new voice • january 2007 • congregation b'nai jeshurun

INSIDE:

2 Social Action/Social JusticeStill Cooking After All these Years!

Survey Says... BJ’s Going Green!

3 Marshall T. Meyer FellowshipBrent Chaim Spodek

4 Marshall T. Meyer FellowshipChen Ben Or Tsfoni

5 Announcements

6 Calendar

8 Youth and Family EducationNot by might, not by power?Why not?

Important Dates for January

9 Upcoming Community Activities

10 Upcoming Limud

11 Donations

12 Contacts

SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New York, NY 10023 • TEL: 212.787.7600 • FAX: 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE: www.bj.org

NEW VOICE • January 2007 • CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN

Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon

braham Joshua Heschel was born in Warsaw one hundred years ago, onJanuary 11, 2007, a descendant of distinguished Hassidic rebbes. Dr.

Heschel became one of the towering religious figures of our time as atheologian, scholar, spiritual guide, moral beacon and activist, his impactextending well beyond the confines of the Jewish community. Indeed, Heschelembodied an extremely rare combination of erudition, sublime piety,penetrating insights, radical ideas, inspired use of language, propheticindignation, compassion, and commitment to action. Dr. Heschel’s teachings andexample lie at the very core of our BJ community today. Rabbi Marshall T.Meyer revered Heschel and propagated his legacy with love and passionthroughout his rabbinate. Many of Marshall’s students who never even metHeschel in person adopted him as our one of our most important rebbes andcontinue to learn and spread his legacy. For the past twenty-one years BJ hasbeen shaped by Rabbi Heschel’s teachings: from the way in which we pray toour approach to Jewish law and ritual, from our study of Jewish texts to ourwrestling with existential questions and the perplexing issues of our day, fromour social activism to our inter-religious dialogue. The occasion of AbrahamJoshua Heschel’s centennial is a great opportunity to discover him for the firsttime or to rediscover him for the hundredth time, and to be challenged by histeachings. Heschel left many books on a wide variety of religious subjects, I wishto recommend some of these masterpieces for our personal spiritual,intellectual and moral enrichment:

The Sabbath: a profound, erudite and poetical reflection on the meaning of theShabbat as holiness in time.

Man Is Not Alone and God in Search of Man: twin volumes on faith and on therelevance of religion as an answer to our ultimate questions.

Quest for God: Heschel conveys many important rabbinic and Hassidic teachingsin one of the deepest books on the nature of prayer and the experience of theperson who prays. This small volume is indispensable for those seeking seriousand meaningful prayer.

A Passion for Truth: Completed shortly before his untimely death, this is a studyof two radically different Hassidic paths, that of the Baal Shem Tov and that ofMenahem Mendl of Kotzk, as well as the parallels between the Kotzker and thefather of modern existentialism, Soren Kierkegaard.

The Ineffable Name of God: Man: Heschel’s exquisite poetry written during hisyouth in pre-World War II Europe, in Yiddish with English translation.

Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: essays edited by Heschel’s daughter,Susannah Heschel, on a variety of topics such as theology, prayer, the role ofhalakha, Israel, interreligious dialogue, and activism.

As we study and celebrate the life and work of this tzaddik during hiscentennial year, may we merit some of the profound blessings of his legacy. !

rabbi’s message

A


NEW VOICE • January 2007

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he Judith Bernstein Lunch Program,named in loving memory of a BJmember tragically killed on Pan AmFlight 103, has been serving ourcommunity for 20 years!

And we have grown. We have become part of a much greatercommunity working to alleviate hunger. We are more aware ofthe challenges of hunger, poverty, and homelessness whichface so many people in New York City.

Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer led the way in envisioning a lunchprogram that treated our neighbors like honored anddignified guests in our own warm, loving home. Today weprovide a five-course, sit-down meal to about 600 people amonth. We welcome families with children, homeless men andwomen, seniors unable to cook for themselves, and theworking poor regardless of age, gender, religion, ethnicity orbackground.

As always, every guest is personally welcomed and served by avolunteer. Guests linger to delight in the music of ourvolunteer musician and singer, Doug. Most of our guests nowknow the words to Hava Nagila and sing along!

On the way out, each departing guest receives a care packagefrom our pantry to take home. The food, caring service, andmusic create a bond between volunteers and guests that is farmore lasting than the hour spent together. Through the storiesof our guests, we have learned about the great and uniquechallenges they face, and what it might take to overcomethem.

As a congregation, BJ members contribute every RoshHashanah to the West Side Campaign Against Hunger(WSCAH), an innovative food pantry based in the newlyrenovated space at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew(SPSA). A BJ member sits on the WSCAH board.

BJ has also signed on to the Food Bank’s “Anti-Hunger Policy

Platform for New York State and City 2007-2012.” We havegone to the annual Food Bank conferences to learn moreabout the impact of hunger what we can do about it here, inthe richest city in the richest country in the world.

And we’re not alone! We partner with organizations such asthe Youth Services Opportunities Program, which sends uschurch and school groups from all over the country. They areeager to roll up their sleeves, get to work, socialize with ourguests, and learn about Judaism.

In November, we hosted a group of mentally disabled studentsfrom the Community Action School who were fulfilling acommunity service requirement. Their teacher told us, “Bydoing community service my students, who are mentallydisabled, are able not only to enjoy giving to others but alsoto improve their own life skills.”

Yes. We are still cooking after 20 years. We provide a uniqueand special volunteer experience both to BJ members and todiverse groups of people who want to help alleviate hunger.We are having a small effect on the terrible epidemic ofhunger in our city, and we are learning more about how topartner with others to make a bigger difference. Come roll upyour sleeves and get to work with us! !

—The Volunteers of the Judith Bernstein Lunch Program

Come Cook with Us!•

Join our friendly and warm volunteer teams.We have three shifts per week:

Wednesday 5:00-8:00PM, Cooking and Set-up

Thursday 9:00-11:00AM, Food Prep

Thursday 11:45AM-1:15PM, Lunch Serving•

To learn more or to volunteer, contact Susan Samuelsat [email protected] or x338.

SOCIAL ACTION/SOCIAL JUSTICE

Still Cooking After All These Years!

