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December 2003/January 2004
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The Shofar is a bi-monthly newsletter from Congregation
Beth Ahavah.
Previous editions of the newsletter are available in the
Shofar Archives.
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Articles from this issue of the newsletter:
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A Pillar for BA
Jerry Silverman has vision and initiative. It was his vision in 1975, along with that of Bill Cohen, to see the need for a synagogue to serve the gay community in Philadelphia. It was Jerry's initiative that resulted in the founding of Congregation Beth Ahavah (along with four other men) in his living room on South 22nd Street. The synagogue thrives 28 years later.
Commitment to people and causes has been the hallmark of Jerry's life. In addition to serving in many leadership positions at BA, including being the first President, Jerry has also served as the Chairman of the SEPTA Citizen Advisory Committee, President of the Gratz College Student Association, was elected as a Democratic Committee-man, and recently volunteered at an army base in Israel. Jerry's biggest commitment now is to his mom at the Uptown Home, and to Shayna, an exuberant and lovable dog who entered his life two years ago.
Jerry teaches mathematics and science at Philadelphia's prestigious High School for Creative and Performing Arts. He is also the Educational Director of the Hebrew School at Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel, where he was recently honored for his ten years of service.
Beth Ahavah and the difference BA has made in the lives of others makes Jerry feel proud. "So many people tell me how it (BA) has changed their lives and that gives me naches." Jerry says his closest friends are a direct result of his involvement at BA.
"That is probably the most important thing about BA to me."
Believing BA can play a significant role in the future for the l/g/b Jewish community, he comments: "Getting l/g/b people to see that being Jewish is more than just being religious, and that if they want to help the community politically, the synagogue can be a strong voice." Commenting about the current status of BA, he says, "It's certainly bigger and stronger than 28 years ago. We have our own space, greater balance between the sexes, more involvement in the larger Jewish world, and greater respect in the community."
Jerry recently informed BA that he has included the synagogue in his estate plan. "I want to urge people to remember that a positive connection to BA can change one's life forever. If this has been the case for any reader, then some kind of financial support is critical for giving that same wonderful experience to another person in the future." Thanks to his vision and initiative, Jerry's commitment now extends to future generations of l/g/b Jews.
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President's Message by Shelly Komito
Time; what a precious commodity for each of us. How often do we neglect to do something important because we simply don't have the time? It was easy for me to put off exercising until I happened to find a book called-Eight Minutes in the Morning-which designs exercise programs to be done in, you guessed it, eight minutes in the morning. The author of the book, familiar with hearing people's excuses for not exercising ("I don't have time") found that even the busiest of people could find eight minutes in the morning!
At the URJ Biennial Assembly in Minneapolis, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie also addressed the issue of finding time for something important. "Who among us is so busy that he cannot spend 10 minutes a day in the study of a Jewish text? Just 10 minutes. Such a commitment would enable us to meet our Jewish obligation to make Jewish study a fixed occurrence. If we make time to answer our cell phone a dozen times a day and to check our email five times an hour, surely we can find 10 minutes to contemplate sacred words that nourish the soul."
So, how can you make this happen? The Union will send you a one-page email each day on a topic of Jewish interest. All you need to do is find 10 minutes a day to "do Torah." It only takes 10 minutes a day to get started on a lifelong journey. Spend 10 minutes a day between now and the Biennial in 2005 and, before you know it, you'll have completed 100 hours of Torah study! Each weekday morning, beginning November 24, an email will be delivered to your inbox for you to study at your convenience. The process is simple. You choose the time to study, and the Union's Department of Lifelong Jewish Learning will provide the resources.
If you have never done Torah study before, I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised by how it can enhance your life. I was skeptical and actually timid before I began any Torah study. I found it to be a wonderful way of making a personal connection to Jewish texts or issues. Sign up by visiting
www.uahc.org/torah/ten. I have a feeling that you will enjoy it so much you'll "find the time" to study Torah at BA the last Shabbat of each month!
