THE VOICETEMPLE BETH ABRAHAM, 1301 WASHINGTON STREET, CANTON, MA 02021

PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY TEVET-ADAR I 5771 / JANUARY-FEBRUARY ISSUE NO. 3

Minyans are Sunday-Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Minyan calendars are enclosed.If you can’t go on your scheduled night, please find someone to cover foryou.

The synagogue would like to be informed about all important events andoccasions, including births, engagements, weddings, awards, etc., as wellas illnesses and deaths. Please notify the office at (781) 828-5250.

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The Lustbader/BabcockHolocaust Memorial Library wasdedicated on Friday, November26th. It was a very moving,emotional evening and a tributeto both those who endured thehorrific events of the Holocauastand those who chose not toclose their eyes to reality.

There now hangs in ourlibrary a beautiful Torah coverembroidered with pearls, hand-made by Joanne BabcockHoward, the daughter whoretold her mother’s story ofsaving children during the Holo-caust. Surrounding the cover arepictures of Joanne’s father and

mother. Joanne’s father Robertwas the TBA Shabbat helper, andduring World War II he made surethat every Jewish casualty heencountered received a Jewishburial. Now, filling our libraryshelves with Holocaust books willbe an ongoing project.

We are so lucky to be able tohave a brand new library and,

more important, a greater apprecia-tion of the history of the Holocaustand of those who stepped up tohelp the Jewish people during oneof our darkest hours. Our deepestthanks to the Lustbader andBabcock families for making this allhappen.

The focal points of the eveningwere the speeches given by DavidLustbader and Joanne BabcockHoward, presented here:

David LustbaderThank you all for coming

tonight. I know the holiday seasoncan be hectic, and we appreciateyour taking the time to be with usfor the library dedication. It is anevent that is very important to two

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Good andGood andGood andGood andGood andWWWWWelfelfelfelfelfararararareeeee

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When I was in rabbinicalschool, I wrote my thesis on thesearch for the sacred. Mypremise was that we are alllooking for sanctity in our livesand that Judaism has something tosay about where to look. It turnsout that throughoutJewish history wehaven’t always lookedin the same “places.”

In our beginnings,ancient Israelites foundGod in stones, bushesand mountains. Later,in the Bible, wediscovered God inTabernacles andTemples. Throughoutthe Biblical period we searched inspace to find holiness. Still today,we go to sanctuaries, chapels andother sacred places to pray. Wemediate by the sea and findwonder in a rainbow. Then andnow we find sanctity in space.

But in the year 70 CE withthe destruction of the Temple inJerusalem, our search startedanew. Thanks to the rabbis of theMishnah and the Talmud, wediscovered that study, prayer, andfulfilling God’s will – all sacredacts – required, not a specificlocation but a set time. So thrice-daily prayer, regular study and theperformance of mitzvot (com-mandments) began to fill ourdays. Following in their footsteps,prayer, learning, and mitzvotcontinue to make time sacred fortraditional Jews. We may not goto the Temple in Jerusalem (oreven the one in our own neigh-borhood) to find God all the time,but that doesn’t mean that Godisn’t found in sacred moments in

our lives.These two paradigms –

holiness in space and holiness intime – did not require a paper byme. Abraham Joshua Hescheltaught us about Shabbat’s place inspace and time most eloquently in

his book The Sabbath.What I tried to bring tothe table was a newparadigm – one that bothcelebrated holiness inspace and holiness in timeand also recognized thatwe are neither Abrahamnor Rav Abba, notBiblical or Rabbinic Jews– we are ContemporaryJews.

Our discovery of holiness isnot limited to space or time, butrather to each person, in anyspace or any time. We have allcertainly had moments sitting inour sanctuary when we have been,well, to put it bluntly – bored. Thatspace has not moved us. It has notbrought us any closer in oursearch for the sacred. The same istrue for sacred time. How oftenhave we missed the sanctity ofShabbat, not because those 25hours aren’t holy but because wechose not to acknowledge theirsanctity in our lives.

The search for the sacred forthe contemporary Jew leads usnot to space or time, but to mind.Sanctity is a state of mind. Themost sacred of spaces and timescan inspire and move us if weallow ourselves to fully BE inthose spaces and those times. Thequestion is: will we choose to BEthere and then.

