The Bulletin of Congregation Ner Tamid, January 2002

January 2002 - Vol. XVI No. 5 17 Tevet-18 Shevat 5762 Sanford D. Akselrad Rabbi Jennifer C. Weiner Assistant Rabbi Bella Feldman Cantorial Soloist Stewart Blumenfeld President Mazel Tov to Maxine Molinsky! 2002 Congregant of the Year She was bom to Ida & Toe in Tbcson, AZ on a sunny and hot Sunday morning in August. She is the youngest of her three siblings. Ana. she, Maxine Molinsky, is this year?s Congregation Ner Tamid Congregant of the Year! Maxine first moved to Las Vegas in 1963. She grew up, like many of our congregants, at the Temple Beth Sholom religious school, actively participating in BBG and USY. She was also a member of the Youth Choir. After graduation from Valley High School, Maxine moved to Northern California to attend college. Then, she was off to San Francisco where she worked as a Dental Assistant until her daughter, ?"b, was born. She returned to Las Vegas in 1991, with Jolie and ,, Brad. Maxine joined Congregation Ner Tamid right away. Immediately feeling welcomed, she mew this was truly her special place to belong. Maxine has been a wonderful and caring member ever since. She has been active on the Sisterhood board, holding several offices, and she is a proud recipient of The Great Lady Award. She is currently the Chairperson of the Social Action committee, and has been involved in several other committees, including membership, ritual and havurah. Maxine also serves on the Chesed Committee. But her true passion? Well, according to Maxine, her ?greatest joy is singing in the CNT Adult Choir and filling in as Cantorial Soloist when needed.? Outside of her full-time commitments to Ner Tamid, Maxine really does have a day job! She works at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in the purchasing department as a Buyer. She is also a member of the Jewish Community Center and Life Member of Hadassah. Her daughter, Jolie, is now 22 and attending UNR in Reno, while Brad is 17 and a junior at Petaluma High School in California. ?I am so honored to have been selected as the 2002 Congregant of the Year,? expressed Maxine in her interview. ?I feel humble and proud at the same time and hope I have set a good example for my children and my fellow congregants at Ner Tamid.? You have set that example, Maxine. You really have... 1 Please join Congregation Ner Tamid on Friday, January 18,2002 in honoring Maxine Molinsky as Congregant of the Year and ^icoming our newest members (see insert) to our temple family. I____________Services will begin at 7:30pm.___________ Leon Marco Interim Executive Director Jacqueline Fleekop Education Director Lois Bergman Preschool Director Melanie Gorman Bulletin Editor Spirituality and Holiness: Discovering 'Rocks and Rubies' with Our Scholar-in-Residence This year's Scholar-in-Residence is Rabbi Elliott Kleinman, the re?gional director of UAHC's Northeast Lakes Council/Detroit Federa?tion. Slated to become the UAHC's Director of Program in July, Rabbi Kleinman is known for his energetically informative speaking style. The Scholar-in-Residence weekend is Feb. 1st and 2nd. Rabbi Klein?man will speak Friday night and twice on Saturday. The program will include a Kiddush meal and a Havdallah ceremony. "Love Affair With God: Seeking a Modem Spirituality" will be the topic of his sermon on Friday night. After a short service Saturday morning, Rabbi Kleinman will talk about "Rocks and Rubies: Dis?covering the Holiness in Everyday Life." The evening program will begin with dessert and conclude with Havdalah, the ceremony that separates the Sabbath from the ordi?nary days of the week. Rabbi Kleinman's topic will be, "And You Shall Teach Them: Jewish Parenting and Grandparenting." Rabbi Kleinman currently is a lecturer in Judaic studies and Jewish education at the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies. He somehow finds time to write and lecture about education issues confronting the Jewish community and about aging and the elderly. He also serves on the Board of Myriam's Dream Foundation ana Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland. Continued on page 11 In This issue... Worship Services 2 Rabbi's Message 2 Message from our President 3 Religious School/Preschool 4-5 Auxiliaries 6-7 January Bar Mitzvah 8 Birthdays & Anniversaries 18 Tributes 19-20 In Memoriam 21 Yahrzeits 21 (the Bulletin is published monthly) Cfl Special Deface CJo OSefonj(0 Worship Services Conducted by Rabbi Sanford Akselrad, Rabbi Jennifer Weiner, & Cantorial Soloist Bella Feldman January 4 Tot Siiabbat 6:30pm Shabbat Service 7:30pm Blessing Andrew Gratz and Ali Bernstein Oneg sponsored by CNT