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April 2021 | Nisan - Iyyar 5781 |
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President’s Reflections
by Shelley Schweitzer
Temple Israel brings its rich history to Canton’s Jewish community as a driving force for social and spiritual connection. It is a family that creates a Reform Jewish home that nourishes the soul, inspires the mind, and engages the hands.
After a months-long process, the Temple Israel Board of Trustees has agreed upon this guiding statement that the Board believes captures the answer to why a person would join Temple Israel in Canton, Ohio.
Rabbi David Wolfman posed this question to the Temple Israel Board of Trustees when he met with us last fall for a strategic planning session. The Temple board and Rabbi Komerofsky have been working with Rabbi Wolfman to ensure a smooth transition of rabbinic and volunteer leadership; to better understand our Temple’s role in our community and to consider what it means to be a member of our congregation.
If you’ve zoomed in to a Shabbat service this year, you may have noticed that there are an average 45-60 devices online on any given Friday night. Pre-Covid Friday night attendance was 20-30 people most weeks.
Like Temple Israel, Reform congregations throughout North America are experiencing a growth in Friday night online worshippers. Reform Jews everywhere are taking part in education and worship experiences around the world. Independent rabbis are available to officiate at life-cycle events. If everything is available from the comfort of our living rooms, “why join a synagogue?”
While our Board would not try to speak to why synagogue membership would be important to the average Jew, we can articulate what makes Temple Israel in Canton, Ohio special.
“Temple Israel brings its rich history to Canton’s Jewish community as a driving force for social and spiritual connection; a family that creates a Reform Jewish home that nourishes the soul, inspires the mind, and engages the hands.”
The rest is commentary, as we say. As the congregation evolves, I pray that we will always be the home that we have come to know; that we remain a place that cherishes our individual and collective contributions to our Temple family.
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From Purim to Pesach: How Chadash is celebrating the holidays in a Virtual School
by Julie Zorn
March 9, 2020, was the last time Chadash met together in person. It just so happened that what ended up being our final program of the school year was our annual Purim shpiel. Our Torah Tots class proudly paraded in their adorable costumes, and our older classrooms each presented a part of the Purim story which was narrated by the confirmation class. The morning was concluded in the Beit Ha’am lobby with a feast of Hamantaschen in every variety prepared by our entire student body and faculty.
It was hard to imagine that a virtual celebration could have any meaning compared to all the fanfare of prior years, but not only have we been dealing with the lack of in person celebration…we have been enjoying our out-of-the-box time together as an online community.
For Purim, Rabbi Komerofsky helped us by creating a video that included images of all the classrooms in their costumes while the confirmation class still narrated the video. Hazzan Braun was still able to lead us in singing Chag Purim and Wicked Wicked Man, and we even played a “Can you guess who this is?” trivia game to learn more about each of the people in our Purim story. After religious school, Chadash families stopped by Beit Ha’am where we passed out Hamantaschen from Cleveland’s Unger’s Kosher Bakery for the children to enjoy at home.
For Passover, we divided the school into two break out rooms. Rabbi Komerofsky worked with the older students, and Morah Julie worked with the littles. Rabbi’s Passover game incorporated technology with well-loved “Kahoot” trivia that has students type in answers using cell phones. Morah Julie told the story of Nachshon with the very visual Torah G-dly Play method created by Rabbi Michael Shire, dean of the Shoolman School of Jewish Education at Hebrew College. The story telling also utilizes discussion through creative art exploration. When Rabbi and Julie finished their presentations, Chadash faculty took each of the groups back into individual class time to further teach about Passover.
Despite our inability to be together in person, Chadash has fared well and learned the lesson of being nimble. We have learned to be creative and prioritize what is most important to us. In the end, it all comes down to our beloved community and sharing these experiences together.
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Online Communal Commemorations
Temple Israel Yom Hashoah Commemoration
In memory of the victims of the Holocaust
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
8:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Temple Israel Yom Hazikaron Commemoration
In honor of Israel’s Memorial Day
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
7:00 p.m. Eastern Time
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Brotherhood’s Reverse Raffle is Back!
COVID cancelled the 2020 raffle, but we are back for 2021 with a socially-distanced format and the same great chance to win $2,000.
Instead of the normal steak dinner and in-person reverse raffle, Temple Israel Brotherhood will be conducting the raffle via Zoom on Sunday, May 2, 2021,
at 12:30 p.m.
Ticket holders will get a wonderful deli lunch for two (or more) from Chef Rabbino and Corky & Lenny’s (corned beef or turkey, seeded or seedless rye, potato salad or cole slaw, and dessert) either for pickup or delivery by our membership that morning.
Your money still goes towards supporting Chadash and other Brotherhood activities. Please take that phone call from Brotherhood members and support our school.
