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August 2016 Tamuz - Av 5776 Vol. 62 No. 43

Inside HaRuach

Rabbi’s Desk ........................... 2/3

President’s Article ....................... 4

Sisterhood ............................. 5/6

Men’s Club ................................. 7

Religious School ......................... 8

Preschool & Kindergarten ............. 9

Calendar ............................. 10/11

August Celebrations .................. 17

Yahrzeits ................................. 18

Todah Rabah ............................ 19

Highlights .................... Back cover

The SPIRIT of Beth Israel Congregation - Chester County, PA

HaRuach

Outdoor movie night

August 18, 2016

7:30 pm

Ice Cream Social at

Milky Way Farms

August 21, 2016

7 pm

Sisterhood Book Club

Pot Luck

August 22, 2016

6 pm

Open House BBQ

August 26, 2016

7:30 pm

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From the Rabbi’s Desk

Rabbi Cutler

Shalom

Even though Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur seem to be in the far distant future I am already thinking about

and preparing for the High Holidays along with the ritual team, Robin, the music director, Arlana, the cantorial

soloist, and volunteer Torah readers. In the process of preparing for the High Holidays a question came up about

what time I will be giving my sermon. I observed throughout my 29 years as a rabbi that many people come to

services right before my sermon and leave immediately afterwards, unfortunately, missing some of the most beau-

tiful liturgical music within Judaism. It is my simple observation that many come only for the sermon. The reason

for that is multi-fold because the Hebrew is a barrier, the repetition of the same prayers; the English readings are

not relevant, etc. However, people can relate to a sermon. As such this puts extraordinary pressure on me to give

a moving and meaningful sermon realizing that I may make an impact on only a few. I see this as a one shot deal

because the majority of people only come to services once a year and do not get the opportunity to hear sermons

throughout the year. The irony is that no matter how many sermons I have given on the High Holidays very few

people ever remembered what I spoke about the following year.

However, the purpose of a sermon is to be transformative. Hopefully, the words are a means to transform peo-

ple’s lives by offering hope, giving purpose, going out in the world to do good deeds, admitting one’s mistakes and

seeking forgiveness, etc. When I am told that my sermons are too long then I realize that my sermon was not ef-

fective. More times than I wish to admit I have seen the following scene played out. As I make my way through

the second point of a well-prepared sermon, I take a quick glance at those in the congregation, only to find that

their eyes, and most likely their minds, are no longer tracking with me. One listener appears to be gazing out of the

window and the other taking a quick peek at their cell phone. By the time I reach my third point, I decide to wrap

up my message early rather than compete with the labored breathing from the sleeping senior in the back row or

the chattering youth in front of him, cutting another lesson short and feeling I have failed. It is essential that ser-

mons serve as instruments to guide their hearers to the truth of God’s Word, not as sedatives.

This year marks my 35th anniversary from when I lead my first High Holiday services at a small congregation in

Hammonton, NJ as a student rabbi. I still remember how excited I was to have my own congregation for the very

first time. Something that I had dreamt about. I spent months working on my sermons. And it was a friend who

was a Presbyterian minister who proofed my sermons and even taught me how to deliver them. Over the next sev-

eral years Al was there to proof read all my sermons.

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As a rabbi I have lead 33 High Holiday services and have given over a hundred fifty sermons. This is the season

that I start thinking about sermons for High Holidays 5777. I usually like to focus my sermons on the relevance of

being Jewish in a time where religion is becoming less significant in people’s lives. I try to focus on the human di-

mension and shy away from politics and world events. Again for me the purpose of a sermon is a means to trans-

form individual lives for the better and to recognize holiness and God in our lives.

With that said, I am going to do something that I have never done. I have always assumed that I am preaching on

topics that are relevant and meaningful. It is only afterwards when I get feedback do I know if the topic was able

to be transformative. This year I want to reach out to you now and to ask what you would like me to preach on.

What is that you find compelling and would like to hear from the pulpit? Please send your ideas to my email ad-

dress – rdcjec@gmail.com or if you want it to remain anonymous you can put the idea on paper and leave it in my

synagogue mailbox.

This will give me a better understanding of some of the concerns in our community. As some of us start to pre-

pare for the High Holidays I hope that you will take the time to think about what topic is important to you and

send me an email or note. Once I collect the topics I will look for a common thread and work my sermon around

that.

In the meantime, I wish everyone a very relaxing and enjoyable summer. If we do not see each other during the

summer I look forward to seeing you at High Holiday services.

