April 2011/Adar II-Nisan, 5771 Number 620 from the Rabbi’s...

Number 620 April 2011/Adar II-Nisan, 5771

Seder Reservation Form, Page 23

from the Rabbi’s study... “Wherever you live it is probably Egypt...”

With those words (and a few more that

follow), Michael Walzer brings to an end his

powerful book, Exodus and Revolution.

Walzer’s point is that, for Israel and indeed

for much of the world, “Egypt” is not so

much a place on the globe as it is a place in

our minds. Egypt is the broken, imperfect,

unredeemed world in which we find

ourselves right now: “the world as it is.”

Among the many great gifts ancient Israel

gave the world was a way of seeing history

as something more than an endless,

meaningless compilation of individual and

communal suffering. The imperfect world,

the “Egypt of our lives,” exists in a dynamic

tension with something better, even perfect.

Our tradition calls it “The Promised Land.”

We dream of our arrival there, and year after

year we sit at our Seder tables and speak the

words which ought to be heard, most of all,

as a prayer: “Next Year in Jerusalem!”

And we know, as Walzer knows, that “the

way to the land is through the wilderness.”

There is no easy path, no magic solution,

that will suddenly transform this world as it

is into “the world as it should be.” It is hard

work, this business of transforming,

perfecting, and repairing our world. When

all is said and done, as Walzer has it, “There

is no way to get from here to there except

by joining together and marching.”

It is with these themes of transformation in

mind that I reflect on a very busy month in

and around Temple Mount Sinai. April and

May are always “busy season,” by virtue of

the round of holidays. This year, some other

events, both internal to Temple and relating

to our public life, conspire to make it an even

busier time. I hope to see you at some or all

of the following events:

• Most significantly, Passover begins April

18-19. Our communal Seder is on the

evening of April 19, beginning at 6 pm. A

reservation form is on page 23 of this issue of

“Messages.” Please be with us as we

celebrate our freedom together.

• Temple Mount Sinai’s Annual Meeting

is a week earlier, on Tuesday evening,

April 12. In addition to the usual,

important work of electing officers and

trustees, and accepting reports from

Temple’s leadership, we may well have

the chance to be involved in the

transformative work of adding another

Rabbi to our staff. More information

about the annual meeting may be found

on pages eighteen and nineteen of this

bulletin.

• On Wednesday, April 13, Border

(Continued on page 4)

April 2011/Adar II-Nisan, 5771 Messages from the Mountain

Worship Schedule April 2011

April 1-2 Parashat Tazria Friday, April 1

Candlelighting, 7:07 pm Oneg Shabbat, 5:45 pm

Family Shabbat Service, 6:15 pm

Saturday, April 2 Torah Study, 9:30 am

Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 am Havdalah at B’nai Zion, 8:30 pm

Havdalah, 8:38 pm

April 8-9 Parashat Metzora Friday, April 8

Candlelighting, 7:12 pm Oneg Shabbat, 5:45 pm

Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6:15 pm


Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 am Havdalah, 8:43 pm

April 15-16 Parashat Achrei Mot

Friday, April 15 Candlelighting, 7:17 pm Oneg Shabbat, 5:45 pm




April 19 Passover

Tuesday, April 19 Festival Morning Service, 10:30 am

April 22-23 Shabbat Chol Hamo’ed Pesach





April 24-25 Seventh Day of Pesach

Sunday, April 24 Festival Evening Service, 6:15 pm

Monday, April 25

Festival Morning Service, 10:30 am

April 29-30 Parashat Kedoshim






April Birthdays

April Anniversaries April 1 Josh & Jenny Meyer Tony & Julie Mullen April 2 Fred & Ada Marcus April 5 Jim & Carol Parker April 6 Joey Taylor & Michele Alderete-Taylor

April 8 Steve & Ann Lauterbach April 12 William & Cynthia Bass April 20 Michael & Melanie Alkov Mike & Debby Robalin* April 22 Eddie & Laurie Knipp

April 25 Alejandro Restrepo & Michelle Assael April 30 Bob & Claire Jacobs *Special 5 or 10 year Birthday or Anniversary

April 1 Laurie Davis April 2 Ali Gluck Michael Goldman Rena Marcus Adele Siegel

April 3 Brent Harris Bud Ramenofsky Rachel Weinstein Sue Zaltz*

April 4 Scott Blumenfeld Martha Schlusselberg Stephanie Shapiro Wendy Siegel

April 5 Dick Fass

April 6 Peggy Feinberg Jeryl Marcus

April 7 Erline Gordon* Peggy Kovan

April 8 Julian Bernat Orit Eylon Bob Goldfarb Shelly Gopin

April 9 Aaron McCoy Stuart Shiloff

April 10 Mike Batkin Roee Belkin Callie Blumenfeld*

April 11 Edi Brannon Lory Goldberg*

April 12 Larry Anenberg Brent Mobbs Bob Nitzburg David Westermann

April 13 Alan Karp*

April 14 Donna Leffman

April 15 Marty Klein Ryan Miner April 16 Taylor Crossland* Lee Schweitzer

April 17 Joe Feldberg Linda Miner

April 18 Sydney Goltz* Thomas Krapin Nancy Laster* Mark Schrier

April 19 Bill Berry Alexander Christiansen Helen Goldberg Julia Lerer David Rothbardt Bill Spier

April 20 Elaine Krasne* Max Schwartz

April 21 Jessica Gopin Ellen Hirsch

April 22 Evan Blackburn April 23 Oren Belkin Elisa Lerer*

April 24 James Keller Lloyd Krapin

April 25 Joanne Farley Idell Rothstein Etta Mae Scherr*

April 27 Arlene Ellenburg

April 28 Barbara Behne

April 29 Noam Belkin* Lila Bowman* Susan Schecter*

April 30 Jordan Horn


Mazel Tov! Congratulations…

...to Julian Borschow for his over 50 years of service to the Jewish community.

...to John and Bita Mobbs in honor of their son, Brent, becoming a Bar Mitzvah.

...to Rabbi Larry and Alanna Bach on the birth of their niece, Edith Leona White. Parents are

Camille Frost and John White

Interfaith’s Issues Forum will bring

together those running for City Council to

represent Downtown and the West Side.

They will answer questions and speak to

their commitment to forge a working

relationship with the coalition of

organizations that comprise Border

Interfaith. The event will be held at St.

