March 2016 - the Congregation Beth Israel

CONGREGATION
BETH ISRAEL
“A Family of Families”
March 2016
CALENDAR OF
RELIGIOUS SERVICES >>
Friday, March 4
Shabbat Service @ 6:00 pm
Bar Mitzvah of Eli Susser
Saturday, March 5
Shabbat Service @ 10:00 am
Bar Mitzvah of Eli Susser
Friday, March 11
Shabbat Service @ 6:00 pm
Saturday, March 12
Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am
Bar Mitzvah of
Eli Gilbert Susser
Eli will participate in the
Shabbat Service
Friday night,
March 4th at 6pm.
Eli will then be called to
the Torah
Saturday, March 5th at
10:00 am.
Friday, March 18
Shabbat Service @ 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 19
Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am
Friday, March 25
Shabbat/Purim Service
@ 6:00 pm
Family Dinner to Follow
Saturday, March 26
Shabbat Service @ 9:00 am
Torah Study
Saturdays @ 11:00am
Please come and join us
Eli is an honors student at Baker Middle School in the
International Baccalaureate program. He is an avid
tennis player and recently achieved the “Superchamps”
level in USTA junior tennis. Eli is an active Boy Scout in
Troop 2 with the current rank of Star Scout and he is
working hard to eventually earn the rank of Eagle. Eli
enjoys playing basketball with his friends and following
his favorite sports teams including the Spurs, Cowboys
and Texas Longhorns. He also enjoys traveling, skiing
and learning all there is to know about airplanes.
Eli’s parents are Catherine and Sam L. Susser. He has an
older sister, Sophie and an older brother Sammy. His
grandparents are Pat and San J. Susser of Corpus Christi
and Edna Gilbert and the late George Gilbert of Houston.
Eli will participate in the Shabbat Service Friday night,
March 4th at 6pm. Eli will then be called to the Torah
Saturday, March 5th at 10:00 am. Please join Eli and his
family for services and Oneg Shabbat on Friday and a
kiddish luncheon immediately following Saturday
morning’s service.
RABBI’S MESSAGE
CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL
4402 Saratoga Blvd
Telephone:361.857.8181
Fax: 361.857.8227
Email: congregation@bethisraelcc.com
Website: bethisraelcc.com
Rabbis
Ilan Emanuel, Rabbi
Rabbi Kenneth Roseman, Rabbi Emeritus
Staff
Debbie Bustillo, Office Administrator
Meredith Ryan, Religious School Director
Leslie Green, Shabbat Dinner Coordinator
CBI Executive Board
Chris Adler
President
George Kopf
First Vice President
Second Vice President
Richard Hausman
Secretary
Leslie Levy
Treasurer
Robin Adams
Past President
Suzy Hilliard
Sisterhood Representative
Jerri Osberg
Committee Chairs
Adult Education Chair
Cemetery Chairs
David Jacobs
Robert Adler
Carl Kuehn,
Gary Blum
Ritual Committee Chairs
Andrew Sheinberg
Jim Gold
Membership Committee Chair
Suzy Hilliard
Social Action Committee Chair
Linda Snider
Dues Committee Chairs
Ann Engel
Jim Gold
Building Chair
Bill Adams
Grounds Chair
Rikki Schmitchel
Fine Arts Chair
Laurie Mintz
Page 2
It's been a few years since I was able to spend
time in Israel and so I was delighted to be able to
attend the conference of the Central Conference
of American Rabbis in Israel this year. Since my
last visit Israel has changed in many ways. We tend to focus in
the western news on the conflicts with Israel's neighbors and the
Palestinians. While this is in fact a significant concern and a
difficult reality for life in Israel, this focus masks the amazing
changes and growth in Israeli society that are transforming Israel
and making it even more vital and vibrant as a country and
cultural center. Where once Israel was growing but struggling it
now leads the world in many areas of technology, innovation and
culture. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are world class cities in every
possible way and building continues apace as both cities continue
to grow and become more and more vibrant.
Changes are also happening in important areas of Israeli society.
We visited a center in Jaffa for Arab-Jewish cooperation, working
through educational and cultural programming to bring Israeli
Jews and Israeli Arabs together and break down the barriers
between the two peoples in Israeli society. And we spoke to
people who are working for change within the Haredi (ultraOrthodox) community, a sector of Israeli society that has been an
obstacle to many changes in Israel and that is a source of
frustration for the secular majority. We spoke to women who are
working to change their position in Haredi society, including the
first female Haredi kashrut inspector, and men who are struggling
as they move from being engaged in permanent study to being
part of the mainstream Israeli workforce. Both these changes are
likely to bring about profound transformation in the Haredi
community in the coming years.
