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Congregation Ansche Chesed
Monthly News
May 2009 / Iyyar-Sivan 5769
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May Highlights
This Sunday, May 3, we kick
off our 180th
Anniversary Celebration
with festive
member-catered dinners at
AC. The same day, we hold
our spring blood
drive. Please try
to volunteer, as blood is in
short supply. At the end of
the month, we celebrate
Shavuot and
bless our first fruits --
our new babies.
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May Calendar
MAY1-3
FR May 1
Hebrew School
Services and Dinner
SA May 2
SHABBAT: Aharei
Mot-Kedoshim
Bat
Mitzvah: Ma'ayan Kline-Salamon
4th-5th
Grade Learning 10am
Kiddush
Honoring Children's
Service Leaders 12pm
SU May 3
Spring Blood Drive
ACT
Meeting 11am
AC 180th
Anniversary Dinner
5:30pm
_________________________________________________________
MAY 4-MAY 10
MO May 4
Gabbai Workshop 7:45pm
TU May 5 Board
of Trustees 7:30pm
WE May 6 Talmud
Study 7pm
TH May 7
Shirei Chesed 7:30pm
SA May 9 SHABBAT:
Emor
Bar
Mitzvah: Isaac Rosenberg
SU May 10
Mother's Day
_________________________________________________________
MAY 11-MAY 17
TU May 12
Lag Ba'Omer
WE May 13
ACT Meeting 6:30pm
Talmud
Study 7pm
TH May 14
Shirei Chesed 7:30pm
SA May 16
SHABBAT: Behar/Behukkotai
Bar
Mitzvah: Reuben
Dreiblatt
_________________________________________________________
MAY 18-MAY 25
TU May 19
Hebrew School Moving Up
Ceremony 5pm
Hazon
Panel 7:30pm
WE May 20
Talmud Study 7pm
Adult
B'not Mitzvah Class 8pm
TH May 21 Shirei
Chesed 7:30pm
SA May 23
SHABBAT: Bamidbar
Community Services:
All Minyanim
Together ________________________________________________________
MAY 25-MAY 31
MO May 26
Memorial Day - Office
Closed
WE May 27
Senior Adult Program
12pm
TH May 28
Erev Shavuot
Family
Shavuot Program 6:30pm
FR May 29
Shavuot - Morning
Services 10am
SA May 30
SHABBAT/Second Day
Shavuot
_______________________________________________________
Shabbat Morning Study
9:30am
Rabbi Kalmanofsky
and the group
study Maimonides'
Guide for the
Perplexed.
Morning Services
Begin at 10am
Sanctuary Minyan -
Weekly
Minyan
M'at - Weekly
Minyan
Rimonim - May 2, 16
West Side Minyan - May 9
Family and Children's
Services Begin at 11am
Mishpacha Shabbat: Ages 3
and Under - Weekly
Minyan
Yigdal: Ages 4 to 7 - Weekly
Big
Kids' Service: Ages 8 to 12
- Weekly
Teen
Tefillah: May 9, 23
________________________________________________________
MORNING MINYAN
Mondays, Thursdays 7:20am
Tuesdays, Wednesdays,
Fridays 7:30am
Sundays and Secular Holidays
8:30am
________________________________________________________
SHAVUOT SERVICES
Friday, May 29 - 10am
Evening Services
6:30pm
Saturday, May 30- 10am
(Service includes
Yizkor)
_______________________________________________________
CANDLE LIGHTING
TIMES
Friday, May 1 -
Light candles 7:33 / Shabbat
ends 8:37
Friday, May 8 - Light
candles 7:40 / Shabbat ends
8:45
Friday, May 15 - Light
candles 7:47 / Shabbat
ends 8:51
Friday, May 22 - Light
candles 7:54 / Shabbat
ends 8:55
Thursday, May 28 - Light
holiday candles 7:59
Friday, May 29 - Light
candles 8pm / Shabbat &
Yom Tov end 9:05
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Message
from the Rabbi
Our
synagogue homeless shelter
has hosted some 95,000
guests -10 men per night,
every night of the year,
since the early 1980s. But
we may not reach 100,000.
