march 2005 ~ adar I - adar II 5765

> From the Rebbe
> Gifts of Light
> News from Dor Hadash
> eScrip and more...
> Board News ~ Congregational Meeting Summary
> Toy and Book Drive at the Jewish Community Free Clinic
> Community Happenings
> Yom Hashoah Community Commemoration
> Etz Chaim ~Tree of Life
> Jewish Family and Children's Services
> Donations Make a Difference!
> Newsletter Guidelines

Chevre and Friends...

Announcements:
SAVE THE DATE!!

Casino night ~ April 30 ~ from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Watch for your mailer.

Check out our new feature where you can click to go directly to a listed website from within our newsletter. See eScrip article...

Postings
To have your posting announced in the newsletter, please submit it by 2pm on the first Friday of every month to the newsletter editor via e-mail with the subject heading "NL/posting submission". Postings may be changed or omitted at the discretion of the editor.

Do you shop at Oliver's in Cotati or Santa Rosa, Lad's Market or Pacific Market in Santa Rosa, Andy's Market or Fiesta Market in Sebastopol, Molsberry IGA Market's in Larkfield, Anstead's Market in Healdsburg, or Speer's Market in Forestville? If you do, you can make a contribution to our community through COMMUNITYsmart. See COMMUNITYsmart below in the"eScrip and more" section for more information.

* Floor lamp for office, 3'- 4' high
* Flat heat screwdriver and other basic tools
* Someone skilled with a drill to hang some "pomegranates" on the Etz Chaim - Tree of Life

From the Rebbe

Dear Hevre,

As I made a tape for Bella, our new cantor, I was thinking about the way in which prayer and liturgy become fixed within our tradition. It's amazing to see what has changed, and what has not! We use the Reconstructionist prayerbook today, although a generation ago, in 1945, Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan was excommunicated by the Orthodox rabbinate for publishing the first Reconstructionist Siddur. Years ago, before the printing press, it was much harder to have a standardized liturgy, since all had to be shared through memory, and so most people memorized their prayers, and would say whatever was in their hearts during the more private bits of the service. It took until the Middle Ages, and some fair bit of external influence for there to even be an effort towards the canonization of the synagogue service.

From the Talmud we see that prayer was passed on orally - there is no record of anyone using a text to pray from. Prayers were shorter and simpler, the importance was in their order, and the train of thought this produced, a stress on kavanah (spiritual intent) instead of keva (fixed words). The Talmud is fully aware of and relatively untroubled by local variations in prayer practice, and any mention of standardized prayer has mostly to do with the Shema and its blessings, the Amidah, and the rules for reading Torah.

The first documentation of prayer order we have is tractate Sofrim, composed in the 6th century (with later additions), which gives the procedure for reading Torah. This was clearly written as a practical guide, but is considered to be a very late addition to the Talmud. Surely there were people practicing well before this time, but the Diaspora Jewish population was rapidly growing by then. Descriptions of liturgical practice were first designed for far off communities, later to shore up regional practice. A religious leader at a slightly later time, named Natronai, wrote to Spain in response to a question about exactly which 100 blessings one says (according to the rabbinic tradition that you should say 100 blessings a day - we have a lovely new way of doing this, thanks to Reb Gesher -- ask anyone who was at the Dor Hadash graduation ceremony). Natronai's answer is a list of prayers that his readers must largely have known, and only 4 pages long!

The earliest Siddur we have includes both the texts of the prayers, and the halakha (laws about how to live according to the Torah). We have 3 versions of the manuscript, each heavily added to by the locals (Spain, Provence, and a proto-Kabbalistic version). This is the text most widely used throughout the Middle Ages. Another early Siddur is really a halakhic treatise on how to pray, and includes poetry as well as a running theological commentary on the content of the prayers. It stresses kavanah, and is for personal use.

It became popular for scholars to compose such halakhic works, but we don't have any extant texts until Maimonides's discussion of prayer in his practical guide to Jewish law, the Mishneh Torah, which in its original form probably included an appendix with all the texts of the prayers, later abridged. This framework is still used in the Yemenite tradition. By the 10th century, there were private prayerbooks, which had just the statutory prayer and a limited, useful liturgy, and machzorim which also contained poetic additions, and expansions of the text. Differences between traditions were largely in poetic additions, not in the statutory prayer.

