The Or-acle

19 Pages·2017·3.64 MB·English

The Or-acle
A A Quarterly Publication of Temple B’nai Or
Winter 2017/Volume 63/Issue 1
Scenes From Fall
Temple B’nai Or

From the Rabbi….

It might be cold outside but this is the best time to start to think about summer
camp. The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) has many exciting camp
opportunities! There are camps like Harlam, Kutz, Eisner and Crane Lake that
offer all of the activities one would expect at camp, like swimming, sports,
challenge course, zipline, arts and crafts, and boating. There are also specialty
camps like 6-Points Sci-Tech, 6-Points Sports and 6-Points Creative Arts.

So what makes URJ camp programs unique? Jewish life comes alive and is Rabbi
Ellie Miller
celebrated every day. Campers quickly become comfortable with their Jewish

identity, with Hebrew, prayers and traditions. They spend the summer
Cantor
surrounded by other Jewish kids, staff members, rabbis, cantors and
Galit Dadoun Cohen
educators. Kids walk around singing, shout cheers in the dining hall and finish

dinner with a spirited song session. Rabbis Emeritus
Donald B. Rossoff

Z. David Levy*
Why a Jewish camp? Studies have shown that one summer at a residential (*Of Blessed Memory)

Jewish summer camp leaves our young people with such a positive feeling
President
about Judaism that the effects last a lifetime. A Foundation for Jewish
Michele Murray
Camping study shows that adults who attended a Jewish summer camp as a

child are: Executive Director
Wendy Gottsegen
30% more likely to donate to a Jewish charity;

Director of Education
45% more likely to attend synagogue monthly or more; and
David Iskovitz

55% more likely to be very emotionally attached to Israel.
Director of Early
Childhood Education
I spent three summers as a camper at Camp Harlam, and many more as a staff
Jennifer Rubin
member. I loved the friends that I made and the feeling of confidence that I

gained while there. I am thrilled that all three of my kids love their URJ camp Choir Director and
experiences. Organist
Mark Hyczko

WRJ/Sisterhood
I hope you will consider sending your children to a URJ camp.
Hallie Beyer
Abby Wellington

Oh and don’t forget to check out OneHappyCamper.Org. They provide $1000
Men’s Club
scholarships for first time campers who attend an approved residential Jewish
David Anolick
summer program.

Happy Hanukkah and a Healthy 2018 This Bulletin is published quarterly by
Temple B’nai Or
60 Overlook Road
Rabbi Ellie Miller
Morristown, NJ 07960

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
2
From the Cantor…
“The religious reality in Israel today is a painful one. Orthodoxy has become so
isolated, so extreme, so self-serving, and perhaps even corrupt. Israelis are deeply
divided between religious and secular, and each group wants nothing to do with the
other…. But when bridges can be built… a liberal Jewish experience may reveal a
world of meaningful spirituality and deep engagement with text and tradition.”

What does any of this have to do with me? This is a phrase from a blog entry I am
writing for ARZA, coming out soon. On my Sabbatical over the summer I explored
liberal Jewish expression in Israel. You are aware that I am deeply passionate and
closely attached with the land, the state and people of Israel. For years I have
preached for the importance of learning about one another, about coming together
and being one people. But this cohesion between the people of Israel worldwide is
proving a challenge, not just because we are far apart physically or perhaps in
ideology, but because we are busy with our daily preoccupations and barely find time to connect with our
fellow Jews in NJ. How could we find time to speak to Jews that live in the far holy land? And what’s holy
about it anyway?

In the coming days, we will be celebrating Hanukkah. A holiday that symbolizes a time in Jewish history
where our ancestors were divided amongst themselves about which ideals represented the core of Judaism.
These divisions led to conflict and ultimately, horrible bloodshed.

It’s time for us to explore each other’s ideas and our own identity. We are twinning with our congregation in
Jerusalem – Achva Bakerem which translates literally to, “The Brotherhood in the Vineyard.” Perhaps we can
delve into existential questions, and explore our Jewish identity as individuals, as a modern community.
Please join this initiative. I look forward to exploring our feelings and thoughts together with texts and
friends.