But the highlight was attending a Knesset (parliamentary)
committee meetingon Jewish pluralism within Israel. As many are
aware, the orthodox have been entrenched as the religious
authority for decades. This has created a significant stumbling
block for acceptance of non-Orthodox streams of Judaism in
Israel. That looks to be changing as in this committee one
politician after an other, from almost every non-Orthodox party,
testified to their commitment to religious pluralism in Israel as a
central struggle for the soul of Israel in the coming years. This
was a powerful moment and brought home the reality that, as we
focus on the security of Israel from without, the future of Israel
must also prioritize the growth of Reform and Conservative
Judaism and the expansion of Jewish pluralism within Israel. The
contributions of non-Orthodox Judaism to Israeli society are
already being felt and look to become more significant to Israel's
future in the years to come.
Rabbi Ilan Emanuel
Congregation Beth Israel Newsletter
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Robert and I were in San Antonio this weekend for a
wonderful family event…the naming of a new baby girl and
addition to our family. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at
Congregation Agudas Achim as it’s always a pleasure to visit
other congregations. The Hazzan, Jeremy Lipton, led the services and
gave a thought provoking sermon Saturday morning. He spoke about
“Partnerships”. He asked us to think about the partnerships we have in
our lives…business partnerships, partnerships with friends, different
family members, a spouse, but he targeted our Partnerships with God. So
often we ask, or expect, God to solve a problem, or cure an illness, or
give us something, but we fail to think about our lives as a “partnership”
with God. It’s up to US to do our part, too. We must work toward
solving our life situations, always doing our own part, along with asking
for help.
Great events going on at CBI. We enjoyed our Adult Education program
last weekend. Our speaker, Joel Hoffman, was excellent and gave us a
lot to think about and ponder. Thanks for your help and support for this
three day event. Sisterhood trip to Port Aransas on Sunday was great fun.
Beginning of March is right here..how can that be??? Looking forward
to Eli Susser’s Bar Mitzvah this weekend. Love the Bar/Bat Mitzvahs,
the family dinners, and Shabbats we celebrate on a regular basis. Come
join us. We will be celebrating Purim, and have a great CBI Progressive
Dinner on Sunday, March 27 to welcome ALL the new members. Mark
your calendar…you won’t want to miss any of our upcoming events.
Chris Adler, President
Congregation Beth Israel.
Congregation Beth Israel Newsletter
Page 3
Corpus Christi Community Religious School
Meredith Ryan, Director
On March 27th, our ISJL fellow, Bethany Berger, will be visiting us. She
will be helping me to create fun Purim activities for our students to enjoy
during Sunday School. We will be having a costume contest, so encourage
your kids to dress up! Please take note that due to Spring Break, we are
not meeting on the 13th and 20th.
We are starting to look for a couple of key people to help with Religious
School next year. We are in need of a Co-Religious School Director and
some more Sunday School teachers. Please contact Meredith Ryan at
rsdirector@bethisraelcc.com if you are interested in learning more
information about these positions.
Religious School Dates:
March 6: Hebrew 9:00 am
Sunday School: 10:30am
March 13: No Religious School
March 20: No Religious School
March 27: Hebrew 9:00am
Sunday School: 10:30am
UPCOMING BAR/BAT MITZVOT
March 5, 2016
Eli Susser
December 17, 2016
Aaron Lebowitz
July 16, 2016
Josh Yaker
June 3, 2017
Mira Emanuel
ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS
We are seeking more Religious School educators for next school year. You do NOT have
to be a certified teacher, nor do you have to have any experience in the classroom. We
provide the curriculum and are very interested in having enthusiastic individuals who
would like to make an impact in our young Jewish congregants’ lives. Please contact
Meredith Ryan at rsdirector@bethisraelcc.com.
Page 4
Congregation Beth Israel Newsletter
SPRINGFEST 2016
Congregation Beth Israel Newsletter
Page 5
Progressive Dinner & Social
Invitations will
be mailed soon.
Sunday, March 27th
Page 6
Congregation Beth Israel Newsletter
CBI Sisterhood News
Greetings to all our Sisterhood Members! I just wanted to remind everyone that we have
our 2nd Night Community Seder approaching (Saturday, April 23 at 6:00 p.m.) and
Linda Snider is busy preparing for this wonderful evening. If you are interested in
assisting in the planning and festivities, please contact Linda at 802-777-2269 or email
her at l.sniderok@gmail.com . I'm sure she'd welcome any assistance she can get!!
