*Click on the LINK & move the cursor over each Service or Event for more information, including time(s).

Tikvah Times Staff: Alene Schonhaut - *Editor at Large, Madeleine Wolf - Assistant Editor, and

Jay Beber - Cover Design & Consultant

Photograph Credits: Eric Anderson, Jay Beber, Terry Cutler, Marc & Michele Gold, Hart to Hart Entertainment, Sharon Kahn, Suzanne Katz, Lisa Lupo, Meryl Root, Rabbi Sheinberg & Cheryl Stern

*EDITORIAL NOTE - You can click on any picture or article to enlarge it.

Rabbi Randy Sheinberg

Revelation

• I sometimes try to imagine what it was like…That mythical moment at Mount Sinai, thousands of years ago, when our ancestors stood together as one and heard God’s word, and experienced the Divine presence.
• As this month of June begins, we commemorate that moment with the holiday of Shavuot. As one of three pilgrimage festivals on the Jewish calendar, it is at this time we celebrate the culmination of the freedom journey whose story begins at Passover. While Pesach celebrates the time of our physical liberation from bondage in Egypt, Shavuot celebrates our spiritual liberation, the time when we receive the Torah, and of our own free will, enter into the brit, the covenant with God that it represents.
• Our tradition gives us two different, but complementary views of how this revelation happened.
• The first is noisy and crowded. The description of the moment of revelation in Exodus tells how Mount Sinai trembled, the shofar blared loudly, and all the people stood together and enthusiastically responded to God, “na’aseh v’nishmah”, “we will do and we will hearken.” This picture emphasizes the communal and celebratory aspect of revelation. It teaches us that we need one another. We need a whole community, in order to be able to fully experience the divine.
• Just a few weeks ago, I experienced the power of the community to bring forth a sense of holiness at my daughter Paola’s Bat Mitzvah Service. It was truly moving to see so many of you sitting in the pews praying with her, supporting her, and celebrating her special day. Thank you all for the love and support you have shown her and our family throughout the years and on that day in particular. I hope that you were able to experience some of the holiness that you brought to us.
• For revelation to occur, we need one another. We need celebrations and rituals. Yet, we also need solitude and quiet.
• Exodus provides us with one picture of revelation, but Deuteronomy’s picture is quite different. According to the description of revelation in Deuteronomy, just before God spoke to the people, there was utter silence - no bird chirped; no ox lowed. All was anticipation, expectation, and delicious readiness. At that moment, the Israelites, and it seemed, the entirety of creation, were at one in silent awe - and time stood still.
• Of course, that moment did not last. After we received the Torah came the hard work of determining how to live it. The silence of unity was replaced by a cacophony of debate, dissent, and activity. Rather than standing still, time rushed by again, as our ancestors filled their lives with the everyday tasks of survival.
• For us, as for our ancestors, time rarely stands still; a whir with activity, obligations, celebrations, and the noise of living a full and rich life, it is not often that I experience the peace and clarity of that moment at Sinai.
• It can be difficult to discern the clear voice from Sinai that comes to us in our moments of stillness. However, to lead lives of meaning and lives of intention, we need to take a moment now and then to find it. A teacher once reminded me that our date books are our witnesses - they testify to what we value. What does my date book say about me? Am I filling my days and hours with the activities that are most important to me, that represent my best understanding of what my life is for?
• In the quieter months of summer ahead, I hope to take some time to reflect. And I hope you have the chance to do so too.
• As this season of heightened activity draws to a close, I want to call your attention to some milestones in Temple Tikvah’s Calendar: A warm and joyous mazel tov to Madelyn Kimmel and Rachel Rotstein who will be Confirmed on Friday night, June 7th, just before our holiday of Shavuot begins. This promises to be a wonderful and inspiring Service for the whole congregation - I hope you will join us. In addition, mazel tov and hatzlacha - may you go forward in strength and success - to our high school graduate David Ravens. Please join us at our Shabbat Service on June 21st for a festive “Celebration of Learning” featuring many of our Religious School students, as we honor David and thank him for his years of service to Temple Tikvah.

Wishing you a summer of activity and relaxation, clarity, and blessing!

