December 2015 • Volume 29 • Issue 11 A Reform Congregation Embracing Our Jewish Tradition News & Happenings from Temple Beth Tikvah Sunday, Dec. 6 - 1st Night of Chanukah -Religious School -Sisterhood Mah Jongg -JYG Cooking Class Monday, Dec.7 - 2nd Night of Chanukah Candle Lighting at 7 pm Kesher, Confirmation & Kivunim Tuesday, Dec. 8 - 3rd Night of Chanukah Candle Lighting at 6:10 pm Religious School Wednesday, Dec. 9 - 4th Night of Chanukah HOTTY Board Meeting Thursday, Dec. 10 - 5th Night of Chanukah Friday, Dec. 11 - 6th Night of Chanukah -ECEC Chanukah Celebration -Shabbat Service followed by Chanukah Celebration Saturday, Dec. 12 - 7th Night of Chanukah -Shabbat Service with Bar Mitzvah -HOTTY Latke In Sunday, Dec. 13 - Last Night of Chanukah Religious School Monday, Dec.14 - -Senior Luncheon & Latkes -Religious School with Special Musical Performance by Beit Tefilah Israeli
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December 2015 • Volume 29 • Issue 11 A Reform Congregation Embracing Our Jewish Tradition
News & Happenings from Temple Beth Tikvah
Sunday, Dec. 6 - 1st Night of Chanukah
-Religious School
-Sisterhood Mah Jongg
-JYG Cooking Class
Monday, Dec.7 - 2nd Night of Chanukah
Candle Lighting at 7 pm
Kesher, Confirmation & Kivunim
Tuesday, Dec. 8 - 3rd Night of Chanukah
Candle Lighting at 6:10 pm
Religious School
Wednesday, Dec. 9 - 4th Night of Chanukah
HOTTY Board Meeting
Thursday, Dec. 10 - 5th Night of Chanukah
Friday, Dec. 11 - 6th Night of Chanukah
-ECEC Chanukah Celebration
-Shabbat Service followed by Chanukah Celebration
Saturday, Dec. 12 - 7th Night of Chanukah
-Shabbat Service with Bar Mitzvah
-HOTTY Latke In
Sunday, Dec. 13 - Last Night of Chanukah
Religious School Monday, Dec.14 -
-Senior Luncheon & Latkes
-Religious School with Special Musical
Performance by Beit Tefilah Israeli
2
News & Happenings from Temple Beth Tikvah
Home Guide for Chanukah Celebration
On Sunday evening, December 6th at sundown,
we begin our eight-day celebration of
Chanukah. Traditionally we join with our
family members each night in lighting the
menorah. Based upon a wonderful discussion
in the Talmud between the Houses of Hillel and Shammai, we
understand the customs and procedures for how we treat these
lights of wonder.
It is customary to place the Menorah in a window for the light
to shine out into the world. If however this could be considered
dangerous, the menorah may be placed in a position better
suited in your home.
Facing the Menorah, the candles are added each night from
right to left, & kindled with the Shamash (the helper candle)
from left to right
As the first candle is kindled we recite the first blessing:
Praised are You, God, Ruler of the Universe, for giving us life,
for sustaining us, and for enabling us to reach this season.
It is always nice to spend a few moments gazing into the
flames, marking the miracles in our lives and in gratitude to do
a bit of learning. Below are some mini-teachings, shared by
rabbis from across the spectrum of Judaism, one for each night
of Chanukah. Enjoy!
FOR THE FIRST NIGHT: We light the first candle to remind
ourselves that in the beginning there was darkness on the face
of the earth. With the words, “Let there be light” the world was
brought into existence from darkness to light. We kindle our
first candle, which we hope, like the earth’s first light, will
grow to enlighten the whole world.
FOR THE SECOND NIGHT: The second light reminds us of
the brightness of our community and the community of our
people in ERETZ YISRAEL, the land of Israel. Through the
darkness of years in exile our people clung to a beacon of hope,
shining forth through our tradition. And now through years of
miles and lands, that beacon burns brightly in our hearts, and in
the world, again. “If I forget You, Oh Jerusalem, let my tongue
cleave to my mouth, left my right hand forget its cunning.”