B'Shalom,
Shelly
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BA Establishes Fund at The Philadelphia Foundation
During 2002 and 2003 the BA Special Gifts Committee met to establish use guidelines for gifts to the congregation from bequests. Recognizing that bequest gifts can be substantial and that BA can not predict when a bequest might be received, the Board asked the Special Gifts Committee to develop a policy for how gifts from estates would be used at BA. After months of reviewing how other non-profit organizations and synagogues handle bequest gifts, a policy was recommended by the committee. The Board approved the policy (copy available upon request).
As part of the policy BA established a $10,000 fund at The Philadelphia Foundation. The Philadelphia Foundation is a community foundation established in 1918. As of December, 2002, The Philadelphia Foundation had assets of $192 million. The fund established by BA will be invested and managed by the professional advisors at The Philadelphia Foundation. When a bequest gift is received by BA, a substantial portion of the bequest will be added to the fund for BA's ongoing financial support. The fund at The Philadelphia Foundation will also be used to invest special gifts from BA supporters who establish a fund during their lifetime to benefit Beth Ahavah.
Thanks to the members of the Special Gifts Committee for their work and expertise on this important matter. They are Rie Brosco, Scott Gansl, David Gold, Ted Greenberg, Marcia Kesten, Malcolm Lazin, Mike Valoris, and Lynn Zeitlin.
If you would like information about including BA in your estate plan, or about establishing a special fund for the ongoing support of BA, please call President Shelly Komito. All inquiries will be held in confidence.
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BA Honors Its Pillars of Pride
At a special Shabbat service in September, a group of dedicated congregants were honored as charter members of the newly established Pillars of Pride Society at Congregation Beth Ahavah. The Pillars of Pride Society was formed to honor those individuals, members and non-members, who have included BA in their estate plans. Services were led by two of BA's most dedicated members - Rie Brosco and Naomi Segal. President Shelly Komito invited to the bimah those "Pillars" who were present. She presented each of them with a silver pin in recognition of the commitment they have made to the future of BA. A champagne oneg followed services. The charter members are Gloria Becker, Rie Brosco, Phyllis Ehrlich, Carol Fisher, Abbe Forman, Scott Gansl, David Gold, Joe Gritz, Shelly Komito, David Nejberger, Elyse Rosen, Ruth Schachter, Naomi Segal, Jerry Silverman, Mike Valoris, Mort Wernik, and Lynn Zeitlin. An honor board will be installed shortly in the oneg room to honor present and future members of the Pillars of Pride Society.
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Minneapolis, MN: A Cool Place for the Biennial by Shelly Komito
In November, I had the privilege of representing Congregation Beth Ahavah at the Union for Reform Judaism 67th Biennial Assembly. It is energizing and exciting to study, worship, and celebrate with 5,000 Reform Jews. It is also very worthwhile to exchange ideas and problem-solve with other congregational leaders. The goal, of course, is to bring the information back home to all of you. I had a terrific time singing in the Biennial Choir (several hundred voices strong), and meeting interesting people from all over the country, but I think that the most stimulating and timely information I can present to you would be to highlight the very important Initiatives introduced at the Biennial.
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, in his address to the Biennial Assembly, proposed four initiatives that will enrich our lives and our synagogues, and enhance Judaism at home and throughout the world. I spoke about one of these initiatives in my President's Message, 10 Minutes of Torah. The three other initiatives I would like to share with you now.
Packing for College: Where Does Judaism Fit?
While virtually all religious school students celebrate a bar or bat mitzvah, more than a third of them disappear from synagogue life after the ceremony, and most of those who remain until confirmation are gone after tenth grade. The result is that too many of our sons and daughters, nieces and nephews get to college Jewishly lost. They are uncertain of their practice and beliefs and unable to defend their Jewish convictions. They must face the crisis that college represents without the Jewish armor that might have prepared them to meet that crisis. Therefore, the Union has created Packing for College, a course for 11th and 12th graders. It deals with questions about Judaism that teens are likely to be asked and suggests ways to advocate for Israel. The curriculum will be available online at www.urj.org/packingforcollege/.