Autonomy & Self-Governing

• In his fascinating book, In the Footsteps of Jewish Time, Shalom Rosenberg speaks about the connection between Passover and Shavuot. Both holidays are connected to agriculture. In Passover the barley is ripe. As it is harvested and brought to the Temple, the grains of a portion of it, called Omer (wheat) are being offered to God. The counting of 49 days after Omer is sacrificed (the counting of the Omer), leads to Shavuot when the wheat is ripe and in its turn it is brought to the Temple as an offering ‏in the form of two loaves of bread. Passover celebrates freedom, but like barley the Israelites are still base and unrefined. They are given the opportunity for a potential growth after fifty days of traveling in the wilderness in Shavuot, with the acceptance of the Torah which is symbolized by the essential wheat.
• The Book of Proverbs gives a utopian example which human beings can only aspire to achieve. “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise. It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” Not unlike the ant, people’s freedom is dependent on autonomy and self-governing. Rosenberg brings an example from daily life. A youngster gets his freedom when he arrives at the age he can drive a car, yet only after he receives his driving license does he have his complete autonomy, independence restricted by law to drive it. Without this autonomy: his ability to control his car, to understand road signs, and to be considerate of other drivers and pedestrians; the youngster’s freedom would be denied. Since without autonomy, freedom leads to anarchy; Proverbs rather suggests: “Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.” Passover symbolizes freedom, but it depends on autonomy; the restricting laws of the Torah given in Shavuot, to harness that freedom.

Temple President - shari rotstein

Our Kehilah…Village

• As the seasons change and summer approaches, I find myself thinking that my first year of presidency is almost finished. It has been extremely challenging and somewhat overwhelming, yet here I am...still smiling!
• I have been so fortunate to be able to lean on certain people; some heavier than others, I might add. As you must be aware, it really does take a village! I have said it before and I will say again...."I'm so proud of our kehilah!" I am proud to have such a strong Executive Board and a strong Board of Trustees.
• I would be remiss if I did not thank each and every one if them: Andrea, thanks for being my right hand and then some; Sandy, thanks for making those numbers make sense and Jeff, thanks for staying on top of some of those numbers; Lisa, thank for overseeing our school and The Voronovsky Grant; Debbie, thanks for putting it into print; and Maddy for filling in.
• Joe, thank you too. You have been there, done it. Thanks to everyone on the Board of Trustees, for supporting the ideas and recommendations of the Executive Board, for having your own fantastic ideas and opinions, and for stepping up when needed.
• I reserve a very special thank you to our Rabbi! Thank you for all your support and guidance. Your guidance had been invaluable...
• I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge that after a decade or more of dedicating her time to the Central Conference of American Rabbis, OUR Rabbi has been elected for a two-year term on the CCAR Board. Just a bit of information: the CCAR was founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, and is the principal organization of Reform Rabbis in the US and Canada. It is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world. Congratulations are definitely in order as this is such an honor and a privilege. It is my pleasure to take this opportunity and share this achievement with all of you. Mazel tov and all the best!

L'shalom

Temple Tikvah Eagle Scout Project

President - Marc Gold

“June is Bustin' Out All Over”

• Wasn’t that a song from Carousel ?...Sure it was - Yet that was in 1945 when Carousel first came to Broadway - Today 2019, 74 years later…June will be bustin' out all over again!
• Brotherhood will be bustin' out all over Temple Tikvah big time this month…“bet cha can’t wait?”
• We will already have had our annual Shabbat Service on the last day of May. I hope you all saw the men of Brotherhood lead the Service with style.
• On Saturday evening June 1st, Brotherhood will have our Annual Fundraiser Event with a dinner, auction, and live show with the singing duo, The Chimenti’s. The entire Congregation is invited for $30 per person (can’t beat that)…plus maybe you will bid on something at the Auction…remember all proceeds benefit the youth of Temple Tikvah.
• On Sunday, June 2nd Brotherhood invites that you to join our Temple Group and march up Fifth Avenue at the Annual Celebrate Israel Parade. What a fabulous way to celebrate Israel!
• On Wednesday, June 5th at 7pm, Brotherhood will hold its End of Year Dinner at Maggy Mays in Bayside. All Brothers are invited, but please RSVP to Brotherhood in advance. It should be lots of fun.
• As the 2018-19 Brotherhood Season comes to an end on June 30th…and what a year it was…what should the 2019-2020 year expect to be…well, please join us and you will find out!

Brothers are always looking for more Brothers!