Jude’s Catholic Church (4006 Hidden

Way, in the neighborhood that sits at the

northeast corner of Doniphan and

Sunland Park), beginning at 6:30 pm. Our

involvement in Border Interfaith is one of

the ways we can be involved in the life of

our city, which may have a “wilderness”

climate, but need not be parched for

justice and harmony!

• On Thursday, April 7, I will have the

honor of serving you…dinner! I hope that

many Temple members will come out to

support Las Americas Immigrant

Advocacy Center, an organization which

provides free and low-cost legal aid to

immigrants. The event is at St. Pius X

Catholic Church (Clark @ Geronimo, just

south of the freeway). Your forty-dollar

ticket includes dinner catered by

Cappetto’s and served by any of a number

of local “celebrities,” and a chance to win

an iPad 2! Passover celebrates, among

other things, the ancient but ever-new

story of our migration. How fortunate we

are to have this opportunity to offer our

support to people fleeing persecution and

indeed slavery, in our own day.

• Finally, I draw your attention to the facing

page. If printer and USPS cooperate, you’ll

receive this before Alan Morinis’s April 1

-3 visit to El Paso. I encourage you to join

us for that as well, as we explore the

Mussar Tradition — itself a vehicle for

transforming the inner world of our

minds from “Egypt” to “Promised Land.”

In so many ways — as individuals, as a

Temple community, as members of the

Jewish people, and as human beings — we

can transform our lives and our worlds. Let

us make this season of springtime a moment

of great tikkun.

May your Passover be joyful, and liberating,

Rabbi Bach

(Continued from page 1)

from the Rabbi’s Study, continued


Scholar-in-Residence Alan Morinis

April 1-3, 2011

Temple Mount Sinai is fortunate to welcome a

distinguished author and scholar to El Paso April

1-3. Alan Morinis has done perhaps more than

any other person to introduce the traditional

Jewish path of Mussar (“soul-work”) to a wide and

diverse audience.

Alan is an anthropologist, filmmaker, writer, and

student of spiritual traditions. He is an active

interpreter of the teachings and practices of the

Mussar tradition and regularly gives lectures and

workshops. Born and raised in a culturally Jewish

but non-observant home, he studied anthropology

at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. His

doctoral thesis was published by Oxford

University Press as Pilgrimage in the Hindu

Tradition.

Alan has written books and produced feature films,

television dramas and documentaries and has

taught at several universities. Although he took a

deep journey into Hindu and Buddhist thought

and practice, for the past decade the nearly-lost

Jewish spiritual discipline of Mussar has been his

passion, a journey recorded in the book Climbing

Jacob’s Ladder (Broadway 2002). His guide to

Mussar practice, entitled Everyday Holiness: The

Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar, was published in

May 2007, and a follow-up work designed for

journaling and practice, Every Day, Holy Day, was

published in August 2010. All of these books are

for sale at Temple. He lives in Vancouver, BC, with

his wife of over 30 years, Bev Spring.

Alan will speak at Temple Mount Sinai on Friday

evening, Saturday morning and afternoon, and

Sunday morning. A Saturday evening program

will be held as well (time and location TBD). The

topics of his talks are as follows:

• at our Kabbalat Shabbat Service (6:15 pm,

Friday, April 1), Alan will speak on "What is

Mussar, and Why Should I Care?"

• at a Shabbat Dinner (following the Kabbalat

Shabbat Service), his topic will be, "Climbing

Jacob's Ladder: My Path to Mussar."

• at Torah Study on Saturday morning at 9:30,

Alan will teach: “Torah through a Mussar Lens

on the Parashah.”

• at a Kiddush Luncheon following our Shabbat

Morning Service, the topic will be,

"Discovering your personal spiritual

curriculum: Paths of the Righteous: A Mussar

Text."

• on Sunday morning at 10 am, Alan’s topic will

be "Every Day, Holy Day: How to Practice

Mussar."

All of Alan’s talks

are free and open to

the public. There is a

nominal cost

associated with the

Friday night dinner -

$10/adults (over 13),

$6/children (ages 6-

12), free (ages 5 &

under) which

precedes the

“Climbing Jacob’s

Ladder” talk. Please

call Elisa at Temple

to RSVP. Each talk stands on its own, but the

whole is most definitely greater than the sum of its

parts, so plan on attending several sessions, or all

of them!

Questions? Call Temple Mount Sinai (532-5959)

and speak with Rabbi Bach.


Improv Workshop

The Improv Workshop has been meeting on Monday nights from 7 to

9 pm in Zielonka Hall.

The main goals of this group are to have fun, to build our skills of

listening, teamwork, imagination and spontaneity, to learn to be in

the moment, and to gain confidence with movement. Through

improv games, movement-based exercises, and scene work, they will

build toward creating—for themselves—longer improvised theatrical

experiences that will be powerful, funny, honest, and compelling. It

is not necessary to be a clever or funny person to join this group—it

is really about learning to trust others.

David Novick is leading the group. He brings a lot of experience

from attending many workshops, performing with ComedySportz in

Portland, Oregon, and leading team-building improv workshops

here in El Paso.

No experience is necessary to join! The group will be open to all

Temple members over Bar/Bat Mitzvah age. If you’re interested (or

just want to ask questions), please contact David at [email protected].

Lunch and Learn — Tuesday, April 12

Our Lunch and Learn session this month will be on Tuesday , April 12. Rabbi

Bach will offer a “Passover Potpourri,” with thoughts about the upcoming

holiday and ideas for enlivening your seders.

All are welcome to the session, which begins with a buffet lunch at 11:45 am.

Rabbi Bach begins teaching at about noon, and we wrap up at 1 pm. The cost

is $10 for lunch. Your reservation helps us plan and shop efficiently, so please

let us know if you’ll be coming by calling the Temple office by Friday, April 8.


Growing in Body, Heart, and Spirit

Each week, we offer opportunities for growth in body, mind and heart. Not so much “classes” as “opportunities for practice,” our yoga, meditation, and text study are at the core of our adult learning and growth. There’s great benefit from attending regularly, but drop-ins are always welcome! • Meditation, Tuesdays at 6 pm. We continue to have a good turnout for our weekly

meditation “sits”. These sessions take place every Tuesday evening at 6 pm in

Krupp Chapel. Rabbi Bach is joined by co-facilitators Mary McIntyre and Nancy

Schwartz. All three have some experience meditating. They share a commitment to

a regular meditation practice, and recognize that a group environment provides sup-

port for that practice. Please consider joining us as we sit, focus and reflect. For

more information, call Mary at 915-490-7359.

