• 25th Anniversary Extravaganza Weekend
• Annual Congregational Meeting Approaches!
• A Message From Your President
• Teen Drop-In Center
• B.A. Members' Party
• B.A. Family Joins Rabbi's Family to Celebrate Bat-Mitzvah
• Musical Shabbat Delight
• Tu B'Shevat Poe-tree
• Men's Club Rehoboth Trip Coming Soon!
• A Men's Club Outing
• Wanted: A Few Good Men
• A Thought to Ponder
• UAHC Biennial Notes
• Remembering Bobby Bambery

Do you like to eat? Do you like to learn? And, most importantly, do you like to party? If the answer to any of these questions is "yes," the B.A. 25th Anniversary Extravaganza Weekend has something for you.

This weekend, being hosted by the Men's Club, from May 19 to 21, is an important one for B.A. It is an opportunity for us to welcome the larger G/L/B/T Jewish community to B.A. The event is being publicized in both New York and Washington, D.C. It is also our major fundraiser for the year. The 25th Anniversary committee hopes to raise over $20,000 from this event.

The cornerstone of the weekend will be an elegant awards dinner at the Holiday Inn at 4th and Arch, immediately followed by a rock 'n roll dance party. The dinner will honor Malcolm Lazin and Rebecca Alpert, B.A. members who have made an impact on the G/L/B/T/Q and Jewish communities. Attendees are encouraged to wear "formal or festive" attire. The rock 'n roll dance party following the dinner will feature a DJ and an intense party attitude.

Of great significance to the greater Jewish community is the seminar to be held Saturday afternoon. Twice Blessed - Then and Now is a panel discussion that includes several of the authors of the book Twice Blessed, which was published 10 years ago. This seminar will include Rabbi Leila Berner, who wrote a chapter in the book under the pseudonym La Escondida (The Hidden One). While Rabbi Berner has been "out" for many years, this will be her first public appearance as an "out" author of the book.

Mark your calendars! Thursday, May 25th, is the date for the annual Beth Ahavah membership meeting. This important meeting is when the congregation approves the budget and elects board members for the coming year.

This year, in order to come up with the best compromise between not letting anyone question prospective board members and anarchy, the board has developed a different way of running the meeting.

If you have a question you would like to ask a prospective board member, you can submit it in advance, either by U.S. Mail (Attn: Nominating Committee) or by email. The Nominating Committee will then batch the questions, looking for common concerns from a majority of congregants. These questions will be provided to all nominees before the meeting. Each nominee will prepare his/her answers to the questions, along with any statements they want to make. The board hopes that by collecting questions first, congregants will be able to learn more about the nominees in a shorter period of time (remember, the meeting is on a weeknight!).

I have been spending a lot of time lately thinking about money. You may ask, "Is she thinking about tax season?" No. As many of you know, I am not an accountant. However, around this time, I usually find myself thinking about money. Why? Because it is BUDGET TIME. Budget time is a time when the treasurer and I present a (hopefully) balanced budget to the Executive Committee, the Board and then finally, to you, our members at the Annual Congregational Meeting on May 25.

Budget time is a time to reassess (as we do each year) our dues structure. In working on the budget, three questions that always come up are:

1. Are our members paying too much or not enough?
2. Is the structure that we use (the Fair Share Dues system) working? With this system, each person determines his or her fair share based on what he or she earns,. This allows those who earn very little to be members with as much dignity as those who are fortunate to earn more. With this system, we trust each individual member to fairly assess his or her earnings. Is that happening or do people take advantage of that trust?
3. Is the amount of dues commensurate with the amount of income that we need in order to sustain and eventually increase the programming and services to the community?

All of these questions need to be answered… and more.