Meryl Root

Lunch & Learn

• The Cantor’s Course begins on Saturday, June 1st. Join Cantor Guy Bonné as he immerses us in the mesmerizing opera, Salome. The story of Salome and John the Baptist from the New Testament was brilliantly adapted into a play by Oscar Wilde and composed by Richard Strauss. It takes place in the second century C.E. and most of its characters are Jewish. However, there is a vast difference in the way Judaism is practiced by each character. One similarity however, is the obsession that the characters hold that leads to an inevitable, explosive end.
• Salome is poetry at its best. It is electrifying and stirring, yet it is the only musical piece that the Cantor knows of in which anti-Semitism is portrayed in the music itself. We will examine this rare example and discuss the difficulty of enjoying music with a most disturbing context. Additionally, we will discuss the fascinating historical facts in the opera and analyze the musical elements that make this opera a masterpiece.
• Please join us on Saturday, June 1st at 11:30am for Part 1 of The Cantor’s Course: The Opera, Salome. Please RSVP for lunch to the Office or to lifelonglearning@templetikvah.org by Thursday, May 30th. Lunch is $10 for Temple members and $15 for everyone else. The program will begin around noon. We hope you can make it. Part 2 will meet on Thursday, June 6th at 7:00pm.
• Prior to Lunch & Learn, our Clergy will lead us in a Learners’ Service at 10:15am in the Sanctuary. The Contemplative Service offers a chance for each of us to go beyond the words of the traditional prayers and really feel them through moments of meditation, reflection, and chant. Please join us for a unique take on Shabbat morning services.

Torah Study:

• Friday Night Torah Study with Cantor Guy Bonné will meet on June 14th at 6:00pm and June 21st at 6:30pm.
• Shabbat Morning Torah Study continues every Saturday at 9:00am in the Loretta & George Cohen Library with Rabbi Randy Sheinberg. Sefer Bamidbar, Numbers will begin this month. We will pick up on our journey through the wilderness from where we left off in Exodus. Join us to see how this ancient book is still relevant today. No experience or prior knowledge is required. All are welcome.

Adult Hebrew Class

Adult Hebrew Class continues to meet on Thursday evenings from 7:00 - 8:15pm with Cantor Guy Bonné. The Cantor is delighted that the class has grown and we welcome you to join us, too. If you are interested in having some fun while learning Hebrew and about Israel, then this is the class for you. We watch Israeli television. We review and review. We even bake! The atmosphere is relaxed and there is plenty of reviewing! Speak to Cantor Bonné for more details. In lieu of class on June 6th, Cantor will hold Part 2 of his course. All are welcome.

Tikkun Leil Shavuot

It is a tradition that the People of Israel receive the Torah on the morning of Shavuot. Therefore, as the Sages of the Kabbalah practiced, we too will dedicate Shavuot Eve for study, and follow with a symbolic "reception of the Torah" in the Sanctuary. On Saturday, June 8th Rabbi Sheinberg and Cantor Bonné will lead us in study in preparation for receiving the Torah. The Study Session begins at 7:00pm with a break for some dairy dessert and then the receiving of Torah in the Sanctuary. All are welcome and no prior experience is needed. Please join us.

Once again, I would like to thank all who have participated this year and all who have helped to build a robust community of learners at Temple Tikvah. I look forward to your continued attendance at these events and your participation in creating more learning opportunities in the year to come. Feel free to email me at lifelonglearning@templetikvah.org with suggestions for future programs. Have a great summer!

Sharon Kahn & Helene Schonhaut

And The Survey Says…

• Referring to last month's Caring Community Article in The Tikvah Times, regarding the creation of additional social and activity groups as a way to enhance and strengthen the community in our Congregation, we conducted a survey as to what kind of group(s) everyone would be interested in creating and/or perhaps leading. We are happy to announce that for starters we will be creating a BOOK CLUB. This choice ranked #1 in popularity. We are still reviewing/counting votes in other categories. If you have not replied to the SURVEY, please send an email or call and advise your preference to: DEVORA3115@AOL.COM, a/k/a - HELENE SCHONHAUT (718) 468 – 0773.
• We invite those of you interested in the BOOK CLUB to join us on June 6th at 1:30 pm or on June 10th at 7:00pm in the Beber Room for our initial meetings. No pre-reading required. At these get togethers we will decide how we are going to proceed regarding who will lead our future sessions, the type of books we want to read, how often we will meet, and how long the meetings will be, etc.

