June 2014-Sivan/Tammuz 5774

Inside this Issue

.............................................Film page 1

...............Community Meeting page 1

..........................Rabbi's Letter page 2

....................................Adult Ed page 3

.....................................POWER page 4

Avodah........................................ page 5

B’nai Mitzvah............................. page 6

..........................Acts of Caring page 7

.......................................Library page 8

.....................................Interns page 10

.................................Yahrzeits page 11

.......................................T’filot page 12

Documentary Film: Stolen Dreams II

Sunday, June 8, 3:00 p.m., Kehillah Room

The next Broken on All Sides Action/Study Group program at Mishkan Shalom on Sunday, June 8, 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., will be a community screening of the fabulous 25-minute local documentary, Stolen Dreams II: Breaking the Cycle of youth Violence Trauma & Imprisonment, produced by Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project (YASP).

Tot Metz, a member of YASP, will be on hand for the discussion to follow. The screening is free (donations accepted) and open to the public, and we believe it will fit in really well with the powerful discussions we've been having in our group. This will also be a way for group members to meet activists who are currently organizing for change in Philadelphia. Please mark your calendars and spread the word!

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Annual Community Meeting

Wednesday, June 18

6:00 p.m. – Dinner for Everyone7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – Important Business MeetingMark your calendars!

The Annual Meeting is our final community meeting of the year, and the only one mandated by Mishkan's By-laws. At this meeting· the Board will bring a recommendation for next

year's budget for community review and approval· The community will vote on nominees for two Board

positions to succeed outgoing Board members Steve Jones and Karen Smith.

· We will follow up on the community covenant commitments for members- "Brit Kehillah" as some suggested at the March meeting.

We will explore a very exciting proposal that has come from Lynne Iser, Rabbi Shawn and the Sustainability Committee to connect the global and national observance of the SHMITA year (see

http://hazon.org/shmita-project/overview/) the committee's proposal of "Sustainability, Simplicity and Resiliency" for 2014-15 as an overarching theme for next year's programming, spiritual practice and advocacy work.

We'll also get feedback from this year's Strategic Planning Conversations to help guide our path going forward.

Let's all usher in a wonderful 5775. See you on June 18th!

kol shalomfor membersand friendsof Mishkan Shalom

Special Potluck for Young Adults

Friday, June 6, 5:30 p.m.

On Friday, June 6, we will celebrate Mishkan Shalom’s

young adults as they transition from high school to college, college to work or graduate school, visit Israel or embark on other learning adventures.

Join us for a Potluck before Services at 5:30 p.m. and Services at 7:30 p.m.

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Shavuot and the Month of Revelation and Release

The Torah was given in public, openly in a free place. For had the Torah been given in Eretz Yisrael, the Israelites could have said to the nations of the world,

“You have no share in it.” But now that it was given in the wilderness publicly and openly in a place that is free for all, everyone who wishing to accept it could…Another reason: to avoid causing dissension among the tribes. Else one might have said, “In my territory the Torah was given.”…therefore the Torah was given in the desert, publicly and openly, in a place belonging to no one.

Mechilta de R. Ishmael (Ex. 19.2, 20.2)

The beginning of June heralds in Shavuot this year, which originated as an agricultural festival. It celebrates the beginning (the "first fruits") of the wheat harvest in Israel which continues throughout the summer and ends with Sukkot in the fall. "On the day of the first fruits, your Feast of Shavuot, when you bring an offering of new grain to the Eternal, you shall observe a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations" (Numbers 28). "Then you shall observe the Feast of Weeks for the Eternal your God, offering your freewill contribution according as the Eternal your God has blessed you. You shall rejoice before the Eternal your God" (Deuteronomy 16). In later centuries, when we were disconnected or driven from lands where we had farmed, and in times of exile, we transformed this idea and began to view the Torah itself and revelation as the first fruit- and Shavuot as the annual downloading from the mainframe of Divine Truth to us wherever we were.

As Rabbi Emanuel Goldsmith, a student of Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan wrote in Reconstructionism Today, Spring 2002, Volume 9, Number 3:

For Reconstructionist Jews, the Torah is divine not in the sense that God dictated it to Moses, but in the sense that the Process by which our people discovered its laws, spun its narratives and authored its poetry is exactly what we mean by God. Even the ethical shortcomings of the Torah are a source of insight and instruction for us. In periods of religious introspection and exaltation, this spirit gives voice to those eternal ethical and spiritual insights in which we behold manifestations of a Power that is the ultimate source…

As I open myself up to “gathering around the foot of the mountain” again in collaboration with a number of our Reconstructionist and Northwest Philadelphia congregations at Germantown Jewish Center where we are celebrating Shavuot, I am experiencing the Process, the Power that compels us to do justly and love compassionately in ways I had not anticipated.

