The Bulletin of Congregation Ner Tamid, December 1997

December 1997 - Vol. XVII No. 3 2 Kislev - 2 Tebeth 5758 Sanford D. Akselrad Rabbi Bella Feldman Cantorial Soloist Bob Unger President Monty E. Willey Jacqueline Fleekop Jill Ginsburg Executive Director Education Director Program Director Allan Nathanson CNT?s Congregant of the Year 1997 Worship Services 2 Message from the President 2 Notes from Our Cantorial Soloist 4 School News 5 Director?s Spotlight 7 B?nai Mitzvah 8 Auxiliaries & Committees 9 Birthdays & Anniversaries 12 ?Tributes 15 Yahrzeits 17 Religious School Calendar 17 Allan was born in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York ana lived in the Brooklyn area most of his life. He graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School and spent the next two years at Brooklyn College. In February of 1952, he enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving as a weatherman until his discharge in February 1956. Over the course of the four years, he was stationed in Illinois and New York, prior to being sent to Kunson AFB for a one year tour of duty during the Korean War. After his return, he served two years at Hill AFB in Utah. Upon his return to civilian life, he began work at Manufactur?ers Trust Company as a rack clerk. He returned to New York School of Commerce as he worked his way through every possible position in the bank on his way to becoming a Vice President and Loan Officer. Allan remained with the bank (through several name changes) for thirty-tnree years. In addition to his job, he was a busy volunteer, working for Pals for Palsy in a variety of capacities for over twenty years. He also served on the boards of the Boro Park Chamber of Commerce and Maimonides Medical Center. Allan was a successful fundraiser for Hasidic schools near his office. In 1987 he brought a home in Las Vegas, a city he has grown to love since his first visit here in 1954. He moved here permanently in (continued on page 17) Q/ou awe invited Id join die &emfde Cd&oawd, and In Aionariny aaw ifiiwituad Aeadew an f/ie occasion of'Ait A lOtA yeaw a/> Tdooddji at ffcmyweyation dddew &amid and to cedeAwate Am 13d yeaw in die ddoaAAtnate. ddde awe fdamniny om evonina- ce/eArratian an dfArtdayjffdriuawy 9 avid a (d&aw CftyAdouaA Odi &^atawday, djanoawy 10. -?acA iervice id often to die canyweyatwn and year fiawttNfiation id oncauwayed to i/iout auw afiftweeiatian fow Am devotion and Aave. Cld) ce/eArration dinner id a/do fdonned witA /amited ieatiny avaiAaAAe at $125few fiewdon. ffaddie demfde at 733-6?2.92few- more information. <dt SpjeeiaL rPluee dJocWbrship Services Conducted by Rabbi Sanford D. Akselrod & Cantorial Soloist Bella Feldman December 5 Tot Shabbat 6:30pm Katie Oseas BatMitzvah 7:30pm Oneg sponsored by the Oseas Family December 6 Samantha Saltzman BatMitzvah 10:00am Kiddush sponsored by the Saltzman Family December 12 Spencer Kaplan Bar Mitzvah 7:30pm Oneg sponsored by the Kaplan Family December 13 Second Saturday Minyon & Torah Study 9:00am Ari Klein-Levine Bar Mitzvah 10:00am Kiddush sponsored by Judy Klein December 19 Channukah Family Service & 90th Birthday of Sallie Gordon 7:30pm Oneg co-sponsored by the Sisterhood and the Family of Sallie Gordon December 20 Dani & Jenna Bromberg B'nai Mitzvah 10:00am Kiddush sponsored by the Bromberg Family December 26 Shabbat Services 7:30pm Oneg Sponsored by the Sisterhood December 27 David Rakita & Rachel Klafter-Phillips B?nai Mitzvah 10:00am Kiddush sponsored by the Rakita & Klafter-Phillips Families Corqreqa rioN Ner Tamsd m ESSAGE FROM OUR TEMPLE PRESIDENT Congregation Ner Tamici recently sent its largest delegation ever to the Union of American Hebrew Congregations Biennia! Convention in Dallas, Texas. Fifteen members of our congregation attended the convention along with over 4500 other delegates from around the United States and Canada. The number of attendees from our Con?gregation is remarkable since, ex?cept for staff members who were asked by the Board to attend, each of the congregants paid their own way and registration fees. It