• Yoga Practice, Wednesdays at 11:30 am. Take a much needed break in your day for

one hour of yoga on Wednesdays at 11:30 am. Inspired by the teachings of Anusara

yoga, Susan Jaffee will lead you through a life-affirming, heart-oriented practice.

This hour yoga session is suitable for yoga students of all levels. Please wear com-

fortable clothing and bring your own mat and yoga props (belt, block and yoga

blankets).

• The Weekly Portion as a Vehicle for Spiritual Growth, Saturdays at 9:30 am. Every

Saturday at 9:30 am, a diverse and lively group of participants gathers to study the

weekly Torah portion through the lens of Hasidic spirituality. Rabbi Bach typically

brings a text from one of the classics of Hasidic Torah commentary, in Hebrew and

in translation, which serves as the starting point for our conversation. We conclude

in time for the 10:30 am Shabbat morning service. Bagels and coffee are provided,

and all are welcome.

Adult Hebrew, Wednesdays at 6 pm

Adult Hebrew — 6 pm, Wednesdays. The Adult Hebrew class continues to meet in the

Zork Library at Temple on Wednesday evenings from 6 pm to 7 pm. The students are

progressing nicely with their reading and understanding of Hebrew and the weekly

Torah portions. If you are interested in learning with us, please join us on Wednesday

evenings. If you have any questions, feel free to call Ed Solomon at 525-4616.


Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center will be hosting its 12th annual Celebrity Waiter

Spaghetti Dinner, catered by Capetto’s, on Thursday, April 7 at 6 pm in the Parish Hall at St.

Pius X Catholic Church. This fundraising dinner is crucial to help Las Americas continue

with its mission and it is usually tons of fun too.

More than 300 people are expected to spend the evening being served by a roster of local

celebrities. This year, tickets are $40 ($400 for a table of 10) and each ticket includes a $5

raffle ticket for an iPad. More raffle tickets are also available for sale. Rabbi Bach has tickets

for sale, and will be happy to be your server that evening!

Las Americas depends entirely on private grants, donations and fundraising events to

sustain itself. With these funds, we offer legal services to the most vulnerable among

deserving immigrants, including abandoned children, battered women and refugees. Every

time we win an asylum case, every time we obtain a green card for a victim of domestic

violence or reunite a child with her parents, we owe it to our supporters in the community.

Las Americas Spaghetti Dinner

Congregation Mount Sinai Cemetery

Just a reminder, our Cemetery hours are Sunday through Friday 8:00 am to 3:00 pm and closed on

Saturday.

It is the beginning of Spring and with the beautiful weather comes a new round of monthly

YAMS events. We have a lot of exciting activities in store and we hope that we can encour-

age you to join us. Remember...we are very happy to take event suggestions at any time.

April Event! Torah and Tacos!

Join the YAMS and Sh’liach Kehillah Ed Solomon as we discuss the story of Passover over

delicious burritos (yes...I know...it's called Torah and Tacos...but burritos just doesn't have

the same alliteration appeal!)

Date: Sunday, April 10, 2011

Time: 12:30 pm

Location: Burritos Crisostomo (5658 N Mesa St) -- bring money to buy lunch, or just bring

your hungry mind.

RSVP to Danielle by April 8th at [email protected] or 305-979-4766.

YAMS—Young Adult professionals of Mount Sinai


Southwest Jewish Arts Festival

Temple Beth El of Las Cruces is looking for artists for a juried art show, the Southwest

Jewish Arts Festival, to be held on Sunday, June 12, 2011 from 3 to 7 pm at Temple Beth

El. The show is open to Jewish artists from New Mexico and the El Paso area. The

mediums are painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, fiber arts and jewelry. Entry

forms are located at the Temple website, www.tbelc.org . You can also call the Temple at

575-524-3380. Submissions are free and must be postmarked no later than Friday, April

16 , 2011. Submissions can be mailed to: Temple Beth El, 3980 Sonoma Springs Ave, Las

Cruces, NM 88011.

If you have any questions, please contact Susan Fitzgerald at 575-647-1808 or

[email protected].

Have you been to Israel and always wanted to return? Have you yet to visit Israel and

long to make a first trip? Would you like to “experience” Jewish history in many of the

places where it was made? Would you like to meet the modern-day peoples of Israel?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, Temple Mt. Sinai invites you to join

us on our journey to Israel, January 1 – January 13, 2012.

We have designed an itinerary that focuses on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the wondrous

Arava and Negev, and Eilat. The trip also includes an optional day-trip to the exquisite

Nabatean city of Petra in Jordan.

The price for the land portion of this trip (excluding Petra) is $2450 per person (double

occupancy rate) for TMS members, and $2550 for non-members. Group air travel is

available from El Paso to Tel Aviv on Delta Airlines

for approximately $1400.

If this opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Israel ex-

cites you, please attend our next trip meeting on

Sunday, April 10 at 8pm, at Temple Mt. Sinai.

For an itinerary and registration form, or to ask any

questions, please contact Alanna Bach at 328-6062 or

[email protected].

January 2012 trip to Israel


Men of Reform Judaism

Wow, what a way to March into spring!! MRJ hopes everyone had a wonderful Pu-

rim Festival, and enjoyed our guest speaker David Crowder last month. We aren't

slowing down either! Coming soon is the end of year BBQ for the Religious School,

so get ready to get fired up! Most importantly it's time to get your kids to summer

camp. Summer camp, truly is a lifelong-learning experience, and one no child

should miss out. We’re glad to have been a part of this year’s campership effort.

A special thank you to all the men behind the scenes that helped make Purim spe-

cial, and thanks to John Eger, and Michael Alkov for their assistance with our guest

speaker David Crowder. Thank you all for your support, comments and ques-

tions. If you have any questions contact Scott Feldt by e-mail at,

[email protected], or 915-526-8478. Thanks to everyone who continues to

make Temple a great place to be!

