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The highlight of March is always Purim, which was, as usual, a
carnival of activities. At the Purim Family Celebration we
presented a new Megillat Esther; our Mishloach Manot fundraiser
was a huge success, and Purim itself was properly rowdy. Our Tribute
2006 on April 1 was a fun and festive evening attended by more than
200 people, and raised funds to keep our community thriving.
Pesach begins with the first seder on Wednesday, April 12, and
Rabbi Kalmanofsky will lead a community seder on the second
night, Thursday, April 13. We will observe Yom HaShoah on Monday,
April 24, when Rochelle Saidel will speak about the women prisoners of
the Ravensbruck concentration camp. Ansche Chesed will again participate
in the community reading of names of people who perished in the
Holocaust that night at the JCC. The next week, on May 2, we’ll
celebrate Yom HaAtzma’ut, Israel Independence Day, with a display
of photos of Israel taken by our members and a celebratory evening
including a slide show of the transformation of Tel Aviv from a patch of
sand into a thriving metropolis.
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April Calendar |
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CANDLE LIGHTING TIMES
4/7 Light candles 7:08
Shabbat ends 8:10
4/12 Light holiday candles 7:14
4/13 Light holiday candles 8:17
4/14 Light candles 7:16
Shabbat ends 8:18
4/18 Light holiday candles 7:20
4/19 Light holiday candles 8:24
4/21 Light candles 7:23
Shabbat ends 8:27
4/28 Light candles 7:30
Shabbat ends 8:35
SERVICE TIMES
Morning Minyan
Monday & Thursday 7:20 a.m.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 7:30 a.m.
Sunday & Civil Holidays 8:30 a.m.
Rosh Hodesh 7:15 a.m.
Evening Minyan (Ma'ariv)
Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Shabbat Services
Friday Evening Services 6:30 p.m.
Shabbat Morning Services 10 a.m.
Minyan Rimonim: April 1, 15
West Side Minyan: April 8, 22
Family and Children's Services 11 a.m.
Ages 4 and under
Ages 5-7
Ages 8-12
SHABBAT STUDY
Torah Study 9 a.m.
Religion & Science Reading Group, April 29 at 4 p.m.
WEEK OF April 1
Sat. 4/1 SHABBAT Parshat Yayikra
Bat Mitzvah: Yael Rein
Bar Mitzvah (havdalah): David Kronovet
Tribute 2006 8 p.m.
WEEK OF APRIL 2
Mon. 2/2 Darfur Awareness Evening, 7:30 p.m.
Israel-Zionist Reading Group, 7:45 p.m.
Tues. 4/3 Seniors baking with Dalet class, 3:45 p.m.
Israeli Fiction in Translation Reading Group, 7:30 p.m.
Wed. 4/4 Senior Adult Program, Noon
Talmud Study, 7 p.m.
Rabbi's Pesach class, 8 p.m.
Family Social Action Committee, 8 p.m.(off-site)
Thurs. 4/6 Shirei Chesed, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. 4/7 Shabbat HaGadol: Speaker from Interfaith Assembly at
services
Sat. 4/8 SHABBAT Parshat Tzav/Shabbat HaGadol
Bar Mitzvah: Sean Toomey
Teen Lunch with Rabbi Kalmanofsky
WEEK OF APRIL 9
Wed. 4/12 Siyyum Bekhorim following 7 a.m. morning minyan
First Seder
Thurs. 4/13 First Day Passover. Morning services 10 a.m.
Mincha/Ma'ariv Services 7 p.m.
Community Seder 7:30 p.m.
Fri. 4/14 Second Day Passover. Morning services 10 a.m.
Sat. 4/15 SHABBAT Hol HaMoed Pesach
Bat Mitzvah: Sara Kaplan
WEEK OF APRIL 16
Wed. 4/19 7th Day Passover. Morning services 10 a.m.
Thurs. 4/20 8th Day Passover. Morning services (including Yizkor) 10
a.m.
(Morning Minyan at 7 a.m. includes Yizkor)
Sat. 4/22 SHABBAT Parshat Shemini
WEEK OF APRIL 23
Mon. 4/24 Yom Hashoah speaker: Rochelle Saidel, 7:30 p.m.