Prayer was significantly affected as persecutions caused migrations and resettling of varied Jewish communities, and by the development of the printing press, which lead to reliability, grave typos, and gave the rising Church something concrete to ban. These days, there are two versions of the Siddur: Ashkenazi and Sephardi. We base our prayerbooks on the former, though the differences are mainly not in the central parts of the service (like the Shema and the Amidah). With the rise of the liberal movements within Judaism, much has been re-examined and reworded, just as it was centuries ago before there was a fixed cannon, and the congregation prayed according to their hearts, varying by local custom and significance, a tradition we proudly carry on at Ner Shalom today.

L'shalom,
Elisheva

Gifts of Light

MEMORIAL DONATIONS...
ARIANA ELSTER, a donation in memory of Aaron Goldman & Helen McIlhattan
LAURIE LIPPIN, a donation in memory of Irving Israel Gelerman and Bertha Lippin Gelerman
RANDY & LIZ HAGEN, a donation in memory of Richard Simkover
SHIRA HADDITT, a donation in memory of Necie Hoard

OFFERINGS...
CLAIRE MACELROY, a donation in honor of Karen Mitchell's service to Ner Shalom
ANONYMOUS donation to cover expenses for the Re-Mitzvah class
ANNA GHANDOUR, a donation toward the front entrance
CLAIRE MACELROY, a donation for Joelle Hagen's Bat Mitzvah
LORRAINE & PAUL LICHTMAN, a donation for Rosalie Goodman's speedy recovery
MELISSA WILLABY, a donation to the general fund
GONAZLEZ FAMILY, a donation in honor of Jack Policar's Bar Mitzvah, a donation to Rabbi's Discretionary Fund, and a donation toward the new Torah stand
ROBIN BIRDFEATHER, a donation toward the new Torah stand
MARVIN & MYRNA ROGOFF, a donation toward the new Torah stand

THANK YOU...
To A.J. LEVIS, ARCHIE LEWINSTEIN, MARK COHEN, MARTY HEDLUND, GEORGE TRIEST, ARIANA ELSTER, and ANDREW WAGNER for attending our January work party and helping to beautify our synagogue entrance.
NANCY RAPP for her continued efforts in creating our new library.
MARGO MILLER for the donation of books, videos and shekels to the K/1 classroom. The shekels have sparked a few very interesting discussions about life in Israel.
A big thank you to the parent volunteers who helped make the creek clean-up on Tu B'Shevat a roaring success. Putting our values into action is such an important part of Jewish Education. We couldn't have done it without you! Special thank yous to MARTY HEDLUND and family for the fruitful snack, to BARBARA DAVIS for carting back all of the trash and recyclables and to the 7th graders for their dramatic drash.
MICHAEL FERAR for building a beautiful, new Torah stand.
To all of the rest of you who have donated to the new Torah stand.

NEW MEMBERS...
Congregation Ner Shalom extends a warm welcome to... ELLEN SOLOT

News from Dor Hadash

Shalom Chevre,
Dor Hadash School has just finished a wonderful month which included raising $120.00 for Tsunami Relief, cleaning up Cotati Creek and planting some native trees with the Cotati Creek Critters in celebration of Tu B'shvat, and having a family art experience on January 30 where participants painted welcoming tiles using Hebrew calligraphy.

Be sure to mark your calendar for another great art experience with on March 13, called Ancestral Doorways, with Carol Vanek.

Rebbe Elisheva has begun her adult education series on Israel which begins promptly at 11 am while our children are in class and everyone is welcome.

Events that we are looking forward to include a very delicious and mysterious Purim carnival on March 20th. The very creative and energetic 7th grade class is in charge of planning the event, so be sure not to miss it! More information about how you can participate will be coming!

Another remarkable event that we are planning is the First Annual Shabbaton, A Sleepover Extravaganza! There is nothing like a slumber party for building friendships and a sense of community, and this will replace the class we skipped in November. We will begin on Friday evening, May 20, with a potluck Shabbat dinner and singing for families. We will celebrate Israel Independence Day, have art projects, ice cream creativity, drama, dancing and much more. All of the teachers have willingly signed on! More information to follow.

Come join us at Dor Hadash anytime. Everyone is welcome.