MSTY/mini-MSTY On March 12, MSTY hosted a lock-in at Temple with BETY, the Las Cruces Youth Group. The 8th graders from both Temples were also invited. The lock-in was a huge success—there were a total of 17 kids in attendance. Thank you to Greta Duran for helping out that night by staying at Temple to supervise. This month, 14 MSTYites will be joining the rest of the youth groups in the NFTY Southwest region for Spring Kallah in Phoenix, AZ. We will be choosing a new NFTY-SW board, and two of our own are running for board positions, Kaylen Duran and Melanie Shapiro. Good luck to both of them. Mini-MSTY will be holding their annual Chocolate Seder right before Passover. If any parent would like to host this event please contact Stacy Berry at 241-6627 or [email protected].

Gesher The next Gesher get together will be Sunday, April 10 at 10 am. We will be learning all about Passover.


Women of Reform Judaism Members of Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) at Temple Mount Sinai enjoyed two

wonderful events in March: Mochas and a Movie on March 1st at The Percolator, fol-

lowed by our Shabbat Fundraiser on March 4th and we’re looking forward to two more

exciting get-togethers in April!

Mochas and a Movie was a chance for a small group of members to meet somewhere

they wouldn’t necessarily go on a normal day (downtown!) for a nosh and the movie

“Only Human,” a quirky Jewish family comedy set in Spain. The main character is

Jewish and she brings home her Palestinian boyfriend to meet the family! The movie

was very funny and we all had a wonderful time watching and discussing the movie

afterwards. The theater at the Percolator was a great spot to watch the movie and the

food was delicious!

Our Shabbat dinner fundraiser was a fun experiment in new ways to raise money for

WRJ. We sold twelve meals – there was a chicken dinner option and a vegetarian op-

tion. All menus included: salad, fresh challah, roasted potatoes, and lemon

cake. Thank you to all of the women who participated in the preparation and distribu-

tion of the meals!

Get together with your sisters next at our first Tuesday event on April 5, when we will

be doing a service project for the children at the Sara McKnight Transitional Living

Center (a project of the YWCA El Paso del Norte). We are scheduled to do a pottery

project from 6-8 pm with them while their mothers attend a parenting class. RSVP for

the event by calling Amissa Burton at 915-449-8877.

We also look forward to seeing you on Thursday, April 14 for a private tour of the ex-

hibit Common Language: Punctuating the Landscape by Suzi Davidoff (a WRJ member)

and Rachelle Thiewe. The tour will begin at 6 pm at the El Paso Museum of Art, fol-

lowed by a no-host dinner at the Oasis Cafe. The exhibit is composed of large-scale

photographs on aluminum as well as video projections. The project began when the

artists received a joint-residency at Fiskars Village, an artist's cooperative in Finland,

and continued upon their return to El Paso. All components directly reference numer-

ous, site-specific installations created by the artists that responded to the natural land-

scape and architectural/ historic structures by incorporating foreign objects/materials

into both the lush, green, forested Finnish landscape and the arid topography of the

Chihuahuan desert.


“Thank You” For Helping Us Reach Our $1,200 Goal For “Packages From Home” Beginning in February and culminating March 6th, the day of the event, our Pre-Kinder through sixth grade students are given an opportunity to learn about, research, practice and create displays representing a cultural aspect of Judaism. Because being Jewish is a part of our entire life, students get to spend time learning about Jews in America, Jewish authors, artists, and musicians/composers, Jewish folkdance and Jewish foods. On March 6th, we all united - students, parents, grandparents, faculty, board members and other members of our community, to learn from our students, admire student’s informative displays, enjoy listening to our little ones sing, and marvel at our second grade students’ ability to dance to Hatikvah. Also during this time, we joined together to show our support of Israel by adopting an Israeli defense Unit. This year we adopted Duchifat (Special Forces) Unit (with forty soldiers). We reached our goal of raising $1,200 for forty “Packages From Home” by raising money via two fundraising lunches (Religious School Mitzvah Day and Cultural Celebration), Tzedakah money donated by our students from February 13 through March 6th, money raised from our Wednesday Hebrew Snack Shack, and a generous donation of $100 by a special TMS member. To learn more about our “Packages from Home” Tzedakah Project, please visit www.apackagefromhome.org/adoptaunit.html. The success of this event is due to many dedicated and supportive people; the baked goods were donated by Tina Wolfe, Carly Robalin, Angela Feldt and Amissa Burton, the time and hard work preparing food prior to the event by Monica Escobar, Leah and Ali Gluck, Sam Goldfarb, the Levins (Shana, Gabe, and Carly), the Feldts (Angela, Scott and Renaye), and our kitchen help David Wolfe, Jamie Papa, and Simon Bir. Enjoy the pictures on the preceding page. They were taken during the

Cultural Celebration.

Religious School Cultural Celebration—March 6


Dates: May 20-22, 2011

Location: Sacramento, New Mexico

Join your El Paso friends for a Jewish Women’s Retreat

in the beautiful Sacramento Mountains, Friday, May

20 through Sunday, May 22. Take this opportunity to

remove yourself from the pressures of everyday life in

El Paso and focus on friendship, Judaism, and per-

sonal growth.

The retreat theme is “Finding Balance.” Our pro-

gramming will be a mixture of prayer, adventure, and

relationship building. We will stay in hotel-style ac-

commodations at the Sacramento Methodist Assembly Retreat Center.

Cantor Robbi Sherwin from Austin will be our spiritual leader for the retreat. Cantor Robbi

will lead us in Shabbat blessings, prayer services, a song session, and inspirational discus-

sions.

This retreat is sponsored in part by the TMS Women of Reform Judaism along with Terren and Maria Klein.

Registration forms are available by contacting Alanna Bach at [email protected] or 328-6062.

Jewish Women’s Retreat—Finding Balance

The Healthy Schools/Healthy Choices Program of the El Paso Jewish Federation is happy to sponsor Com-

munity Play Dates for the Jewish community this spring!

Our first two gatherings were a big success. In February we met at Coates Park and in March we met at

the Mission Hills Park. Children and adults enjoyed exercising, talking, and snacking on healthy food.

Join us in April and May as we continue to “Get Moving”. On the fourth Sunday of these months we will

meet to walk, jog, ride bikes, and hike. Healthy Schools/Healthy Choices will provide a snack and offer a

short presentation on safe and successful ways to “get moving” at each play date.

All ages are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Mark your calendars for 2-4 pm on the following Sundays:

Sunday, April 27 – Levee Bike/Walking Trail

Take Gomez Road (east) off Upper Valley, park at the playground. We will head

to the path together.

