temple beth el shofar...the torah commands: do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor. our...

January, 2019 Tevet/Shevat 5779 Volume 76, Issue 5

Shofar

Temple Beth El

“Where Judaism Lives”

Sunday, January 13, 20 & 27 @ 9:30 AM

Religious School

Wednesday, January 16, 23 & 30 @ 5:30 PM

Hebrew School

Wednesday, January 9, 16, 23 & 30 @ 7:00 PM

Intro to Judaism

Friday, January 4, 18 & 23 @ 7:30 PM

Shabbat Worship Service

Saturday, January 19 @ 10:00 AM

Torah Talk

Tuesday, January 8 @ 7:00 PM

Board Meeting

Friday, January 11 @ 6:00 PM

Family Night Service

Saturday, January 20 @ 12:00 Noon

Rosh Hodesh @ Skirball Cultural Center

(Transport departs at 9:30 AM )

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Rabbi’s Ramblings Kislev/Tevet 5779

Dear Chevrei,

A few weeks ago, I made my monthly visit to the local ICE Detention center, Mesa Verde. My visits

are pastoral – I am there to serve Jewish detainees, to offer some learning and consolation, and to

let them know that their presence there is known and that they are not forgotten. As my visit fell dur-

ing Hanukkah, I brought dreydls and an electric chanukiah, along with books for the institution’s li-

brary, which detainees can access.

On that Thursday I was able to visit with two long-term detainees, whose prognosis for release dete-

riorates with the passage of time. One is a local young man who is an aspiring Jew, picked up at his

home in East Bakersfield. The other is an older gentleman most recently from Los Angeles, origi-

nally from Russia.

As often happens, I also met a new detainee. This one is an Israeli. Yedidiah is perhaps in his late

20s, and the only one of his siblings to be born in Jerusalem; the rest had the better fortune of being

born here in the U.S. He has lived quietly in the Bay Area for 12 years. He entered with a visa,

and he renewed that visa. But current immigration law only permits one visa renewal. He has been

without proper papers for ten years, during which time he has built a life. He has employment. He

has a fiancée. He has a car, which his brother had to redeem from impound at the cost of $1000.

He had been admitted to Mesa Verde only the day before we met, and was understandably de-

pressed and confused.

On the day he was picked up by ICE, he was watching the sunrise in a public park in San Francisco.

Apparently he was profiled; he happens to be of olive-complexion, with straight dark hair.

It was not a stretch, given the parasha we were reading that week, for me to link Yedidiah to our bib-

lical ancestor, Joseph – each of them a stranger in a strange land, unjustly imprisoned.

Among the morning blessings included in our siddur is this: “Blessed are You, Adonai, Sovereign of

the universe, Who frees the captive.” This sentiment is reiterated in the Amidah (aka the Shmoneh

Esrei, or Eighteen Benedictions), in the prayer Atah Gibor, wherein God is called “Matir asurim,” Lib-

erator of captives. Our sages read these words as we ought – not merely as descriptors of God, but

as mitzvot - Divine obligations. Indeed, there are numerous stories in our tradition about Jewish

communities raising funds to redeem or ransom captive Jews.

If only the cases of Yedidiah and his cellmates were a simple matter of money.

Whatever one thinks about our immigration system, I think we can all agree that it is beyond broken.

If the laws and practices now in place had been enforced when our grandparents or great-

grandparents came to this land, you and I would not be here today. Thousands of our brethren were

doomed by the American immigration quotas of the 1930s and ‘40s.

We Jews of all people should know better than to allow ourselves – and our nation, and our elected

representatives – to be ruled by fear and greed.

(Yes, greed – the private prisons hired utilized by ICE here in Bakersfield and elsewhere make mil-

lions of dollars on government contracts, and are happy to help fill the coffers of the politicians who

make it possible).

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Lives are at stake. Not just a handful of Jewish lives, but the lives of other innocent human beings,

cut off from their loved ones and sent to facilities like Mesa Verde, and worse. Let us not forget the

migrants from across South America waiting at our border to plead their cases – among them, nu-

merous women and children - who like our ancestors, are fleeing violence and persecution and un-

rest in their home countries. We cannot forget them, nor turn a blind eye.

If you are at all motivated, whether by a sense of obligation or justice or compassion, I would en-

courage you to reach out to KWESI, a local nonprofit whose members visit ICE detainees at Mesa

Verde. You can easily find them on Facebook, or contact Dr. Liora Gubkin Malicdem of CSUB, who

is among their leadership.