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO:

GETTING TO KNOW YOU - A CONVERSATION WITH VALERIE GELBER, LCSW - PARTNERS IN CARING SOCIAL WORK

• We are pleased to welcome Valerie Gelber, Social Worker from Sid Jacobson JCC to our Temple Tikvah Community. She is eager to get to know us and to share what she is able to offer us. Do you need help? Are you facing a challenge? PARTNERS IN CARING, among other services helps create a responsive Jewish Community by providing support for: Bereavement, Life Cycle Issues, Care Giving Issues, and Respite Programs and Services.
• Please join us on June 17, 2019 at 11:00am in the Beber Room for this event, which will be sponsored by The Temple Tikvah Caring Community. Please RSVP to Helene Schonhaut at DEVORA3115@AOL.COM or (718) 468 – 0773.

We would like to leave you with a few thoughts for a happy, healthy and sunny summer:

KINDNESS IS THE BEST PRAYER

A SMILE CAN BE FOUND RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE

KINDNESS CAN BE SHORT, SWEET AND RANDOM, BUT ITS EFFECT ECHO FOREVER

CANTOR’S DISCRETIONARY FUND:

Ruth Selig in Celebration of Yom Gadol Sh'li • The Silverman Family in honor of Madilyn’s Bat Mitzvah

CARING COMMUNITY FUND:

Rickie Block in memory of Milton, Lenore & Howard Block • Mindi Jacobs in memory of Anne Selkin • Beth Haidt in memory of Evelyn Kamberg • Rachel Kupferberg in memory of Anne Selkin • Cheryle & Stephen Levine in appreciation of Lisa Lupo and all her hard work on the Purim Bags

PRAYERBOOK DEDICATION:

Barbara Silberman in honor of Paola Sheinberg Cohen’s Bat Mitzvah and Aaron & Gabriel Kirschner’s B'nai Mitzvah • Barbara Silberman in memory of Jack Leitenberg

RABBI’S DISCRETIONARY FUND:

The Silverman Family in honor of Madilyn’s Bat Mitzvah • Susan & Martin Siroka in appreciation of Rabbi Randy Sheinberg • Ruth Gelb in honor of Paola Sheinberg Cohen’s Bat Mitzvah • Beverly Osrow in memory of Anne Selkin

SHMIRA (Security Fund):

Robin & Robert Jacobson • Carole Kaplan • Joyce & Joel Mendoff • Sandy & David Peskin

SIMCHA FUND:

Sharon Adler, Meryl Root & John Romano and Family, Barbara & Dr. Milton Rosenberg, and Shari & Rony Rotstein in honor of Paola Sheinberg Cohen’s Bat Mitzvah • Jeffrey Degen in honor of Brian Chirel’s Mitzvah Eagle Scout Project • Elaine Farber in honor of Michelle Goldschmidt’s engagement to Ethan Rosen • Susan & Kent Moston in honor of Isabel Comerchero’s Bat Mitzvah • Maria Segura in honor of Gerta Weissfeld’s 100th Birthday • Ruth Selig in celebration of her granddaughter Shayna May Siegel’s Bat Mitzvah • Florence & Joseph Stoll in honor of Isidore Robert Stoll Nguyen’s Baby Naming

SPECIAL EDUCATION FUND:

Cheryle & Stephen Levine in honor of Jeanette & Charles Golden’s 65th Wedding Anniversary • Sisterhood in honor of the 55th Wedding Anniversary of Daniela & Matthew Prinz

TEMPLE TIKVAH MEMORIAL FUND:

