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November 2020 Marcheshvan - Kislev 5781

November 2020

Volume 58- Number 8

Marcheshvan - Kislev 5781

A Progressive Conservative Synagogue

Building Community Since 1954

Letter From the Rabbi Letter From Ma’asim Tovim High Holidays Pledge Town Hall Meeting Notice Adult Education Congrats Kyle Araujo Sisterhood Movie Club A Pair of Bernsteins Debbie Meitin’s Heritage Article MAGAL Tu B’shevat Fundraiser Birthdays, Anniversaries & Donations

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Here comes another “Holiday Season”, or as I like to call it the War on Hanukkah. Everyone else thinks they are under attack, why shouldn’t we? We, after all, have good reason to see Hanukkah under assault. What’s that you say? Your Target stocks more Hanukkah wrapping paper than ever? Publix has

Hanukkah candles? You’ve seen dreidels on the front page of Amazon right next to the Christmas ornaments? Your local town council lets Jews light a giant menorah in the Town square right next to the Christmas tree? Exactly my point! Hanukkah is under attack! The miracle of Hanukkah was our successful fight to NOT have to conform to another faith and culture. The Seleucid Empire wanted good little Hellenists and we didn’t want to play ball, at least not in their naked gymnasiums. So we took to the hills and fought battles against enormous odds for the right to not do things like them. When we won, we dedicated a holiday to that struggle. Like the Hashmonean dynasty descended from the Maccabees, we have learned the wrong lesson. We have let others make Hanukkah so like Christmas that some have Hanukkah bushes unironically. Even if you haven’t gone that far, chances are that you compare our holiday to theirs and want to look good in that comparison. But their holiday celebrates the birth of their god; ours cele-brates that no one can force their god on us. That means we have to let Hanukkah be low-key. Get out of the public square competing with their trees. Forget about massive parties with latkes and eggnog. Piles of presents and eight days of wrapping paper won’t win the war. Defend the ideals of Hanukkah by NOT making it a blue and silver copy of Christmas but a proud moment to honor those who fought for religious freedom. Participate and donate to Jewish cultural, educational and spiritual activities that run deeper than tinsel and twin-kling lights. That is where the war will be won. L’Shalom Rabbi Joshua Neely

From The Rabbi

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Dear Temple Israel Family, As both my tenure on the Board of Trustees and this unpredictable year come to an end, I am happy to have positive news to share from the Ma’asim Tovim Committee. The Sneakers That Fit fundraiser, which Temple Israel participates in along with Congregation for Reform Judaism, Temple Shir Shalom, and Congregation Beth Am, exceeded its goal of $7,000 and raised more than $9,000. With many parents currently out of work, paying for food and rent takes precedence over buying new

shoes for their children, but that basic need is still there, especially at the Title I schools this fundraiser serves. At the same time, Sneakers That Fit could not operate this year as it did before. Normally, donors choose a card listing the name, age, and shoe size of a student and purchase shoes and socks for that child in need to be delivered before winter break. I know my own kids have enjoyed picking a card with students close in age to them when I set out the board during MAGAL religious school hours. But that couldn’t happen this year. To avoid putting anyone’s health at risk while shopping, we accepted monetary donations only and moved the usual December deadline to before Thanksgiving break in case schools closed early due to the pandemic. Admittedly, I was not optimistic about being able to raise enough to cover the 350 pairs of shoes we needed—and in a shorter amount of time. But we met the challenge! With Thanksgiving around the corner, the Sneakers That Fit team and the students we serve can be truly thankful for this feat of generosity. I also want to express my gratitude to everyone who contributed to the High Holiday Hope Drive for the Jewish Family Services Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry. As with Sneakers That Fit, JFS could only accept monetary donations and not food, so it is incredible to see that more than $11,000 was still raised despite not passing out those paper grocery bags and collection envelopes during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. Ma’asim Tovim also teams up with MAGAL every year to collect monthly food donations for JFS, so to continue fighting hunger in our community during this time, we have turned our Little Free Library into a Little Free Pantry. This is a national initiative that Little Free Libraries across the country are participating in, and we are proud to add our location to the Little Free Pantry map. In keeping with the monthly MAGAL collection themes, this month’s theme is Thanksgiving sides. Please consider placing boxes of stuffing and cans of green beans, pumpkin, or cranberry sauce inside of the Little Free Library, along with any books you also want to donate. There is clearly a need in the surrounding community, as I continue to see both food and books being taken weekly. Thank you for allowing me to serve on the Board. Although my work as a trustee is ending, I look forward to continuing my service through Ma’asim Tovim, MAGAL, and the other committees I am on. Happy Thanksgiving! Emily Raij Ma'asim Tovim Chair