B'shalom, Leslie

eScrip and more...

eScrip....Top ten merchants through whom you contributed to our community this past year were:

1. Safeway/Pak N Save
2. Oliver's Market (before leaving eScrip)
3. Whole Foods Market
4. Idine Rewards Network
5. Sonoma Market
6. Working Assets
7. Fircrest Market
8. Mary's Pizza Shack
9. Pepsi Company
10. Payless Shoes

Do you shop at these merchants? To contribute without having to think about it just register all the credit/debit cards you use with eScrip www.eScrip.com and the computers will take care of the rest. Or you can contact Michelle Marks at 778-6346 or e-mail at Steven.Marks@prodigy.net and she can help you get started.

COMMUNITYsmart.... Look at all the independent grocers who are now participating:

* Oliver's in Santa Rosa and Cotati
* Lad's Market and Pacific Market in Santa Rosa
* Andy's Market and Fiesta Market in Sebastopol
* Anstead's Market in Healdsburg
* Speer's Market in Forestville
* Molsberry IGA Market's in Larkfield

You can instantly join COMMUNITYsmart at Oliver's checkout counter, call COMMUNITYsmart at 568-4995 or go on-line to www.communitysmart.com. If you know a local merchant who might be interested in this program, mention it to them and send Michelle Marks their name, business name and phone number. Ner Shalom can receive $50 for each new merchant that we "help" sign-up with this program. E-mail or call Michelle Marks.

Albertsons.... Can you become contributor number 17?
All you need is a blue and white Preferred Savers card that is easily connected to Ner Shalom by going to www.Albertsons. com. If you need help enrolling or have any concerns let Michelle Marks know at 778-6346 or e-mail at Steven.Marks@prodigy.net.

Raley's....Thank you for contributing $15 for the last quarter of 2004!!
If you shop at Raley's and do not have one of their cards, let Michelle Marks know Steven.Marks@prodigy.net and she will get you one.

Two Internet Shopping Opportunities
SchoolPop.... Schoolpop.com is the new way to allow your internet purchases to make a contribution. If you are a former SchoolCash.com member remember to re-register at SchoolPop If you have any problems or questions please contact Michelle Marks.

us.shop.com.... Visit the newest way to contribute with your Internet shopping. If you do not find what you want at SchoolPop then try this new site for contributing to Ner Shalom. You identify our community with the "CareCode" "Ner Shalom". If you have any questions contact Mac McCaffry at mjmccaffry@sprintmail.com.

Participate in our Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) program that helps our environment and Ner Shalom.
Recycle your empty inkjet and laser printer cartridges and old cell phones through Ner Shalom. You can be a part of keeping some of the 300 million cartridges used each year out of our landfills and allow Ner Shalom to receive a contribution for each item that gets recycled. This is a great project to share with your family, neighbors and colleagues at work. A collection box is now available in the foyer of the sanctuary for your donations or you can drop them off with Carol during office hours (Tues-Fri 9am-2pm). If you have questions please contact Michelle Marks at 778- 6346. Thank you to all of those of you who have contributed to our efforts. We are close to having enough inkjet and laser printer cartridges to send off a shipment for recycling.

Board News ~ Congregational Meeting Summary

Dear Members of Congregation Ner Shalom,
One of our semi-annual congregational meetings was held on Sunday, January 23. These meetings are for all members to meet together with their Board representatives and the Rabbi to study a little Torah, to review what's going on, and to vision the future. It is also a good time for us to get better acquainted and bring individual concerns to our common attention. The advantage of belonging to a small community like Ner Shalom is that each person's voice is large. We try to choose a day and time that will attract as many of us as possible but for those of you who were unable to attend the following is offered as a summary:

We were pleased to introduce our new Office Administrator Carol Vanek.

After a long journey that took us back to one of our own, we were most pleased to introduce our new Education Director for Dor Hadash, Leslie Gattmann. This means Leslie well be back with us next year as she continues to strengthen our student's Hebrew and ability to lead services when they become B'nai Mitzvah.

Sally Churgel discussed our connection with the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation and Barbara Tobin was introduced as our representative.

Although not present, we acknowledged Bella Bogart as our newly hired Cantor. She will lead chanting services during this year filled with so many Bnai Mitzvah and sometimes will co-lead with Rabbi Elisheva during first Friday Kabbalat Shabbat services. Please see our monthly calendar for dates and locations.

And speaking of music, the musicians of Shir Halev will continue to offer us their beautiful musical Kabbalat Shabbat services on the first Friday of every other month.