FOR THE THIRD NIGHT: The third light reminds us that in
every generation we need the faith of the Maccabees of old.
Long ago in Jerusalem, this brave band led by Judah, drove the
Syrian Greeks out of the Temple, and as their first act of faith
rekindles the Ner Tamid, the Eternal Light, which, along with
the Temple, had been desecrated. In this simple, yet meaningful
act of belief, they demonstrated their faith that God, once again
had redeemed God’s people, for “Adonai is my light and my
salvation.”
FOR THE FOURTH NIGHT: The fourth light is the light of
courage. It took strength for Mattathias and his sons to ignore
the bribes and threats of Antiochus. It took courage to make the
decision that not gold and not precious stones, but freedom to
worship was the higher goal of the people.
Every day we are called upon to make decisions. Some of them
are easy and affect only ourselves; others are infinitely more
difficult and involve many others; family, friends, community,
even nations. Just as the Maccabees lived by the words of
Moses to Joshua, may we also, “Be strong and of good
courage.”
FOR THE FIFTH NIGHT: The fifth light is the light of Torah,
the Five Books of Moses, the source of our values. It was to be
faithful to its teachings that Judah and his followers went to
battle. Often we must sacrifice for an ideal. How much we are
willing to lose is a mark of how much we hope to maintain. Yet
we have a guide to help us. “The Mitzvah is a lamp and the
Law is a light.”
Continued on next page...
3
News and Happenings from Temple Beth Tikvah
Notes from Cantor Kassel
BEIT TEFILAH ISRAELI (TEL AVIV)
To Perform at Temple Beth Tikvah
MONDAY, DECEMBER 14th
7:15 – 8:15 pm
Beit Tefilah Israeli's famed musical ensemble to tour over a dozen USA Jewish communities on its annual Chanukah tour
Beit Tefilah Israeli is a creative, innovative and inclusive Jewish-Israeli grassroots community and or-
ganization that offers meaningful Jewish ritual, study, activism and a sense of belonging to the general
Israeli public. We are a young and fast-growing, liberal, musical, independent and egalitarian communi-
ty in urban Tel Aviv, committed to Jewish spirit, culture, and social action and redefining the Jewish-
Israeli identity of the secular Israeli public. We strive to create, develop and sustain a dynamic, indige-
nous Israeli Judaism relevant to modern Israeli life and in line with our core values. Rabbi Esteban Gottfried, Beit Tefilah Israeli's co-founder, director and spiritual leader, is leading the en-
semble during a two-week tour in the United Staes, together with the incredible musicians of Beit Tefi-
This month, I am deviating from my usual writings to share
something that has been bothersome to me. My thoughts are
shared in hopes that we can all better assess the role we play in
influencing our own children and grandchildren as well as those
in our synagogue community.
In Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, he referred to
the “content of one’s character.” Growing up, I knew the words
of his speech but not until I became the parent of two young
adults did I realize what those words truly meant. In my mind,
one’s character goes hand in hand with one’s ethical DNA. In
my professional life, I have seen many examples of poor ethical
behavior, both in people’s business and personal lives. What is
even more perplexing to me is that many of these people are
individuals of strong faith, both Jewish and non-Jewish.
So I asked myself, where might that behavior come from?
Shockingly enough, it often comes from our parents.
According to a report published in the Journal of American
Medicine, babies are born with an instinctive capacity and
desire to imitate adult human behavior. I think we all have
experienced this as we make fools of ourselves making weird
faces to try to get babies to imitate us. As a new grandparent, I
am absolutely guilty of that. But here’s the rub - they do not
possess an instinct for gauging whether a behavior ought to be
imitated. Repeated enough times, babies and children will
imitate almost anything, including behaviors that most adults
would regard as destructive or anti-social.