I felt this walking the streets of Nicetown with Margaret Lenzi canvassing for voter registration as part of our membership in POWER here in Philadelphia, then seeing the living wage proposal win with 75% of the vote only days later. I felt that flow of Hope and Commitment every Wednesday here at Mishkan with our young people and teachers filling the building with their energy and enthusiasm, the weekly voter registration phone bank participants, adult education offerings and board or executive committee meetings, and the hiring of our two rabbinic interns Jake Adler and Julie Benioff to help our community grow and deepen in our offerings for next year.

I experienced the Voice of the Divine that goes out to all people, as the Midrash offers, when Pennsylvania became the latest state removing the stumbling blocks to marriage equality. And I felt the Love and Longing, the Endurance and Energy that runs as a deep aquifer in our souls when we celebrated Pedro Romero and his family at dinner and Kabbalat Shabbat services in late May, and at Shabbat morning services where Noa Reisner and Izzy Dickstein co-led the service with me as our newest confirmation teens.

I want to stay open to the holy Process that is Life itself as this month unfolds. Whether that be working with our b’nai mitzvah, organizing funds for meaningful purpose in our community, gathering for our end of

rabbi shawn zevit

continued on page 3

rabbi’s letter

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Summer’s coming, and life slows down a bit. But before you flee to sandy, watery venues, check out June’s adult education offerings…and, while you’re at it, let us know what you’d like to see on our roster for the fall. Send ideas, thoughts and questions to Anndee Hochman, aehoch@aol.com As always, full class details and payment info are at www.mishkan.org

Take Up Space! A Self-Defense Workshop for Girls & WomenSunday, June 8, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (with brown-bag lunch)$54 per girl/adult pair

Open to Mishkan girls ages 12-15 and their mothers or adult female friend

Taught by Libby Harman, Mishkan member and self-defense instructor

Self-defense is really about paying attention, trusting

your gut instincts and being willing to step out of your comfort zone. Through role-plays, discussion and demonstration, we’ll explore stereotypes of being female and learn how to act effectively in the face of danger and fear.

Summer Solstice Slow JamSaturday, July 12, 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. in the amphitheater (if rain, Heschel-King room)Led by Steve VlamNo charge for the slow jam; BYOB (alcoholic or not) and snacks

Now a semi-annual Mishkan tradition! Singers, guitarists, fiddlers, drummers, harmonica players and others who just love a good tune are warmly welcomed to jam along. If the weather’s warm, we may play outdoors! Bring a snack (BYOB), a friend, an instrument…or just yourself. We’ll provide chord and song sheets; no jamming experience required.

adult education anndee hochman

year community meeting, June 18, continuing to work congregation-wide on developing and planning for next year, with our meta-theme of SHMITA (http://hazon.org/shmita-project/overview/) reflected in all aspects of our Mishkan next year.

Lastly, I am so grateful for the support of so many of you as we near our first anniversary together, especially during a year of living in two cities, often apart from my beloved partner Simcha and step-son Noah, who heads to Israel next year for a gap year of study and service work. With hope and gratitude, we should become the grateful owners of a home mid-June in Mt. Airy, where I will relocate from my dear friends Rabbis Jeff and Sarah, who have housed me in Gladwyne this year. We will not be able to live together full-time until Simcha

relocates here in September, but we are one step further towards that goal.

As we open to whatever is revealed to us this month, whatever our early harvest of the post-harsh winter is for us, remember each of your voices and journeys connects to and offers new insights to the Torah we have inherited. As Rabbi Lawrence Kushner writes in “God Was in This Place, p. 178:

“Each person has a Torah, unique to that person, his or her innermost teaching. Some people seem to know their Torahs very early in life and speak and sing them in a myriad of ways. Others spend their whole lives stammering, shaping, and rehearsing them. Some are long, some are short. Some are intricate and poetic, others are only a few words and still others can only be spoken by gesture and example. But every Soul has a Torah. To hear another say Torah is a precious gift”

continued from page 2Rabbi’s Letter

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Mishkan POWER Team Helps to Raise the Minimum Wage for Thousands in Philly!By Margaret Lenzi

It was a lot of phone calls and door knocks, but we did it. Voters on May 20 passed the minimum wage ballot measure so that subcontracted workers for the city will get at least $10.88/hr, paid sick days, and benefits. This ballot initiative was the centerpiece of POWER’s Voter Engagement Campaign this spring. 41 POWER congregations across the city made around 40,000 attempts and obtained 4,000 commitments of infrequent voters to vote to raise the minimum wage and for a full, fair funding formula for our schools. The Mishkan POWER Team was front and center and led the way with sustained and committed efforts from so many. THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Mishkan surpassed its voter goal! Being the conservative synagogue that we are, we initially set our goal at 90 voters. But we ended up with 262 committed voters after making 2,342 attempts. We certainly are the overachievers!