From Ma’asim Tovim

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High Holiday Pledge

Dear Friends Thank you to those in our Temple Israel family who responded so generously to our High Holiday Appeal. For those who have not yet had that opportunity, all is not lost! Your pledge is representative of so much more than your donation. As we take stock of our lives, our thoughts naturally turn to the legacy we want to pass on to future generations. Your pledge represents your commitment to make certain that Temple Israel will always be here, not just for us, but for our children and grandchildren as well. We have sustained a significant financial setback as a result of repercussions related to COVID-19. Among other things, we have sadly lost income from two of our tenants, as well as income traditionally derived from High Holiday ticket sales. It seems that the only things that have not been affected have been our expenses. As examples, we have had to sealcoat the parking lot and repair the air conditioning systems. So even though our doors have been closed and services had to be adapted, we still have the same bills to pay if we want to keep the lights on in the house, the air conditioning cooling, the phones and computers working and our amazing staff paid. Your donations sustain our programming and physical campus. We are also in the process of soliciting bids to finally bring our website into the 21st century, which will vastly improve communications with our congregation and the community. As you are making your donation, know that we have begun to use the 2019 FEMA Security Grant to install new video and sound systems throughout the synagogue, including the Rein Sanctuary, Savage Family Chapel, Roth Social Hall and Harriett’s Kitchen, and on our livestream. From a safety perspective, the grant is also being utilized to harden our office and side entries, add a new exterior lock system including fobs, install new alarm system and to place new security cameras inside and out and secondary door at the office entrance for package delivery and extra surveillance. We continue to make every effort to meet the spiritual and intellectual needs of our congregation, and, with your help, we will be able to continue this very important mission for years and decades to come. We love our Temple Israel family so, please, love us back in any meaningful way that you can. All donations will be gratefully appreciated! Please email us, go directly to the web site, www.tiflorida.org/high-holiday-pledges/or call the office with your pledge. L’shanah tovah tikateivu v’teichateimu! “A good year, and may you be inscribed and sealed (for blessing in the Book of Life).”

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The RAISE program for adults with special needs is now accepting online applications for a limited number of fall positions.

RAISE is a 6- to 12-month work and social skills training program offered through the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando that is open to all faiths and

provides paid employment at our partnering Jewish agencies. In addition, RAISE assists our employees in the transition to finding employment in the community. If you know a young adult who may benefit from RAISE or you are interested

in volunteering as a Job Coach, please apply online at: jfgo.org/RAISE or contact the JFGO office: 407.645.5933 ext 236

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MAGAL 2020-21 News!

MAGAL 2020-2021 Registration is available now!

tiflorida.org/magal-online-registration-form/

The Little Free Library needs supply donations.

November: Thanksgiving sides ( g reen beans, stuffing, canned

pumpkin, cranberry sauce ) .

place donations in plastic container in the LFL.

Upcoming Adult Education Programs

12/5 9am- Morning Sparks- First Shabbat of the Month for December & January. The program is free and open to the entire community. We will use the book "The Thirteen Petalled Rose: A Discourse on the Essence of Jewish Existence and Belief" by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz as our textbook. We will provide a handout with the reading of the day. Morning Spark will be livestreamed from the Savage Family Chapel

11/22: 10am- Religion & State In Israel with Rabbi Andrew Sacks – Head of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel and Rabbi Peretz Rodman the head of the Conversion Beit Din in Israel

Zoom invitations will be sent out following registration for events. Contact Natan Brener for more details natanbrener@gmail.com or 407-435-8613.