So, here is my point. If we want to raise
ethically behaving children, we need to work
on developing their character. We as parents
are the most powerful role models for our
children, but if we are dishonest even in ways
we consider to be just “white lies”, the odds are that our
children will internalize these behaviors as well. We can spend
thousands of dollars on private schools, either secular or non-
secular, in hopes of getting our kids the best education and
instilling some semblance of ethics. But, we sometimes
undermine that education when our child hears us fudge their
age at the movie theatre or amusement park to get a cheaper
ticket.
The same theme can be applied to our children’s attitudes
toward their Judaism. How can we expect our kids to fully
embrace their Judaism and spirituality when we make passing
comments they might overhear about how Religious School
interferes with another event or when we, ourselves, only enter
the synagogue a few times a year?
Parents may be the strongest role models, but our children also
learn from grandparents, teachers and other adults in their lives.
We can all aspire to be better role models at home, at work and
in the synagogue, an improvement that will undoubtedly pay
dividends well into the future.
L’Shalom
Ron Swichkow
Do as I Say, Not as I Do
The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ)
presented TBT and Rabbi Shuval-Weiner
with the Maurice N. Eisendrath “Bearer
of Light” Award “for participation in the
American Journey for Justice and
outstanding civil rights work”.
The award was given at the November URJ
Biennial convention in Orlando in early
November. The Eisendrath Bearer of Light
Award is conferred every two years in two
categories’: Service to Reform Jewry and
Service to the World Community. As detailed in the October Kol
Tikvah, Rabbi Shuval-Weiner joined 150 other Reform Rabbis from
all over the U.S. in the march organized by the NAACP from Selma,
Alabama to Washington D.C., carrying a 20 pound Torah scroll
enroute. Rabbi Shuval-Weiner marched 16 miles through historic
South Atlanta / the Capital and observed “the experience of walking
side by side sharing the stories of our lives, and learning from one
another was incredibly profound. We made deeply impactful rela-
tionships in a very short amount of time. The carrying of the Torah
was a powerful thing…passing it between Jews and non-Jews, Black
and White; we all talk about its message and purpose”.
The march served to inspire everyone involved in calling attention to
social justice and civil rights. Rabbi Shuval-Weiner noted “we are a
people whose sacred narrative is based on a journey from slavery to
redemption. In Torah the single most repeated line is “remember you
were once slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt” – How is a liberated people
to act? This gives us our ethical charge, just as we were redeemed,
we too acting b’tzelem eloheim (in the image of G-d) are obligated
to work toward bringing redemption to broken places. As members
of our sacred congregation - Beth Tikvah - the House of Hope - each
and every one of us should feel that obligation to better understand
the injustices that exist in our community, in our country, and work
toward repairing the wrongs. Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath was a pow-
erful voice in the American rabbinate. He served as president of the
UAHC (URJ) from 1943-1973, and helped to found the Religious
Action Center in 1961. He was a champion of prophetic Judaism,
and as such he spoke out passionately on the struggle for civil rights
and marched with MLK carrying the Torah, representing God’s de-
mand for tzedek. (This is why we carried the Torah during
America’s Journey for Justice march)”.
May we all be so inspired for social justice causes like this one !
-Mark Rudel, Communications Chair
9
Youth Group
HOTTY (9-12th Grade)
WHAT DID WE DO THIS PAST MONTH?
November was a fun and busy month for HOTTY. On November 7th, we had our
HOTTY Spooky night. We played games at temple and spent some time learn-
ing about what Judaism has to say about the afterlife. Then we headed to the
town square for Roswell’s Haunted Ghost tour and havdallah under the stars.
See some pictures in this month’s newsletter.
We also had our inaugural HOTTY youth lounge night! HOTTYites hung out in
our brand new youth lounge, eating dinner, watching TV, and decorating our
new space. If you missed it, don’t worry, we have another one next month!
WHAT’S UP NEXT FOR HOTTY?