Sisterhood January 5 Bar Mitzvah of Jason Giancaspro 10am Kiddush sponsored by Giancaspro Famiiy Torah Study 10am January 11 Family Service with The Shabba-Tones 7:30pm Oneg sponsored by CNT Sisterhood January 12 Torah Study 10am January 18 New Member and Congregant of the Year Shabbat Service 7:30pm Oneg sponsored by CNT Sisterhood January 19 Torah Study 10am January 25 Shabbat Service 7:30pm Oneg sponsored by CNT Sisterhood January 26 Torah Study 10am Rabbis Message:^ The Jewish calendar is bril?liant in its approach to time. It has not one new year but four. These new years are: (1) The first of Nisan (The New Year of Kings) used to calculate the number of years a given king has served, (2) the first of Elul used for the tithing of cattle, (3) the first of Tishrei (Ro sh Hashanah) which is the new year for agriculture and the New Year of the Years, and (4) the fifteenth of Shevat (Tu B?Shevat) which is the New Year of the Trees. Even as the secular world has just completed making its New Year?s resolutions, the Jewish community is gearing up for Tu B?Shevat, the New Year of the Trees. Tu B?Shevat then is the time when we are concerned about our environment. Yet, Ju?daism teaches us that we should always be concerned with the environment, not just our physical one but also our spiri?tual one. For that reason, Tu B?Shevat (the 15th of Shevat correspond?ing to January 28>th this year), is a time to come together as a community to take care of our planet. It is also a time to hold a seder in which various foods and different colors of grape juice are sampled. Each food and color of grape juice repre?sents a different level of height?ened spiritual awareness. aware of what they do. For that reason, I would like to take this time to thank some very special people for all that they have done to make my transition to our congregation so smooth. I would also like to say thank you to all those who made the Installation weekend so special. Thank you to Rabbi Akselrad, Bella Feldman, and Jackie Fieekop. Thank you to Stewart Blumenfeld and the Board of Trustees. Thank you to the staff of CNT. Thank you to Sharna Blumenfeld, Cookie Olshein, Bette Stahl, Aydie Unger, and Sandy Stolberg for planning and coordinat?ing the Installation weekend. Thank you to the Sisterhood and the Men?s Club for providing those extra spe?cial touches that made everything so wonderful. Thank you to David Weinstein, An Affair to RemembeiT^ Susan Schyman, Jerry and Yvotj^HA Gordon, Frances Klamian, and Rabbi?s Wife,? and Katherine Scott, for all that you gave to the festivi?ties to make the weekend so great. Thank you to the Bagel Cafe for sponsoring the oneg. Thank you also to everyone in the congrega?tion for adding to the celebration. I am so grateful to each and every one of you who have made me feel like such an integral part of CNT. So, as we begin to celebrate a new year of trees, so do we celebrate a new time in our congregation. Happy Tu B?Shevat! B?Shalom, fabbi 'Weiner That awareness should not just remain at the seder, though. It should permeate our lives. We should take the time to remind those around us that we are Congregation N e r Tamid January 2002 Temple Board Members Scott Stolberg Howard Skolnick Richard Granich Ira Spector Hilary Torchin Mindy Wadkins Scott Dockswell Leon Marco Lynn Sasso Esther Saltzman Jacky Rosen Robb Worth Beth Bromberg Cookie Olshein Esq. Cecilia Schafler Ira Miller Gina Polovina Doug Unger Esq. Ruth Urban Michael Milano Samantha Saltzman Sandy Pittle Drew Levy Bob Unger Esq. Jerry Gordon Esq. Cal Lewis Eileen Kollins Kenneth Schnitzer Dr. David Wasserman ^Dr. Steve Kollins ^^kcHAEL Cherry Bernard Farrow Eugene Kirshbaum* David Goldwater* Rabbi Sanford Akselrad Rabbi Jennifer Weiner VP Administration VP Ways & Means VP Membership VP Religious Activities VP Education & Youth VP Member Activities VP Social Action Treasurer Secretary Trustee Trustee Trustee Trustee Trustee Trustee Trustee Trustee Trustee Sisterhood Brotherhood NTTY Golden Chai PastPresident Past President Past President Past President Past President Past President Past President Past President Past President Past President Past President Past President Ex Officio Ex Officio * Deceased January ?Torah Study ?Dates ?.Tuesd with ?Rabbi. sdays 6i Absebrad 12pm-lpm/ ?Board Room January 8th and22nd Saturdays a ban bea with bay beader 9am / Library January 5th, 12th, 19th, I____ and 26th On Building a Synagogue At just about the same time you receive your Bulletin, you will also receive your first state?ment showing your financial obligation to CNT for 2002. There?s no hiding it: there is an in?crease in our dues. This is just about