The Bulletin Union Temple of Brooklyn Affiliated with the Union for Reform JudaismMAY , 2011 NISAN—IY AR 5771 V ol. 162, No 9 Join UT in May JEWISH ADOPTIVE FAMILIES OPEN HOUSE at UNION TEMPLE Saturday, May 7th, at 1 PM See Page 7 for details Finding the Peace Within — Tools to Reduce Stress and Strengthen Spirituality Sunday, May 22nd at 11 AM See Page 3 for details SCHEDULE OF SHABBAT SERVICES FOR MAY SHABBAT EMOR 6Friday Evening First Friday Family Shabbat6:00 PM: Snacks 6:30 PM: Kabbalat Shabbat7:20 PM: Pot Luck Dinner7 Saturday Morning 10:30 AM Shabbat Morning Service Torah: Leviticus 21:1-24:23 Haftarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31 SHABBAT BEHAR 13Friday Evening 6:30 PM Kabbalat Shabbat14Saturday Morning 10:30 AM Torah: Leviticus 25:1-26:2 Haftarah: Jeremiah 32:6-27SHABBAT BECHUKOTAI 20Friday Evening 5:00 PM: Tot Shabbat6:30 PM: Kabbalat Shabbat21Saturday Morning 10:30 AMShabbat Morning ServiceTorah: Leviticus 26:3-27:34 Haftarah: Jeremiah 16:19-17:14 SHABBAT BEMIDBAR 27Friday Evening Fourth Friday Late Shabbat 8:00 PM: Shabbat Evening Service 28Saturday Morning 10:30 AM Shabbat Morning Service Ceremony of C onversion: Reyna Esquivel- King Torah: Numbers 1:1-4:20 Haftarah: Hosea 2:1-22 Mitzvah Day is May 15th!
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Reform Jewish Voice Advocacy Day May 16th, Reform Jewish Voice Advocacy Day. . . . On Monday, May 16th, I
am going to Albany to speak with members of the New York State Assembly
and Senate, along with a number of our fellow Reform Jews from around thestate. The day has been arranged by Reform Jewish Voice of NYS and Inter-
faith Impact. Reform Jewish Voice represents some 100,000 Reform Jews
throughout New York State, who are committed to Reform Jewish values and
the spirit of tikkun olam, repairing the world, through the pursuit of social jus-
tice. Interfaith Impact is a statewide coalition of congregations and individuals
from mainline Protestant and Unitarian Universalist faith traditions. Their mis-
sion as well is to work for the common good through progressive religious ad-
vocacy. Thus there is a natural affinity between our two organizations and it
makes good sense to partner in this endeavor.
The other side. . . . I assure you that the members of the Assembly and State Senate hear from representativesfrom the New York Catholic Archdiocese, and a number of right-wing Christian groups, with great regularity.
It is imperative that they also hear from members of liberal religious groups. They and their legislative assis-
tants need to meet us, hear us speak, and personally acknowledge the voices of liberal religious perspectives
within our state.
Our agenda. . . . Our agenda of advocacy for this trip is three-fold: (1) to support Marriage Equality for
Same Sex Couples in New York State; (2) to advocate for the passage of the Reproductive Health Act; (3) to
advocate for an independent redistricting commission to draft New York State legislative and congressional
political boundaries for the 2012 elections. In addition to meeting with our own senators and members of the
Assembly, we will meet with other lawmakers from around the state who need to meet liberal people of faith.
In addition, we will meet with Steven Cohen, Secretary to Governor Cuomo.
Registration and Conference Calls. . . . The registration fee for Advocacy Day on May 16th is $25. No
charge for students. http://rac.org/advocacy/rjv/programs/interfaith_advocacy_day/ . If you are interested
in participating, please speak with me as well so that I can help facilitate your participation. In addition to a
general briefing on May 16th itself at the beginning of our schedule, there are several conference calls sched-
uled in advance of that date to brief us on the issues. The schedule of calls is as follows. Please RSVP for
Union Temple’s annual Mitzvah Day is Sunday, May 15th. During the morning, technicians from MethodistHospital will be running a blood drive in our social hall. Please come and donate the gift of life. In addition tothe satisfaction of doing a mitzvah, you'll also get orange juice and cookies! This year, the Religious Schooland Brotherhood will be aiding the U.S.-Africa Children’s Fellowship by gathering, sorting and boxing schoolsupplies, children’s books and textbooks, gently used toys and sneakers and sporting goods and similar itemsfor shipment to schools in Africa. In fact, the Religious School has already begun its collection. You can helptoo, by bringing these items to the Temple on Mitzvah Day.
