Congregation Ner Tamid newsletter, December 2000

CONGREGATION NER TAMID THE REFORM JEWISH CONGEGATION OF LAS VEGAS ...A SPECIAL PLACE TO BELONG NOVEMBER 2000 - VOL. XV NO. 2 SANFORD D . AKSELRAD Rabbi BELLA FELDMAN Cantorial Soloist DREW LEVY President MELISSA FOGEL Student Rabbi 4 KISLEV- 5 TEVET 5761 MONTY E. WILLEY Executive Director JACQUELINE FLEEKOP Education Director Lois BERGMAN Preschool Director JUDY MURRAY Program Director MELANIE GORMAN Bulletin Editor C w z / f r t y a n t t/Ze ^ e a r - l K a t / Z e m e S c v t t VHio is Kuthcrine Scott? That is a hard question to answer as she is a woman of many talents and accomplishments. She is a journalist and served in the Women's Army Corp; a mother and a participant in the adult choir. Katherine is a Para-Rabbinic Fellow and has chaired the adult education committee and this year she is being honored for all her contributions and service to Congregation Ner Tamid. Katherine was born in Los Angeles, California and moved with her family to Las Vegas when she was entering the third grade. Along with her two older brothers, she attended Las Vegas High School where she participated in a variety of clubs and was editor of the school paper. After graduation, she enlisted in the United States Army and was a journalist at Ft. Richardson in Alaska. After moving back to Las Vegas, Katherine continued her journalistic work on the Henderson Home News and as editor of the Jewish Reporter. She was married by Congregation Ner Tamid's first Rabbi, Steven Weisbcrg, and has been a temple member since that time. Katherine has a son Shawn of whom she is most proud. Katherine's commitment to Judaism and our synagogue has expressed itself in many ways. She has been a member of the Social Action Committee coordinating the annual Christmas Day lunch at the Henderson Senior Center, and an IHN volunteer spending at least one night with the people each time CNT has hosted the homeless. She has participated on the Ritual committee, adult choir, youth activities, Goods and Service Auctions, publicity, Sisterhood and has been instrumental in the success of our scrip program. In even1 phase of temple life, Katherine has been willing to devote her time and efforts. Along with all her many other accomplishments, Katherine is a Para- Rabbinic Fellow and has been a valuable aid for Rabbi Akselrad. She has worked on creating specials services such as the one for Rabbi Janet Marder and Eileen Kollins. Her latest effort was the siddur for the Second Friday Family Shabbat Services, with the Shabbas Band. KATHERINE SCOTT is this year's CONGREGANT OF THE YEAR She is a woman who has given unselfishly of her time and talents to make our temple, "A Special Place To Belong." Chanukah Family Dinner December 22nd 6:15pm Traditional food & festivities Feel free to bring your menorah Come for dinner and stay for Chanukah Family Sevices at 7:30pm RSVPby December 15th Turn to page 13 for more information Worship Services 2 Rabbi's Message 2 Message from our President 3 Notes from Our Cantorial Soloist 4 Executive Director's Spotlight 5 Religious School/Preschool 6-7 Auxiliaries 8 New Member Welcome 10 December B'nai Mit/vahs 13 Birthdays & Anniversaries 14 Tributes 15-16 Yahrzeits & In Memorium 1" (the Bulletin is published monthly) - 2L SpeciaC (Place To WeCong I a Worship S e r v i c e s Conducted by Rabbi Sanford D. Akselrad & Cantonal Soloist Bella Feldntan DECEMBER 1 TOT SHABBAT 6 : 3 0 PM SHABBAT SERVICES 7 : 3 0 PM ONEG SPONSORED BY LYNETTE SOLOMON AND SHERRI SPEAKER DECEMBER 2 TORAH STUDY 10AM DECEMBER 8 FAMILY SHABBAT SERVICE WITH C N T BAND 7:30PM ONEG SPONSORED BY THE SISTERHOOD DECEMBER 15 SHABBAT SERVICES 7:30PM ONEG SPONSORED BY THE SISTERHOOD DECEMBER 22 CHANUKAH FAMILY SERVICES 7 : 3 0 P M ONEG SPONSORED BY THE SISTERHOOD DECEMBER 23 JOSEPH PANSKY BAR MITZVAH 10AM KIDDUSH SPONSORED BY THE PANSKY FAMILY TORAH STUDY 10AM DECEMBER 29 SHABBAT SERVICES 7 : 3 0 PM ONEG SPONSORED BY THE SISTERHOOD RABBI'S MESSAGE How do you spell Chanukah? It is Chanukka time! Or is it Hannuk-kah time? Or is it Hannuka time? Hey, how does anyone spell the name of one of our favorite holidays anyway??? Of all the many possible assorted questions that could be asked of a Rabbi this time of year, this happens to be one of the most frequently asked ones. I know, I know, tliere are many more impor-tant questions, but somehow when we see the myriad spellings of "that" holi-day, it manes one wonder-what is the correct spelling anyway? The