Karla Adasse in memory of Louis H. Adasse • Carolyn Alexander in memory of Edward Alexander and Irving Shapiro • Helen & Robert Bader in memory of Pearl Bader • Sharon Bibergal in memory of Hyman Goldberg • Brotherhood in memory of Jack Leitenberg and Evelyn Kamberg • Arline & Jack Cazes in memory of Lotte Herz • Beth Curcio in memory of Jerry Feldman and Kenneth Lazaroff • Mindy & Mark Daniels in memory of Marilyn Daniels, Hyman Fox, and Sally Leatherman • The Diamond Family in memory of Harry Diamond • Helene Nancy Domash in memory of Anita Imber • Hermine Elias in memory of Norman Elias, Sarah Goldman, and Leonard H. Schoen • Elaine Farber in memory of Richard J. Farber • Susan Feinstein in memory of Seymour Feinstein • Myrna Fischbach in memory of Lori Robin Fischbach • Merle Fishkin in memory of Miriam Fishkin and Shari Fishkin • Marilyn Gilsen in memory of Adele Kopald • Libby Glowatz in memory of Esther Graff and David Weisbrot • Selma Goldberg in memory of Anita Bruckenstein and Irma Goldberg • Lawrence & Terrie Goldstein in memory of Bernard Berger • Muriel Gorochow in memory of Gisele Weinstock • Yvette Greiff in memory of Marshall Blumenfeld and Jean Farber • Sebastiana & Dean Hernan in memory of Joseph Hernandez • Ronni & Charles Hollander, Phylis & Joseph Horne, Sandy & David Peskin, Sisterhood, Mindi Jacobs & Andrew Wax, Rena & Douglas Weigler, and Elaine & Howard Weiss in memory of Anne Selkin • Dacia Horowitz & Jerry Furst in memory of Gisela Weinstock • Toby & Steven Israel in memory of Nettie Israel • Phyllis & Michael Jacoby in memory of Jerome Beatus • Carole Kaplan in memory of Mathilda Abzug, Shirley Kaplan, and Zoey Kaplan • Nancy & Robert Kiss in memory of Irving Kiss and Max Kiss • Deborah & Lawrence Klig in memory Charles Conver • Gloria & Larry Konstan in memory of Harry Konstan, Irma Schustek, and Anne Selken • Rosaria & Joel Kramer in memory of Joey Cerami, Vicent Cerami, and Morris D. Kramer • Cheryle & Stephen Levine in memory of Alison Werner Levine and Abbey Bonnie Passariello • Rochelle Lilien in memory of Michael Lilien and Bernard Kass • Bonnie & Robert Love in memory of Betty Berland • Lois Marcus in memory of Philip Marcus • Jacqueline & Kevin McCorey in memory of Diann Mills • Lynn Moser in memory of Solomon Okun and Anne Selkin • Susan & Kent Moston in memory of Sidney Kane and Anne Selkin • Margery & Edward Orenstein in memory of Joseph Orenstein • Lori, Don, Eric & Marissa Panetta & Adele Schoener in memory of Rose Schoener and Evelyn Freeman • Harriet Peaceman in memory of Howard Peaceman • Sandy Portnoy & Family in memory of George Marglin, Irving Portnoy, Jeff Portnoy, and Frances Rubinowitz • Susan & George Prinz in memory of William Mazin • Barbara Rosenthal in memory of Philip Kaplan and Gisela Weinstock • Lorraine & Martin Ross in memory of Simon Ross • Shari & Rony Rotstein in memory of Natan Rotstein • Jaynie Rudick in memory of Ruth Rudick • Helene & Edward Schachter in memory of Samuel Levine • Susan & Irwin Schneider in memory of Louise Cavaliere, Frances Schneider, and Ann Selkin • Charla Schnupp & Danette Jemal in memory of Morris Jemal • Marilyn Schwartz in memory of Lt. Marvin Newman and Janet Newman Schwartz • June & Jack Schwarz in memory of Ludwig Schwarz • Hazel & Jerome Shane in memory of Anita Imber • Barbara Silberman & Dorothy Kellner in memory of Sylvia Miller and Lillian Shulkes • Lois Silverman in memory of Evelyn Kamberg • Susan & Martin Siroka in memory of Violet Hochstadt and Shirley & Harold Siroka • Margo & Dr. Robert Siroty in memory of Anita Imber • Shirley Snyder in memory of Gisela Weinstock • Janet & Barry Spool in memory of Edward Spool • Felice Tarter in memory of Louis Tarter • Sheila & Joe Vass in memory of Anita Imber • Teresa & Jeffrey Weisbrot in memory of David Weisbrot • Joan Wiener in memory of Bernard Kolman • Gale & Howard Zeidman memory of Leon Zeidman

A Heartfelt Thank You from Marie Brown:

I would like to thank all of the volunteers who have helped in the office; your help is truly appreciated. Also, I would like thank all of the Temple Members who wished me a happy birthday.

Marty Cohen

Corralling the Unicorn: A Few Good Books

• I was sitting with some of the Torah Study regulars at a Lunch & Learn recently chatting about Robert Alter’s The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (W.W. Norton, @ 2019). Burt Schall brought Alter’s Bible to Torah Study to compare with The Reform Movement’s Plaut Edition. (Impressive, as the Alter weighs in at 10 pounds, 11 ounces.) “We always used to compare two bibles in my Religious School,” nodded Muriel Adler. Irv Silberman reminded me that he had enjoyed samples of Alter’s translations, including Job when they first enjoyed their individual publications.
• With his teaching, translations, and criticism (The Art of Biblical Narrative, The Art of Biblical Poetry, The Literary Guide to the Bible [ed., with Frank Kermode], Pen of Iron: American Prose, and The King James Bible), Alter (b. 1935, New York) has been influencing the way we think about the Bible for over 50 years. He has taught Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley since 1967.