It is equally true that spacesand times not designated as holy

by our tradition invite us to set ourminds to discovering the hiddensanctity in them as well. Everymoment in every place can be aholy moment and a sacred space ifwe set our minds to it.

MAZEL TOV:

Cheryl and Ralph Hiltz on the engagement of their daughter, Michelle, to Pat McCloudLinda and Peter Silverstein on the birth of their grandson, Sidney Louis SilversteinHarriet and Jerry Lavine on the marriage of their daughter, Debra Joy Lavine, to Paul Michael FlanaganMargie and Rich Zides on the marriage of their daughter, Pamela, to John Gentile

CONDOLENCES:Anita Shatz on the loss of her husband, Jordan ShatzGeorge Chism on the loss of his mother, Sylvia ChismLewis Litwack on the loss of his wife, RochelleDaniel Litwack on the loss of his mother, RochelleStephen Shuman on the loss of his sister, Arlene OsoffSabrina Avnor on the loss of her father, David EzicksonElyse Cohen on the loss of her father, Harold WolrichHarvey Malin on the loss of his sister, Gloria Appleton Auster Harvey and Judy Malin wishto thank everyone who eitheroffered condolences or made adonation in memory of Harvey’ssister, Gloria Appleton Auster.

PrPrPrPrPresidentesidentesidentesidentesident’’’’’s Messas Messas Messas Messas Messagggggeeeee

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As I write this, a great forestfire is raging in israel. The loss ofso many lives is devestating, yetthe fact that so many countrieswould come to the aid of Israel inits time of need isencouraging to me.Not all of these coun-tries are Israel’s friendsand maybe, justmaybe, it’s an openingto a wider discussionof how we can all getalong.

While we deeplymourn the loss of somany lives, the loss of land is alsosignificant. Because only 7% ofIsrael is forest, the loss of so manytrees is devestating. I wonder howmany of those trees were plantedby the original settlers, how manyby the many bar and bat mitzvahchildren around the world, andhow many by someone wanting toremember a sincha or a loved one.

It seems that each tree lost is amemory lost. We are a peoplewho are small in number andgetting smaller through assimilationand non-affiliation. Like the loss ofthose trees in Israel’s forest, ittakes so many years to replacesomeone who has left Judiasm. We need to work harder tokeep the connections between ourtemple and our members alive, tokeep our members involved intemple life, and to help everyoneto embrace their Judiasm. Why dosome of us become active intemple life and some of us onlycome twice a year? What activi-ties do our members want tobecome involved in? How do weencourage our members to be apart of the joy of Shabbat with thecommunty. None of these are easy

questions, but if we do not findthe answers to them, then ourcommunity, like the great forestsof Israel, faces the danger ofburning down.

Joni Mitchellonce wrote, “Don’t italways seem to gothat you don’t knowwhat you’ve got ‘tilit’s gone.” How muchdid we love ourforest before the fire?How much do wefeel the loss, now thatit’s not here?

Become involved, attend asocial event, volunteer for acommittee, or join us on Friday orSaturday for Shabbat. Continuethe connections and don’t let ourforest burn down.

Marci Bernotas

Social Action in ActionSocial Action in ActionSocial Action in ActionSocial Action in ActionSocial Action in Action

During the month of Novem-ber Temple Beth Abraham wasvery active in the creation ofTikkun Olam – making the worlda better place. Eight congregantsgeneraously donated their timeand energy to package anddeliver groceries to families whoare helped by Family Table, whichis run by Jewish Family andChildren’s Services (JF & CS).Thank you so much.

Our own religious school hada contest to collect boxes ofChanukah candles to donate toFamily Table. The childrendonated 96 boxes. MichelleLangmead’s class won with 34boxes. Every child participatingwas given a Mitzvah Award(created by Aaron Chism), and

Mrs. Langmead’s class celebratedwith an ice-cream party.

JF & CS collected gift cardsand monetary donations forChanukah. With these donations,families were able to providespecial gifts for their children.Many congregants generouslygave both gift cards and monetarydonations to JF & CS.

Our Family Table box in thefoyer has been constantly filledwith kosher soup and cannedvegetables. Please continue tosupport JF & CS, which helpshundreds of families in needthroughout Greater Boston.

