Temple Israel Logo
E-Bulletin
February 2021 | Shevat - Adar 5781
Rabbi's Message
by Rabbi David Komerofsky

In a few weeks we will welcome the Hebrew month of Adar. Rabbi Solomon Ganzfried, Hungarian author of a 19th century fundamentalist and strictly-interpreted adaptation of the Shulchan Aruch, famously introduced Adar with the phrase: מִשֶׁנִּכְנַס אֲדָר מַרְבִּים בְּשִׂמְחָה – When Adar begins, there is much rejoicing. Let’s hope so! Adar is the month during which we celebrate Purim, and it was right after Purim last year that our world changed so quickly and dramatically. It was the last large in-person gathering for many Jewish communities, followed within the week by the first quarantine lockdown.
In preparation for another Purim, let us reflect on a few of the holiday’s themes and their present relevance:

  • Randomness. The word “purim” means “lots,” for the lots that were cast to determine the date on which Haman would massacre the Jews. There is a certain randomness to much of our lives and it is unsettling. We like predictability and stability, to know what will happen to whom and when and for what reasons. We grow impatient or frustrated when things do not go as we plan. On Purim we confront the random nature of parts of our world and remember that not all is within our control. What is within our control, we can manage. What is not in our control, we can manage only our responses to the randomness.
  • Identity. The Book of Esther is about acculturated and assimilated Persian Jews who have reached the pinnacle of secular society. They are in the palace of the king, yet not fully accepted for who they are. It is a timeless lesson that we can fit in by not standing out, yet it is only by standing out that we can fully be who we are meant to be and do what we are called to do. 
  • Self-Discovery. The name “Esther” means “hidden.” This is the central theme of the holiday, the reason we wear decorative masks to cover our faces (in addition to the lifesaving masks this year!), and the heart of the merriment. We can hide for only so long from ourselves and others. 

Later this month, we will celebrate Purim online with the Chadash kids. They will retell the story of the Megillah and act out the scenes. We cannot yet gather in person, and we can take this lesson one year into this strange, new world: We revise our schedules, adjust our habits, restrict our movements and do whatever is necessary to keep ourselves and others safe and healthy. But we do not allow the harsh realities of the world to postpone our joy. Purim will arrive as scheduled.

May your Adar bring you much rejoicing!
President’s Reflections
by Shelley Schweitzer

Ever since our son played “tallest trumpet” in the middle school band, I’ve said there was a special place in heaven for middle school band directors. I was reminded of that when I watched “Soul,” Disney and Pixar’s inspiring animated fable, which has as its central character a middle school band teacher who has the chance of a lifetime to play at the best jazz club in town. As the plot synopsis says, “one small misstep takes him from the streets of New York City to The Great Before – a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to Earth.”

At the core of this thought-provoking film is a search for meaning, for purpose, for one’s spark. It’s about relationships, self-worth and interdependence. It makes you think about nature and nurture; what is within our control and with what are we “born.”

The Hebrew word for soul is nefesh. Rabbi Marc Margolius says, “We humans come factory-equipped with latent godly qualities and the capacity to actualize them through our words and actions.” He goes on to say that Jewish tradition says that as beings created in God’s image, each of us is endowed with a soul that both reflects and embodies the divine.

Cheshbon hanefesh literally means “accounting of the soul.” This practice helps us assess our habits – both those of the heart and those of the mind – and how they impact our behavior, which in turn leads to an intentional actualization of our values and beliefs.

Pikuach nefesh means saving a life, the most important Jewish value in the compendium. Our texts teach that we can forgo almost any commandment or prohibition in order to preserve life.

So here we are, living in a time when the health and safety of those around us has taken center stage. We have been pushed to reassess our behaviors, to take time to consider what’s really important and to recognize that the seemingly small things that we do for others are in fact, big things for them.

Perhaps your actions have helped someone better understand their purpose or find their spark. Maybe something you said or did helped a person know that they are valued and appreciated. Maybe you encouraged someone to reach out to someone else in a way that deepens or repairs a relationship.

The journey we take with Soul’s middle school band teacher and the characters we encounter along the way results in lessons that reach far beyond the music. Although typically we do cheshbon hanefesh – an accounting of the soul - during the month of Elul prior to the High Holy Days, this teacher taught me not to wait until August (Elul) to think about what’s important and how one misstep may actually lead to a beautiful new path that might otherwise not have been found.
10 Ways Chadash Students Find Happiness and Joy
by Julie Zorn
 
The Hebrew month of Adar begins at sundown on February 11th.  Rosh Chodesh Adar acts as a signal to change our perspective and straighten our crowns… to walk tall and to be silly, for Adar is the month when Purim falls.

There are so many lessons we can take away from the court jesters and the loud whirling groggers drowning out Haman’s name, but perhaps the most important lesson of them all during this time of Covid-19 is to cut loose a little bit and tap into our inner joy.

