The Shofar Vol. 90 Issue 9 (Published Monthly)

Congregation B’nai Israel: A Traditional Conservative Synagogue 45 Twombly Ave., Staten Island, NY 10306 Tel: (718) 987-8188 Fax: (718) 987-7870

Rabbi Pinchas Pearl 718-769-1454 , 718-564-5518, lamdan453@gmail.com

Email: Office@sicbi.com, web site: sicbi.com., Facebook: Congregation B’nai Israel, NY

Preschool and UPK 718-987-6200, cbiacademy123@gmail.com

September 2018

בס''ד

September 2018 The SHOFAR 1

Fri. Sept. 28/Tishrei 19 Light candles, 6:15 p.m.

Meal in the succah, 6:30 p.m. (see p. 7)

Services, 8 p.m.

Sat. Sept. 29/Tishrei 20 Services, 9:20 a.m.

Lunch in the succah

Sun. Sept. 30/Tishrei 21 Erev Seventh Day of

Succot Light candles, 6:22 p.m.,

Services, 6:15 p.m.

September 2018

Sat. Sept. 1/Elul 21 Rabbi’s class, 8:40 a.m.

Services, 9:20 a.m. Slichot , 9:30 p.m.

Fri. Sept. 7/Elul 27

Light candles 7:01 p.m. Services, 8 p.m.

Sat. Sept. 8/Elul 28

Rabbi’s class, 8:40 a.m. Services, 9:20 a.m.

Sun. Sept. 9/Elul 29

Erev Rosh Hashanah Light candles, 6:57 p.m.

Services, 6:45 p.m.

Mon. Sept.10/Tishrei 1 First Day of Rosh

Hashanah Services, 8:30 a.m. Tashlich, 4:30 p.m.

Meet at Gateway Park. Hylan Blvd. and Buffalo

Ave. Mincha/Ma’riv, 6:45 p.m. Light candles, 7:55 p.m.

Tues. Sept. 11/Tishrei 2 Second day of Rosh

Hashanah Services, 8:30 a.m.

Mincha/Ma’riv, 6:45 p.m.

Fri. Sept. 14/Tishrei 5 Candle lighting, 6:49

p.m. Services, 8 p.m.

Sat. Sept. 15/Tishrei 6

Services, 9:20 a.m.

Tues. Sept. 18/Tishrei 9 Kol Nidre

Light candles, 6:42 p.m. Services, 6:30 p.m.

Wed. Sept. 19/Tishrei 10

Yom Kippur Services, 8:30 a.m. Mincha, 5:30 p.m.

Fri. Sept. 21/Tishrei 12 Light candles, 6:37 p.m.

Services 8 p.m.

Sat. Sept. 22/Tishrei 13 Services, 9:20 a.m.

Sun. Sept. 23/Tishrei 14

Erev Succot Mincha and ma’ariv, 6

p.m. Light candles, 6:34 p.m. Meal in the succah, 6:30

p.m. (see p. 7)

Mon. Sept. 24/Tishrei 15 First Day of Succot

(See p. 8) Services, 9 a.m. Lunch in succah

Mincha and ma’ariv 6 p.m.

Meal in the succah, 6:30 p.m. (see p. 7)

Light candles, 7:31 p.m.

Tues. Sept. 25/Tishrei 16

Second Day of Succot Services, 9 a.m. Lunch in succah Ma’ariv, 8 p.m.

From the

Desk of

Rabbi Pearl The most awesome days of the year, Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, are almost upon us. How do we get ready? A thought, courtesy of Rabbi Frand, from which this is adapted, may pro-vide some direction. According to the Talmud, on Rosh Hasha-nah, the middle portions of the Mussaf service (the additional prayers following the Torah reading) deal with, respectively, kingship, remembrances, and Shofar blasts. The Gemara (rabbinical commentary on the Torah) says that the source for the number of these blessings, nine, comes from the nine times that G-d’s Name is mentioned in the prayer of Han-nah [Samuel 2:1-10]