Thank you to all parents andchildren who donated.

Lesley Shain, ChairSocial Action

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(continued from page 1)very special families: theLustbaders and the Babcocks.The Holocaust is arguablymankind’s darkest hour, whenWestern civilization not only turnedits back on the Jews, but one of itsmost advanced nations, Germany,was the architect for the destruc-tion of the Jewish race. But even inthe darkest of times, there wasgoodness, and there weremiracles. Today there are miraclesin our synagogue that have oc-curred as a result of the Holo-caust. People have asked me whywe are dedicating the library totwo families, and I think theanswer will be obvious.

I have known JoanneBabcock Howard for 21 years.We have always been close, and I

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Book GrBook GrBook GrBook GrBook Groupoupoupoupoup

The Lustbader/BabcockLibrary was dedicated inNovember. We hope, withdonations of books, that you willhelp us to complete the Holocaustbook section.

We have two new books thathave been added to our “regular”library: The Invisible Wall byHarry Bernstein and The Trials ofZion by Alan Dershowitz.

We have catalogued andreshelved more than 600 books.The process will continue formany more months. We meet onWednesdays at 9:30 a.m. and7:30 p.m. If you have time to help,it would be greatly appreciated.Contact me at (781) 821-1202 orHHL1000@comcast.net.

Our wish list has been createdon Amazon.com. If you wish topurchase a book from that site,please contact me. Donations canbe made to TBA with “Library”written in the memo.

Harriet Lavine

Temple Beth Abraham is anamazing community that has muchto offer. Sometimes, especially thistime of year we forget all that thisspecial place has tooffer to help nourishour souls. We are acommunity made up oflearners. Although weare all learners, thespark that lights ourinterests and passionsis different. These aresome of the igniters toget to you started.

The TBA BookGroup has been going strong formore than 15 years and alwayswelcomes new members. It meetsevery third Monday of the monthat 8 p.m.

What if books are not foryou? How about the Jewish FilmFestival? This year, the movies willbe shown on Sundays, January23rd and February 13th.

Maybe you are looking for alittle text study. How about joiningus on Thursday mornings forParsing the Parsha? The SundayMorning group is reading anddiscussing The Source. It willmeet on Sundays, January 9th and23rd and February 13th at 10:00am. They always have thought-provoking discussions.

What about some learning youcan do as a family? Mishpachaminyan is on January 22nd andFebruary 12th. Or you can alwaysgo to Shabbat services and learnfrom our wise Rabbi David as hegives his d’var. For families withchildren in the Religious Schoolwe have the Bet and Gimel familylearning on Sunday, January 23rd

and for Kitah Gan and Aleph onFebruary 6th.

Join me this year as wecontinue with Starbucks Shabbat.Who doesn’t love the perfect mixof coffee, pastry, and spirituality?

We will be meeting onJanuary 22nd andFebruary 12th. Thechildren can go intoJunior Congregation orTot Shabbat.

There are manyopportunities at TempleBeth Abraham to beginor expand your journeyas a Jewish learner.Not only will you be

gaining knowledge but you willalso have a chance to meet newfriends or connect with old friends.This is an opportunity that shouldnot be missed.

Melissa RudmanCongregational Educator

Do you like to read, talk andeat? Then the TBA Book Group isfor you. Our group will meet at theTemple on Monday, January 17th

to discuss Stan Pottinger’s TheLast Nazi. On February 21st wewill be discussing Sima’s Under-garments for Women by IlanaStanger-Ross. We meet at 8:00 p.m. in theTBA Library. Try to attend minyanat 7:30 before the meeting. Newmembers are always welcome.Please join us for what always is,an enjoyable evening.

