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TRANSCRIPT
Volume 31, Number 4
December 2011
Kislev / Tevet 5771-72
the
T E M P L E B E T H A B R A H A M
General InFOrMaTIOn
All phone numbers use (510) prefix unless otherwise noted.
Mailing address 336 Euclid Ave. Oakland, CA 94610
Hours M-Th: 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Fr: 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Office Phone 832-0936Office Fax 832-4930
e-Mail [email protected] avraham 763-7528
Bet Sefer 663-1683
STaFF
rabbi (ext. 213) Mark BloomCantor (ext. 218) Richard Kaplan
Gabai David Galant & Jay Goldmanexecutive Director (ext. 214) Rayna ArnoldOffice Coordinator (ext. 210) Virginia TigerBet Sefer Director (ext. 217) Susan Simon
Gan avraham Director (ext. 219) Ruth MorrisBookkeeper (ext. 215) Christine Tripod
Custodian (ext. 211) Joe LewisKindergym/Toddler Program Dawn Margolin 547-7726
Volunteers (ext. 229) Herman & Agnes Pencovic
OFFICerS
President Bryan Schwartz 847-8079Vice President Mark Fickes 652-8545Vice President Steve Glaser 531-6384Vice President Steve Grossman 834-3937Vice President Laura Wildmann 601-9571
Secretary Flo Raskin 653-7947Treasurer Dan Finkelstein 428-2849
COMMITTeeS & OrGanIzaTIOnS
If you would like to contact the committee chairs, please contact the synagogue office for phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
adult education Steve Glaser & Aaron Paul
Chesed Warren Gould
Development Steve Grossman & Flo Raskin
Dues evaluation Dan Finkelstein
endowment Fund Herman Pencovic
Finance Dan Finkelstein
Gan avraham Parents Lauren Kaplan & Mala Johnson
Gan avraham School Committee Jenny MichaelsonHouse Murray Davis
Israel affairs David Marinoff
Membership Mark Fickes
Men’s Club Phil Hankin
Omer Lori Rosenthal
Personnel Steve Glaser
Public relations Lisa Fernandez
ritual Eric Friedman
Schools Laura Wildmann
Social action Jessica Dell’Era
Torah Fund Anne Levine
Web Site Jason Swartz
Women of TBa Jeanne Korn
Youth Steve Fankuchen
directory
Services ScheduleServices/ Time LocationMonday & Thursday Morning Minyan Chapel 8:00 a.m.Friday Evening (Kabbalat Shabbat) Chapel 6:15 p.m.Shabbat Morning Sanctuary 9:30 a.m.
Candle Lighting (Friday)December 2 4:32 p.m.December 9 4:32 p.m.December 16 4:33 p.m.December 23 4:36 p.m. December 30 4:41 p.m.
Torah Portions (Saturday)December 3 Va-yetzeiDecember 10 Va-yishlachDecember 17 Va-yeishevDecember 24 Mi-iketzDecember 31 Va-yiggash
TeMPle BeTH aBraHaMis proud to support the Conservative Movement by affiliating with The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Advertising Policy: Anyone may sponsor an issue of The Omer and receive a dedication for their business or loved one. Contact us for details. We do not accept outside or paid advertising.The Omer is published on paper that is 30% post-consumer fibers.The Omer (USPS 020299) is published monthly except July and August by Congregation Beth Abraham, 336 Euclid Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610. Periodicals Postage Paid at Oakland, CA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Omer, c/o Temple Beth Abraham, 336 Euclid Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610-3232.© 2010. Temple Beth Abraham.
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The Omer is published by Temple Beth Abraham, a non-profit, located at 336 Euclid Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610; telephone 510-832-0936. It is published monthly except for the months of July and August for a total of ten issues per annum. It is sent as a requester publication and there is no paid distribution.
To view The Omer in color, visit www.tbaoakland.org.
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what’s happening
See additional WTBA and other Adult Education activities on page 5.
TBA Annual Children’s Chanukah PartyDecember 18, 10:30 a.m - noon
Entertainment, Chanukah food and surprises!
Save the Date
WTBA Shabbaton January 21, 2012
Contact Outi Gould if you would like to participate in the service, at [email protected]
Got nothing to do on December 24?WTBA and TBA Men’s Club present
Sing-AlongFiddler on the Roof!
December 24, 2011Join us for a family evening as we enjoy dinner, dessert, Havdallah, Chanukah candles, followed by
a sing-a-long viewing of the great classic film.
5:40 p.m. Havdallah & Chanukah Candles
6:00 p.m. Dinner, Social Hall6:30 p.m. Movie, Sanctuary
FREE! A Chanukah gift from WTBA & Men’s Club
RSVP REQUIRED FOR DINNER by December 16, please.
Call Jeanne Korn at (510) 339-3795, or email [email protected], to reserve your spot.
Members, friends, and guests welcome.
Kindergym Weekdays and Sunday PlayDays for Under 3s!If you have a young crawling baby or a toddler who is jumping off everything, the Kindergym and Toddler classes with Dawn Margolin are for you. Come join us on tons of wonderful play equip-ment with other families ready to play together and make new friends.THE KINDERGYM and TODDLER classes at Temple Beth Abraham are celebrating Dawn’s 28th year of teaching and are open to ALL families!Come join us on the following Sunday, in addition to our weekday classes:
Dec. 4, 10:30 a.m. - noon$10 per family ($9 for TBAers) Contact: Dawn Margolin at (510) 547-7726 www.tbaoakland.org/kindergym
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from the rabbi
Remember to check the TBA website and email updates for information about late-
breaking TBA events and activities. www.tbaoakland.org
Please Join Us for Morning Minyan on Mondays and Thursdays
Join the regulars at our Minyan service, each Monday and Thursday starting at 8:00 a.m. The service lasts about an hour, and is really a great way to start the day. As an added bonus, breakfast is served immediately afterwards. To use the old expression – try it, you’ll like it. If not as a regular, just stop in once or twice and see what it’s all about.
February 4, 2012GaLa GourmeT
Save the date and plan to join us under the
Paris lights.
Join Me For Songs and Stories at Barnes & nobleOne of the mitzvot associated with Chanukah is to “publicize the miracle” of Chanukah. That is, in fact, why we place the menorah in the window or, in Israel, in a little cutout from the wall just outside the house. So trying to bring Chanukah to places outside our homes and the walls of the synagogue is consistent with the holiday’s message.Toward that end I will be singing Chanukah songs and reading Chanukah children’s stories at the Barnes & Noble at Bay Street in Emeryville on Tuesday, December 13 at 11 a.m. 10% of all book sales from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day will go to Temple Beth Abraham with a special coupon I will be handing out.Moreover, it will be nice to have some friends to sing along with me; children or adults. So, please consider joining me for a little light of Chanukah in the middle of what is, to most people, the Christmas shopping season. I hope to see you there!L’shalom,Rabbi Mark Bloom
Job Search/Career Coaching Group at TBaFor assistance with resume review, job search strategies, networking, LinkedIn, interviewing, negotiating or other job related topics please join us the first Tuesday of every month from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in the Baum Youth Center.
Mark Your Calendar Now: December 6 • January 3 • February 7 • March 6
Geared toward unemployed or underemployed members of the community and friends.
Bring your resume for review.
EMPLOYERS: Please send us your job openings.
Facilitated by Karen Hepps Shaw, M.Ed, NCC, Career Coach, www.shawcareercoaching.com,
E-mail, [email protected].
This event is sponsored by TBA and provided free of charge.
New
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the sound of all of us
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editor’s message
the
OMERWe cheerfully accept member submissions. Deadline for articles and letters is the seventh of the month preceding publication.
editor in Chief Lori RosenthalManaging editor Lisa Fernandezlayout & Design Jessica Sterling
Calendars Jon GoldingB’nai Mitzvah editor Susan Simon
Cover Ruth TeitelbaumHelp From People like you!