was an experience we will all never for?get. We all learned a great deal about our religion, our reform movement, andabout how to im?prove our own Temple. Please bear with me in my effort to pass on some of the things we learned, which must be passed on to all of our members. The Best of Times for Reform Judaism As Reform Jews we are all part of the best of times and the worst of times for our movement. Attending the recent biennial con?vinced me that the reform move?ment is clearly the movement that will succeed in reinvigorating the Jewish people. The movement is at its strongest and is inspiring and bringing thousands of previously uninvolved American Jews back into its congregations and back to Judaism. My own background, growing up in Las Vegas, was in tne conservative movement. While 1 do not remember any specific at?tempt to create the impression that reform Jews were lesser Jews than we were, I still grew up with the belief that reform Jews didn?t real?ly practice Judaism, but something less. What 1 know now, and be?lieve in the strongest terms possi?ble is that the reform movement is passionately devoted to the teach?ings of Torah, the continuation of the life of the Jewish people, and a deeply Jewish way of life for its members. The fact that the move?ment has chosen to change some of the customs and ritual involved in practicing our religion has noth?ing to do with the level of passion for and commitment to Judaism. In fact, I am in awe of the intellec?tual effort put forth by our leader?ship in their effort to keep Judaism relevant to more and more Jews while the other movements con?tinue to see declines in their mem?bership. The reform movement already represents the largest num?ber of Jews in North America and will soon represent over half of all American Jews. In fact during the recent World Zionist election held to determine the representation of each movement in the World Zionist Congress, ARZA, the Zionist arm of the UAHC received over half of the votes, conserva?tives about 25% and orthodox about 10%. One of the signs of strengtl^ of the UAHC is that it wants mo^A from its members. At the bienni^^ Rabbi Eric Yoffie made an eloquent plea for an all out effort to improve the Jewish literacy of our member?ship. This was not an attempt to get us all to learn Hebrew, but an effort to get us to learn about who we are as a people. As he said, ?Too many of us know the name of the mother of Jesus but not the mother of Moses.? Our Jewish literacy will not come just from attending services (although that will help!). We must do more. It will come from each of us taking on the challenge of learning offered by Rabbi Yoffie. He suggested a 5-point program of Jewish learning and torah study for our Congregations to follow and 1 will ask tne Board to adopt the program at Congregation Ner Tamid. During the next few months, we will be hearing more details about the 5-point program and I strongly encourage all of us to participate. A video of Rabbi Yoffie?s sermon, along with Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres?s speech to the delegates^^ available for viewing at the Tei^B pie. We will also be nappy to mar DECEMbER 1997 or fax copies of the sermon to you. Please call the temple office if you are interested in viewing or leading the sermon. The Worst of Times for Reform Judaism As I said at the beginning of this article, this is also the worst of times for our movement. As the Rabbi I have been discussing in previous bulletins, the situation in Israel is deteriorating quickly. We may be entering one of the most SELF-DESTRUCrtVE periods in the modern history of the Jewish peo?ple. Unfortunately, the battle for ?ownership? of Israel is being lost to the right wing religious move?ment. The battle is not only in Is?rael. There is an ever-increasing rhetoric being published in the United States by orthodox sects and Chabad challenging our right to be Jews at all. Shimon Peres told the assembly at the UAHC con?vention; ?the Torah belongs to all of us! Not just the right wing reli?gious parties.? The current Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his government have gone on record supporting the position of ?Ihe right wing leaders. One of Tiese leaders was recently quoted, in response to a question about meeting with the Reform Con?servative leadership as saying that he would sit down and negotiate with the Hamas because they are religious men, but would not sit with our leaders because they are clowns. It now appears that these ?religious? leaders have the votes to make their divisive position the law of the State of Israel. At stake is freedom of religion in Israel of all places. What is more striking about what is happening in Israel is that less than 20% of Israeli?s identify themselves as practicing Jews. For years the religious par?ties in Israel have fought the efforts of the Conservative and Reform movements. As a result there are very few institutions or congregations from these groups, which comprise about 90% of American Jews. Left with the choice of Orthodox practice or nothing, over 80% of Israeli?s have chosen a secular lifestyle. Under these circumstances, I we can not allow the status quo to Vontinue. Your right to call yourself a Jew is under attack. We must developed in the past few years. The alternative to successful coop?eration will be the potential col?lapse of Federations throughout the United States and increased ani?mosity between the Conservative and Reform movements. This is the goal of the right wing religious parties. We can not allow these groups, which are aligned to only 10% of American Jewry to destroy our local Jewish communities. In response to those who suggest boycotting Israel I can say that! have, in the recent past, been among you. However 1 now believe this too is a self-defeating response to the right wing. Once again it is what they want. We can not pull out of Israel and leave it to them. We must redouble our efforts to build reform programs and institutions there. I am hope?ful that we will be able to do this through our own Federation but we must also be prepared to provide direct support if necessary. The Bottom Line In summary, the two chal?lenges facing us are the level of Jewish literacy of our membership and the right to call ourselves Jews. Although both are very different problems, they are related to each other. The basis of the orthodox claim that we are not Jews is that we do not follow the rituals asso?ciated with daily commitment to Judaism. What the orthodox do not accept is that our movement is just as passionate about its love of Judaism. The Orthodox Jews rely on the belief that we are jewishly illiterate. If we believe that the reform movement?s approach to Judaism is an enlightened approach then we must tiring the tools Reform Judaism provides to us in its approach to learning and living Toran into our everyday lives. Once we have raised our level of Jewish literacy to the point when the dis?cussion and debate of Jewish val?ues in our homes is a regular occurrence, no one will be able to question our right to call ourselves Jews. At the same time we have to take real action to protect our rights in Israel. No group has the monopoly on our Jewish heritage. We have much to do. We must begin today! ?Bo6 ( t (Speeiul r()luce Qir fielomf December 1997 take action now to bring about change in Israel. This is too impor?tant for any of us to deal with inac?tively, by only listening to appeals of our our leadership. We must all get into the fight. We must heed tne words of our Rabbis and lead?ers and get involved. What is going on is both a lay and rabbinic issue. The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) is doing what they can. We must do our part. This is the only way rabbinic and lay voices will be heard. Many of our members have suggested withholding contribu?tions to the Federation as a response to the current crisis. Oth?ers have suggested boycotting Israel until our voices are heard. Both of these responses would be self-defeating. First, the Federation is a community organization that has worked hard to create a cohe?sive Las