Sunday, May 29 – Dino Prints and Fossil Hike

A hike at the base of Mt. Cristo Rey led by Eric Kappus, a UTEP grad student.

We will meet at the State Line Restaurant on Sunland Park and then carpool over

to the trail-head.

For more information or to volunteer to help, please contact Alanna Bach at 328-

6062 or [email protected].

Let’s Get Moving


Assistive listening devices are available at the entrance to our chapel and

sanctuary. Please ask a greeter for assistance.

If you have inadvertently left Temple with one of these devices, please

return it as soon as possible. These headsets are programmed to be used

only in our Sanctuary and Chapel, and many of them have disappeared,

meaning that they are not available for congregants who use them at

services. If you find you have one of these (perhaps in that drawer with all

the yarmulkes!), please return it to the Temple office so that it may be put

back into service.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Please remember to use your key tag each time you shop for gro-

ceries at Albertsons. All you need to do is have the card scanned

when you check out. Temple will earn 1% of your shopping total

each time you scan the card, at no additional cost to you. If you

need additional key tags, they are available in the Temple office.

Albertson’s Cash-Back Fundraiser

Leaves and Stones on the Temple’s Tree of Life

Do you know that you can honor or remember a loved one with a leaf or

a stone on the Tree of Life? This beautiful work of art is displayed on the

wall in the foyer at Temple just outside the Sanctuary.

For a minimum donation of $300 for a leaf or $3,000 for a stone, the brass

will be engraved according to your instructions and will remain on the

Tree of Life forever. Your donation becomes part of the Foundation Trust

and benefits Temple Mount Sinai in perpetuity.

For more information, contact Sally Parke at the Temple office at 532-

5959.


Grief Digest is a publication purchased by the Jo Ann

Rothbardt Petersen Healing Resource Center. There are

many wonderful articles to read and explore. If you

would like more information, contact Susan Jaffee at 532

-5959 or [email protected].

Reprinted with permission from Grief Digest, Center-

ing Corporation, Omaha, Nebraska, 402.553.1200.

Nurturing Yourself, The Emotional Realm

By Alan Wolfelt, Ph.D.

Emotions reflect that you have special needs that

require support from both outside yourself and in-

side yourself. Becoming familiar with the terrain of

these emotions and practicing self-care guidelines

can and will help you authentically mourn and heal

in small doses over time. The important thing to

remember is that we honor our emotions when we

give attention to them. Following are just a few

ideas to help you care for your emotional self dur-

ing your journey through grief.

Reach out and touch.

For many people, physical contact with another

human being is healing. It has been recognized

since ancient times as having transformative, heal-

ing powers. Have you hugged anyone lately?

Held someone’s hand? Put your arm around an-

other human being? Hug someone you feel safe

with. Kiss your children or a friend’s baby. Walk

arm in arm with a neighbor. You might also appre-

ciate massage therapy. Try a session and see how it

feels for you.

Listen to the music.

Music can be very healing to mourners because it

helps us access our feelings, both happy and sad.

Music can soothe the spirit and nurture the heart.

All types of music can be healing—rock & roll, clas-

sical, blues, folk. Do you play an instrument or

sing? Allow yourself the time to try these activities

again soon. What music reminds you of the person

who died? At first, listening to this special music

may be too painful. But later you may find that

playing music that reminds you of the person who

died helps you keep her memory alive in your

heart.

Draw a “grief map.”

The death of someone you love may have stirred

up all kinds of thoughts and feelings inside you.

These emotions may seem overwhelming or even

“crazy.” Rest assured that you’re not crazy, you’re

grieving. Your thoughts and feelings—no matter

how scary or strange they seem to you—are normal

and necessary.

Sometimes, corralling all your varied thoughts and

feelings in one place can make them feel more man-

ageable. You could write about them, but you can

also draw them out in diagram form. Make a large

circle at the center of your map and label it GRIEF.

This circle represents your thoughts and feelings

since the death. Now draw lines radiating out of

this circle and label each line with a thought or feel-

ing that has contributed to your grief. For example,

you might write ANGER in a bubble at the end of

one line. Next to the word anger, jot down notes

about why you feel mad. Your grief map needn’t

look pretty or follow any certain rules. The most

important thing is the process of creating it. When

you’re finished, explain it to someone who cares

about you.

Schedule something that gives you pleasure each

and every day.

Often mourners need something to look forward to, (Continued on page 17)

From the Healing Resource Center


a reason to get out of bed each morning. It’s hard

to look forward to each day when you know you

will be experiencing pain and sadness. To counter-

balance your normal and necessary mourning, each

and every day plan—in advance—something you

enjoy. Reading, baking, going for a walk, having

lunch with a friend, gardening, playing computer

games—do whatever brings you enjoyment.

Your mind is the intellectual ability to think, to ab-

sorb information, make decisions and reason logi-

cally. Without doubt, you have special needs in the

cognitive realm of your grief experience. Just as

your body and emotions let you know you have

experienced being “torn apart,” your mind has also,

in effect, been torn apart.

Thinking normally after the death of someone pre-

cious to you would be very unlikely. Don’t be sur-

prised if you struggle with short-term memory

problems, have trouble making even simple deci-

sions, and think you may be “going crazy.” Essen-

tially, your mind is in a state of disorientation and

confusion. As C.S. Lewis noted after the death of

his wife, “At times if feels like being mildly drunk,

or concussed. There is a sort of invisible blanket

between the world and me. I find it hard to take in

what anyone says.”

Early in your grief, you may find it helpful to allow

yourself to “suspend” all thought and purposeful-

ness for a time. Allow yourself just to be. Your

mind needs time to catch up with and process your

new reality. In the meantime, don’t expect too

much of your intellectual powers.

Your cognitive powers are quite remarkable. Will-

ing yourself to think something can in fact help

make that something come to be. Think about your

desired reality and make it happen. Following are

just a few ideas to help you care for your cognitive

self during your journey through grief. What ideas

can you think of?

Ask yourself two questions: What do I want?

What is wanted of me?

The answers to these two questions may help you

not only survive the coming months and years, but

learn to love life again.

First, now that the person you loved is gone, what

do you want? What do you want to do with your

time? Where do you want to live? With whom do

you want to socialize? Whom do you want to be

near? These are big questions that may take some

time for you to answer.