Cantor Galit Dadoun Cohen
From the President…

At Hanukkah, we reflect on the miracle of the oil and think about resilience and
faith. This Festival of Lights, I want to shine a light on Temple B’nai Or. We exist
for Reform Jews who want to be a part of a community that values learning, the
power of shared experiences, and musical worship. We tackle issues such as
homelessness, hunger and powerlessness through Social Action. We add light to
each other when we make connections to people at TBO who support us in good
times and bad.

Your Board is working hard to ensure that Temple continues to be there for us all.
Financial sustainability is our top priority as we work on a plan for ways to increase
membership and fundraising, strengthen our schools, and plan for the future.
Please join us Sunday morning, Feb 11 for our midyear report on the state of the
Temple.

It is important for you to know that a Rabbinic Search Committee has been formed with Greg Pine and Stacey
Schlosser co-chairing, and they have begun their work. I thank them for their dedication to this important
endeavor. Everyone’s support and input is essential to this effort.

I encourage everyone to save the date for our Tikkun Olam Award Gala on April 21. I am very pleased to
reintroduce the Tikkun Olam award, which honors congregants who make Tikkun Olam, repairing the world,
a priority in their lives at Temple and in the greater community. Our honorees, Jackie & Larry Horn, Poppy &
Richard Segal and Marcie & Glenn Yarnis, embody the spirit of this award through their contributions to
many organizations, as well as Temple B’nai Or.

Greg, David, Rebecca and I wish you all a wonderful Hanukkah, and a happy and healthy new year!

Michele Murray, President
3
New Member Spotlight…

We welcomed Gail Lobel as a member last year, but she is no stranger
to TBO. Her son, Robert, daughter-in-law, Dory, and grandson, Jake,
are members. Gail is also a member of her daughter Jennifer’s temple
in Columbia, SC. Gail lost her husband, Ben, last December after a
painful battle with cancer.
Gail was born in South Orange. Her entire elementary school was
Jewish; in the 1950s, the town had 15,000 residents and four
synagogues. In 1964 Gail’s brother became a bar mitzvah at Temple
B’nai Abraham in Newark; Gail and her mother, Marcia Samuels, were
the first women to take part in a bar mitzvah service - because they
asked to attend.
Gail’s grandparents, Pauline and Sam Reinfeld, were founders of
Temple B’nai Abraham in Livingston, and its leaders looked to her
family to expand its sanctuary. Jennifer and Robert became b’nai
mitzvah and married there - and the same rabbi married all Gail’s
children. Gail was Vice-President of the Sisterhood at B’nai Abraham,
and Ben was a trustee for 12 years. They successfully petitioned to hire
a Special Education teacher to facilitate children with special needs to become a bar or bat mitzvah. In the
1980s, Gail instigated Kent Place School’s closing for the High Holidays, and she instructed children at The
Pingry School about Hanukkah.
The Lobels founded the Marcia and Morton Samuels Excellence in Nursing award at St. Barnabas Medical
Center and the Ben Lobel Excellence in Nursing award at Morristown Medical Center; they are benefactors of
The Mayo Performing Arts Center.
4
SAVE THE DATE
Tikkun Olam Award Gala
April 21, 2018
7:00 PM
Join us as we honor
JACKIE & LARRY HORN
POPPY & RICHARD SEGAL
MARCIE & GLENN YARNIS
for their continuous
commitment to
Repair the World
The Westin Governor Morris Morristown
Formal invitation to follow
5
Todah Rabah to Greg Pine and Stacey Schlosser
for accepting the sacred duty of co-chairing our
Rabbinic Search Committee

We are confident that they will work to the best
of their ability on this important task, and
we will keep the congregation apprised of the
committee’s progress.