Tues. 4/25 Yom HaShoah
Wed. 4/26 Talmud Study, 7 p.m.
Board of Trustees, 8 p.m.
Sat. 4/29 SHABBAT Tazria/Metzora; Rosh Hodesh Iyyar
Bar Mitzvah: Aviv Lang
Religion & Science Reading Group, 4 p.m.
Under nearly all circumstances, as I suspect everyone knows, the
most important mitzvah in Judaism is pikuah nefesh, or
saving a human life. When it comes to saving lives, says the
Jerusalem Talmud (Yoma 45b): “ HaZariz meshubach, hanishal
meguneh, vehaShoel shofekh damim. When it comes to
life-saving, the hasty is praise worthy, the one who is asked a
question about life-saving is a disgrace, and the one who asks a
question is a murderer.”
The first and third items on that list are reasonable. One
should rush in to save another, and one should not wait to ask
whether this saving is halakhically necessary. Save first and ask
questions later. What does the middle clause mean? What is
disgraceful about being asked a question? R. Israel Isserlein of
Vienna (15th century) explains that a Torah teacher who does not
actively educate the community about the mitzvah of pikuah
nefesh – who does not explain this mitzvah before the moment
of a crisis, so people can be ready to act – such a person is no
teacher at all, but a disgrace.
I will try not to disgrace my profession by taking this moment
to inform or remind you that April is National Donate Life – Organ
and Tissue Donor Awareness Month. (Whew. What a mouthful of
governmental prose!) There is a widespread myth that Judaism
forbids organ donation. (It's usually based on superstitions, like
a fear your body would not be intact when God wants to resurrect
it. As if God’s miracles only extend to growing new flesh over
long dead bones – not new kidneys?) In fact, most Jewish
authorities regard organ donation as compulsory if you are in a
position to donate a liver, kidney, heart, lung, bone marrow, or
even skin and cornea. Such a gift fulfills the mitzvah of Lo
ta’amod al dam re’ekha/Do not hesitate when your neighbor is
at mortal risk (Leviticus 19.16). Don’t hesitate. Rush in! Save
your neighbors!
Every day, 17 people die while waiting, futilely, for a
transplant. Right now, 90,000 Americans are waiting for major
organ donations. Some 65,000 await kidneys. Another 17,000 are
waiting for livers (both of which can be given by living donors,
and certainly by deceased donors). On the brighter side, some
27,000 transplants were performed in 2004.
I hope that each and every one of us lives until 120 and dies
peacefully in our beds. But the plain, grim fact is that some of
us will die prematurely, when our dying bodies can give life to
others. Each of us should be prepared for that moment. Please mark
your driver’s licenses to say you wish to donate organs. Please
discuss your choices with family members so they know your wishes.
Please get yourself into the tissue registries, so that national
data bases can identify you as a match for someone. For those
interested in this aspect of the question, please consult the
Halakhic Organ Donor Society www.HODS.org to carry one of their
cards, and to learn about the Jewish legal issues.
May we all merit to be prepared for fulfill the mitzvah of
pikuach nefesh.
-- Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky
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Update from the President |
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At the March meeting of the Board of Trustees, the Board voted to
implement the capital improvement plan presented by the building
committee. Over the next few months you will see lots of cleaning,
polishing, spackling, and painting going on in the lobbies, first
floor bathrooms, and the Sanctuary. The contractors and our
maintenance staff will work diligently to minimize any disruption
and will clean extensively before Shabbat.
We will repaint our splendid Sanctuary and improve the lighting
in the room. Our Capital Campaign, to which the community so
generously contributed, has allowed all this to take place. After
all the necessary and essential work to our exterior and sidewalk
vault, it is a pleasure to begin work within our walls to make our
home a more beautiful place.
-- Josh Hanft
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Pesach at Ansche Chesed |
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Feeding the Hungry
As in past years, we are collecting non-perishable packaged foods
for the food pantry run by the West Side Campaign Against Hunger.
Food may be brought to the AC office until Wednesday morning,
April 12.