answer itself is a simple one: the only correct way of spelling the name of the holiday is in Hebrew! In Hebrew the way is always the same: chet, nun, vov, kaugh, hey. The problem comes when we try aiid approximate English spellings for Hebrew words. As far as I know there simply is no accepted way of doing so. Hence,' we have the myriad of possibilities. All arc correct, and all to a degree are "incorrect". The issue of transliteration is one that is not as simple as it may seem. Prayer book editors of recent days have strug-gled with this issue. They feel that if transliteration is provided to frequently then people will be less encouraged to learn Hebrew. On the other hand, peo-ple who don't read Hebrew, feel that if they were provided the transliteration, then they could in fact learn to "read' Hebrew a little at a time. The irony that Chanukah/Hanukkah is symbolic of our modern day ignorance of reading Hebrew is fitting. After all, what is this holiday about? Beyond the pat answer of Hannukah being the first fight for religious freedom, this holiday was actually a battle between Jew and Jew. One group sought to preserve and conserve Judaism, the other sought to assimilate. One group sought to retain Jewish customs and culture worship at the Temple, and the other group influ-enced by Hellenism sought to adopt Greek names, Greek customs and to abandon many of their Jewish roots in order to fit in with contemporary times. Ilmmni...sound familiar? Too often we take our religion for grant-ed. Or we don't "take it" at all. We allow ourselves to be satisfied with what we learned (or didn't learn) in Hebrew school many years ago. The years pass auickly and we have forgotten our Hebrew, the meaning of many of the holidays, and our sense of Jewish histo-ry. In that regard this holiday is a wake up call to continue the struggle that has always existed internally between bal-ancing our secular and religious lives. To truly celebrate Hanukkan why not begin b'v giving yourself a gift? Engage in Torah study; take advantage of our many adult education course offerings. Attend services more regularly, and get involved in one of our Temple commit-tees. Perhaps your spelling won't improve, but I bet your appreciation for Jewish life and learning will. And there could be no finer, more mean-ingful Chanukah gift than this. B'shalom, %abbi Sanford A/(se [rad P.S. Be sure to mark your calendar now for the first weekend in February when we will host Rabbi Gunther Plaut as our scholar in residence. He is the greatest living authority on the Torah in the Reform movement. He is brilliant and utterly charming. Check the next bulletin for more information. 2 ^ Congregation Ncr T<*?iiZ> W December 2000 TEMPLE BOARD MEMBERS DREW LEVY STEWART BLUMENFELD SCOTT STOLBERG HOWARD LAYFER IRA SPECTOR JUDY CORNETT LYNN SASSO RUTH URBAN DAVID STAHL President VP Administration VP Ways & Means VP Membership VP Religious Activities VP Education & Youth VP Member Activities VP Social Action Treasurer MINDY UNGER-WADKINS Secretary MEL HALLERMAN Trustee JACKY ROSEN Trustee-Membership LEON MARCO Trustee MARC GARBER Trustee DICK GRANICH Trustee BETH BROMBERG Trustee CECILIA SCHAFLER Trustee ESTHER SALTZMAN Trustee-Youth SHARNA BLUMENFELD Trustee-Library SANDY STOLBERG Sisterhood MICHAEL MII.ANO Brotherhood BRENNA YAHRAUS NTTY T B D TNT SANDY PITTLF. Golden Chai BOB UNGER Past President JERRY GORDON Past President CAL LEWIS Past President EILEF.N 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 RABBI SANFORD AKSELRAD EX Officio * Deceased Tuesdays unth "Rabbi Af(se(rad 12pm-lpm / Hoard "Room 'December 5tfi and 19tft January 9th and 23rd Saturdays with Student 'Rabbi Melissa Jogel or a fay leader 10am. / Library 'December 2nd and 23rd January 6th 13th, and 27th We are all saddened by the recent Palestinian and Israeli-Arab violence that has erupted throughout the Pal-estinian Authority, in Israeli-Arab vil-lages and in Jerusalem. The loss of life is devastating and the hope that calm can be restored so that the peace process negotiations can get back on track is great. We must have faith in the national leaders involved to work out an agreement, as soon as possi-ble. Here are a few facts, that you might not be aware of. Seven years since the start of the Oslo Peace Process, a series of significant interim agreements have been reached and implemented by Israel and the Palestinians. Israel has undertaken a series of redeployments from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. To date 99% of the Gaza Strip and 39.7% of the West Bank are under the con-trol of the Palestinian Authority. 