Copy editors Jessica Dell’Era, Charles Feltman, Nadine Joseph, Richard Kauffman, Jan Silverman, Debbie Spangler, James Wakeman
Proofreaders June Brott, Jessica Dell’Era, Jeanne Korn, Anne Levine, Stephen Shub, Susan Simon, Debbie Spangler
Distribution Fifi Goodfellow, Hennie Hecht, Herman and Agnes PencovicMailing address 336 Euclid Ave. Oakland, CA 94610
e-Mail [email protected]
Upcoming Omer theme: January – Jewish Genealogy
Chanukah MusingsBy Lori Rosenthal
Every year when we change the clocks from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time my spirits sag; like a droopy sunflower, bent head, closed face, mourning the absence of the sun’s glorious rays. The short days of winter may be great for my beauty rest, but they take a toll on my psyche. And so I look forward to Chanukah; that little light-filled joy of a holiday in the desert of dark winter days. Chanukah gives me the much-anticipated thrill of lighting a menorah for eight nights to watch the candles dance. (I know, I know… I should get out more.)It is our family tradition to gather ‘round the menorah, belt out the blessings and then sing one other song each night. We even harmonize (okay, so David, Emma and Becca harmonize and I do my best to stay on key). Favorites include Ma’oz Tzur, Light One Candle (by Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul and Mary), Not By Might, Not By Power (by Debbie Friedman), The Latke Song (by Debbie Friedman) and Mi Y’maleil. We also love listening to the Adam Sandler Chanukah song, but that one’s tough to sing.In my empty nest stage of life, I now look for excuses to get together with other people for candle lighting. In absence of another plan though, I have been known to light the menorah, sing the blessings, and watch that wax drip all by myself. However, I still miss the family gathering around the menorah.There are many miracles of Chanukah, but one of my absolute favorite modern-day miracles is one that lets me light candles together with my daughters while they are spread out around the coun-try. Last year, Emma and I, with the help of Skype (a computer conferencing tool), lit the candles together. She was in Boston and I was at home in Oakland. It brought tears to both our eyes. This year we will try a Skype three-way conference and add Becca into our candle lighting celebration. I’m looking forward to it already!In closing, I will end this column with the gift of song; a few videos of Chanukah songs to enjoy and add to your own repertoire.
Light One Candle (Peter Yarrow)(View this on YouTube at http://www.last.fm/music/Peter+Yarrow/_/Light+One+Candle)
The Latke Song (Debbie Friedman)(View this on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwb1PnLcchw)
Chanukah Song #3 (Adam Sandler)(View this on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1sf5yqZX-k&feature=relate)
Candlelight (The Maccabeats) (View this on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSJCSR4MuhU)
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wtba, our sisterhood
Rosh Chodesh - Subversive Sequels
Join us for a new year of learning
Monday, December 5 9:30 a.m.
Three Faces of Woman - Garden of eden in Search of Sequels
Led by Lynn Langfeld at the home of Stacy Margolin
This year our monthly study group will take inspiration from the book, Subversive Sequels in the Bible - How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other by Judy Klitsner. We will look at the parallels and conflicts in familiar Torah passages, discuss Klitsner’s commentary and develop our own.
Join our community of women as we uncover the emotional and intellectual themes which live in Torah and connect to our lives. Our Rosh Chodesh Torah study meets monthly, on the Monday closest to Rosh Chodesh. Meetings are hosted and facilitated by group members.
Sponsored jointly by Women of TBA and Oakland Ruach Hadassah the group is open to all women.
For questions or to get the meeting location, contact Debbie Spangler at [email protected] or (510) 531-1105.
Mark your calendar now for these future Rosh Chodesh dates: Tivet - January 9; Sh’vat - January 30; Adar - February 27; Nisan - March 26; Iyar - April 23; Sivan - May 21; Tamuz - June 1
WTBA Presents:
First Thursdays Girls’ Night Out
Thursday, December 1 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.
The Baum Youth Center, 341 MacArthur
Do You Need Some Laughing in Your Life?
JoIN uS To WorKSHoP “The oy of Sex”
Being developed by aLICIa DaTTNer
“I dedicate my life to expressing The Grand Cosmic Joke: that pain exists for us to
take ourselves less seriously, to laugh, and to experience the joy and wonder of an
infinitely perfect universe.” -Alicia Dattner
“Best Local Comedian” -East Bay Express, Best of the Bay 2011
Girls’ Night Out is a casual, monthly event to gather TBA women together for some relaxed and unstructured social time. Drop in on the first Thursday of each month to chat, laugh, debate, have a glass of wine and some light goodies, and get to know each other better. No need to bring a thing! Meet old friends, and make new friends.
There’s a different mix, vibe and conversation every month.
Come check it out!Contact Ellen Kaufman with questions at
Calendar Jan. 5 and Feb. 2 for future Girls’ Nights.
THIS EVENT IS FREE, sponsored by WTBA
Women on the Move Sunday, December 11, 9:45 a.m.
WTBA hikes happen the second Sunday of every month. We meet at 9:45 and depart promptly at 10:00. Hikes end by 11:30.We will meet at the Skyline Gate on Skyline just south of Snake and hike in Redwood Regional Park.For details, contact Deena Aerenson at [email protected] or (510) 225-5107.
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shabbat israelWelcoming Shabbat: Shalom Aleichem and the angels of PeaceBy Susan Simon, Director of Bet Sefer
Shalom Aleichem is a song that many of us sing to welcome Shabbat on Friday nights. The lyrics provide beautiful imagery of peace, comfort, and a sense that we are not alone in the world, that all around us are God’s messengers and angels, at least until Shabbat ends. We sing, Peace be upon you, angels of peace – come, bring peace, bless me with peace, and depart in peace. At this time as Shabbat starts, peace is a wonderful concept to reflect upon. After all, getting ready for Shabbat is often not a very peaceful experience, especially if you are hosting guests. So starting this sacred time of the week with visions of peace makes for a lovely restful moment that hopefully will continue throughout Shabbat.
The song Shalom Aleichem was composed in the 17th cen-tury by the Kabbalists of Safed. It reminds us of a teaching in the Talmud that two angels accompany us on our way home from synagogue on Friday night – a good angel and an evil angel. The story says that when the man (sorry, ladies, this is an old story) returns home from services, if he sees that the candles are lit and the table is set, the good angel says that next week will be the same and the bad angel is forced to say “amen.” But if when he comes home the house is not ready for Shabbat, then the evil angel says that next week will be the same and the good angel is forced to say “amen.” Shalom Aleichem also reminds us of the belief that on Shabbat we have an extra soul that stays with us until Shabbat ends. What does this mean? Lawrence Kushner writes that our “self ” is the part of us that keeps us all together, that organizes the various parts of ourselves into a unique person that is you or me. We speak about our self as if it were real, even though it possesses neither substance nor location. It is a bit the same with Shabbat.
Shabbat is a matter of time, not substance or location. Our celebration of Shabbat, our stopping of our nor-
mal workweek to create sacred space and time, nour-ishes our “self.” This extra soul can be viewed as an enormous “deep breath.” You know, that feeling you get when you calm yourself down by inhaling deeply and exhaling slowing, feeling tension float away and embracing the concept of relaxation. Singing Shalom Aleichem is that deep breath at the start of Shabbat. As we sing of peace, of welcom-ing sacred guests, we acknowledge the divine in the world and in ourselves.I hope you start your Shabbat celebration with this wonderful song. If you need a sound file to learn
the melody, just contact me and I’ll send it to you. [email protected].
Israel TidbitsSubmitted by June Brott
Israel’s premium chocolate industry was launched by two partners inspired by Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka character. Today most Israeli chocolate makers are women, and visitors can choose several sites to watch the preparation of truffles, pralines, candies, and chocolate sculpting (Mt. Hermon cones, spoons, shot glasses, plus…) Made with beans from South America and Africa, Israeli chocolate sells in Australia, Singapore, Philippines, and many US cities. “Hide and Seek 3/4,” the Israeli theater-dance production, won the top Performance Award at the International Theater Festival for Children in Bucharest. Using only the language of dance, the play invites young audiences to a world of games, including fighting and reconciliation.(Source: Israel 21c.org)For more information about Innovation in Israel, visit this website: http://www.israel21c.org/technology/.
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community/chanukah shuk
Save the DateSecond Annual Community
CHANUKAH SHUK
ARTS & CRAFTS FAIR
COME AND SHOPSaturday evening, December 10, 7:30 - 9:30pm
Havdallah and Champagne Receptionand
Sunday, December 11 - 8:30 am - 4pm
Shop ‘til you drop while supportinglocal Jewish artists and our synagogues!!