But it did take a village to pull this off. Over the course of the 10-week campaign, we engaged 41 different Mishkan members in 8 phone banks, 2 door canvasses and GOTV activities. All together, we filled 83 volunteer slots because many enjoyed it so much that they came back multiple times to help. It was especially nice when you have a positive conversation with a voter and know that we are on the same side for economic justice.

So many stepped forward and did their part to make this a success. The team leaders were Steve Newman, Lisagail Zeitlin and Margaret Lenzi who did in-reach at Mishkan to get volunteers and maintained contact with the POWER organizers to make sure we were all going in the same direction. Special appreciation goes to:

Ellen Tichenor and Lance Laver who led the Phone Bank Effort and also supplied some tasty treats to keep the crew going

Mark Haas who was our Data person and entered all the

results from the thousands of contacts quickly and without a mistake

AND A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO THE MANY MISHKAN MEMBERS WHO CAME ON WEDNESDAY NIGHTS TO MAKE PHONE CALLS AND SUNDAYS TO KNOCK ON DOORS. WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU.

Another benefit of this campaign is that it brought so many Mishkan people together to work on a project in a way that was doable for them. Everyone can’t spend days on a campaign, but a lot of people can come out for a few hours to make calls and talk to people. There was a real sense of camaraderie and support among the volunteers as it is almost always better to do things together than alone. The cumulative impact of our individual efforts, both on a congregation and city-wide level, was impressive. And I got a sense that “Yes, we are all in this together.”

Together, we were able to help bring the minimum wage and benefit standard to thousands of Philadelphia’s low wage workers. In its May 15 editorial when it supported the measure, the Daily News editorial noted that “Poverty is a huge problem in Philadelphia, not just for the people struggling to survive, but for all of us. The city as a whole struggles when its citizens can’t eat, can’t find jobs or housing, and have limited opportunities.” This statement rings true to the values that are part of Mishkan’s Statement of Principles and, for many, it is why we are part of POWER.

This is not just about getting infrequent votes to the polls or raising the minimum wage - although both are important. POWER is about building a movement to transform our city into a city of opportunity for all - good jobs, better public schools and immigration reform are its priorities this year. POWER will be following up on the school funding issue in the Fall. POWER just hired an organizer who will concentrate on immigration issues. We are in it for the long haul and know that systemic change never comes easily. But it is empowering to know that 41 other congregations are working with us with the best of our faith traditions moving us forward.

Summer Solstice Slow Jam, with Steve VlamSaturday, July 12, 7:00 p.m.

Bring your instruments and voice and enjoy the first day of Summer.

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avodah sharon rhode

So Many Amazing Mishkan Volunteers!So Many Wonderful Mishkan Volunteer Opportunities!

As this exciting and fruitful year at Mishkan Shalom slows down for many of us, many others gear-up to prepare programs, events, classes, campaigns and, of course, a full high-holiday season, for the year to come. If summer is a season where you have some time and talent to lend to our community, there are plenty of opportunities for you! Contact the head of the group you’d like to learn about, Rabbi Shawn or yours truly (Sharon Rhode), and we’ll point you in the right direction!

We hope everyone plans to be with us for our final Community Meeting of 5774, on Wednesday evening, June 18. In addition to updates from the Board, we’ll hear from leaders of our many committees, havurot and interest groups about plans for next year and what kinds of roles – big and small – are open and needing to be filled. Watch for an up-to-the-minute Avodah: Volunteer Opportunities list, where you’ll see all open positions, including descriptions and contact names to learn more. It’s the perfect time to plan ahead for getting involved and deepening your connection to Mishkan!

A p p r e c i a t i o n s

Kol HaKavod

to our

Board of Directorsfor an inspirational year of

Hard Work Exceptional Service and Deep Devotionto our community

Please make the opportunity to thank themfor all they do for all of us:

David Piver, PresidentEllen Tichener, Vice President

Sharon Gornstein, Secretary/CommunicationsDoron Henkin, Treasurer

Barry Dornfeld, Strategic PlanningLynne Iser, Tikkun Olam

Steve Jones, Spiritual LifeSteve Perkiss, Building & SiteJohn Schapiro, Development

Karen Smith, Membership & CommunityAndrew Soloway, Education

Ḥazak, Ḥazak V’Nitḥazek!

May you all go from strength to strength!

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b’nai mitzvah anndee hochman

Hallie AhrensJune 7

Here were Hallie Ahrens’ first impressions of Hebrew School at Mishkan Shalom: one classmate in a Beatles t-shirt; another one relaxing on the floor with her shoes kicked off. A group of students who welcomed her, the new 5th-grader, with openness and warmth.

“It felt really awkward. I didn’t think I would belong. But everyone was really nice. Now Mishkan is one of the most important things in my life.”