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B’yachad – Together

This 2020-2021 Torah Fund theme is somewhat ironic and profoundly appropriate for this year. More than ever, we need to work together even as we are physically distant! The pandemic has upended our usual start to the campaign. Our thank you gift, the new pin, is stuck in the mail room of JTS. But that does not mean that your pledges are not needed or that they will not be appreciated and appropriately recognized. The process has changed for this year but the need is more vital than ever. As we wonder what the future of Conservative/Masorti Judaism will look like, we know that we will be depending on the innovation, creativity and insights of our Rabbis, Cantors, educators and leaders. Now, more than ever, your support of their education is imperative. Please join me in supporting the men and women in our 5 seminaries –

Jewish Theological Seminary – New York, NY Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies – Los Angeles, CA Schechter Institutes – Jerusalem, Israel

Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano – Buenos Aires, Argentina Zacharias Frankel Rabbinical College – Potsdam, Germany

You can become a benefactor ($180 pledge), guardian ($300 pledge) or more and receive a thank you pin as soon as they are available. Your pledge can be paid in installments, over the course of the fiscal year, with the last payment needed by June 30, 2021. You can send Torah Fund cards ($5 includes postage!). You can make a contribution of any amount! How can YOU be part of this campaign? There are several ways!

Send your check, payable to TORAH FUND, to Cathy Swerdlow 115 E Wyndham Court Longwood FL 32779

Make an online contribution at Torah Fund. Be sure to indicate the name of our Sisterhood when prompted! Make a transfer of stock or distribution from your charitable donor-advised fund – just contact Cathy Swerdlow for more information – cswerd@gmail.com or 407-862-2374

Thank you for your continued support of Torah Fund. Feel free to contact me with any questions! Cathy Swerdlow Torah Fund Chair – Temple Israel Sisterhood

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Volunteers Needed

If you find yourself sheltering in place with extra time on your hands, we would love to hear from you! Temple Israel is always looking for volunteers and you don’t have to leave home to make a difference. Contact Bonnie in the office for the many ways you can help your Temple Israel family. Email manager@tiflorida.org or call (407) 647-3055

On behalf of our family, we would like to thank each and every one of you for joining us to celebrate the wonderful occasion of Kyle’s Bar Mitzvah. We appreciate everyone who was able to be here in person and those watching through live

stream as Kyle took the bima. We especially would like to thank Rabbi Joshua Neely for his support in preparing Kyle for this momentous day.

Kyle is an 8th grader at Innovation Middle School in Lake Nona. Kyle loves playing and watching all sports but his favorite is football. When Kyle plays football, he enjoys playing on defense. He always loves cheering on the UCF Knights whether it’s at home or from our season ticket seats in the stands. On Sundays you will find Kyle, in front of the TV watching the Dolphins and working on his Fantasy Football League. Kyle loves to make his family laugh with his silly jokes. He is an amazing big brother to his siblings. He is loving, understanding, and compassionate. We are so blessed to have him as our son. We love you so much Kyle.

Kyle worked tirelessly over the past 18 months to prepare for the special day. When Kyle started, he was a beginner learning the Hebrew Language and Jewish Customs. With the help of Rabbi Joshua Neely, Kyle exceeded our expectations.

Erica and Mark Davis

Congratulations to

Kyle Araujo

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Advertise in the Bulletin

$36 per month $360 per year business card size ad

Contact the TI Office Manager, Bonnie to place your ad

manager@tiflorida.org or 407-647-3055

Hello Temple Israel!

My name is Joshua Nemery, and I am a Life Scout in Boy Scout Troop

39 of Oviedo, Florida. I am currently in the process of organizing my

Eagle Scout project, which will benefit the playground at the MAGAL

Religious School.