This year, shop at Temple Sinai2808 Summit Street Oakland
Hosted by and with artists from:Temple Beth Abraham and several other local Synagogues
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chanukahThe real Meaning of Chanukah By Rabbi Marc Gellman Submitted by Lori Rosenthal
The lesson of this holiday is that all zealots must be defeated. Chanukah is unquestionably the worst marketing disaster in the history of Judaism. Against a forest of magical twin-kling Christmas trees, we Jews counter with a measly nine-branched candlestick. Against Handel’s Messiah, and White Christmas (thanks a lot, Irving Berlin!) we offer up for your listening pleasure the goofy song Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel: “I have a little dreidel, I made it out of clay.” Against Santa we put up … nobody! Against the gathering to celebrate the birth in a manger of the little baby Jesus, we Jews gather to celebrate the military victory of a bunch of Jewish ayatol-lahs in the second-century B.C.E. whose main legacy was to begin the utterly corrupt dynasty of Hasmonean priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. In fact, until the Christmas tsunami hit us, Chanukah was so detested by Judaism that the books of I and II Maccabees, which describe the holiday (minus the miracle of the oil!), were not even included in the final codex of the Hebrew Bible. If it were not for the embrace of the Apocrypha by Christians, the history of Chanukah might mercifully have been lost. The rabbis so hated the message of Chanukah that on the Sabbath closest to Chanukah they required the reading of the prophetic critique of Zachariah that true victory comes, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (4:6). Luckily, Chanukah is not as pathetic as it seems. In fact, Chanukah is theologically and historically sublime. The true meaning of Chanukah is actually as important for Christians and Muslims as it is for Jews. It’s just that you have to put down your artery-clogging latkes and do some historical research to get to the Tootsie Roll center of the candy-coated farce that Chanukah has become.The first great lesson of Chanukah is that any living religion must take seriously what the best minds in the world are learning and teaching.Chanukah was not just a revolt against the Syrian Greeks, it was a revolt against Hellenism, which was the philosophical and cultural legacy of the Greek conquest of Alexander the Great and his tutor, Aristotle. Judaism before Aristotle was philosophically illiterate. Judaism after Aristotle was a sys-temic and coherent faith. Judaism absorbed the Aristotelian ideas of matter and form and transformed them into the ideas of body and soul. This led to the belief in an afterlife for the immaterial soul, which enabled Judaism to save the idea of a benevolent all-powerful God by teaching that God’s providence set askew in this world would be set right in the world to come. Through the Greeks and later the Romans, the principles of legal interpretation, like the argument from major to minor premise, became the foundational hermeneu-
tic of Jewish law in the Talmud. And all these gifts came from the people the Maccabees wanted to kill. At the heart of the Maccabean revolt was a rebellion against modernity and against the union of systematic thought and faith. Happily for us, the Maccabees lost. They won for a time, but eventually they were defeated and the Hasmonean priesthood collapsed under the Roman conquest in the first century. Then those Greek-intoxicated Jewish intellectuals who called each other rabbi took over and put Judaism on a serious philosophical footing. They bequeathed this legacy to Christianity, which took it through Augustine to Aquinas to new heights of theological speculation about natural law. In Islam, the legacy birthed the Mutakallimun, the eighth-century philosophical school of the Kalam, which enabled Muslim philosophers to also give philosophical substance to Muslim teachings in the Qur’an and also to labor to pre-serve Greek texts when Europe was in the dark. All of this came from the people the Maccabees wanted to kill. The second lesson of Chanukah is that even though the best ideas of the world must be studied, the worst ideas of the world must be fought.The Maccabees were wrong, but they were not totally wrong. They opposed worshiping Zeus, they opposed pagan sacrifices, they opposed the cult of the human body. They opposed sexual orgies. In the end, the lesson of Chanukah is the great wisdom that traditions must allow reason and revelation, tradition and modernity, to each have their say and then use the values of the past to selectively absorb the best the world has to offer in our never ending quest to understand God’s ways in the world. Religions that simply trash the old in favor of passing intellectual fads end up selling their birthright for a mess of wild stew. However, in Aquinas, Maimonides, and Averroes (ibn Rushd) we see the way that faith can renew itself and the way that religious and intellectual genius can combine to deepen the truth that God intends for us all to know.The battle of Chanukah is being fought today as we con-sider the nature of Creation, the family, warfare and the beginnings of human life. Every religion has its zealots, and their war cries often drown out the quiet wise voices of faith and reason working together. This Chanukah, I will think of how the zealots on all sides must be defeated. This Chanukah, I will pray for a true miracle, not a miracle of oil but a miracle of the human mind and the human soul. Now that would be a miracle that might even make me for-get Handel and love Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel.Rabbi Marc Gellman is the senior rabbi of Temple Beth Torah in Melville, NY. Among the many works he has pub-lished are two collections of modern bible stories for children that brought much joy to our family: Does God Have A Big Toe? and God’s Mailbox. This column was originally published in 2007.
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chanukahSweet Dreams of the Kislev MoonBy Jueli Garfinkle
According to the Kabbalistic book of Yetsirah, each moon cycle in the Jewish calendar increases healing in one specific area of life. During the moon cycle of Kislev (November 27 through December 26), the area of amplified healing is sleep. You receive healing while you sleep and dream this month. To help you prepare for a healing night of sleep, do three activities before you go to bed in the evening and one when you awaken in the morning: • Reviewyourday. • Stateyourintentiontoreceivehealing. • Keepadreamjournalandpenbyyourbedside. • Onceyouawakeninthemorning,begratefulyouare
alive for another day.
Review your day.To prepare for a good night’s sleep, add one step to your nighttime routine: Just before going to bed deeply reflect on what has occurred since your awakening, not just on the mundane level, but also with deep inner focus. Make a brief and thorough accounting of your day. Go back in your mind’s eye and review each of the various activities, people and felt emotions from your day. Once acknowl-edged, let them slip away. And then smile into your heart and be grateful you’ve completed another full day. It is time to sleep.
State your intention to receive healing. As you slip between your bed sheets under the Kislev moon, readjust your pillow and be comfortable. Take a breath or two and, just before closing your eyes to go to sleep, say aloud to yourself and to the universe that you have the intention to heal during your evening slumber. You can state your general desire to receive healing or you can be very specific. Either way, you must state your inten-tion aloud (even if you barely whisper it under your breath). Be specific, or be general. But be clear. What you want is healing. And you want it while you are sleeping.
Keep a dream journal and pen by your bedside. The moon cycle of Kislev is a perfect time to deepen your relationship with dreaming. In the entire five books of the Torah, there are only ten explicit dreams (dreamed by seven dreamers). Nine of these dreams take place during the four weeks of Kislev (in parshiyot Vayetze, Vayeshev, and Miketz). All of this attention on dreams increases the energy and healing of your own dream states.The Babylonian Talmud states that a dream that is not
interpreted is like a letter that is not opened. If you are interested in your dreams, commit during the Kislev moon keep a dream journal. Dreams often quickly disappear from conscious memory, so write them down as soon as you wake up. Maybe the meaning of your dream will be clear to you. If so, write that down. You might not remember any of your dreams, and that’s okay, too. The area of healing this moon is on sleep. So, if you sleep, you receive healing.
Be grateful you are alive for another dayOnce you awaken from a full night’s rest of healing and rejuvenation, be grateful for another day. The Buddha said that death is more certain than tomorrow. And it’s true. So when your eyes open and you greet the beginning of a whole new day, you can be grateful for just that: the oppor-tunity to be alive. You may or may not feel grateful. Say it aloud anyway. “Thank you for another day.” Try to remember to say this right when you wake up, sitting on the edge of your bed, before your feet hit the ground. If you forget to say it first thing, then say it when you remember. In the car, at your desk, sipping tea, making a meal, whenever. Say: “Thank you for restoring me/my soul. Thank you for another day.”
Waning Moon The dark evenings of Kislev are the longest of the year. As you gaze at your Chanukiah or see holiday lights in your neighborhood, be reminded that additional healing is avail-able to you in the evening hours of this moon cycle. Allow yourself to hibernate a little more this month. Sleep a little deeper, a little more, turn off your phones on some evenings and curl up under your blankets with the inten-tion of relaxing and going to bed early. As you close your eyes: Begin the sequence of reviewing your day; state your intention to receive healing in the dark restorative hours of the night; keep a pen and paper by your bed, just in case you want to record your dreams; and when you awake in the morning, open your eyes, look around, and proclaim, “Ah, thank God, another day.” The start of each Jewish month is the new moon. Based on Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism, each month/moon cycle has a very significant and intentional focus that will carry you mind-fully through the year. Using the moon as her guide, Jueli Garfinkle shares her per-sonal journey through the year, while offering vibrant teachings, accessible tools, and meaningful everyday spiritual practices. Check out her blog at: www.roshchodeshnewmoon.org.Note: The four-step healing sequence above was inspired by The Jewish Dream Book: The Key to Opening the Inner Meaning of Your Dreams (2003).
