NEWSLETTER

Beth El - The Heights Synagogue builds vibrant Jewish community.We welcome all in participatory, traditional, egalitarian worship and learning.

Saturday Morning Services at 9:15 s 3246 Desota Ave., Cleveland Hts., OH 44118 s (216-320-9667

November 20165777 IWwX / YR$T

One of the things I am grateful for this season is the little sit/stand icons that Joe Buchwald Gelles has put in our High Holy Days service guides. It helps to know how much longer we have to stand before we can sink back into our seats. Sitting is comfortable, and comforting. It is restful. The Hebrew for sitting – yosheyv – is also the word “to stay” or “to reside.”It connotes home. We sit in the Sukkah. We dwell in the land.

When do we sit? When the Torah is hidden we sit. When it is visible, we stand in respect. However, when it is read, we sit again, because sitting is the position of study. The word yeshiva means the place of sitting. We also sit shiva when we are grieving; it is a form of comfort. On the other hand, we stand during mourner’s Kaddish. Standing makes you stand out, while sitting is contemplative, almost fetal; it lets you regress. All of the activities requiring a Minyan involve standing – Hallel, Kedushah, Kaddish, the public Amidah. In a small intimate group, we generally sit.

Where do we sit? Seating arrangements reflect a synagogue’s values. In our shul, we have mixed seating, men and women together, reflecting our egalitarianism. Although we do not have designated seats for individuals, most of have a preferred, familiar sitting place. Many ancient synagogues were built in the round, with the congregation facing the Rabbi in the center. The American tradition has often moved the pulpit to the front of the shul. With the renovation of our sanctuary, we now have a choice of how our seats face. Do we want our chairs facing East, or towards the pulpit? As stated above, seating patterns reflect our values.

And what do we sit on? Currently we sit on our temporary movable chairs, serviceable if not cozy. Last year, as a congregation, we selected new chairs, which people found to be very comfortable. This vital part of the renovation is not complete. Once we are sure we have the funds to meet our operating budget, we will be looking for donors to make new chairs a reality. We hope to be able to avoid a price increase by raising adequate funds before the end of the year.

Let us reflect on the words of Psalm 27, “One thing that I ask of the Lord, only that do I seek: to sit in the House of the Lord, all the days of my life.”

Erica New and Eran Shiloh, Co-Presidents

What It Means to SitCo-Presidents

eriCa new

eran shiloh

Just as we say on Passover, we ought to say on Thanksgiving, “Let all who are hungry come and eat” – all, whether Jew or gentile, black or white, straight or gay, Republican or Democrat.

Beth El – The Heights Synagogue Newsletter, Vol. 19, No. 2, November 2016 © Beth El – The Heights Synagogue Carol Bruml, Editor – Telephone 216-932-9155, E-mail: news@bethelheights.org General submittal deadline is the 7th of each month. 3246 Desota Ave., Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 Published 11 times per year.http://www.bethelheights.org/ For address or mailing list change, call 216-320-9667

2

Questions? ConCerns?Comments? ComPlaints?

Please do not hesitate to contact the

Presidents by e-mail president

@bethelheights.orgor telephone

Eran (440) 223-9765Erica (216) 276-1029

helP usstay in touCh!

Please be sure we have your current

contact information.Send changes to

info@bethelheights.org

or call (216) 320-9667

KeeP uP with the news!Join the

Be-ths lists!Send an e-mail to

Mick Miller,mick@mickmill.com,if you need help with

signing up.

Contact Information

Sukkot2016

We had beautiful weather for the beginning of Sukkot this year – and even for the two mornings when we were erecting and decorating the sukkah! Amazing, since the holidays are so late this year! Many of our members have been able to enjoy the warmth and sun-shine by dining outdoors, as we are commanded to do at this time. Wednesday night was made even more special, since the Indians clinched the American League pennant just as dinner was ending. Thanks again to all who helped build the sukkah and decorate it, and to all who helped make the wonderful dinner we enjoyed as a congregation that night.