If you wish to help, there is a list of on-site non-profits at www.rac.org.

The Torah commands: Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor. Our prayers remind us to

live up to the Godliness planted within us. May we heed the lessons of our Torah and our tradition,

knowing that to save one life is akin to saving an entire world.

L’shalom uliv’racha,

Rabbi Cheryl Rosenstein

Jewish tradition prescribes that a meal be

provided for the family following the burial of

a family member. To that end the Caring

Committee of Temple Beth El is prepared to

provide a Meal of Condolence for temple

families who experience the loss of a loved

one. Please consider making a donation in

memory of your loved one to the Caring

Committee so that we may continue to

provide this Mitzvah to others!

Thank you,

Vivian Gonzales

Marsha Parr

Need help finding a ride or someone to Carpool with to Temple?

Contact:

Andy Abrams 589-3778

Or email him at [email protected]

Temple Beth El

Provides a sanctuary for your sacred prayers, a social hall for special celebrations, a library to study our heritage, a school to teach our eternal values and ways to remember ones who are no longer with us. One of the traditional ways we honor those who helped shape our lives is by placing a made-to-order bronze Memorial Plaque which will be added to the walls of the Temple foyer.

For more info, contact Andy Abrams at :

(661) 328-6426 or email him at [email protected]

Own Your Piece of Real Estate for Eternity

Temple Beth El maintains its own dedicated section at Greenlawn Memorial Park on River Blvd.

New plot price is $2,795. Plan ahead and buy yours today. Contact Barry Goldner for details and

purchasing at 395-1000 (work) or at 589-4096 (home).

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President Elliott Magnus Perspectives

I have known Stacy Davis for many years. I knew her as a member of Temple Beth El, that

she was an educator and Sunday school principal. Now I know Stacy Davis and she is all of

those things mentioned above as well as a true mensch! On December 9th Temple Beth El

did something that no other synagogue in California has done before, we hosted a Hanukkah

8K.

I would like to thank Stacy Davis for coming up with the idea of a Hanukkah 8K (for the west

coast), and believing that Bakersfield and Temple Beth El would right place to put one to-

gether. There was a fantastic committee that participated, including: Linda Hakimi, Marianne

and Lyle Gartenlaub, Marc Schulman, and Steve and Gail Magnus.

Everyone participated and brought their own special talents and insight to the group. When it

was all said and done, the group had a wrap up meeting at a local restaurant, and they were

so excited about ideas for next year, and enjoyed working with each other so much, dinner

was almost an afterthought.

The feedback was nothing short of four stars. There was positive feedback from the people

who timed the event, the D.J. who specializes in calling out the names of runners crossing

the finish line, and running enthusiasts. All of whom have participated in hundreds of races,

none could believe that was our first event. We had runners from southern California who

drove up for the event and were glad they did. By all accounts this was a success, and we

look forward to hosting this event next year, with even more runners, vendors, and sponsors.

Stacy also was the one who brought the paint night to TBE, which was also, a very well re-

ceived event. Both of these events offered our members something fun to do, whether by

participating or by volunteering. They got members working together on a project, and got

Temple Beth El some exposure to the community.

We have great momentum going into this new year, with the Jewish Food Festival right

around the corner in April. There will also be a Hillel award dinner honoring Rabbi Rosen-

stein as we recognize all of her accomplishments and celebrate her time at Temple Beth El.

I encourage everyone to participate, some will have time to do more than others, and that is

perfectly fine. What I know everyone can do, is invite a neighbor, a friend, or co-worker to

come out and experience these events. I know the people on the various committees work

very hard to ensure that all of our events are class A, all of the way.

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Oneg

January February

4 Julia Brennan Peggie Soltis & Colleen McGraw Rebecca Roldan

1 Karen & Kathi Briefer-Gose Elaine & Douglas White

11 Joshua & Edith Rudnick 8 Ferdinand & Yolanda Aggenbach Mauritz & Annelize Theron

18 Jeff & Donna Schwartz Norma Schwartz

15 Jeff Russinsky & Linda Morales Rosa Barrera

25 Joy Byrom Larry Elman

22 Marc Schulman Steven & Gail Magnus

If you are unable to host your scheduled night, please find a replacement; then call the office at

322-7607 so that our Shabbat Worship Service cards are updated accordingly. Reminder: Part of

clean-up includes washing and putting away dishes and utensils.