Hallie, who had not attended Hebrew School before joining Mishkan, quickly caught up. But preparing for her Bat Mitzvah was a different kind of hurdle. “Before I started tutoring, I was nonchalant,” she recalls. “But once I started tutoring, I got nervous about my parasha and how many prayers I didn’t know.”

The first time Hallie read her parasha, Beha’alotcha (Num. 8:1-12:16)—a section in which the Israelites complain to Moshe about life in the desert and how much they miss the food they had in Egypt—she wasn’t sure how she would plumb it for deeper meaning. But after reading and discussing the verses with Rabbi Shawn, she found a strong contemporary resonance.

“I’ve discussed with Rabbi Shawn how we should listen to people’s problems, but also figure out when they’re being selfish and when they actually have a problem. If we

listen to problems like homelessness, we can actually help.”

Hallie has been listening. Last year, when Mishkan member and public school teacher Mindy Dorfman visited the Vav class to talk about the lack of resources at Richard R. Wright Elementary School, Hallie was moved to action; she’s conducting a book drive to benefit the school.

In English class at Abington Junior High School, Hallie began thinking about homelessness after reading Monkey Island, about a boy abandoned by his parents and taken in by a group of strangers. “Homelessness was an issue I’d never really gotten involved with before. I’m going to volunteer at the soup kitchen [at the Life Center of Eastern Delaware County] with some other members of Mishkan.”

When Hallie thinks ahead to the day of her Bat Mitzvah, she’s excited to share this important part of her life with friends from outside the synagogue. “I talk about my friends at Mishkan, how open everyone is, how creative it is, and how I want my [school] friends to go with me one day so they can see it for themselves.

“I’ve learned a lot: my Hebrew skills have gotten better, and my studying skills. I’ve learned a lot more about Jewish history. And David [Acker, her tutor] has taught me more about

singing. I’m excited to stand up in front of people I know and lead a bunch of prayers.”

Kol Shalom is published monthly, September through June.Eileen Levinson, editorAdam Wenocur, layoutMaria Paranzino, distribution Contributors include: Gene Bishop, Marcy Boroff, Anndee Hochman, Margaret Lenzi, Eileen Levinson, Maria Paranzino, Sharon Rhode, Ariel Weiss, and Shawn Zevit.Email articles by the 15th of each month to levinsone@yahoo.com

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Mazel TovWe extend a hearty mazel tov to Hallie Ahrens and her family on becoming bat mitzvah and to Debora Kodish and Bob Eskind on the recent marriage of their daughter Sarah Kodish-Eskind to Jacob Rozenberg. We also celebrate together with Mishkan’s graduating seniors and their families and wish them well on this next chapter of their lives; Isaac Adlowitz will be studying International Relations at American University, Ian Diamond will be attending Worcester Polytechnic University, Madeline Elwell will be attending Smith College, Emma Weiss Holyst will be attending Bard College, Ari Melincoff-Levy was awarded a Creative Mind Scholarship and will be studying Sound Engineering and Design at Full Sail University, Julie Levin Moscowitz will be Julie Levin Moscowitz will be attending Earlham College, Daniel Post-Jacobs will be going to the business school at the University of Miami and was awarded their President’s Scholarship for Academic Achievement, Tamar Reisner-Stehman will be a dance performance major with a full merit scholarship at Goucher College and Morris Saxe-Smith will be attending Vassar College. Mazel Tov to all!

CondolencesWe extend condolences to Ari Melincoff-Levy and former Mishkan member Marcia Melincoff on the loss of their stepmother and wife, Alicia Conill. May they be comforted among all the mourners of Zion and all humanity and may Alicia’s memory be for a blessing.

Love and SupportThis month we send our ongoing love, support, and prayers for healing to Mishkan members Wendy Galson, Gabe Meadows Adels, Robin Berenholz , Bernice Bricklin, Mark Goodman, Jane Hinkle, Sue Jacobs, Jay Kravitz , Denise Kulp, Robin Leidner, Faith Leibman, and Aryeh Stein Azen.

We are keeping Miriam Samuelson (daughter of Eileen Levinson), Evelyn Bishop (mother of Gene Bishop), Mary Chinnici (mother of Maria Paranzino), Natalie Caplin (mother of Wendy Caplin), Pat Lynn (partner of Barrie Levin), Arnold Schein (father of Susan Schein), Laikee Zelitch (mother of Simone Zelitch), Debra Ellen Coran (cousin of Beth Joy

Rosenwald), Sarah Bradley (mother of David Bradley), Debra Singer (sister of Karen Singer), Patrick Windle (brother of Susan Windle), Sal Berenholz (father of Robin Berenholz), Jackie Berman-Gorvine (daughter-in-law of Natalie & Harold Gorvine), Lorna Michaelson (mother-in-law of Joe Brenman), Eva Galson (mother of Wendy Galson and mother-in-law of Susan Windle), and Julie Post (sister of Nancy Post) in our prayers as well. May they all experience a refuah sheleimah (full healing).