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cooking corner
Equipment you will need:Instant read thermometerDeep fry/candy thermometerFood processorLarge baking trays, baking
or oven rackHeavy, wide, deep potLong tongs or long slotted
spoon or skimmerThin metal or bamboo skewerPastry tip with wide opening
and pastry or 1-gallon zipper-style plastic food storage bag
Small strainer
Ingredients:1 package dry yeast3 Tbs. sugar, divided¼ cup lukewarm water
(about 90-100 degrees on instant read thermometer)
3 ½ cups unbleached, all- purpose flour
½ cup lukewarm milk (about 90-100 degrees on instant read thermometer)
1 large egg1 large egg yolk¼ tsp. saltGrated zest of 1 lemon,
chopped fine½ tsp. of vanilla extract4 Tbs. unsalted butter, at
room temperatureCanola oil for deep fryingRaspberry jam, about 1 cupConfectioners’ (powdered)
sugar
Sufganiyot for ChanukahBy Faith Kramer
I remember the joy I first felt at learning jelly doughnuts were an official Chanukah food when my youngest was still in preschool and my oldest in elementary school and I would volunteer to host classroom Chanukah parties. To me it was a true Chanukah miracle. No more frying latkes in too-small electric fry pans in unvented classrooms for me, I would just show up at holiday time with a box of jelly doughnuts and the kids would go wild. No little fingers bloody from grating potatoes, no hair smelling of frying oil for days and lots of time for telling the children the story of Chanukah as well as teaching them how to gamble for chocolate gelt with miniature dreidels.
Fast forward more than a few years and thanks to the inspi-ration from my TBA Cooking Jewish chavurah, I finally made my own jelly doughnuts (also known as sufganiyot). True, I was back to smelling like cooking oil again, but boy are these doughnuts worth it. It was love at first bite as the slightly lemony doughnut meshed with the sweet-sharp taste of the raspberry jam center and the sugary hit of the confectioner’s sugar sent me into sensory overload.I can’t promise you making your own jelly doughnuts will be as easy as buying them from the bakery, but the process isn’t really hard, it’s just exacting. Making the dough and even cutting out the doughnut rounds can be made ahead. (I’ve noted those stopping points in the recipe below.) So, if you want doughnuts fresh from the fryer, dripping with jam and sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar as part of your Chanukah celebration, you can do this.
Make the DoughnutsDissolve the yeast and 1 Tbs. of sugar in water. Let sit for 10 minutes. Mixture should be puffy and bubbling.Put flour in food processor bowl with a steel blade. Add the yeast, milk, egg and yolk, salt, vanilla, lemon and remaining sugar. Process with pulses until blended. (Go slowly, I found if I blended the mixture too fast it would overwhelm my fairly large food processor for some reason.) Add butter and process until dough is “sticky yet elastic.” Flour or oil hands and take dough out of bowl and knead for a minute or two on a floured work surface. Oil a large bowl, put dough in it, cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place for at least an hour. (Dough can be refrigerated overnight after being placed in the bowl. Let come to room temperature before using.)Flour work surface. Divide dough in two, keeping half covered until needed. Roll out first half to ½” thickness and using 2 to 2½” round cookie cutter or top of a glass cut into rounds. Place on greased bak-ing pan. Reroll any scraps and repeat with them as well as the second half of the dough. (At this point,
you can freeze rounds to fry later. Freeze in single layer on baking sheet. Once frozen, bag and seal air-tight. Allow to defrost in refrigerator and then come to room temperature before using). Cover and allow the rounds to rise a half hour more.Pour two inches of oil into a heavy, wide pan, clip on deep fry thermometer and heat to 350-355 degrees. You will need to continually monitor the heat. The doughnuts came out best when fried between 350-355 degrees. Be prepared to raise or lower the heat as needed. Also dress for frying by covering clothes with an apron and wearing long sleeves and having oven mitts handy.Drop the doughnuts with tongs or slide in with the slotted spoon into the oil with the flatter, bottom sides they were resting on up (that will help give the finished doughnuts a nice domed look on both sides). Only put in 4-5 at time to be sure not to crowd them in the hot oil. Cook about 2-3 minutes on each side, turning when they have puffed up and are a golden medium brown. Drain on an oven or baking rack placed over a baking tray. Break one of the doughnuts open from that first
JElly Doughnuts (MakEs about 24)
11
la’atidbatch once it has cooled to the touch. The outsides should be nicely browned but not overly dark and the insides should be cooked through. If the out-side is browned and the inside still has wet, doughy spots, you may be frying at too high a tempera-ture. Be careful not to get the doughnuts too dark a brown by overcooking or using too high a heat, the crust is not as tender and it picks up a slightly burnt taste. Repeat, adding more oil as needed (being sure to let the temperature return to 350-355 degrees before frying each batch).Filling the DoughnutsThe next step is filling the doughnut. It really takes longer to explain than do, but if you make a mistake, no one will complain, the doughnut will still be deli-cious. To fill, take a cooled doughnut and insert a skewer through one end almost to the other and twist back and forth to create a channel or hole for the jelly. Insert the pastry tip (mine was 1” long with a ½” base) in the pastry bag or in a zipper-style food storage plastic bag with one of the bottom cor-ners snipped off. Stir jam to loosen a little and spoon into the bag. (If it is still too stiff to work with, add a little water and stir again.) Push the jam down toward the tip, twist the bag above the jam and grab with one hand above where you twisted the bag. Insert the pastry tip into the doughnut to the end of the hole or channel you’ve made with the skewer. Lightly squeeze the filling into the doughnut at the same time as you are pulling the pastry tip back out, continuing to squeeze until just before the tip exits the doughnut. The idea is that you want to make
sure there is filling all the way through the dough-nut. The technique takes practice. You can cut open the first doughnut to see if you got the hang of it, or you can just eat it to make sure it’s right.(There are other ways to fill a doughnut, but I have not tried them. Some people use a turkey baster to suck up the jam and then squeeze it into the slit. There are also pastry injectors made for this pur-pose. I think the cake decorating/pastry tip I used worked fine. Some of these are not as long as others, so watch for that, plus you don’t want too fine a hole to pipe through, so pick one that’s got some width.)Right before serving, using the small strainer, sift confectioners’ sugar over the top of the doughnuts. Enjoy and don’t forget to share. Doughnuts are best eaten the same day they are made.
Faith Kramer blogs her food at www.clickblogappetit.blogspot.com. Her food columns appear twice a month in the j. weekly.
La’atid Calendar 2011-12
December 11 Chanukah party
January 21-22 - SleepoverFebruary 12 - Social action event
April 1 - Chocolate SederMay 13 - Pool party/graduation
We look forward to another great year with TBA’s La’atid group!! To RSVP or if you
have questions, contact your trusty advisors, Dina and Phil Hankin at [email protected].
la’atid on WheelsBy Lisa Fernandez
About 20 daring TBA kids, and two parents, laced up their roller skates and took to the rink on November 13 as part of the La’atid youth group, organized by our fearless lead-ers, Phil and Dina Hankin. As “I Will Survive” and “Eye of the Tiger” blared from the DJ booth, the La’atid youth (and Rebbetzen Karen Bloom, too) whizzed around the old-school rink of Golden Skate in San Ramon, where Dina Hankin skated as a young girl. The entire affair brought yours truly back to the last time she last skated – at her bat mitzvah party in 1982 (since my parents wouldn’t let me have a dinner dance!). For many, like my daughter, Milah Gammon, and friend Juliet Hagar, the experience was a first one. Despite a few falls, it seemed like everyone had a great time. Thanks not only to the Hankins for spearheading, but also to the chaperones who helped lace up skates, guard the shoes, and serve pizza too.
12
gan avraham
The Fascination of Chanukah CandlesBy Ruth Morris, Director of Gan Avraham
Chanukah will soon be here, and of course it is a hot topic of conversation among the older children at Gan Avraham. Many children, when asked to name a Jewish holiday say “Chanukah!” Chanukah is probably the first holiday that many of the Gan Avraham children remember from year to year. Presents help them remember, of course, but I think it has something to do with the Chanukah lights.We all know the song that starts “Chanukah O Chanukah, come light the menorah” and goes on to “and while we are playing, the candles are burning low…” When we light the Chanukah candles at school during Chanukah and chant the blessings, there is a special kind of hush that descends over each class as they watch the candles burn. Sometimes the teachers let the candles burn down as they read or tell a Chanukah story to the children. Then, they check on the candles again. Are they still burning? Are they melted half-way yet? Chanukah, especially when you are a family with young children, is often a whirlwind of Chanukah parties and cel-ebrations, often with large numbers of people, lots of noise and activity. When you do find yourself at home for some of the nights of Chanukah, take some time to stay near the Chanukah lights and appreciate them. Chanukah candles are supposed to burn for at least 30 minutes. When you are at home, you could enjoy that warm glow as a family; sing some Chanukah songs, cuddle up and read (or tell) Chanukah stories, play games of dreidel, decorate some cookies to eat for dessert, or make Chanukah decorations and hang them up in your house. And remem-ber to keep checking on those Chanukah candles. You may be having so much fun that you don’t even notice when they go out!