Harriet Lavine

(continued from page 3)always thought there was some-thing very special about her. Wewere always friends. When Iinvited her to Josh’s Bar Mitzvahalmost five years ago, she casuallymentioned that her father used towork at a Temple Beth Abrahamin Canton as the Sabbath helper.Was this the same temple? In factit was, and it was this congrega-tion that helped Robert Babcockattend college, the first generationin his family to do so. Aftercollege, Robert was a lieutenant inthe Navy, commanding an am-phibious landing ship that wasused to retrieve the dead soldiersfrom the beaches in the Pacific.On this ship was assigned a (continued on page 5)

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RRRRReligious Sceligious Sceligious Sceligious Sceligious Schoolhoolhoolhoolhool

It’s hard to believe that we arehalfway through the school year. Itwas wonderful seeing so many ofyou at our all school familylearning where we made beautifulsand art menorahs. The learningand excitement continues with ourmilestone events including: * Kitah Gan - ShabbatDinner

* Kitah Aleph - Havdalahprogram

* Kitah Vav - Tallit MakingWorkshop

* Kitah Gimel - ChumashMilstone

Congratulations to KitahGimel for winning the Chanukahcandle collection contest. Theannual Kitah Dalet trip to Bostonwas a success, and we lookforward to Kitah Hay’s JewishNew York trip.

We always welcome andencourage parent participation. Ifyou would like to be part of the2010-2011 Board of Education,please contact me, or if you haveany new ideas that you would liketo share please let us know.

Thank you,Vaad LemudMichelle Palter

(continued from page 4)Catholic chaplain, who wouldadminister Last Rites in accordancewith Catholic Law. LieutenantBabcock, however, refused to letthe Catholic chaplain administerLast Rites to any Jewish soldiersthat he identified. Instead, herecited the 23rd Psalm and any otherJewish prayers he could rememberfrom his days at Temple BethAbraham. He did everything in hispower to give the Jewish soldiers aproper Jewish burial. Robert is nowin a nursing home. Several yearsago, as he was being bathed, hebegan to cry and told the nurses heneeded to speak to a rabbi. Joannecalled Wendy, who in turn calledRabbi David. Robert was havingflashbacks to those days in thePacific, and he feared that he didnot bury the Jewish soldiers prop-erly, because he could not returnthem to the earth, to the soil, asrequired by Jewish law. He keptasking “did I do the right thing?”He spoke with Rabbi David, whoassured him that yes, he not onlydid the right thing, he did therighteous thing.

Joanne’s mother, Jane Bab-cock, has an equally compellingstory. During the war, she workedin the offices of a publishing com-pany owned by the UnitarianChurch. What was not known wasthat this company and the UnitarianChurch in Massachusetts wereinvolved in smuggling Jewishchildren out of Europe, saving themfrom certain death in the concentra-tion camps. They ended up savinghundreds, if not thousands of Jews,at great personal risk to themselves.In fact, a Unitarian minister fromWellesley perished in the campsafter he was caught rescuing Jewish

children. He was given the chanceto leave Europe and refused toleave without the children. Hisfellow congregants were commit-ting felonies by not only smugglingthe children into the country buthiding them in congregants’ housesfor the duration of the war andgiving them false papers and birthcertificates. All the women hadcopies of Jane Babcock’s birthcertificate. Jane would coordinatethe pickup and disbursement of thechildren from the ships coming intoBoston carrying supplies for thepublishing companies. She wouldreceive a telegram with the words“precious cargo” as her signal thatchildren were on board. She wouldmeet them at the docks, wearing astrand of pearls, because thechildren were told to look for awoman in a dress wearing a strandof pearls.

When Jane died last year,Joanne took those very pearls andused them to adorn a Torah covershe had made, which you will see inour library. It is a fitting restingplace for those pearls, and I amhonored that Joanne would donatethem to us. Is it not a miracle thatJoanne and I met, worked togetherin my surgical society, and becameclose friends? I believe it is G-d’swill.

Joanne has also forced me tolook at my own life and my par-ents’ survival of the Holocaust,which of course is also a miracle.It is not a subject that I can talkabout without getting emotional.But it’s a story that must be told,over and over. Not just my parents,but all survivors’ stories. Growingup I knew that my parents wereHolocaust survivors, but we nevertalked about it. I knew that my

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grandparents died in the camps. Ididn’t think it was unusual, be-cause most of our friends wereHolocaust survivors, and myfriends didn’t have grandparents. Ididn’t even know my parents hadan accent until I went off tocollege. It was in college, whilestudying for finals, that I foundmyself in the Holocaust section of (continued on page 8)

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On a beautiful SundayHalloween morning, October 31,Temple Beth Abraham hosted the22nd running of the Canton FallClassic. We attracted 817 sign-upsfor the 10K, 5K and the Kids’ 2KFun Run, representing more than140 towns across New England.Attendance surpassed the CantonHomecoming Reebok Road Race.We raised more than $21,868 forthe temple and hope that ourefforts and proceeds will be enoughto fund an internal building need orimprovement.