The U.S.-Africa Children’s Fellowship is a nonprofit organization founded and run by longtime Union Templemembers Mark Grashow and Sheri Saltzberg. It was featured in Bill Clinton’s book Giving. The Children’sFellowship supports over 100 schools in Zimbabwe, Ghana and Tanzania with much-needed supplies. Many of
these schools had almost noth-ing to work with for instructionand recreation, until the Chil-dren’s Fellowship assisted
them. Their students are gener-ally poor, many of them or-phaned due to AIDS and otherdiseases. You can learn moreabout the work of the U.S.-Africa Children’s Fellowship att h e i r w e b s i t e ,
www.childrensfellowship.org.
Now let’s face it. Many of ushave desk drawers, bookcasesand closets bulging with chil-
dren’s books, sporting goods,boxes of pencils or crayons or –well, you name it – that our kidshave outgrown and don’t need.They seemed like a good idea atthat back-to-school sale a fewyears ago, but now there theyare, cluttering up the place.
Those children’s books andboxes of crayons and pencils
and other school supplies thatyou no longer need wouldmean so much to the studentsat the schools that the Chil-dren’s Fellowship supports.So join us in doing a greatmitzvah. Do some springcleaning, and bring thosebooks and school supplies tothe Temple on Sunday, May
As the Passover break approached our preschoolerswere actively engaged in their classrooms. Many closefriendships have been forged over the course of theschool year and the classroom has become a homeaway from home. This is my favorite time of theschool year. No one is looking too far ahead or be-hind; they are all in the moment, and very happy. Hereis what is going on at the Preschool.
The Chickadees, (Montana Vasquez-Grinnell’s 2’sclass) are learning about spring especially the idea that"April showers bring May flowers!" They’ve learnedtwo new songs about April Showers and made springflowers and sand paintings. The children will also geta chance to make art that can be hung on the windowcreating a stain glass effect. They were also been talk-
ing a lot about Passover - singing songs about theplague of the frogs and Dayenu. Each child got theopportunity to make matzo covers for Passover too.After Spring break they are looking forward to cele-brating Mother's/Father's Day and work on activitiesto further develop the children's fine motor skills!
The Starlings, (Alex Beer’s 2’s class) and the Spar-rows (Alex Beers's 3's class) have been busy studyingthe ins and outs of shoes! They have learned that al-most everybody wears shoes, and that there are allkinds of shoes for all kinds of jobs. They have been
reading such books as Shoe-La-La!, All Kinds of Shoes, and Alfie's Feet . Each day they check to see if
anyone is wearing unusual shoes, and if so, they takephotos. They have quite a collection for their ClassShoe Catalogue.
This study has lent itself to much skill work across the
curriculum. The children have worked on matchingshoes and sorting them into sequences, they have no-ticed the shoes of others and their various uses forshoes, and they have even taken off their shoes andused them for building and play. Most recently theSparrows have noted that their feet have grown sincethey were "little" and are charting their growth by ob-serving their old and new shoes. Now if they could justswitch to sandals and flip-flops-- perhaps someday
The growth in the Robins (Christine Bardach’s 3’sclass) is evident in their play. They have taken great
strides in playing and working together in small andlarge groups. You can often see two children paintingtogether at the easel or helping each other put on theirfavorite dress up clothes. They also enjoy building to-gether at the Lego table and creating elaborate con-structions with Wedgits, a wonderful open-endedbuilding toy. During snack and lunch they laugh ateach other's jokes and talk about special events in theirlives. Singing in a big circle is a favorite activity alongwith dancing together to lively music. It is a pleasureto witness friendships grow and deepen as the year
progresses!
The Hummingbirds have been busy preparing forPassover. They have made their own Haggadahs.Each page includes a work of art created by the chil-dren. They illustrated lighting the candles, saying theKiddush, breaking the matzo and Elijah's Cup. In-cluded in the Haggadah are songs, which the childrenperformed for their adults at their Passover Seder.The songs are Building Cities, Listen King Pharaoh,
One Morning, Dayenu and Ma Nishtanah, the first of
the four questions. In addition, the children have alsomade Kiddush Cups, a Seder Plate, a Matzo Cover,and their own grape juice which they bottled for theirSeders at home. To make their school Seder morebeautiful, the children decorated the table cloths whichwill be used at the Seder. They also made macaroonsand chocolate covered matzo, which will be served atour Seder.
