Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Temple Anshe Amunim 26 BROAD STREET | PITTSFIELD, MA 01201
(413) 442-5910 | [email protected]
WWW.ANSHEAMUNIM.ORG | WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ANSHEAMUNIM
Responsible For One Another
VOLUME 150, EDITION 7
Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch
M A Y 2 0 2 0 | 7 I Y A R - 8 S I V A N
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Page 2 Schedule of Services PFTY
Page 3 Message From TAA Management Team
Page 4 Social Action Committee
Page 5 Donation Form Page 6 May Birthdays and Anniversaries
Page 7 Food Bank Insecurity Condolences
In this unprecedented time, we look to our text and our tradition for wisdom, guidance, and strength. As we read in the Talmud: Kol Yisrael arevim zeh ba’zeh All of Israel is responsible for one another (Shevuot 39a).
We are the people of Israel, given our name by our ancestor, Jacob. He received this new name, Israel, when he wrestled with an angel. Israel literally means “God-wrestler.”
So what does it mean to us today, “all of Israel is responsible for one another”?
It means that right now, many of us may be wrestling - emotionally, physically, and spiritually - and we, your Temple family, are here to support you.
In our weekly classes, Shabbat services, and programs, we wrestle with our faith in the best kind of way. The intellectual rigor and spiritual depth of Temple Anshe Amunim are among our greatest strengths. We have maintained and expanded opportunities for educational, social, and religious engagement during this challenging moment in our history. We have successfully migrated our congregation online, using technology that is new for many of us and enables us to stay connected.
We have launched a member-to-member calling initiative. Every member of our Temple family will receive a check-in call in the coming weeks to connect and strengthen each other. All of Israel - and all of Temple Anshe Amunim - is responsible for one another.
I continue to provide dedicated and on-going pastoral care and support for our congregants. I, along with our Temple leadership and support staff, are working diligently to care for you, now and always.
At this time of economic uncertainty, some of us may be wrestling and struggling financially. Your Temple family is here for you.
We hope you recognize the benefits of being part of our Temple family and we also acknowledge that you may not be in the position to support our Temple’s sacred work as you normally would. As always, please contact any member of our Management Team to discuss options for dues payment plans. Finances will never be a barrier to participation in our Temple. If your balance is up to date at this time, we thank you.
At the same time, we know this time brings a desire to help. If your circumstances permit, we kindly ask that you make a donation to support our Temple when others may not be able to do so. You may easily do so on our website at https://www.ansheamunim.org/donate.
Thank you for all that you do to ensure that our Temple is secure and sustained for many generations to come. L’dor vador -from generation to generation - all of Israel is responsible for one another. Sometimes we are the ones lifting others up, and sometimes we are the ones being lifted up. May we all be lifted on the wings of eagles, as it is written, al canfei nesharim, protected in safety, health, and love.
Rabbi Liz invites you to check it out. Were you unable to attend a service or Torah study? Don’t worry! You can find her weekly Torah writings posted at this link: https://ansheamunim.org/rabbi-lizs-blog
2 - T E M P L E A N S H E A M U N I M ~ M A Y 2 0 2 0
Schedule of Services Friday May 1 5:30 p.m. - Erev Shabbat Services
Saturday May 2 9:30 a.m. - Torah Plus
Friday May 8 5:30 p.m.- Erev Shabbat Services
Saturday May 9 9:30 a.m. - Torah Plus
Friday May 15
5:30 p.m. - Erev Shabbat Services
Saturday May 16
9:30 a.m. - Torah Plus
Friday May 22
5:30 p.m. - Erev Shabbat Services
Saturday May 23
9:30 a.m. - Torah Plus Friday May 29
5:30 p.m. - Erev Shabbat Services
Saturday May 30
9:30 a.m. - Torah Plus
Please note that services may be held virtually via Zoom. To access, please go to the Temple Anshe Amunim website calendar. For technical assistance, please contact Dave Wallace (413) 822-8259.