99% of the Palestinian population resides under the jurisdiction of the P.A. Throughout the interim period though, there has been a lot of criticism that while Israel has sacrificed territory for peace, the Palestinians have not fully complied with their signed commit-ments particularly those related to security and anti-Israel propaganda. The willingness of the Israeli public to accept an agreement of substantial concessions will depend on their belief that Yasir Arafat and the Pales-tinian leadership will truly prevent the spread of violence and anti-Israel incitement. For many Israelis the most disturbing development in this most recent chap-ter of Palestinian violence has been the participation of Israeli-Arabs, who represent 16.8% of the population, are full citizens of the State of Israel and a vast majority fully participate in the Israeli democratic process. Prime Minister Barak has called on the Israeli-Arab community to restore calm. Palestinian leadership has a history of organizing "spontaneous" eruptions of violence for political advantage. The Palestinian's "green light" and incitement to violence contradicts its commitment in agreements with Israel to end anti-Israel violence and terrorism and to cease hostile Anti- Israel propaganda. The P.A. has the power to stop all this, but chooses not to. The violence is particularly upsetting in that the Israeli govern-ment is reportedly offering the P.A. far greater concessions on Jerusa-lem than ever anticipated. This new violence follows repeated Palestin-ian assertions that Jews have no his-toric connection to the Temple Mount. We must continue to be aware of what is going on in the Middle East and how it could affect us here, clos-er to home. Awareness is the key. When at synagogue be alert and aware. Be alert to physical descrip-tions. Be alert to unusual activities near the temple. There is safety in numbers, walk to and from services with a "buddy" or in a group. All suspicious activity should be report-ed to the temple office and/or the police. The temple will follow through on any items. The temple will con-tinue to do everything within its pow-er to protect our property, facilities and members. Awareness is the key. Please do not take offence to any extra concerns by the temple author-ities, as we are looking to help everybody feel safe. Shabbat Shalom... 'Dreiu Levy December 2000 A Special Place To Belong ^ 17^ Notes from Our Cantorial Soloist fitter /everol month/ ond many /ugge/tion/ from the Congregation. I am plea/ed to announce the winner of our band naming conte/t.... Sandy Stolberg! The official name will be The Shabbat-Tone/. Some honorable mention/ from the conte/t are from: Ruth Urban - The Eternal light Orche/tra ElO(heim) flleH Sternhill - The Radiant Jewi/h Star/ UJendy feldman - The Choi lite/ Jeff Boruzak - TGIR (Thanh G-d It'/ Rock) Jerry Engle - The Hutzband I would like to thank everyone who participated in the conte/t: it wa/ fun reading all of your /ugge/tion/. Sandy won a copy of Craig Taub-man'/ Friday flight live C D . which include/ many of the /ong/ that we /ing at our family Service/. Both of our choir/ have been very active lately, zinging at the UJorld Aid/ Day Service, with our Shabba/ Band and throughout the community for variou/ Chanukah program/. They are out/tand-ing! fl /pecial thank you to lori frankl for her leader/hip and energy! UJi/hing everyone a happy & healthy holiday /ea/on. B'/halom. 'Bella Time is running out! Sign up today for- CNT Holiday Gift Wrapping at The Gall en a Mall Volunteers Needed! Hard work and fun at the same time, A great way to make new friends, and help support CNT. On the job training availa hie. Call Sandy Stolberg at 228-6863 to sign up today!!! CNT's Second Friday Musical Shabbats are a hit! Don't miss the next Service with our newly named Shabbas Band, The Shabbat-Tones December 8,2000 at 7:30 p.m. Mark your calendar for these upcoming dates: January 12th February 9th X Congregation Ncr T<\rnit> December 2000 Directors Spotlight As always, I have the responsibility to remind our members of their financial obligations to Congregation Ner Tamid. Meeting your obligations, on time, allows us to continue with all the programs we offer. No payments or delayed payments take a lot of staff time to keep track of the outstanding accounts. Please, try to help us out and to continue to