-Susan Sporer, Preschool Director
TOT SHABBAT ATUNION TEMPLE
Join Song Leader DEBBIE BRUKMAN for singing, dancing, art,
JEWISH ADOPTIVE FAMILIES OPEN HOUSEat UNION TEMPLE
Saturday, May 7th, at 1:00 PM
Come to the first meeting of a three-part community discussion series sponsored
by the Jewish Child Care Association’s CCA’s Ametz Adoption Program for preand post adoptive Jewish singles, couples and families in Brooklyn! Meet and share
with other parents about the joys and challenges of adoptive parenting. Discus-
sion will be led by Marcia Hochman, LMSW, Adoption Coordinator, Ametz
Adoptive Family Open House: Come for a luncheon and meeting hosted atUnion Temple, 17 Eastern Parkway (Grand Army Plaza)
Brooklyn, New York, 11238..
Please register at: www.jccany.org and go to ametz .
$10/adult, $5/child.
Childcare available. Please call ahead by May 5th: 212-558-9950.
Things OutMitzvah Day is coming and it’s defi-nitely a day to really sort things out.Brotherhood and the Religious Schoolare teaming up to collect school sup-plies and other items, such a gently usedtoys, to benefit the U.S.-Africa Chil-dren’s Fellowship. Sorters are needed togo through the donations and packagethem for shipment to schoolchildren in
Africa. Be sure to give generously bybringing plenty of school supplies to thetemple. Meet at the temple on May15th.
As we wind down the year Brotherhoodis also looking forward to the end of theyear breakfast in June and the electionof officers.
-David Rapheal, Secretary
Crises in the Middle East! Earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear disaster in Japan! The Great Recession, budgetcrises, political deadlock here at home! Feeling stressed-out lately? Sisterhood has the solution!
Be with us Sunday, May 22, 2011, at 10 AM, and discover the secret of the Jewish way to renew spirit and
vanquish tension. On that special morning, Drs. Gail Levine and Robert Fried will present their revitalizingprogram, FINDING THE PEACE WITHIN: Tools to Reduce Stress and Strengthen Spirituality. Gail and Bobdraw on the wisdom found in our own Jewish Scripture and the insights rooted in Eastern healing arts to pro-vide us with the tools we need to restore and renew our energy and maintain balance in our lives. Through gen-tle, meditative movements, Yogic breath work, soothing Hebrew chanting, and guided visualization of imagerydrawn from the Torah, they will teach us how to reduce stress and reawaken our sense of wonder and onenesswith Creation. This extraordinary Sisterhood program is open to men as well as women, and no special skillsare needed to benefit from it. So join us as Gail and Bob show us the way to connect with the inexhaustiblesource of peace within our eternal selves. Come and experience minuchah and renewal.
Sisterhood thanks Rabbi Mary L. Zamore, editor of the new book, THE SACRED TABLE: Creating a Jewish
Food Ethic, for leading us in an engrossing and illuminating discussion in April, exploring the many aspects
of and opinions about Jewish dietary practices and ethics.
At our program on May 22nd, Sisterhood will hold a brief election. If you would like to serve as an officer orbe on our board, please contact Sue Singer (718-783-0181) or Linda Simka (718-857-1001).
Union Temple extends its deepest sympathy toCAROLYN KUBITSCHEK and DAVID LANSNER
on the death of Carolyn's brotherWARREN KUBITSCHEK
on April 3rd.Warren is also survived by his wife, Catherine, his older brother Craig
and Craig’s wife Missy, his sister Wendy Culp, his mother Jenny, hisnieces and nephews, and many many friends.
With sadness we record the passing of LOIS BIANCHIon March 24th.
She is survived by her sister Sylvia. She was an educator and televisionproducer. She was the daughter of former Union Temple trustee H.
Broadman Epstein and Helen Epstein
May their memories be for a blessing
Tzedakah
After the Fire: The Union Temple Tribute Page for the Jewish NationalFund’s “Operation Carmel Renewal: From Black to Green.”Union Temple will match all funds donated by our congregants.
1) Go to website: jnf.org/tributes
2) Click on “Find a Tribute.”