6
Schmooze Newz
NEW MEMBERS

Renee and Jeffrey Brandler Blair and Sandi Price
Denville Caroline and Grant
Morristown
Kara Maser

Morristown
Jonathan and Sally Solsky

Randolph
Sky Monroe

Ella and Juliette
Rita and Joseph Stringer
Morristown
Randolph

Maya Murilo
Phyllis and Edward Weiss
Randolph
Ledgewood

Rebecca Novin-Cannon and
Janine and Steve Weiss
Chris Cannon
Evan
Sadie, Tess, and Gabriel
Morristown
Mountain Lakes

ANNIVERSARIES B’NAI MITZVAH B’NAI MITZVAH

Lynn and Lawrence Ross Henry Kurtzman Ryan Berman
50th wedding anniversary son of son of
Carrie and Brad Kurtzman Nicole and Scott Berman
Linda and Lawrence Goren
45th wedding anniversary Ella Lindner Jack Cohen
daughter of son of
Kathy and Richard Saltzman
Hillary and Richard Lindner Jessica and Aaron Cohen
35th wedding anniversary
Dahlia Michaels Jordan Dickman
Nona and Ira Seid
daughter of son of
30th wedding anniversary
Jacqui and Daniel Michaels Jennifer van Frank and
Barat Dickman
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Gabriel and Natalie Rosenthal
children of Robert Friedland
Jack Piermont Catherine and Paul Rosenthal son of
70th birthday Holly and Steven Friedland
Emma Rudd
daughter of Ian Grenker

Sigal and Dan Rudd son of
Johanna Toth and Adam Grenker
Nicholas Schachter
son of Rebecca Hirschfeld
Sherri and Charlie Schachter daughter of
Laura and James Hirschfeld
Jacob Sommer
son of Hayden Ingber
Leslie and Joseph Sommer son of
Lori and Mike Ingber

7
From the Pre-School…
King Solomon says, in the book of Proverbs, “educate a child in their own
way, and when they grow old, they will not depart from it.” What does this
mean? I believe that by inspiring a child’s individual curiosity, you create a
spark that continues to fuel their intellectual growth throughout their
lifetimes.

In our school we foster a love for learning by providing a warm, nurturing
environment that promotes exploration and growth. Our pre-school teachers
evaluate each child’s gifts, and provide challenges, reinforcement, and
success through planned and unplanned activity. Painting, singing, moving,
and building, our children finish each year having amassed knowledge and
skills that are the foundation of all learning, and provide incredible life
lessons. Jewish pre-school has the added bonus of providing a love of god, holidays, and tradition. We use the
values of Judaism to reinforce every lesson. And even more amazing, is the beautiful experiences children
and their families enjoy while being in engaged in Jewish life. Our multi-award winning pre-school offers a
premiere education within a community of educated, experienced, caring professionals and truly lovely
families. Registration for the 2018-19 school year, and Camp Brody of B’nai Or begins in
December. Sign up for school before Jan 15 to receive incentive pricing. For more information or to
schedule a tour, please contact Jennie Rubin at [email protected], or 973-267-6424. A
registration form can be downloaded from our website www.templebnaior.org/preschool/learning.

The future is in our children’s hands, and we couldn’t be prouder. There is no better pre-school than ours,
and no greater joy than knowing that the work we do daily makes the future brighter for all of us.

Jennie Rubin, Director of Early Childhood Education
8
From the Religious School…
We are the stewards of our precious heritage, which has a magnificent two-thousand year history. Some of
us accept the traditions of our faith willingly, while others pick only the aspects that they enjoy, and reject
many major tenets of Judaism.

Our Religious School exists to build Jewish identity and to teach what it means to lead a Jewish life. As our
children become adults they too will accept, alter, or reject the belief system we are attempting to instill in
them. They will ultimately make this decision for themselves.
As parents and teachers, we have the awesome responsibility to influence the path our children will follow. It
is our role to empower our youth, to push them, to coddle them, and to make Judaism meaningful, relevant,
engaging, and soulful. We are in this together.
The recent national discussion in the news media about male behavior towards women is alarming, but sadly
not suprising. In an effort to empower our young girls, we long ago implemented, “It’s A Girl’s Thing,”
curriculum for our High School female students. For a few months, we gender separate our students and
focus on issues that directly impact tween and teen girls. To start off the conversations, we will have a moth-
er/daughter evening on Jan 8 with author Rachel Mann. Our young men also have programming appropri-
ate for them, including sessions on mindfulness.
We are speaking about teen life in December, when Scott Fried returns to address the issue of body-respect,
based on his own battle with AIDS. We want our children to become healthy young adults with a clear
understanding of how Judaism’s umbrella can be the place for them to find guidance and confidence.
Wishing all a happy and joyous Hanukkah and healthy 2018.