make Congregation Ner Tamid on track with our Jewishness. Also, I need to remind you that your dues and sanctuary obligations are due at least on a quarterly basis. We still have families with outstanding balances. Please bring this current. The Board of Directors has voted a modest increase of 5% in member-ship dues. As our synagogue family grows, so does the demand on our facility and staff. This increase is necessary to continue to provide the programming that you indicated was important to you in the survey distributed during the High Holidays. While we have tried to keep the in-crease low, it still has been neces-sary to sustain what needs to be provided for the membership. Our President mentioned several months ago that we would be increasing our dues this year. You will be receiving new statements and coupon books at the end of this Going Grocery Shopping? Traveling? Buying New Clothes or Gifts? Don't forget the Scrip program! Have you signed up yet? Call the Temple at 733-6292 for more details... v > month. This increase amounts to an average of $4.00 per month. As in past years, if you have a birthday this upcoming year that moves you past o5 years, there is an allowance for a 10% decrease within your mem-bership category up to the age of 70. For a more detailed explanation, please see the insert on the new dues structure. Also, enclosed is an explanation of the Menorah Levels. Thanks for your patience this year. May the new year be a good one for all of us, may it let the sun shine on our families and be a wonderful year for our Jewish community. Monty Widey iVo you fuwe a famiCy member or friend zufw is fiospitaCized? Rabbi Akselrad would like to help you and your family by visiting Temple members and friends of our congregation who have been hospitalized. Due to confidentiality laws, 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. December 2000 A Special Place To Belong ^ 17^ Religious School News Chanukah Chanukah- -Come light the Menorah. Most of us know the story of Chanukah, and most of us know there are many books written relating to the holiday of Chanukah. I think the best gifts I have received over the years from my students are the many personal stories they have shared with me. One student shared how he only asked for one gift because he had overheard his parents discussing money problems. Another told now he gave eight gifts away?things he had received and never used, in order to receive new gifts. He felt that the best gift was the one his parents gave him which allowed him to give away unused gifts to make others happy. One little girl made her grandmoth-er a kiss book. On each of the eight nights her grandmother received a coupon that looked like a kiss. There was a message written on the back of each coupon thanking her tor being her grandmoth-er. One coupon read "Thank you for baby sitting and reading me stories. I Love You." Holiday memories are really the ones that last long-er than the toys we get tired of or the book we finish or the clothes we don't like anymore. How can we make memories? We need to create our own holiday customs. A special dinner or project, taking photos and attending holiday programs together. On Sunday, December 10th at 11:00 a.m. we will join together as a school to light the meno-rah, sing and be entertained. We will have a dre-idel contest and enjoy refreshments. Everyone is invited and we hope you will attend. I often have to answer questions about Judaism. My own children have had questions about Chanu-kah. When Sandee was four she asked why the Shamus was higher. I told her that it was because G-d wanted to remind us to respect those who serve us. The Shamus (helper) is used to light the Chanukah candles to illumi-nate the room and our holiday spirit. Ron and Joel at the age of five asked the same ques-tion and I told them it was because G-d wanted to remind us that one candle alone was very important. One candle can help to light many. Just like one nice act can help many people have hope. Eric was around three when he asked the same question. I told him it was because G-d wants us to remember that with-out those who serve us the world would be a difficult to take t the fast 3lace to live. We need the trash men ne trash. We need the teen working at bod restaurant to serve us. I told them all that Chanukah was more than gifts, latkas and lights. It is a time to show respect to those that help us and serve us and we can change how others feel about us by doing acts