Budget time is a time when our thoughts turn to fundraising. One of the key components of our budget has always been some form of fundraising. Over the past several years we held the Purim Gayla. This year, we will be celebrating our 25th Anniversary the weekend of May 19-21. This weekend, hosted by the Men's Club, will include a variety of activities beginning with a pre-Shabbat Dinner and Shabbat services on Friday night. On Saturday, we will begin with Shabbat morning services, continue with an amazing set of seminars and wind up the evening with an elegant dinner and dance party. At the dinner, we will be honoring two very special people: Malcolm Lazin and Professor Rebecca Alpert. As gay and lesbian Jews, both exemplify the spirit of continued service and dedication to our community. A lively rock 'n roll dance party will follow the dinner. On Sunday, the Men's Club has planned a wonderful brunch and workshop as a great end to the celebration.

Additionally, to commemorate this milestone anniversary, we are assembling a tribute book. You should have received a letter inviting you to send your wishes to the congregation by placing an ad in it. If you did not, please let me know and I will send one to you. Our goal for this project is to earn $20,000. Help us reach our goal by submitting an ad and by selling ads to the people you come in contact with daily. If you want to see copies of the tribute book for our 10th Anniversary, give Lewis a call and stop by the office.

As we move into our second quarter-century, we must be more serious about finances and fundraising. If we want our congregation to continue to grow, we must take financial responsibility for it. Please, whether it is for the Tribute Book, for dues, or just donating for the sake of tzedakah, give and give generously. The health of the congregation rests on each of us.

L'shalom

B.A. has formed a committee to organize the Drop-In Center for Jewish gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning teens. The establishment of this center has been funded by a grant B.A. received from the Shefa Fund.

The grand opening of the center is planned for late May. The center will then operate at the synagogue on the second Sunday afternoon of the each month starting in June. It is hoped that college students will staff the center. We will be working with the gay Jewish student groups to identify volunteers. These students will work under the guidance of Rabbi Rolle. In addition, we hope to have B.A. members volunteer as "hosts" at one of the monthly meetings.

We will be linking with other organizations so we do not duplicate services available in the community. Our center will be distinctly for G/L/B/T/Q teens who are Jewish. Prior to opening, we will be launching a program to publicize the center. This will be done by letters to Jewish professionals, a public relations/media campaign, and paid advertisements. The center can only succeed if people know about it and we hope B.A. members will help us provide "word of mouth."

The sanctuary rocked. Was it a raucous rabbi? No, just former-Yeshiva-student- now-comedian at the B.A. Mid-Winter Members' Party. The evening started with a wonderful dinner continued with hysterical comedy and ended with delicious homemade desserts.

Our comic spoke on a variety of topics. His idea of the gay mehitzah? Put women between the men. What's wrong with the abbreviation LGBT? They left out a very important group: fag hags. His idea of heaven and hell? You had to be there to hear it. Then, there are definitions of gay and straight: Latte - gay. Cappuccino - gay. Coffee - straight. Half & Half - bisexual.

Topics ranged from Bible-belt Christians, to a gay bar in Lincoln, Nebraska, to working at an archaeological site in Israel. He was unique and genuinely funny. When he started to talk about an event where gays and lesbians each sat on a different side of the room, we looked around and sure enough we were segregated! But we were all united in laughter and warmed by it.

On February 26, Aviva Schechter, daughter of Rabbis Phil Schecter Schechter and Liz Rolle, became a Bat Mitzvah. About a dozen B.A. members traveled to Manalapan, NJ, to be present as Aviva was called to the Torah. It was such an honor to witness this special event, as she not only chanted her portions (Ki Tissa - Exodus 33: 12-23 and Haftarah - I Kings 18:20-39), led prayers and spoke to the congregation, but withstood the pressure of doing so as the daughter of two rabbis, one of whom is the long-standing rabbi of that very synagogue. Rabbi Schecter later pointed out that Aviva personally translated her Torah and Haftarah portions into English, which she read to the congregation. She also had the congregation laughing when she turned around on the bima to pointedly look at her parents as she read a section referring to "pension." The congregation also had the pleasure of listening to both the cantor (on the bima) and Rabbi Rolle (in the front row) sing a prayer in beautiful harmony. Aviva truly led the service with her command of the prayers, her knowledge of her portions and her excellent singing voice.