The Gan BeatBy Rachel Dornheim
I recently attended a Jewish trivia game for kids. My children, who go to the Gan, were a little young to participate and sat quietly next to me, observing. But then came the question “What does a fish have to have on it to make it kosher?”My four-year-old Amalia sat up next to me, alert. She knew the answer. And with a big smile she shouted: “an O-U!” It made me think about how kids are constantly trying to put together the information they take in every day. I don’t ever remember talking to her about “O-U” but she must have absorbed it somewhere.There’s something particularly interesting about watching preschoolers come to understand their Jewish identity. Kids are trying to make sense of a world where Jewish traditions and perspective may be particularly important at home or synagogue, but don’t always translate to the secular world where they may spend most of their time.I asked Gan parents to chime in with stories of their own kids trying to fit the worlds together.Rebecca and Will Sparks’ son Zachary is in Kitah Bet. Rebecca says just before Halloween, the holiday came up in front of her kids:“I hadn’t pushed the Halloween thing too heavily, knowing that they will have plenty of time to experience that holiday in the future when there’s more peer pressure involved. I asked, “Zachary, what happens on Halloween?” and he replied, “You get a lot of Challah on Halloween.”Anat Shenker and Donaldo Osorio’s son Shai is in Kitah Gimmel. Anat is now pregnant with her second child and says recently Shai come home from the Gan after a day where they’d been discussing Genesis:“He must have been trying to reconcile that story of cre-ation with the one he was hearing about at home and, in a sense, watching unfold in me. Contemplating my growing stomach, Shai said: ‘God made all the decorations before he made the people. But now God doesn’t make the people, the tummies make the people.’”Rachel and Jesse Teichman’s daughter Nina is in Kitah Bet. Rachel says one day she heard this from her daughter:“‘We’re Jewish, so we don’t eat hamsters!’ Nina also made a nice connection between witches and Haman all on her own saying if they are bad they will go to jail.”Also in Kitah Bet, Camelia is the daughter of Alicia Cernitz and Bryan Schwartz. Alicia says:“One day after Camelia got dressed she started dressing her dolls and said, “ You can’t wear this to school, this is your Shabbat dress and this is your Yom Kippur dress.” Also, when her Snow White Halloween costume came in the mail, I explained to
continued on page 16
13
bet seferTo learn and to DoBy Susan Simon, Bet Sefer Director
Recently our 4th, 5,th and 6th grade Bet Sefer students got an opportunity to put into action some of the mitz-vot that we try to ingrain in them during religious school. During their eight years at Bet Sefer, they learn endlessly about mitzvot; but during our limited time with them, we rarely get too many opportunities to perform mitzvot. Our Mechina students go every year to a nearby senior center to sing for the residents and mingle with them. And the Mechina class also raises money every year for the Alameda County Food Bank through the Good Cents for Oakland program – all hands on. Most of the other grades don’t get the opportunity to perform mitzvot during Bet Sefer time.But this year was different--our students raised money to purchase food to donate to the Alameda County Food Bank. We could have had the students simply donate that money to the Food Bank, but instead we had the students bring in their money and then, thanks to some brave par-ents, go to shop at Trader Joe’s to purchase food to donate.
What an interesting experience this was for the students! Each class went on a separate day and each class was broken into small groups with a budget. They had to try to pur-chase the most nutritious and inexpensive food they could find there to maximize their money.Each class came back with many bags of groceries to add to our synagogue donation to the Food Bank. The reports from the parent chaperones and teachers emphasized how seriously the students took their tasks, discussing with each other about which products they could buy and why they make sense.The hope is that this activity will make the act of feed-ing the hungry more real. In a perfect world, the students would have been able to go to the Food Bank themselves and hand out the food to those who need it. Perhaps we can try to organize something like that for next year. But in the meantime, we hope that this project will leave a lasting impression on them.
14
jewish day schoolsOakland Hebrew Day SchoolBy Melanie Marcus
OHDS Learns TogetherA Community-Wide Evening of Chanukah Learning for Children and Adults Monday, December 12th from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.Come join us for our 4th annual OHDS Learns Together. Local educators and Rabbis will be presenting on a variety of Chanukah-related topics throughout the campus. Some sessions will be geared for child-parent learning. Childcare with Chanukah activities is available for younger children. There is no charge for this program. Light dinner will be served. Bring the whole family to this wonderful Chanukah experience!
Come Light Your Imagination - Chanukah stories with Liora Brosbe!PJ Library Storytime at OHDS Wednesday, December 14th at 5:00 p.m.OHDS and PJ Library welcome you to join us for an eve-ning of Chanukah stories, sing-along and milk n’ cookies! Liora Brosbe is a formally trained Maggidah, a Jewish story-teller and teacher. With studies in performance and impro-visational theater, Liora holds a Masters degree in Drama Therapy from California Institute for Integral Studies. Liora integrates her passion for Judaism and love of work-ing with families in the programming she does throughout the Bay Area. This program is perfect for families with children in preschool – 1st grade. All events will take place on the OHDS campus, 5500 Redwood Road, Oakland. For more details about these programs, please contact Melanie at (510) 531-8600, ext. 26 or [email protected] falls on the calendar during winter break this year. However, as a Jewish school we
relish the opportunity to give OHDS students a memo-rable and meaningful Chanukah experience starting early in December. The School teaches through experiential meth-ods so that each student knows who they are as an individu-al Jew. On Chanukah the campus transforms for a full-day Maccabia celebration. Students in grades K-8 prepare and compete in Jewish trivia, Judaic art, athletics, drama and original songs. Middle school leadership guides the younger students as they experience the challenges and determina-tion of the Maccabees. And, as with every program that OHDS offers, there is a Chesed project that gives students the opportunity to help those in need in the greater com-munity. This year, students will be preparing Lego projects for a local homeless shelter. We welcome you to come see Maccabia for yourself on December 8!
Chanukah, a Beloved Time for the Tehiyah Day School Community By Donna Sidel, Tehiyah Director of Communication
Chanukah at Tehiyah Day School is always a joyous time. Everyone in the community looks forward to a series of fun and much-anticipated events. One of the events most looked forward to is our annual Chanukah Book and Gift Fair, our biggest fundraiser for Tehiyah’s Library.It features an amazing variety of great books for children and for adults. There is an extensive selection encompassing both books with a Jewish theme and/or written by Jewish authors and other great books. The Fair also features amaz-ing handcrafted jewelry, artwork and crafts, some made by Tehiyah parents or students. In addition, the fair features Judaica (much of it handmade), menorahs, candles, gelt, dreidels, Chanukah toys, and a myriad of other items.It is one of the favorite times of year for our students, who visit the Book and Gift Fair with their class before it offi-cially opens, view the amazing array of books and gifts, and create their own personal wish lists of Chanukah gifts. Parents also love the Fair, which is open for the week of our parent-teacher conferences, when all parents are on campus. The wish lists put together by the students give parents the opportunity to buy gifts that they know their child will real-ly appreciate, and they can get all of their holiday shopping done at once. Even better, each vendor at the Fair contrib-utes some of their proceeds to the Library, so parents can feel good that their purchases are also a form of tz’dakah for their school. Each year, the Book and Gift Fair becomes as much a social event as a chance to buy gifts. Parents work at the Fair, assisting with purchases and wish lists, and since it is visited by all members of our community it is a constant hub of activity for its weeklong run. Anticipating the items at the Chanukah Book Fair and shopping for great Chanukah items, in an environment TBA member, Zepora Zangwill lending
her artist touch to Judaic art panel during Maccabia Day at OHDS. continued on page 15
15
midrasha
Save the Datemarch 11, 2012midra-Shabang
Auction and dinner extravaganzaCongregation Beth El
Midrasha in Berkeley UpdateBy Diane Bernbam
It seems that I have finally taken down the sukkah and packed away the decorations and caught my breath from cooking and eating all those holiday meals and now the first semester of Midrasha is nearly over. How did that happen?This has been a semester with a lot of wonderful new pro-gramming, and a lot of “firsts.” On our Berkeley campus here are a few: Because many of our teachers participated in a two-day training for retreat staff, we replaced ordinary classes on October 23 with a “Midrasha Extravaganza.” Students got to spend their morning screening the film “Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story,” and heard first hand about the subject from Midrasha alum Yeshaiah Goldfarb who has worked in the Giants’ front office for 10 years. Other students chose to learn about Jewishness and Blackness in the music of Irving Berlin with musicolo-gist Kimberly Gelbwasser. Midrasha faculty member Day Schildkret led a meditation session and also taught a class on Jews and Revolution. At the same time 8th graders spent the morning in a disabilities awareness workshop, listening to speakers talk first hand about their disabilities or those of people they work with, screening portions of the films “Perspecticles” and “How Difficult Can this Be?” and seeing what traditional Jewish texts tell us about disabilities. Everyone left the morning really glad they had come.Second, for the first time this year Midrasha in Berkeley is initiating a Havdalah outreach program to some of our partner synagogues where Midrasha teens and staff bring the celebration of Havdalah to the religious school students and their parents. The idea was started by our colleague Devra Aarons at Contra Costa Midrasha. She thought that for many teens at Midrasha, their favorite part of the program is Havdalah on retreats and she wanted to bring some of that excitement to younger students at our partner synagogues so that religious school students would have a glimpse of what to look forward to at Midrasha. At the
time of this writing we’ve had our first event (a smashing success) and have two others scheduled. If we haven’t come to your synagogue this year, reach out to us and ask us to come next semester.The four Midrasha campuses have also tried some new innovative programming together. We realized last year that eighth graders may need a little bit of an orientation to our retreat program, so we have planned a wonderful “Tasty, Backwards Adventure: A Sneak-Peek at the Midrasha Retreats with Burritos, Blindfolds and The Beastie Boys.” Eighth graders from all four campuses will get to meet each other on the afternoon of December 11 (when the older Midrasha students are on a two-day retreat of their own) and experience the highlights of a Midrasha retreat, all in reverse order, as they travel together on a bus to a movable feast of sample Midrasha retreat activities. (I hate to tell you more and spoil the surprises we have in store for them.) Another thing the four campuses did together was to plan an afternoon at the Urban Adamah farm. You should have seen our kids making pesto from basil they harvested, using a bicycle-powered blender.Planning all the details for these new programs has taken a lot of time, but it has also been very energizing. That’s what keeps the job of directing this great school so engag-ing. Each year is filled with new horizons, new programs to plan and new logistical challenges to solve. It keeps me young, I guess.