If you’re struggling to find your happy spirit during this pandemic time, do not fret, Chadash students are experts on the topic. Their exuberance is contagious, and we can all learn from these young members of Canton’s Jewish community.

Here are 10 ways Chadash students find happiness and joy!
 
  1. Celebrating Sweetness – At Rosh Hashanah time, Chadash students gathered together virtually and took part in a Facebook Live Apple Crisp cooking class. Together, they chopped and cored apples, sprinkled cinnamon and sugar, and shared this delicious experience with their siblings, parents, and grandparents!
  2. Cultivating Creativity – Our regional PJ Library chapter gave Sukkot gift bags to the youngest Chadash students this year, and many of them shared photographs of the edible Sukkahs they constructed. Their creativity was impressive, and perhaps we may even have a future architect or two among us.
  3. Getting up and Moving – For the third year in a row, Hebrew Through Movement is part of the Chadash curriculum, and faculty member, Lori Magill, makes sure students of all ages are learning the words to stand up, walk, and sit back down.
  4. Perfecting Paradise – Students in Morah Poole’s Kindergarten-2nd Grade Bible stories class designed and created their own Garden of Eden’s when they learned the story of creation. They paid such attention to details and crafted the perfect paradise.
  5. Living in the Image of G-d – Morah Poole’s art specialty is a favorite among Chadash students, and one week this semester, they gazed at their reflections in the mirror as they created B’etzelim Elohim (Image of G-d), portraits.
  6. Keeping the Sabbath and Making It Holy – Morah Shankle’s unit on Shabbat brought the spirituality of the weekly holiday to her student’s young minds as they created their Challah covers and sang Shabbat songs together. Beyond the celebration, Chadash students recognize that a pause from the week and more time with family is a really good thing.
  7. Spiders Spin Webs – Sammy Spider is a favorite character in Morah Shankle’s Torah Tots class, and her students love to hear stories about how Sammy always finds a way to share the Jewish holidays with the Shapiro family in the house where he lives. His mother always tells him that spiders can’t take part in these human activities and that “spiders spin webs.” Sammy always perseveres though and is determined to defy all the odds.
  8. Making the World a Better Place – When learning about B’nai Mitzvot in Moreh Silverman’s Jewish lifecycles class, his students decided that they wanted to create a Mitzvah project for the community. His 3rd-5th graders facilitated a pet food drive and donated their collections to the Domestic Violence Project.
  9. Recognizing the Miracle of Light – Each week during Havdalah, we talk about how each of us holds a light within us that we can shine out into the world. During Chanukah, this point was really driven as we lit the Chanukiyah as a community and rejoiced in the miracle of oil.
  10. Praying with Our Feet – Morah Wilkof’s class learned the lessons of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel in Selma and “praying with our feet.” They learned that sometimes action is required in order to make change and that the world can be all the better for it. 
Yahrzeits
February 5th

Beverly Beck
Marc Bloom
Richard Brubaker
George Coganow
Dr. Harvey Cohen
Rae Cohen
Rachel Cohodas
Sam Diamond
Lisa Izsak Fenyves
Warren Fuerman
Edith Gale
Joseph David Geduldig
Michael Goldstein
Mayme Gottlieb
Eldy Gross
Nathan Kalvin Grossman
Morris N. Halle
Andrew Hasko
Morris Heller
Ruth Heller
Dr. Beni Hervey
Robert Kane
Reba Kanner
Carl Darwin Luntz
Florence Mendelson
Glenn Pearl
Herbert Rosengard
Grace W. Schory
Louis Shenkan
Rita Siprin
Pauline Smuckler
Henry Speckter
Ralph Vance
Jack M. Wolf

February 12th

Rose Berke
Minnie Block
Morris Block
Julius Chapman
Ernest Cohen
Esther Fenyves Cooper
Harriet Weiner Green
Eldy Gross, Sr.
Robert Herman
Lottie Hoicowitz
Richard Jacobson
Sidney Janning
Saul Kleiman
Lucie Klotz
Roselle Levin
Ida Levine
Jack Levine
Robert Luntz
Frances Minsuk
Helen Monasterio
Rose Helen Mooradian
Bertha C. Nobil
Alva Nordick
Tillie Nusbaum
Estelle R. Ortman
Leonard Rabinowitz
John Rapport
Edgar Roth
Harry Salomon
Ralph Schory
Maria Sigelbaum
Gaye Jacobson Smolin
Jacob Solomon
Malvina Spitzer
Irving Ronald Sweet
Paul Weinberg
Anna Wolin
Chaya Zehori
February 19th