The scouts and I will be performing essential maintenance and installing new benches. These

improvements will make the school more enjoyable for students and enhance their learning

experience.

Troop 39 needs your support to complete this goal.

Attached is a link to a GoFundMe page where you can donate to help us get this project

done. Any and all donations are appreciated.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/joshua-nemery039s-eagle-project

For any questions please feel free to contact me at jcnemery@yahoo.com

Thank you!

Hot Microphone! Judaism tells us life and death are in the power of speech. This has always been true and is doubly so in the current world of

technology where statements can be captured and spread endlessly around the world. As we have wired our sanctuary and chapel for livestreaming, please remember that what you say in

those spaces may be heard by others near and far. It is good practice for controlling our speech at all times.

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The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019): This a fictional vacation spot in Sudan to which European tourists flocked for its seaside yoga, but which also served as the base of a complex operation to rescue Ethiopian Jews. The film is loosely based on the events of Operation Moses or Operation Joshua in the mid-1980s, in which Israeli spies set up the resort as a façade to secretly evacuate Jewish Ethiopian refugees. (Netflix)

Join us for Movie Club! Our movie of the month of November is Red Sea

Diving Resort. Watch the movie on your own time and join us for a Zoom meeting to discuss the movie on November 29, 2020 at 7pm. A Zoom link will be sent out a week before the meeting. We look forward to seeing you then!

COMING ATTRACTIONS

TI Sisterhood

Movie Club

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A pair of Bernsteins are beautiful mensches October 9, 2020

Susan Bernstein is a loving and dutiful daughter of Pearl Bernstein who lives at Cascade Heights. As a program director at the Jewish Pavilion, Susan enhances the lives of several hundred Jewish residents and one of them is her own mother.

You can imagine how exciting it is to see your daughter leading services, telling Jewish stories, sharing jokes and interacting with your friends. Pictured here are Pearl and Susan holding cards they received from the Jewish Pavilion. One hundred and fifty hand-designed cards were sent by Melissa Robertson in Michigan and delivered to residents at Cascade Heights. People all over the country care about our elders and visited the Jewish Pavilion website http://www.JewishPavilion.org to learn how they can help. Compassionate card writing is one way to show our elders that they are not forgotten.

TI Sisterhood Movie Club

Open to Congregation

Here are some questions to think about. During the Zoom, we will share some of the

background about the true story behind the film, Operations Moses and Joshua. Then we

will discuss:

1. What were you thinking and feeling as you watched this movie?

2. What feelings did you share with any of the characters in the movie?

3. As a Jew, what was the most important aspect of this movie?

4. If you had a chance to ask a character in this movie a question, what would it be?

“See” you on November 29th!

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Jews In the Land of Disney: With family and friends, Debbie Meitin has lived a wonderful life August 21, 2020

Debbie Meitin and Larry Gutter with the penguins in Antarctica.

I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the only child of Rosalind and Irving Dor-sky. My grandparents came from Bel-arus and Ukraine to the United States at the turn of the 20th century. My paternal grandfather was a tailor and my maternal grandfather had a pet store and was a part-time cantor. I have warm memories of my grandfa-ther teaching me how to sew," Debbie Meitin said.

Meitin's parents met at a dance held by a Jewish organization. "My father was an attorney, but he worked with his brother in a successful, plumbing supply business until retirement."

Her mother worked at Wiley Junior High as a librarian. "My mother knew Cantor Allan Robuck (Congregation Ohev Shalom) when he was a student there and later a teacher. She was a remark-able woman who taught me the value of friends and family. But more importantly, she taught me to have the right attitude toward life. I can sum my mom up perfectly by saying she was always able to 'make lemonade out of lemons.'"

Growing up in a Conservative Jewish home, her parents kept kosher. She was a bat mitzvah, a member of the youth choir in synagogue, and she actively participated in United Synagogue Youth in high school and later in Hillel in college. It was in USY that she started doing Israeli dancing.