The
important contribution we
and other synagogues and
churches make to our fellow
New Yorkers is at risk of
ending, due to
ill-considered plans by the
Bloomberg administration's
Department of Homeless
Services.
In their efforts to focus on
the "chronic street
homeless," City Hall is
planning immediate shifts in
how it administers drop-in
centers and assigns "respite
beds" like ours. Typically,
our guests are more capable
and less desperate than
those who live on the
streets for months on end,
and are headed for more
stable housing.
We can
only affirm the city's need
to work harder for those
homeless people with more
severe dysfunctions, like
drug addictions and
psychosis. But the city's
plans - set to take effect
July 1 - would certainly
reduce the number of church
shelter beds, and could
force our shelter to close
altogether.
We've joined with the dozens
of other churches
and synagogues around
NYC in
the Emergency Shelter
Network to demand changes in
the city's plans. So far, no
movement. But we're still
pressing, and may call on
you to write and call City
Hall.
Most
distressing, the new plans
would reduce or eliminate
the screening that
guarantees that our nightly
guests are sober,
non-psychotic and free of
tuberculosis. Without these
guarantees, we would simply
not be able to operate in
confidence that the shelter
would be safe for the guests
themselves, the volunteers
and our facilities. We would
have to close if the current
level of screening is not
maintained.
Also,
the funding that provides
nightly dinners and clean
linens for the men, and a
fuel subsidy for the
synagogue are likely to
disappear or shrink. Under
those conditions - if the
screening is maintained - we
might be able to continue to
provide a roof and a bed for
our guests, but feeding our
guests would become
unlikely. (Other problems in
the city's plan would affect
other shelters more than
ours.)
Probably the most troubling
of the DHS plans would not
affect our shelter. The city
plans to shut a number of
drop-in centers, including
those serving particularly
vulnerable populations, like
seniors and the mentally
ill, as well as those in
other boroughs. Also the
city will try to shift
people out of sleeping in
chairs in the drop-in
centers. That's a terrific
goal, of course, but there
are no plans to add enough
new beds to cover those who
would lose their chairs.
I wish I could tell you that
synagogue and church
shelters make a large dent
in New York's homelessness
problem. Numerically, the
problem is many times bigger
than we are. Of course,
Ansche Chesed's shelter
matters very much to 10 men
each night. And around the
five boroughs, some 350
people sleep in church
shelters each night (the
numbers rising above 400 in
winter and falling below 300
in summer). But there are
more than 35,000 homeless
people in our city each
night.
So, at
the macro-level, the
administration is pursuing
an admirable goal of seeking
to help the most desperate
street people, who won't be
helped by a small volunteer
shelter like ours. Sadly,
however, City Hall has gone
about that goal in a foolish
way. New Yorkers still need
every bed we can get. Also,
Americans are growing
increasingly committed to
public service. We and other
synagogues and churches are
helping, and the city is
taking steps that impede our
ability to serve our fellow
citizens. The Emergency
Shelter Network is not
broken! Don't try to fix it!
Soon,
we and the other members of
the Emergency Shelter
Network may seek your help
in pressuring the city to
alter its plans. For now,
please stay tuned.
And volunteer to stay
overnight in our shelter.
While you still can. Contact
ac_shelter@yahoo.com.
-- Rabbi Jeremy
Kalmanofsky
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The New Sanctuary
Coalition addresses
IMMIGRATION LAW
and Its Effect
on Families
by Laura Clark
"Can you imagine
forces trying to separate
you from your family? One
has to live it and
experience it to understand.
It's an outrage and an
unexplainable feeling. I'm
living that experience right
now. We the families are
reaching a place of
desperation, not knowing
what tomorrow will bring.
For years, our communities
and families have been
destroyed by an immigration
system that does not respect
a person's basic humanity.
The families scarred by this
brutal system live all
around us." -- Roxroy
Salmon, threatened with
deportation, has resided in
the U.S. for 30 years and is
the father of four U.S.
citizen children.