Vegas Jewish Community. Most of our Federation?s efforts and most of the funds spent are for pro?grams in the Las Vegas Valley. Congregation Ner Tamid received the largest share of any local con?gregation from the educational funds provided by the Federation. While, admittedly these funds are a small portion of our annual bud?get, the fact is we are well repre?sented on the Federation board and have developed an excellent rela?tionship with that organization. However, there are things that can be done within the Feder?ation that can improve the situa?tion in Israel. Throughout the United States, several local Federa?tions are taking a more direct role is distribution of funds within Isra?el. Many have established their own trustees in Israel to distribute funds and monitor the success of programs supported. It is unfortu?nate that very little attention has been paid to what religious sects were receiving the benefits from funding to Israel in the past. Frank?ly, I don?t believe we anticipated the level of contempt for the Amer?ican form of Judaism that has de?veloped. 1 intend to work with the Federation?s Board of Directors to reach mutually agreeable grantees and institutions in Israel to receive the approximately 30% of Federa?tion funds appropriated to Israel annually. I am hopeful they will be able to respond to our move?ments concerns, while at the same time continuing the excellent local programs and support that hasDuring my most recent visit with Cantor Sharlin in Los Angeles this past month, I discussed the explosion of growth at our Syna?gogue and tne increase in the number of B?nai Mitzvah students. Throughout the months of Novem?ber and December alone, our Synagogue will have celebrated a record number of 12 B?nai Mitzvah. As our membership has grown, our simchas have more them doubled. It brings me great joy and pride to be able to experience and share this important life cycle event with so many families; but as 1 tell all of the students, anything that is very important requires a lot of work. Over the next year we will have almost fifty B?nai Mitzvah celebra?tions at our Temple. It would be an impossible task for one person to prepare all of these students and fortunately this year we found a wonderful person to assist in this training. Since the beginning of the school year Laurel Lardent, one of our congregants, has been working with the students during religious school on Sundays and some Tuesdays. Laurel has several years experience as a private tutor and she also tutored in our religious school last year. Our Temple has a wonderful tradition of having the Bar/Bat Mitzvah student lead the majority of the Service as well as chant their Torah and Haftorah portions. Lau?rel?s assistance with this process has proven to be very effective with all of our most recent B?nai Mitzvah. We are very lucky to have Laurel as part of our staff and the entire congregation can look forward to the many simchas that lie ahead. It?s hard to believe Chanukah is right around the comer but we?re already practicing Chanukah music so it must be true! Our junior Choir has been asked to participate the city wide jewish Children?s Choir again this year. It was so much fun last year that we couldn?t say no. They will be singing at the Festival of Trees and Lights as well as McCarran Airport. Don?t miss our Chanukah Family service on December 19 so you can hear them too. B?shalom, i'Bella As Hilary Clinton states, it takes a village to raise a child. I believe it takes a Congregation to make a project survive, merefore, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers who helped make the October session of the IHN shine. You know who you are and you are a blessing to those around. The next time you feel like eating a great pizza, please check out THE COOK?S SHOP PIZZA (Russel Road and Pecos). Not only are you in for the best pizza but Kevin, the own?er, donated 4 large pizza?s (for the October session) and 241bs of meatballs (to be used at the next go around) Please be the spokes?person for our congregation and thank him for his kindness. We are pizza lovers in this family and only Purchase pizza from The Cook?s hop!! The week went by with a blink of an eye and because of th^_ outpouring of love and commitj^fc ment our CONGREGATIOl^^ showed, it was a labor of love. The week proved very interesting. 