Sale of Hametz
If you plan on designating Rabbi Kalmanofsky to sell your hametz,
please visit the synagogue during business hours up until 11:30
a.m. on Wednesday, April 12. Also, remember the Hagaddah's call:
Kol dikhfeen yetey v'yehol -- All who are hungry, come and
eat. Please remember to make a contribution to the Ansche Chesed
Rabbi's Discretionary Fund to help feed those in need this Pesach.
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
Wednesday, April 12
Morning minyan at 7 a.m. folllowed by Siyyum of the First Born
First Seder
Thursday, April 13
Morning Services 10 a.m.
Mincha/Ma'ariv Services 7 p.m.
Second Night Seder
Community Seder 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 14
Morning Services 10 a.m.
Wednesday, April 19
7th Day Pesach. Morning Services 10 a.m.
Thursday, April 20
8th day Pesach. Morning services, including Yizkor, 10 a.m.
(Morning Minyan at 7 a.m. includes Yizkor)
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Yom HaShoah Speaker: Dr. Rochelle Saidel |
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Monday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m.
THE VICTIMS OF RAVENSBRUCK: LIFE AND DEATH IN A NAZI CAMP
FOR WOMEN
Dr. Rochelle G. Saidel is the founder and executive director of
the Remember the Women Institute, a not- for-profit organization
based in New York City that carries out and encourages research
and cultural projects that integrate women into history. Her own
focus is on Jewish women, especially women during the Holocaust.
Dr. Saidel’s book, The Jewish Women of Ravensbruck
Concentration Camp, includes interviews with survivors and
research that began on her first visit to the camp when it was
part of the German Democratic Republic in 1980. Located about
fifty miles north of Berlin, Ravensbrück was the only major Nazi
concentration camp for women. During its six years of operation,
there were a total of about 20,000 Jewish women in the camp.
(Among its prisoners was Fiorello La Guardia’s sister; their
mother was an Italian Jew.) Reclaiming the lost voices of the
victims and the personal accounts of the survivors, the book is
the story of daily camp life with the women's thoughts about food,
friendships, fear of sexual abuse, hygiene issues, slave labor,
resistance, and, most important, staying alive.
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Yom HaAtzma'ut Program May 2 |
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Tuesday, May 2 at 7 p.m.
Take a virtual tour of Israel through the eyes and camera
lenses of AC photographers. Our Israel Independence Day
celebration will feature a display of photos taken by members
taken on their trips to Israel. Go through your albums and submit
your favorites to the office by April 7. Note who took the picture
and when and where it was taken, and what the subject is.
To cap off the evening, a truly special slide presentation
by Barbara E. Mann will show Tel Aviv rapidly unfolding from
an empty plot of sand in 1909 into the first Hebrew city and the
world capital of Bauhaus architecture.
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Upcoming Events |
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SHIREI CHESED CONCERT
Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 14 when we will be
treated to a Mother's Day performance by Ansche Chesed's community
chorus, Shirei Chesed, under the direction of Hazzan Natasha
Hirschhorn. Shirei Chesed will be joined by Shiru Shiru, the
Brooklyn Jewish Community Chorus, also directed by Hazzan
Hirschhorn. The sanctuary will be filled with the sound of 80
voices accompanied by piano, cello, flute, violin and percussion.
TUV HA'ARETZ THIRD SEASON
Spring is just around the corner, and the Garden of Eve farm will
once again join with Hazon's Tuv Ha'aretz program to offer the
community shares of fresh vegetables, fruit, and flowers. Pickup
is from AC on Wednesday evenings. Registration forms are availble
at www.hazon.org.
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News & Notes |
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MAZAL TOV TO:
March’s b’nai mitzvah and their families:
Shane Alpert
Allegra Epstein
Nathaniel Epstein
Zachary Lynn
Alex Treitel
Steven Burdman on his engagement to Adena Abramson.
Rabbi Iscah Waldman on her engagement to Matthew Agin.
Carolin Daum and Ilan Melamed on their marriage. Joyce
and Martin Mann on the birth of their first grandchild, Raia
Honig, daughter of Stepha and Scott Honig.