I first became aware of how
families were affected by
U.S. immigration and
deportation policies while
living in San Diego. There
I became involved with an
interfaith group working
with refugees who had fled
their countries in fear for
their lives. As a Spanish
speaker I interviewed
refugees and assisted in the
process of applying for
political asylum. My
involvement gave me an
in-depth education about how
immigrants in our country
are stripped of many basic
human rights at the same
time that we rely directly
on immigrants to support our
lifestyles. It was clear to
me that these policies
should not be allowed to
stand, and I eventually
joined the staff of this
organization. From there I
went on to spend two years
in Central America working
on similar issues.
Unfortunately, more than
twenty years later later,
immigration policy is still
grossly unjust, and there is
much work to be done. One
of the groups hoping to
change that is the New
Sanctuary Coalition of New
York, an interfaith group
which works to resist unjust
deportations and to
influence the creation of a
more humane immigration
policy. Historically this
work has been the purview of
Christian groups, but Jews
by virtue of their history
are uniquely situated to
make an important
contribution in this field.
As one step towards
exploring how Ansche Chesed
might become involved with
this movement,
representatives from the New
Sanctuary Coalition of New
York joined us on March 6th
for a potluck dinner. They
spoke with us about how
families are affected by
U.S. immigration and
deportation policies.
The Coalition is led by six
families facing deportation
who stand in partnership
with over 20 faith
communities and supporting
organizations. The
participant families have
come from Haiti, China,
Jamaica, Senegal, Ecuador,
Mexico and other places.
The families and the
congregations who support
them are attempting to find
ways to change the national
discussion about
undocumented immigrants and
to ultimately help organize
support for the movement to
put human rights and family
unity at the center of the
United States immigration
system.
Roxroy Salmon, one of the
Coalition's family members
who is threatened with
deportation, spoke at the
potluck dinner. Roxroy is a
national of Jamaica who has
lived in the United States
for the past thirty years.
He came to the U.S. with his
father when he was a young
man. He has four U.S.
citizen children born in the
U.S. He also has a daughter
who was born in Jamaica. He
lives with three of his
children: Natasha, an 18
year old who attends Long
Island University for legal
studies, Nyasia, a 15 year
old studying design at her
high school and Elijah, a 12
year old in middle school.
Because of minor convictions
from over 20 years ago, and
despite many references
vouching for his
contributions to the
community, Roxroy is facing
removal proceedings. He
believes that everyone has a
human right to stay with
their families. He is
working hard to pass
legislation that would keep
his family together: HR 182,
the Child Citizen Protection
Act (CCPA), if passed, would
allow immigration judges the
power to use their
discretion in cases like
Roxroy's, allowing them to
stop his deportation.
Every year, nearly 200,000
non-citizens - many with
kids who are U.S. citizens -
are deported and torn away
from their families, even
when a judge thinks they
deserve to stay in the U.S.
Under mandatory deportation,
the judge's hands are tied.
Families must choose between
splitting up, resulting in
more single parent
households and psychological
and financial hardship, or
forcing their U.S. citizen
children into deportation
with them. These U.S.
citizen children often have
to start over in a country
with a new language, fewer
resources and an uncertain
future. U.S. immigration
laws force citizen children
to lose their parent, or
their country.
What you can do
Write a letter.
May is a critical month
for Roxroy and his family.
At his hearing on June 2nd
he may be ordered deported
to Jamaica after living here
for over 30 years. Letters
and petitions of support are
being collected by Ms.
Wanyong Austin, Esq.,
Lutheran Social Services NY,
308 W 46th St., 3rd floor,
New York, NY 10036. Ms.
Austin will send all letters
and petitions to Mr.
Christopher Shanahan, Field
Office Director of
Immigration & Customs
Enforcement in New York. A
petition of support is
available at
http://justiceisfreedom.wordpress.com/about/rspetitionfinal/.
Attend a vigil.
When: Friday, May 8th, 7
PM - 8 PM
Where: 201 Varick St,
Manhattan, outside Varick
Street Detention Center
A monthly vigil is held by
Youth Ministries for Peace
and Justice
(http://www.ympj.org) every
second Friday to and protest
the raiding, detention, and
deportation of hundreds of
thousands of immigrants
every year. For more
information contact Juan
Carlos at jcruiz@ympj.org.