Kol tuv,

Rabbi Jon

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President’s Article

Mark B. Segal

Naaseh V’Nishma…… We will do and we will hear. BIC5 …. Beth Israel Congregation of Chester County Caring Community….is our congregational response to this imper-

ative. This month, I am donating my space to Ann Greenstein and Vicki Stone, Co-chairs of BIC5.

BIC5 News

Some of you are aware that The Caring Community has better refined its goals and organization so that there will be two primary branches: 1) Vicki Stone will be program leader for the BIC5 hunger project, and, as such, will coordinate all synagogue activities

relating to the fight against hunger. She will work closely with other synagogue members who want to participate in this hunger awareness project. If you would like to become involved, please call Vicki at 484-883-2876 or email vick-istonepa@msn.com.

2) Ann Greenstein will coordinate all internal caring community efforts of our congregants and adopted families, including transportation, visitation, food and other assistance. We have had several people volunteer in these areas and they will soon be contacted about their specific roles. We need everyone to come together to meet each other’s' needs. If you want to contribute to the Caring Community effort please call Ann at 484-524-3938 or e-mail greenstein-a123@yahoo.com. Most importantly, the BIC5 is encouraging people within the congregation to step forward and utilize the assistance we have to offer. If you have a need for medical transportation, a supplemental grocery supply, visits or phone calls or if you are ill and need hands-on assistance please let us know by calling the synagogue office or Ann Greenstein (484-524-3938). Your requests will be kept completely confidential. There are people ready and eager to help you out. REMEMBER: Jew-ish tradition tells us that the spiritual benefit of giving to the poor is so great that a beggar actually does the giver a favor by giving a person the opportunity to perform tzedakah. 3) To furthur assist those in need, we are now encouraging congregants to contribute toiletries, paper goods or cleaning

products to our "little red wagon". Gift cards to Giant, ACME or Walmart can be donated (in lieu of contributions to the Rabbi's fund) so that our families can choose what they need. Please leave the gift cards in the office with Ann's name on the envelope. Any food or other item which is not distributed to our adopted families or congregants will be contributed to Mitzvah Circle Foundation in Harleysville.

4) Knowing that there are members among us that are unemployed, BIC5 is willing to post your resume or a summary of

your skills in our new E-Ruach job corner. Please let us know if we can help you with your job networking effort. You will find our first resume of a jobseeker attached.

Please call the office if you or someone in the congregation is ill so that a BIC5 member can contact them. Please call the office or Ann if you are in need of assistance. Please let us know if you want to be part of the Caring Community effort. And lastly, a great big thanks to those members of Sisterhood who participated in Caring Community by contributing food

during the June 24 Sisterhood Installation dinner. The food products were most appreciated by the recipients.

Continued on page 15

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Beth Israel Sisterhood

Maxine Endy

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Join us as part of the Beth Israel Men’s Club, a hands-on auxiliary for the congregation. Beth Israel Men’s Club sponsors social and religious programs year round, as well as supports other congregational programs in many ways. Programs include:

Serving as ushers for High Holiday Services

Poker Nights

Guest speakers

Providing cooks and servers for community events

Sports events and field trips

Spring Clean up

Sukkah construction

All men affiliated with Beth Israel are welcome. See the congregational calendar or visit the Beth Israel web site for information about our activities. Please review the online Beth Israel calendar for the Men’s Club meeting schedule which began in September. We will often be meeting on Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m. followed by a discussion group open to all. We will also have our usual Monday evening socials . Events beginning this Fall will include a sports night and a Men’s night out. Join us for a “Brews with Jews” social. Join in, pitch in and have a good time. For additional information, con-tact Rob Greer at rgreer923@gmail.com or Drew Weintraub at taproom42@gmail.com.

Beth Israel’s Men’s Club

Dear Fellow Congregants:

The Beth Israel Choir is appealing for donations so that we may sing at High Holiday, Fri-

day night and other services throughout the year. The choir takes great joy in participating in

services and while the members of the choir are strictly volunteers we still incur expenses

such as our piano player, the purchase of sheet music and other material during the year.

Although the Synagogue budget includes funds for the choir the amount won’t cover our ex-

penses for the entire year. As such, we are appealing to your generosity so that we may bring

music for your soul and for your enjoyment throughout the year.

You can contribute to the Choir “In Memory Of”; “In Honor Of”; “In Appreciation For”; etc.

All contributions will be so greatly appreciated and can be mailed to the Synagogue office

payable to Beth Israel with a notation that it is for the choir fund.

Thank You and Shalom!

