Bath Jewish History

November/December 2020
Heshvan / Kislev / Tevet 5781

Rabbi’s Message

Dear Beth Israel Members and Friends,

Heshvan / Kislev / Tevet 5781

I was in elementary school when Geraldine Ferraro ran as the first woman on a vice- presidential ticket. I remember eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and talking passionately about the election. While I certainly didn’t understand the intricacies of politics, political parties or elections, I could sense even at that young age, that

political participation and voting in particular were awesome responsibilities.

As Jews and members of the Jewish community voting is one critical way that we live out the mitzvah from Deuteronomy 16:20 “Tzedek, ֶֶ֥צ ֶדק ֶֶ֖צ ֶדק ִּתְרֹּ֑דף / tzedek tirdof
Justice, justice shall you pursue. The word “pursue” here is the translation of the Hebrew root rodef (reish, dalet, fey) meaning to “run after something in order to seize it.” Rodef implies great effort; forward motion despite difficulties.

This fall, our congregation is participating in the Religious Action
Center’s non-partisan Every Voice Every Vote campaign to ensure 100% voting in our congregation and work to combat voter suppression. In addition, to this important work, our pursuit of justice must include defending our democracy to ensure that every vote is counted, upholding the principle of a peaceful transfer of power, and should it become necessary, safeguarding our democracy through nonviolent civil disobedience.

I pray for a peaceful election and the understanding for each of us, that no matter who is elected, our call to pursue justice must continue together.

L’Shalom, Rabbi Vinikoor

President’s Message

by Peggy Brown

“Be happy. It is a way of being wise.” Colette

I found this quote in the URJ.org presidents’ discussion group. It helped me, oddly enough, as I cast about for what to write about. Writing a “President’s Message” for the newsletter is one of the requirements of the position that I feel least equipped to do. The news out there is overwhelmingly stressful. The issues are divisive, and the future is uncertain. Where can I find hope and positivity?

So, I looked at what we’ve just done here at Beth Israel. The High Holiday experiences that were planned and carried out by Rabbi Vinikoor, Marilyn and Fred Weinberg, Student Rabbi Andrew, Maurie Libner, Rachel Connelly, Anita Lichman, Irwin Brodsky, Camille Kauffunger and many members of the Bowdoin Hillel and Beth Israel community were meaningful, beautiful and plentiful. The planning, organized by the rabbi, included both in-person and online opportunities for prayer, joining with community, reflection, music and meditation.

Comments from those who participated were overwhelmingly positive. We learned things from the experience that will inform our practice into the future beyond the pandemic. There are so many people to thank for the hard work and the contributions made. And most of all, we are thankful to all who joined us in these celebrations - from the Shofar blowing, to sitting in a sukkah on a beautiful fall day, to dancing in Bath’s Library Park on Simchat Torah.

Moving forward, the election has been and continues to be on our minds. At this writing there are still two weeks to go. Beth Israel Congregation joined in the Reform Movement’s 2020 civic engagement campaign called Every Voice, Every Vote. Organized by Judy Wolfe, our team of volunteers called or emailed everyone on our congregation mailing list to make sure they knew how to register, what was required to get an absentee ballot and submit it to be counted, or how to safely vote in person. This group’s efforts are very much appreciated. If you are interested in the advocacy and action work of the Reform Movement, you can find ways to get involved here.

There is much more in the works at Beth Israel. Hebrew School is well under way. Our Sunshine, Chai and Social Action committees are working on programs. We eagerly anticipate learning with Sara Blumenthal, who joins us through the Center for Small Town Jewish Life rabbinical student fellowship program. Join us, support us, and learn with us. We are here for each other.

Adult Education: Jewish Ideas About Resilience

by Rabbi Vinikoor

Wednesday, November 4
7:00 pm

In a world full of chaos and uncertainty, what keeps us grounded and how can we foster fortitude and joy? Join Rabbi Vinikoor for text study and conversation about Judaism and resiliency. We’ll examine stories and texts as well as our own experience for how to build strength and hope in the face of adversity and fear.

First Virtual Maine Jewish Film Festival

November 7–22

After 23 years, MJFF is thrilled to announce the launch their first Virtual Film Festival. They invite you to join them for two weeks of films and programming, specially curated by MJFF. Everything can be watched from the comfort and safety of your home. Beth Israel is a proud sponsor of the Maine Jewish Film festival.