Photos by Bill Bruml, Marvin Palevsky, and Carol Bruml.

3

The Chesed Committee presents Bikkur Holim:

The Mitzvah and Practice of Visiting the Sick

q

The commandment to visit those who are ill is a core component of our tradition. The Midrash teaches that when we visit the sick we emulate God, who went to visit Abra-ham when he was in pain after his circum-cision. The Lunch and Learn will focus on the ways the rabbis of the Talmud under-stood the mitzvah of Bikkur Holim, and their suggestions for best practices when visiting someone who is ill. These rabbinic prescriptions will be brought up to date in practice using some material on the sub-ject from the Jewish Theological Seminary. We’ll also look at the fears that surface for many of us when we think about visiting friends and community members who are hurting. Our goal is to talk through con-

cerns and come up with ideas for how to best show up for one another in our Beth El community. And it will be shown that categories of Bikkur Holim can be applied to everyday life.

Rabbi Shulamit Izen is a board-certified chaplain who has spent the last six years trying to learn the art of being present for people in their suffering. She is currently in training, through the Association of Clini-cal Pastoral Education, to become faculty in the practice of Spiritual Care. Stephen Pepper is a founding member of Beth El – The Heights Synagogue and chairs the Chesed Committee.

Lunch and Learn, november 5

Lunch and Learn, december 3

Presented by Rabbi Shulamit Izen and Stephen Pepper

Presented by Menachem Shoham, Ph.D.The Threat of Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotics were introduced into the clinic some seventy years ago. They worked won-ders, but bacteria became increasingly resis-tant to these new drugs to the point where nowadays the physician has few if any options to treat multi-drug resistant infec-tions. If the trend continues, more people will die of bacterial infections than of heart disease or cancer by 2050. Menachem’s talk will focus on ways to combat antibiotic resistance, a global problem that threatens to end healthcare as we know it.

Menachem Shoham was born in Swit-zerland, spent his youth in Vienna, made aliyah with his family and attended col-lege at Bar Ilan University in Israel. Upon graduation, he served in the IDF for a total

of five years, including the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War. Thereafter he entered graduate school at the Weizmann Institute of Science and obtained a Ph.D. in structural biology in 1979. Following postdoctoral studies at Yale University, he went back to the Weizmann Institute for a few years to work with Ada Yonath on a challenging project that eventually earned her the Nobel Prize. Following a one-year stint at the Dupont Company in Wilming-ton, Delaware, Menachem was recruited to the Case Western Reserve University Medi-cal School in 1989 to establish a structural biology program here in Cleveland. He has been on the CWRU faculty in the Depart-ment of Biochemistry ever since.

Join us forLunch and LearnsN

ovember 5: R

abbi Shulamit Izen &

Stephen Pepper ~ Decem

ber 3: Menachem

Shoham

4

Yahrzeits, November 2016Tishrei ~ YR$T

Sam Dworkin 30 Tishrei 5732Marvin Dubin 30 Tishrei Roger Wilkenfeld 30 Tishrei

Heshvan ~ IWwX Ben Tepper 2 Heshvan 5718James Saunt 2 Heshvan 5766Harry Mayzel 4 Heshvan 5761Rose Zeisler 4 Heshvan 5723Louis Brody 5 Heshvan 5713Dotty Dannhauser 8 Heshvan Rashe Sobel 8 Heshvan 5716Joseph Weiss 8 Heshvan 5747Barney Krasny 10 Heshvan 5705Harry L. Miller 10 Heshvan 5728Blanche Carr 10 Heshvan Herbert Goldstone 10 Heshvan 5766Rose Goldstone 10 Heshvan 5749William Schenkelman 10 Heshvan 5724Sarah Dolin 12 Heshvan Rose Rogul Gelles 12 Heshvan Samuel Protus 12 Heshvan 5757Yoav Borshtein 13 Heshvan 5772Isadore Gertman 14 Heshvan Norman Koff 14 Heshvan 5718Mildred Morton 14 Heshvan 5730Sadie Bernstein 14 Heshvan Sam Bernstein 15 Heshvan

