The Star January 2023 • Tevet/Shevat 5783

The Star

Monthly newsletter from

Congregation Beth Elohim

in Acton, Massachusetts

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Welcome to 2023!

It has been a great adventure reimagining The Star over the last several months; from Q+As with clergy and staff to wedding planning to no-fuss latkes. It evolved to became more than we’d ever envisioned, and we’ve averaged over 400 views per issue.

After a recent debrief and assessment of the newsletter creation process, the editorial team agreed that moving the publication schedule to alternate months will make the project more sustainable for all involved.

With this in mind, this January issue is just a “mini” version, and we will follow with a full newsletter in February. Below, find a brief look at our communications team; a Chelm column with a timely Martin Luther King, Jr., question, and the monthly acknowledgement of donations.

We have received such wonderful feedback from the community so far and we look forward to continuing to bring fun, relevant and meaningful content to CBE every other month. See you again in February!

Greetings from CBE's communications team

A little over a year ago a group of CBE volunteers came together as an ad hoc communications team, coordinating various functions and meeting regularly with CBE administrator Shoshana Zuckerman. Our functions include the CBE and ELC websites; ShulCloud lists and email functions; the monthly Star and weekly Star-Lite newsletters; drafting policy; graphic design and printing; social media and external publicity. It’s been really satisfying to have a team – but we almost never get to see each other in person. So, this past Friday morning we met at the Acton Coffee House — just for the fun of it. Happy New Year from the whole team! From left to right: Maida Fund, Beth Schrager, Rick Green, Lauren Solomon, Gary Budiansky and Ellen Krueger.

The People of Chelm Want to Know...

For years the “People of Chelm” column has challenged The Star readers with questions drawn from the long and rich history of Jews and Judaism. We are delighted to continue this tradition, with abundant thanks to Bob Ferrara and Waky.

Illustration by Maurice Sendak.

QUESTION: On January 16^th, Beth Elohim hosts our 21^st annual Martin Luther King Day celebration. It is a special honor to have Tanisha Sullivan, President of the Boston branch of the NAACP, as our guest speaker. Dr. King’s leadership and oratory continue to inspire us to engage the still unfinished work of the civil rights movement. His words struck a deep chord with African Americans and also among Jews, many of whom eagerly joined his cause. Some even died for it, like Andrew Goodman and Mickey Schwerner, murdered by the Klu Klux Klan during the hot Mississippi summer of 1964. Black-Jewish relations were never stronger than when Dr. King was the undisputed leader of the civil rights movement, before his 1968 assassination in Memphis. Besides inspired leaders and workers, however, community organizations also need money to make an impact. In Dr. King’s days, were Jewish people also generous with financial help as they were with sympathy for the civil rights cause? .

Ponder your response – and find the answer further along in this email.

What's happening at CBE this month?

Visit our online calendar for up-to-the-minute programming.

Donations

The congregation thanks our members, their relatives and friends, and the larger community for donations received during the month of December. If you do not see your donation, please look for it in our next newsletter, or contact communications@bethelohim.org.

Adult Education Fund

Stephen Richter / In memory of Diane Richter

Amy Naparstek Israel Scholarship Fund

Linda & Denis Friedman / Loving birthday wishes in honor of our friend Chips Naparstek

Chips & David Naparstek / In loving memory of David’s mother, Ida K. Naparstek, on the occasion of her yahrzeit

Chips & David Naparstek / In loving memory of Chips’s father, Ben Harris, on the occasion of his yahrzeit

Chips & David Naparstek / In memory of our beloved daughter, Amy, on the occasion of her yahrzeit

Rabbi Michael Luckens & Sharon Schumack

Building Fund

Mark & Elaine Kahan

Cantoral Fund

Daniel & Allison Forseter / In honor of Cantor Sarra in her efforts to prepare our son, Finley Forseter, for his Bar Mitzvah on 11.26.22. The support and encouragement she provided was critical to his success and confidence.

Stephen Richter / In memory of Diane Richter

Jeff & Mindy Fishman / Thank you for your help and guidance preparing for Alexa's Bat Mitzvah!