Robin Lowitz and Ariana Elster gave a report on the progress of building a home on our shul property for the Jewish Community Free Clinic. An attorney in Petaluma is drawing up preliminary legal papers and the Jewish Community Free Clinic folks are busy raising the funds for construction, operating capital and endowment money to support the clinic's continued work. Look for updates in our newsletter.

Rabbi Elisheva announced plans to lead a group of us on a journey to Israel. There are a few places left for those who wish to join. The group will depart on May 7 and returning on May 22. Prices and details will be coming out soon by email. Please call the office if you are interested and do not receive this email.

It was acknowledged that A.J. Levis has been working with a few dedicated others to repair the pillars at the entrance of our building and to replace the handrails. Many of us have offered special designated contributions towards this project. Please add to this good cause if you feel so moved.

Nancy Rapp is diligently working toward the fruition of a dream she has had for Ner Shalom of a library/ lounge. The small room at the end of the hall near the kitchen has been cleared of all the stored goods, bookshelves have been build by a friend of Ner Shalom, Sunny Grillo, and Nancy is now painting and decorating the room in the style of Italian Renaissance. A dedication of the room may be held as early as March 21.

Nancy and A.J. have set examples for us on how to love our building using our individual vision and talents. Please bring your visions and talents to one of us on the Board for launching.

Ari Kimiti Wangoo, Religious Committee chair, noted that the committee is working to frame a set of standards for our designated cemetery area in Santa Rosa Memorial Park. He also reminded us that now is the time to get the special introductory offer on plots in our cemetery. This committee also reviews the process and content of our services. Please consider attending these committee meetings to offer your input. All are welcome.

Michelle Marks, our treasurer, gave the financial report. Our biggest problem is that our income from dues only covers 45% of our expenses. Reconstructionist shuls need this figure to be somewhere between 60-80% because we tend not to have endowments like many of the older Reform and Conservative congregations. She also noted that our average yearly dues payment is $600, which means over half of our congregation claims they make $40,000/year or less. We need our members to honor our fair share dues request as well as contribute to the building fund. The only way we will make the current budget that is as stripped down as we can make it (the Rabbi is cut back to 2/3 time) is for us to have a big fundraiser.

A fundraiser event is in the planning for April 30. Please save the date. More will be revealed as Mollie Nagel and Kristi Pearson develop sub-committees and individual jobs for us.

Quite a lot is happening with our congregation and there is much more but enough said for this column. What is it that makes you smile about Ner Shalom? Please follow that smile and show it to us.

With best regards,
Ariana

GOT IDEAS FOR A FUNDRAISER? We desperately need volunteers to help with our annual fundraiser.

COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Education Committee - Liz Hagen 829-3031

Finance Committee - Michelle Marks 778- 6346

Building Committee - Mark Cohen 792- 4368

Membership Committee - Sally Churgel 823- 0541

Newsletter - Pam Pepper 588-8824

Personnel - Barbara Lesch-McCaffry 585- 2291

Publicity Committee - Archie Lewinstein 795- 3493

Toy and Book Drive at the Jewish Community Free Clinic

At the JEWISH COMMUNITY FREE CLINIC we try to send each child home with a positive memory of visiting "the doctor."

Children who come to the Jewish Community Free Clinic for their health care often go home with a "new" toy or an interesting book to read. A trip home from the clinic with a new toy in hand can be remembered as a rewarding experience rather than as a scary one. And a new book to read at home can promote reading literacy, and enjoyment, for the whole family of the child/patient.

The JEWISH COMMUNITY FREE CLINIC seeks donations of lightly used toys and books to give away to children who visit the Clinic. Small toys without removable parts are preferred. Small stuffed animals and dolls are ideal.

If one family (or more) from each congregation in Sonoma County would coordinate the collection of toys and books from their membership, we would have an ongoing supply of them to offer our patients. And you can be sure; the need for them is ongoing. WHAT A GREAT MITZVAH FOR UPCOMING BAT AND BAR MITZVAHS!

We treat sick children at all three of our weekly clinics and have a special Well Child and Immunization Clinic for children every Tuesday afternoon. The Clinic is run by a mostly volunteer, often bilingual, clinical staff, which treats low-income individuals and families who do not have medical insurance, regardless of ethnicity, religion or citizenship status.