Pearl Maeroff 16 Heshvan 5731Elsie Narmon 16 Heshvan 5729Yehuda Leib Schultz-Shalit 16 Heshvan 5734Tobias Seidman 16 Heshvan 5715William Sonnenstein 16 Heshvan Herman Collin 18 Heshvan 5723Louis Freumker 18 Heshvan 5733Anna Kessler 18 Heshvan Fay Landau 19 Heshvan Morton Hoffman 20 Heshvan 5775David Nadle 20 Heshvan 5755Jack Stern 20 Heshvan 5773Doris Glaser 21 Heshvan 5734Morris Samet 21 Heshvan 5731Gertrude Sobelman 21 Heshvan 5715Hyman Cohen 22 Heshvan 5734Claire Kammen 22 Heshvan 5736Philip Noll 23 Heshvan 5738Morris Cohen 24 Heshvan 5684Philip Reiss 24 Heshvan Ann Groger 25 Heshvan Anita Fertman Pereversky 27 Heshvan 5717Harry Eisman 28 Heshvan 5703Mindy Marfisi 28 Heshvan 5767Beatrice Goodman 29 Heshvan 5716Sarah Widzer 29 Heshvan 5731

Mishnah Study GroupResumes

The Mishnah Study Group, facilitated by Alan Lerner, will resume meeting on November 12. They will begin their fall studies with Tractate Yada’im. Watch your email for further information, coming from Alan. The group meets monthly, in the Community Room, after Kiddush. For further information, feel free to contact Alan directly at 216-932-5950 or ajaylerner@gmail.com.

Join

us

for

Fall

Educ

ation

Lear

ners

’ Tor

ah S

tudy

, Mis

hnah

Stu

dy G

roup

, and

Lun

ch a

nd L

earn

s re

sum

e th

is m

onth

.

q

5

Calendar, november 2016 5777 IWwX / YR$T

Join us to study and discuss selections from the weekly Torah portion. We consider commentaries, raise questions, and share tips for using the Chumash. Each week’s lesson is self-contained, so come as your schedule permits. The sessions are accessible for non-Hebrew speakers or readers and open to people at all levels of experience.

We meet after the Torah is taken out and the portion is introduced (about 10:20am-10:30 am) and rejoin the service in time for the d’var torah. Questions? Contact Mia Buchwald Gelles, miabgelles@gmail.com or 216-321-6717.

Upcoming Learners’ Torah Discussion Dates (usually 1st and 3rd Shabbatot of each month):November 12 – Parashat Lech-Lecha November 19 – Parashat VayeraDecember 3 – Parashat Toldot

Learners’ Torah Discussions Open to Allq

Saturday, November 5, After services – Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Shulamit Izen and Stephen Pepper: “Bikkur Holim, the Obligation to Visit the Sick.”

See page 3 for details.

Saturday, November 12, About 10:20 am – The Learners’ Torah Discussion Group will meet in the Community

Room to discuss Parashat Lech-Lecha. See below for details.11:00 - 11:45 am – Shabbat Playdate: Jewish-themed songs, stories, and games for

children ages seven and under, in the Babysitting Room.after services – Kiddush is sponsored by Ilene Gertman, Mick Miller, and Jamie Saunt, in honor of Ilene’s and Jamie’s birthdays.

after kiddush – The Mishnah Study Group will meet to begin their study of Tractate Yada’im.

Saturday, November 19, about 10:20 am – The Learners’ Torah Discussion Group will meet in the community room to discuss Parashat Vayera. See below for details.

Saturday, November 26, after services – Monthly Simcha Kiddush: Celebrate with us many of the happy events that have occurred during the month of November.

Wednesday, November 30, 7:15 pm – Concert Night: Meet in the lobby of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where we will attend a free concert by the CIM Orchestra, with Carl Topilow, conductor, and Jocelyn Lai, piano. See flyer for details.