3) Click on “Show All Funds,” and we are toward the end in the alphabetical listing.
4) Make your contribution online, and your name will be added to our list of donors.
If you prefer to pay by check, please make it out to “JNF” and earmark it: “Union Temple Black to Green,” andsend it to: Jewish National Fund, 78 Randall Avenue, Rockville Center, NY 11570.
MARCH DONORS: John Golomb Linda and Howard Simka Eleanor Forman Carole Gould
UNION TEMPLE MEMORIAL FUNDDonated by ........................................................................ in memory of Rosemarie, David and Rafe Shaffer ................................................ Martin ShafferJoyce M. Charles ............................................................................... Rabbi Menachem Mendel SchneersonErica Shatz Spry ................................................................................ Hannah Shatz
SISTERHOOD HAPPY DAY FUNDDonated by ........................................................................ in honor of Hortense HurwitzEleanor Forman ................................................................................. Demetria RoyalsEleanor Forman ................................................................................. Linda and Howard Simka
RABBI’S DISCRETIONARY FUNDDonated byMohani Jaikaran, in honor of her daughter Abigail Marin's Bat MitzvahSheila and Dr. Lewis Soloff, in honor of their daughter Lisa's marriage to Dr. Yonatan GreensteinGeorge Henry, in memory of his aunt Mollie WeissbardJarrett and Dr. Ami Brilliant, in honor of the naming of their new daughter, Eliza Jane Brilliant
Margo Schuster .......... ........... ........... ........... .......... .. Yom HashoahRose Schuster ......................................................... Yom HashoahLena Nachman .......................................................... May 1, 1934Jacob Manne ............................................................. May 2, 1954Gail Cohen Edelman ................................................. May 2, 2000
Samuel Eis ................................................................ May 4, 1942Robert B. Hutton……………. .................................. May 4, 2003
Benjamin Spitzer ........... ........... .......... ........... ........... . May 4, 1949Bernard Schmidt ....................................................... May 5, 1914Jacob Himmelreich .......... .......... ........... ........... .......... May 5, 1951Alexander Klupt ....................................................... May 5, 1972Silas Besthoff .......... .......... ........... ........... .......... ......... May 5, 1996
Col. Arthur Levitt, Past President ........... ........... ....... May 6, 1980Alfred Glassheim ...................................................... May 6, 1967
Abraham Nachman ................................................... May 7, 1936
Bertha Rosenstock Baar ........... ........... ........... ........... May 8, 1933Jessie Olga Rosen ..................................................... May 8, 1948Stella Bloom ............................................................. May 8, 1988Abraham Schuster .................................................... May 9, 1935Max Kamins ............................................................. May 9, 1946Matilda Mason .......................................................... May 9, 1974Harry Levy.............................................................. May 10, 1941Arthur Kahn ............................................................ May 10, 1968Hyman Kirsch ......................................................... May 11, 1976Carrie G. Goldsmith ............................................... May 14, 1909Anna Aberson ......................................................... May 14, 1940Anna Ray ................................................................ May 14, 1968Abraham Levy ........................................................ May 15, 1943Mollye Baron .......................................................... May 15, 1994F. Whitlock Newman .......... ........... ........... ........... ... May 16, 1937Florence E. Van Raalte ........................................... May 17, 1966Rabbi Sidney S. Tedesche ...................................... May 18, 1962Rose F. Feinstein .................................................... May 19, 1982Abraham Kodziesen ............................................... May 20, 1947
Grace George Baar ................................................. May 20, 1984Samuel N. Weisstein............................................... May 21, 1986Lester J. Mason ....................................................... May 23, 1963Frederick May ........................................................ May 23, 1979Mina Sacher ............................................................ May 23, 1984Dorothy Waxman ................................................... May 23, 1995Sylvia Shaffer ......................................................... May 23, 1997Sol London ............................................................. May 24, 1961Moses Katz ............................................................. May 25, 1923Edmund David ........................................................ May 25, 1911Dena Fogel.............................................................. May 26, 1965Dr. Harry Mandelbaum .......... ........... ........... ........... May 27, 1955Betty Jane Iason ...................................................... May 27, 1926
Seymour Lansner………………... ............ ........... May 27, 1992Ilene Kaufman ........................................................ May 29, 1976Walter Honig .......................................................... May 30, 1992Mary Lorence ......................................................... May 30, 1938Millie R. Dorf ......................................................... May 31, 1917