Second, what is wanted of you? Who needs you?

Who depends upon you? What skills and experi-

ence can you bring to others? What are you good

at? Why did God put you here on this earth? While

considering what you want is important, it alone

does not a complete life make.

Asking yourself these questions on a daily basis

may help you focus on the here-and-now. What do

I want from my life today? What is wanted of me

today? Living in the moment will help you better

cope with your grief.

Make a list of goals.

While you should not set a particular time and

course for your healing, it may help you to have

made other life goals for the coming year. Make a

list of short-term goals for the next three months.

Perhaps some of the goals could have to do with

mourning activities (e.g., making a memory book

or writing thank-you notes to people who helped at

the time of death).

Also make a list of long-term goals for the next

year. Be both realistic and compassionate with

yourself as you consider what’s feasible and feels

good and what will only add to much stress to your

life. Keep in mind that, because of your grief, you

may feel more fatigued than usual. Don’t over

commit, thereby setting yourself up for failure.

Try to include at least one or two “just for fun”

goals in your list. For example, you might want to

take a photography class or learn to tie fly fishing

flies.

Avoid making any major changes in your life for

at least two years.

(Continued on page 18)


While it can be helpful to have goals to help you

look to a brighter future, it’s a mistake to march too

boldly ahead. Sometimes, in an effort to obliterate

the pain and “move forward,” mourners make rash

decisions shortly after the death. Some move to a

new home or city. Some quit their jobs. Some break

ties with people in their life or take on new relation-

ships too quickly. Typically these changes are soon

regretted. They often end up compounding feelings

of loss and complicating healing as well as creating

staggering new headaches. (For example, more than

half of all remarriages within the first two years of

widowhood end in divorce.)

If at all possible, avoid making drastic changes for at

least two years after the death. You cannot run

away from the pain, so don’t make things worse by

trying to. Instead, give yourself at least a full 24

months to consider any other major changes in your

life.

Of course, sometimes you may be forced to make a

significant change in your life soon after the death.

Financial realities may force you to sell your house,

for example. In these cases, know that you are do-

ing what you must and trust that everything will

work out.

Count your blessings

You may not be feeling very good about your life

right now. You may feel that you are unlucky. You

may feel you are destined to be unhappy. You may

feel that the universe is conspiring against you.

That’s OK. There is, indeed, a time for every pur-

pose under heaven—including self-doubt. Indeed,

self-doubt is as normal a part of grief as anger or

sadness.

Still, you are blessed. Your life has purpose and

meaning, even without the presence of the person

who died. It will just take you some time to think

and feel this through for yourself.

Think of all you have to be thankful for. This is not

to deny the hurt, for the hurt needs to take prece-

dence right now. But it may help to consider the

things that make your life worth living, too.

(Continued from page 17)

At Temple Mount Sinai’s Annual Congregational Meeting on Tuesday, April 12, 2011, the following names are in nomination for officers and trustees: Shari Schwartz, President Tommy Goldfarb, President Elect Greta Duran, Vice President Lori Gaman, Vice President Jack Heydemann, Vice President David Leffman, Vice President David Novick, Secretary David Kern, Immediate Past President Board Trustees: Rick Amstater, Bill Carvajal, Cindy Graff Cohen, Susie Goldman, Arthur Leeser, Hal Marcus, Susan May, Josh Meyer, Debby Robalin, Danielle Scher, Mark Schrier, Jane Snow, Maria Klein WRJ Representative, Scott Feldt MRJ Representative and Ellen Goodman Sh’lichim Representative.

Slate of Officers for Election at Annual Meeting


Changes to the Temple By-laws This year the Bylaws Committee addressed

several issues that had arisen since last year’s

revisions.

The first issue relates to the MSTY (Mount

Sinai Temple Youth) involvement with the

Temple Board of Trustees. In the past, MSTY

was treated in the same manner as the Men

of Reform Judaism and Women of Reform

Judaism, in that all three groups had a voting

member on the Board of Trustees. After

some reflection, it was decided that having

the MSTY representatives present at the

Board of Trustees meeting was both benefi-

cial to the Trustees and the members of the

group. However, as a voting member of the

Board of Trustees, it was equally inappropri-

ate to have a situation where a MSTY mem-

ber was required to vote on Temple issues

which require a level of sophistication which

exceeds that available to MSTY members. As

a result, the Board of Trustees proposes that

MSTY be removed as a voting member of the

Board of Trustees under Section 4.1.1 of the

Bylaws and be inserted as a non-voting

member of the Board of Trustees under Sec-

tion 4.1.2.

The second issue that was addressed by the

Bylaws Committee involves building and

grounds. It had come to the attention of the

Board of Trustees that Temple is often the

recipient of donations and other property for

which Temple had no formal mechanism to

handle placement of such items and their

use. Additionally, as the recipients of a fed-

eral grant, Temple is in the process of going

through some physical changes relating to

security which could have an impact on how

things look at Temple. To address these mat-

ters, the Building, Grounds and Personalty

Committee portion of the Bylaws was

amended to include duties relating to such

matters as aesthetics and to permit those

functions to be added as a subcommittee.

In addition, a proposed clarification of the

quorum requirements for Membership Vot-

ing will be presented.

Copies of the full changes to the Bylaws are

available at the Temple office for review.

You may email concerns, comments, or ques-

tions to [email protected]

Shabbat Service & Installation of Board of Trustees with Shabbat Dinner following

Friday, April 29, 2011 at 6:15 pm

If you will be joining us for dinner, please RSVP by April 25 to [email protected] or 581-5132