Meet Roxroy.
IMMIGRATION AND
CONVERSATION: POLITICS AND
POPCORN!
When: Tuesday, May 5th, 7 PM
When: First Presbyterian
Church in the City of New
York - 12 West 12th St. on
Fifth Ave., Manhattan.
Meet Roxroy, hear his story,
and better understand the
laws, politics, and policies
that put a 32-year resident
of NYC with a U.S.-citizen
family in imminent risk of
deportation.
Featuring excerpts from 2
films (+ popcorn!) "Border
Stories" and "An Untitled
Documentary on Roxroy
Salmon"
Speakers: Wanyong Austin,
immigration attorney; David
Wilson, co-author of "The
Politics of Immigration;"
and Roxroy Salmon, Brooklyn
father fighting deportation
Educate yourself.
Visit the New Sanctuary
Coalition of New York's web
site:
http://newsanctuarynyc.org/.
Attend upcoming events.
Currently in the works are a
study of Jewish texts with
Rabbi Kalmanofsky regarding
immigrant rights and a
workshop led by an immigrant
support group detailing
actions that individuals and
our community can take to
work towards a more just and
humane immigration policy.
For more information or to
help plan future events,
please contact Laura Clark,
ClarkLa2@gmail.com.
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Shavuot Approaches:
Bring Your Flowers and
Babies

Please join us at Ansche
Chesed to celebrate
Shavuot, especially on
the second day of the
holiday, Saturday, May
30.
It is the custom to strew
the synagogue with flowers
and other fragrant plants on
this springtime holiday. (As
is reported in the
Shulhan Arukh, by R.
Moses Isserles, OH 494.3.)
Where does this custom come
from? Some have associated
it with various midrashim
about revelation, such as
the view that every word
that God spoke at Sinai
filled the air with flowery
perfume, based on Song of
Songs 5.13: His lips are
roses, dripping flowing
myrrh. So let us celebrate
revelation with the scents
of God's speech in our
prayer spaces (Yalkut Shir
984).
So to fulfill this charming
custom, we invite you to:
a) contribute to
Sanctuary Flower Fund, for
the purchase of flowers. Or
b) feel free to
bring your own flowers and
plants to the sanctuary.
They don't need to match. It
will be lovely to have an
array of different flowers
and plants in the room.
Not everyone approved of the
custom, by the way. In the
18th century, R. Elijah, the
Gaon of Vilna thought this
practice too closely
imitated the Christmas tree,
and forbade bringing plants
into synagogues on
festivals. (See Mishna
Berura 494 n.10.) Hmmmm. The
Gaon was not known for his
flexibility. I think we need
not refrain from decking our
halls.
Another possible source for
the custom of flowers on
Shavuot is the association
of the holiday with the
spring's first fruits. We
mark agricultural bounty by
bringing the earth's
beautiful children to shul.
How can we urban Jews do the
same? Bring our own
children! As we do each
year, we invite those with
babies who have arrived
since last Shavuot to come
for an aliya on Shabbat
morning, and allow us to
celebrate with you the
world's best new produce!
-- Rabbi Jeremy
Kalmanofsky
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Senior
Adult Programs for May and June
Wednesday, May 27,
12pm-1:30pm
GUEST SPEAKER: BETTINA BERCH
"From Hester Street to
Hollywood: The Life and Work
of Anzia Yezierska"
Come listen
to AC member Bettina Berch
discuss the real story of
the writer they called "The
Sweatshop Cinderella." Her
fine novels, including Bread
Givers, Arrogant Beggar, and
Hungry Hearts, defined "the
immigrant" for twentieth
century readers. Hear the
story behind the romance of
Yezierska and philosopher
John Dewey and her
friendships with other
prominent members of
society. Bettina's book is
based on extensive research
into Yezierska's published
and unpublished writings and
letters.

Wednesday, June 10,
3pm-5pm
THEATER OUTING!
HARD LOVE, A Play by Motti
Lerner
Directed by Susan
Reid; starring Mira Hirsch
and David Silverman.
In this fiercely romantic
drama, Hanna and Zvi are
reunited after divorcing
twenty years earlier.