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Panim el Panim’s Environmental Action Hevra sends a bigTHANK YOU to the nearly 300 congregants who took the timeto respond to our survey. Our response rate—17% of all BJHouseholds – well exceeded our expectations. The questionthat evoked the greatest consensus—a whopping 84%—was,“If I knew how to remove my name from junk mail lists, Iwould do it!” And the two major motivations for BJ’ers to takepersonal action were: a sense of moral obligation and a senseof urgency about the fate of our planet.

We also found that you’re already doing a lot, but you needhelp and information to do more! More than half of therespondents have one or more compact fluorescent lights intheir homes. But if BJ were to make energy-saving light bulbsavailable, over 80% of you said you would or might buy them.Forty-one percent said you would consider purchasing greenpower, but 20% wanted more information. Most of you wouldrecycle batteries, old electronics, computers and parts andplastics if you knew where to send them.

Survey Says… BJ’s Going Green!

(continued on page 4)



3

Brent Spodek could have made other choices.

He didn’t have to go to rabbinical school; in fact, healready had begun what seemed likely to blossom into a

flourishing career as a journalist. He wasn’t one of thoserabbinical students who always knew what he had to do.

But as he grew older, as he grew more and more willing to seethe world from the outside perspective he believes Judaismprovides, the path before him grew more and more clear.

Brent, who is 31, grew up in Brooklyn—in Bergen Beach and inConey Island. He had a childhood in some ways typical of theJews who grew up in Brooklyn a generation or two before hedid. He was not Jewishly active as a child—“Jewishness wassort of everywhere and nowhere all at once then,” he said. Hewent to Stuyvesant High School, and it was there that hisJewish life really began. “I had a teacher who started givingme books about the intellectual New York Jewish crowd,” hesaid. “I read Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, Alfred Kazin’s Walker InThe City.” He spent about an hour and a half on the train ineach direction, developing both his crossword puzzle skills andhis sense of Jewishness.

“I began to understand Judaism as something that stooddistinct and possibly even in opposition to normative Americanculture,” Brent said. “It’s like learning a language—you don’trealize that you think in English until you learn to think insomething else. It gave me an alternative point of view forthinking about things, for making decisions. For example,when you grow up in America the primacy of the individual isa given. That’s a wonderful and powerful thing, but it wasn’tuntil I started engaging with Judaism that I realized that youcould just as easily place community or family as the primaryvalue.”

Brent began college at the University of Wisconsin at Madisonand spent the next year at Kibbutz Malkiah in northern Israel.The kibbutz was built on the socialist principals of thepioneers and was a dinosaur even then. “My romance and mydisillusionment happened at once,” he said. At the same time,he fell deeply in love with the ideals of early Zionism andrealized that he was witnessing the death throes of thoseideals. It seemed clear to him that Israel’s promise as the hopeof the Jewish people and the pain it brought to thePalestinians who had lived in it were inextricably fused.

After six months on the kibbutz and six months at theUniversity of Haifa, Brent went back home and transferred to

Wesleyan University. There he majored in political science andwrote for its newspaper, as well as for the Hartford Courant.He was involved with the school’s egalitarian minyan and wasguided by its rabbi, who was lesbian, Reconstructionist, andwonderful. It was there that he met the woman he was tomarry, Alison Keimowitz, who went on to earn a doctorate inenvironmental chemistry and now teaches at Columbia. Aftergraduation, the two moved to Durham, North Carolina, whereAlison was able to get a job in her field and Brent became areporter for the Durham Herald-Sun. “Life was good,” Brentsays.

And yet…

For almost five months, Brent and Alison bicycled across theUnited States. “It was one of the greatest things I’ve ever donein my life,” Brent says. During that trip, out under the stars,away from schedules, far from home, alone with the womanhe loved, open to whatever he saw, felt, tasted, smelled, andlearned, he decided that the career path he was on was agood one but not for him.

He went to Israel, studied at Pardes, and worked as aconsultant for the American Red Cross. His work was amongboth Jews and Palestinians; “I was very acutely aware of whatit is to work out what’s right, what’s good,” he said. “And itwas there that I decided I wanted to go to rabbinical school. Iwanted to spend my life simultaneously deeply involved withJewish texts and also in understanding how they might guideus in trying to figure out what’s right and good in the eyes ofGod.”

Brent is now a student at the Jewish Theological Seminary anda Marshall T. Meyer Fellow at BJ. “BJ works,” he says. “It’screative and sustaining a rich religious environment. It’s almostlike a Petri dish, where people’s very real and very meaningfulreligious experiences can grow.”

He’ s not sure what he wants to do after the fellowship, but“what’s clear to me is that I want to live a religious life inwhich justice and prayer have absolutely central roles,” hesaid. ‘I have a very good life. I feel immensely obligated toGod for being alive. My commitment to social justice comesout of this sense of indebtedness. God doesn’t need anythingfrom me, so it’s only doing things for God’s creatures who aresuffering that can help me repay my debt, the debt I owe Godfor just being alive.” !

—Joanne Palmer

MARSHALL T. MEYER FELLOWSHIP

Brent Chaim Spodek

When you look at Chen Tsfoni’s life, you can seethat her decision to go to rabbinical school was so

logical that it was practically overdetermined. Still,anyone who would have predicted such a choice when she

was a child would have been laughed out of the room.

Chen was born in 1963 to parents who made aliyah from Iraq.The family was flexibly Orthodox, Mizrachi style; “traditionwas very natural in our house,” she says. She was tapped foran intelligence unit for her army service. After the army, shewent to a workshop for young leaders of the kibbutzmovement—her family had moved to a kibbutz when she was12. “Kibbutz youth lack education about their own history,”she says; this program explored ways to help fill that hole,looking at three intertwined subjects, Judaism, Zionism, andcommunication. It was in this program that Chen met herhusband, Guy Tsfoni. The two of them, building on what theylearned at this program and later at Oranim College, wereamong the founders of Hamidrasha.

Chen and her friends realized that Jewish identity must beexplained and taught, even in Israel; even in a country of Jews,some things are not obtainable by osmosis. After YitzhakRabin’s assassination, she says, that understanding becamemore widespread, but when Hamidrasha began, itsprogramming was unique.