Publish Your News In The Shofar

Your items of interest are welcomed for publication. Deadline is 12 noon on the 15th of the month.

Call Lorrie at 322-7607

or email at [email protected]

Changes?

Please notify Lorrie in the Temple office with your membership information -- addresses (including email), phone number(s), births, marriage, yahr-zeits. Please help up keep our data base and membership directory updated.

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Shabbat Worship Service Parashat -

Exodus 6:2-9:35 Haftarah

Ezekiel 28:25-29:21

Pulpit Assistant

Alrich Aggenbach Candle Blesser

Torah Bearer

Marc Schulman Torah Blesser

Larry Elman

Sermon

Ella Abrams Kiddush

Jeff Russinsky Oneg Hosts

Julia Brennan Peggie Soltis

Colleen McGraw Rebecca Roldan

Usher

Esther Brandon


Family Night Service Pulpit Assistant

Candle Blesser

Susie Easley Kiddush

Oneg Host

Joshua & Edith Rudnick Usher

Tim Fromm




Judges 4:4-5:31 (Judges 5:1-31)

Pulpit Assistant

Emily Sincoff Candle Blesser

Marsha Greenstein Torah Bearer

Len Epstein Torah Blesser

Robert Young

D’var Torah

Carla Epstein Kiddush

Susan Cohn Oneg Hosts

Jeff & Donna Schwartz Norma Schwartz

Usher

Ilene Schechter




Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6 (Isaiah 6:1-13)

Pulpit Assistant

Isabella Rudnick Candle Blesser

Rosa Barrera Torah Bearer

Ahron Hakimi Torah Blesser

Linda Morales

Torah Reader

Pamela Elisheva

Kiddush

Donna Schwartz Oneg Hosts

Joy Byrom Larry Elman

Usher

Josh Rudnick

Service & Pulpit Honors

Non-Profit Program Benefits TBE Use the services of H&R Block anywhere in the country, give the referral

number 400074566268, and $25 is donated to Bright Beginnings/HaGan.

Our thanks to Joy Spicer, a tax preparer for H&R Block, for getting our education programs on board.