We read the story of Hannah as the Hafto-rah (a section from the Prophets, chanted after the Torah reading) for the first day of Rosh Hashanah. Hannah was barren. She came to the mishkan (the temporary Temple, during the 40 years the Jews were in the wilderness) every year to cry her heart out. In addition, Hannah had to suffer the humilia-tion of her husband having a second wife, who was blessed with children, and who taunted Hannah over her inability to have children, though for a no-ble reason (because she wanted to inspire Hannah to pray more). Hannah’s prayers were finally an-swered on Rosh Hashanah. She eventually gave birth to a son, who grew up to become the great prophet Samuel. Continued on page 2

OFFICERS OF CONGREGATION B’NAI ISRAEL RABBI Pinchas N. Pearl Chairman of the Board of Trustees Martin Eisenberg President Charles Greinsky Executive Vice President Barry Kashubo First VP Roger Lader Second VP Martin Eisenberg Third VP Kevin Brosnick Treasurer VACANT Financial Secretary Susan Finkelstein Recording Secretary Rita Eisenberg Sisterhood Presidents Zoya Khalfin Sandy Levy Editor Norman A. Kanter —————————————————–———————————

There are several ways you can remember a loved one or commemorate a special occasion. Here are some ideas: Call the Synagogue office (718) 987-8188: to schedule a Bar/Bat Mitzvah or Baby Naming to dedicate a Chumash ($75) or Siddur ($36) to sponsor an Oneg or Kiddush to make a donation to the Hebrew School to reserve a date for a special function to dedicate a leaf on our Tree of Life to plant a Tree in Israel about our cemetery plots Call Scott Diamond (917 Call Dr. Selman Berger (718) 948-5447 for information ) 674-3317 for information about a Memorial Plaque ________________________________________________

President’s letter My thoughts this month, as with all our people, are on the coming High Holidays, although it does not seem possible that another year has gone by. I never stop being impressed by the solemnity of this period. It forces me to take a good look at my-self and ask, “Did I do the best that I could last year?” “How can I improve for the coming year?” It is incumbent on all of us to ask these ques-tions and act on the results. We can always do a little better than we did. There are many areas where this is possible. One of them is in dealing with each other. When we get angry at someone, instead of letting him or her have a piece of our mind, isn’t it better to give a soft, non-inflammatory answer? When it comes to Judaism, there is room for improvement for all of us. When we get a gift, the first thing we do is thank the person, to show our gratitude. However, G-d gives us a multitude of gifts each day, starting with life itself. Unfortunately, too many of us simply take these gifts for granted. How then can we thank Him? Very simply. We should redouble our efforts to follow his teachings, and, just as importantly, support His institution, our synagogue. Support, of course, means money. Our synagogue, like everything else, cannot survive other-

wise. It means more than that, however. It means, at a minimum, coming to services, not just on the High Holidays, as important as that is, but during the year as well. It also means lending a hand in the operation of the synagogue Ilene and I wish you and your family a healthy and happy New Year and look forward to having you as a full participant in our activities. Yours in fellowship, Charles Greinsky President

Rabbi’s message continued

The story of Hannah contains a lesson that is so central to the message of Rosh Hashanah that not only do we read this Haftorah on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, but the whole mussaf service was struc-tured around the nine mentions of G-d’s name in Han-nah’s prayer. What is so important about this episode that causes us to base the central prayer of Rosh Hashanah on the prayer of Hannah?

An analysis of that prayer reveals that it em-phasizes that life is full of changing fortunes. In the past, she was barren and her co-wife, Penina had many children. But now, Hannah has seven children, and when each baby was born to her, Penina lost a child.

G-d makes some people poor and He makes some people rich. He makes the haughty low and the humble high. Fortunes keep changing.

That’s a lesson to keep in mind as we pray on Rosh HaShanah. The past year had ups and downs for all of us. We had more, we had less, we felt great, we knew illness, and we were happy and sad, all in the course of a year. Our prayers for Rosh HaSha-nah, the nine blessings that remind us of the prayer of a woman whose life went up and down, are the portal for achieving the “ups” through prayer. Pray as Han-nah did, and your life and fortunes will go up.

On behalf of myself and all of us who hold B’nai Israel as a beloved and holy place, I wish you the greatest success in your prayers and in the year to come. May G-d answer you in the fullness of heart and mercy that we all deserve. May our prayers as-cend to the Almighty, and may His blessings come to all of us.