David Iskovitz, Director of Education
From the Youth Group...

BOOTY is off to a great start! In October, 8-12 graders were invited to join BOOTY
for lunch at Cosi in Morristown. We sent two BOOTY members to the NFTY GER
Fall Kallah at the URJ Kutz Camp. The BOOTY Board also led the religious school
in a super-fun program that allowed the teens to get a taste of the youth group.

Coming up, on Nov 19, we will have another Cosi lunch
for 8-12 graders from Noon -1:00 PM. Saturday, Dec 9 is
our BOOTY Shul in – stay tuned for more info! We are
also having our annual Hanukkah Gift Basket Fundraiser.
If you are interested in filling out a form to have your
name on the gifts for the religious schoolteachers, please
contact Miriam at [email protected].

We are so excited to announce that 13 TBO 6 – 8 graders
will be joining me at Camp Harlam Dec 1-3 for a Taste of
NFTY event. Several of the High School BOOTY members
will be attending NFTY GER Winter Kallah later in December, also at Camp
Harlam.

There are many exciting things coming up! If you are interested in more
information, please contact me!

Miriam Edelstein, BOOTY Advisor
9
Sisterhood

We had a fantastic Paid Up dinner in October, featuring comedienne (and Temple member)
Andrea Glaser and her comedy troupe. 100 women attended and enjoyed a delicious meal
catered by Nonna's. A good time and plenty of laughs were had by all. Many thanks to our
volunteers for helping with setting up, cleaning up and bringing in appetizers and desserts.
Special thanks to Alise Ford for opening up the Judaica shop for early Hanukkah shopping.

Our monthly, casual Sisterhood Kibbitz sessions continue to be a great success and great fun.
Lori Weintraub hosted an Accessories Swap at her home on Nov 8, and everyone loved trading
their jewelry, bags, scarves and hats! Many thanks to Lori for her energy and enthusiasm.

The NEXT Sisterhood Kibbitz is Thursday, Dec 21, hosted by Stacey Schlosser at b.jones
Organic Spa.

Please save the date of Sunday, March 18 at 5:00 pm for The Annual Women's Seder:
Eat, pray and dance with the Sisterhood. Don't miss this special pre-Passover tradition!
Renaissance News
We have enjoyed a very busy and successful fall, and plan to continue the fun throughout the winter:

DEC 10 – A special Sunday concert for the ENTIRE TBO community by the Bishop of Jazz, Rio
Clemente, 2:00 PM in the sanctuary. A dessert reception will follow the 90 minute concert. $15 for
Renaissance members, guests $20.
JAN 1 – 2:00 PM – Join us once again at the Hunan Chinese Room, at 255 Speedwell Ave, Morris Plains
NJ 07950 for our traditional New Years Day festival meal. Price TBD.
JAN 17 – Wednesday lunch and a movie at noon at TBO. The movie, ARRANGED, centers on the
friendship between an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman who meet as first-year teachers
at a public school in Brooklyn. They share much in common - especially that they are both in the
process of arranged marriages. Run time for the movie is 90 minutes. Price for Renaissance members,
$15, guests $20.
FEB 18 – A Dine-a-round is under construction. Details to follow.

All events are open to the entire Temple
community, as well as to guests.
For reservations, contact Mitzi Szerlip at
215 Forest Glen, Pompton Plains NJ 07444
973-839-1939

Questions, please call Stuart Rayvid (973-515-3518)
or Carol Marin (973-366-9316)

Dr. Ashley Koning NJ Gubernatorial Speaker
10