Torah Across the Berkshires: A Shavuot Experience
T E M P L E A N S H E A M U N I M ~ M A Y 2 0 2 0 - 3
A Message From the
Temple Anshe Amunim Management Team
To our Temple Family,
On behalf of the Management Team (MT), I write to keep you informed about the ways that temple leadership is overseeing temple matters by the side of our dear Temple president, Joshua Cutler. With Josh, and within our entire community, we have deeply felt the passing of Jessica, and together as we grieve, we are here for Josh, for one another, and for you. Leadership: Please know that the MT continues to meet weekly with Rabbi Liz. Together we oversee all temple operations and needs. Josh is kept apprised, and has welcomed the support and partnered leadership from Rabbi Liz, the MT, Board of Trustees, and Committees. And, Josh will resume leadership duties when his energies permit. Rabbi Liz's compassion, care, and leadership of our Temple family, in this time of our personal and congregational grief, and amid the Covid-19 pandemic, has been extraordinary - and we offer her our heartfelt gratitude. We are also grateful to the large circle of our Caring and Membership Committee(s) for supporting Josh and the Cutler family, and other congregants as needed. And, thank you also to everyone involved with our member-to-member 'inreach initiative.' If you haven't already, you will receive a friendly call from a member to check on your wellbeing; address any needs you may have; and to learn about our virtual offerings and activities. Some Difficult Updates: With diminished office tasks now, please know that our leadership made the difficult decision to remove the position of Office (Administrative) Assistant, which means that we had to lay off Kevin Wallace, effective Friday, April 17th. As you may know, Kevin also greatly aided Dave with building needs, but in order for him to apply for unemployment benefits, we needed to lay him off at this time. In the future, and if circumstances permit, Kevin may again offer building/event assistance. We offer our deep gratitude to Kevin Wallace, for all the ways he has tended to our office, building, and our entire congregation; and we wish him our very best. Regretfully, we also made the difficult decision to postpone our 150th Gala celebration, which had been scheduled for Saturday, May 30th. We had to do this in our time of uncertainty, particularly given the necessary decisions about early planning and
advertisement needs. We dearly thank the Gala committee, particularly Marlene Chautin, Michael Duffy, and Judy Stolzberg for their leadership with Josh Cutler, and we look forward to the time when we may offer a new date to celebrate the life of our congregation. With Gratitude, We are Together: Even in this time of hardship, our temple is strong; and while we miss our physical connections and worship in our temple building, our Temple life together also remains strong, vibrant and accessible. We are grateful to our Rabbi, our staff, our leadership, and this incredible congregation for all the ways we continue to carry on, together. And, we have appreciated the blessings that have come from virtual life - such as joining services, study and events with friends and relatives from afar, or those unable to travel, or those who are infirm. As it is time for invoice statements to go out, please know they will be mailed this week, even in this time of pandemic. We understand that making payments just now may not be possible, and if this is the case, we will work together about how and when payments can be comfortable for you. Kindly contact me or any member of our MT, so that we may make a plan, together. We also know this time brings upon a desire to do something, anything that may be helpful, so if your circumstances permit, we kindly ask that you make a donation to help, where others may not be able to do so. You may easily do so on our website at https://www.ansheamunim.org/donate. And, particularly, now, as Zoom is the vehicle for services, Torah study, committee and leadership meetings, and programming, we would be grateful for our members and guests to make any size donation to support all the new operations and initiatives in our community. Most important, your involvement and participation is valued beyond measure. Should any initiative, new or sustained, pique your interest, please reach out to Rabbi Liz or any temple leader to offer your insights and assistance. And, as always, if you require assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out. Our leadership will continue to keep you updated. For now, and on behalf of all in leadership, I hope you and your families are well and managing safely. L'Shalom, Debora Cole-Duffy, Immediate Past President
4 - T E M P L E A N S H E A M U N I M ~ M A Y 2 0 2 0
Social Action Committee TAA will be participating in a drive for the
Berkshire Community Diaper Project (BCDP). The BCDP is a grassroots group that has been in the Berkshires for six years for the purpose of making diapers available to low and moderate income families. Since its inception, BCDP has distributed more than 750,000 diapers through food banks and community organizations. Diapers are not covered by WIC or SNAP and a family can spend $100 per month on them.