Board of Trustees Installation


Amelia G. Krohn Basic Judaism

Collection

in honor of Bob Goodman's Special

Birthday by Gershon & Barbara

Ettinger

in memory of Irving Schecter by

Amelia Krohn

Campership Fund

in honor of Bob & Jane Rosen's new

granddaughter by Steve & Marlene

Golden

in honor of Jay Mendeloff's Special

Birthday by Ed & Lory

Oppenheimer

in memory of Fran Zimet by Bob &

Sara Shiloff, Isabel Schnadig,

Charlotte Roth

in memory of Irving Schecter by Ed

& Lory Oppenheimer, Larry

Steinman & Cass Haecker

in memory of Philip Lewin by Isabel

Schnadig

in memory of Shirley Schecter by Ed

& Lory Oppenheimer

speedy recovery to Bob Shiloff by

Abe & Annette Goldberg

Caring Community Fund


Abe & Annette Goldberg

Cemetery Fund

in memory of Edythe Fierman by

Tibor & Ann Schaechner

Choir Fund

in honor of Fifi Heller-Kaim's

Special Birthday by Ruth Braun

Ethel Oppenheimer Flower Fund

in memory of Anne Ovsay Weiss by

Arthur Weiss

in memory of Benjamin Weinberg

by Carol Molloy

in memory of Fred Davidoff by

Joyce Davidoff & Bert Davidoff

in memory of Herbert Given by

Marty & Bonnie Colton

in memory of Ethel Oppenheimer &

Edwin Moye by Jeanne Moye &

Betty Morgan

in memory of Lee Mason by Jim &

Carol Parker

in memory of Maria Rodriguez by

Gloria Crohn

in memory of Maurice Solomon by

Edward & Helene Solomon

in memory of Nardo Goodman by

Jim Levy, Liz Goodman-Levy &

Leah Olivia Levy

in memory of Stella Herman by

Valerie Barnett

in memory of Terry Goldfarb

Walker by Bob & Shirley Goldfarb

Floyd Fierman Religious School

Fund

in honor of Helaine Bach, Hannah

Blumenfeld, Lydia Duran, Leah

Pearlman & Rebecca Shapiro, all

medalists El Paso National History

Day competition by Susie Novick

in honor of Simon Bir's Special

Birthday by Ruth Braun, Lyndon &

Randee Mansfield

in memory of Anna E. Rosenberg by

Ruth Braun

in memory of Fran Zimet by

Gershon & Barbara Ettinger

in memory of Jean Craige Bach by

Simon & Grace Bir

Friedman/Bloom/Rothstein

Outdoor Chapel

in honor of Julian Borschow for his

50 years of service to the Federation

by Phil & Ann Rothstein

speedy recovery to Paulette

Newberger by Phil & Ann Rothstein

General Donations Fund

in appreciation of Temple Mount

Sinai by Douglas Waters, Azucena

Monzon


Birthday by Dorothy Borschow

in memory of Fran Zimet by Gail

Gooley, Tibor & Ann Schaechner,

Bill & Anne Spier, David & Edith

Faust

in memory of Irving Schecter by Bill

& Marcia Dahlberg, Judith Sutton,

Bob & Edi Brannon, Morton &

Leanore Mendelsohn

in memory of Marta Blumenthal &

Albert Mathias by Sister Blumenthal

in memory of Mollie Oliver by

Isabel Schnadig

Krasne Discretionary Fund

in honor of Frank Kamoroff's

Special Birthday by Marty & Bonnie

Colton

in honor of Bob & Jane Rosen on the

birth of their new granddaughter,

Sophie Willow by Marty & Bonnie

Colton

in memory of Fran Zimet by Marty

& Bonnie Colton (Continued on page 21)

Tributes from February 13 to March 12




in memory of Shirley Schecter by


speedy recovery to Jan & Chet

Frame by Marty & Bonnie Colton

speedy recovery to Leonard Starr by


speedy recovery to Loree Furman

by Marty & Bonnie Colton

speedy recovery to Paulette

Newberger by Marty & Bonnie

Colton

L.A. Goodman Book Fund


Tripper & Doris Goodman

Landscape Special Projects Fund

in honor of Julian Borschow's

Special Birthday by Norma

Levenson

MAZON Fund


Charlie & Sue Zaltz

in memory of Shirley Schecter by

Charlie & Sue Zaltz

Nathan Goldman Zadie Fund

in memory of Nathan Goldman by

Estelle Goldman, Merton & Laura

Goldman

Paul Borschow Meditation Garden

in honor of Julian Borschow's

Special Birthday by Ruth Braun

Plaque a Prayer Book


Gershon & Barbara Ettinger, Buddy

Schwartz

Prayer Book Fund


Frank Ratti

Rabbi Bach's Discretionary Fund

in appreciation of Rabbi Larry Bach

by Gail Gooley

in honor of Justin Elliot Saxe's Bar

Mitzvah by John & Kristine Shecter

in memory of Beatrice Schwartz by

Molly Rosen


Lois Agee

in memory of Michael Levy by John

& Kristine Shecter

in memory of Reba Swiff by Tibor &

Ann Schaechner

Ruth Kahn/Andrew Kahn Rose

Garden Fund

in honor of Stuart Kahn's Special

Birthday by Abe & Annette

Goldberg

in memory of Melvyn Witkoff by Jo

Witkoff

Special Oneg or Kiddush

in memory of Charles Fruithandler

by Ross & Linda Fruithandler

in memory of Elizabeth (Betty)

Clark Rosenthal by Jorge Ibarra &

Lee Rosenthal

in memory of Evelyn & Neal

Axelrod & Iris Sauermilch by

Wendy Axelrod

in memory of Francis & Corinne

Grosse by Carina Ramirez

in memory of Galina Kreinovich by

Vladik Kreinovich & Olga

Kosheleva

in memory of Joe Krasne by Bud &

Charlotte Ramenofsky

in memory of Hyman Ramenofsky

by Bud & Charlotte Ramenofsky

in memory of Melvyn Witkoff by Jo

Witkoff


Eleanor Goodman

in memory of Norman Stone by

Annette Stone

Zork Memorial Library Fund


Birthday by Ben & Ruth Taber


Yahrzeits for April 2011 April 1-2, 2011 Bobby Abramson Dorothy Blumkin Harry M. Brettler James H. Daross Sandford Feldblum Mary Lee Finger Charles Given John N. Groesbeeck Irving L. Herman Lydia Imber Richard Jacobs Morton Andrew Jaffe Lillian Lazovick Evelyn Leff Harold Mann Larry Gene Metcalf Lawrence Meyer Sadie Miller Alice T. Purvin Lawrence Reedman Kathryn Rosenbaum Abe Scherotter Jack Schwartz Ben Shanblum Sidney Stern Marian Warsowe Anne Ovsay Weiss Dorothy Krupp Wolfson April 8-9, 2011 Francis Eisner Barjansky Max Borschow Dorothy Carter David Cohen Amelia Delgado Grace D. Fagelman Linda Falcon Sylvia Friedman Jimmy Given Buena Ventura Gonzalez Consuelo Hughes Evelyn Jaffee Abraham Karsch Erna Schiff Krakauer Jeanette Lait Irving Levine Jean Loew Tillie Kress Podus