Go to https://mjff.org/ film listings and to purchase “tickets.”

Yidl in the Middle

by Nonny Soife

Stay tuned for information about an upcoming community film viewing (you can watch it at home) followed by small discussion groups on how we feel about identifying ourselves as Jews in our local communities.

The film is called Yidl in the Middle and it looks at growing up “different” in America and examines the complicated process of negotiating identity as Jews in our world.

Second Beth Israel Congregational Read

by Debbie Smyth

Attention all readers! Now that the High Holidays are over, perhaps things will slow down a bit and allow more time to read a book and share our observations as a congregation.

The background: In July 2020, shortly after discussing our first congregational read, Dara Horn’s novel, Guide for the Perplexed, participants were surveyed on what future topics they would be interested in reading about. They were asked to rank their interest in four nonfiction topics - racism, pandemics, energy/the environment, and immigration (our thanks to everyone who responded). No clear winner emerged; Numerous respondents requested that we read fiction with some Jewish content.

Accordingly, we conducted a search, did some prescreening, and settled on a book that we believe is profound, stunning in both content and presentation, fictional but based on a true story, and containing both Jewish (and Palestinian) content, all of which provide for robust discussion.

The reveal: We have settled on Colum McCann’s Apeirogon, “a beautifully observed masterpiece,” according to Alex Preston of The Guardian. In short, Preston says, “The book is based on the true-life friendship of two men whose daughters were killed in the Middle East. Apeirogon is named, we learn, “for a shape with a countably infinite number of sides,” which is certainly a good title for a book that eludes easy categorization (and for one that explores the furiously intractable Israel-Palestine conflict).”

This is not a quick, light read. It takes a little while to get accustomed to the unusual, non-linear presentation, but the effort is totally worth it, and your patience will be richly rewarded. Please join us. You won’t be disappointed.

The Discussion: To give participants time to obtain and read the book, we will be scheduling the discussion for late December.

We will send out a “blast” as time approaches to provide more details concerning the discussion and to find out who will be participating.

Apeirogon is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, audio CD, and audiobook formats.

Please contact Debbie Smyth with questions or concerns.

Hebrew School

by Rabbi Vinikoor

Our Beth Israel Hebrew school is off and running and online this Fall! Our fabulous teaching team has adapted, and we are all learning together. We are experimenting by gathering on Zoom for songs and prayers and then meeting in small groups online for Hebrew instruction. We are excited to see student progress in Hebrew reading already.

In addition, each week our teachers post activities such as fun quizzes, and in-house produced videos showing students how to make crafts, cook, launch a boat for Tashlich and even view our Torah-cam to peek at the Torah scrolls in our synagogue’s ark. While we miss our energetic and thoughtful students bursting through the doors each Thursday, we are grateful to still be connected this year and look forward to
more learning and fun together!

Thank You

by Phyllis Wolfe

Following the births of my youngest daughter’s children, the parents decided to raise their daughter and son Jewish. Theirs is an interfaith marriage, as is mine.

As a grandmother I wanted to have a unique relationship with my grandchildren characterized by playfulness, some wisdom, spiritual connection and rituals. My grandchildren live in Vermont. By attending Beth Israel’s family events, bringing with me the High Holiday Family boxes to Vermont, and participating in the PJ Library, I feel I maximize the precious time I have with my daughter’s family. And hopefully the memories we make when we share Shabbat, holidays, and vacations will nurture their Jewish identity as well as reinforce mine.

Thank you to everyone at our Beth Israel community who helped to make this happen.

Challah Baking

by Marilyn Weinberg

On Monday, September 14, we had our first virtual Challah Baking workshop. Marilyn Weinberg was joined by a group of ten Beth Israel cooks to share challah baking tips, practices and recipes. It was a learning experience for all. In the end everyone created beautiful raisin filled challahs for the upcoming holidays. We can’t wait to gather again to create more holiday baking items. Stay tuned for some special Chanukah cooking lessons.

Shabbat Under the Stars

by Marilyn Weinberg

On Friday, September 11, we masked up and gathered with our lawn chairs on the front lawn of the home of Rabbi Vinikoor, Alyssa Finn and Shira for our final Shabbat Under the Stars. It felt so good to be outside together. Social distancing didn’t distract from our sense of connectedness as we hummed along to Andrew Lardie’s lovely guitar playing and listened to each other say our traditional prayers. These moments are now precious to us as we navigate these difficult times.

