Shul News & Notes
Gift Shop Stocks New Seder Plates and Fun Matza Aprons And Sets
Hold on to your yarmulkes, the first Passover Seder is on Wednesday, April 8. For those brave souls making Seder at home, the shul’s Gift Shop has attractive new Seder plates to accommodate the ceremonial dishes, one of them with a matching matza plate. The set would make a lovely addition to your Seder table, or a meaningful gift for your host.
The Gift Shop has also stocked those fun Passover aprons in a matza pattern. Whether you choose the apron alone or the set that includes an apron, pot holder and oven mitt, your gift will amuse and delight your Seder host, or add to the festivities in your own home.
For these and other Judaica items, call the shul at 631-477-0232 and leave a message for Sara Bloom.
Hold on to your yarmulkes, the first Passover Seder is on Wednesday, April 8. For those brave souls making Seder at home, the shul’s Gift Shop has attractive new Seder plates to accommodate the ceremonial dishes, one of them with a matching matza plate. The set would make a lovely addition to your Seder table, or a meaningful gift for your host.
The Gift Shop has also stocked those fun Passover aprons in a matza pattern. Whether you choose the apron alone or the set that includes an apron, pot holder and oven mitt, your gift will amuse and delight your Seder host, or add to the festivities in your own home.
For these and other Judaica items, call the shul at 631-477-0232 and leave a message for Sara Bloom.
An Urgent Message From CAST
Shul members responding to the Long-Range Planning Committee’s recent survey indicated a desire for greater involvement in CAST (Community Action Southold Town). Many of us regularly donate clothing, household items, food, etc. for distribution to those in need.
How else can we help? Shul president Susan Rosenstreich and shul member Veronica Kaliski recently met with Cathy Demeroto, executive director of the organization, and a number of ideas were suggested. One of those ideas requires immediate attention, and all of us can help.
CAST clients are in great need of personal care items, such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, dental floss, mouthwash, deodorant (for men and women), shampoo and hair conditioner, feminine hygiene products, baby diapers and baby wipes, razors and shaving cream, toilet tissue and facial tissues, paper towels and napkins, personal soaps and laundry detergent, Band-Aids and topical disinfectant. Please place your donations in the “Personal items for CAST” basket in the shul’s vestibule.
Other opportunities to help the CAST mission will be announced soon, but this need is critical. Please join us in this Congregation effort. For more information, call the shul at 631-477-0232 and leave a message for the president.
Shul Member’s Holocaust Book Reissued On 75th Liberation Year
Lume Books, London, has reissued a memoir by Aron Goldfarb, as told to shul member Graham Diamond, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII and the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. In a new foreword, the anniversary edition includes reflections on Goldfarb’s life and legacy from his sons, Morris and Ira.
Maybe You Will Survive tells the story of 15-year-old Aron Goldfarb’s escape from the Holocaust after the Nazis invaded his home in Poland. Not only was he able to escape from his imprisonment in Pionki labor camp, but he and his brother then overcame unbelievable odds to survive seven grueling months hidden together in self-made, underground bunkers until the end of the war — directly under the noses of the SS officers who were hunting them.
“Working on the project with Aron Goldfarb was an experience I’ll never forget,” Graham Diamond said. “I taped Aron and took copious notes. Tears came to Aron’s eyes as he spoke about his childhood, his father, his mother, his brothers, his town, his world. My job was to make it come alive, to make him and what he shared as real as possible. I am grateful for the opportunity I was given.”
The anniversary edition is due to publish worldwide on April 20.
A New Passover Experience: You Are Invited To Zoom In
It’s a first for our shul: a Zoom Seder. Following the success of our first Zoom Shabbat (see page 5), we’re looking forward to our first Zoom Seders. As you already know, owing to the continuing spread of the Coronavirus, shul president Susan Rosenstreich and her board of directors made a wise decision to cancel the ecumenical Seder for GEM (Greenport Ecumenical Ministry) members and parishioners, as well as the two Passover Seders that had been planned at our shul. But to help us continue the tradition of our families and friends joining together to welcome the Passover holiday, you are invited to Zoom in for one or both Seders on Wednesday and Thursday, April 8 and 9, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Rabbi Gadi Capela will lead the ceremonial portion of the Seders. The Haggadah to be used by the rabbi will be emailed to all participants in advance of the Seders.
To fully enjoy the experience, it is recommended you have a cup of wine and your own Seder plate at hand with your Zoom-ready electronic device (computer, phone or tablet). For instructions on readying your device, you can contact Andrea Blaga at the shul.
The significance of the Passover Seder
This year, Passover begins just two days before the Christian holiday of Good Friday, which falls on April 10. This concurrence adds significance for some observers of both faiths; the night before Jesus was crucified by the Romans, his last meal was a Seder.
The ceremonial portion of the Passover observance retells the story of the Exodus in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. Jews throughout the world have celebrated Passover for more than 3,000 years, and yet the story of religious freedom is as meaningful today as it was during the time of the Pharaohs.