the time that old saw ?gotta pay to pray? comes out of the closet again. But that?s not really true. In Judaism, praying can be done anywhere, includ?ing, at no additional cost, your home. We?re not paying to pray. Rather, we are supporting a myriad or services and activities that benefit all of us in the CNT family, from our littlest kids to our oldest seniors (oyl, that?s beginning to strike close to home). Yes, parents pay extra to put their kids in our preschool or our kindergarten or our Religious School, but that couldn?t hap?pen if the building and grounds didn?t exist and those things are supported in part by the dues we pay. I say in part because the dues we collect pay for less than half of our annual operating re?quirements. Last year, in fact, the dues we col?lected paid for about 44% or our operational costs. Based on data from UAHC and from my conversations with presidents of other temples around the country, most temples pay for some?thing between 55% and 65% of annual expenses by means of dues collections. Contributing financially to support the syna?gogue has deep roots in Jewish history. There is a saying in Pirkei Avot that ?where there is no bread, there is no torah?. The Israel Museum has in its possession an ostracon (a pottery sherd with writing on it), thought to date to the ninth century BCE. recording ?a payment of 3 silver shekelim to tne caretakers of the temple in Jerus?alem (that?s Solomon?s temple). In the period just before the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), all Israelites were expected to donate a half-shekel for the upkeep of the temple. And if you travel in Europe to see what remains of the synagogues of the Middle Ages, you will see in each a box (a pushke) for contributions by the membership for its maintenance. We can?t get by anymore with a few shekelim from each of us (unfortunately, the shekel is only worth about 244 US now), but your Board work awfully hard to find a sensible balance between the amount and types of services CNT can provide its members and the cost of provid?ing them. The Budget Committee, headed by our treasurer Leon Marco, drew up a preliminary budget based on the actual costs of last year mod- ifieaby the estimated costs of all the services we expect to provide this year. All the vice-presi?dents and committee chairs who spend or gener?ate funds contributed to this exercise. This budget was refined by going through sev?eral iterations within the Budget Commit?tee, which looks at proposed costs and estimated income and tries to tie every?thing to the reality of past years and present times. The best budget the Committee could up with was then handed to the Board for discussion at the November Board meeting. Based on this discussion, addi?tional changes were made and a penulti?mate budget presented to the Board at the December meeting. With a few minor modifications, the Board passed the budget for temple year 2002. We are growing and the cost of maintain?ing Nevada?s largest Reform synagogue also is growing. Last year, our budget came to just under one million dollars. This year, for the first time, Congregation Ner Tamid?s budget exceeds one million dollars ($1,136,671). Nevertheless, temple dues still will yield only 46% of our operating bud?get. The rest of the money will continue to come from special gifts and various fund?raising efforts. Keeping our dues relatively low (and our dues and fees still are in the middle of the Las Vegas synagogue pack), enables some, who are financially able, to do more than average and others, who are a little less able, to contribute a little less than aver?age. By this means, we manage to make this wonderful congregation accessible to nearly everyone across the Las Vegas eco?nomic spectrum. Nearly every family (ex?cept our Menorah families, who have volunteered to contribute significantly more than our standard amount) is billed ac?cording to our standard dues structure. However, if you can do a little more, please do so, with a big thank you from the Board. If you feel you cannot do quite this much, please talk immediately to our Executive Director. This is your congregation. That?s why you should know generally where our money comes from and where it aoes. The charts on page 10 show that. (Article contin?ue B?Shalom, Stewart January 2002 A S pecial Place A To Belong ^ 3 ^ Religious School News Religious School Calendar January 2002 Sunday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday 1 No R/S 2 No R/S 3 No R/S 6 0 9 10 13 15 16 17 20 No R/S 22 23 24 27 29 30 31 **lst, 2nd, 3rd, No R/S due to Winter Break, Class Resumes on the 6th 20th, MLK Observance 27th, Community