The diaper drive, which was scheduled to run at the beginning of April, has been pushed back due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We can help families in the Berkshires by getting a head start on the diaper drive. When the Temple is again open we will be collecting diapers of all sizes, including partial packages of diapers. Of course until then you can send a monetary donation that the Social Action Committee will redirect to BCDP to use to purchase diapers at a discounted price.
Thank you for your continuing generosity.
PFTY The PFTY youth group
plans to continue the tradition of placing Flags for Jewish War Veterans at the Pittsfield Cemetery. Please contact Rachel Alemany at [email protected] for more information.
T E M P L E A N S H E A M U N I M ~ M A Y 2 0 2 0 - 5
TEMPLE ANSHE AMUNIM CONTRIBUTION FORM
Donor Name(s): ______________________________________________________________________________ Today’s Date: ___________ Amount: $__________ Method of Payment: cash ____ check ____ credit card ____ 1. In honor of/ in memory of : ___________________________________________________________________________ (circle one) Name Yahrzeit Date
___________________________________________________________________________ Relationship to Donor To Fund (from above)
2. In honor of/ in memory of : ____________________________________________________________________________ (circle one) Name Yahrzeit Date ____________________________________________________________________________ Relationship to Donor To Fund (from above)
26 Broad Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201 (413) 442-5910 www.ansheamunim.org
Todah Rabah - Thank you!
Please Contribute to any Temple Anshe Amunim Fund.
All donations are gratefully appreciated.
To donate now, please visit https://www.ansheamunim.org/donate
All mitzvah funds support immediate Temple needs.
Mitzvah Fund: Donations to the Mitzvah fund provide support for:
• Commemoration of happy events both large and small; Onegs and Pre-Negs.
• Expenses related to cantorial, Temple music and the choir.
• Remembrances at services (yahrzeits) and in the Bulletin for loved ones who have passed away.
• Basic religious school expenses.
• Purchasing new books for the library.
• The purchase, repair, and maintenance of Temple art.
• Capital maintenance and repair of the Temple building and memorial boards.
• Daily operations. Dedicated Prayer book, Tanakh (Bible) minimum donation is $36, or Women’s Torah Commentary Fund minimum donation is $50: Purchases new books with a dedication plate. Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund: (Please designate to Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch): to be applied for the benefit of the Temple.
Endowment & Restricted Funds Descriptions:
The Roslyn G. (Roz) Citrin Cantorial Endowment Fund: Donations to this fund will provide annually, for the beauty of Cantorial music and song to enhance our High Holy Days and special worship.
Rabbi Harold & Audrey Salzmann Religious School Endowment: To support Religious School programming, retreats and trips.
Lynn Denmark/Faith Newmark Endowment: To support the Religious School, as determined by Women of Reform Judaism.
Shaun Beckwith-Chasen Campership Fund: Scholarships for
attendance at Eisner/Crane Lake Camp.
Elise & Moe England Religious School Scholarship Fund: Scholarships for religious school attendance.
Jeff Stolzberg Campership Fund: Scholarships for attendance at Eisner/Crane Lake Camp.
Henry & Dorothy Halperin Fund: For children’s Simchat Torah celebration.
Dan and Edna Miller Building Fund: For maintenance, renovations and improvements to the Temple.
Individual Endowments: Set up by individuals, these funds are part of the main Temple endowment and support ongoing operations and programs as determined by the Board of Trustees. Minimum donation is $10,000.
Tree-of-Life in honor of, or in memory of: Inscribed leaf to honor the life or memory of a specified person or people on the Temple’s Tree of Life. ($125)
Yahrzeit Plaques: To honor the memory of an ancestor or other family member to be displayed on the memorial board in the lobby. ($350) Please complete form from the office for leaf or plaque and submit with your contribution.
All donations will be acknowledged in the Bulletin. Acknowledgements will also be sent to the honoree or family.