This was our third year in arow of record runners attendancewith the previous two years of 643and 515. This year we also had arecord turnout of 50 in the FunRun. Their race started 15 minutesearlier, and the parents reallyappreciated seeing their kids runwhereas in the past all races wentoff simultaneously.

We wish to thank our internalsponsors and volunteers for theircontributions.

Sponsors: Elliot Grupp andQuin, Rickard, Alfond and Grupp;Rick Kradin and Industrial MetalRecycling; Bruce Schlossberg andStanetsky Memorial Chapels;Marci Bernotas and M.S. Walkerand Bernotas Realty; SheldonNierman and Independent Pipe;and Jill Cohen and Sheldon CohenInsurance; for their continuouslongstanding support, enabling ourevent to continue as one of theareas premier running events.

There were approximately 60race day volunteers for this event. Iapologize in case I forget someone,but thanks to the registration, andfood set-up people: Margie Zides,Ellen Orkin, Joan and Steve

2010 Canton F2010 Canton F2010 Canton F2010 Canton F2010 Canton Fall Classic Rall Classic Rall Classic Rall Classic Rall Classic Road Road Road Road Road Race Race Race Race Race Raises $21,868aises $21,868aises $21,868aises $21,868aises $21,868

Schottenfeld, Amy Friedman,Bruce Novick, Gayle Feldman,Audrey Kradin, Phyllis Lerner,Cheryl Hiltz, Leslie Pearlstein,Phyllis Moore, Janice Levenson,Sharon Sagotsky, BarbaraFreedman, Sherri Lewis, HarrietLavine , Brenda Kessel, DavidJacobsen, Amy Delaney, ShawnaLemelman, Sue Slavet, MarciBernotas, and Julene Cohen.

Thanks to outdoor courseset-up and marshals: MarcRussman, Judy and BenSteinberg, Herb Lewis, MelBrockman, Harry Castleman, RonMichaelson, Ralph Halpern, BobSokolove, Jonathan Cohen,Roseann Berwald, Bill Mayer,Keith Moore, Norm Gotshalk,Dick Shmiskiss, Mel Brockman,Sam Soloman, Jon Lemelman,Neil Lerner, Elyse LevinRussman, the Lurie/ Margoulasfamilies, Linda Diskind, KathyGoren, Andy Jaynes, AndrewReich, Jason, Steven and JenniferWolfe, Josh Lustbader, ZachLevenson, and coach HarveyBlonder and his StoughtonOutdoor track team. Also, specialthanks to Alan Goldberg, RickKradin, Bill Mayer, and Marv

Feldman for being part of the 6:00a.m. set-up crew.

Thanks to people taking onpre-race tasks like solicitation, theapplication, mailing, obtainingrefreshments, advertising andcomputer work: David Wolicki,Janice and Dan Levenson, PhyllisLerner, Judy Steinberg, PhyllisMoore, Harvey Malin, AdrienneJacobsen, Amy Delaney, EllenOrkin, and Steve Shuman.

The race takes more than fourmonths of planning for a one-dayevent. We can all be proud of thecommunity goodwill created by therace. WE COULDN’T HAVEDONE IT WITHOUT A GREATSPONSOR and VOLUNTEERNETWORK — THANKS! Tothose of you who have never beeninvolved, we would love to see younext year as a helper, contributoror a runner. We’re sure that onceyou attend the event, you will beconvinced that it is a great day forTBA. Many of our volunteers havehelped continuously over the years.Check us out atwww.cantonfallclassic.com.

Rich and Margie ZidesHarvey Blonder, MelissaMayer, Ellen Orkin, DavidWolicki, Janice Levenson,Ellen Orkin, Phyllis Lerner,Phyllis Moore, Steve Shuman

Games Night, Saturday,Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m.

Movie Night, Sunday,Jan. 23 and Feb. 13, 6:30p.m.

More info in flyers.

Games - Movies Games - Movies Games - Movies Games - Movies Games - Movies

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M e m b e rM e m b e rM e m b e rM e m b e rM e m b e rs h i ps h i ps h i ps h i ps h i p

Next bulletin is March-April. Deadline isFebruary 1.