“You cannot give up on Jewish identity just because you arenot religious,” she says. “People need it. They want tounderstand their roots. Religion was a natural part of theirgrandparents’ lives; even if they didn’t practice, they knewwhat they weren’t doing. Then a generation came that didn’tknow.”

Chen became a social worker. She found the work satisfyingbut after awhile it was not enough. Then she made her firstvisit to BJ. “It was a shock to find that there is a way to be

Jewish so creatively, so freely, and it inspired me,” she said. Shewas living in a moshav in northern Israel; “we started asynagogue and we started to invite people for Shabbatservices.”

“It was a very liberal synagogue, without rabbis,” shecontinues. “We established our own prayerbook; we werelooking for our own language. In Israel, people either areOrthodox or nothing. We wanted to open a space for peoplewho wanted spirituality but didn’t want to identify themselvesas religious.”

The synagogue is growing. “Last service, we had 100 people,”Chen said in November, just before she left Israel for NewYork. It’s called Nigun HaLev—Melody of the Heart.

Services have been led by three people, including Chen.“When we started I wasn’t doing it, but then my girlfriendssaid we want to have a woman, and I said okay, I can try,” shesays. “I never thought of myself as someone who was leadingservice—but then it just became natural for me to lead it.”

The next step was rabbinical school. “Around me there is noone who ever went to rabbinical school,” she says. “It’s not anoption. When they first heard, people were just like ‘What?’”Now, though, they think it’s great.

Chen has finished three years at Hebrew Union College inJerusalem; she’s in New York for two years, to finish herstudies at HUC here. The whole family’s moved here; Guy is ashaliach for the Jewish Agency and their three children, Nir, 5,Michal, 7, and Shai, 12, are at the Heschel School.

“We’re here for two years, and then we’re going back,” Chensays. “Israel is our place. That’s where we want to change theworld.” !

—Joanne Palmer

SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New York, NY 10023 • TEL: 212.787.7600 • FAX: 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE: www.bj.org4


MARSHALL T. MEYER FELLOWSHIP

Chen Ben Or Tsfoni

Food is one thing we know you care about! The survey showsthat when BJ’ers shop for food, you shop organic and locallyover 60% of the time. One-quarter are willing to join aCommunity-Supported Agriculture project, and 43% wantedmore information. Half of our survey respondents sometimespurchase environmentally friendly products, but 26% said theypurchase conventional products because they don’t knowenough about alternatives. One-third said they woulddefinitely buy a hybrid car!

What should the Environmental Action Hevra do? We gotyour suggestions for everything from getting more info aboutcleaning products to supporting efforts to create more bike

lanes—and several requests for BJ to lower the airconditioning at 88th St.! The hevra will consider all of yoursuggestions. To get involved, write [email protected], or call Laura at x261.

And who responded? We received surveys from householdsincluding 561 adults and 99 children. Two-thirds ofrespondents are female; 44% are between 40-60 years of age;and 78% live in Manhattan. Stay tuned to our environmentalupdates to find out how you can adopt sustainable practices inyour home, support efforts to green our synagogue, and addyour voice to local policy campaigns. !

Survey Says...BJ’s Going Green! (continued from page 2)

To the following members and their families on theirbat/bar mitzvah (through December):

Jessica Hirschhorn

Brennan Bassman

Anna Bernstein

Stuart Spivak

Tai Bendit-Shtull

Griffin Brown

Melanie Blank


Mazal Tov

Todah rabbah

Condolences (through November 24)

announcements

5

HADASH•NEW VOICE • January 2007

To the following members and their families (through November 24):

Stephanie and Michael Chaly on the naming of their daughter,Julia.

Gabrielle, Jonathan, Yaniv and Maya Silver-Lewis on the naming oftheir daughter and sister, Ella Amalya.

Robin Harper and Thomas, Maximilian and Louisa Eckhardt on thebirth of their daughter and sister, Raphaelle Eckhardt.

Erin Carlin and Yonaton Koch on their recent wedding.

Jacqueline Schatz and David Martinez on the birth of theirdaughter, Veronica Schatz Martinez.

Nathalie, Ed, Bella, Lilly and Joan B. Kaplan on the birth of theirdaughter, granddaughter and sister, Chloe Meredith.

Sally Gottesman and Rachel Tiven on the birth of their daughter.

Tony Kushner on receiving the JFREJ Marshall T. Meyer Risk-TakerAward.

BJ High Holy Day musician Susan Pereira on the release of her newCD “Tudo Azul” with her group Sabor Brasil, which also includesSusan's husband, BJ member Vanderlei Pereira.

BJ musician Matt Turk on the release of his new CD “WashingtonArms“ as well as the additional single “The Fog of War,” featuringPete Seeger on the banjo.

The community of B’nai Jeshurun extends condolencesto the following members and their families:

Frances Greenberg on the death of her beloveddaughter, Anne Koffler.

Marge, Judah, Talya and Eilat Gubbay on the death ofMarge's beloved sister, Doris Ishaky.

Miriam Herscher on the death of her beloved cousin,Rina Chagy Thompson.

Jonathan, Beth, Sara, Benjamin, and Adam Kern on thedeath of their grandfather and great-grandfather,Michael Kern.

Amos, Andrea, Ben, and Maddie Neufeld on the deathof their beloved father, father-in-law, and grandfather,Ernest Neufeld.

Diego Syrowicz on the death of his beloved grandfather,Shilem Gajnaj.

Elizabeth and Gail Amsterdam on the death of theirbeloved brother and uncle, Martin Burwick.

Larry, Lisa, Michael, Hannah, and Benjamin Davidoff onthe death of their beloved brother, brother-in-law, anduncle, Howard Davidoff.

Howard Perlman on the death of his beloved father,Max Perlman.

Jeff Perlah and Pauline Nelson on the death of Jeff’sbeloved father, Arnold Perlah.

Jeff, Paula, and Eli Weiss on the death of Jeff's belovedfather, Nathan Weiss.