• A unicorn runs free in The King James version of Job (39:9-11): “Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?” Alter, like most other recent translators offers “wild ox” in place of the unicorn: “Will the wild ox want to serve you, pass the night at your feeding trough? Bind the wild ox with cord for the furrow, will he harrow the valleys behind you?”
• Other Bibles offer “oryx” or even the transliterated Hebrew “reem,” which can be translated as a wild ox, a rhinoceros (a plodding unicorn) – or as mythical creatures like Leviathan and Behemoth, who also appear in God’s speech to Job.
• Alter’s God speaks to Job “out of the whirlwind,” in deference to KJV, although in his commentary Alter explains that the Hebrew word would really just mean “tempest,” as it is translated in the ArtScroll Tanach.
• Tempests aside, does Alter push aside the KJV or Plaut or Everett Fox or whatever version you are used to reading? Should you bind your own copy of the Alter with a cord and bring it home? If you are interested in a version that follows Hebrew prosody more closely than other versions, certainly. If you are interested in a fresh set of commentaries and footnotes, absolutely.
• If you are looking for a more conventionally American poetic translation, perhaps not. Stephen Mitchell’s Book of Job or David Rosenberg’s Poet’s Bible may appeal to you – or you may continue to favor Plaut – or The ArtScroll – or The KJV or The Revised Standard Version. In reviewing Alter I pulled down a shelf-full of translations, and consulted another dozen versions on line. They helped – but even with all these tethers, the unicorn breaks free.
• Poetry can turn into song; it can also turn into pictures. Many books about Job feature pictures from poet/painter William Blake’s paintings from the Book of Job on their covers. To balance the Christian imagery that Blake adds to Job, leaf through Arthur Szyk’s phenomenal (and very Jewish) illustrations, which accompany a deluxe edition of the King James Job. (Szyk’s Haggadah and other books are also worth scouting in used bookstores or on-line.)
• For some personal anecdotes about the origins and methodology of Alter’s translation, I recommend this story from UC Berkeley’s on-line newsletter: https://news.berkeley.edu/2019/01/18/robert-alter-sets-a-new-literary-tone-with-his-translation-of-the-hebrew-bible/

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Ecclesiastes (KJV) says, “…of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” Alter amends “much study” to “much chatter,” but it is for no weariness that I say that this will be my last Poetry and Arts Column for the Tikvah Times. Since 2009 I have had the privilege of delivering 2 lectures, writing 93 columns, and discussing over 120 writers and artists. I am stepping away not from weariness, nor for lack of new writers about whom to chatter, as there truly is no end, but because it is time for me to concentrate on several other writing projects. For ten years I have enjoyed the support of editors & designers Brian Fishkin (Z” L), Marlene Hurwitz, Alene Schonhaut, and Jay Beber; and of collaborators such as June Schwarz, Joe Horne, Joan Wiener, Susan Berman, Larry Stanfel, Laura Leivick, and Cantor Bonné. These columns have sparked conversations with many of you, and I value what I have learned from you and the friendships that have been nourished by our mutual love of poetry, art, and song. I hope we will have the chance to study and chatter together on many future occasions and to wrestle with unicorns. Please keep in touch…Marty Cohen

Elaine Brooks, Judy Kirschner & Elaine Weiss

HESED…LOVINGKINDNESS

• Alene Schonhaut was kind enough to share an article entitled: “Why Do We Read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot?” from myjewishlearning.com, with those of us who write columns for The Tikvah Times. Among the important points in the author’s response to that question was that the Book of Ruth illustrates what it means “to love the stranger and what it means to demonstrate hesed and how one can cultivate such virtues so as to bring about personal and even national transformation.” For a number of us, participating in The Social Action Committee of Temple enables us to have a sense of that type of hesed – to love the stranger and in so doing experience at least personal transformation, perhaps with the hope of sharing that feeling beyond ourselves.
• At our final meeting on Sunday May 5th, members reflected on the Committee’s concerns and activities over the past year in order to formulate plans for the year to come. What acts of kindness and generosity should we include in planning? Our purpose is not only to study Torah, but consequently to act and live righteously. This holiday is a celebration of our covenant with God. Whatever that means to you, however you envision it in practice, we hope you will join us or continue to join us in engaging in a variety of ways to act responsibly toward those experiencing scarcity and to how we relate to others through the “redemptive power of persons.” We hope you will share your thoughts and time with us via email, calls or your presence.