Open Doors, Open Minds: Synagogues and Churches Studying Together
During the past two years most of us have been exposed to more anti-Semitic discourse than we have encountered in our entire lives. We find it today in right-wing nationalism and left-wing anti-globalism, in radical Islam and reactionary forms of Christianity. The Union has joined with four Christian denominations in calling for dialogue and has prepared the Open Doors, Open Minds curriculum. Congregations are asked to join with a church in the community and commit to seven sessions at which adult learners will come together to learn about common aspects of our history and about critical distinctions; to engage in joint study of sacred texts; and to participate in a structured conversation concerning Israel and the Middle East conflict. The full curriculum will be available online at www.uahc.org/opendoors.
Hineini: An Opportunity to Connect, an Obligation to Support
Rabbi Yoffie asks that we make K'lal Yisrael more central to our movement's concerns by supporting synagogues and promoting religious life in Israel, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union. As Reform Jews, our responsibility in this area is especially heavy. We are the largest religious Movement in the Jewish world and, because we are strong and live in freedom, we have a special obligation to world Jewry and Jews in distress. Our primary task in the Jewish world is to support synagogues and to promote religious life wherever Jews are found. Israel, which has a special place in our hearts, requires a religious response as well as a political one to the terror and turmoil she faces. In Eastern Europe, Reform synagogues are participating in one of the great miracles of Jewish history by attracting Jews back to their roots after nearly seventy years of Communism. However, in difficult economic times, these growing communities do not have the resources that we enjoy here. We must lift our voices on their behalf and help them wherever we can. In this spirit, Rabbi Yoffie proposes that we undertake to foster among our members a sense of mission and spirit of service to the Jewish people.
These four Initiatives from the 67th URJ Biennial resonate strongly for me with our "Freedom Rings for Everyone Campaign" as well as our initiative of Congregation Beth Ahavah: Partners With the Community. We need to make a commitment to these initiatives individually and as a community to advance the cause of Israel and affirm the unity of the Jewish people.
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Freedom Rings for Everyone
The Freedom Rings for Everyone Committee is pleased to introduce the second module of the campaign: a celebration of our Freedom of Speech. Upcoming programming for this module will include movie nights, a speaker panel, a social action event, and a comedy night. Check the website and watch for flyers in the mail.
The following letter to the editor was written eight years ago by a Beth Ahavah member. Despite the passage of time and the progress our community has made, the letter's theme is still relevant today. Equally relevant is the imperative for all of us to continue the vigilant exercise of our right to free speech. Read what's out there and respond by talking about it, voicing your opinion, or writing your own letter to the editor.
Boycott the Exponent? Alarming idea, at best
(from Letters to the Editor section of the Jewish Exponent, June 9, 1995)
I read Sidney Goldstein's recent letter to the editor (May 19) with some dismay. He proposes a boycott of the Jewish
Exponent until the paper discontinues its coverage of the gay and lesbian Jewish community.
Setting aside, for a moment, the obvious homophobic overtones of that suggestion, I find it alarming that any enlightened individual would recommend such censorship. What will we do next? Start burning books we don't like?
I believe that the Jewish Exponent is an appropriate forum for discussion of every aspect of Jewish life. As an alternative to censorship, I think readers should just turn the page when they find an article they don't want to read. Although I must say, I don't really see the point. Will you strengthen your moral character by refusing to read about specific topics? I don't so. Seems to me you will only increase the depth of your own ignorance.
As for Mr. Goldstein's belief that being gay and Jewish is an oxymoron, it doesn't surprise me. I held a similar view myself until not long ago. As a matter of fact, I spent a good portion of my adolescence and young adulthood trying to figure out which part of myself to suppress, the gay part or the Jewish part.
Now, at the ripe old age of 30-something, I can look back with the eyes of experience and realize that there was never a need for such self-evisceration. But how was I to know? I never saw, heard, or read anything about gay and lesbian Jews back then.
Today, I am a member of the gay and lesbian synagogue of Philadelphia, and, thanks to the Jewish Exponent and other public formats, I frequently see reflections of myself in the media. What a completely natural way for things to be. I would like to think that such public validation will enable today's gay, Jewish youth to grow up feeling whole and comfortable with themselves.
So, many thanks to the Jewish Exponent for its continued coverage of issues affecting the gay and lesbian Jewish community. And as for Mr. Goldstein and his ilk, I personally have always believed that being Jewish and a bigot is an oxymoron.