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2 Lawrence Zanoff

5 Alexander Sincoff 10th

5 Miriam Stull

7 Rebecca Leventhal

8 Marissa Marcus

8 Jenny Seibert

9 Courtenay Edelhart

10 Shyanne Southern

11 Maria Chavez

11 Pamela Elisheva

11 Zachary Escobedo 17th

12 Gretchen Bloch

13 Kathleen Arnold-Chambers

13 Charles Rhodes

14 Kenneth Hugo

15 Cameryn Preciado 13th

17 Adison Gartenlaub 12th

17 Warren Wisnoff

19 Jon Wisnoff 14th

20 Samuel Marcus

21 Nancy Brennan

22 Susan Stevenson

25 Brian Kniffen

27 Douglas White

28 Mark Hugo

29 Jay Greenstein

29 Jacob Sadolsky 17th

30 Samantha Peshkin 11th

31 Brent Le Drew

17 Greg & Rose Broida 37th

23 Ahron & Linda Hakimi 23rd

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1/4 Shabbat Worship Service

Ruth Morales, mother of Linda Morales 1/5

Samantha Nicole Sacks, grand-niece of Mary Speare 1/5

Esther Siegel, mother of Leon Siegel; grandmother of Sharon Rhodes 1/5

Nathan Strauss, grandfather of Judy Strauss 1/5-Tevet 28

Richard Harvey Hecht, father of Dave Hecht 1/6

Harry Babins, remembered by TBE 1/8-Shevat 2

Rabbi Wolli Kaelter, remembered by Rabbi Cheryl Rosenstein 1/8-Shevat 2

Marie Levasseur, mother of Rosemarie Azgour z”l 1/8

Nathan J. Goldman, uncle of Marsha Parr 1/9

January 2019 Yahrzeits

1/11 Family Night Service

Fannye Angel Finkelstein, mother of Miriam Tann 1/11

Bernard Levy, brother-in-law of William Wolfe 1/11

Allen Harris, brother-in-law of Arline Pike z”l; uncle of Irvin Pike 1/12

Alan Hershey, remembered by TBE 1/12

Claude Denis Neuman, step-brother of Heidi Allison 1/12

Richard Ribner, cousin of Sylvia Neal z”l; cousin of Laurie Henderson 1/12

Lois Schulman, mother of Marc Schulman 1/12-Shevat 6

Fishel Leht, father of Etel Lewis 1/13

Louis M. Lewis, father of Beverly Weisman 1/13

Arthur Rich, brother-in-law of Charlotte Abrams; uncle of Andy Abrams 1/13

Grant Robinson, brother of Susan Stevenson 1/13

Carol Rosenbaum, mother of Joy Spicer; grandmother of Tiffany Mayer 1/13

Richard Schulman, father of Marc Schulman 1/15

Mildred Solomon, aunt of Jackie Rudnick z”l 1/15

Louis Grosher, uncle of Sonia Simrin z”l; great-uncle of Marty Weinberg 1/16

Harriett Wolfe, mother of William Wolfe 1/16

Raymond Zanoff, father of Larry Zanoff 1/16

George Carl Shattenburg, uncle of Pamela Elisheva 1/17

Eldon Larkin Tackett, father of Gene Tackett 1/17


Emil Birks, brother-in-law of Alexander Potter z”l 1/18

Margaret Ann Christenson, mother of Bob Christenson z”l 1/18

Margaret Goldberg, mother of Donald Goldberg z”l 1/18

Lillian Teplitz, sister of Mary Speare 1/18

Charles Abowitz, father of Rebecca Gottesman z”l 1/19

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1/18 Shabbat Worship Service (cont’d)

Moe S. Nestle, remembered by TBE 1/19

Craig Rich, nephew of Al z”l & Charlotte Abrams; cousin of Andy Abrams 1/19

Mary Jewel Yates, mother of Alpha Anders 1/19

Michelle Kleiman, sister of Etta Robin 1/20

Rebecca Gottesman, remembered by TBE 1/21

Louis Schwalbendorf, grandfather of Larry Fish 1/21

Jay J. Arnold, father of Kathleen Arnold-Chambers 1/22

Henry Black, uncle of Diane Andrews 1/22

Harry Kay, remembered by TBE 1/22

Gideon Tinn, friend of Karen & Kathi Briefer-Gose 1/22

David Biegel, grandfather of Joe Fram 1/23

Dorothy Hindin, grandmother of Dave Hecht 1/23

Bonnie K. Johnson, sister of Marsha Parr 1/23

Hulda Magnus, mother of Steven Magnus; grandmother of Elliott Magnus 1/23

Bernice Katzell, mother of Ellyn Widelock; grandmother of Jenna Odlin 1/24

Saul David Larks, father of Anita Singer 1/24

Lyle Smith, father of Mark Smith 1/24


Lester Makoff, husband of Florence Makoff z”l 1/25-Shevat 19

Leonard Mansky, brother-in-law of Pearl Davis 1/25

Patricia Thorley, sister of Ann Peterson-Saslaw 1/25

Ethyl “Liz” Harris Oliver, sister of Billie Bizieff z”l 1/26

Irving Steelman, uncle of Terry Skinner 1/26

Stanley Witer, step-father of Elaine Douglas 1/27

Jewel Cohen, friend of Billie Bizieff z”l 1/28

Louis Hobmann, remembered by TBE 1/29

Meyer Kay, remembered by TBE 1/30

In Memory

We mourn the loss in recent days of. . . .

Ana Genel November 30, 2018 - Kislev 22 5779

Remembered by TBE

Lillian Waller December 5, 2018 - Kislev 27 5779

Great-Aunt of Diane Andrews

Mildred Frances Andrews November 28, 2019 - Kislev 20 5779

Mother of Andy Andrews

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Kol Nidre

Dr. Harold Baer Memorials/Yahrzeit

Brent Eastep

Ronald & Laura Lauria In memory of Thomas Lauria, Morris Gintzler & Milton Gintzler

Tree of Life

Irvin Pike & Pamela Elisheva In honor of Bob Allison’s birthday

Caring Committee

David & Janet Blumberg

In memory of Ana Genel Ann Diamond

Philip Rudnick In memory of Ana Genel Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund

Amy & John Knight In memory of Katherine Knight & Marjorie Atencio

Neil & Lynne Rosenstein In memory of Jess Diamond & Ana Genel

Contributions (11/16 - 12/18)

In honor or in memory… the perfect remembrance…

Bookplates in our prayer books are available for only $18 each. To order, send your check payable to Temple Beth El and include the wording of your choice and the manner in which you want your name to appear. On the envelope, please write “attn.: bookplates”.