without the intrusion of Christmas music and decorations, really helps Tehiyah families feel like a community, and to truly feel the power of Chanukah together.As much fun as the Book Fair is, it is just one of the com-munity events at Tehiyah celebrating the Maccabee’s tri-umph over oppressors. Each year, we all gather together for a fun All-school Chanukah Celebration. This joyous evening, attended by parents, grandparents, and other com-munity members, is an evening of song, music, and perfor-mance. Everyone performs, from the youngest to the oldest
students, and even our amazing staff and faculty choir. The fun begins with the lighting of the oversized chanuk-kiah made years ago by Tehiyah students, as everyone joins together to say the blessings.We are excited about our upcoming Chanukah events, as well as our Middle School Open House Admissions Event on Thursday, December 8, at 6:30 p.m. If you would like more information about any of these events, or wish to learn more about how a Tehiyah education can help shape your child’s identity, please contact Jim Gaines at (510) 233-3013, ext. 239 or [email protected].
Tehiyah, continued from page 14
16
life cyclesB
’nai
mit
zvah
Cole Bloomfield, December 3, 2011I’m in 7th grade at Piedmont Middle School, and I’ve been in the school district since kindergarten. Before that I went to the Gan as well as Lakeview Preschool. I live in Piedmont with my mom, Judy, my dad, Leon, and my little sister, Ellie. I play on a soccer team in the fall and a baseball team in the spring. I also enjoy playing tennis and skiing. In my free time I like to hang out with my friends, play sports, watch TV, and read.My Torah portion is Parsha Va’yetze. It is about when Jacob has worked his 14 years of labor for Lavan and he wants to leave with his wives Rachel and Leah. Jacob wants to take some of Lavan’s livestock with him as payment for his many years of labor for Lavan. But Lavan cheats him.The lesson I learned from this parsha is to be content with what you have. This is an important teaching because a lot of people aren’t content with what they have. Their unhappiness can cause them to become jealous of other people. Jealousy can make people treat others badly and may even lead people to commit crimes. I personally think that this is one of the most important teachings in the entire Torah.
Jenna Tessler, December 10, 2011Hi! I am a 7th grader at Julia Morgan School for Girls on the Mills College campus. I live in the Oakland Hills with my mom Amy, my dad Steve, and my older brother, Scott. Two of my favorite afterschool activities are soccer and musical theater. I play on the U-13 Montclair Clippers and have been performing in musicals since kindergarten. Although I’m not on a formal team, I enjoy playing tennis with my Dad and Scott. My involvement in the synagogue includes being a Madricha (assistant) for the Kitah Bet class and singing with the Rock N’ Roll Shabbat Band. My Bat Mitzvah brings closure to the class of 2011 Zayin class but it marks the open-ing of the door to Jewish adulthood. It’s been a real privilege to have been with some of my classmates since the Gan. Fortunately after attending more than 17 Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremonies, I think I’m ready for mine. Looking forward to seeing many of you there!
Gan Beat, continued from page 12
her that she couldn’t wear it to school on Halloween. The next morning she said, “ I can’t wear the Snow White dress to school because it isn’t Jewish.”Hilary Altman and Kevin Schwartz’s son is now in elemen-tary school, but Hilary tells this story from when Zak was still at the Gan:“We were all watching an intense football game and cheer-ing against the running back (who was very close to scoring). He fumbled the ball and I said “Oh – what a blessing!” Zak immediately did the blessing for the wine… It’s not often you hear “Baruch Atah Adonai…” during the NFL playoffs!”Marieka and Daniel Schotland’s son Eitan is in Kitah Gimmel. Recently the class was discussing what God looks
like. His aunt picked him up that day and when she saw what they had been talking about she asked him what he thought of the subject:“And Eitan said that G-d looks like a paramedic! He is really into paramedics and firemen right now. He does understand that they help people and he uses that correctly in pretend play so maybe he associates the helping aspect with G-d.”Finally, not to leave anyone hanging, the answer those trivia game leaders were looking for about kosher fish is that they need to have fins and easily removable scales. While some-times it’s vital to give or get the right answer, it’s also won-derful to be reminded of what it means to look at the world with fresh eyes.
17
life cycles
Is your birthday information wrong or missing from this list? Please contact the TBA office to make corrections.
1Jereme Albin
Bruce GoldbergSara Korn
Julie RubensteinAriele ScharffVera Zatkin
2Renee MarxLeah Turchin
3Jason Elias Gutstadt
Ilah RossDaniel B. Schotland
4Michael Rosenberg
Aaron SkilesHannah Tobin-Bloch
5Miriam Green
Gabriel Halperin6
Eliana BloomfieldZack Davis
Esther Rogers7
Ari BerlSolomon Katsman
8Robert EdesessSarah Goldman
Juliet HagarLinda Knauer
9Gaia Bostick
Johanna IlfeldBrian Kaplan
Katya Marinoff10
David AvidorAriel Spritzer-Satomi
11Lilian HalemRachel Harris
12Aaron EliahuAron GellmanRichard Stone
13Avshalom Berrol
Marissa GlickTony Rose
14Hannah Benau
Sheldon Rothblatt15
Corinne Taylor Villanueva16
Caroline HastingsRuby Trost-Goldhammer
17Max Baum
Michael MarxJoel MendelsonRoberta Sharnak
18Mia HarvittAmy Mezey
Colin SchlesingerRachel Zatkin
19Nicholas KalamasTimothy Kalamas
20Shosh BlachmanRalph MorewitzStephen Shub
21Alan O’Neill
Tate Lev SchwartzJosephine Trilling
22Rachel Barach
Aaron BukofzerAmalia Dornhelm CampbellAurora Dornhelm Campbell
Carla ItzkowichMatt Wagner
23Maya Attia
Nathaniel IlfeldEmily Sarit Pascal
24Jonathan Gutstadt
25Rachel LironTodd MirkinJesse Shalev
26Diana Limbach
27Corey DavisBen Stiegler
28Faith KramerLynn Langfeld
29Yaron Ben-Zvi
Gene BrottPatrick Bukowski
Marlene DinesMaribel Mogill
Braden WeissmanPeri Zangwill
30Lara Gilman
Paul LeibovitchRachel Nosowsky
Caren Sanghvi ShapiroAudrey Isabel Trilling
31Zoe HarvittElliot LenikSam Weiner
December Birthdays
Mazel tov to to Rayna Arnold and family on the wedding of her daughter!Jason and Nancy Berger lovingly welcome Clara Jane Berger, born on September 17.