Saturday, December 3, About 10:20 am – The Learners’ Torah Discussion Group will meet in the community

room to discuss Parashat Toldot. See below for details.After services – Lunch and Learn with Menachem Shoham: “The Global Threat

of Antibiotic Resistance.” See page 3 for details.

ShabbatPlaydate

November 12

11:00-11:45 am

in theBabysitting Room

Jewish-themed singing

and stories for children

7 and younger.

6

TW$DXNews from Beth El

Condolences to: OYLBA OWXYNØ Harvey and Sondra Jacobs, on the recent death of Harvey’s brother, Louis (Lou) Jacobs.

Refuah Sh’lema to: ! HMYL$ HAWPRØ Bernie CantleberryØ Rabbi Michael HechtØ Sondra JacobsØ Philip KazdanØ Miriam PalevskyØ Arnold StoneØ Marvin WarshayØ Daniel Weisberg, Marsha Weisberg’s brother.Ø Miriam Weisberg, Marsha Weisberg’s sister.

Mazel Tov to: ! BWU LZMØ Honey Massey, on the October 15 marriage of her daughter, Rivkah Massey, to Jason Penarelli. Rivkah is the “Controller” at Bridgeview CFO Solutions in San Francisco. Jason is a freelance videographer in the Bay Area. The couple will reside in Oakland, California.

Thanks for contributions to: ! HDWTØ Richard and Suzanne AdlerØ Frank and Jeanette Buchwald, in memory of Margaret Buchwald z”l.Ø Cedars Legacy Fund, to cover partial cost of roof repairs and tree trimming.Ø Ilene GertmanØ Sue KleinØ Shirley Marks, in memory of Ira Marks z”l.Ø Adam ProbstØ Juliana Sadock Savino, to the Kiddush Fund.Ø Arnold and Diane Stone, in memory of Helen Son-nenstein z”l.Ø Arnold and Diane Stone, in memory of William Son-nenstein z”l.Ø Arnold and Diane Stone, in memory of Max Sonnen-stein z”l.Ø Rivka TaubØ Leonard TrachtØ Beth and Scott WachterØ Beth and Scott Wachter, in memory of Ira Marks z”l.Ø Anonymous

Thanks for helping to construct our sukkah to: ! HDWTØ Bill BrumlØ David KazdanØ Marvin PalevskyØ Adam ProbstØ Erin RocchioØ Elijah and Julian SauntØ Becky SchurØ Eran Shiloh

Thanks for Kiddush sponsorship to: ! HDWTØ September 24 –

Henry Bloom and Marilyn Malkin, in honor of their 70th birthdays.

Ø October 1 – Stephanie Gordon, in memory of her husband, Chester Gordon z”l.

Ø October 22 – Bud Stern, in honor of the marriage of Rivkah Massey to Jason Penarelli.

Thanks for September Simcha Kiddush sponsorship to: ! HDWTØ Bruce and Polly Wilkenfeld, in honor of the birth of their grandson, Lucca Jack Wilkenfeld (Shalom). His parents are Dr. Daniel and Rachael Wilkenfeld, who live in Pittsburgh.

Thanks for October newsletter mailing help to: ! HDWTØ Robin DubinØ Richard KrueckØ Nina SobelØ Bud SternØ Lenny TrachtØ Beth WachterØ Scott Wachter

Thanks to: ! HDWTØ Bill Bruml, for collecting the shaimos (damaged holy books and other objects) and taking them to Mount Olive Cemetery for ritual burial.

concert night

Cleveland Institute of Music OrchestraCarl Topilow, Conductor

Jocelyn Lai, Piano, Student Artist

Mozart: Overture to Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio), K.384

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op.73Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliette Suite, Op. 64

Wednesday, November 30, 8:00 pmKulas Hall, Cleveland Institute of Music

11021 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44106

Meet in the C.I.M. Lobby about 7:15 pm, so we can get a block of seats together.

Free. RSVP to Lenny Tracht, 216-703-2101 or lennytracht@gmail.com

or just show up.Sponsored by the BE-THS Social Committee