Come hang out with your HOTTY friends at our next Lounge Night, December
2nd. And, the event every HOTTYite waits all year for…our annual Broomball &
Latke-in Lock-in is December 12-13th. We’ll meet at TBT on Saturday night and
then head over to the Cooler to play broomball! Then, it’s back to TBT for a lock-
in at the synagogue. Hope you can make it!
Save-the-date: NFTY-SAR Winter Regional & Elections is
January 15-18th, 2016 at Camp Thunderbird.
Stay tuned for details on how to register!
Join the HOTTY Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/TBT.HOTTY/) to
stay up-to-date on what's happening and to RSVP for HOTTY events!
Join our Remind101 text updates: text @826ef3 to 81010.
JYG (7-8th Grade)
In November we had a great time at The Main Event…we went bowling, com-
peted in laser tag and played arcade games. It was a great way to kickoff the
year! Check out some of the pictures from our event in this month’s newsletter.
December 6th JYG is headed to Young Chef’s Academy for a fun afternoon
cooking up delicious treats! Watch your email and our Facebook page for this
fun event which will start right after Sunday school. See you there!
Save-the-date: March 11-13th is NFTY-SAR’s Hatikvah Kallah for
7th & 8th Graders at Temple Kol Emeth in Marietta!!
We’ll send out more info about this awesome weekend as the date gets
closer.
Join the JYG Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/TBT.JYG/) to stay up-to-date on what's happening with JYG, RSVP and arrange carpools for events!
Club 56 (5th & 6th Grade)
Ever wanted to go to a movie premiere?? Well, we may not be able to get to
L.A., but on Saturday, December 5th, we’re turning TBT into our own
Hollywood!! Come dressed up like a movie star, walk the red carpet, get your
picture taken, and enjoy dinner and a movie with Club56!
Join the 5th & 6th Grade Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/groups/TBT.56/)
to stay up-to-date on what's happening, RSVP and arrange carpools for events!
UPCOMING YOUTH GROUP EVENTS:
December 2 - HOTTY Lounge Night
December 5 – Bonim & Gesher Chanukah Party
December 5 – Club56 Hollywood Night
December 6 – JYG Cooking Class
December 12-13 - HOTTY Latke-In
January 23 – Family Tu B’Shevat event (grades K-12)
Want more info about the youth groups at TBT? Contact Adam or Bobbee at: [email protected] or (404) 228–2494
The Definition of Success…
The definition of success when it comes to planning NFTY
Kallot is always multi-faceted. Did we establish and keep in
mind the technicalities of the Kallah so that it runs smoothly
and without interference? Did we plan programs, mixers, and
services that genuinely engaged the participants and made them
feel like more than just an observer? Was the Kallah meaning-
ful for the participants? Did they leave with a brightened sense
of what the theme of the Kallah was meant to convey?
HOTTY worked tirelessly for months preparing for NFTY-
SAR’s Fall Kallah – brainstorming and organizing and planning
and writing and buying – and was rewarded with innumerable
positive responses via word of mouth and the Kallah survey
created by one of our own advisors, Adam Griff. Among
these were compliments on services, on the Saturday night pro-
gram at Cagle’s, and especially on the Saturday social action
program, which invited members of several different charitable
organizations such as North Fulton Community Charities and
the Drake House to speak, allowing participants the opportunity
to learn more about the social action movements in our area.
However, the most striking and meaningful for HOTTY were
those commenting on our preparedness for and execution of the
Kallah: “Out of all the Kallot I've been to, HOTTY has always
done a good job on being organized and on-pace, but they also
make sure to include every member of their TYG who wants
to be a part of it. There have always been entirely new program
ideas and themes coming out of those Kallot that seem to ex-
ponentially raise the bar compared to what other TYG's do.” It
is because of such impacts on the participants that HOTTY has
always striven to be a model for our region and our members.
HOTTY has become such a force in NFTY-SAR that the Kallah
co-chairs, Allie Goodman and Ben Goldenthal, and our ad-
visors, Bobbee and Adam Griff, without whom the Kallah
would not have had such immense success, will be interviewed
by the URJ on December 9 on how to run a successful Kallah.