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April 2nd
Leah Blau
Betty DeLor
Jeffrey Finkelstein
Ruth Fladen
Marion Geisert
Dr. Seymour Gelb
Raymond Guyout
David Klapfish
Philip K. Landau
Adele Lichtenberg
Sylvia Rosengard
Ronald Rothman
Irma Rubin
Mary Schuman
Harriet E. Shulan
Rachel Solomon
Anna Wolman
April 9th
Steven Abrams
Simon E. Block
Adelene Cohen
Jacob Fettman
Rhea Fischgrund
Sylvia Weiler Friend
Alice Green
Lawrence F.Greenberger
Helaine Isroff
Bella Jacobson
Kathryn Jurkiewicz
Elizabeth Kaven
Isadore Lefkovits
Dr. Abraham Levine
Sylvia Lippy
John M. Queen
Morris E. Raffel
Rose Rosenberg
Pablo Rozenbom
Jennifer Rubin
Lorraine Rubin
Sara Rubin
Max S. Silver
William Weckstein
GAyle Weiner
Hanna G. Weiss
April 16th
Isaac Averbach
Harry Bleckman
Florence Woolf Dufton
Bernie A. Green
Esther L. Grossman
Benjamin Hirsch
Pauline Kolsky
Leon E. Lazarus
Lawrence Levine
Milton Lottman
Charles T. Luntz
Irving Manello
Isadore Mendelson
Richard V. Monasterio, Jr.
Meyer J. Newman
Honey Rosenkranz
Howard S. Rubin
Helen Barnett Rumbel
Hilda Salzer
Kaete R. Saul
Alan Singer
Harry Smuckler
Bertha B. Vint
Marguerite G. Weinstock
Dr. Percy Winston
Dr. Samuel H. Winston
Lloyd Woods
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April 23rd
Evelyn Adelman
Goldie Art
Goldie Bertman
Gerald Bloom
Albert B. Buxbaum
Christopher Carducci
Milt Chapman
Norman Chapman
Irwin Cohn
Garth Epling
Tillie Feiman
Steven Leslie Gardner
Effie Friedman Gold
Anna Mae Goldberg
David Grossman
Lottie Harmon
Curtis "Jack" Holl
Georgina Joshi
Avram Kaminsky
Stanley Kitzen
Leonard Laden
Bebe Lavin
Martha Lazarus
Dr. Allan E. Lee
Marcie Libster
Richard Logan
Rose Marusich
Paul Meltzer
Sanders Mestel
Harriet Narens
Zach Novak
Jeanette Nusbaum
Ben Perskey
Norma Raffel
Robert Clayton Samuels
George Sklar
Lillian Spiegel
Sol Toronski
Anna Weiss
Rose White
April 30th
Harlan Abrams
Ada Abugov
Kathryn Bloom
Elaine Cooper
Louis Diamond
Philip C. Fleischer, Jr.
Dorothy Friedberg
Samuel Gelfand
Sue Gold
Ernest Goldenfeld
David Green
Mary Catherine Kemp
Steven Kitzen
William S. Landau
Ella Mae Libster
Jean Liebler
Paul B. "Charlie" McCrea
Jake Munitz
Esther Ortman
Dina Rubin
Caesar Saul
Sidney Savage
Hubert B. "Bert" Smith
Harry N. Speyer
Sarah Tononski
Joseph Vaisler
Ruthanne Weinstein
Lester Wells
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The Temple's sympathy is extended to the families of:
Elias David Weinstock, who passed away on March 3, 2021. Eli was the son of Michael and Beth Weinstock; brother of Olivia, Theo, and Annie; grandson of Frank & Saragale Weinstock.
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Temple Israel Endowments
Robert & Shelley Schweitzer Temple Youth Group Endowment
In Memory of
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Lori Libster, by Rob & Shelley Schweitzer
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Elias Weinstock, by Rob & Shelley Schweitzer
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Lois Leb, by Rob & Shelley Schweitzer
Temple Israel Restricted Funds
Mazon Fund - A Jewish Response to Hunger
In Memory of
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Lori Libster, by Corrine Lysikowski; Joyce & Jerry Ortman; Alicia Rozenbom; Barbara Rosenstock; the Reaven Family; Neil & Marie Genshaft
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Ruth Rubenstein, by Barb & Bob Ferne; Joyce & Jerry Ortman
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Gloria Miller by Bob & Barb Ferne; Joyce & Jerry Ortman; the Reaven Family
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Geraldine Branz, by Joyce & Jerry Ortman
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Janie Zoldan, by Meg & Alan Rudick; Sherry & Jerry Kitzen
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Jack Goldman, by Paul & Marilyn Feldman; Adele & Ron Gelb; Bob & Susan Narens
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Lois Leb, by Bev Gross; Eileen & Irv Dinn; Marty & Lois Jacobson
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Elias Weinstock, by Alicia Rozenbom; Eileen & Irv Dinn; Matt & Eileen Saltarelli; Adele & Ron Gelb; Marty & Lois Jacobson; Paul & Marilyn Feldman; Barbara Rosenstock; Mimi Shapiro; Bob & Susan Narens
Recovery of
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Vito Sinopoli, by Joyce & Jerry Ortman
Kiddush Fund
In Memory of
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Robert Weintraub, by Paul & Marilyn Feldman
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Howard Nielsen, by Steve & Denise Nielsen
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Philip Landau, by Estabelle Landau
Bilha Ron Religious School Enrichment Fund
In Memory of
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Lori Libster, by Randi & Bill Smuckler
Floral Fund
In Appreciation of
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Templegrams for daughter's wedding, by Randi & Bill Smuckler
Rabbi's Discretionary Fund
In Memory of
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Janie Zoldan, by Alan Meshekow
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Bob Schweitzer, by Bob & Diane Friedman
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Lori Libster, by Bob & Diane Friedman
In Honor of
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Bernice Friedman, special birthday, by Bob & Diane Friedman
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Temple Israel | www.templeisraelcanton.org
Facebook @templeisraelcanton
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