Raised in Jerusalem's
ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim,
the couple ended their
marriage when Zvi turned his
back on Judaism and Hannah
did not. Now the teenage
children from their second
marriages have become
romantically involved,
forcing Hannah and Zvi back
into each other's lives.
The play takes place at
Theater Three, 311 West 43rd
Street. Discounted tickets
are $15 if you reserve by
May 22; $18 thereafter.
RSVP to
mdingoor@anschechesed.org or
212.865.0600 ext. 201.
Motti
Lerner, born in Israel in
1949, is a playwright and
screenwriter who teaches
political playwriting at Tel
Aviv University. He is the
recipient of the Meskin
Award for best play (1985)
and the Israel Motion
Picture Academy Award for
best TV drama (1995 and
2004).
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NEWS &
NOTES
Condolences to:
The Family of
Janos Racz
Debra Cassel Rand on the
death of her father.
Mazal Tov to
April's b'nai mitzvah:
Nevada Harris
Zachary Stein
Mazal Tov to:
Dan and Tamara
Nemo and Avery on the
birth of their son and
brother, Eli William.
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APRIL DONATIONS
GENERAL
Michael
Brochstein
in honor of the
bar mitzvah of
Reuben Dreiblatt
Deborah
Brodie
in honor of the
birth of the
granddaughter of
Shuly Schwartz
and Eric
Fishman; in
honor of the bar
mitzvah of Adam
Chanes; in honor
of the birthday
of Walter Dubler;
in honor of the
bat mitzvah of
Mikaela Gerwin;
in honor of the
bar mitzvah of
Jed Kronfeld; in
honor of the
birth of the
Turner-Gedzelman
twins; in memory
of Jerome
Forman, father
of Robin Forman;
in memory of
Ervin Plaszner,
father of
Suzanne
Weinstein; in
honor of Rabbis
Amy and Jeremy
Kalmanofsky for
staying at
Ansche Chesed
Robin
Forman
in honor of
Mikaela Gerwin-Gerstein's
bat mitzvah; in
honor of Sara
Xing's bat
mitzvah
Zaklina
Milovanovic and
Leon Gross
Bethamie
Horowitz and
Barry Holtz
in memory of
Janos Racz
Naomi
Marcus
in honor of the
5th yahrzeit
of her father,
David Greitzer
Nahma
Sandrow and
William Meyers
in honor of the
bar mitzvah of
Jed Kronfeld
Ellen
Resnick and Eric
Peterman
Sharry and David
Pollock
in honor of Jed
Kronfeld's bar
mitzvah
Hire
Resources
in honor of the
bar mitzvah of
Jed Kronfeld
Ruth and
Ira Salzman
in memory of
Jerome Forman,
father of Robin
Forman
Leah
Schaefer
in honor of the
bar mitzvah of
Jed Kronfeld
Kathy
Schreiner-Leipsner
in memory of her
husband, Fredric
Leipsner
Roberta
Kupietz Shapiro
and Paul Shapiro
in honor of Jed
Kronfeld's bar
mitzvah
Diana
and Howard
Stevens
in memory of
Anne Meyer, one
of the founders
of the Beyond
Shelter
Coalition and
who volunteered
for the Ansche
Chesed Shelter -
she inspired so
many people to
do so much. We
have lost a
treasured soul.
YAHRZEIT
Dina Rosenfeld
and Howard
Berkowitz
in memory of
Howard's mother,
Pat Berkowitz
Beatrice
Blanco
in memory of her
husband, Peter
Blanco
Helen
Bohmart Pine
in memory of her
father, Harry
Cherlov
Feygele
Jacobs and
Michael Cholden-Brown
in memory of
Michael's
father, Louis
Cholden
Evelyn
Dichek
in memory of her
husband, Maurice
Dichek, in
memory of her
mother, Margaret
Rosenberg; in
memory of her
sister, Frances
Gross; in memory
of her father,
Sam Rosenberg
Howard
Eisenberg
in memory of his
father, Murray
Eisenberg
Susan
and Lawrence
Feldman
in memory of
Lawrence's
father, Joseph
Feldman
Shirley
and Stanley
Fischler
in memory of
Stanley's
mother, Molly
Fischler
Heidi
and Ernest Kahn
in memory of her
mother, Kate
Vorchheimer
Louis P.