Email articles and photosto sherry@alpert-publicrelations.com.

Welcome to our newestmember, the Xidea Family,Michael, Amy, Michael, andChase.

We have just had ourwonderful monthly ShabbatUnplugged service along with ourNew Member Dinner for this year2010-2011. If you were unable toattend, you missed a fun filledevening of music, great company& a delicious meal.

Thank yous go to Rabbi

David and Lisa Winner for themusic and service. Thank you tomy Co Chair, Ruthy Gomolka foran exceptional dinner. Thank youto our Congregational Educator,Melissa Rudman and her children,Ellie and Sam for all their help withpreparation. Last but not least,thank you to Judy Steinberg andJohn Adams, without you thingswould not go smoothly.

Phyllis LernerMembership Co-Chair

The Brotherhood-sponsoreda Candidates Breakfast onOctober 24th was verysuccessful. Those who attendedwere treated to a lively andinformative discussion of issuesfor the November 2nd election. We will be having our nextbreakfast on Sunday, January16th, 2011 at 9:15 a.m. Ourguest speaker will be our ownDavid Wolicki, an attorney whowill speak on financial planning,with emphasis on how to avoidthe high cost of nursing homecare for our elderly parents or, ifmore applicable, forourselves. With places likeNewbridge on the Charles inDedham charging $470 a day, itis easy to see how elder care canquickly wipe out a family’s lifesavings. Please join us on January16th to learn the properstrategies to prevent this fromhappening to you. David willspeak briefly and then respond toany questions you may have. This breakfast is open to allTemple members, men andwomen. The cost is $5.00 to helpdefray our expenses for thebreakfast. Reservations arerequested, but not required. Ifyou have not yet paid yourBrotherhood dues, please sendpayment of $36 to our treasurer,David Okun, at 587 Bay Road inSharon. I look forward to seeing youat the Temple on January 16th tolearn about elder care financialplanning.

Bob SokoloveBrotherhood President

I will provide a report inJanuary with a survey analysis thatwill help guide our future adulteducation program offerings.

A number of members duringthe high holy days indicated thatthey would like to assist with adulteducation. I have reached out tothose members via e-mail and/ortelephone. Your participation ismost welcomed. An adulteducation committee meeting willbe scheduled for late January orearly February, and everyone willbe invited to attend.

During the first fourWednesdays of December at noon,many of you will be attending ourLunch n’ Learn series entitled“Living Jewishly in a Non-JewishWorld.” For those who cannotattend, the series will be simulcaston the web.

We are also piloting a newlearning strategy for this series – anexperiential follow-up session inJanuary. Through journaling andreflecting, we hope sessionparticipants will return for aJanuary meeting (date to be

Adult EducaAdult EducaAdult EducaAdult EducaAdult Educationtiontiontiontion

scheduled soon) to discuss theirpersonal experiences incorporatingthe teachings into their lives.

A few, wonderful on-goingAdult Education offerings arecontinuing and would welcomeyour participation. On Thursdaymornings at 9:30 a.m., please joinus for “Parsing the Parsha.” Inaddition, the Sunday MorningLearning Group continues to meettwo Sunday mornings per month at10 a.m. to discuss readings fromThe Source by James Michener.

A number of congregants haveapproached me recently to offersupport and encouragement. Thisis most appreciated, and I lookforward to seeing many of you atour future program offerings.

Michael Bloom, ChairAdult Education

BrBrBrBrBrotherhoodotherhoodotherhoodotherhoodotherhood

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(continued from page 5)the library stacks during a studybreak. And there was the bookthat changed my life staring me inthe face: Journey into Terror, theStory of the Riga Ghetto. Thatwas my mother’s camp. Therewere only 80 survivors. Two ofthem are here tonight: my motherand my uncle. In spite of my finalsschedule, I found myself readingthe book. And there was mymother’s name, listed as a survi-vor. I took the book home overChristmas break, placed it on thekitchen table and simply said: wehave to talk. We have been talkingever since, although it is mostly myfather who talks, because mymother still finds it too painful.