We would like to thank the entire Kazis family for re-kindling thefour stained glass windows on either side of the bimah at the 88thStreet Sanctuary in honor of the birthday of Samantha Ann Phillips,daughter of Keren Kazis Phillips and Bradley Phillips.

BJHS CLOSEDBJ OFFICE CLOSED

BJHS CLOSED

• 5 PM – 3rd Grade Familiescook for the Shelter,88th St. Frankel Hall

• 6 PM – Annual Interfaith Lecture:Dead Sea Scrolls, 88th St. (SEE P.10)

• 5 PM – BJHS MishpahaBet, 88th St.

• 5 PM – BJHSGan and Alep88th St.

SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New6

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSD

servicetimes

JANUARY 2007 – Tevet/SHEVAT 5767

421

11987 10

18161514 17

25232221 24

302928 31

Morning Minyan (88th Street)• Monday–Friday 7:30 AM • Sunday & National Holidays 9:30 AM

Kabbalat Shabbat• Kabbalat Shabbat 5:45 PM 88th St. Sanctuary • 7:15 PM 88th St. Sanctuary• Additional Services January 5: Wandering Minyan 5:45 PM 88th St. Frankel Hall • Family Service 5:45 PM 88th St. Sanctuary• Additional Service January 26: Contemplative Shabbat 5:45 PM 86th St. Sanctuary

Shabbat Morning• 9:30 AM 86th St. Sanctuary • Children’s Services 10:45 AM 86th St. Chapel• Additional Services January 6, 20: Junior Congregation 10:30 AM 86th St. Social Hall

3

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.DAY

BJHS CLOSEDBJ OFFICE CLOSED

• 5:45 PM – Family Service,88th St. Sanctuary• 5:45 PM – Wandering

Minyan, 88th St. Frankel Hall• 7:15 PM – Kabbalat ShabbatService, 88th St. Sanctuary• Following 7:15 PM Service –Oneg Shabbat, 88th St. Sanctuary

• 9:30 AM – Shabbat MorningServices, 86th St.• 10:30 AM – Junior Congregation,86th St• 10:45 AM – Children’s Services,86th St.• Bat Mitzvah: Sophie Klein• 12:00 PM – RE-IMAGINE Familylunch, 88th St. Frankel Hall• 4 PM – Study of The Sabbathfollowed by havdalah, 86th St.Social Hall (SEE P.10)

• 9:30 AM – Shabbat MorningServices, 86th St.• 10:45 AM – Children’s Services,86th St.• Bar Mitzvah: Jordan Wechsler• Following Shabbat MorningServices: Lunch with Rev. Flowers,88th St. Frankel Hall (SEE P.9)

• 5:45 PM – Kabbalat ShabbatService, 88th St.• 7:15 PM – Kabbalat ShabbatService, 88th St.

• 5:45 PM – Kabbalat ShabbatService, 88th St.• Following 5:45 PM Service –Community Shabbat Dinner, 88th St.Frankel Hall (SEE P.10)• 7:15 PM – Kabbalat ShabbatService, 88th St.

• 5:45 PM – Contemplative ShabbatService, 86th St.• 5:45 PM – Kabbalat ShabbatService, 88th St.• Following 5:45 PM Service –BJHS Vav Dinner, 86th St.• 7:15 PM – Kabbalat ShabbatService, 88th St.

S Mishpahaph,

ROSH HODESH SHEVAT• 9:30 AM – Shabbat MorningServices, 86th St.• 10:30 AM – Junior Congregation,86th St.• 10:45 AM – Children’s Services,86th St.• Community Kiddush, 88th St.• Bar Mitzvah: Oliver Fisher• Rosh Hodesh Women’s Group.lunch, 86th St. (SEE P.10)

• 9:30 AM – Shabbat MorningServices, 86th St.• 10:45 AM – Children’s Services,86th St.• Bat Mitzvah: Aviva Malz• 4:00 PM – Learning in Memory ofShira Palmer-Sherman z”l, 86th St.(SEE P.10)

w York, NY 10023 • TEL: 212.787.7600 • FAX: 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE: www.bj.org 7

DAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

6

1312

2019

2726

Adult ClassesMONDAY• Introduction to Judaism, 7-9 PM

TUESDAY• Gems of Genesis, 8:10-9 AM• Jewish Practice Skills Workshop: Torah Study, 7-8:30 PM

(January 9,16, 23)• Jewish Practice Skills Workshop: Kashrut, 7-8:30 PM

(January 30, February 6, 13)

WEDNEsday• Abraham Joshua Heschel: Moral Grandeur and Spiritual

Audacity, 6:30-8 PM (January 10, 17, 24, 31, February 7, 14)

THURSDAY• Text Study on Mekhilta De Rabbi Ishmael, 12:30-1:45 PM

(January 11, 18, 25, February 1, 8, 25)• Parashat Hashavu’a, 7-8:30 PM

youth ClassesMonday4-5:30 PM, K-1st Grade4-6 PM, 2nd-7th Grade

Tuesday5-7 PM, Lishma

Thursday4-5:30 PM, K-1st Grade4-6 PM, 2nd-6th Grade

ONGOING ACTIVITIESsunday–Thursday• BJ/SPSA Homeless Shelter 7 PM

Wednesday• Kesharim 2 PM

Thursday• Judith Bernstein Lunch Program 12 PM

Candlelighting Times

January 5 4:24 PMJanuary 12 4:31 PMJanuary 19 4:39 PMJanuary 26 4:47 PM

Parashat HaShavu’a

January 6 VayehiJanuary 13 ShemotJanuary 20 Va’eraJanuary 27 Bo

Havdalah Times

January 6 5:28 PMJanuary 13 5:35 PMJanuary 20 5:42 PMJanuary 27 5:50 PM

indicates Family Life and Hebrew School events

5



youth and Family education

ur tradition, at first blush, seems fullof reminders that it’s what’s insidethat counts—that the soul and themind are somehow more important, or

more Jewish, than the body. Remember the Debbie FriedmanHanukkah song, “Not by Might?” borrowed from thehaftarah for Hanukkah, it paraphrases:

“Not by might and not by power,But by spirit alone shall we all live in peace.”