1 think each time we host, we learn new from our families and we hope that we share some thoughts. I find it a bonding experience. For those who participated, I hope you will share your experience with one who hasn t. Help ease the fear of this challenge. We appreciate the kindness of all. Our next session will be starting Sunday, March 8, 1998 for one week. I know that seems so veiy far away but it is really just around the corner. If you would like to par?ticipate, please give me a call, 598- 2678. It will be my pleasure to find something for you to do. I would like to thank my husband, Steve Gratz, for coming and helping ev?ery night. It was such a joy to work with him on this project and I know 1 couldn?t have done this without his help. Whether you donated food, donated money, stayed over an evening, served a meal, or gave of your heart...for today, you madg^ a difference and to that we sayBB amen. fMmjm SATELLITE SCHOOL, FLYING HIGH Congregation Ner Tamid's Westside satellite school IS A CREAT SUCCESS. THIS SCHOOL WAS DEVELOPED TO MAKE Hebrew study on weekdays a more positive experience FOR BOTH STUDENTS AND PARENTS. THE SATELLITE SCHOOL WHICH MEETS AT BENDORF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AT SPRING Mountain and Kevin (east of Ft Apache) on Wednesdays from 4:50pm to 6:00pm has been very well received by parents. The convenience of not having to drive to the main ? CAMPUS ON A WEEKDAY HAS ALLOWED CHILDREN MORE TIME FOR SECULAR SCHOOLSTUDY AS WELL AS A NORMAL FAMILY DINNER. THE ORIGINAL STIPULATION WAS TO HAVE TEN OR TWELVE STUDENTS. WOW! WE NOW HAVE MORE THAN 20 STUDENTS AND WE ARE STILL GROWING. We OFFER TWO LEVELS, 4TH & 5TH CRADES AND 6TH & 7TH GRADES AS WELL AS TUTORING FOR STUDENTS WHO NEED TO BE CHALLENGED WITH SUPPORT EDUCATION AND ADVANCED PROGRAMMING. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE OFFICE AT 757-6292 AND ASK FOR JACKIE. Congregation Ner Tamid is reaching for the stars (our children) to offer the best in Jewish Education in Las Vegas. CoNQREQA TION NER 1am/</ DECEMbER 1997 chool News ing so many different holidays. Isn?t it amazing that we can share and learn without feeling threatened? As Jews living in America, we can educate our children Jewishly. We will rest and have fun during our break but when we return we will work diligently. Post B?nai Mitzvah will be attending services at other religious facilities as part of their class on Comparative Religion. Holocaust survivors will be visiting periodically with our seventh grad?ers. We ali will work hard to accomplish the challenges of each grade?s course. Just a reminder, progress reports will be mailed on December 14. Have a wonderful break and a safe and joyful secular New Year. yacQeJteefgp Hebrew Marathon Hebrew on One Foot A Crash Course for Absolute Beginners Would you like to be able to follow along in services? If you have been wanting to learn Hebrew, HOW IS THE TIME! Come join us for a day of study and lunch on Sunday, January 4, 1997 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM Instructor: Melissa Roth Fee:$36, lunch included and book UAHC BCNNJAU ATTSNDKS Introduction to Judaism This course will teach the different holidays and customs of Judaism. It is open to members and non members. Classes will be held on Monday nights for eight weeks. The classes will run January 1 to March 2, 1998 from 6:00 - 7:00 PM Instructor: Melissa Roth Fee: $30.00 Members $40.00 Non members Beginning Hebrew If you are interested in learning Hebrew, brushing up on your skills, or just completed the Hebrew Marathon, this class is for you. Classes will be held on Mondays Jan 5 - March 2, 1998, following Introduction to Judaism from 7:15 - 8:30 PM From left to right: Bus tin Tibp, Bob Unger, Matt Unger, Uanis Rounds, Audie Unger, Met