of kindness. Donating toys, adopt-ing families, visiting the elderly and caring for the homeless can make wonderful Chanukah memories. My children told me they liked doing all these nice things and then they hand-ed me their wish lists. Have a joyful holiday. I hope to see you at the many holiday activities we will be having at CNT. Thank you for your good wishes and your prayers. I am improving and enjoying life. B'Shalom, Jacquefine JFleefyp Congregation Ncr December 2000 CNT Preschool November was an exciting month for our Preschool and Kindergarten students as we all voted in an election (even if it was what we would eat for snack ). We learned about our Veterans and why we are so proud to live in America. We had our school pictures taken and a visit from the Clark County Library Lady. The Kindergarten enjoyed the field trip to Ham Hall to see Cinderella. But Thanksgiving was the holiday we most anticipated. We had a delightful Turkey dinner with all the trimmings. What delectable Turkey, Pumpkin Pie, and Cranberry Sauce. We are sure great cooks! The youngsters dressed in traditional Pilgrim and Native American Garb. Our classes sailed across on the Mayflower, just as our ancestors did so many years ago It is a pleasure to see our students learning and playing together. The children have developed friendships and watching them work, play and interact with their teachers is a rewarding experience. Our students have learnecl a great deal both socially and scholastically in the last few months, and they look forward to learning even more throughout the school year. December will bring our long anticipated Chanukah program to the stage. We have practiced and rehearsed with, Miss Jodi, to make our program a special gift to our parents. This spectacular event will take place On Friday December 15"' at 10:00 A.M followed by our traditional latke lunch and Chanukah party. Of course the preschoolers and kindergarten students will be learning all about Chanukah. We will be making traditional Chanukah crafts and singing all the traditional Chanukah melodies: as well as some new ones. This special time of the year is always a favorite and we look forward to seeing this holiday through our children's eves. Happy holidays from the staff and students of CNT Preschool Kindergarten. Lois 'Bergman y n ARE YOU A jEwish Alcoholic OR C h E M i c A l l y DEPENCJENT PERSON? JACS, Jewish Alcoholics. Chemically Dependents, and Significant Others. is a 12-step support group. Meetings are held at Congregation Ner Tamid Tuesdays 7:00 p.m. Room 6 Anyone is welcome. Tell someone you love 1 J) ^m^MmMMB^ Zaftik: Pleasantly plump Zayde: Grandfather Zayin: The seventh letter of the Aleph Bais, the Gematria is seven. Zimri: A prince of Yisroel who was killed by Pinchas when he deliberately violated the Torah of Hashcm by cohabitating with Cosbi and publicly flaunting their relationship December 2000 A Special Place To Belong A Auxiliaries i t i i i i i i i i t S i s t e r h o o d V i e w s i i i i i i i i i i i This past weekend I had the privilege to attend the 45,h Biennial Assembly of the Women of Reform Judaism District #24. Janet Buer, Barbara Nathan, Maxine Molinsky , Yvonne Weiss and myself enjoyed a weekend of prayer, leadership.and Sisterhood bonding with 200 women from district 24. The highlight of the weekend was writing in the Torah that has been commissioned by the WRJ. When finished this Torah will be used for special events of WRJ and for notable district and sisterhood occasions. It is my hope that when it is finished our Temple will have the chance to display it and use during a Sisterhood Service. We all got so much out of this weekend and hope to plan a retreat later this year to share all the things we brought home with us. Donna Willey and Marsha Goldberg had a great turn out for our night out at Buca's. The food was great and the company was even Detter. Dec 7,h is our next program with Dietician Patty Orin. This program will be at 7:00pm, this is no charge, and refreshments will be servetT Jan 26,h will be a night for painting with Color Me Mine. More details will follow in the January bulletin but please mark the date. In case you did not realize, it's never to late to j o in Sisterhood! The dues are $30.00 per year or $50.00 for a Mitzvah membership or non temple membership. We need volunteers in the Gift Shop, and if you like to cook or work with food, our Partu Shop could always use your talents. All are easy ways to earn donor