’Av

July 19 Shabbat Around the Valley—Hosted by Rabbi Mintz

July 22 Simchat Chochmah 7:00 pm

July 25-28 Women’s Retreat—Park City Utah

July 26 Shabbat Around the Valley– Hosted by Barbara & Andy Holland

July 29 Simchat Chochmah 7:00 pm

Blessing for the Month of Tammuz/AV This month is the right time to slow down and reflect upon our personal

challenges and how we handle the successes and losses in our lives. Is

there a balance of inner and outer harmony? May we be blessed with

the ability to begin our soul work. May we be blessed with the

knowledge that within our holy community we are there for one anoth-

er. Amen.

Kol Kiruv, the newsletter of Congregation P’nai Tikvah, is available on-line at www.pnaitikvahlv.org at no cost. If mailed, hard copy delivery is $36 annually. Please notify us and remit payment .