Meitin attended Michigan State University where she earned a B.S. in Medical Technology, and worked at university hospitals in Cleveland for six years. Later, she attended graduate school at Ohio State University where she received a master's in Health Administration.

After graduate school, Meitin worked for Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, and then moved to Chicago to work for Ernst & Whinney, consulting for health-care facility planning. Some of her consulting projects took her to Boston, Nashville, Phoenix, Charleston and several other cit-ies. In Orlando, Meitin worked in health care executive search, consulting with Ernst & Young, then at Florida Hospital.

While living in Chicago, Meitin went on a Jewish singles cruise with a friend, sponsored by the JCC of St. Louis. Orlando resident Laurie Shader Smith went along to help a friend who was in charge of the Jewish singles group. Shader suggested her cousin, Samuel Meitin, join them on the cruise. Debbie met Samuel at the LA airport before boarding the cruise. By the end of the trip Samuel was convinced they would be married, and sure enough, they were married 10 months later in 1987.

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"Samuel was born and grew up in Orlando. We were blessed to have the love and support of Samuel's family. Samuel and I estimated that there were at least 75 relatives living in area. His parents were part of the Wise and Shader families, who had been in Orlando for many years. I was also blessed to become stepmother to Jennifer and Rebecca," she said.

Samuel and Debbie were married for 20 years.

"Samuel was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his 20s, but he was remarkable, always with a positive outlook on life. ... Samuel was insistent about having a party for our 20th anniversary. He was so proud that we had achieved 20 years, but passed away from complications of MS be-fore we could have the party."

Meitin has always been active in the Jewish community. One of the first things she did after moving to Orlando was to check out Israeli folk dancing, a passion of hers, at the Jewish Com-munity Center. Just a few months later, she became the leader after being asked by instructor Darcy Silvers to take over a "temporary" substitute position, and has been doing so for the past 32 years.

She has served in various roles at Temple Israel, active on the ritual committee and board of the synagogue. In 2000, Temple Israel needed a cantor and she was asked to "fill in," working with Rabbi Rick Sherwin. That position lasted for six years, chanting for services, teaching b'nai mitz-vah students and other duties. She studied with Cantor Moshe Friedler in Tampa and Cantor Laurie Rimland-Bonn in Orlando to be better prepared for her role.

In 2009, she was asked to be the High Holiday cantor for Temple Israel.

“The rabbi at that time was Rabbi Gary Perras. Rabbi Neely came the following year. I knew a lot of the prayers, since I had been chanting the Shacharit and Mincha services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. But there were many prayers I didn't know and it required a tremendous amount of preparation on my part. I believe things must have worked out well, as I've been the High Holiday cantor ever since."

Meitin has been volunteering with Jewish Pavilion since its beginning, leading services for Shabbat and holi-days and other activities like playing mahjong with residents.

Debbie Meitin's parents wedding. ( seated in front ) , Rosalind and

Irving Dorsky, ( standing l-r) Rosalind's parents, Julius and Pauline

Levinsky and Irving's parents, David and Mollie Dorsky.

"Sheryl Meitin, the wife of Julian Meitin, who was Samuel's older brother, along with Claire Chepenik founded the Jewish Pavilion in 2001. At the time there were no Jewish nursing homes in the area. Our Jewish elderly were living in various elder-care facilities, which had no Jewish programming or connections. The idea was to care for the Jewish seniors by offering a connec-tion to the Jewish community by providing a variety of services that came to them."

Meitin has been actively involved in the Jewish National Fund since 2008 and served as Orlando president for three years. "What I love about JNF is that it offers valuable funding for a large va-riety of programs in Israel that help the people of Israel and improve the land."

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She received JNF's Tree of Life award in 2018.

For 20 years, Meitin has been involved with the Chevra Kadisha (sacred society). It is the organi-zation of Jewish men and women who prepare deceased Jews for burial according to Jewish tra-dition. "It is particularly meaningful to perform this ritual when the deceased is someone I knew."