Your Beth Israel Choir

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Religious School Chai-lights Joan Sharp

August is upon us and it’s hard to believe that we are already thinking about “Back to School.” With that in mind, if you have not yet filled out new registration forms for your Reli-gious School students, please do so and return them to the main office as soon as pos-sible. We have spent significant time over the summer looking at our curriculum and priori-tizing our goals for your children’s religious education. We hope you, as a family, will become actively involved in many of our programs as well. Family engagement pro-vides long lasting memories for you and your children, and shows them that you value learning as much as you value it for them. We are excited to let you know that we have added several “enrichment” programs to our curriculum and are refocusing our goals to provide many more experiential activi-ties for your children, which will hopefully spark additional excitement in our students and an added connection to Judaism. We will be utilizing some online website accom-paniments to some of our Hebrew programs, and are excited about all the possibili-ties that are available to extend our students’ learning. Please join us for Shabbat services Friday evenings and Saturday mornings to enhance your children’s prayer knowledge and familiarity, and be part of our Kehilla (community). We look forward to having everyone join us at our opening “Welcome Back to School” breakfast on our first day of Sunday classes, September 11th at 9:30 am. Please plan to stay for a short meeting after students are dismissed to go to class with their teachers at 10:00 am. Of course, you will have plenty of time to catch up with your friends and hopefully meet some new ones! Enjoy the rest of your summer!

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Preschool & Kindergarten News

Adrianne Liebman

We continue on the journey at Beth Israel Preschool to plan and enhance all the ways that we can help those who are reconnecting to their heritage through their children as well as expose others to new traditions and customs that broaden their horizons. Each year as part of the curriculum at school, we have many different ways that we experience each of the holidays throughout the year. We make certain to include many children’s books, eat foods that are customary, make art projects and design experiences that depict some of the concepts connected to that particular hol-iday as well as listen to music and play games. We eat snack in the sukkah; we go on scavenger hunts to find items related to the holiday; we look at the Torah up close; we eat latkes, apples and honey and have even planted seeds on TuB’shevat that grow and sprout in time for spring! Last year, we held our first model Seder with an interactive placemat that the children colored and used many of the songs from the Andi Joseph CD- It’s Seder time. We always say our prayers before snack in Hebrew and English so that it becomes a tradition and part of each day. Often, parents will tell me that their child comes home and teaches them the prayers to say before they eat. Parents are always invited to share the Shabbat experience with us each Friday. The en-tire school meets in the Sanctuary and we sing BIm, Bam, It’s Shabbat and I Feel Good, Hinay Ma Tov, and play Simon Says (in Hebrew). We then go back to the classrooms and light the Shabbat candles, recite the Kiddush and Motzi prayers. Rabbi Jon and I visit each of the classrooms and lead them in this ritual. Rabbi Jon has also introduced a new component—asking the children what they are thankful for on Shabbat. We have challah and grape juice, parents read a story and it is a lovely experience for all. We will also be bringing back some Nosh and Plays throughout the year for our newest additions who are very young and perhaps not quite ready for school. This is a great way for parents to meet each other and children who are close in age. Many wonderful friendships have grown from this opportunity in the past. We will be doing a joint model Seder with preschool families and the younger religious school families on April 9, 2017 as our new Berger Grant Program. We will look to continue and expand our Guess Who is Coming to Shabbat Dinner experience this coming year (jointly between the schools and Congregation). Of course all are welcome to Shabbat Yeladim that happens each month. We will continue our affiliation with PJ goes to school. This program funded by the Harold

Greenspoon foundation sends us wonderful books that reinforce Jewish values. There are educa-

tional guides which help reinforce concepts as well as suggest ways to bring these concepts into

your home. We are a team working together with the Synagogue as well as parents to help assist

families with establishing rituals and customs which become traditions for them.

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LACHALL, COHEN & SAGNOR

H. MICHAEL COHEN Attorney at Law

Tel. (610) 436-9300 144 West Market Street Fax (610) 696-7962 West Chester, PA 19382-2985 Email: mcohen@lcslaw.com