Acts of Caring is a Yahoo Group listserve that lets all of us in the Mishkan Shalom community learn about significant events in the lives of our members. In this way, we can reach out to one another in times of grief, illness, and joy. To reach us simply email : actsofcaring@mishkan.org.

HINENI—HERE I AMIf you have life circumstances that would be helped by short-term emotional support and/or help with concrete tasks please contact Lisa Mervis and Sharon Sigal at ActsofCaring@Mishkan.org or please phone Sharon at (610) 574-1705 or (610) 649-0274.

We will reach out to the community and coordinate help with needs such as transportation to doctor appointments, meals, errands, as well as visits.

Are you receiving Acts of Caring via email?

We are exploring ways to merge Acts of Caring with other Mishkan communications platforms so that it will not be necessary to separately sign up for Acts of Caring.

In the meantime, if you are not receiving Acts of Caring:

Joining Acts of Caring is easy: simply go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/actsofcaring and if you are a new user, click on "sign up" at the top. If you want to change the email address at which you receive Acts of Caring, you can do this by editing your profile. Need help? Contact Gene Bishop or Ariel Weiss at actsofcaring@Mishkan.org

Got Nachas? Sharing your good news is a marvelous way to connect our community! Please don’t be shy - send all lifecycle events you would like to be posted to our email address: actsofcaring@mishkan.org.. Please notify us if you want a name added to, or removed from, our “Ongoing love, support, and prayers of healing…” list.

acts of caring (g’milut ḥasadim) gene bishop & ariel weiss

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library harold gorvine

What’s New in the Mishkan Library?Making Good Neighbors: Civil Rights, Liberalism, and Integration in Postwar Philadelphia, by [Mishkan-raised] Abigail Perkiss

This book is local history at its best – not a mere collection of random facts, but the story of a community engaging with one of the key American issues of the second half of the twentieth century: black-white relations.

Perkiss puts the West Mount Airy experience into a national context. The first chapter is an overview of the problem of housing in the United States. Further, in every chapter when she is dealing with another aspect of West Mount Airy’s history, she gives the reader the national context.

Good history is a story – a story that ordinary readers as well as scholars can enjoy. However, it is more than that. Good history is analytical; it informs us about the reasons for the events and for the actions of the participants in the events. Perkiss is a master storyteller; she weaves her analyses into the story without interrupting the flow of the narrative.

The story begins during the 1950s and early 1960s when a group of middle-class white liberals were determined to create an integrated community in West Mount Airy. They were motivated both by a desire to live in a safe, middle-class community, and by a commitment to the ideals of social justice and equality. African Americans, on the other hand, were motivated mainly by the prospect of having the material benefits of middle-class life.

It was not easy to accomplish the shared goal. The proponents had to battle the blockbusting efforts of unscrupulous realtors, and they had to persuade nervous whites to remain in place. Clergy were involved in a coordinated effort, and laymen organized the West Mount Airy Neighbors Association (henceforth WMAN). One of the leaders of WMAN was George Schermer, the director of Philadelphia’s Commission on Human Relations. Germantown Jewish Centre became one of the centers of the community. Rabbi Elias Charry organized outreach efforts to newcomers to Mount Airy, and he even showed relevant movies in the synagogue – e.g., a fictionalized account of a middle-class black family moving into a white neighborhood.

Then came the Black Power Movement of the 1960s. It manifested itself in Philadelphia in the person of Cecil

Moore, the fiery head of the Philadelphia NAACP chapter. He accused middle-class African American residents of being Uncle Toms and of selling out poor blacks in other parts of the city. He targeted prominent African American leaders like Judge Raymond Pace Alexander, a highly regarded civil rights leader.

The local public schools, particularly the Henry Elementary School, became a flashpoint. Community leaders used the school as a selling point with white middle-class home seekers. However, when the School Board redrew district lines and black children poured into the Henry School, the balance between white and black students was threatened. Class size increased, and many programs had to be cancelled.

To cope with these problems, the School Board appointed a new principal, Beatrice Chernock, in 1957. Ms. Chernock’s efforts to keep white families in the Henry School are a fascinating story in and of themselves.

At the end of the 1960s and early 1970s violent crime increased in the United States, and West Mount Airy was not immune to its effects. This development, coupled with urban deindustrialization and the consequent loss of jobs, had a devastating effect on African Americans in so-called inner cities. In West Mount Airy the rise in crime led to a serious divide between blacks and whites. As Perkiss puts it, “…some upwardly mobile African American homeowners … made the decision to organize on their own behalf,” creating the West Mount Airy Action, Inc. That group organized a neighborhood watch that patrolled the streets at night.

The new organization clashed with the WMAN. In one memorable meeting that Perkiss describes in her book, members of the two groups screamed at one another. Eventually WMAA dissolved itself.