Ann H. Reinhardt Isidore Rosen Laura Rosenberg Greta Roth Florence B. Rothbardt Matilda A. Shanblum David Terk Henry Weiller April 15-16, 2011 Israel Becker

Rachel Bir

David Bleiberg

Edna C. Brand

Mary Broghamer

Frances Catalano

Sandy Cherno

Laure Coblenz

Rebecca Feldberg

Helen Rosenberg Finkelstein

Gertrude Fisher

Nathan D. Frazin

Sarah Gerofsky

Milton S. Goldman

Emanuel D. Herskowitz

Robert Hughes

Adele B. Kohlman

Leon Kotosky

Itia Kozakish

David Oscar Leeser

William L. Lindenthal

Rose I. Lipson

Belle K. Mann

Jerrold J. Marcus

Mamie Marcus

Fannie Medoff

Clara Nagler

Rose Potashkin

Jack Press

Lloyd Z. Purvin

Agnes K. Schaechner

Arnie Washer

Heidi Bona Weiss

Janet Susan Weiss

Melvyn R. Witkoff

Henrietta Wolf

Zelda Zennziper

April 22-23, 2011 Jeannie Solomon Adler

Hal Anenberg

Hattie Barnett

Glen Chicofsky

Barbara Cole

James Cole

Laura Cole

Lawrence Cole

Lynnette Rae Forbes

Rosalie Goldstein

Grace E. Henning

Estelle M. Jacobs

Madeline Kahn

Samuel Kovan

Flossye I. Kranzthor

Frederick O. Kranzthor

Leonard Kratzer

Rose Goodman Leeser

Gloria Levy

Hana E. Lewis

Lillian Lipson

Ethel Litt

Herbert Pittle

Kurt Poehlmann

Carl Rosenbaum

Joseph Rosenwasser

Lena Rudner

Aaron Segal

Raymond Siegel

Rose Weiss

Marcus Wildstein

Minnie Wolfe

April 29-30, 2011 Anne Barnett

Arthur Blaugrund

Oscar J. Cohen

Hildigard Dalkhe

Florence De Renzis

Silvia Drexler

Dolores Duran

Dara Feinberg

Marc Frank

Pyrle Fridner

Sam Glazer

William Halkin

Harold Harris

Viola Heil

Jules Jaffe

Stanley Harris Jaffe

Richard Jaffee

Charlotte ""Tee Tee"" Given

Kenyon

Selma Kreitman

George Lakehomer

Norman Lakehomer

Paul May

George Michael, Sr.

Haisie Nieto

Charlie Press

Robert E. Rosenberg

Charles Sandler

Ernestine Schoor

Clara Simon

Dorothy Stern

May 6-7, 2011 Louis Axelrod

Sol Berg

Helen Borschow

Marvin Citterman

Rae Dichter

Ann Bergman Eisen

Leah Ackerman Glass

Ruth Jacobs Goldberg

Ruth Heydemann

Josefina Kaim

Elias G. Krupp

Gerald Leeser

Irene Lerner

Harold Levy

Lilla Moye

Mario Nevarez

William Oppenheim

Judith Marjorie Loewe

Poehlmann

J.B. Robbins

William Rosing

Susan Levin Rothschild

Judith Rubin

Hedwig Mathias Schwartz

Rosalie Silberg

Sarah Silberman

Dorothy Simon

Ida Spivack

Louis Steinzig

Adelaide Weinstein


Community Seder Response Form 6:00 pm, Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Name: _____________________________________ Address: ___________________________________ Phone: _____________________________________ Email: ____________________________________

Number Attending: __adults (13 and up) @ $18 =___ __children (6-12) @ $9 =___ __children 5 & under(free) =___ __ vegetarian entrees

TOTAL $___

Payment Method: I would like to pay by: o check o credit card

Please send response form and payment by April 12 to: Temple Mount Sinai

4408 N. Stanton

El Paso, TX 79902

If paying by credit card, please complete the following information: o Visa o M/C o Discover Acct #: Exp date: _____________________ Cardless credit card charges of $50 and below are subject to a $1 conven-ience charge. Cardless credit card transactions over $50 are subject to a 2.5% convenience charge. Signature: ________________________________________________ Date: __________

Staff

Rabbi ............................................................... Larry Bach Rabbi Emeritus ............................................... Ken Weiss Administrator ................................................ Sally Parke Administrative Assistant .................... Buddy Schwartz Religious School Director................................ Grace Bir Outreach Director ........................................Susan Jaffee Youth Advisor ............................................... Stacy Berry Rabbi’s Assistant ........................................... Elisa Gluck Building Manager .............................. Frank Hernandez House Keeping ......................................Ramona Pinales Accompanist ........................................... Linda McClain

Officers

David Kern ................................................................. President

Shari Schwartz ................................................. President-Elect

Marian Daross .................................................... Vice President

Greta Duran ........................................................ Vice President

Ellen Goodman .................................................. Vice President

David Leffman ................................................... Vice President

Jon Sonnen .......................................................... Vice President

Stephanie Calvo .......................................................... Secretary

Marcia Dahlberg ............................ Immediate Past President

Trustees

Rick Amstater, Joyce Davidoff,

Scott Feldt, Lori Gaman, Susie Goldman,

Jack Heydemann, Maria Klein, Hal Marcus,

Susan May, David Novick, Debby Robalin,

Phil Rothstein, Mark Schrier, Jane Snow

Temple Mount Sinai 4408 North Stanton Street El Paso, TX 79902 Phone: 915-532-5959 Fax: 915-533-0092 www.templemountsinai.com

Temple Mount Sinai is the

Reform Jewish congregation

serving El Paso, Texas.

We are a congregation of

supportive, caring and

diverse people with a rich

history.

Temple is a place for prayer,

ritual, spirituality, education,

wholeness and healing, social

action and celebration.

Join us as we explore,

through these elements of

sacred living, the richness of

Jewish faith and tradition.

Mailing Address

NON-PROFIT

ORGANIZATION

U.S. Postage

PAID

EL Paso TX

Permit No. 1386

April 2011/Adar II-Nisan, 5771 Number 620 from the Rabbi’s...

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