Mazel Tov
18
life cycles
KISleV 5-6December 1-2David BenistyPaul HertzMax GevertzArthur KellmanLeo and Esther RamekAbraham Shaffer
KISleV 7-13December 3-9Gussie GoldsteinIsaac MarcusHilda RalCyril WeissPhyllis Marjorie CowanJune Reingold FleckHerman RothJeanette JegerSterna KasdanEve RothmanJacob KarwatEdward BercovichHerbert GoodmanLeon KraftEsther NaggarAaron GissenAlice MendelJoseph ScheinEva WeissmanStella BrottSandy Rosenfeld EmertSam KatzburgAnn PitkinSandra Rosenfeld-EmertLaura RosenthalErwin WallenEric Zielenziger
KISleV14-20December 10-16Rita Heeger
Nancy KonigsbergEsther NankinBen SilverWayne StanfieldMax DavisBryna GalantJehudah GalantRuth GalantShoshana GalantRichard GoldstoneMolva GoodmanMary HaleMax KaufmanMervin TesslerNina BalintEdith BudmanJennie GevertzAl MendelsohnSylvia RebackHelen Ida TesslerThelma Diane TobinPierson JacobsToni BerkeLouis BermanMarlene Berger CasparShlomit GreenBenjamin HolemanAlberta Myers MalakoffArthur Wald
KISleV 21-27December 17-23Victorine MisanMiriam NudlerLena FaginSam FeltmanMasao KishiStanley SchechtmanAnne StarrRichard GutmannLeon KleinArthur Nightingale
Goldie TuretzHolton Sr. BookerFred BrinnerRebecca EpsteinMichael FynlandSophie KrantzSamuel MorrowLouis RobinsonHerbert Allen GoodfellowRichard LevineBetty Gordon GrinbergKalman KleinRita MelamersonIsrael Stamer
KISleV 28-TeVeT 4December 24-30Samuel GevertzJudah GoldmanSidney WinchellJoseph DorfmanPaul TrofDavid FreedmanJoy FutterMarres GelfondRaymond NaggarHarold ReidDon SavittSamuel BernsteinLeslie KesslerMorris LeavittMark S. BloomDavid MehrEthel MehrWilliam HeegerIsrael RogersFrieda ZilverbergAbraham BercovichBlanche JacobsCarolyn Sue NightingaleSam Silver
May God comfort you among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem
December Yahrzeits
MeMOrIal PlaQUe Anyone wishing to purchase a memorial plaque, please contact Pinky at the synagogue office at extension 229.
19
Centennial Project Fundronn Berrol & Joan Korin, in memory of Bezalel Bornstein
Dr. Janice Corran & linda Polse
lawrence Dorfman, in memory of Shirley Dorfman
David levin & loren Siegel
Misia nudler, in memory of Arlene Davis and Deborah Sosebee’s father
Jonathan ring & Maya rath, in memory of Deborah Sosebee’s father
Curtis & adi Schacker, in memory of Deborah Sosebee’s father
Bryan Schwartz & alicia Cernitz-Schwartz
Sidney & ethel Shaffer, in memory of Arlene Davis and Deborah Sosebee’s father
Stephen & Susan Shub
Wendy & Marvin Siver, in memory of Deborah Sosebee’s father
Mark & lori Spiegel, in memory of Deborah Sosebee’s father
neil & Madeline Weinstein, in memory of Emma Rothenberg
Centennial Match FundMark Fickes & William Gentry
Philip & Dina Hankin
richard Heeger & alice Hale
robert Klein & Doreen alper
Jeanette Jeger Kitchen FundMisia nudler, Get Well Mark Loewenstein
Joel Piser & Jing Weng Hsieh, in memory of Frances Mae Piser
General Fundrichard & naomi applebaum
richard & naomi applebaum, Happy 60th Anniversary Ethel & Sid
richard & naomi applebaum, Happy Birthday Rabbi Henry Ramek
Marcy Belfer, in memory of Reba Schechtman
ronn Berrol & Joan Korin
Carol Davis
Keith & Marlene Dines, In memory of Florence Dines
libby Hertz, in memory of Sidney Hertz
Brett & robyn Hodess
Herman & agnes Pencovic, in memory of Bezalel Bornstein
Joel Piser & Jing Weng Hsieh, in memory of Monroe Mewdel Piser
Steven reingold, in memory of Albert Reingold
Dr. Howard & Barbara rifkin, in memory of Al Davis
Mark & rita roytfeld, in memory of our parents, relatives, friends
Curtis & adi Schacker, in honor of Rabbi Bloom’s birthday
Bryan Schwartz & alicia Cernitz-Schwartz
Vera zatkin, On the marriage of Jan & Randy Kessler’s daughter Gina
Kiddush Fundleonard & Helen Fixler, in memory of Arlene Davis
Herman & agnes Pencovic, in honor of Sid and Ethel Shaffer’s 60th anniversary
Minyan FundSheldon & Barbara rothblatt, in memory of Ben Rust
Sidney & ethel Shaffer, in honor of Nissan & Carol’s 45th Anniversary
David Weiner & ellen Kaufman
Camper/scholarship Fundelinor DeKoven, in memory of Arlene Davis and Happy Birthday Henry Ramek
Rabbi Discretionary FundSam & ellen Bercovich, in memory of Al Davis
Morris Goldberg
Misia nudler
Daryl & Bryna ross, in memory of Harry Saul Winchell and Abraham Wishoff
Michael & Deborah Sosebee
robert & Judith Wallerstein
Celia & Morris Davis Hunger FundSari Grossman, in memory of Arlene Davis
Irwin Keinon & adele Mendelsohn-Keinon, in memory of Arlene Davis
Celia Somers, in memory of Jeanette Somers
Endowment FundCharles Bernstein & Joanne Goldstein, in memory of Bezalel Bornstein
Gerald & ruby Hertz, in honor of Randy and Jan Kessler’s daughter’s wedding
alice & leslie & Jan & randy Kessler
eric leve, in memory of Iris Leve and Ronald Leve
larry Miller & Mary Kelly, in memory of Deborah Sosebee’s father
Ilya & regina Okh, in memory of Klara Okh
Herman & agnes Pencovic, in honor of Jan & Randy Kessler’s daughter’s marriage
Herman & agnes Pencovic, in memory of Al Davis
Charity is equal in importance to all the other commandments combined.
donations
It is a Jewish tradition to give contributions to commemorate life cycle events and other occasions. Are you celebrating a birthday, engagement, anniversary, baby naming, Bat/Bar Mitzvah or recovery from illness? Or perhaps remembering a yahrzeit? These are just a few ideas of appropriate times to commemorate with a donation to Temple Beth Abraham. These tax-deductible donations are greatly appreciated and are a vital financial supplement to support the wonderful variety of programs and activities that we offer.
Thanks again for your support! We could not do it without you!
20
1822
K
isle
v19
23
Kis
lev
2024
K
isle
v21
25
Kis
lev
2226
K
isle
v23
27
Kis
lev
2428
K
isle
v
10a K
en C
ohen
: Jer
usale
m E
terna
l10
:30p C
hildr
en’s
Chan
ukah
Party
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)
No B
et Se
fer
(clo
sed f
or W
inter
Bre
ak)
9a W
eekl
y Tex
t Stu
dy
(Woo
dmin
ster C
afe)
No
Kin
derg
ym
7p B
BYO-
AZA
and B
BG
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)
No K
inde
rgym
No B
et Se
fer
No G
an/K
inde
rgym
6:15
p-7:
15p K
abba
lat S
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Bir
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9:30
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p Sha
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Serv
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5:40
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g-Al
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with
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and M
en’s
Club
5:
37p
Hav
dala
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2 m
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1115
K
isle
v12
16
Kis
lev
1317
K
isle
v14
18
Kis
lev
1519
K
isle
v16
20
Kis
lev
1721
K
isle
v
10a K
en C
ohen
: Jer
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m E
terna
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TBA
’s Fi
rst A
nnua
l Mus
ic F
estiv
al
2nd A
nnua
l Com
mun
ity
Holid
ay S
huk (
Tem
ple S
inai)
La’a
tid C
hanu
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arty
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)
4p
-6p B
et Se
fer (
K-6t
h)
9a W
eekl
y Tex
t Stu
dy
(Woo
dmin
ster C
afe)
10a-
12p K
inde
rgym
7p B
BYO-
AZA
and B
BG
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)10
a E.B
. Jew
ish Fo
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(Fina
l Pro
gram
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p Kin
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4p-6
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9:30
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10
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11:4
5a S
habb
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6:15
p Eas
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6:15
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15p K
abba
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habb
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6:15
p BS A
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habb
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9:30
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p Sha
bbat
Serv
ices
10:1
5a T
’filla
t Y’la
dim
5:
34p
Hav
dala
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2 m
in)
15 K
isle
v2
''4:
32
37 K
isle
v
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
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10a-
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4p-6
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7:30
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9:30
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11:4
5a S
habb
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6:15
p-7:
15p K
abba
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9:30
a-12
p Sha
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Serv
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Bar M
itzva
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Col
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10:1
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greg
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10
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Sha
bbat
Mish
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6 to 8
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nt5:
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Hav
dala
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Kis
lev
/ Te
vet
5772
De
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011
Va-y
etze
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Va-y
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33
''4:
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48 K
isle
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9 Kis
lev
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K
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v7
11
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lev
812
K
isle
v9
13
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lev
1014
K
isle
v10
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Coh
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10:3
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inde
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Play
Day
6-8p
Jewi
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To
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“Foll
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”
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)9:
30a W
TBA
Rosh
Cho
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—
Wisd
om of
our M
othe
rs
7:
30p D
ec. B
oard
Mee
ting
4p-6
p Bet
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9a W
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10a-
12p K
inde
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7p B
BYO-
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BG
9:30
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p Sha
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Bat M
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Jen
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5:
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Hav
dala
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2 m
in)
9:30
-10:
30a &
10
:45-
11:4
5a S
habb
at Ki
nderg
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6:15
p-7:
15p K
abba
lat S
habb
at
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
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Jewi
sh F
orum
10a-
12p K
inde
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4p-6
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d-7t
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2529
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v26
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lev
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vet
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derg
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7p B
BYO-
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and B
BG
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)
No K
inde
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No B
et Se
fer
''4:
41
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inde
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6:15
p-7:
15p K
abba
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habb
at
9:30
a-12
p Sha
bbat
Serv
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5:
42p
Hav
dala
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ro
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Ho
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8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)
6 Kis
lev
''4:
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Va-y
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Cal
enda
rs in
The
Om
er ar
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oduc
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0-60
day
s in
adva
nce
usin
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e be
st d
ata
avai
labl
e fro
m th
e TB
A Ad
min
istr
atio
n St
aff.