I also wanted to share my heartfelt thoughts and prayers with Bill and Robin Adams
and their families for the passing of Robin's mother Edythe (Edy) Laser. This was a
sudden and tremendous loss to them and to all of us. We will miss Edy very much!
Another reminder to please send in your Sisterhood Dues, if you haven't already. Please
call me if you have any questions about membership or dues.
Thank you,
Jerri Osberg
jerri.osberg@hotmail.com
361.443.9894
SISTERHOOD
Congregation Beth Israel Newsletter
Page 7
Family Shabbat Dinner
Shalom Y'All,
First and foremost, I must give a big THANK YOU to Eva Brown. She has been a
tremendous help to me in the kitchen preparing our family dinners and she is
also a great cook!!
This month's Family Shabbat Dinner will take place on Friday, March 25th
following 6 pm services . We will be celebrating Purim, so all costumes are
welcome! I wonder how many Queen Esthers and King Hamans we will have at
dinner???
As always, bring your appetite and a dessert to share. Speaking of dessert, I
want to thank everyone for bringing delicious desserts these past couple of
months for everyone to share. There has been an abundance and your
generosity is very much appreciated!
Until we break bread together again,
Leslie Green
Family Shabbat Dinner Coordinator
email: clutterqueen2758@gmail.com
cell: (804) 334-5662
“HOME FOR SEDER”
CBI SISTERHOOD
SECOND NIGHT PASSOVER
COMMUNITY SEDER
Saturday, April 23rd, 2016 at 6:00pm
Congregation Beth Israel
4402 Saratoga
ADULTS $20 (13 and UP)
CHILDREN $10 (ages 6 – 12)
Children 5 and Under Complimentary
NON-MEMBERS $25
RESERVATIONS
Make a check payable to:
Congregation Beth Israel Sisterhood
&
Fill out the enclosed form
Have it at the Congregation office
NO LATER THAN April 15th
Page 8
Congregation Beth Israel Newsletter
PERPETUAL YAHRZEITS
Sabbath of March 4th
*Ernestine Berlin
*Fela Grossman
*Rebecca Grossman
Freda Rednick
Marcie Braslau
*Isadore Glanz
*Joe Simon
*Sandra Davis
*Samuel Flaum
Helen Kamins
*Max Goltzman
Abe Bazaman
Hattie Hoffman
Birdie Maltzman
Dorothy Schwartz
*Dora Benjamin
*Mary Rednick
*Serene Schmidt
*Theodore Beck
Mort Finkelstein
*Gerald Klein
*Ada Leshin
Harry Marks
*Oscar Zantker
*Mildred Chafetz
Roslie Roberts
Sabbath of March 11th
*Ida Levinson
*Jeanette Neumann
Pauline Sheinberg
*Morris Ettelman
*Monroe Hausman
*Otto Kuehn
*Harry Minsky
*Philip Lieberman
*S. David Shor
*Lois Grossman
Sabbath of March 18th
Rose Bresler
*Hinda Adler
Helen Jacobs
Roslyne Massman
*Gertrude Perlick
*Joseph Abbey
*Bertha Minsky
Sanford Mintz
Rochelle Roby
*Pearl Unger
*Daniel Goltzman
*Elliott Hurwitz
*Philipp Lachs
Charles Patrick
Fannie Solomon
Alvin Reingold
Joe Simons
*Nathan Dunn
Jule Pels
*Josephine Bodker
Samuel Livni
*Sarah Goodman
Steven Reiter
Helen White
*Pauline Beilin
Congregation Beth Israel Newsletter
Sabbath of March 25th
*Jerome Nast
*Jerome Schlader
*Rose Siskind
*Rae Weltman
*Max Yaffe
*Monette Karchmer
*Leon Loeb
Jonathan Friedman
*Mitchell Jacobson
*Isaac Silver
Michael Chaplick
Faye Lipton
*Sidney Ginsberg
*Ruth Robinson
Sabbath of April 1st
*Leslie Simon, Sr.
*Alex Weil, Sr.