credit. Speaking of donor credit, Sisterhood tributes are only $5.00 and you get $3.00 donor credit for making someone a little happier. Call Shirley Gellin at 457-6320. I wish everyone a Happy Chanukah and a Healthy Nei Year. ew Shalom, Sandy Shalom. The weather has start-ed cooling off but the Men's Club is still hot. Our member-ship drive is coming to an end and we are very close to one hundred members. What a feat. Thank to all of you. With everyone's busy schedule, we finally took the Sukkah down. It was nice of everyone to turn out to help, and, as usual all the participants were reward-ed with breakfast. As you all know, Family Services with the Shabbas Band has been a big success. With up to 500 peo-ple turning out I want to com-mend the ushers who help maintain order. They are doing a wonderful job. J h iT^ Congregation Ncr T<\?u't> Stu Solomon's Internet report has been a huge success. Please send us your email if you have not been getting the report. We are winding down with the Entertainment Books so please, if you haven't purchased one get one soon. It has been a heartwarming experience to see the large turnouts at our functions. I hope everyone will continue to par-ticipate. As we get closer to the end of the year you will receive notification about the annual golf tournament. We look forward to seeing every-one there in April. I recently attended my 30th High School Reunion. It was extremely emotional seeing so many old friends after so many years. I hope that the friend-ships being established now will create those same feelings thirty years from now. Remem-ber your family, remember your Judaism and remember good friends. Shalom, fytichaeCfytikmo December 2000 Israeli Song and Dance Group, Carmelim, To Perform at CNT Join us Friday, December 15th for a very "SPECIAL SHABBAT". A group of twenty-seven students from a cultural advancement school in Israel will be part of our evening service. These young people and their chaperones are touring the United States, stopping in New York, Texas, Florida, San Diego, Los Angeles and LAS VEGAS. The energy of this talented group from Haifa is truly amazing. They will be housed by our youth group families. If they are anything like the Holan Dance group we had in 1999, it will be a wonderful experience for everyone. In a few moments our teens and the Israeli teens will bond. Families who will be re-quired to transport, feed and house, our guests, will cry when they board the bus to L.A. and the responsibilities end. These young people are intelligent, respectful and committed. You will feel connected to the choir, our people and Israel. December 15,h at 7:30 P.M. you will experience a Shabbat that will take you to a special spiritual place. Carmelim's magnificent costumes, original choreog-raphy, and lively music will truly make for an exciting service! Rabbi Akselrad Attends Outreach Meeting Rabbi Akselrad attended the most recent meeting of the Outreach Commission which was held in October. Dru Greenwood, the Executive Director reported on the many successes of The Outreach Program. Congregation Ner Tamid has had an Outreach committee ana program for over ten years. Rabbi Sanford Akselrad has served on the Outreach commission for nearly five years. The Outreach program provides a welcoming atmosphere to interfaith families, while teaching them about Judaism. CNT is offering its next Outreach program on December 2nd. The Chanukah How To will begin at 7:00pm and will help to educate interfaith families on how to celebrate the holiday. The program will be taught by Melissa Fogel, the Synagogue's rabbinic intern, ana Jackie Fleekop, educational director of Congregation Ner Tamid. If you would like to receive free information about upcoming Outreach events please contact Judy at 733-6292 or send your name, address and phone number to cntprogdir@aol.com Rabbi Akselrad, and Dru Greenwood, Executive Director of the UAHC Commission on Outreach, at the Outreach Commission meeting in New York this past October. December 2000 A Special Place To Belong ^ 17^ Welcome It's wonderful to welcome each of the following new members! We hope to see all of you at services and upcoming Temple events. You are invited to join any (or all!) or the CNT auxilia-ries, if you have not already done so, any Temple committees that interest you, and perhaps a Havurah that is just forming. Please call the Temple office at 733-6292 for further informa-tion. If you are new to Las Vegas, let CNT become your extended