Mark & Elaine Kahan

Chesed Fund

Stephen Richter

Choir Fund

Mark & Elaine Kahan

Les & Judy Kramer / In memory of Aileen Hammerman, mother of Shelley Green

Les & Judy Kramer / In memory of George Thomas, father of Henry Thomas

Les & Judy Kramer / In memory of Arielle Sokol, sister of Ethan Sokol

General Fund

Rita & Larry Grossman / In memory of Leo Kelmar

Lindsay & Erik Rosenman / For Giving Tuesday

Les & Judy Kramer / In memory of Tina Kaplan

Danya, Michelle and the entire Rabbi Search Committee / In memory of Aurora Carruthers-Grey's grandmother, Mildred Veronica Galvin

Chris & Michelle Siegert / In memory of Leo Kelmar, father of Dan Kelmar. May his name be for a blessing.

High Holiday Appeal

Benjamin Bloomstone & Danya Zimmer-Bloomstone

David & Amy Leers

Edward & Michele Adelman

Iris Stutman

Jon and Wendy Linden

Linda Minkoff / In honor of Rabbi Lewis Mintz and his many years of continued service to the CBE community.

Mark & Elaine Kahan / We are so very blessed! Thank you all so much for what you do on our collective behalf!

Paul & Jennifer Friedman

Steven & Susan Michelson

Taylor Curtis & Jess Rosenblatt

The Zwirn Family

Tina & Steven Bloom

Tom & Marlene Wachtell

William & Leslie Schroeder

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Event

Sandra Roschelle & Peter Darlow

Robert & Deena Ferrara

Lauren Solomon

Denis & Linda Friedman

David Martin

Chips & David Naparstek

Na'aseh Fund

Linda & Denis Friedman / Mazel tov to Sari and David Kelly on becoming grandparents to Rosa Kelly

Rabbi Lewis Mintz Fund

Stephen Richter

Mark & Elaine Kahan

Rabbi's Discretionary Fund

Daniel & Allison Forseter / In honor of Finley Forseter's bar mitzvah on 11.26.22 and in appreciation of the support provided to him by Rabbi David

Edward & Nancy Kleiman / In memory of the Ed's father, Louis Kleiman, on the occasion of his yahrzeit

Jeff & Mindy Fishman / Thank you for the help leading up to Alexa's Bat Mitzvah!

The People of Chelm Want to Know...

ANSWER TO QUESTION POSED ABOVE: Reverend Martin Luther King had a very special affection for Jewish people, and the feeling was mutual. In fact, during the heyday of the civil rights movement in the 50’s and 60’s, it is estimated that Jews contributed about half of the support funds – far out of proportion to their numbers in the general population or even the progressive community. It is worth noting that Dr. King also had a special connection with the Boston area. He received his doctorate at Boston University. His use of nonviolent civil disobedience to achieve social goals earned him a Nobel Prize as he further developed this great tradition, rooted in the writings of Concord’s Henry David Thoreau, that India’s great Mahatma Gandhi brought to the world’s attention.

Resources

CBE's Chesed Committee | Contact us in a time of need

18 Doors (formerly InterfaithFamily of Greater Boston)

Anti-Defamation League incident reporting

CJP (Combined Jewish Philanthropies)

CJP SeniorDirect

Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life

Hadassah of Nashoba Valley Facebook

Hebrew College

Jewish Bereavement Support Group

JewishBoston.com

Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston

Jewish Family Service of Metrowest

Keshet | A national organization that works for full LGBTQ equality and inclusion in Jewish life

Mayyim Hayyim | Living Waters Community Mikveh

Oneinforty.org | BRCA awareness, education, and support

Yad Chessed | Emergency financial assistance to Jewish individuals and families in need

Yerusha.com | A Website for Older Childless Jews

Visit the Resources page on our website for our complete resource list.

Feedback/get in touch with us!

Let us know what you think!

Do you like the new format? What about the content? If there is an individual or effort you’d like to see featured, please let us know!

Please also don't hesitate to let us know if you had any issues with downloading, reading, or if you had any issues accessing your email version of The Star.

For all of the above, please write to communications@bethelohim.org.

Until next time,

The Star editorial and design team —

Gary Budiansky, Maida Fund, Rick Green, Beth Schrager, Lauren Solomon, Shoshana Zuckerman

Visit us at www.bethelohim.org