If you have toys or books to donate, or would like to coordinate the collection at your synagogue, contact the Volunteer Coordinator at the JEWISH COMMUNITY FREE CLINIC. Phone: 792-1932 Email: schedule@jewishfreeclinic.org
The web site for the JEWISH COMMUNITY FREE CLINIC is www.jewishfreeclinic.org

Yom Hashoah Community Commemoration

COURAGE IN ADVERSITY

This year, the Yom Hashoah Community Commemoration which, as usual, is scheduled for the Sunday preceding Yom Hashoah, will coincide with Mother's Day, presenting our community the opportunity to observe two very special occasions on the same day, Sunday, May 8th.We invite you to plan the day accordingly to include attendance at the Commemoration at 2 pm, The Cooperage, Sonoma State University.

A dramatic presentation of a Jewish family hiding in Berlin, and the many righteous gentiles who helped the members survive at the heart of the Nazi regime, will be the feature this year at the Commemoration. Titled "U-Boats in Berlin," and written by Susanne Batzdorff of Beth Ami, the presentation dramatizes the extraordinary courage and collaboration of the Jewish family and their gentile supporters, trying to elude and survive the machinery of death and destruction relentlessly pursuing and threatening all of them.

Three of the family members being portrayed are expected to attend the Commemoration: Ruth Gumpel, who lives in Petaluma, and her brother and sister-in-law, expected from Rochester, NY. Barbara Lovenheim, author of Survival in the Shadows, a book-length version of this family's story, also hopes to be present at the Commemoration. Brian Newberg, drama teacher at Santa Rosa Junior College, is director of the dramatic program to be performed by a cast of six students and colleagues.

In addition to the featured program, the Commemoration will include the traditional lighting of memorial candles by six survivors of the Shoah, presentation of the winner of the Susy Raful Essay Contest, and musical renditions by Fredi Bloom of B'nai Israel in Petaluma. Rabbi George Gittleman of Congregation Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa will offer the Invocation and Benediction.

Everyone has an opportunity to participate in this observance and remembrance by contributing the names of family and friends who perished in the Shoah. The names will be published in a memorial book that will be available at the Commemoration. Yellow memorial candles to light on Erev Yom Hashoah will again be available to take home after the conclusion of the Commemoration.

Those who have submitted forms in prior years will receive a renewal notice in the mail in March. Others who wish to contribute names of friends or relatives lost in the Shoah may obtain Registration Forms at the JCA or at any synagogue office. Please return all Victims' Registration Forms to the JCA office by March 31, 2005.

Etz Chaim ~Tree of Life

Etz Chaim - Tree of Life
Our Tree of Life in the Oneg room began as a way to thank those in our community who worked so hard to establish our permanent home in Cotati.
It will now be used to help Ner Shalom continue to flourish through the celebration of life events. A simcha leaf to honor a special life event and a pomegranate to commemorate the seeds of our community's hard work, our B'nai Mitzvahs, can be obtained through a donation of 10 Chai or $180. To mark your special occasion with a simcha leaf or pomegranate please contact the office.

Donations Make a Difference!

Donations to Ner Shalom Make A Difference!

*Building Repair Fund
*Dor Hadash School
*Etz Chaim (Tree of Life)
*General Fund
*Music Fund
*Rabbi's Discretionary Fund
*Teen Fund
*Tikkun Olam Fund
*Written Word/Torah Fund
*Waldman Challenge Fund

Honor some one; remember an event or a special person. Donations (minimum of $6 {1/3 Chai} per listing) will be listed in the Gifts of Light section of the next newsletter. Send the donation to the office with the appropriate designation or call the office at 664-8622 for more information. Your generous support of Ner Shalom is greatly appreciated.

Memorialize the memory of a loved one with a Yahrzeit Plaque on our Wall of Remembrance. The cost of a plaque and inscription is $200. Please contact the office at 664-8622 for more information

Newsletter Guidelines

*1. Deadline will be at 2:00p.m. on the first Friday of every month (unless arrangements have been made with the editor of the newsletter.)

*2. All submissions should be sent to the editor via e- mail with the subject heading: NL submission.

*3. Editor will change, edit, or delete any or all portions of submission(s) as deemed necessary without prior approval of the author.

*4. Editor is not responsible for retrieving submissions from other sources. It is the responsibility of the author to submit all necessary components to the editor by the deadline.