My father was in severalcamps, including Platzow, thecamp from Schindler’s List, andMathausen, the notorious Austriandeath camp. He was liberatedfrom Ebenzee in Austria by theAmerican Army, by a man namedSergeant Robert Persinger. Howdo I know this? Because JoanneHoward tracked this man downand arranged for my father tospeak with the man who saved hislife. It was my wish to bringSergeant Persinger here tonight tosurprise my father, but he is notwell enough to travel. But knowingthat my dad could thank hisrescuer is a gift from Joanne that Iwill treasure forever.

My father, who never wantedto speak about the Holocaust,now runs the largest HolocaustRemembrance observance in theState of New Jersey. He speaksto high school and junior highschool students about his experi-ences. He has met the Governor.He has been honored as man of

the year by B’nai B’rith.Growing up, I used to think

that Mickey Mantle was my hero.Now I know that all you Red Soxfans find that hard to understand.But what I realize now as an adultis that Mickey Mantle was a greatball player. But the real hero in mylife is my father, a truly great man.He came from nothing and made agreat life for me and my brothers.He continues to make a great lifefor my mother. They are a trueHolocaust miracle. In fact, if itweren’t for the Holocaust, theywould have never met or beenmarried. Out of that horror, a reallove story for the ages developed.G-d put them together, and G-dmade sure that they survived. It ismy duty and my obligation to honorthem tonight. Their lives togetherare a miracle and a testament to allthat is good in the world.

Joanne Babcock Howard‘How rare it is, how lovely, thefellowship of those who gatherhere together.’ - Psalm 133

Gathering together on thisevening, and in this sacred place,was not achieved by two faithcommunities walking two clearlymarked paths and meeting at anobvious crossroads. We arrivedhere by weaving a web with nosolid ground as a foundation.Single, delicate threads: a businessacquaintance evolving to friendship,brief theology conversations,deeply compassionate listening,uncovering incredible coincidence,and hearing long guarded secrets.Single moments that could easilyhave been dismissed as insignificantand broken the web. Nature’sweb, although beautiful, is meant to

ensnare. A spiritual web is meant toenhance. A spiritual web weavesseparate threads together so thateach remains a unique individual,but is strengthened and supportedby the other.

My family is overwhelmed thatyou have chosen to honor myparents, Robert and Jane Babcock,in the dedication of your newLibrary. It is equally important to usto honor Carl and Ingrid Lustbaderboth as individuals and as HolocaustSurvivors. Carl and Ingrid havetaught me more about the Holocaustthan volumes of history books andmountains of graphic photographsever could. Thanks to David’s deepgenerosity in sharing his preciousparents, my knowledge of theHolocaust has familiar names, kindfaces, warm smiles, and all-envel-oping hugs.

The Bible says that ‘loveendures all things.’ No one hasmore reason to challenge thatstatement than Holocaust survivors.Somehow, Carl and Ingrid emergedfrom that darkest of nights with theirability to love still intact. Their loveis a palpable presence. They are anaffirmation of the endurance of thehuman spirit.

Personally, I would like to takea moment to pledge to them – andto you – a commitment to theessential work of inter-faith Holo-caust Education.

In the words of 18th centuryBritish Philosopher Edmund Burke,“The only thing necessary for thetriumph of evil is for good men todo nothing.” As Unitarian Universal-ists, we are very proud that Rev.Waitstill Sharp and his wife, Martha,were named Righteous Among theNations by Yad Vashem in 2005. (continued on first insert page)

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I am so proud to be a memberof TBA. Last month I deliveredseveral meals from the Butcherieto families sitting Shiva. Thesemeals were provided by theKirshner/Pearlstein BereavementFund. The Kirshner/PearlsteinBereavement Fund providesShabbat meals for families sittingShiva. Wow! Hopefully you willnot be in thiscircumstancesoon. I know thatwhen my Dad diedand we receivedthis meal, it waswonderful, com-forting and price-less. However, thisfund needs tobe supported.

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Please remember to make yourdonation so that other families willbenefit from this wonderful gift. Iwant to extend a special thank youto the Kirshner/Pearlstein Familiesfor starting this special fund. It isup to us now to continue it andkeep it growing.

Lesley Shain

Thank youto all who havecontributedAfghans,squares andyarn to helpkeep a hospital-ized Veteran a

little warmer and to let the Veteranknow that someone remembershis sacrifices.