Shalom, Pinchas N. Pearl Rabbi

The officers and Board of Trus-

tees of Congregation B’nai Israel wish you and your families a healthy

and happy New Year

September 2018 The SHOFAR 2

September 2018 The SHOFAR 3

Date_________ CONGREGATION B'NAI ISRAEL SEAT #______

45 TWOMBLY AVENUE

S.I. NY 10306

HIGH HOLY HOLIDAYS RESERVATION FORM

NAME________________________________________________

ADDRESS_______________________________ZIP CODE______

TELEPHONE NUMBER__________________________________

GUESTS OF FAMILY (list additional names and addresses on back)

NAME________________________________________________

ADDRESS_____________________________________________

TELEPHONE NUMBER___________________ Email_______________

FAMILY MEMBERS (MAXIMUM 2)________________ _____ $ 100 EACH_______

PARENTS OF MEMBERS_______________________________ $ 100 EACH_______

ADULT CHILDREN OF MEMBERS (Out of college)__________$ 100 EACH_______

CHILDREN OF MEMBERS___________________________ $ 36 EACH_______

NON-MEMBERS___________________________________ $ 200 EACH_______

NON-MEMBER CHILDREN (17 or younger)_____________ $ 72 EACH_______

SUBTOTAL__________ $_________________

WE DO NOT SUPPLY PRAYER BOOKS. YOU MUST HAVE YOUR OWN

HIGH HOLIDAY PRAYER BOOK ___ @ $36 each ________

MEMORIAL PLAQUES ARE AVAILABLE AT $360 EACH ($540 for nonmembers).

TREE OF LIFE LEAVES ARE $72 EACH. TO ORDER, PLEASE FILL OUT THE

INFORMATION ON THE BACK

HIGH HOLIDAY PLEDGES:

Rosh HaShanah______________________________________

Kol Nidre___________________________________________

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

DUES__________________________________________ $________________

SCHOOL_______________________________________ $________________

TICKETS_______________________________________ $_________________

MEMORIAL PLAQUES___________________________ $_________________

TREE OF LIFE___________________________________ $_________________

PRAYER BOOKS_________________________________ $_________________

PLEDGES_______________________________________ $________________

TOTAL__________________________________________ $_________________

Credit card: American Express______ Discover______ Master Card_____ Visa___

Credit card number Expiration date

Name on card Signature

email

To include names for Golden Book, check here_____ and list on back

Other dates to keep in mind Sept. 4 Tues.—Ritual committee, 8 p.m. Sept. 5 Wed..-- Finance committee, 7 p.m. Sept. 5 Wed..--Board of Trustees, 8 p.m Sept. 16 Sun.- Set up succah, 9 a.m. (see page 6) Sept. 23 Sun. –Sisterhood meeting, 10 a.m..

Thank you for your contribution

Contributions received after August 15 will be acknowledged in the October issue. Contributions

with no specific designation are for the general use of the synagogue.

Flora and Miron Berenshteyn Vlad Cohen Laverne and Jack Gerner Arlene and Aaron Gerstman in memory of Theodore Appelbaum Susan and Richard Finkelstein, in memory of Rhoda Moddel Estelle and Joel Goldberg in memory of Gussie Fingerman and Rose Goldberg Gloria Hirsch in memory of Anna and Nathan Preiser Drs. Betty and Richard Jensen in memory of Shlomo Klainminc Norman Levine in memory of Lenore Hartman Sandra and Stephen Poris David and Laurie Raps in memory of Louis Raps Steven Ratner in memory of Miriam Tasman Roberta and Eugene Sapolsky Ira F. and Francine Sklar in memory of Miriam Sklar

News about our members Best wishes for speedy recoveries to Mark Cramer, Rita Eisenberg, Estelle Goldberg, Jay Goretsky, Charlie Greinsky, and Michael Pekuly, son of Sharon and Joel Pekuly, who recently underwent surgical procedures.

Sisterhood News A group of 20 went to The Little Victory Theater to see “Barefoot in the Park.” The people who could not come and those with complimentary tickets gracious-ly donated those tickets to the Sisterhood. We thank them. Future performances at this venue were dis-cussed.. Apple picking was suggested as a future fund-raiser by Susan Finkelstein. This will be looked into.. Barbara Smith made a lovely sign for our Open House on August 26, which was hung outside of the synagogue. Thanks to Barbara.