Toward the end of the service, Aviva's parents addressed her with their personal comments and reflections. Rabbi Rolle's voice broke at several points, which had many on the verge of tears. Aviva was further honored when the president of the synagogue presented her with gifts from the Men's Club and the Sisterhood, and announced that upon her confirmation, she will receive a scholarship for a trip to Israel.

The service was followed by "hamotzi" and a lavish lunch buffet, which included mini-sandwiches, bagels, tuna and egg salad, tossed salad, fresh veggie tray, coffee/tea/soda, fruit salad and much more. The scrumptious array of desserts was a chocoholic's delight: a visual and gastronomic feast of chocolate and cream-filled items. Although everyone ate to their tummies' contents, all were invited to take home leftovers as well. Throughout the luncheon, a wonderful band (who set up on the bima!) played toe-tapping, sometimes sing-a-long versions of Jewish/Hebraic tunes, some of which were the tunes to prayers themselves.

What a treat! On Friday, February 25th, B.A.'s Shabbat services were led by Judy R. and Joyce R. of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, New York. Judy is a cantorial soloist at CBST, and clarinetist. She holds a Master's degree in Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary and an MSW from Columbia. Judy led services with grace and together, we did truly "sing unto the Lord a joyful song!" Joyce serves as musical director at CBST and is an internationally known pianist, conductor, teacher, coach and arranger of Jewish music, performing in concert throughout the world. She had, in fact, just returned from engagements in Israel. Joyce accompanied us beautifully on our recently-tuned piano.

Congregation Beth Ahavah members and friends packed the sanctuary. There wasn't an empty seat to be found and chairs were added wherever space allowed. No one was complaining, though, as we were encouraged to try new tunes and join in familiar melodies.

Even the d'rash was a musical event. The week's parsha, Ki Tissa, from Exodus, deals primarily with the minutiae of building the tabernacle and the return of Moses with the Ten Commandments. Embedded in the text are the familiar words we repeat in every Shabbat service, the V'shameru: "Let Israel's descendants keep Shabbat, making Shabbat throughout all their generations." Our musical service leaders explored the meanings in the text through the various musical settings given to those words throughout history.

Suffusing worship with song is a moving experience. I know that, for me, during the years when I stayed away from synagogues totally, on Saturday mornings I would pop a Debbie Friedman or Ofra Haza CD into the stereo maintaining a tenuous connection to my heritage through Jewish music. As Chair of the Adult Education Committee, looking through the impressive catalog of classes offered by CBST, the synagogue which serves the gay & lesbian Jewish community in NYC, I was immediately attracted to classes which explored the connections between Judaism and music. As a much larger congregation, CBST supports a Musical Director, a choir, and a cantorial soloist for the High Holidays. Would they consider doing a program in Philadelphia? They would.

Friday night, January 21st, was a different type of Shabbat.
That's because we spent our service celebrating Tu B'Shevat!
For an hour and a half, we planned to hold a seder,
But before anyone knew it, it ran 30 minutes later!

Every seder requires four cups of wine.
And being Jews, of course we did dine!
Cantaloupe, peaches - there was lots of food.
That put us all in a festive mood!

The third annual Men's Club trip to Rehoboth is fast approaching. What started as a simple Sunday brunch a long way from Center City has evolved into a fun, relaxing weekend in Delaware's gay-friendly resort.

Like last year, the group will be staying at the Whitson Inn, only a block away from the Blue Moon. This prime, in-town location lets you park your car and walk to Poodle Beach, or stagger home after happy hour (without even crossing the street!).

The format for the weekend is very simple: there is none. There are plenty of opportunities to tan, shop and dine, and plenty of friendly B.A. folks to hang out with.