family! Carolyn Ann Storm: Carolyn is retired and has lived in Clark County for 23 years. Geraldine and Ralph Siletta: Geraldine is an artist and a stu-dent at UNLV. Her husband, Ralph, is a retired electrical en-gineer. The Silettas are celebrat-ing their 35Ih wedding anniversary in mid-December. George and Peggy Colson: George is a counselor with the Salvation Army in Las Vegas, and Peggy is a teacher at Jacobson Elementary School. Before CNT Library Many thanks to those of you who have donated books to the CNT Library during the past few months! We keep ordering new books but be-cause we use resources that get what we want at the low-est prices, we often have to wait a while for delivery. Keep those donations com-ing and we will keep adding to our stock! Meanwhile, we continue to catalog and organize the li-brary and get it ready for the actual checkout of books. Our system will be displayed in the library when it is com-pleted, but if you are curi-ous, it will work like this: The major categories are numbered and color-coded on the spine of each book. There is (or will be) a note-book that lists each book by title, author, and subject so that you can look up the category and location of the book you want. When you have chosen your book for checkout, pull out the card in the front of the book, sign your name, phone num-ber, and date of checkout, and put the card in the box marked 1 -15 of the month, or the one marked 16-31, depending on the date of checkout. Books should be returned with-in three weeks, unless marked for earlier return. Our volun-teer librarians will watch check-out dates and call with a reminder if your book is over-due. moving to Las Vegas about 2 years ago, George was on the Board of Directors at Temple Emanu-El in Tucson, Arizona and on the Education Committee of the Jewish Federation of Arizo-na. The Colsons are newlyweds who were married just a few months ago. Linda Pleeter and Ben Reiff: They have lived in Clark County for six years and are the own-ers of Ad Specialties. A hearty Mazel Tov to all of you! It m When you return your book, please put it in the box provided, so that our volun-teers can check the book back in and return it to its proper place. After many months of work-ing on a system, we hope this one will be easy for all to use, especially since there will can be no librari-an on duty in our multipur-pose room. We have worked on the adult library first, and then we will pro-ceed with the same system for the Religious School sections. Please remember that the books along the far wall are not part of the CNT Library. They belong to the Jewish Day School. Sharna HCumenfett Congregation h/er Tamfo December 2000 How Can I Help? An often-asked question by Congregants and Friends of Congregation Ner Tamid, is "How can 1 best help the Temple?" "What are some areas where I can specifically support the Temple?" There are many, many needs and ways of helping the Temple. The following list describes the funds we offer. Contributions (tributes) to these funds are acknowledged in our monthly Bulletin. Building Maintenance Fund Provides upkeep and maintenance to our existing facility. Campership Fund Raises funds for our Religious School students to assist them in going to Jewish summer camps. Cantor's Discretionary Fund Provides support and expansion to our music program. This fund is used to purchase musical equipment, supplies and to bring in special performers for our music program. Children's Library Fund There is nothing more delightful than seeing a child engrossed in a good book. This fund helps to purchase quality books for children. Contributions to this fund is greatly needed and appreciated, whether it be in moni( or in actual book donations. With your help, our young children will always have a boon to read. Choir Fund This fund is used to purchase robes, music and other items to support our choir. General Operating Fund Provides for the overall maintaining of our Temple budget. Membership dues provide only a portion of what it takes to run a Temple. Generous support of this fund allows our Temple to grow and provide additional creative programs to our membership. Library Fund This fund allows the Temple to purchase books on Jewish subjects; both fiction and nonfiction. Members and nonmembers alike are frequent visitors to our library. Our need for a larger number and a greater variety of books is very important and deeply felt. Religious School Fund Provides funding for our Religious School. P