Ruth Steiger Ackerman
Julius Axelrod
Amanda Block
Lewis N. Buxbaum
Lee Cohrac
Ileane Cooper Schwartz
Licia Cosner
Dennis DeLor
Dan Factor
Samuel Fuerman
Freda Glaser
Larry Goldstein
William Goodman
Florence Greene
Ellen Helling
Eugene Hervey
Helen Hirsch
Rose Kades
Bess R. Karelitz
Martha Klett
David Kruman
Lawrence Krupp
Roslyn Levine
Anna Mandel
Florence Mandel
Roy Mostov
Earl Munk
Joan Ostrow
Alice Putterman
William Rau
Michael Refkin
Miriam Refkin
Donna Rogovin
Herbert Saul
Dr. Sol Scholnik
Jean Shepard
Laura Ginsburg Sigel
Evelyn Stern
Simon Tamny
Dr. Allen D. Weinsweig
Jennie Winer

February 26th

Ely Barat
Florence Barron
Solomon Braunstein
Wolford Bryan
Sidney Cohen
Henry L. Diamond
Ellen T. Dinar
Edward Dintenfass
Anne C. Feingold
Dr. Henry H. Fladen
Brent Patrick Gold
Besse Lee Goodman
Harold Greenberg
Gertrude M. Greenberger
Louis Heller
Fannie Horowitz
Elaine Jacobson
Sara R. Levin
Dora Libster
Leon Lichtenberg
Abe Luntz
Sylvia Luntz
John Mancini
Clara Manheim
Nathan Miller
Rose Roth
Sidney Silverman
Katherine M. Steinbaugh
Hyman Weinstein
Esther Winston
Charles Wolk
Jacob Koby Woll
With Our Temple Family
The Temple's sympathy is extended to the families of:

Gloria Tanya Miller, who passed away on January 4, 2021. Gloria was the wife of Billy Miller; mother of Randi (Bill) Smuckler, Howard Miller (Jan Choy), Lori Prescott (Ed O'Hara), and Debbie (Doug) Solomon; grandmother of Ben Miller, Tucker Miller, Megan Smuckler, Hillary Smuckler, Meredith Arnold, Cory Prescott, Sarah Prescott, Sam Solomon, Eric Solomon, and Jacob Solomon; great grandmother of Stella Faye Smuckler. 

Loreen Libster, who passed away on January 25, 2021. Lori was the wife of Neal; mother of Mitchell (Cindy) Libster, Steve (Anne) Barnett, Brenda (Lloyd) Miller, Larry (Becky) Libster, Richard (Terri) Barnett, Catherine (James) Holloway, Marcy Libster Stoller (z'l); sister of JoAnn (Tom) Hornsten and Dave (Beverly) Worshil.

Contributions
Temple Israel Endowments

Lockshin-Goldenfeld Religious School Endowment
In Memory of
  • Sally Lipton, by Shirley Lockshin
  • Mary Lockshin, by Shirley Lockshin
Rabbi John H. Spitzer & Rabbi Jon Adland Restricted Fund for Social Justice & Action
Recovery of
  • Rabbi Spitzer, by Randi & Bill Smuckler
General Endowment
In Appreciation
  • Temple Israel, by Jay Arnold; Matthew Comshaw-Arnold

Temple Israel Restricted Funds

Mazon Fund - A Jewish Response to Hunger
In Memory of
  • Glenn Silverhart, by Dave & Bev Worshil
  • Bob Sharkis, by Dave & Bev Worshil
  • Geraldine Branz, by Barbara & Stanley Rubin; Bob & Susan Narens
  • Gloria Miller, by Barbara & Stanley Rubin; Gail & Ted Goldman; Matt & Eileen Saltarelli; Marilyn & Paul Feldman; Eileen & Irv Dinn
  • Bob Schweitzer, by Jay & Marcia Berke; Betty Smith;
Kiddush Fund
In Memory of
  • Robert & Miriam Weinberg, by Michael & Stephanie Weinberg
  • Samuel & Maurine Black, by Michael & Stephanie Weinberg
  • Martha Klett, by Sue Shafer
  • Howard Klett, by Sue Shafer
  • Richard Shafer, by Sue Shafer
  • Bob Schweitzer, by Diana Collum; Eileen & Irv Dinn
Floral Fund
In Memory of
  • Gwen Balan, by William & Winnifred McGuire
  • Darlene Maxwell, by William & Winnifred McGuire
Community Relations Fund
In Memory of
  • Bob Schweitzer, by Gail & Marshall Bleckman
Recovery of
  • Rabbi Spitzer, by Estelle Blau
  • Lee Karelitz, by Estelle Blau
  • Bruce White, by Estelle Blau
  • Sheryl White, by Estelle Blau
Naomi & Arthur Freedman Library Fund
In Memory of
  • Ethel Sherman, by Randi & Bill Smuckler
Rabbi's Discretionary Fund
In Memory of
  • Geraldine Branz, by Richard Schwarz
Bilha Ron Religious School Enrichment Fund
In Memory of
  • Brother of Dr. Richard & Sandra Cooper, by Randi & Bill Smuckler
  • Bob Schweitzer, by Randi & Bill Smuckler
  • Gloria Miller, by Randi & Bill Smuckler
Temple Israel | www.templeisraelcanton.org

Facebook @templeisraelcanton