Six Afghans were delivered tothe West Roxbury VA this month.Our next delivery will be in June.

If you would like to participatein this mitzvah, please contact meat HHL1000@comcast.net or(781) 821-1202.

Harriet Lavine

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Chesed Committee

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Temple Beth Abraham Staff

Spiritual Leader..............Rabbi David PaskinCongregational Educator......Melissa RudmanPresident..............................Marci BernotasOffice Manager......................Judy SteinbergThe Voice Editor......................Sherry Alpert

Temple Beth Abraham1301 Washington StreetCanton, MA 02021(781) 828-5250www.templebethabraham.orgtheoffice@templebethabraham.org

(continued from page 8)Working behind the lines inCzechoslovakia, the Sharps riskedtheir lives to save nearly 2,000Jews and move them into a net-work of Unitarian supporters inAmerica. My mother was part ofthat network. The pearls she worewhen she met arriving refugees havebeen stitched into the Torah CoverI made for your congregation.There is no better place for them.

Tom Brokaw’s bookAmerica’s Greatest Generationcontains biographies of my parents’contemporaries. Those Americanswhose childhood was spent in theeconomic vice grip of the Depres-sion. They consolidated householdswith other relatives while theirfathers worked, if possible, indistant cities. As teenagers, theyworked to buy food and medicinefor siblings. They grew up, fell inlove, married, and started families.Fate did not leave them alone.When the world erupted in war,they were called upon by PresidentRoosevelt as ‘the generation thathas a date with destiny.’ They didnot disappoint.

During my father’s naval servicein the Pacific, he took it uponhimself to recite the 23rd Psalm foreach of the Jewish casualties heburied at sea. That deeply re-pressed memory, and concern fortheir proper burial, surfaced only afew years ago. Rabbi David andJudy Steinberg assured him that hehad indeed ‘done the right thing.’

True to Tom Brokaw’s obser-vations of their generation, myparents felt that nothing they hadever done was extraordinary. Theybelieved that responding to theneeds of others was simply ‘doing

the right thing’ and should not beregarded as exemplary behavior.

By example, they taught thatkindness, compassion, tolerance,and respect were rules of daily lifeand part of all ‘right relationship.’My parents felt that nothing theyhad ever done in this life would –or should, deserve institutionalpraise or lasting recognition.

Thank you for provingthem wrong.

For their own deeply personaland understandable reasons, myparents chose cremation. Thosewishes have and will be honored.When my father’s ashes are co-mingled with my mother’s, each ofus three children will receive ourparents’ ashes to scatter in a placemost meaningful to us. I havereached a bitter-sweet conclusion:this must be the ultimate gesture of‘treat the children equally!’

Honoring this wish comes witha very difficult spiritual conse-quence. There is no grave.Without a grave, there is no stone.Without a stone there is no placeon this earth that bears theirnames.

Again – you proved themwrong.

‘To them I will give withinmy temple and upon its walls, amemorial and a name’

Robert Albert Babcock andJane Lewis Babcock – WithinTemple Beth Abraham in Canton,Massachusetts, and upon the wallsof the Temple Holocaust Library,you have indeed been given amemorial and a name.

- Isaiah 56God Bless You.

Joanne Babcock Howard

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Dear Temple Beth AbrahamMembers and Hebrew SchoolStudents:

It is with full heart that wewrite to you today to thank youfor your many acts of lovingkindness bestowed upon thegrateful families served by FamilyTable. On Sunday, November21st, we held our Chanukahdistribution. Families received theirregular food orders as well as aspecial Chanukah bag that wasfilled with latke mixes, oil,applesauce, gelt and candles toprovide some Chanukah cheer fortheir families. Thank you for yourdonation of Chanukah candles.Also, all families with children upto age 18 received gift cards.

Contributions such as yourswill continue to secure the successof this much needed effort. We areall grateful for your generosity andthoughtfulness.

We wish you and your familiesa joyful Chanukah and a year thatbrings peace and serenity to us all.

Yasher koach (wonderfulwork)!

Barbara ZolitAssistant CoodinatorFamily Table

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An online hub of everythinggoing on from services toconcerts, films to specialevevnts, Jewish day schools,adult education and our ownRabbi David. TBA is proud tobe a partner with CJP, whichlaunched JewishBoston.com.