Hauerman, Uuonne Gordon; Debbie Mauerman, Stcuia Beuer, QDrehs Ceuy, Frances Miamian, Rabbt Akselrad, Mm Beuer, Barbara A/athanson, and Jerrv Gordon Instructor: Melissa Roth Fee: $30.00 Members $40.00 Non members For more information on any of these programs, contact the Temple at 733-6292. D ccE M b iR 1 9 9 7 o f S p e c ia l rftlu ee (To (Belong. December means Chanukah and winter break. We have so much to teach, so much to learn and too much time off. Why give a party during winter break when you know people are away and will not attend? The same thing holds true for our class schedule. Our dilemma is how to handle this situation. Sunday, December 14 we will expose our students to a rotating Chanukah. Students will go from program to program experiencing activities that are appropriate to their grade level, such as music, traditional foods, crafts, discussions and stories. Can we do it all? No, but by making Chanukah fun and educational we can help our children to realize this is their holiday; they only share the experiences of their Christian friends and families. We live in a wonderful country where there are so many different people celebrat-Golden Choi PI.EASE joiN OUR QROwiNQ MEMbERship For an aFternoon oF IlINch, ENTERTAINMENT AN(1 qAMEs. This is tNe pUcE to COME TO MEET NEW pEOplE AN<J ENjoy ThE COMpANy ANd COMpANioNship oF OUR "OVER 55" qROup. We meet tNe FIrst ANd ThiRd ThuRsdAy oF EACh MONTh iN ThE TEMplE SOCiAl hAll. ThE ENTERTAiN' ment For DECEMbER is qoiNq TO bE TERRiFic. you have ajamify member or friend Avfio is hospitalized? Rabbi Akselrad would like to help you and your family by visiting Temple members and friends of our congregation who have been hospitalized. Since there is no notification from the hospitals, please contact Karen at the Temple office at 733-6292 when a family member or friend is hospitalized. Join Congregation Ner Tamid and the Anti-Defamation League on A December 9 at 7pm as we co-sponsor Rabbi Damdw Rosen in an ADL Program on Tolerance, Pluralism, and Diversity in a Changing Israel. Rabbi Rosen is Director of the Anti-Defamation League?s Israel Office. He was born and educated in Britain, continuing his advanced rabbinic studies in Israel, where he received his ordination (simichah). In addition to military service in the armored corps of the IDF, he served as Chaplain in the Western Sinai. From 1975 to 1979, he was the Senior Rabbi of the largest Jewish congregation in South Africa and rabbinic judge on the Ecclasiastical Court (Bath Din). He was also founder/chairman of the Inter-faith Forum, the Council of Jews, Christians and Muslims. From 1979 to 1985, Rabbi Rosen was Chief Rabbi of Ireland where he founded together with the Christian Primates of Ireland, the Irish Council of Christians and Jews. He was a member of the Academic Council, as well as lecturer at the Irish School of Ecumenics. He returned to Israel in 1985 to take up the appointment of Dean at the Sapir Center for Jewish Education and Culture in the Old city of Jerusalem and subsequently became Professor of Jewish Studies at the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. In 1988, he was appointed as the ADL Israel Office?s Director of Inter-Faith Relations and was subsequently made ADL?s co-liasion to the Vatican. He serves on the Permanent Bilateral Commission of the State of Israel and the Holy See that negotiated the normalization relations between the two and he serves as a member of thQ International Jewish Committee for Inter-Religious consultations which represented organized World Jewry in its relations with other world religious bodies. He is President of the Jerusalem institute of Inter- Religious Research and Relations, a founder and Vice chairman of the Inter-Religious Co-ordination Council and serves as President of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, the all encompassing world inter-faith body. REDUCED DUES PLAN AVAILABLE For every $100.00 purchase of gift certificates, $2.50 will be applied toward your dues. Our Scrip Program offers a larger and broader variety of