Tu B'Shevat The other day I purchased a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses for a dear friend. Not only is this person a special friend, but she had helped me arrange a time consuming project. The flowers were left at my home. I knew she wanted them, so I carefully placed the vase in a trash can, put it on the front passenger side floor of my car and started off to work. As I was stopped in traffic, I noticed one flower seemed to be drooping. I reached down and removed it from the vase. When I arrived at the office I noticed there were two more drooping flowers, 1 removed them too. The dozen roses were now nine. How easy it was to throw away imperfect flowers. They were still fragrant and bright in color, but they could not keep their proud heads up. This incident reminded me that I should write about the roses as I shared a special event happening at our congregation. Many of you know that we have Special Learners attending our religious school. Every child should have the opportunity to reach their potential and the right to participate in Jewish life. We will be having a Bar Mitzvah for such a child this month. He is unable to read or speak clearly, yet he will become a Bar Mitzvah. With the support of many caring people he can hum the Shema and allow his family ana frienas to kvel over him as they celebrate his life. Life is a learning process and each one of us must remind ourselves to have more respect for each other and our own imperfections. The flowers reminded me of this valuable lesson. There is a prayer that we say when we are thanking G-d for allowing our bodies to function. Yet, there are those who have imperfect bodies that do not function the way we consider normal, how does this prayer apply to them? They are here and that allows us to share a smile, the Mss, the hug, the love and hope of these children remind us that they too have value. learning does not stop at the classroom door?it only stops when we refuse to learn. Congratulations to our Special Bar Mitzvah student. Congratulations and respect to each of the CNT religious school par?ents who allow their children to hold their heads up proudly as tl^ reach their highest potential. ? May you have a great 20021! Shalom, Jackie Jkefyp 2002 Camp Jamboree Sunday, January 27, 2002 11:00 am to 12\00 noon CNT Social Hall Sisterhood will provide lunch For Religious Scnool Students More than 6 major Jewish Summer Camps (for 3rd grade & up) "be represented 4 f Congregation N e r Tamid January 2002 CNT NRCSCHeei ANN KINNERCARTEN December was an exciting and fun filled month for all of our students and staff here at the preschool and kindergarten. We all worked very hard preparing for our Chanukah program. Our superstar production was certainly Broadway material. Who knows where the CNT kids will go from here? It was delightful to hear our little ones say the blessings and sing the traditional Chanukah melodies. Our youngsters all enjoyed cooking and eating Latkes and Sufganot. We each presented our parents with a hand made gift in hand made wrapping paper with our own great cards. We went on a field trip to the Shark Reef, it sure was fun! We also enjoyed singing for the Golden Chai and hearing a story from the Rabbi. Along with all of these activities we are planning many new projects and field trips for this month of January. The Kindergarten class will be going to see a program at Ham Hall called Jim West Dinosaurs We will be celebrating Martin Luther King?s Birthday. We are preparing for our spring planting for Tu B?Shevat. Of course, we continue to learn our numbers, letters, colors, shapes, prereading and math skills, along with music, science, computers and history. Our new semester will be starting this month. We have many new students beginning their Preschool adventure. We have only a very few spots remaining in Preschool and Kindergarten. If you have a child or grandchild between the ages of 2 1\2 and 5 years of age, and want a quality Secular and Jewish education for that child, call us at the CNT office 733-6292 Lois (Bergman Early Childhood Director Our Kindergarten Class on a trip to the Rainforest Cafe Romi Siwav celebrates her birthday witn her grandfather, father, and brother Dr. Jim Siebert, the Channel 3 weather man shows Victor Arriaza how fast the wind blows January 2002 Bailey Goldstein, and Lexi Goldstein celebrate Shabbat A Special Place To Belong Auxiliaries tSiitExfiootl e^Vewi Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were wonderful and not too hectic. Now it?s time to settle into a new year and Sisterhood has many new and exciting programs in store for you. Sunday, January 