A discussion on funding for repairs of our To-rahs was tabled, pending action by the Board.. Barbara Kanter has graciously agreed to re-sume providing a shopping list to the shoppers after the holidays. Thank you, Barbara. The following will be doing the shopping for September: Eileen Cooper, Sandy Levy, Laurie and David Raps, and Barbara

Smith. Laurie and David sponsored a kiddush in honor of David’s birthday. Our next meeting is Sunday, September 23, 2018. Laurie Raps

Preschool News We are so excited about our upcoming school year! September's thematic units will be entitled "Welcome to Pre-K". The children in all classes will have fun getting to know each other and learning about the routines of their day. All preschool families and all congregants are in-vited to a Welcome and Ten-Year Anniversary Cele-bration on Thursday, October 4, 2018 from 2:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.. Please join us! Happy Rosh Hashanah and best wishes for a healthy, happy, good, and sweet New Year! The CBI Academy Preschool Team

The “usual suspects” strike again! They came early. they looked around to see what had to be done, and they set to work and did it. When they were finished, the sanctuary was set up for High Holiday services, the silver was polished, and preparations were completed for our Open House. Our thanks to Lillian Brosnick, Jerry Clifford, Nancy and Joel Cohen, Eileen and Bernard Cooper, Susan and Richard Finkelstein, Mel Fox,, Barbara and Norman A. Kanter, Barry Kashubo, Roger Lad-er, Sandy Levy, Janice Rappaport,Laurie and David Raps, Barbara Smith, Jack Tabak, and our invalua-ble custodian, Eduardo. A special thanks to Rabbi Pearl. If that were not enough, while all of this was going on, the Hebrew School Committee interviewed, and hired an experienced new teacher for the coming year, which will start on Sunday, September 16. We welcome Rabbi Naom Lichtman and wish him well. .

Just for the fun of it Moshe and his friend Issy were half way through a round of golf when a golf ball arrives out of nowhere and strikes Moshe on the back of his head. Almost immediately, Hymie arrives to apologize. But Moshe

is having none of it. "You call yourself a golfer?" yells Moshe. "If I had my way, I’d ban you from every golf club in the city. Do you see what you’ve done to me? My head is bleeding. I’m going to call my lawyer as soon as I get to the clubhouse. I’ll sue you for $5,000." "But … but," says Hymie, "didn’t you hear me? I shouted FORE." "OK," says Moshe, "I’ll take it."

September 2018 The SHOFAR 4

September 2018 The SHOFAR 5

September 2018 The SHOFAR 6

Homeless man has his own apartment The man in question is not a member of our synagogue. Indeed, he is not even Jewish. However, as you will see, there is a definite connection between him and us. Sherman Jackson is a former press secretary to top city officials. Through a set of unfortunate cir-cumstances, he had been living in shelters for about a year. After the New York Daily News ran a story about Mr. Jackson, several influential New Yorkers who knew him during his working days took action, primarily Norman Siegel, the former head of the New York City Civil Liberties Union. Siegel repeatedly pressed the Department of Homeless Services to find Jackson — who suffers from a chronic stomach ail-ment — a permanent home.

Two former commissioners of the Civilian Complaint Review Board-, one of whom was Charlie Greinsky, stepped in as well. Charlie’s wife, Ilene, who is a health care advocate for the chronically ill, helped Sherman better manage his health condition, while Charlie pressed top officials.

After Steve Adams, the city commissioner of Social Services, got involved, Mr. Jackson got his apartment.

We congratulate Ilene and Charlie for their humanitarian efforts. This article is adapted from one written by Greg B. Smith, and appeared in the New York Daily News)

Early pledge redeemer Honor Roll The following people realize that the summer months are where donations taper off, resulting in cash-flow problems. As a result, they did not have to be asked to donate, but sent in their pledges ahead of time. We thank all of them. Susan and Richard Finkelstein Ilene and Charles Greinsky Barbara and Norman A. Kanter Gail and Barry Kashubo Norman Levine Dr. Steven Ratner Janet and Michael Rocco Deborah and Alvin Sall

Special cemetery offer A friend of Rabbi Pearl’s has two plots at Beth Da-vid cemetery in Elmont, Long Island for sale. She is willing to sell them at a considerable discount, and will donate half the proceeds to Bnai Israel. If you know anyone who would be interested, please put them in touch with Rabbi Pearl.