Klein
in memory of Max
Klein
Ira
Krell
in memory of his
father, Mortimer
Krell
Toni
Landau
in memory of her
father, William
London
Joyce
and Martin Mann
in memory of
Joyce's mother,
Selda Levy, and
her great aunt,
Sonia Kahn
Amy and
Tom Marx
in memory of
Tom's father,
Albert Marx
Nahma
Sandrow and
William Meyers
in memory of
Nahma's
grandfather,
Jacob
Slavin
Rita and Sol
Rosenkranz
in memory of
Sol's
brother-in-law,
Michael Cooper
and his
grandmother,
Hedy Cooper
Barbara
Rothenberg
in memory of her
father, Chester
Rothenberg
Leah
Schaefer
in memory of her
brothers, Nissen
Cahan, Haskel
Cahan and Sidney
Cahan
Lilianne
and Hugh Segal
in memory of
Lilianne's
father, Aizic
Weinberg
Roberta
Kupietz Shapiro
and Paul Shapiro
in memory of
Roberta's
sister, Susan
Kornbluh
Herta
Shriner
in memory of her
mother, Gertrude
Lewin
Barbara
Siegal
in memory of her
father, Ned
Myers
Lorin
Silverman
in memory of his
grandfather,
Simon Silverman,
and relative,
Herbert Weinberg
Helen
Singer and
Michael Skliar
in memory of
Helen's father,
David Singer
Jacqueline and
Robert Stein
in memory of
Robert's father,
Joel Stein
RABBI'S
DISCRETIONARY
FUND
Arlene Baily
in memory of
Herbert Bernard
Michaelson
Ellen
Flax
Abraham Marvin
Konopko
in memory of his
wife, Lea
Konopko; in
memory of his
grandmother,
Musha Konopko;
in memory of his
mother-in-law,
Pearl Gittel
Konopka; in
memory of his
father-in-law,
Elias Konopka
Karen
Palmer
Sylvia Weber
in memory of her
father, Norton
Harry Lang
SHELTER
FUND
Jill Goodman and
Melvin Bukiet
in honor of the
bar mitzvah of
Jed Reuben
Kronfeld
Miriam
Benhaim and
Benyamin Cirlin
Kathy and
Stephen Fink
in memory of
Kathy's father,
Adam van Savage,
MD
Miriam
Harris-Kaplan
and George
Kaplan
in honor of the
bar mitzvah of
Jed Reuben
Kronfeld
Stephanie and
Ilya Kofman
Daniel
Serviansky
in honor of the
Hadar shelter
volunteers
KIDDUSH
FUND
Mary and Paul
Feinberg
in honor of
Bettina Berch
and the
publication of
her book
Elizabeth and
Jeffrey Kaiden
in honor of the
Kaiden family
Bonita
Leeds
in honor of
Bettyrose Nelson
Judy
Katz and Oren
Rudavsky
in honor of
Eli's 14th
birthday and his
leyning
Fran and
Sam Schiff
in memory of
Fran's father,
Irving Goldstein
Fanny
Steinhauser
PRAYER BOOK FUND
Arlene and Alex
Baily
in memory of
Herbert Bernard
Michaelson; in
honor of their
son, David Baily
Kathy
and Stephen Fink
in memory of
Stephen's
mother, Leona
Fink
Jacqueline and
Robert Stein
in honor of
Zachary Stein's
bar mitzvah,
April 25, 2009
ADULT
EDUCATION FUND
Ravid Tilles
in
memory of his
mother, Andrea
Tilles; in honor
of the
congregation for
giving him an
aliyah on
Tuesday morning
RIMONIM
KIDDUSH FUND
Rachel
Sheryl Lynn
Presser
PASSOVER YIZKOR
Herta Shriner
FAMILY PROGRAMS
Sara Shapiro-Plevan
and William
Plevan
in honor of the
children's
service leaders
MUSIC
FUND
Carol A. Rabolt
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