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Sisterhood Kickoff 2016

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HELPING THE HUNGRY Air. Water. Clothing. Shelter. Food. These are the elemental needs of every human being. Hunger is a sensation every human experiences daily. For many, this uncomfortable feeling can easily be dealt with by going to the re-frigerator, or cupboard, or a restaurant. But for millions of people, their feelings of hunger are a daily occurrence which is never completely assuaged. The causes of hunger are many-faceted. While some of the hungry are homeless or unemployed, 60% are consid-ered the working poor – adults who are working at one or even two jobs, but are having a hard time earning enough to feed their families. Some need temporary food assistance, due to life-altering events such as a job loss or a health crisis. For some seniors, supplemental food helps to stretch their Social Security income. In summer thousands of children lose their free school meals. Being out of school means these children are going hungry. We can make a difference right here in Chester County, through the efforts of BIC5 - our Beth Israel Congrega-tion of Chester County Caring Community. What are our goals? To bring ourselves into awareness of the hunger that exists around us, and to spread aware-ness of it to others. We will make efforts to make it visible to our congregational community and to our com-munity at large. We will take concrete actions to alleviate food insecurities in all of its forms. We can provide access to the food that is sometimes not so easily within reach. Finally, we can try to find ways of reversing or preventing hunger for those who experience hunger chronically. During the upcoming year, we would like to invite everyone in Beth Israel to come together around this issue: What are the causes of hunger? How can we prevent hunger? What actions can we take, as individuals and as a collective, to address those causes? Through education, awareness, and action, concerned individuals can change human attitudes that allow hunger to exist. We invite everyone, to join together and participate in becoming part of the solution. As Jews, we are called to “repair the world” – tikkun olam - by making the world better and more just for all people by helping those in need. Already, BIC5 and some of our auxiliary groups have begun discussing and planning events that center around the theme of “Helping the Hungry”. Some events that have been planned include: an interactive lecture with a national expert on hunger; holding an Empty Bowls event; a Mitzvah Gleaning Garden; partnering with groups such as Challah for Hunger, Mitzvah Circle Foundation, and Mazon. Your ideas are most welcome, so plan to join in during our next meeting (which will be announced in e-Ruach) to further solidify our plans for the upcom-ing year. “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” Pirkei Avot 2:21 Vicki Stone 484-883-2876 vickistonepa@msn.com

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August Celebrations

Birthday Wishes

Best Wishes to All of Our August Celebrants!

1 Erik Anderson and Deborah Kaplan 23rd 8 Allan and Roslyn Cohen 40th 23 Steven and Heather Simon 18th 24 Alvin and Lois Arzt 4th 24 Andrew and Esther Weintraub 25th

Anniversary Wishes

5 Alexandra Braverman 7 Barry Milberg 7 Marvin Shapanka 11 Judith Rosen 11 Pierce Reinbold 4th 13 Heather Simon 14 Joseph Kauffman 18 Sandra Milberg 18 Hanya Simon 10th 18 Anne Suss 19 Janet Scharf 21 Andrew Block 21 Hollie Helbein 22 Riley Block 22 Nadine Dinerman 25 Michelle Steiner 26 Harris Richman 17th 27 Eilah Drucker 7th 29 Constanza Perez 30 Darby Reinbold 6th 31 Kevin Schmerling

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Yahrzeits

The following will be remembered on August 12 & Au-gust 13: 13 Av 9 Carl Abrams 13 9 Joseph Freedman 14 10 Lawence Feldman 14 10 Abraham Hillman 14 10 Bessie Hurwitz 14 10 Harry Kirschenbaum 14 10 Mildred Mesirov 15 11 David Bomzer 15 11 Richard Morgon 16 12 Dorothy Halpern 16 12 Milton Margolis 17 13 Sylvia Riebman 17 13 Esther Spitz 18 14 Charles Goldring

The following will be remembered on August 19 & Au-gust 20: 20 16 Arthur Jacobs 20 16 Ruth Kauffman 20 16 Max Rothstein 21 17 Phyllis Brown 21 17 Celia Endy 21 17 Ella Frank 22 18 Philip Breisblatt 22 18 Emma Michaels 22 18 Ann Modell 22 18 Minnie Rapkin 23 19 Rachel Abramson 23 19 Harry Goldstein 23 19 Minnie Kramer 23 19 Minnie Weiss 24 20 Hattie Chertok 24 20 Richard Finkel 24 20 Jacob Golomb 24 20 Nathaniel Silverstone 25 21 Robert Matsil 25 21 Matthew Segarnick 25 21 Ralph Zimet 26 22 Leah Rosenberg

The following will be remembered on August 26 & Au-gust 27: 27 23 Morris Batt 27 23 Ike Edelman 27 23 Agnes Margolis 27 23 Robert Morrison

28 24 Ira Bishop 28 24 Louis Glazer 28 24 Bill Halpern 28 24 Eva Rosoff 28 24 Paul Sporn 29 25 Fred Hillman 29 25 Murray Leff 30 26 Martha Bogen 30 26 Gussie Keller 30 26 Adele Simon 31 27 Samuel Brown 31 27 Stanley Dabrow 1 September 28 Anna Braunstein 1 28 Michael Goldberg 1 28 Shirley Rothstein 1 28 Joseph Shur 2 29 Maurice Milberg

The following will be remembered on September 2 & September 3: 4 Elul 1 Eleanor Tracton 5 2 Richard Derby 5 2 Abraham Modell 6 3 Joseph Altman 6 3 Sydney Katz 6 3 Corey Suib 7 4 Betty Roberts 7 4 Morris Wattenmaker 8 5 Shirley Kauffman 8 5 Ida Klein 8 5 Manny Pogash 8 5 Sarah Ziserman 9 6 Phyllis Fields

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Todah Rabah Tzedakah is a mitzvah, a unique privilege granted to every Jew. Remembering friends and family in this manner is an appropriate way to show our feelings towards both our loved ones and our community. We

want to thank the following for their contributions.