Sitting in Hebrew School and at services, I have watched andparticipated as our children have learned several differentmelodies and hand motions for Modeh Ani, the prayer we sayin our beds in the morning, thanking God for returning oursouls to us when we awake. We sing three different melodiesfor Elohai Nishama, another part of the morning liturgy,announcing that the soul God has given to us is pure. We arenot about might, we are not about power, but about spirit,about soul. We have become a religion of intangibles: offeelings, of thoughts, of justice. Our children obediently donot draw pictures of God, do not ask why there are nopictures of people in our tradition, and live in a world whereShabbat, services, and religious school can be seen ascompetition to and opposites of soccer.

Why have we done this? Why have we written our bodies outof the Jewish picture, acknowledging them only as vessels orvehicles for our souls? Is it any wonder that we are becomingmore and more unhealthy in our bodies, both in how theyfunction and how we perceive them? As Jews, we are not theonly people confronting the health crisis of the twenty-firstcentury. But as Jews, we are uniquely positioned to address itand to bring our bodies back into the picture.

During my first summer at Camp Ramah in Palmer,Massachusetts, I learned about what was jokingly referred toas “the bathroom blessing.” There is some dispute aboutwhether this blessing should be recited upon relieving oneselfin the morning, or if one can hold it, if you’ll pardon the pun,until one arrives at synagogue in the morning, wraps onself inone’s tallit and lays tefillin:

“Praised are you, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe whowith wisdom fashioned the human body, creating openings,arteries, glands and organs, marvelous in structure, intricate indesign. Should but one of them, by being blocked or opened,fail to function, it would be impossible to exist and to standbefore You. Praised are you, Adonai, healer of all flesh whosustains our bodies in wondrous ways.”

Most congregations, including my summer community atcamp, choose to skip over this blessing—perhaps on the

assumption that each of us was taking responsibility forsaying it in a more private setting. However, the goal for thesummer when I was turning thirteen was for all the campersto learn every single part of the morning liturgy, so each dayfor two months, I would recite this blessing aloud, sort ofgrossed-out and suppressing giggles the whole time, with agroup of about eighty other rising eighth graders. For yearsafter that summer, I never gave the blessing much thought.

Then, about fifteen years later, on another soupy western-Massachusetts August day, it came thundering back to me. Iwas sprinting down the finish chute of my first triathlon, alittle sore, very blistered, convinced I could have picked abetter racing outfit, and feeling nothing short of awe at whatmy body had just done. Just past the finish line, through mytears I could see my husband waiting for me, and the wordsof “the bathroom blessing” all of a sudden seemed like theonly thing to say. Because all of my parts and vessels andmuscles worked together so well, here I was, not just about toearn my first medal as a triathlete, but Standing Before You,as it said in the blessing. I thought I was swimming, bikingand running, but all along this had been my prayer.

Training for that first race almost felt like a secret to hide: itwas so other from the rest of my life. It seemed to havenothing to do with praying, with studying, with tikkun olam.I was not racing to raise money for charity—I was racing topush my body to its limits and compete. And yet, I realized asthe finish line got closer and closer, testing my body anddoing something so purely physical was just as Jewish, just asmuch an expression of thanks and praise and awe for myCreator, as any of the other more traditional Jewish things Idid. To take the point to its extreme end, if I was a creaturecreated in the image of my Creator, then a part of God wasprobably an athlete too.

Since that first race, I have begun to include more Jewishliturgy into my racing, always following the national anthemwith my whispered Sheheheyanu, using the repeatingrhythmic words of the bathroom blessing to increase myturnover midrace, remembering Hanoten L’yaef Koah (the onewho gives strength to the weary) after a particularly nasty fallin the New York City Marathon.

One of my favorite Talmudic characters is Resh Lakish, agladiator (really!) who does teshuvah, escapes his master, andcomes to the study of Torah. He sort of serves as the dumbjock foil to Rabbi Yochanan, but he often has wisdom tospeak, too. Aside from Resh Lakish, I was hard-pressed to comeup with a list of Jewish athletes. Yes, there are Israeli athletes,and athletes who happen to be Jewish, but there are very fewwho see their physical achievements as fully integrated into arich Jewish life, as an expression of their Jewish identities.

ONot by might, not by power? Why not?

(continued on page 9)

SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New York, NY 10023 • TEL: 212.787.7600 • FAX: 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE: www.bj.org 9


youth and Family education

Important Dates for JanuaryFamily Programs

Saturday, January 6, 10:30AM, 86th Street Social Hall: . . . . . .Junior CongregationTuesday, January 9, 5:00PM, Frankel Hall: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3rd Grade Families Cook for the Shelter

Saturday, December 20, 10:30AM, 86th Street Social Hall: . . . . . .Junior Congregation

Teen ProgramsTuesday, January 2, 5:00PM, BJ Office: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lishma Teen Learning ProgramMartin Luther King, Jr. Weekend: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8th and 9th Grade Community Service Trip

to Rebuild the Gulf Coast with JFSJHebrew School ProgramsThursday, January 11, 5:00PM, 88th Street: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BJHS Gan and Aleph Mishpaha Family Learning ProgramFriday, January 26, following the 5:45PM Kabbalat Shabbat Service: . . . . .BJHS Vav Family Shabbat DinnerMonday, January 29, 5:00PM, 88th Street: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BJHS Bet Mishpaha Family Learning ProgramMonday, January 29, 6:15PM: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BJHS Staff Development Session

Hebrew School is closed for winter break through January 7, 2007. Classes resume on January 8, 2007.

Shabbat Oneg: A Taste of the World to Come!Friday, January 5 and February 2, following the

late service, 88th StreetShabbat in the 21st century doesn’t have to look like

the traditional meal of generations past—maybe there’slive music, maybe there’s no Manischewitz. You bring thekosher wine/grape juice (we ask everyone to contribute) andwe’ll provide light finger food and a great space to socialize.

Community Shabbat DinnerFriday, January 19, following 5:45PM Shabbat service, 88thStreet Frankel Hall.Cost: Please check the Kol Jeshurun and www.bj.org forfurther details.

In commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s BirthdayShabbat morning, January 13Luncheon to follow with Rev. FlowersPlease join us in welcoming Reverend Kenneth James Flowersto our services on this Shabbat. Reverend Flowers will bevisiting from Detroit, Michigan where he is the Pastor atGreater New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church.Reverend Flowers is well known for his passion for social justiceand the unity of humanity. He has visited Israel on fouroccasions and is committed to Black-Jewish dialogue. Heinitiated interfaith dialogue in his home town with an ongoingrelationship with Temple Beth El, the oldest synagogue inMichigan. Please join us for a buffet brunch at 88th Streetimmediately following services. Cost $15 per person,registration required. For more information, please visitwww.bj.org or call Sarah Michelson at x234.

upcoming community activities

Not by might, not by power? Why not? (continued from page 8)

Several years back, there was a religious basketball player atthe University of Maryland, but I cannot think of so manyother examples. (I invite you to correct me and help me buildmy short list of Jewish athletes. I share with you the exampleof Malky, a religious girl who stood next to me at the startingline of the Westchester Triathlon this September wearing, I kidyou not, a skirt over her wetsuit.)

It’s January, and we are in the heart of the winter doldrums.Each year, Jewish educators suggest that you schlep the familyaround outside for Tu BiShevat, looking at trees in winter,reminding yourself that spring has sprung in Israel, and that it

is Jewish for us to act as custodians for the beautiful worldthat God created for us. I would like to suggest that whileyou are schlepping the family around outside, looking at thetrees, that you tell your children that all of the activities theydo with their bodies, whether sledding, or skiing, or skating,or running or jumping or walking, can be prayers. Yes, thesouls that God has given us are pure, but our bodies arepretty great, too, and just as God-given.

And if you’re looking for a running partner, call me. I’malready training for Ironman Lake Placid in July! !

—Hollis Gauss, Director of Education



Shabbat: A Sanctuary in TimeRabbi Jay Moses, Chapter 3Saturday, January 6 • 4:00PM• 86th St. Social Hall • Cost: Free, registration not

required. During the course of Abraham JoshuaHeschel’s centennial year, we will read together as a

community Heschel’s The Sabbath. On the first Shabbatof each month, a different rabbi/teacher in our community willteach one chapter through various sources. All are encouragedto buy the book and bring it to the Shabbat afternoon sessions(copies of each chapter will not be distributed). All sessions willconclude with havdalah except for April, May and June.

Jewish Practice Skills Workshop: Torah StudyRabbi Dara Frimmer, Marshall T. Meyer Fellow3 Tuesdays (January 9, 16, 23) • 7:00–8:30PM • 86th St. Chapel• Cost: Free, registration required. What are the wide range ofJewish texts and what skills are used to understand them?What are some of the techniques used by the rabbis tounderstand the Torah and can we learn how to better dissect aJewish text?

Abraham Joshua Heschel: Moral Grandeurand Spiritual AudacityRabbi J. Rolando Matalon6 Wednesdays (January 10, 17, 24, 31, February 7, 14)• 6:30–8:00PM • 88th St. Frankel Hall • Cost: Free, registrationrequired. We will mark Heschel’s centennial by reviewing someof his teachings on faith, spirituality, halakhah and socialactivism.

Lunchtime class: Text Study on Mekhilta De Rabbi IshmaelRabbi Felicia L. Sol6 Thursdays (January 11, 18, 25, February 1, 8, 25)• 12:30–1:45PM • BJ Office, Ansonia Building, 2109 Broadway,Suite 203 • Cost: Free, registration required. In the months whenwe read and experience Yitzi’at Mitzrayim (the Exodus fromEgypt) and Kabbalat HaTorah (the Revelation of Torah), we willdo a close text study on this early midrashic work on the bookof Exodus with a primary focus on the midrashim on theExodus and the Revelation on Mount Sinai. Texts will be givenout in Hebrew and English, though studied in English. No priorknowledge necessary.

Rosh Hodesh Women’s Group for ShevatSaturday, January 20 • Potluck lunch following Shabbat morningservices • 86th St. • Cost: Free, registration not requiredJoin Rabbis Felicia Sol, Dara Frimmer and Lauren Holtzblatt tostudy and pray together on this holiday traditionally associatedwith women. Please bring a dairy/vegetarian/kosher snack foreveryone to share.

Looking Toward Shabbat Shira: An afternoon of learningin memory of Shira Palmer-Sherman z”lRabbi Joanna SamuelsSaturday, January 27 • 4:30PM • 86th St. Social Hall • Cost: Free,registration required.

Annual Interfaith Lecture: The Significance of the Dead SeaScrolls for Judaism and ChristianityDr. Adolfo RoitmanTuesday, January 30 • 6:00–8:00PM • 88th St. Sanctuary• Cost: Free, registration required. Join the Interfaith Committeeand SPSA as we welcome guest speaker Dr. Adolfo Roitman. Dr.Roitman is the curator of the Shrine of the Book at the IsraelMuseum of Jerusalem. The Shrine of the Book houses theincredible Dead Sea Scroll collection, so we are pleased he willbe sharing his wealth of knowledge with us through anentertaining presentation. For more information, call theInterfaith hotline at x379.

Jewish Practice Skills Workshop: KashrutRabbi Dara Frimmer, Marshall T. Meyer Fellow3 Tuesdays (January 30, February 6, 13) • 7:00–8:30PM • 86th St.Chapel • Cost: Free, registration required. Chewing cud, splithooves, scales and fins, meat and milk: Come learn how tonavigate the vast system of rules and regulations of keepingkosher while uncovering principles of conscientiousconsumption and marking sacred time.

First Annual Stuart Polly Interfaith Study:Introduction to Islam for Jews and ChristiansRabbi David Freidenreich, PhD4 Thursdays (February 1, 8, 15, 22) • 7:15–9:00PM• 86th St. Parlor Room • Cost: Free, registration requiredThis course introduces the basics of Islam: Muhammad and theQuran, Islamic belief and practice, Islam from Muhammad tomodernity, and Islam in America. It is designed for members of BJand SPSA and will assume minimal knowledge of the faith andtraditions of our Muslim neighbors. Students will be expected toattend regularly and to participate in discussion. The course willbe taught by Rabbi David Freidenreich, PhD, whose Columbiadoctoral dissertation dealt with comparative study of the threeIslamic faiths, and will feature speakers representing the diversityof Islam in the metropolitan area.

upcoming LIMUD

SAVE THE DATE!•

The 2nd Annual “Music of the BJ Shabbat Musicians”Saturday, February 3 • 8PM

Join us as we celebrate with our resident musiciansas they gather to present their ownoriginal musicand amazing artistry.