Meanwhile, HOTTY will be back to business as usual for the
month of December. Our December events include a youth
lounge night on December 2nd and our Broomball Latke-in on
December 12th and 13th. The Latke-in is our annual December
event in which participants from other TYG’s are welcome to
come. We will be going to The Cooler to play broomball, a
hockey-like game played with brooms on ice, and returning to
Temple for a “Latke-in” (lock-in), spending the night at TBT.
All HOTTY 9th-12th graders are welcome, and if you are inter-
ested in HOTTY this would be a great event to meet not only
HOTTYites but members of other NFTY-SAR TYGs as well!
SEE YOU THERE!
-Joey Chanin, HOTTY’s Communication Vice-President
Jamie and Katie Jaffe in memory of Aline McMurrain
Renee Davis in memory of Elias Waxman
Ellen Frank in memory of Barry Feinberg
Gordon and Hollis Decker in memory of Isadore Zierler
Shirley Plotkin in memory of Henry Trucker
Anne Grossman in memory of Conrad P. Grossman
Ellen Frank in memory of Lucille Falkof
Lawrence and Anne Skal in memory of Joseph Cunix
Building Fund
Anne Grossman
Dale and Wendy Bearman in memory of Jacob Dutkiewitz,
Eleanore Bearman, Jeanne Laibow and Jules Stein
Campership/Israel Fund
Bruce and Bonnie Walkes in memory of Nathan Mangen
Cantor Kassel’s Discretionary Fund
Michael and Wanda Cohen in memory of Gladys Cohen
Addie Myers in honor of the marriage of Lois Clymin's
grandson, Joey Abramson to Debbie Kestadt
Pam Alterman in honor of Josh Rubin becoming a
Bar Mitzvah
Mariann Mamberg in memory of Isaac Mamberg
Mariann Mamberg in memory of Etta Mamberg
Pam Alterman in memory of Paul Alterman, Sonia Oxman,
and Edna McMurrain
Sherwin Rubin in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of Josh Rubin
and in honor of Paul Rubin
Mark and Joy Goldberg in memory of Bonnie Keller
Harris Bergman in memory of Rabbi Abner Bergman
Caring/Kehillat Chesed Fund
Ruth Zeidman in honor of Rifka Isaac becoming a
Bat Mitzvah
Sherwin Rubin in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of Josh Rubin
and in honor of Paul Rubin
Ruth Zeidman in honor of the marriage of Joseph and
Debby Abramson
Douglas Wexler and Jane Greenberger in memory of
George Jordan
General Fund
Marvin and Trudy Davis in memory of Aline McMurrain
Rhea Negrin wishing Lois Clymin a Mazel Tov on the
upcoming marriage of her grandson.