This
cal
enda
r is a
lso
avai
labl
e at
our
web
site
ww
w.tb
aoak
land
.org
Al
way
s che
ck th
e C
ongr
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iona
l E-m
ail o
r the
Wee
kly
Shab
bat B
ulle
tin fo
r mor
e up
-to-d
ate
info
rmat
ion.
Ple
ase
note
any
cor
rect
ions
car
e of
Ray
na A
rnol
d at
the
TBA
offic
e.
Ch
anu
kah
'
Ch
anu
kah
''''''
Ch
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kah
''
Ch
anu
kah
'''''''
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21
2227
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vet
2328
Te
vet
2429
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vet
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heva
t26
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vat
273 S
heva
t28
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vat
TBA
Blo
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La’a
tid S
hul-i
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inya
n (Ch
apel)
4p
-6p B
et Se
fer (
K-6t
h)7:
30p M
onth
ly B
oard
Mee
ting
ro
sh C
ho
des
h
9a W
eekl
y Tex
t Stu
dy
(Woo
dmin
ster C
afe)
7p B
BYO-
AZA
and B
BG
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)
4p
-6p B
et Se
fer (
3rd-
7th g
rade
)6:
15p-
7:15
p Kab
balat
Sha
bbat
9:30
a-12
p Sha
bbat
Serv
ices
Bat M
itzva
h of H
anna
h Reb
ack
6:10
p Hav
dalah
(42
min)
1520
Te
vet
1621
Te
vet
1722
Te
vet
1823
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vet
1924
Te
vet
2025
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vet
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eekl
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t Stu
dy
(Woo
dmin
ster C
afe)
7p B
BYO-
AZA
and B
BG
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)
4p
-6p B
et Se
fer (
3rd-
7th g
rade
)7p
Men
’s Cl
ub P
oker
6:15
p Eas
t Bay
Min
yan
6:15
p-7:
15p K
abba
lat S
habb
at
6:15
p Bet
Sefe
r Sha
re A
Sha
bbat
WTB
A sh
AB
BAT
9:30
a-12
p Sha
bbat
Serv
ices
10:1
5a T
’filla
t Y’la
dim
La’a
tid S
hul-i
n
6:02
p Hav
dalah
(42
min)
16 Te
vet
27 Te
vet
38 Te
vet
49 Te
vet
510
Te
vet
6''
4:47
p
712
Te
vet
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)
4p-6
p Bet
Sefe
r (K-
6th)
6:15
Vav
Din
ner C
lass
9a W
eekl
y Tex
t Stu
dy
(Woo
dmin
ster C
afe)
7p B
BYO-
AZA
and B
BG
FAsT
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Teve
T (s
un
ris
e To
su
nse
T)8a
-9a M
inya
n (Ch
apel)
4p-6
p Bet
Sefe
r (3r
d-7t
h gra
de)
7p G
irl’s
Nigh
t Out
6:15
p-7:
15p K
abba
lat S
habb
at
9:30
a-12
p Sha
bbat
Serv
ices
Bat M
itzva
h of A
riela
Simon
10:1
5a Jr
. Con
greg
ation
10:1
5a S
habb
at M
ishpa
cha
5:48
p Hav
dalah
(42
min)
Teve
t /
She
vat
5772
Ja
nuar
y 20
12
Va-y
’chi
Va-e
ra
Bo
''5:
01p
''5:
08p
813
Te
vet
914
Te
vet
1015
Te
vet
1116
Te
vet
1217
Te
vet
1318
Te
vet
1419
Te
vet
10a S
habb
at M
ichpa
cha K
ick of
f &
Train
ing
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)9:
30a W
TBA
Rosh
Cho
desh
—
Subv
ersiv
e Seq
uels
4p-6
p Bet
Sefe
r (K-
6th)
4p-6
p BS
Hay K
ashr
ut di
nner
9a W
eekl
y Tex
t Stu
dy
(Woo
dmin
ster C
afe)
7p B
BYO-
AZA
and B
BG
9:30
a-12
p Sha
bbat
Serv
ices
Bat M
itzva
h of S
onia
Aron
son
5:
5p H
avda
lah (
42 m
in)
6:15
p-7:
15p R
ock’
n Rol
l Sha
bbat
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)
4p-6
p Bet
Sefe
r (3r
d-7t
h gra
de)
6:15
p BS
Zayi
n Din
ner C
lass
295 S
heva
t30
6 She
vat
317 S
heva
t
4p-6
p Bet
Sefe
r (K-
6th)
8a-9
a Min
yan (
Chap
el)9:
30a W
TBA
Rosh
Cho
desh
—
Subv
ersiv
e Seq
uels
11
Teve
t
''4:
53p
Sh’m
ot
Cal
enda
rs in
The
Om
er ar
e pro
duce
d 30-
60 da
ys in
adva
nce u
sing t
he be
st da
ta av
ailab
le fro
m the
TBA
Adm
inistr
ation
Staff
. This
calen
dar i
s also
avail
able
at ou
r web
site w
ww.tb
aoak
land.o
rg
Alwa
ys ch
eck t
he C
ongr
egati
onal
E-ma
il or
the W
eekly
Shab
bat B
ulleti
n for
mor
e up-
to-da
te inf
orma
tion.
Plea
se no
te an
y cor
recti
ons c
are o
f Ray
na A
rnold
at th
e TBA
offic
e.
9a-1
p Tu b
’She
vat P
rojec
ts:
Wetl
ands
and N
ew H
ighl
ands
El
emen
tary S
choo
l7p
Mor
asha
-Oak
land L
earn
s Tog
ether
PERIODICALS POSTAGE
P A I DOakland, CA
Permit No. 020299
Temple Beth Abraham327 MacArthur BoulevardOakland, CA 94610
TBA Directory ................................ i
What’s Happening ......................... 1
From the Rabbi .............................. 2
The Sound of All of Us .................. 3
Editor’s Message ............................ 4
Women of TBA .............................. 5
Shabbat & Irael Tidbits .................... 6
Community/Chanukah Shuk ........... 7
Chanukah ...................................... 8
Cooking Corner ........................... 10
La’atid ......................................... 11
Gan Avraham News .................... 12
Bet Sefer News ............................ 13
Jewish Day Schools ..................... 14
Midrasha ..................................... 15
Life Cycles ................................... 16
Donations .................................... 19
Calendar ................................ ......20
what’s inside
TBA’s First-Ever
The Sound of All of Us Music Festival December 11, 4 p.m - 8 p.m.
We’re hoping to PACK the synagogue and raise some money for music programs at TBA and in Oakland public schools.
Artists include: Rabbi Bloom Dr. Denise Davis Three Ring Circus Alicia Von Kugelgen
Cantor Richard Kaplan Hobo Paradise, featuring Ben Bernstein Cantor Jennie Chabon and Shir Joy
Please join us! Bring your friends!