The different bands will offer an eclectic mix of stylesincluding Middle Eastern, cocktail cabaret, classical

and traditional Jewish song.

AdultEducation Fund

Alan and Mimi FrankBernice Todres in memory of MimiFrank's father and Lois Sharzer'smother

B’nai Mitzvah FundSusan Lerner in memory of hergrandfather, Jack March

Bikkur Holim FundArt and June NislickMarla and Harold Parnes and familyin memory of Mark Lipsy's wife,Denyse Dolny-Lipsy

Daily Minyan FundSamuel and Maureen Mann in honorof Ari Priven for all his hard workand dedication

Darfur FundGertrude Litowitz in honor of CecilleDavis on her special birthday

Etz Hayim FundHelena Diamant Glass in memory ofLeon Levy, father and father-in-lawof Mimi and Alan Frank

Samara Minkin and Trent Gegax

General FundDavid and Herzlia Clain in honor oftheir granddaughter SophieBrowner’s bat mitzvah

George Kaplan and Miriam Harris-Kaplan in honor of SandeeBrawarsky being named KallatBereshit

Arthur and June Nislick in honor ofthe conversion of Aaron MatanBrunnlehrman

Steven Price in honor of David Price'sspecial birthday

Lana A. Kalickstein in honor of theBJ Sukkahfest 2006 Participants

Stephen and Deirdre Kessler in honorof Sandee Brawarsky as KallatBereshit and her engagement toBarry Lichtenberg

Susan Landau and Thomas Reiner inmemory of Lois Sharzer's mother,Sylvia Ziev

Susan Landau and Thomas Reiner inhonor of Fern and Dan Flamberg

Membership Committee in honor ofthe bar mitzvah of Ira Wolfman’sson, Perry Small-Wolfman

Abigail Moore and LeonardWasserman for the speedy recoveryof Paul Freireich and Talia Gubbay’sbrother

Abigail Moore and LeonardWasserman in honor of themarriage of Caroline Harris andHoward Goldman

Irene and Joe PerlHeidi C. Ruzumna and Josh Lukaris inhonor of the upcoming wedding ofLaura Horwitz and Guy Friedman

Howard and Susan Weissman inhonor of the Fredman family

Brett and Dale Yacker in honor oftheir daughter Weslee's bat mitzvah

Hebrew School FundGlenn Marlowe and Judy Geller-Marlowe in honor of the barmitzvah of Matthew Ross

Homeless Shelter FundTammy and Rocco Caputo, inmemory of Eileen Mullen's mother,Lucy Manzo

Susan King

Judith Bernstein Lunch ProgramJack and Muriel Brawarsky in honorof Ida Brown

Glenn Marlowe and Judy Geller-Marlowe in memory of ElanaRobert’s father, Jordan Fendell

Glenn Marlowe and Judy Geller-Marlowe in memory of LoisSharzer's mother, Sylvia Ziev

Glenn Marlowe and Judy Geller-Marlowe in honor of WesleeYacker's bat mitzvah

Lorraine Korn in memory of FrancesGreenberg's daughter, RosalieLinsky

Ceil Kraus in memory of her mother,Anna Handelsman

Samara Minkin and Trent Gegax

Marshall T. Meyer Memorial FundBarbara, Eric and Gwen Schwimmerin memory of their husband andfather, Robert Schwimmer

Rabbi Felicia Sol’s Discretionary FundJoyce Morris in memory of MarkLipsy's wife, Denyse Dolny-Lipsy

Social Action FundLynn and David Badain in honor ofAllegra Allen's birthday

Ruth Joseph in honor of the BJLiteracy Partners

Malcolm and Estelle Newman inhonor of their grandchildren

Helene and Seymour Schechter inhonor of Seymour Schechter

Yizkor FundMyriam Abramowicz in memory ofher parents, Mendel and LeaAbramowicz and in honor ofSandee Brawarsky

Sheila Bleckner in memory of herfather, Samuel Kushner

Irwin and Arlene Brandon in memoryof Irwin’s sister, Evelyn Schecter

Ralph Brunswick and Elizabeth Gennin memory of Elizabeth's mother,Eveline Chon Genn

Don and Rochelle Cohen in memoryof Rochelle’s mother, LibbieWeisbard

Marilyn Danzis in memory of hermother, Henrietta Goldstein

Maryline Shrat Erbibou in memory ofBerthe Erbibou

Jonathan and Shirley Feder inmemory of their parents, Franklinand Ruth Feder and Albert andFrances Glick

Lisa Halprin Fleisher in memory ofher grandmother, Doris Halprin

Curtis B. Hayworth in memory of hisfather, Efraim Zalman benBenjamin, his mother, Yitl bat DavidHa Levy, and his wife, Miriam batAbraham

Dorothy HilfJoy and Herbert Horwich in honor ofJane and Robert Baum as KallatTorah and Hatan Torah

Leon and Judith Jacobson in memoryof her mother, Gertrude S. Seidel

David S. Katz in memory of Murrayand Helen Katz

Nina L. Kaufman in memory of hergrandmother, Beryl Berger Kaufman

Norman and Lenore Kaufman inmemory of Lenore’s father, SamuelBuckalter

Florence Keller in memory of hermother, Anna Glick

Ann Kern in memory of her aunt,Helen Goodman

Stephen Kippur in memory of hismother, Shirley Kippur

Deborah Kirschner in memory of hergrandmother, Esther Lindheim

Merryl and Ralph Klein, in memoryof Frances Greenberg's daughter,Anne Koffler

Carole Klepper in memory of herfather, Moe Kaperst

Stefan and Mary KriegerSusan Landau in memory of herhusband, Sidney Landau

David LebensteinCarol Keller in memory of her father,Kenneth Kurt Keller

Fred and Ellen LevineBatya Lewton in memory of herfamily

Jules and Judith Love in memory ofJudith’s father, Nathan Yoselevitz

Gerald and Shirley Margolis inmemory of their parents, Rose andHarry Smiley and Tammie and HarryMargolis