Meredith Greenberg and Leora Perlman and Gilad on the
birth of Nadav, their son and brother, and to the entire Perlman
family.
Betsy and Noah Silverman on the birth and adoption of
their son, Max.
CONDOLENCES TO:
Caren Raphael on the death of her father, Harvey Raphael.
Atina Grossmann on the death of her mother, Erika Busse
Grossmann.
Jean Kunhardt Herschkowitz on the death of her father,
Philip Kunhardt.
TODAH RABBAH TO:
Esther Altmann and Richard Cantor for hosting the new
member reception on March 4.
Miriam Kanter and Kevin Roy for contributing to the March
Family Kiddush.
TODAH RABBAH TO THE FAMILY PURIM CELEBRATION VOLUNTEERS:
Nan Siegmund, Bonnie Gibel, Sharon Sonnenschein, Carolyn Lee,
Cheryl Bressman, Nina Fine, Lenore Michaels, Sheryl Reich, Marla
Alhadeff, Lauren Napach, Melanie Schneider, David Schnee, Susan
Mandel, Tricia Lindemann, Claudia Chernov, Amy Marx , Freda
Eisenberg, Tanya Taubes, Deborah Pastor, Susan Greenfield, Bob
Rosenthal, and Judy Leventhal. Thanks also to AC Hebrew
School students: Neshama Sonnenschein, Nicholas Heim, Ariel
Cohen, Andre Manuel, Julian Michaels, Eli Hanft, Ruby Fine, and
Reuben Moreland. A huge thank you to Michael Wise and
Linda Goldstein for their assistance in coordinating the
entire affair! Also thank you to Yaldaynu director Elaine
Bloom and Iris Hellner, Yaldaynu parent, as well as
Yaldaynu parents and teachers for their great enthusiasm and
help in designing stations and securing materials.
TODAH RABBAH TO THE MISHLOACH MANOT VOLUNTEERS:
Linda Messing, Chair, and those who helped put together
the Purim gift packages: Janis Leventhal, Zoe Leaf, Shoshi
Shapiro, Roberta Shapiro, Wendy and Avery Katz, Terry Zisowitz,
Bettina and Seferina Berch, Sam and Fran Schiff, Jennifer
Kinberg, Yuri Mishkin, Batia Katz, Sara Hirade, Margalit Katz,
Marjorie Hort, Stephen Gross; and to those who helped
distribute the packages on Purim: Janet Scharf, Roberta
Shapiro, Josh Hanft, Bonnie Leeds and Toby Cohen. And a huge
thanks to Jack Messing for doing all the schlepping!
TODAH RABBAH TO THE TRIBUTE 2006 COMMITTEE:
Co-chairs Linda Shriner-Cahn and Leah Strigler, Bettina Berch,
Debbie Greenberg, Josh Hanft, Frances Degen Horowitz, Jordan
Horvath, Ruth Kaufman, Celia Reiss, Ruth Sharfman, Herta Shriner,
Ellen Tucker, Judith Turner. Thanks also to Barrie Raik
for photography, Naomi Cohen and Rita Falbel for
performing, Jane Head and Charlie Davidson for lighting,
and to Hazzan Natasha Hirschhorn and Rabbi Jeremy
Kalmanofsky. And many thanks to the hard- working
maintenance and office staff .