13th Sisterhood will be sponsoring the CHAI LIFE program, a celebration of Jewish women artists. This very fun event, features some well known artists as well as women who are yet to be discovered. Please join us for Champagne, Chocolate and Art ana an opportunity to talk with the artists about their work starting at 2 p.m. Also on January 13th at 6 p m is the inaugural Rosh Chodesh program. Tied to the renewal of our spiritualism in connection with tne phase of the new moon, this study group will meet monthly and promises a very enriching experience. Katherine Scott and her committee have worked hard on making this program meaningful, and I invite you to come to the first meeting and see what it?s all about. You won?t be disappointed. On January 24th, Sisterhood will tap into your artistic talents with a repeat of tne very fun ceramic painting program that was done last year. Please watch for a flyer in the mail. Sisterhood has been well known for the work done by THE PARTY SHOP. The Party Shop is Sisterhood?s catering arm, and makes sure that every oneg is wonderful, and specializes in Bar and Bat Mitzvah events. The Party Shop is also behind the scenes to make sure that every Shabbat dinner, whether it is for one of the pot lucks for the religious school classes or a special holiday, is coordinated so there are challah and Shabbat candles on every table. The Party Shop does the food for the Chanukah Bazaar, Purim Carnival and so much more. If you need a very special kiddush, luncheon or dinner, the Sisterhood Party Shop is who you want. Frances Klamian, the Party Shop Catering Director, has done fabulous events for many years and is now assisted by Susie Sernoe-Plotkin. Together these two women, along with their able Sisterhood volunteers and staff put on great celebrations, including fabulous food and beautiful decorations. The Party Shop now has a new logo and is expanding marketing, so watch for more information about the Party Shop?s offerings. This leads well into the introduction of more Sisterhood Board members. Frances Klamian. who as most of you know is a new grandmother, has two grown daughters. She hails from Alabama and has a wonderful southern drawl. She is our singing Martha Stewart as she has devoted her talents to making the Sisterhood?s Party Shop a success aid is the women behind the synagogue?s kitchen operation. She and her husband Richard have been married for 32 years and have been in Las Vegas since 1975. In addition to her worn with the Party Shop, Frances sings in the choir and fills in as the guest Cantorial Soloist on many occasions. In her spare time, she is a substitute elementary school teacher. Debbie Hallerman hails from Tlilsa, Oklahoma. She has been in southern Nevada 5 years and moved here when she and her husband, Mel, married. They have three ?furry? children, one of which is a baby beagle and is in puppy obedience classes. Debbie has been active in Sisterhood since coming to our community and has served in many capacities. Presently she is the Donor Chair, keeping track of members? volunteer hours and planning a special event to honor them. She has also been a tremendous help with the membership database. Gloria Helpem. who co-chairs the phone committee, has been in Las Vegas for rive years and comes from Brooklyn. She and her husban^^ Donald, have been married for 40 years, and are both registered nursi^B They are the parents of two grown children and have foi^^ grandchildren. Gloria is interested in getting more involved in Sisterhood and attended the Women of Reform Judaism conference in Boston with the Sisterhood delegation. Lvnette Solomon the winner of this years Ms. Noodle Kugel contest was born in Brooklyn and came to Las Vegas 7 years ago. Sne and her husband Stu have Deen married for 7 years and have a 4 year old son, Alex. She has a passion for cooking and co-chairs the Cook Book committee. Lynette is also active on the CNT membership committee. If you are interested in finding out more about Sisterhood, please join us at our regular board meetings, the second Thursday or each month. The board meetings are open to any Sisterhood member. We have now moved our meetings to 7:00 pm. Also, in response to a request from several members, we will hold a veiy brief business meeting before each program event. Please feel free to call me at 768-8529, or email me at ruth@ruth-urban-group.com if you have any questions about Sisterhood. I welcome your input and questions. Until next month, my best, ?Ruth Sisterhood m Congregation ?J\[er ?Tamicf Congregation N e r Tamid January 2002 Auxiliaries Continued Men 's Club Shalom. I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. December