Building Fund In memory of Irene and Sol Milberg Barry and Sandy Milberg To Martin Skolnik, Wishing you a speedy recovery Barry and Sandy Milberg To Reggie Goldstein, Wishing you a very speedy recov-ery and good health Barry and Sandy Milberg Choir Fund To Roz Cohen, Thank you for all you do! Mary and Mike Starkman Thank you Beth Israel for your hospitality during our visit Mary and Mike Starkman To Martin Skolnik, Get well wishes Linda and Harold Glazer To Michael and Linda Cohen, Mazel Tov on the mar-riage of your daughter, Rachel Linda and Harold Glazer To Sharon and Paul Zislis, Mazel Tov on your new home! Barb and Irv Hendel In memory of mother and grandmother, Bertha Suckonic Roz and Allan Cohen and Ivy and Jon Egger In memory of father and grandfather, Selig Cohen Roz and Allan Cohen and Ivy and Jon Egger To Robin and Jerry Napiecek, Happy Anniversary! Roz and Allan Cohen and Ivy and Jon Egger To Maxine and Allan Endy, Best wishes on your new home Roz and Allan Cohen and Ivy and Jon Egger To Sharon and Paul Zislis, Beth wishes on your new home Roz and Allan Cohen and Ivy and Jon Egger

To Harold Knable, In honor of your birthday To Shelly Kramer, In honor of your birthday To Jessica Harbold, In honor of your birthday To Roz Goldstein, In honor of your birthday To Mark Segal, In honor of your birthday To Neal Stone, In honor of your birthday Sigrid Rosenthal Cohen Fund In honor of the Confirmands Roz Goldstein Lecture Series Fund To Martin Skolnik, Wishing you a speedy recovery Cissie Halpern Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund To Rabbi Jon Cutler, In honor of your birthday Robin Napiecek Preschool Fund To Donna Fillippo, In memory of your husband, Louis Nancy and Steve Goldberg Sisterhood’s Yahrzeit Floral Fund Thank you to Sheri Richman for her generous contribu-tion in memory of her dear relatives Tree A circle of trees were donated in memory of Samuel Berlot Allan M. Horwitz Yahrzeit In memory of Bebe Shanholtz Fred and Barbara Wattenmaker In memory of Sylvia Rubin Herbert and Marilyn Rubin

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Rabbi ................................................. Jon Cutler

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President ....................................... Mark B. Segal

Executive Vice President ............... Halle Schonherz

Vice President, Finance .............. Nadine Dinerman

Vice President, Program .....................................

Treasurer ........................................ Stuart Miller

Secretary ...................................... Roz Goldstein

Immediate Past Presidents ...... Robert Greer and

Andrew Weintraub

Cindy Blair-Miller, Evelyne Blair-Miller, Larry Faden,

Linda Glazer, Michelle Harbold, Barb Hendel, Debo-

rah Kaplan, Morris Kauffman, Robin Kerollis-

Napiecek, Gary Levin, Mandy Scott, Martin Skolnik,

Neal Stone and Paul Zislis

TRUSTEES

Ed Margolis, Jeff Pickholtz, Don Suss

Pre-School Director ................... Adrianne Liebman

Religious School Director ..................... Joan Sharp Office Manager/HaRuach Editor ....... Debbie Barbato

Music Director .................. Robin Kerollis-Napiecek

__________________________________ BETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION

of CHESTER COUNTY

385 Pottstown Pike (Rte. 100) Eagle, PA

P.O. Box 678 Uwchland, PA 19480

(610) 458-8550

biccsyn@verizon.net

www.bethisraelpa.org

August Highlights

Sisterhood Meeting ............................ 2

Synagogue Board Meeting .................. 9

Ritual Committee Meeting ................. 11

Tisha B’av ....................................... 13

Outdoor Movie Night ........................ 18

Life Long Learning ........................... 20

Honey Cake Baking ......................... 21

Ice Cream Social ............................. 21

Membership Committee Meeting ....... 24

RS Committee Meeting ..................... 25

Open House BBQ ............................. 26

Honey Cake Baking ........................ 28