6 - T E M P L E A N S H E A M U N I M ~ M A Y 2 0 2 0
May Yahrzeits We hold in loving memory:
May 1 / 7 Iyyar Benjamin Filson
May 2 / 8 Iyyar
Esther Kazer Ida Wisbaum
May 3 / 9 Iyyar
Jeanne R. Bloomberg Esther Chaneles
Dr. Harry J. Handler
May 5 / 11 Iyyar Ida Goldstein
May 7 / 13 Iyyar
Faith Spencer
May 8 / 14 Iyyar Lt. Benjamin R. Chaneles
Esther Kaufman Oliver Zoltan Moss Murray Rappaport
Yosef ben Menachem Sadighi
May 9 / 15 Iyyar
Edith Kaplan Bregman Stewart Gluck
Vernice Lederer Seiler Nathan Sisselman
May 10 / 16 Iyyar
Norman Small May 11 / 17 Iyyar
Sally Golden Aaronson
May 12 / 18 Iyyar Philip E. Rothkopf
May 13 / 19 Iyyar
Jill Proskin Harry Silverstein
May 14 / 20 Iyyar Stanley L. Rosenfeld
May 15 / 21 Iyyar
Harry M. Haidak Jules Krater
May 16 / 22 Iyyar
Earl Drought
May 17 / 23 Iyyar Helen Perry
May 18 / 24 Iyyar
Ida S. Braun Evelyn Slomin
Helen Weinstein
May 19 / 25 Iyyar Toby Ann Gershoff
Nathan Mayer Glickman Augusta Lipshitz Korkin
May 20 / 26 Iyyar Helen Ruth Shulman
May 22 / 28 Iyyar
Charles S. Levey
May 23 / 29 Iyyar Leonard Stolzberg
May 25 / 2 Sivan
Isabella Kelm
May 26 / 3 Sivan Lena Briskin
May 27 / 4 Sivan Alexander Golden
May 28 / 5 Sivan
Jacob Franklin Mary Goldsmith Gertrude Rod
May 29 / 6 Sivan Harriet Arenswald Dr. Howard Kanner
Henry A. Perry Rosalie Rose
May 30 / 7 Sivan Kenneth Hubacker
May 31 / 8 Sivan
Abraham Levin
Birthdays Yom Huledet Sameach! Happy Birthday to our members and friends with May birthdays!
Anniversaries
May 1 Melissa Donohue
May 2 Michael Duffy
Rhoda Kaminstein
May 4 Sheila Gershoff Mary Yarmosky
May 6 Martin Schwartz
May 8 Steven Yarmosky
May 12 Larry Pellish
May 14 Dr. Richard Greene
May 17 Michael Wasserman
May 18 David Henner
May 19 Ellie Ware
May 21 Melvin Cohen Lauren Dudley
May 22 Peter Weissenstein
May 24 Rachel Fedderly
May 25 Barbara Waldinger
May 27 Enrico Lamet
Maxine Wisbaum
May 31 Rachel Alemany Joel Greenberg
May 5 Marsha and Melvin Cohen
May 16 Arlene and Michael Shreefter
May 18 Robyn Rosen and Vincent Higuera
May 20 Mary and Steven Yarmosky
May 24 Barbara and Michael Wasserman
May 28 Barbara and Andy Hochberg
Yahrzeit Donations - It is customary to make a donation on the occasion of your loved one’s Yahrzeit. Yahrzeit dates -Yahrzeits are based on the Hebrew or Gregorian (English) date, depending on family reference. If there are any omissions or errors, please call the Temple office (413) 442-5910.
Yahrzeit Plaques
Yahrzeit Plaques honor the memory of an ancestor or other family member. Each plaque is $350.
For more information or to request an order form, please call the Temple office at (413) 442-5910.
Please remember Temple Anshe
Amunim in your will.
DEADLINE
Please be advised the due date for submitting articles for the next
month’s bulletin is the 10th of this month.
Please submit photos with captions.
Email to: [email protected]
Condolences The Temple Anshe Amunim community extends condolences to: Joshua and James Cutler; and Ellen, Zachary, and Julie Cutler on the recent death of their beloved wife, mother, daughter-in-law, and sister-in-law, Jessica Lynn Cutler.