Help wanted for a mitzvah One of the features of the holiday of Succot, which comes immediately after the High Holidays, is an out-

door dwelling place, called a succah, where it is cus-tomary to have meals during that holiday. This year, we will be setting up the succah on Sunday, Sept.16, starting at 9 a.m. This is a labor-intensive job and we need all the able-bodied people we can get. Please come down and help. If enough people show up, the job should take only a couple of hours.

“Snow in Winter” brings joy in August “Snow in Winter,” the latest picture shown at our movie-night event, proved to be a real crowd-pleaser. It held everyone’s interest and engendered a great deal of discussion during the collation that followed. The movie was preceded by a delicious barbe-que prepared by Chef Richard (Finkelstein) who kept turning out food faster than it could be eaten. Our thanks to him as well as Susan Finkelstein, Laurie Raps, and Janice Rappaport, who combined to ar-range a particularly enjoyable evening.

September 2018 The SHOFAR 7

Yahrzeits This Month Yahrzeits start on the evening before the date

given. For additions or corrections to this list, please contact Scott Diamond at (917) 674-3317, or

slzdiamond@hotmail.com If you need to say kaddish for a yahrzeit, please call the office two weeks before, and we will try to ar-range a minyan. It would be helpful to bring a few family members and friends to the service to make sure of a minyan as it is not always possible to ar-range one from our congregants. Many congregants come to services Friday night to say kaddish.

Sept. 1/Elul 21 Morris Wolf, grandfather of Naomi Kirsch

Sept. 3/Elul 23 Roza Brofman, mother of Yakov Brofman

Shirley Cohen, mother of Joel Cohen Sept. 4/Elul 24

David Morrison, father of Aviva Levine Sept. 5/Elul 25

Aaron Steingart, father of Helen Suss Sala Ziegler, mother of Gladys Graham

Sept. 6/Elul 26 Irwin Rosenblum, father of Laurie Raps

Edward Wool, cousin of Norman Olinsky Sept. 7/Elul 27

Gladys Greenglass, mother of Sharon Pekuly Sept. 8/Elul 28

Mollie Zaffos, mother of Anna Gordon Sept. 9/Elul 29

Rhoda Moddel, mother of Susan Finkelstein Sept. 12/Tishri 3

Jerry Kroll, uncle of Naomi Kirsch Isidore Suss, father of Stuart Suss

Lawrence Wasser, father of Val Levy Sept. 13/Tishri 4

Esther Kirsch, mother of Larry Kirsch Sept. 19/Tishri 10

Ruth Greinsky, mother of Charles Greinsky Eve Kroll, relative of Naomi Kirsch

Sept. 21/Tishri 12

Ari Saks, son of Karen and Manny Saks Beverly B. Smith, wife of Norman Smith

Sept. 22/Tishri 13 Herbert Greenzweig, father of Lou Greenzweig

June Grossman, mother of Karen Saks Shura Krichman, mother-in-law of Miron Berenshyten