Reading the Haggadah, whether via Zoom or in the quiet of one’s home, can be spiritually uplifting. The Haggadah tells the story, explains the symbols, addresses the issue of slavery, reflects on the beauty of freedom, and expresses gratitude to God for life’s many blessings. Among the symbolic foods called for in the Haggadah are haroset to symbolize the mortar the Jewish slaves made for bricks in Egypt; matza to remind us of the hastily prepared, unrisen bread made by the Jews as they fled Egypt across the desert; a roasted lamb bone that represents the sacrifice that spared the Jewish children from God’s plague; and saltwater and horseradish which represent tears shed by enslaved people and the bitterness of captivity. But with parsley and eggs, we celebrate rebirth and hope for the future.
Please let the shul know your plans. Email Andrea at ctigreenport@gmail.com with your email address, and number of those who will be Zooming in for the first and second Seders. Your donation of from $5 to $25 will be appreciated. May we be together at a Passover Seder this year and next — at our shul or by Zooming in.
Shul Introduces Two Tech Initiatives For Members And Friends
Shul Introduces Two Tech Initiatives For Members And Friends
A ShulCloud message from shul president Susan Rosenstreich informed members that although the synagogue is closed as a measure to thwart the spread of coronavirus and keep congregants safe, efforts to maintain connection to shul rituals and activities are under way. To that end, two new initiatives debuted in March.
Online Shabbat
As shul president, Susan Rosenstreich’s message this month reveals, sometimes it takes a revolutionary event to bring about a revolution. The event, of course, is the global jolt of coronavirus and its devastatingly disruptive consequences on all of our lives. The ensuing revolution is the shul’s compelling response to the gloom felt by many of us, suddenly bereft of the shul community.
With everlasting thanks and gratitude to the tech-savvy in our shul, particularly Andrea Blaga, Steve Benthal, Judith Weiner, and Rabbi Gadi, and with the wizardry of a computer application called Zoom, the shul reopened on Friday, March 20, at 7:41 p.m., with 24 members and friends joined in an historic event — the first online Shabbat service at Congregation Tifereth Israel.
On the 19th, members received an email with instructions on how to participate. Andrea had simplified the procedure for Zoom first-timers and also the technologically-lame among us. Many of us rehearsed the so-called “meeting” on Thursday afternoon, in preparation for the real thing on the 20th.
On Shabbat, March 20, Rabbi Gadi, who “hosted the meeting” (the Zoom program’s language), signed in at 7 and, one by one, members “entered the meeting.” Each was acknowledged with hand waves, “hello’s” and “welcome’s” from those already assembled. It was a convivial, chatty group, until finally, Steve Benthal said, “Let’s quiet down and let the rabbi start the service.”
We listened. We sang. We recited. We enjoyed seeing and interacting with each other, virtually. After several weeks of a shuttered shul, we rejoiced in celebrating Shabbat together. It was a fun, spirited and communal event, followed similarly the following morning at 9:30.
Admittedly, a few warts and wrinkles — no prayer books, many of us relying on familiar passages and songs committed to memory, some background noise, some inconsistencies among the laptops, desktops, phones and tablets — but, as Rabbi Gadi pointed out, “The virus that would separate us, has brought us together. Welcome to the future.”
Joining Rabbi Gadi at the first online Shabbat service at our shul were Steve Benthal, Andrea Blaga, Sara Bloom, Tom Byrne and Veronica Kaliski, Alan and Rochelle Garmise, Miriam Gabriel and Adrianne Greenberg, Roberta Garris, Ann Hurwitz, Miriam Kaplan, Bill Packard, Joanna Paulsen, Deborah Pittorino, Susan and Saul Rosenstreich, Madelyn Rothman, Sally (a guest), Carol Seigel, Michael and Cookie Slade, Irma Strimban, and Judy Weiner. The verdict: Remarkable!
Once again, on Friday and Saturday, March 27 and 28, and until it is safe for us to reconvene in our own sanctuary, Rabbi Gadi will host the second series of online Shabbat services at Congregation Tifereth Israel. To join, check your email for instructions, or call Andrea at the shul, 631-477-0232 or email her at ctigreenport@gmail.com/.
With health and safety of prime concern since the potential spread of the coronavirus has shuttered schools, businesses and even our shul, Zoom and similar programs are maintaining connections vital to business and individual wellbeing. In addition to Shabbat services, the shul plans to use the program to arrange board and congregation meetings, committee meetings, and other ways to keep in touch with members…such as the shul’s new Shul Schmooze column.
Shul Schmooze
Coming soon to your email inbox is the first issue of a new shul publication. Please welcome Shul Schmooze. Nu, nu, what’s that all about?
Shul Schmooze is a new online column for shul members, who are invited to contribute to the column — maybe a poem, a joke, a recipe, a photo, or just a message that you are here, saying “Hello” to everyone out there. The idea behind Shul Schmooze is to provide an antidote to the social distancing, self-quarantine, isolation and aloneness many of us may be feeling in this time of coronavirus.
Like other new technological developments initiated in March, Shul Schmooze is the brainchild of shul member Judith Weiner and our office assistant, Andrea Blaga. Email your contributions to the column by contacting Andrea at ctigreenport@gmail.com/. What’s going on with you? Let’s schmooze.
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