Details are as follows:

	Date:	June 2-4, 2000
	Place:	The Whitson Inn
		30 Maryland Avenue
		Rehoboth, DE 19971
		302-227-7966
	Payment:	Directly to the Whitson Inn. They do not accept credit cards.

The Beth Ahavah Men's Club has the following rooms guaranteed until April 20. All rooms have a two-night minimum stay.

4 single beds, private bath - $65/night
1 double bed, private bath - $55/night
1 double bed, 1 single bed, shared bath - $50/night
2 single beds, shared bath - $45/night

The Whitson Inn has a few other rooms that are configured slightly differently. However, only these are reserved until April 20th. To reserve a room, contact the Whitson Inn directly and tell them you're with the Beth Ahavah Men's Club. They require one night's deposit by April 20th, with the remainder due at check out.

A congenial group of B.A. members convened for brunch on a gray Sunday in February to eat, schmooze, and kibbitz at Fork in Old City.

Our pre-Valentine's Day visit found the restaurant packed. Our party squeezed in at a long table reserved in advance and enjoyed the food, company, and atmosphere of the busy downtown eatery. For some, it was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends, and for others, it was a chance to make new ones.

The postion of chairperson of the B.A. Men's club is currently vacant. If you are interested in chairing or co-chairing the Men's Club, B.A. could use your help. Duties involve planning or coordinating the planning of approximately eight events per year. Events can include brunches, trips to museums, hikes, ice-skating or pretty much anything that encourages a group of gay Jewish men and their friends to socialize.

If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly be heard of; but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and obtuse learning are also way out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world in all the ages, and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself and be excused for it.

The Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, and faded to dream stuff and passed away. The Greeks and the Romans followed and made a vast noise and they are gone. Other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time. But it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished.

The Jew saw them all. Beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind.

All things are mortal but the Jew.

All other forces pass, but he remains.

What is the secret of his immortality?...

In his address after receiving the Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award for service to the Reform movement at the UAHC Biennial, December 17, 1999 Rabbi David Saperstein called the battle with the religious right "a struggle for the soul of America." He told the assembly that the Religious Action Center led the fight against a constitutional amendment "that took a sledgehammer to the wall of separation of church and state. America needs to find real solutions to real problems."

"If the Ten Commandments are inscribed on the hearts of our children by our families and our houses of worship, then they can make a difference. But if they are to be posted as visual Muzak, as backdrops in classrooms, they will do as much for morality in our classrooms as Gideon Bibles have done for morality in our motel rooms."

The following remebrances were written by two members of Beth Ahavah

B.A. member Bobby Bambery died February 2, 2000 from complications due to AIDS, a few months after his 40th birthday. Many of you may not have known him. I only met him once in person, but got to know him from frequent outreach calls that I made in my role as Bikur Holim chair. Let me tell you about him: he was nice, he was a queen with a big fur coat he liked to talk about (and that he liked to wear at home to upset his mom). He was a geriatric nurse for many years, had a nice sense of humor, and was surrounded by friends. Forty of them were at his memorial service at B.A. He had a lover for many years, Larry Barchman. Larry and their friends cared for Bobby while he was sick. He was a Jew by choice and very proud of that. Though not frequently seen he was one of our members and therefore, now is our loss. I write this to you feeling very privileged that I connected briefly with him during his decline. If you cannot put a face with the name, then take the image I give you and say Kaddish for him either by yourself, at services, or ask me to do it for you. As Bikur Holim chair, I get to speak with those you often don't see. Experiences like this keep me in this role.

I knew Bobby from a series of mailing parties at B.A., perhaps three or four years ago, before he got too sick to continue. I loved having him there because we had great conversations, because he was sweet as could be, funny, and even with his peripheral neuropathy was born to stuff envelopes . You should have seen how fast he moved. When he couldn't make it to mailing events, he would make phone calls from home to help out. I spent a lot of time the past few weeks thinking about him, missing him.