Frank Rizzo appeared on the scene in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Perkiss does something seemingly impossible: she treats Rizzo almost sympathetically! To treat a polarizing figure like Rizzo in this way is one of the marks of a fine historian.

In her last chapter, “The Choice to Live Differently,” Perkiss tells us about life in Mount Airy today. When the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College moved to Wyncote, students at the college and young rabbis began moving to Mount Airy. What particularly attracted them was the presence in West Mount Airy of three charismatic rabbis – Arthur Green, Arthur Waskow, and the founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.

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library sharon rhode

One Book, Ten Years! Last Call for Title Suggestions!The end of one program year marks the beginning of another for our Library Committee, and we’re getting ready to begin planning our tenth One Book season. We have a few title suggestions, and want to be sure we’re considering all options! So, if you have a suggestion for a great read for our tenth year (fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry...a graphic novel?) we’re all ears! Thanks for sharing your ideas!

What’s New? Read the Reviews on our New Acquisitions Webpage!Check out the newest enhancement to our Library webpage: “What’s New in the Mishkan Library,” a page listing all recent acquisitions, where they’re located in the library, with reviews by our resident scholar, Harold Gorvine. Here are the titles...visit our Library page to link to the reviews!· A Yiddish World Remembered (PBS DVD)· Making Good Neighbors: Civil Rights, Liberalism and

Integration in Postwar Philadelphia· Spiritual Community: The Power to Restore Hope,

Commitment and Joy· Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza· Revisions: Seeing Torah Through a Feminist Lens· The Radical American Judaism of Mordecai M. Kaplan· Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who

Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation· American Post-Judaism: Identity and Renewal in a Post-ethnic

Society· The “Jew” in Cinema: From the Golem to Don’t Touch My

Holocaust

· Democratizing Judaism· Explaining Life: The Wisdom of Modern Jewish Poetry:

1960-2010· Saying Kaddish: How to Comfort the Dying, Bury the Dead,

and Mourn as a Jew

Endless Riches for Summer Reading...Enjoy the Library this Summer!Novels? Memoir? Finally time for some pithier reading? We’ve got it all, plus CDs, cassettes, stories-on-tape, periodicals, brand new works and shelves full of classics. What will you be reading this summer? Instructions for self check out are on the bulletin board as you enter the library.

The Library is open this summer for you to browse, work in the Library and check-out books using the self-circulation system. However, because meetings are sometimes scheduled, and building doors are kept locked at all times -- except for services and special events -- please call the office to confirm availability. Feel free to open windows, or turn on the AC while you’re in the library, but remember: IF YOU OPEN IT, CLOSE IT; IF YOU TURN IT ON, TURN IT OFF! ...it could be days before someone else is there!

So, check your shelves for books ready to be returned, come by and check out books for summer reading, take a look at our “Free to Good Home” collection on the windowsill opposite the door and take good wishes from all of us on the Library Committee with you for a lovely, refreshing, happy summer! Enjoy our excellent collection and, as always, keep in touch at library@mishkan.org or call Lillian Sigal, Chair. See you in the Library!

Gay and lesbian couples also found Mount Airy a safe place to live and become part of the community.

In effect, diversity – not integration – became the watchword in Mount Airy. Many individuals had chosen “to live differently.”

There is much more to the story than I have outlined here, and Perkiss does it all in 173 pages. READ THE BOOK! (You will, by the way, recognize the familiar names of a number of former and current Mishkan members in various places in it.) And even if you are not a professional

historian, look at the endnotes and the bibliography. This will show you how much research good historians have to do. Perkiss has mastered the secondary literature and has delved into the relevant archives. In addition, she has interviewed individuals, and I believe that she used oral history recordings.

Kol hakavod! Abby, I tip my academic cap to you.

P.S. My wife Natalie and I are contributing a copy of Making Good Neighbors to the Mishkan Library in Abby’s honor.

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Introducing New Mishkan Shalom Interns We welcome two new RRC (Reconstructionist Rabbinical College) students to internships at Mishkan Shalom. Jake Adler, an incoming third-year RRC student will be our Teen Coordinator working with Rabbi Shawn and Rivka, picking up where Gabby Kaplan Meyer leaves off having established our successful Teen Program. Julie Benioff, an incoming fourth-year student will work directly with Rabbi Shawn as part of the community vision and budget developed over a year ago that supported additional rabbinic resource to compliment what Rabbi Yael is already doing working with Rabbi Shawn and our community.

If you have any questions about either of these internships please contact Rabbi Shawn directly.

Jake Adler, comes to us with experience working with teens and adults, social justice and experiential outdoor education work. Jake is returning as the Rosh Etgar- head of outdoor activities at Camp JRF and also helping Rabbi Michelle Greenfield with Gabby Kaplan's Mitzvah Mensches for teens as part

of Celebrations here at Mishkan. Gabby also has worked with and thinks very highly of Jake!