Sept. 25/Tishri 16 Anna Epstein, mother of Sheila Hyman

Sept. 26/Tishri 17 Pauline Abramowitz, mother of Bernard Abramowitz

Ida Lowitt, mother of Larraine Silver Efram Spierer, father of Dr. Gary Spierer

Anna Tabak, mother of Jack Tabak Sept. 27/Tishri 18

Esther Silver, mother of Sid Silver Regina Spierer, mother of Dr. Gary Spierer

Sept. 30/Tishri 21 Dora Jacobson, mother of Bernard Jacobson

September 2018 The SHOFAR 8

Why do we celebrate Sukkot? For 40 years after our ancestors left Egypt, they traveled in the Sinai Desert under the protection of G-D.. Ever since, we remember G-D's kindness and reaffirm our trust in His providence by dwelling in a sukkah--a hut of temporary construction with a roof covering of branches--for the duration of Sukkot. It is traditional to eat all our meals in the sukkah and oth-erwise regard it as our home. Another Sukkot observance is the taking of the Four Kinds: an etrog (citron), a lulav (palm frond), three hadassim (myrtle twigs) and two avarot (willow twigs). On each day of the festival (excepting Satur-day), we take the Four Kinds, recite a blessing over them, bring them together in our hands and wave them in six directions (right, left, forward, up, down and backward. Our sages tell us that the Four Kinds represent the various types and personalities that comprise the community of Israel, whose intrinsic unity we emphasize on Sukkot. The seventh day of Sukkot is called Hosha-nah Rabbah ("Great Salvation") and closes the peri-od of Divine judgement that began on Rosh Hasha-nah. A special observance is the aravah--the taking of a bundle of willow branches and striking them five times to symbolize the tempering of the five measures of harshness.

September 2018 The SHOFAR 9

Shop Amazon and help C.B.I. Amazon will donate a percentage of the cost of all eligible items to C.B.I. if they are purchased on its special site, AmazonSmile.com. The only difference between this site and the Amazon site is that on Am-azonSmile, you can designate Congregation B’nai Israel to be a recipient of the donation. The prices are the same, the features are the same. However, using this site enables C.B.I. to benefit from your purchase. Here’s your chance to help our congregation without any cost to you

About The Board of Trustees

Those of you who read the calendar every month (and all of you should) know that the Board of Trus-tees meets on the third Tuesday of every month (except July). These meetings are where the needs and plans for C.B.I. are discussed and voted on. In other words, the dealings of the Board affect every member of our congregation. These meetings, as well as committee meetings, are open to everyone. The Board needs input from as many of you as pos-sible if it is to do an effective job of running the syna-gogue. Therefore, why not come down to a meeting and let the Board know what is on your mind. .You could well have an idea or two that no one else has thought of that could prove to be beneficial. Membership on the Board is not an empty honor. If you have been selected to serve, you have an obligation to attend as many meetings as possi-ble. The Board needs the full participation of the en-tire Board if it is to guide our Congregation through its current situation.

In Case Of...

By following these guidelines, you will help your-self and your family in times of great joy, or G-d for-bid, moments of crisis and stress. As your rabbi, it is my desire to attend to your

life-cycle needs. These include births and weddings, funerals, and hospital and home visits to the ill. In order for me to be of help, I must be kept informed. Please take a moment to read through these steps and always keep this page in a handy place. Rabbi Pinchas Pearl Illness

In case of illness or hospitalization, please notify the

synagogue office at (718) 987-8188.

Death

Even before making funeral arrangements, notify

Rabbi Pearl at the synagogue office (718) 987-8188)

or on his cell (718) 564-5518). He will assist and

guide you in making the appropriate arrangements

for the funeral.

If you cannot reach the rabbi, contact the Jew-

ish funeral home and begin to make your arrange-

ments. Please, if Rabbi Pearl is going to officiate at

the funeral, do not set a time until the rabbi has con-

tacted you. At most, this will be a very short while. If

the rabbi is on vacation, other local rabbis are on

call. .

Simchas For your joyous occasions in life, please share your nachas with the rabbi by informing him about births, engagements, weddings, and other noteworthy mo-ments in the life of your family. The rabbi will arrange for a baby-naming, provide information regarding a mohel (for newborn boys), coordinate a pidyon ha-ben (the redemption ceremony for first-born males), schedule an aufruf (to celebrate a forthcoming mar-riage), perform a wedding, and bring the richness of Jewish traditions and mitzvot into your simcha. .

Sisterhood scores another hit The latest show sponsored by Sisterhood, “Barefoot in the Park,” proved to be as enjoyable as the first. Both were performed at the Little Victory Theater. The cast was excellent and all agreed that it was a thoroughly professional performance. We are looking forward to the next show.

The fact that the show was followed by a particularly enjoyable dinner simply added to the pleasure of the day.

Once again, C.B.I. is indebted to Laurie Raps, who did the leg-work in arranging the show and to Sandy Levy, who took care of the dinner de-tails.

September 2018 The SHOFAR 10