Questions? Call the TBE office: (661) 322-7607

Temple Beth El

Special Funds

Tree of Life, Memorials, Prayer Book

Plates, Rabbi’s Discretionary, Vision

Committee, Caring Committee, Shirley

Lipco Social Justice Fund, Building (Torah

Learning Center), Camperships, Library,

Paul Bregor Music Endowment, Kol Nidre

(High Holy Days).

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Your Board of Directors recognizes that Communication is the key to Community. In trying to

ensure that, to the greatest degree possible, we’re all on the same page in terms of Life Cycle

Events, Social and Community Events/Needs, etc., we are proud to introduce our new “Phone

Tree”. Printed or digital copies of the Tree are available from the Temple office or any Board

Member.

The Phone Tree was designed to spread out communication needs to all members of our con-

gregation. Thus, we looked at and assigned our members into 10 groups based on home loca-

tions. We’re calling these groups ‘Minyans’ and they spread from NorthEast Bakersfield to the

SouthWest to Out-of-Towners and areas in between. Each Minyan has a ‘Captain’ who’s in

charge of activating the Tree and making sure each household contained in their Minyan is made

aware of deaths/births/events, etc.. The Captains are all Board members. When any news needs

to be sent out to all the members of the congregation, a Captain needs to be contacted by phone

and/or email. We must all keep in mind that not everyone checks their voice or emails regularly so

that multiple tries might be needed to get the ball rolling. If a Captain cannot personally contact

every member of their Minyan, the Captain may request that each member contact the next one

on their Minyan list to help get the word out faster.

Every effort has been made to make the Tree accurate. Invariably, though, corrections will

need to be made. Please contact Greg Broida (661/549-6910 or [email protected]) or the

Temple office with any needed updates. Also, with 10 Captains in place who are all on the Board,

the flow of input for the benefit or improvement of the Temple to its Board of Directors is en-

hanced. We hope that this new tool is useful and encourage all to get their copy.

The Minyans and their Captains are a follows………………………….

Minyan #1 = Foothills and the Captain is Linda Hakimi

Minyan #2 = College Heights and the Captain is Stacy Davis

Minyan #3 = Temple and the Captain is Esther Brandon

Minyan #4 = Central and the Captain is Elliott Magnus

Minyan #5 = South of Ming Ave and the Captain is Ilene Schecter

Minyan #6 = South of the River and the Captain is Josh Rudnick

Minyan #7 = SouthWest and the Captain is Greg Broida

Minyan #8 = North of the River and the Captain is Barry Goldner

Minyan #9 = NorthWest and the Captain is Andy Abrams

Minyan #10 = Out of-Towners and P.O.Boxes and the Captain is Laura

Wolfe

Shalom, Greg Broida, Temple VP

ANNOUNCING TBE’S

NEW PHONE TREE

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SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 2

3 4 7:30 PM Shabbat Worship Service

5

6

7 8 7:00 PM Board

Meeting

9 7:00 PM Intro to

Judaism

10 11 6:00 PM Family Night

Service

12

13 9:30 AM Religious School

14 15 16 5:30 PM Hebrew School

7:00 PM Intro to

Judaism


19 10:00 AM Torah Talk


*12:00 NOON Rosh Hodesh

@ Skirball Cultural Center


7:00 PM Intro to

Judaism


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7:00 PM Intro to

Judaism

31

January, 2019 Tevet/Shevat 5779

* NOTE: transport departs at 9:30 AM) for Rosh Hodesh on January 20th

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E-mail your Shofar submission to the Temple at [email protected]

Deadline for the February Shofar is January 15, 2018

Our monthly Shofar is published by:

TEMPLE BETH EL 2906 Loma Linda Drive Bakersfield, CA 93305 Tel: (661) 322-7607 Fax: (661) 322-7807 Website: www.templebethelbakersfield.org

Rabbi Cheryl Rosenstein President Elliott Magnus Vice President Greg Broida Corresponding Secretary Tim Fromm Recording Secretary Jill Egland Financial Secretary Irvin Pike Treasurer Andy Abrams Administrator Lorrie Larribas

temple beth el shofar...the torah commands: do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor. our...

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