was a very interesting and rewarding month. I traveled to Boston to attend the North American Federa?tion of Temple Brotherhood's (NFTB) Convention. This con?vention ran in conjunction with the UAHC Biennial Celebration. I had the opportunity to meet many of my peers from all across the United States. The workshops helped to educate me on how to run a Men's Club, provide better programs and use fundraisers to their maximum potential. The highlight of the trip for me was the NFTB Awards luncheon. It was there I proudly accepted the Gerald L. Wartell Achievement Award. This award is given to the Best Men's Club in the United States in the category of Temple Memberships of 300-1000 fami?lies. We also won a National Star Programming Award. This award is given to Men's Clubs for "Excellence in Programming" in six categories. The Award has a Star of David on it and each of the six corners of the star has a category. I am extremely proud of what our Men's Club Pas accomplished. Both the hard work of the men and the support of the Congregants made this all possible. I es?pecially want to thank Drew Levy, our Past Temple Presi?dent, for all the support he gave us, Sandy and Scott Stolberg, Ruth Urban, Rabbi Akselrad, Jerry Gordon, Stew Blumenfeld and all of the Temple Board members and every wife that sent the check in for her husband. This month we will be having a health fair during our regular Sunday morning meeting on January 20, 2002. Coordinat?ed by our own Fred Toffel, many medical vendors and suppliers, along with our physician guest speakers will be available to answer questions. Don't forget our meeting in February. Our guest speaker will be Bob Unger from the Jewish Federation. We look forward to another very suc?cessful year as our membership approaches 125, another record. The Golf Tournament is approaching. Please make sure to send in your checks. The Tournament is on Sunday April 7, 2002 at Desert Willow Golf Course at Sun City MacDonald Ranch in Henderson. We are predicting the largest turnout ever for this event. Please come and be part of the Magic Shalom, Mit^e Mitano Men's Club President CNT Men's Club Honored It is with unbelieveable joy in my heart that I take this opportunity to tell all of you "hat our Men's Club has had another National Honor bestowed on us. We are the Xoud recipients of an NFTB (North American Federation of Temple Brother?hoods) Excellence in Programming Award. It is called a "STAR" Programming Award and it is given in recognition of excellence in programming that benefits the Congregation, Jewish Community and Community as a whole. The certificate displays a Jewish Star and each corner of the Star has a category. Social, Inter?faith, Social Action, Youth, Service and Education. A Men's Club must achieve excellence in Programming in all six categories. AND WE DID. Thank all of you so much for your hard work, support, dedication and devotion. Words cannot express how I feel at this time. To lead such a group at such a time and be so recognized is truly one of the greatest experiences of my life. I am so glad I came to Las Vegas and thrilled to have been so warmly received by CNT. It was those feelings of warmth and all they did for me through a tough transition from the East that keeps me forever dedicated to our Temple. Congratulations to everyone. This is truly everyone's award. A Special Place To Behn9 ijl January 2002Four-Week Sessions To Study Text of Prophet, Prayers Hi, my name is Jason Giancaspro. I am in 7th grade at Garside Middle School. I enjoy spending time with my sisters, Shelby and Gabrielle, and close family friends. I also like to listen to music, go for walks, and go on family road trips. I will be called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on January 5, 2002. My family and friends are very proud of this accomplishment. I could not have achieved this milestone without the love and support of my Congregation Ner Tamid family and I thank them for helping me reach this goal. 1 4 Yiddish Lesson for January gants gut - very good qantsen k'nacker! - "biq- Shot" qantseh macher - ?big shot." gantseh megilleh - big deal! gantseh mentsh - manly, a whole man, gatkes - long winter under wear geben shoychad - to bribe Congregation N e r Tamid Dr. Bruno Borenstein is returning this winter to teach two more fascinating subjects. "Jeremiah?s Agony" and "Our Siddur: The Beauty Within the Prayers We Speak" are two four-week courses that will run on Wednesday nights from February through May. "Jeremiah?s Agony" will be held from 6pm - 7pm in the Temple Library Feb. 20th through March 13th. "Our Siddur" will run the