Arthur and Hannah Margulies inmemory of Luis Feuer and SamMargulies

Robert and Iris Markewich inmemory of Iris’ mother, Anna Gross

Roly Matalon and Talia Hatzor inmemory of Roly's grandfathers,Elias Teubal and Moises Matalon

Membership Committee in memoryof Ira Wolfman’s father, AaronWolfman

Inez Meisels in memory of her father,Samuel Zuckerman

Hella Moritz in memory of herfather, Armand Henri

Marc Newman in memory of MorrisPolisky

Sherwood and Sallie Newman inmemory of their parents, Morrisand Ida Newman and Ann and JackSilverman

Betty Palmer in memory of herhusband, Morris Stanger

Deborah Pinsky in memory of CarolSilver, mother, mother-in-law andgrandmother to Jonathan, Orli,Eliot and Leah Silver

Deborah Pinsky in memory ofJonathan Kern's grandfather,Michael Kern

Bob ReissWendy S. Roth in memory of herfather, Larry Roth

Jerry and Sheila Rothman in memoryof their parents, Ida and JackZelefsky and Helen and PhilipRothman

Heidi Sadowsky in memory of herfather, Norman Sadowsky

Lisa Schachner in memory of FrancesGreenberg's daughter, Anne Koffler

Helene and Seymour Schechter inmemory of Helene's mother, Leahbat Sarah

Gittel Silverberg in memory of hermother, Pearl Taitelbaum

Barbara Simon in memory of EileenMullen's mother, Lucy Manzo

Andrew T. Slabin in memory of hisgrandparents

Melorra SochetSharon L. Stein in memory of MichaelStein, husband and father

Mark and Robyn TsesarskyAmy Wachtel in memory of herparents, Jacob and Judith Wachtel

Zelda Weiss in memory of her auntLena Friedberg

Erica White in memory of her familyDorothy and Jeanette Winter inmemory of their parents, Fannieand Joseph Winter

SYNAGOGUE: 257 W. 88th St. • OFFICE: 2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203, New York, NY 10023 • TEL: 212.787.7600 • FAX: 212.496.7600 • WEBSITE: www.bj.org 11


(through November 17)donations

KOL HADASHNew VoiceJanuary, 2007

All material is theproperty of CongregationB’nai Jeshurun and cannotbe reprinted withoutpermission.

Editor & Designer:Harriet R. Goren

Illustration: Pam Pritchett

Rabbis:Marshall T. Meyer (1985-1993)J. Rolando MatalonMarcelo R. BronsteinFelicia L. Sol

Hazzan and Music Director:Ari Priven

Marshall T. Meyer Fellows:Rabbi Dara FrimmerRabbi Lauren HoltzblattBrent Chaim Spodek

Executive Director:Deborah Pinsky, x254

Director of Finance &Administration:Ron Seitenbach, x226

Director of Education(Youth & Family):Hollis Gauss, x244

Director of Development:Aviva Raichelson, x242

Director of Membership:Belinda Lasky, x224

Director of Facilities:Roma Serdtse, x350

Director of Social Action/Social Justice:Guy Austrian, x259

Director of Volunteerism:Carol Dikman, x255

Assistant to Rabbi Matalon:Sarah Michelson, x234

Assistant to Rabbi Bronstein:Charles Lenchner, x240

Assistant to Rabbi Sol:Amanda Schanfield, x233

Board of Trustees:

Susan KippurºPresident

Ted BeckerºChair

Robin FleischnerºVice President

Harriet AbrahamºVice President

Irvin RosenthalºVice President

Avi LewittesºTreasurer

Rabbi Rachel CowanºSecretary

Paul DeardsSusan EtraJeff FeigDebra FineDonna FreireichRochelle FriedlichChristina GantcherBarbara Glassman

Robert ImersheinDavid KarnovskyBeth KernRuth LazarusJonathan LittAndrea NewmanIlene RosenthalBenjamin RossStephen StulmanMim Warden

Honorary TrusteesVirginia Bayer*Frederic GoldsteinMarcy Grau*David Hirsch*Richard Janvey*Robert KanterJoan B. KaplanSara Moore Litt*Naomi MeyerJudith Peck*

General CounselJonathan Adelsberg

º Executive Committee Member* Past President

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN2109 Broadway (Ansonia), Suite 203New York, NY 10023

12


SYNAGOGUE:257 West 88th Street

OFFICES:2109 Broadway (Ansonia), #203

Main Telephone Number212-787-7600

Fax Number (2109 Broadway)212-496-7600

Websitewww.bj.org

Committees & Services:Accounts Payable . . . . . . . . . .227Accounts Receivable . . . . . . . .237Adult Education Information. 233Bar/Bat Mitzvah . . . . . . . . . . . .223Bikkur Holim . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308BJ Reads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .391Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .264Daily Minyan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232Deaf & Hard of Hearing . . . .

e-mail: [email protected]: 212-628-7061

Development& Donation Information . . . .242

88th Street Rental . . . . . . . . . .223Family Activities: Hotline . . . .318

Hakhnasat Orhim . . . . . . . . . .351Havurot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222Hevra Kadisha . . . . .212-496-0616Homeless Shelter . . 212-339-4250Interfaith Committee . . . . . . 379Kesharim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

212-799-7979/873-8153Kiddush Scheduling . . . . . . . . .233Kol Jeshurun . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254Ledor Vador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224Lunch Program . . . . . . . . . . . .338Membership Information . . . .224Ralph Bunche School Partnership

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301Shabbat B’Yahad Committee . 233

Social Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259Telephone Language Companion

212-721-9037Teen Programming . . . . . . . . .253Torah/Haftarah Reading . . . . .232Ushering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305Volunteer Information . . . . . .255Youth & Family Education . . .244

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 530New York, NY

new voice • january 2007 • congregation b'nai jeshurun

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