Shul News & Notes
Shul Members Step Up To Prepare Onegs and Kiddush Lunches
The Shofar joins the membership in commending Sisterhood president Adrianne Greenberg for arranging Friday evening Onegs and Saturday Kiddush lunches. To that end, many thanks to September preparers Diane Whitsit, Deborah Rivera-Pittorino, Paul Jeselsohn and Francis Dubois, and Gayle and Micah Kaplan.
The tasks are simple to perform, and volunteers are needed. Won’t you step up, and sign up? Visit the shul’s website, click on the “oneg and kiddish volunteers” link, and enter your name in any available date. First-timers can download the preparation instructions. Questions? Call the shul at 631-477-0232 and leave a message for Adrianne.
Book Circle Hosts Long Island Memoirist For Insightful Discussion
Fern Bernstein, author of Mah Jongg Monday, joined the shul’s Book Circle group on Wednesday, August 28, in the community room, for an insightful discussion about her debut memoir of faith, friendship and love around the Mah Jongg table, and how the weekly sessions with five friends helped to sustain her as she coped with personal challenges. Pictured with the writer, back row center, are members of the Book Circle, led by shul president Susan Rosenstreich, left.
Adrianne Greenberg photo
Popular JTS Ethics Course Offered At Our Shul, Beginning Dec. 8
The shul’s Education Committee has chosen a course developed by the Jewish Theological Seminary, to be offered at our shul beginning in December. The course, titled “The Ethical Life: Jewish Values in an Age of Choice,” has been purchased through the Marshall S. Hurwitz Fund for Special Programs and Projects. It is designed to guide participants in understanding how Jewish ethics can inform discussions and decisions about critical issues of the day. Rabbi Gadi Capela is the facilitator.
The complete course is 12 classes, and is divided into three sections. Each of the 12 classes begins with a video lecture by a JTS faculty member on an ethical dilemma. Some examples are “The Ethics of Torture and Just War,” “Ethics and the Lived Experience — A Feminist Approach,” “Advance Directives and the Ethics of End-of-Life Care.” Also included are links to background readings and primary texts.
More than 100 synagogues — Conservative, Reform and Orthodox — have subscribed to the course with positive responses from participants, such as the following:
- “…students were engaged with the text and the videos…and
benefitted from the sustained discussion about each topic.”
- “…the course gave students the ability to make connections
between Jewish wisdom and the 21st century.”
- …the fundamental wisdom of the ancient masters combined
with the wisdom of contemporary Jewish scholars…some issues
were timeless, and some were timely.”
Here’s what you need to know
The first section of three classes will begin on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 11:30 a.m., and will continue on Dec. 15 and 22. All materials will be provided, and transportation will be arranged for members requiring it. All classes will be recorded, and all participants will receive an online link that will allow them to view the videos at home if they cannot be present. Members of the North Fork Reform Synagogue and Temple Israel of Riverhead will be invited to participate. The cost is $36 for the complete course of 12 classes. To sign up, call the shul office at 631-477-0232 or email ctigreenport@gmail.com and provide your contact information, including mobile phone number and email address, and request for transportation, if necessary. You can send your check for $36, made out to Congregation Tifereth Israel, to the shul at P.O. Box 659, Greenport, NY 11944, or bring your check to the first class on Dec. 8.
Volunteer Opportunities Galore As Shul Gears Up For The Season
The summer doldrums have given way to an eventful fall here at the shul. This is your opportunity to give us a hand with one or more of a variety of events in the planning stages. Choose to participate where your interests lie. You’ll have fun and the satisfaction of helping when and where needed. Call the shul at 631-477-0232 and volunteer for the following:
- The Garden Committee: Adrianne Greenberg and Veronica Kaliski have been heading up the gardening efforts in Andrew Levin Park. Remember all those veggies and herbs, yours for the taking in recent years? The two gardeners would like to expand the plantings for spring and beef up the garden maintenance. If you would like to get your hands in the dirt, call the shul and leave a message for Adrianne and Veronica that you would like to help.
- Sukkot is coming, which means erecting the shul’s sukkah. The sukkah will go up in Andrew Levin Park on Thursday, Oct.10, (the day after Yom Kippur), at 10 a.m., hopefully with many strong hands to make light work. Call the shul and let Micah Kaplan know you’ll be there.
- What’s a sukkah with no decorations? Let’s not find out. Call the shul and let Elaine Goldman know you’ll come on Oct. 10 to help decorate the sukkah. Nothing fancy-schmancy, but nicely colorful. The shul has a box of goodies, but feel free to bring your own creations.
- The Sisterhood has two requests for volunteers. The first is a familiar refrain, and one volunteer opportunity the shul would like to continue — with help from members. Friday evening onegs and Saturday kiddish lunches make Shabbats at our shul so enjoyable. It’s easy to volunteer. You can check the shul’s website for available signup weekends as well as how-to preparations. Or call the shul and leave a message for Sisterhood president Adrianne Greenberg regarding your availability.
- The second Sisterhood request is for kitchen help to set up the break-the-fast meal that follows the concluding Yom Kippur service. Can you do some shopping? Can you work in the kitchen on Oct. 8? Lots of slicing and arranging. And good camaraderie and companionship, too. Call the shul and let Adrianne know how you can help.
Shul To Dedicate And Install Gift Of Strimban Paper Sculpture
The shul is planning a formal dedication and installation ceremony of Robert Strimban’s paper sculpture titled “The Unfinished Rabbi.” The event will take place on Sunday, Oct. 20, at 11 a.m., immediately following that morning’s meeting of the Congregation, which begins at 10 a.m. All shul members are invited to attend. The Men’s Club will provide refreshments.
“The Unfinished Rabbi” is the creation of well-known sculptor Robert Strimban, whose works are on view at various museums and outdoor venues, and in private collections. In 2016, at the invitation of the shul’s Judaism and Art group, Bob, as he preferred to be called, presented a small sample of his sculptures and paintings to an enthusiastic audience of J&A members. The following year, he joined the group and began working on a piece he referred to as “The Rabbi,” a near life-sized head made entirely of white paper, fashioned with only an Xacto knife, glue, and his hands. At each meeting, J&A members could follow the slow evolution of a compelling head, elegant and dignified but with a compassionate gaze.
We will never know when Bob would have deemed the work finished, because in December 2017, he died at age 94, after a short illness. But the sculpture was shown as Bob had intended, in March 2018, at J&A’s first exhibit at the shul. Bob’s wife, artist Irma Strimban, affixed the yarmulke that Bob had fashioned for the piece in time for the opening of the show. Titled “Who Art Thou?, the show introduced the Strimban piece and examples from seven other artists working in various media to explore their connection to Judaism through art.
After the exhibit, Irma Strimban and the J&A group began the process of mounting the work in order to gift it to the synagogue. The mounting was designed by Walter DeGroot, a local sculptor, and completed with the help of framing professionals in New York City. Funds were provided by Irma Strimban, the J&A group, and the synagogue. Following the dedication and installation, the work will be on permanent display in the synagogue.
Get Social