William and Marjory Segal in memory of Muriel Segal
Tod and Leslie Rubin in memory of Gerald Mittler
Lawrence and Anne Skal in memory of Lenore Levy
Nat and Jeanette Tieman in memory of George Jordan
Jane Greenberger in memory of Jacob Stern
Andrew and Barbara Sacks in memory of Dorothy Tveit
Michael Zalkin Memorial Library Fund
Jeffrey and Beth Kess in memory of Iris Naomi Kess and
Ben Goldberg
Mark and Gail Rudel in honor of Matthew Gilbert becoming
a Bar Mitzvah
Prayerbook Fund
Mark and Sally Vosk in memory of Leonard Vosk
Addie Myers in memory of William L. Myers
Preschool Fund
ECEC Staff in honor of Aylin Allen Howard
Rabbi Shuval-Weiner’s Discretionary Fund
George and Frances Jordan in memory of Henrietta Jordan
Cary Goldenthal and Lori Shapiro in memory of
Barry Goldenthal
Steve and RoseAnn Gerson in memory of Aline McMurrain
Donald and June Restler in memory of Sally and
Philip Hinerfeld
Betty Rickles in memory of David Goldsmith
Betty Rickles in memory of Norton Locke
Families Anonymous
Sherwin Rubin in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of Josh Rubin
and in honor of Paul Rubin
Harvey and Natine Rosenzweig in memory of Lucille Falkof
Harvey and Natine Rosenzweig in memory of
George Jordan
David and Ellen Herold in memory of Bernard Bickwit
Rabbi Tam’s Discretionary Fund
Max and Carol Wolf in honor of Morris Harry Perling
Bruce and Bonnie Walkes in memory of Sarah Wixman
Robert and Marcy Nader in memory of Aline McMurrain
Lila Stein in memory of Jeanne Laibow, Fritzie Shaw,
Jacob Dutkiewitz and Jules Stein
Barry and Dore Kaiser in memory of Sylvia Kaiser
Bernice Bickwit in memory of Bernard Bickwit
Religious School Fund
David and Ellen Herold
Tikkun Olam Fund
June Wallach in memory of Blanche Hertzberg,
Irving Hertzberg and Howard Wallach
Torah Fund
Morray and Susan Scheinfeld in memory of Leo Snitzer
(donations processed through 11/ 23)
Donations
15
News and Happenings from Temple Beth Tikvah
SHMOOZE NEWS / KUDOS CORNER
In Memoriam
Temple Beth Tikvah acknowledges with sorrow
the passing of:
Lucille Falkof
Mother of Ellen Frank
Margaret Ann Shulman
Mother of Gail Frank
George Jordan
Husband of Frances Jordan
Bernice “Bonnie” Keller
Sister of Sid Malkin
Sol Winder
Cousin of Renee Berman
May God console you among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Thank You to our Amazing Office
Volunteers!
Richard Staviss
June Wallach
Lois Malkin
Leslie Swichkow
Marsha McMurrain
Thanks to Steve Bauman,
Ted Nathan, Bart Segal
& Ron Swichkow for helping to replace the
molding in the lobby and adding
non-skid strips to all our
wood stairs
And a shout out to: Robin Bledsoe
Alisa Bauman
Jill Leitman
Ann Dee Torino
for shopping for and
preparing TBT onegs in
November.
If you would like to
help with an oneg,
please click here to
sign up.
Jeff Willard has been appointed to the
Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism for a two year term as an
at-large member beginning on1/1/16.
New leaves have
been added to
Temple Beth
“Plan Ahead” An in-depth conversation regarding funeral pre-planning
Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care cordially invites you to join Edward Dressler, Licensed Funeral Director
Sunday, January 10th, 2016 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm Whole Foods Market, 1311 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta
complimentary dessert and drinks will be available
Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care provides a variety of services to Atlanta’s Jewish community including funeral and burials in Georgia,
coordination of funerals in other states and Israel, purchase of cemetery plots and grave markers, and non-traditional requests.
Death is not an easy topic to discuss, yet many families find it more manageable to deal with the death of a loved one when a family member or
friend has pre-planned all of the arrangements. Funeral pre-planning alleviates emotional decisions and financial stress at time of death.
Funeral pre-planning is responsible, safe, and easy to complete. Anyone can pre-plan and pre-pay for him- or herself, or for a loved one, in one
lump sum or over time. When pre-paying, funeral home service fees, casket, vault and headstone prices become fixed, and are placed in an escrow
account owned by the purchaser (not owned by the funeral home). Pre-paid funeral costs are released to the funeral home upon death.
Attend our complimentary pre-planning seminars and learn about:
♦Planning a funeral ♦Cemetery options ♦Fixing costs and how pre-payment works
♦Out-of-town funeral planning ♦Traditional and non-traditional options
Helen Scherrer-Diamond is Community Outreach Director for Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care. She helps individuals understand the importance of
funeral and cemetery pre-planning, offers continuing education for LMSWs, LPNs, and Chaplains, and Jewish Funeral Traditions education. Please rsvp to Helen at 770-289-8964 or [email protected]