gift certificates. We have available the four major grocery stores in town, The Galleria Mall and by special order, major restaurants and clothing stores as well. These are ideal for dining out, back to school purchases and much more. We will order them twice a month and have them available in the office. Any questions, please call Monty at 733-6292. No Credit cards please. ContjRCQArioN Ner Ta m 'kI DECEMbER 1997 ^?Bob Unger President Drew Levy VP Administration David Mendelson VP Ways & Means Ira Spector VP Membership David Stahl VP Religious Activities Scott Stolberg VP Education Scott Dockswell VP Social Rita Goldstein Treasurer Ruth Urban Secretary Mel Hallerman Trustee Sylvia Beller Trustee Frances Klamian Trustee Jacky Rosen Trustee Jon Sparer Trustee Robin Greenspun Trustee Esther Saltzman Trustee Kenny Epstein Trustee Janis Rounds Sisterhood Jeff Markewich Brotherhood Sol Tolpen Golden Chai Dustin Tiep NTTY Jill Ewan TNT Jerry Gordon Past President Cal Lewis Past President Eileen Kollins Past President Kenneth Schnitzer Past President Dr. David Wasserman Past President Dr. Steve Kollins Past President Michael Cherry Past President Dr. Bernard Farrow Past President Eugene Kirshbaum* Past President ^Aleo Wilner Advisor ^^Rabbi Sanford Akselrad Ex Officio ?Deceased |||I||IW1III|I|I III 1 Mil Tot5habbat September 1997 I had the opportunity to attend the annual National Association of Temple Administrator?s (NATA) and the Union of American Hebrew Congregation (UAHC) conferences in Dallas. The NATA conference was attended by over 170 professional administrators and executive directors from North America including Can?ada, Great Britain and Austra?lia. The theme of our conference was The Chal?lenge of Change. This topic was very timely for me considering the growth we have undertaken in the last two years and in the changes occurring in Israel. In reading our President?s column, he discussed the major points from Rabbi Yoffie?s speech in Dallas. The initiatives of getting more involved in our religion and the issues in Israel. Rabbi Sheldon Zimmer?man, the Executive Director of the Hebrew Union Col- lege-Jewish Institute of Reli?gion (HUR-JIR) talked about now the community and families used to be responsi?ble for teaching Jewish Identi?ty. Families and academics taught melodies and keys on liturgy. Because of changes of the family unit, that responsibility has shifted to the synagogue. The syna?gogue is now the place Jews come to fill their Jewish needs. It is our responsi?bility to create initiative, and a wider variety of programs and services to fill the needs of the family. A lot of that knowledge has faded, due to our blending into a more secular society. If you reread Bob?s column, this is the intent of Rabbi Yoffie?s pro?gram to provide more Judaic materials to the families. Things like Matzah balls, ba- gels lox, and Fiddler on the oof used to be OUR means of identifying ourselves. Not any more. These things are accepted outside of Judaism, and are as non-Jewish as they used to be Jewish. Another major issue that came out of the NATA conference was the need for the synagogue staff to assist in retaining members interest in getting more involved in synagogue life. We, at Ner Tamid, have provided many new and creative programs to attempt to meet the various needs of our membership. If we have missed a program that you would like to see begin here, please contact Jill Ginsburg. This does not mean it will begin the following week, but it will be researched, and every attempt will be made to include it. Our main mission is to get members involved so we may provide them and their families with the values of Judaism. There was, indeed, a great amount of material and new ideas provided at the conventions in Dallas last month. We will be reviewing it all and slowly incor?porating it into our programs. Monty DECEMbER 1997 ( I S pecia l rf)la cc CJo (Belong. Maze/ Tov to our December D'tud MHzvoh Students Hi! My name is CaThcR/NE Oseas. I AM CURRENTly AN EiqllTh QRAcJe STudENT AT CREENSpUN JuNioR Hiqh School. I Also