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Donations |
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Through March 30
GENERAL DONATIONS
Roberta Lynn Cooper Axelrod in memory of Steve Skiena's
father
Marshall Berman
Claudia J. Machaver and Michael W. Bloome
Corinne Boren in memory of Jean Kunhardt Herschkowitz's
father, Philip Kunhardt
Sandee Brawarsky in honor of Eva Fogelman, Jerome and
Adam Chanes
Deborah Brodie in honor of the Bat Mitzvah of Avital
Morris, i n memory of Elaine Morris's mother and Elinor
Hoffman's mother
Dianne Cohler-Esses in memory of the mother of Elaine
Morris and the mother of Elinor Hoffman and in honor of David
and Shana Roskies
Kay Cynamon
Michelle Dingoor in honor of her father, Naji Dingoor's,
70th birthday; in honor of her sister, Karen Strauss', 40th
birthday
Rachel Dinerstein and Benjamin Geballe
Mr. And Mrs. Daniel Goldberg
Natasha and Shimon Hirschhorn
Elinor and Roald Hoffmann
Bethamie Horowitz and Barry Holtz
Rebecca and Michael Kaufman
Lea and Marvin Konopko
Irwin and Elaine Markow in memory of Ruth Awner
Ann Dobrejcer and Michael Paley in memory of Elaine
Morris' mother and Ira Silverstein's father, Meyer Silverstein
Eric Peterman In memory of Irving Allerhand, Joseph
Allerhand's father
Dr. Leah C. Schaefer wishing all my friends and family
a happy Purim
Paul and Roberta Shapiro in memory of Julius Kupietz
David and Linda Shriner-Cahn Happy Purim to all
Herta Shriner Happy Purim to all my friends
Nancy Sinkoff in memory of her mother, Alice Sinkoff
and in honor of the Bat Mitzvah of Ariel Cohen and Avital
Moris
Valerie Wald
Terry Sue Zisowitz
YAHRZEIT DONATIONS
Margaret Adlerman in memory of her husband, Mr. Edwin
Adlerman
Beatrice Blanco in memory of her father, Max Greenberg
Monique Breindel in memory of her brother, Eric
Breindel
Deborah Brodie in memory of her mother, Edith Shapiro
Evelyn Cohen in memory of her mother, Birdie Pitchenik
Haber and her father, Benjamin Pitchenik
Zelda Damashek in memory of her mother, Sally Guttman
Susan Dickman in memory of her father, Nathan Dickman
Howard Eisenberg in memory of his wife, Arlene
Eisenberg
Rabbi Ellen Flax in memory of her mother, Doris Flax
Ruth Fuhrman in memory of her brother-in- law, Lester
Koren
Ruth Gelfand in memory of her uncle, Solomon Landsman
Neil Gillman in memory of his mother, Rebecca Gillman
Marilyn P. Goldberg in memory of her uncle, Philip
(Frankie) Goldberg
Tamara and Martin Green in memory of Tamara's father,
Rabbi Robert Marcus
Debra and Martin Greenberg in memory of Martin's
father, Solomon Greenberg and his mother, Evelyn Greenberg and
Debra's father, Martin Feldman
Joni Greenspan in memory of her father, Philip
Greenspan
Ronnie Grosbard in memory of her father, Sol Geliebter
Sophia Gutherz in memory of her mother, Genia Gutherz
Marjorie Hort in memory of her mother, Jessie M. Cohen
Jan Caryl Kaufman in memory of her grandmother, Sarah
Deutch and her grandfather, Abraham Deutch
A. Marvin Konopko in memory of his daughter, Peninah
Musha Konopko and his sister-in- law, Miriam Sandberg
Deborah Konopko in memory of her sister, Peninah
Konopko
Richard Mark in memory of his step-father, Fred W.
Friendly and his father, Sandor Mark
Irene Melup in memory of her sister, Zula Melup
Jack and Linda Messing in memory of Linda's mother,
Frieda Zaban Waldman
Martin Miller in memory of his mother, Fay Miller and
his father, David Miller
Paula Milla-Kreutzer in memory of her faher, Emilio
Milla
Ronald Morris in memory of his brother, Joel Morris
Rita M. and Sol Rosenkranz in memory of his
father-in-law, Sam Cooper
Nahma Sandrow in memory of her grandfather, Nahum J.