Meitin married a second time in 2012 to Larry Gutter.

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November Birthdays 1 Elizabeth Lauren-Oser 6 Jerry Roth 21 Garrett Yopack

2 Judi Chisdes 6 Aria Goldstein 21 Neil Okun

2 Irene Share 8 Lana Goldstein 23 Charles Schulman

3 Ljubica Cappelletti Briceno 10 Helaine Rosenfield 24 Lindsay Gassman

4 Michelle Gil 11 Nathaniel Neely 27 Zelda Siskind

4 Danny Gomez 11 Michelle Bilsky 27 Cathy Swerdlow

5 Yael Brener 15 Brian Wolf 29 Jan Suberman

5 David Goldstein 16 Elisheba Gomez Cappelletti 30 Diane Miller

5 Gabrielle Hoffman 19 Barbara Weinreich

November Anniversaries 9 Ljubica & Danny Cappelletti Briceno 21 Helen & Sid Lieberman

11 Claudia & Michael Danoff 27 Debra & Jim Clark

11 Nikki & Steven Botwinik 30 Etty & Jes Baru

20 Julia & Michael Fineberg 30 Megan & Marcus Silver

September 2020 Donations

GENERAL FUND

Donor In Memory Of

Art Louv & Marci Kagan Louv Magdaleina Louve David Bottomley Kenneth H Bottomley David Bottomley Rufus "Mickey" Moore Aaron & Elizabeth-Lauren Oser Steve Oser Ruth Donenfeld Bernice Rubin & Aaron Rubin Judi Chisdes Mother, Carol Chisdes Donor In Honor Of

Sandra Gillman The New Year Judith Cope Happy New Year to my Meitin-Wise Family

Donor Rene Berg

KIDDUSH FUND

Donor In Memory Of Irene & Chet Herman Ruth Goldhar Helen Hosid Ruth Goldhar

RABBI’S TZEDAKAH FUND

Donor In Memory Of

Judi Chisdes Mother, Carol Chisdes Barbara Weinreich Ruth Goldhar Malka & Neil Webman Dorothy & Joseph Webman and Rebecca & Max Brenner EDUCATION FUND

Donor In Memory Of Carol & Stephen Albert Ruth Goldhar CEMETERY FUND

Donor In Memory Of Gayle Zamore Dr. Michael Zamore Lizzie Anglada Ruth Goldhar Jes Baru Ruth Goldhar Donor

Helaine Zarek *correction of August donation

CEMETERY FUND

Donor In Memory Of Sarabecca, Jason & Scarlett Rosier Maternal Grandmother Sarahbecca Gorden & Brother Scott Howard Gordon

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Welcome to Our Sanctuary Rules of Attendance

We need everyone to do their part of this mitzvah of protecting one another from possible expo-sure. No one is exempt. Please do not choose for yourself if the rules apply; they do. If you can-not comply with the policies, please continue to join us through our live streaming on the Temple

Israel website. www.tiflorida.org

If you have had symptoms or been near someone with symptoms, please stay home and seek treatment as necessary.

If you are immunocompromised, please stay home as well.

Everyone must properly wear a mask covering their nose and mouth at all times while at Temple Israel.

Everyone will have their temperature checked at the door.

Please maintain social distance at all times.

If you use the bathroom, please use a paper towel to touch any fixtures.

Please take a kippah from the labeled container and return to the second one.

Pews are marked for the different days of services.

Only those who live at the same address may sit in the same pew together.

Only use books from that pew and return them there as well.

Please refrain from shaking hands, hugging each other or other contact.

Those called to the bimah must use sanitizer before going up and after coming down.

Please follow all additional instructions when on the bimah.

We will not be having oneg or kiddush meals.

Please be patient as we implement these policies and continue to adapt to the

situation.

It will be wonderful to be together again and to fill our sanctuary with the sound of prayer, Torah and community. Please work with us so we can keep our doors as open as

our hearts.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Joshua Neely