same time from April 10th through May 1st. The cost for each is $1fi> per person, or $25 for non-temple members. Limited scholarships are available. Both classes will involve text study in Hebrew and in English, knowledge of Hebrew is not necessary to en?joy the class. Please RSVP to the Temple office at 733-6292. The first four-week course will study the prophet Jer?emiah. This introspective and sensitive man is terri?fied by God?s call to assume his role as Prophet. Nonetheless, he accepts God?s summons, and bears witness to the complete destruction of his people and exile to a foreign land. In a manner unique to Prophets to this time, his calling overwhelms his \ifM and inspires him to express solidarity with his peop? by challenging God?s decisions. His task is to wrestle with God in order to understand the basis of the ?New Covenant? between God and Israel, and his role in bringing it about. The class will study the text of Jeremiah in English and Hebrew over a four-week period, in hour-long ses?sions, seeking to analyze his prophecy and explore the personality of this gifted but tortured man who deals so intimately with God. The second session works on the assumption that we rarely take the time to think about the Prayers we Speak. This four-week, hour-long session will examine in detail the two major prayers the Jewish people are privileged to possess, the Shema and the Amidah. Speaking them is not enough; knowing why they are constructed as they are is the essential. These build?ing-blocks of Jewish tradition are elegant examples of the Jewish thought characteristic of the Bible and elucidated by the Rabbis of old. They deserve our close attention. January 2002 Youth and Education Committee News the 1st Sunday of each month the Youth & Education Commit?tee meets in the Board Room. Everyone is welcome to come on in and be a part of this very energetic group. Last month's meeting yielded exciting new ideas. There is now a box in the front lobby for congregants to put used books in. These books will be sold at the Purim Carnival on February 24th - we're taking any and all types of books. You can see Leon Marco in the Temple office to get a receipt for your tax deductible book donation. You will be receiving an order form for Bartons Kosher for Passover candy. Bartons is a very delicious, high-quality product. It's perfect for your Seder and gift-giving. The proceeds or this fundraiser bene?fit the Religious School, so please order generously. Many thanks to Elaine Burke for heading up this subcommittee. You recently received a letter asking for Purim Carnival Sponsorships, Raffle Items and Silent Auction items. Please send your donations in to the Temple office as soon as possible. All donations will be recognized on the day of the Carnival as well as in community-wide advertising. All 3 areas of involvement are so important - as is your attendance on February 24th. Our children will have a blast with new booths and excellent prizes, and I hope all the adults will appre?ciate the Silent Auction and fun Carnival food. Trish Messinger and her Purim Carnival subcommittee are hard at work, doing an excel?lent job making booths, gathering donations and making this into an exciting event. A big "thank you" to our Men's Club & their President, Mike Milano, for again volunteering to donate the soda Pr our Carnival. You guys are the best! Our Family Party at Wet 'N' Wild will close out the Religious School year on May 19th. We've already reserved a spot for you to hang out with your CNT friends and family. If you have any questions or comments about anything regarding the Youth & Education Committee, please email Hillary Torchin at HTorchin@aol.com. Happy New Year! 9~(U(aru ?Torcfiin VP, Youth & Education CNT Forms Hosts Bereavement Group Our Bereavement Group is scheduled to meet Jan?uary 7, 2002 from 11:30am to 1pm at Congrega?tion Ner Tamid. We will be meeting for six weeks each Monday morning. If you or a loved one or friend is interested, they are welcome to join us. Please call Karen Levine at 733-6292 at the Tem?ple office. Pamela M.Goldberg, RN, M.S. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Dr. Debora Bar?ney, Psychiatrist, will be leading this group. Please note there is no fee. Purim Carnival This year's Purim Carnival will be on Sunday, February = 24th. There will be a Raffle and a Silent Auction as well ^ as games, booths, prizes, w food and MOST OF ALL, FUN! Letters will be sent == soon to our congregation and to the business com- munity requesting sponsor- ?llll1 ships, raffle prizes, silent auction items and any other = help you can offer. All pro?ceeds benefit our Relig