*Gladys Schaffer
*Abraham Danziger
Raymond Falk
*Elizabeth Posner
George Kopf
Peter Oshman
*Bill Trodlier
*James Harris
*Sherry Hilton
Gil Cavazos
*David Grossman
*Brian Lee
Maurice Nast
*Ida Glanz
Ethel Horner
*Jack Kaufman
Page 9
The Congregation thanks you for the following contributions
Yahrzeit Donations
Mitzvah Fund
In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Susan & Bill Martin
Esther Jessel
Jack M. Hill
Joseph Axelrad
Susan & Bill Martin
Phyllis & Kenneth Roseman
Anna Goltzman
Joan & Joseph Goltzman
Star Bobys
Joanne Wolf Cohen
Rabbi Sidney Wolf
Ruth & Hank Josephs
Robert Korn
Archie Goodman
Nedra Lockhart
Delano Lockhart
Edy Laser
Philip Lieberman
Alvin Roseman
In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Annette & James Cottingham
In Honor of-------------------------------------------------- From
Ann & David Engel on their
Birthday
Susan & Bill Martin
Eli Susser on his Bar Mitzvah
Julia & Tim Noble
Chris & Robert Adler
Bess Nance
Prayerbook Fund
Pat & Sam J. Susser
Louis Susser
Elizabeth & Jerry Susser
In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Edy Laser
Pat & Sam J. Susser
Cemetery Endowment Fund
Rabbi's Discretionary Fund
In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Malvina Newman
Edith Mason
In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Emily Gold
Family of Emily Gold
Endowment Fund
In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Edy Laser
Pamela Dixon Frost
Buckingham Board Members
Seaside Beautification Fund
In Memory of------------------------------------------------ From
Emily Gold
Family of Emily Gold
Don’t forget . You can remember a friend or relative with a minimum contribution of $5.00 to one of our many funds.
These funds support camp scholarships, education, cemeteries, fine arts, library, & building improvements, to name a few.
An acknowledgement card will be sent to the honored person or family. Please make checks payable to CBI and specify the
fund. Call the CBI office with any questions.
Page 10
Congregation Beth Israel Newsletter
March 2016
Sun Mon Tue 1 7 8
3 9
Hebrew School 9‐10:15 Sunday School 10:30‐12:30 Fri 4 Sat 5 Shabbat Service Shabbat Service @ 6:00 pm 10:00 am 10
Bar Mitzvah of Eli Susser Light Candles at: 6:14 PM Bar Mitzvah of Eli Susser *NO TORAH STUDY 11 12 Shabbat Service Shabbat Service @ 6:00 pm 9:00 am Board Mtg Exec 6:30pm Reg 7:00pm 13 2 Thu 6 Wed Light Candles at: 6:18 PM 14 15 NO RELIGIOUS SCHOOL 16 17
18 Shabbat Service Shabbat Service @ 7:30 pm 9:00 am 19 Light Candles at: 7:22 PM 20 21
22
23 NO RELIGIOUS SCHOOL 24 PURIM
25 26 Shabbat /Purim Service @ 6:00 pm *Family Dinner to follow Shabbat Service 9:00 am Light Candles at: 7:26 PM 27 Hebrew School 9‐10:15 Sunday School 10:30‐12:30 28 29 30 31 April 1 2 Shabbat Service Shabbat Service @ 6:00 pm 10:00 am Light Candles at: 7:30 PM
Progressive Dinner & Social
Sunday, March 27th
Join us for
Family Shabbat Service
celebrating Purim
with family dinner to follow on
Friday, March 25th at 6pm
“HOME FOR SEDER”
CBI SISTERHOOD
SECOND NIGHT PASSOVER
COMMUNITY SEDER
Saturday, April 23rd, 2016 at 6:00pm
Congregation Beth Israel
4402 Saratoga
ADULTS $20 (13 and UP)
CHILDREN $10 (ages 6 – 12)
Children 5 and Under Complimentary
NON-MEMBERS $25
Don’t forget your costumes!
Remember to bring a yummy dessert to share
and we'll do the rest!
I could always use some help in the kitchen,
so let me know if you're available.
Leslie Green
Family Shabbat Dinner Coordinator
Email: clutterqueen2758@gmail.com
Phone: (804) 334-5662
RESERVATIONS
Make a check payable to:
Congregation Beth Israel Sisterhood
&
Fill out the enclosed form
Have it at the Congregation office
NO LATER THAN April 15th
CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL
4402 SARATOGA
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX 78413
CBI Sisterhood Gift Shop
announces its new *Judaica Exchange *
Donate your previously loved and gently used Judaica,
get a tax donation receipt, then come to the Gift Shop to browse and buy!
To schedule alternate appointment times, please call the
CBI office at (361) 857 – 8181.