As you know, Gabby, before deciding to step down from this one area of her work at Mishkan Shalom, has lead the Teen Program for seven years, working in a part-time capacity. In the last few years, she has been working more at Jewish Learning Venture and now directs an initiative called "Whole Community Inclusion", supporting all of the synagogues in the Greater Philadelphia to become more inclusive of people who have disabilities. She is excited to continue directing the Celebrations! program at Mishkan, teaching gan-alef, leading children's High Holy day services and will keep teaching Food for Thought with the teens. We are thrilled Gabby will remain an integral part of our community in many ways, including offering one of the core Teen programs.

Thanks to the subcommittee of Margaret Bradley, board member Andrew Soloway, and Andrea Konow, Rabbi Shawn and Rivka and to the Education Committee, the Mishkan Shalom Board, and all of the teens and their parents who helped us with focus groups the last few weeks on the road to developing the job description and supporting the search process.

Jake will work directly with Rabbi Shawn, Rivka and the Education Committee to determine Mishkan teen programs for 2014-15, which will draw from those that

have been held at Mishkan including teen Seminar, teen group, Walking the Walk and Food for Thought. His six hours a week with us, beginning this summer will include partnering with Youth/Education Directors from Or Hadash, GJC and FolkShul and other teen programs to create and lead social activities on Saturday nights through the year; set a calendar for teen programs for the year in coordination with Rabbi Shawn and Rivka; and look for opportunities for teen engagement in the larger Jewish community and communicate about them to teens and parents. We are also forwarding the notes from our Teens and Parents focus groups to Jake as part of our planning discussions. We are also blessed to have Jake with us given his background in social justice work and his new position with the Reconstructionist movement working as the social justice intern with Rabbi Mordechai Liebling at RRC! What great synergy!

Jake writes: "My interest in working with teens has been influenced by the leadership opportunities that I had during my own teen years. One of these opportunities was serving as Religious and Vice President of my synagogue’s youth group for three years, which gave me the opportunity to learn to design and lead creative services and leyn Torah, among other projects which helped encourage a growing Jewish religious identity. Likewise my early exposure to experiential education on high and low ropes courses, which helped me develop confidence and a sense of responsibility for helping keep communities safe and supported. I have brought my ropes course and experiential education skills to Camp JRF, where I will return this summer for a second year as Rosh Etgar, incorporating Jewish and Reconstructionist values into engaging experiences for future Reconstructionist Jewish leaders." See and hear Jake speak about his work at http://www.rrc.edu/video/jake-best-adler-ropes-challenge-becomes-lesson-judaism.

Julie writes: "I have experience and interest in prayer leadership, Jewish education, curriculum development, and teaching all ages. I am specifically interested in this internship at Mishkan as an opportunity to further develop my skills in spiritual

leadership, pastoral care, adult education and social action. Additionally, I recognize the wonderful opportunity this would be to work, be mentored and learn in a Reconstructionist congregational setting."

Rabbi Shawn has already worked with Julie, who hails from Fairbanks, Alaska, when she took the two-year Davvenen Leaders Training Institute with him from 2010-2012. Julie is returning for her third year as the Rabbinic Intern at Arcadia University in Wyncote, and has an MA in

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Irene Horn-6/2-Sivan 4Mothero of D'vorah Horn-Greenberg