Sandrow
Dr. Leah C. Schaefer in memory of her brother, Haskel
Cahan
Samuel and Frances Schiff in memory of Samuel's father,
Henry Schiff and mother, Lina Schiff
Irwin Sollinger in memory of his mother, Trudy Kroll
Lippmann Saper Stein
Hannah Tannenbaum in memory of her husband, Oscar
Tannenbaum
Eli, Raya and Dalia Terry in memory of their mother,
Beth Levine
Larry Warmflash in memory of his sister, Deborah
Warmflash
Ian Yudelman in memory of his mother, Lena Yudelman
Alan Divack and Amy Zarrow in memory of Harry and
Evelyn Zarrow
TRIBUTE 2006 DONATIONS
Bruce O. Becker in honor of Martin and Tamara Green
Elizabeth Cullen and Stephen G. Chertkof in honor of
Rabbi Marion Ruth Shulevitz
Stephen G. Evangelides in honor of Rabbi Marion
Shulevitz
Sibyl R. Golden in honor of Shana Novick Roskies
William T. Golden in honor of Shana Roskies
Anna Lank
Fred Levinson
Rachelle Gribetz and Alan Laytner
Robin and Stephen Garfinkel in honor of Dovid and Shana
Novick Roskies
Nancy M. and Everett Phillips in honor of Rabbi Marion
Ruth Shulevitz
Sanford and Stephie Rakofsky in honor of Martin and
Tamara Green
Linda and Robert Roth in honor of Martin and Tamara
Green
Richard Roth in honor of Martin and Tamara Green
Christine Evangelides-Donovan in honor of Rabbi Marion
Shulevitz
Harriet F. Siden in honor of Rabbi Marion Shulevitz
Laurel Durst and Ed Strong in honor of Shana Novick
Roskies
Ester Fuchs and Daniel Victor in honor of Dovid and
Shana Novick Roskies
Etta B. Zivian in honor of Rabbi Shulevitz
SHELTER FUND
Yael Aloni-Netzer and Ariel A. Aloni
Trudy Balch
Benyamin Cirlin and Miriam Benhaim
Elysa Dauerman
Rita Falbel
Robert and Navah Perlman Frost
Laura Gold
Eitan Goldman
Esther Hautzig
Susan Heuman
Rebecca and Michael Kaufman
Judith Berman and David Kohn
Anna Lank
Jennifer and Gregory Lyss
Joyce and Martin Mann
Susan Martin
Yuri Mushkin
Carolyn Cohen and Ruby Namdar
Lisa Nord and Jay Podberesky
Stephen and Anna Falla Riff
Jennifer Rosenberg
Rachel Lulov and Jeff F. Segall
Rachel Shalmon in memory of her mother, Shoshanna
Shalmon
Jane Frances M. Shaw
Marion and William Shulevitz
Laura A. Clark and Mark Sirota
Bonita and Isaac Vander
RABBI'S DISCRETIONARY FUND
Vicki Abrams
Deborah Brodie
Stephen Burdman
Elinor and Roald Hoffmann
A. Marvin Konopko in memory of his beloved wife, Lea
Konopko
Darkhei Noam
Marcia Talmage and Fredric Schneider
Michael Trencher
Elizabeth and Jon Warms
Sylvia Weber in memory of her mother, Jennie Lang
SANCTUARY MINYAN KIDDUSH FUND
Vivian Awner
Oscar Awner
Mollie and Bettina Berch in honor of the first
anniversary of Seferina's Bat Mitzvah
Steven and Linda Bloom
Mary and Paul Feinberg in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of
Sam Riggs and the Bat Mitzvah of Avital Morris
Walter Hautzig in memory of his sister, Gertrude Schorr
Ernest G. Kahn in memory of his sister, Ruth S. Weiss
Bernard Laterman in honor of the birth of their first
grandchild
Paul and Roberta Shapiro in honor of Larry and Marilyn
Levi
Herta Shriner
HEBREW SCHOOL MEGILLAH
Deborah Pastor and Aaron Carl Brown
Harriet Geller
Bruce and Patricia Heim
Rebecca and Tomomi Hirade
Rebecca and Michael Kaufman
Yochanan and Yocheved Muffs
Samantha Schmukler
Marla Gayle and Melanie Schneider in honor of their 2
daughters, Sasha and Eliana Gayle- Schneider, AC Hebrew School
students from Pre-K and in honor of Sasha becoming a Bat
Mitzvah.
Alina & Scott Wickham
MUSIC FUND
Janet Leuchter in memory of Natsha Hirschhorn's
grandmother, Sarah Izrael
HEBREW SCHOOL FUND
Ira Krell
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