Leslie Polss
Board of Directors' Secretary
Congregation Beth Ahavah
Philadelphia
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BA Interfaith Chair Attends GLBT Christian Conference
This past August, my partner and I walked into Houston Hall at the University of Pennsylvania and into the WOW-2003, Welcome Our Witness Conference, a conference for Christian glbt's and their friends. We took our place at the information table as part of the Dignity volunteers who were staffing the table.
One of the highlights of the conference was a showing of the film, Trembling before G-d. Unfortunately, the Conference Chair informed me that Rabbi Steve Greenberg had called to say that he wouldn't be able to get down to Philadelphia to lead the scheduled discussion group after the showing of the film. This was the same morning that large parts of the northeast experienced the big blackout.
It was quiet when we entered the discussion session and I was introduced as a member of Beth Ahavah, the l/g/b Jewish congregation in town. "Ric has seen the film and is good friends with Rabbi Steve Greenberg and maybe could be prevailed upon to talk about it, or answer any question about the film that you might have." So I agreed (I was too far from the exit to get out gracefully). I made it clear that I had not worked with Steve Greenberg on the film and I had not been part of the production of the film. Then the questions began.
Thus began an impromptu Judaism 101. This film was their first contact with Orthodox Judaism. So, since I was the only Jew present, I tried to faithfully and fairly represent all of the various Jewish points of view and answer their questions, which included giving a brief synoptic history of the emergence of Judaism in America.
Rabbi Greenberg had asked me to tell the group that the DVD was coming out in late October. There was so much interest in this topic, that I left the conference with a list of 21 names of people who wanted to buy a copy of Trembling before G-d.
One final note, the National Dignity Convention will be held in Philadelphia in 2005.
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Inside the Board Room
The Board of Congregation Beth Ahavah is committing itself to keep the lines of communication open with the congregation. One of the major times that decisions are made on behalf of the community is at Board Meetings.
These meetings are generally held on the fourth Thursday of the month beginning at about 6:30 pm and are open to any member of the congregation who wishes to attend. If you'd like to have something specific considered at the Board meeting, you need to contact our President, Shelly Komito, to discuss getting your item on the agenda. Shelly wants to hear from you and she will work with you to bring your issue to the Board.
October/November
Committee Reports:
- Ritual Committee: Diane Weinberg, Chair. The High Holy Day review meeting was held. Feedback from this meeting
will help us plan for next year. We have a contract with the National Constitution Center for next year. Service leaders
have been scheduled through the end of April. Planning has begun for the Tu B'shevat seder which will be held on
February 6. Arrangements are also being made for the Pesach seder.
- Membership Committee: Thanks to Eve for helping to make phone calls on behalf of the committee's efforts.
The "Young People's Shabbat" program was a success.
- Freedom Rings For Everyone Campaign Committee: The official logo has been electronically distributed so that
those who work on publicity can incorporate the logo into flyers and other materials. Through the generosity of three
donors, money was raised to place a Thanksgiving ad in the PGN, Jewish Exponent and Voice. The congregation was
notified to look out for the ads by means of a flyer.
- Programming: Jocelyn Block, VP for Programming. The calendar is bustling with events. Please check out the
calendar of upcoming events in this issue of The Shofar.
Continuing Business:
- Synagogue Face-lift. Diane has been working on the carpeting project and we should see new carpet at BA soon.
- Oneg sponsorship. Phone calls and emails will be made to congregants to encourage sponsorship.
- We have opened an account with Quill, an office products company, which offers discounts for URJ congregations.
Ordering from Quill will save us both money and time, as they have next day delivery.
New Business:
- Union for Reform Judaism Key Leadership Dinner/Meeting was held on December 3. Shelly, Jocie and Scott attended.
- The Board made a commitment to circulate information concerning community events to our congregation. This will
be done by email after approval by the Board.
- Susan Falk, our rabbinic intern, will be holding a Leadership Retreat for the Board of Directors and committee
chairs on Sunday, December 21 from 3-8 PM. The purpose of this retreat day will be to focus on BA's mission statement
with an eye toward possibly revising the statement.
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