ATTENd two youTh qROups, BBYO (BBC) ANd USY. I ENjoy pUyiNq soccer ANd volUybAll iN My spare TiME. I hops you All can joiN me at My Bat MiTzvAh. ShAloM. My name is SamantUa SaItzman. <fl DECEMbER 6, 1 997, I will bECOMEA Bat MiTzvAh. I am iN tIie 8tN QRAdE at WarreN'WaIIeer School iN Green VAlUy. I ENjoy swiMMiNq, RidiNq My bikE, Iearate, ACTiNq, siNqiNq ANd REAaiNq. I Iove qoiNq to Camp Hess-Kramer which is a summer CAMP iN MAlibu, CAlifoRNiA. I Iove bEiNq a part of ThE JEwish coMMUNiTy ANd I can't wAiT For My Bat MiTzvAh. I look FoRWARd to CEUbRATiNq wiTh fRiENds ANd FAMily. Hi, My NAME is SpENCER KAplAN, I ENjoy wATchiNq ANd pbvyiNG most sports. I am current^ pUyiNq Pop Warner FooTbAll ANd I Also ENjoy husTliNq My bROThER iN pool! My mom sAys ThAT My Future AMbiTioN is TO bECOME AN ATTORNEY. I AM CERTAiNly looklNG Forwaro to shARiNq This spsciAl occAsioN wiTh My FAMily ANd FRiENds. Hi, My name is DaniBromBerq. I AM AN 8Th qRAdER AT CREENSpUN JuNioR Hioh. I Iove to pUy SOCCER ANd DAskETbAll, ANd wlfEN I qo TO ThE bEAch iN CAlifoRNiA, I hAVE A blAST. I can't WaH TO SEE All of MV FRiENds (old ANd new) ANd FAMily ON DECEMbER 20, wliEN I CElcbRATE My spsciAl OCCAsiON wiTh My sisTER, Jenna. Hi! My name is RacUeI KIaFter- Philips. I was boRN iN ChicAqo, IlliNois ANd hAVE livEd iN Las VsqASsiNCE I WAS TWO YEARS old. I AM ThiRTEEN ANd I AM iN ThE SEVENTh qRAdE AT ThuRMAN WhiTE MiddU School. I Iove siNqiNq, qyMNASTics, soFrbAll ANd skiiNq. AFTER All of ThESE MONThs of STudyiNq ANd hARd woRk, I am VERy ExciTEd to shARE My Bat MiTZVAh whh My STED'bROTllER DAvid, ANd wiTh My FAMily ANd FRiENds. My name is AniKIei'n'Ievine. I was boRN iN ClEVElANd Ohio ANd MOVEd to Las VsqAs one ANd some HaIF yEARS Aqo. At ThAT TiME, My FAMily joiNEd CoNqREqATioN Ner TAMid TOO. I AM A SEVENTh qRAdER AT HeUn C. Cannon MiddU School ANd ENjoy All sports, pUyiNq piANO iN ThE ORchESTRA ANd pUyiNq wUh All My PETS. I AM lookiNq FoRWARd TO My Bar MUzvAh ANd sEEiNq All My FRiENds ANd RElATivES FROM Far ANd near who will bs joiNiNq My motIier, sisTER ANd ME AT MY Bar MiTZVAjw PIease joiN wUh My FAMily to hElp A CEUbRATE This MOST iMpORTANT dA^ Hi, My name is Jenna BROMbeaq anH I AM A 7tI< qRAdER AT CREENSpUN JuNioR Hiqh. ThE hobbiss ThAT I Iove most are hoRssbAck RidiNq, TAlkiNq on Ths phoNE ANd hANqiNq out wUh FRiENds. I would likE to qivE a biq ThANk you to aII oF my FRiENds ANd FAMily who will bE wUh ME ON DECEMbER 20Th, whEN My sisTER DANi ANd I will bs CAlUd TO TORAh. My name is DAvidRaUta ANd I'm iN ThE 7Th qRAdE AT ThuRMAN WhiTE MiddU School. I was boRN iN Las VEqAS ANd hAVE livEd hERE All of My lifE. I ENjoy choiR AT school, kARATE ANd hANqiNq out wiTh My FRiENds. I'm lookiNq FoRWARd to My Bar MiTzvAh ANd hops My STEp'SisTER ANd I do a qREAT job. I Also hopE ThAT All oF My FRiENds ANd fAMily hAVE A qREAT TiME. C onqreqa rioN Ner TAMid DECEMbER 1997 AUXILIARIES & Sister fiood Xews Having just returned from the UAHC and Women of Reform Judaism National Biennial in Dallas, there is much that I have to say. The experience was one of a life?time. Hearing such speakers as Shimon Peres, former Prime Minis?ter of Israel and Eric Yoffie, Presi?dent of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations was inspi?rational as well as extremely edu?cational. I will not write about their sermons, as Bob Unger has done an outstanding job in report?ing about them in nis article this month. What I do want to tell you about is what it was like to hear Judith Rosenkrantz, President of WRJ and Ellen Rosenberg, Executive Direc?tor of WRJ speak. I can not begin I to tell you how enthralled I was to lear them and others tell of the accomplishments of WRJ, and their mission, it really reinforced my commitment to this organization. with 3 children, was supported by WRJ while she attended Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Rabbi Allen Smith, Director of the UAHC Youth Division, a product of UAHC summer camps, which are heavily supported by WRJ spoke on todays youth programs, and what must be done to ensure that the future generations of our youth know