Sidney Shore6/2-Sivan 4Father of Neal Shore

Eleanor Blatt-6/3-Sivan 5Sister of Lynne Iser & Mordechai Liebling

Sam Fibus-6/3-Sivan 5Father of Jamie Fibus

Eugene Steiker-6/3-Sivan 5Father of Ellen Steiker

Tobyann Boonin-6/6-Sivan 8Mother of Nicholas Boonin

Alvin Goldberg-6/6-Sivan 8Father of Elissa Goldberg

Phil Wertheim-6/6-Sivan 8Father of Ellen Tichenor

Claire Myers-6/7-Sivan 9Mother of Phyllis Myers

Marci Resnick-6/8-Sivan 10Wife of Stephen Jones

Irvin Belasco-6/10-Sivan 12Father of Andrea Belasco

Label Masters-6/11-Sivan 13Uncle of Steve Masters

Lawrence Weinreb-6/11-Sivan 13Brother of Lisa Weinreb-Mervis

Sophia Blistein-6/12-Sivan 14Mother of Adam Blistein

Emanuel Greenstein-6/12-Sivan 14Grandfather of Ellie Barbarash

Solomon Haas-6/12-Sivan 14Father of Mark Haas

Jack Saull-6/12-Sivan 14Uncle of Jill Saull

Blair Harman-6/14-Sivan 16Brother of Blair Harman

Phillip R. Sigal-6/14-Sivan 16Father of Sharon Sigal

Sarah Bober-6/15-Sivan 17Mother of Gail Bober

Pearl Silverman-6/15-Sivan 17Mother of Helene S. Feldman

Anita Auerbach-6/19-Sivan 21Grandmother of Lisa Auerbach

John Kershman-6/19-Sivan 21Father of Susan Kershman

Yeva Schiffman-6/20-Sivan 22Mother of Chiqui Somers

Minnie Shapiro-6/20-Sivan 22Mother of Howard Shapiro

Milton Cobert-6/21-Sivan 23Grandfather of Jennifer Coburn

Elaine Gordon-6/22-Sivan 24Mother of Ronni Rothman

Norman Horwitz-6/22-Sivan 24Father of Seth Horwitz

Marta Kusic-6/22-Sivan 24Friend of Jude & Bill Lang

Max Schiffman-6/25-Sivan 27Father of Chiqui Somers

Edith Casher-6/26-Sivan 28Mother of Andrea Casher

Janice Rosenthal-6/26-Sivan 28Father of Cindy Rosenthal

Benno Goldschneider-6/27-Sivan 29Grandfather of Wendy Galson

Lucille Gadsden Williams-6/28-Sivan 30Grandmother of Wilbur R.C. Bryant

Thomas Punnett-6/29-Tammuz 1Uncle of Peter Handler

Mary Breitman-6/30-Tammuz 2Mother of Barbara Breitman

yahrzeits

t’filotPlease join us for Torah Study every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m.

Tuesday, June 3, 6:30 p.m. – Shavuot Night of Study at GJC

Friday, June 6, 5:30 p.m. – Potluck dinner, honoring Young Adult Transitions and Travels7:30 p.m. – Kabbalat Shabbat Service, with Rabbi Shawn.

Saturday, June 7, 10:00 a.m. – Beha’alotecha – Shabbat Service, with Rabbi Shawn. Hallie Ahrens will be called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah.

Saturday, June 14, 9:00 a.m. – Spiritual Direction Circle10:00 a.m. – A Way In Mindfulness Service, with Rabbi Yael

Friday, June 20, 5:30 p.m. – Potluck dinner honoring Gabby Kaplan-Mayer as she ends her tenure as Teen Coordinator while continuing to create a vibrant community in many wonderful ways.7:30 p.m. – Kabbalat Shabbat Service, with Rabbi Shawn.

Saturday, June 21, 9:00 a.m. – Spiritual Direction Circle10:00 a.m. – Korah – Shabbat Service, with Rabbi Shawn and Zion Class

Saturday, June 28, 10:00 a.m. – Ḥukat – A Way in Mindfulness Service, with Rabbi Yael. 7:30 p.m. – Rosh Ḥodesh Tammuz I

Shavuot Night of Study: Revelation & the ArtsTuesday, June 3, 6:30 p.m. – Wednesday, June 4, 6:00 a.m. At Germantown Jewish Centre, 400 W. Ellet St., Philadelphia, PA 19119

Mishkan Shalom joins Germantown Jewish Centre, Or Hadash, P’nai Or and RRC in an exciting night of study. Come to some or all of the following events:

6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. – Revelation and the Arts – A variety of activities appealing to adults and children

8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. – Recreating Sinai – Keynote Program

9:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. – Creative Ma’ariv Service

10:00 p.m. - 5:00 a.m. – All-Night Learning Sessions, Movement, Prayer and Beit Midrash (Study) – Join us for all or part of the time

5:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m. – Creative Sunrise Service

If you are participating beyond 10:00 p.m., please bring dairy or pareve snacks to share. Please bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Mitzvah Food Project.

There are opportunities for socializing and noshing throughout the evening and overnight into the morning.

Professional Communication and a BA in Wildlife and fisheries Biology. Julie has also worked in adult, family and youth education at Or Hadash Reconstructionist Congregation in Ft. Washington, PA, Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, PA, has helped lead High Holy Days in Bennington, Vermont and is heading to the Sarasota Reconstructionist community for the upcoming High Holy Days. Julie was also a member of the Board of Directors and a Lay Leader at Congregation Or HaTzafon, Fairbanks, Alaska, October 1996 – 2011.

Starting in September, Julie will work five hours a week directly with Rabbi Shawn Zevit as part of the clergy team that includes Rabbi Yael Levy drawing from the areas of: additional spiritual leadership in prayer services, including helping develop family programming as part of services and in other program areas; some adult education programming, occasional Torah study, pastoral back-up and support when needed and additional programming as it develops and/or in the areas of her passion and skill-set. See Julie on the RRC website speak about her path to becoming a rabbinical student at http://www.rrc.edu/video/julie-benioff-i-could-only-be-rabbi

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������������Mishkan Shalom is an affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation; www.jrf.org

4101 Freeland AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19128Email: office@mishkan.org

Phone: (215) 508-0226Fax: (215) 508-0932www.mishkan.org