High Holidays Overview

by Gila Cohen-Shaw

Attending High Holiday Services in the time of Covid: Together/Apart

I love the High Holidays. I embrace all the rituals and how it marks the change from the summer to the fall, of casting away my "wrong doings" in the water and reflecting on how I can "do better," of hearing the last and first words of the Torah, the comfort of those words said every year at this time. The sweetness of honey and apples, of doughy challahs. Of wishing my family and community a "Shanah Tovah V' Metukah," a Happy and Sweet New Year with hugs and physical closeness.

While working and educating remotely is something I've done for a decade, praying communally remotely was not something I was looking forward to. Could we feel connected and have a sense of our sweet community through our laptops and iPads?

To be honest, I was not looking forward to the High Holidays remotely. I am exhausted, as we all are, from high amounts of "screen time". My enthusiasm to "be together" remotely was almost non-existent. But the pull for the comforting ritual of saying Kaddish for my (step) mom, gone six months from Covid, was stronger than figuratively "calling off" the New Year of 5781.

As always, Beth Israel Congregation, under the leadership of our wonderful Rabbi Vinikoor and the congregants who gave of their time to create thoughtful and meaningful programming during this strangest of times, created a space that exceeded my expectations.

While we couldn't all be together in the physical building, I felt "represented" by having the Rabbi present in front of the bima, her words of Torah so very meaningful. To hear Robert and Shira Gersh lead us in song remotely and the first sounds of Kol Nidre via the electric violin brought unexpected, flowing tears. Break-out rooms allowed more intimate conversation. Connecting with Bowdoin students was inspiring. Praying remotely enabled my family in New York and Philly to be together and to say Kaddish as a unit for the first time in five months, when in reality, if we were not virtual, we would have been apart.

It was so wonderful to share Sukkot outside with members of our local community. It was soul filling to be together, share in the ritual of shaking the lulav and etrog, celebrate the holiday outdoors with fresh air and sunshine and sharing some yummy treats—even with masks and distance, it felt the most "normal" I have felt in months. It felt good to laugh, sit amongst the trees and celebrate this very special time in our Jewish lives.

I am so appreciative of all who put their time, efforts and out of the box thinking to allow for this wonderful experience.

May we all be together, and not apart, sometime in the coming year.

Shanah Tovah

Tashlich

by Marilyn Weinberg

Tashlich this year felt all the more meaningful as we gathered together at the Bath waterfront to cast away our “sins”. We took turns reading comments from Ruth Bader Ginsburg and shared the Tashlich prayers. Some of the children used the boats they made from their holiday boxes to float away down the river.

The sound of the shofars from Judah and Micah Greenwald and Shira Gersh was inspiring.

Shofar Blowing

by Marilyn Weinberg

Members and friends of Beth Israel gathered both in Bath and Brunswick to hear the sounds of the shofar as we counted the days to the New Year. This practice was one we started this year because we could not be together inside. But we all enjoyed it so much it might be one of those activities that we continue even as we transition back to traditional holiday practices. Thanks to Maurie Libner, Shira Gersh, Max and Jacob Lichman and Micah Pietraho for their wonderful shofar blowing.

Sukkot

by Marilyn Weinberg

There were multiple Sukkah celebrations this year. Each one was unique and enjoyed by all. Thanks to the Rosenthal- Katz family, Dreyfus-Lane family, Boyle-Lardie family, Horowitz- Gersh family, Vinikoor-Finn family and the Connelly family for hosting such wonderful experiences.

Ben Crystal & Susan Kamin commented: “During these turbulent times, we found sanctuary and hope in the social justice themed Sukkah created by Joann and Josh. The beautiful colors and inspiring messages from prominent civil rights leaders instilled us with joy and promise for the days ahead.”

Thanks to everybody who participated.

Simchat Torah

by Marilyn Weinberg

What could be more perfect than a beautiful fall day to celebrate our Torah, our traditions and our community. Thanks to Ben Crystal for inviting some fellow band members to provide music to dance to, and for all the members who turned out to help carry the Torahs and help in the blessings. Maybe we might want to celebrate outdoors every year.

REMEMBRANCES FOR november-december 2020

May their memories be for a blessing.

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES

Listing the birthdays and anniversaries of those in our immediate family creates a wonderful opportunity for our community/shul family to have an excuse to celebrate with each other.